The Need for Project Scheduling and Cost Control, Research Paper Example

Cost control refers to the process of economizing on the spending on a project in an organization so as to save on costs. It is paramount for an organization to exercise cost control. This is because most businesses intend to maximize on profits and an efficient cost control system is necessary.

Project scheduling refers to the allocation of resources to a project. For a project to be successful, resources must be allocated to it. The organization must ensure that the resources allocated are not too much for that project such that it becomes uneconomical. On the other hand, the resources must be enough to take care of the whole project such that it does not come to stop mid-way before it completion.

The benefit of scheduling and cost control is that it leads to better planning within the organization. It is vital that resources be allocated in the best manner possible so that an organization can plan for its project. Planning is vital since it determines, largely, the chances of success of a project (Hutchings, 2003).

Scheduling allocates resources to a task or a project. A project cannot go to completion without resources. These include financial resources, human resources and technological resources. It is essential to make sure that there is equality in the distribution of resources. It will not be possible to experience shortages.

Scheduling and cost control also lead to cost cutting. The project saves on costs a great deal. The amount of money and resources saved in the process of executing a task may be channeled to other projects leading to expansion and greater success for the business. The saved costs further lead to confidence. The management and the business altogether get confident to face the future.

The shareholders of the company determine largely the direction the company will take in way of economizing on costs and being cost effective. The shareholders are the people who fund any project. They are the people who also instruct the management on what projects should be undertaken hence are in great control of the project.

The management of the organization must be in control of the process of scheduling and cost control. These are the people who run the firm. They are crucial stakeholders in any project. They decide how much to allocate to a project and so forth.

Departmental managers will also have to be consulted and included in the project. The IT department must be involved since it is the department that will implement the project. Any step taken must be consistent with the instructions from the experts in the IT department.

The process of implementation includes the planning process. This involves drawing of a draft and deciding on what costs to allocate on what. A careful draft must be drawn by the experts concerned so as to come up with something practical. The IT specialists must consult on how consolidation of emails can be done. They must also advice the company on the best upgrade process available (Kloppenburg, 2003).

The project will then commence. This will involve the integration of various subsets of email accounts into one account. This means that the company will receive email as one as opposed to the initial process where different accounts received many emails. Implementation will thus include the installation of software. This software must be able to integrate effectively all the emails together without leaving out some. After installation of software on the technology available, it will be essential to conduct a post-implementation procedure. This will involve carrying out pilot tests. These will seek to check on how effective the integration and upgrading was.

Provisions of the plan

The project must get enough resources. The process involves the use of technology. It is important to have enough. It is also a requirement to have finances for the process to be effective. Purchase of the required software and paying the employees involved in the process requires funds.

It is also crucial to engage experts for the plan to be effective. These are It experts who can design a new system that will benefit the company and that will effectively integrate all the accounts as one.

Challenges to the Process

One of the concerns in the process of implementation will be the inconvenience to all clients. The process of upgrade will lead to delays. It will not be possible to communicate with clients and other stakeholders via email. Until the company finds a lasting solution, the problem will last.

The process will also be expensive for the management and shareholders of the company. Purchase of technology. This includes installation of software for efficient running of the system. It will also be necessary to pay the employees involved in the upgrade process. This will consume money (Taylor 2007).

The process is also time-consuming. The process of planning, installation, and post implementation will consume a reasonable amount of time. It will require that ample time be allocated to the process. In this case, it will not let the user down.

The process will also require human labor, which the company might not have. It will be crucial for the business to outsource staff through consultation. The process of consultation will be expensive. At the same time, a lot of information will leak to outsiders. This is not consistent with the principal of confidentiality in an organization.

The process will also require occasional maintenance to ensure the system is in proper working order throughout. This is because any kind of system break down would be very inconveniencing to both the company and its clients.

Benefits of Implementation

Achievement of better communication is one benefit of the new system. It is possible to have better communication after installation of the new system. The upgrade process will enable the organization to communicate better with its clients all over. The process will also lead to increased protection against spam. This is where people send unsolicited messages in bulk to an organization. They do this without the permission of the user. The upgrade process will protect the organization against this.

The process also saves on time. Delivery of messages is in time and to the right people. Time will thus be saved on figuring out who sent which message. Emails are shown automatically by the newly upgraded system.

If the company happens to ignore an effective scheduling and cost control process, the business might end up spending a lot of money. This will be through paying for multiple services to different service providers. The process will be uneconomical and inconsistent with the principle of profit maximization (Perens, 2004).

Failure to implement will also lead to system delays. This is where there will be major delays in the delivery of emails to clients. This form of delay will further lead to poor communication between clients and the company. Failure to implement will also lead to uneconomical use of space. This is because having numerous accounts will lead to extreme bulkiness in the system. It will also make the organization prone to receiving indiscriminate messages.

Conclusion

The upgrading and consolidation of the email system in an organization is paramount. It will facilitate better communication between the company and its clients. In the process, it is essential to save costs. Cost control is necessary during scheduling for this to be achieved.

References

Bruce, P. (2004). Managing Linux Systems With Webmin: System Administration and Module Development Open Source Series. New York: Prentice Hall Professional.

Hutchings, J. F. (2003). Project Scheduling Handbook Volume 15 of Civil and environmental engineering. New York: CRC Press.

Kloppenburg, T. (2011). Contemporary Project Management. New York: Cengage Learning.

Taylor, J. (2007). Project Scheduling and Cost Control: Planning, Monitoring and Controlling the Baseline. Alaska: J Ross Publishing Series.