Term Paper on "Project Management This Report Stipulates the Final"

Quoted Instructions for "Project Management This Report Stipulates the Final" Assignment:

I will email copy of mirior with Assessors response

I will email the information for topic (Testing and cirtification of bus fleet CNG bus fuel tanks)

I am the maintenance manager for Sydney Buses

www.sydneybuses

PSM UNIT 4: MANAGING DOWN: OPERATIONAL MANAGEM’T IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

MAJOR ASSIGNMENT – WORK BASED PROJECT FINAL REPORT

Work Based Project Final Report (3500 words, 85 marks)

Write an evaluative report detailing your project and the outcomes with some analysis in the context of one of the topics from Unit 4.

Notes for Assistance to Participants

· The third component of the work based project is the Project Report. This will present in detail the results of your project. It will document the process that you have followed in undertaking the project and, importantly, the report presents the outcomes of your project.

· In so doing it attempts to communicate to those with an interest the problem you have solved that was affecting either your performance, your team’s performance or that of the organisation as a whole.

· You need to be very clear about exactly what work you have done, compared to pre-existing organisation resources such as a survey carried out by somebody else, or assistance provided by any project team.

· Your final project report needs to be set in the context of or related to some of the content for PSM Unit 4. You need to choose from one of the first eight topics in the unit, that is:

· Topic One: Strategic Management

· Topic Two: Organisation Structure and Culture

· Topic Three: The Learning Organisation and Knowledge Management

· Topic Four: The Budget Cycle and Financial Management

· Topic Five: Strategic Human Resource Management

· Topic Six: Performance Management

· Topic Seven: Leadership and Teams

· Topic Eight: Job Satisfaction and Motivation

· The requirement to address one topic from PSM Unit 4 does not mean your project has to be about one of these topics. Rather, one of these topics has to be discussed somewhere along the line in your report. How to do this cannot be fully prescribed in advance since each participant’s project is unique. However, here are some suggestions:

· Your problem may be related to or set in the context of one of these topics.

· One of these topics may suggest some solutions to your problem.

· You could provide an analysis of project leadership or the project team, drawing on material from Topic Seven on leadership and teams. You could specifically select and apply one theory of leadership to an***** the project’s leadership. Or you could use the six-box model of team behaviour to an***** the project team.

· On the other hand, it may be that your project has some bearing on the strategic management of your agency and if this was the case then Topic One would be the one to discuss.

· Given that the problem to be solved by the project is about team or organisation performance, performance management as a topic may also be relevant.

· For a final example, it may be that loss of corporate memory is your project’s problem, in which case the learning organisation and knowledge management might be the topic you use in your project.

· Whichever topic from PSM Unit 4 you choose, you will need to be selective about the aspects you choose to discuss. Less is best. You are not required to give a comprehensive review of the theory in that particular topic. Rather you need to very carefully select and apply one or two theories, concepts, techniques, or models. Choose the one or two that are most relevant or influential in your situation and apply them in your project. Draw on any feedback you have received about application and analysis in previous assignments.

· It is not an academic requirement to present your work based project orally although some jurisdictions may provide an opportunity for participants to present their work to sponsors, colleagues and other interested stakeholders.

· Your Project Report is an analytical report (see Section 4 in Part A of this guide) intended to report the outcomes of your work based project. Its purpose is not to convey preconceived notions or justify a position. It is to define a problem and, after investigation, report the solution, drawing those conclusions and making those recommendations which are justifiable in view of what was uncovered by and executed in the project.

· The work based project is a substantial and complex piece of work that requires careful conceptualisation and planning. Like other complex processes, the project can likely be made more manageable if you break it into component parts. The project requires you to apply the problem-solving logic that we have emphasised throughout the PSM Program, to a problem from your workplace. A staged approach will assist you in ensuring you have accounted for all of the necessary details.

· The project is an important exercise in project management and self-management. You must make it a priority. You will find it more manageable (and a lot less stressful) if you work consistently on your project. Expect that unexpected events in your home and work life will interfere with your ability to work on the project. Planning and a regular commitment to work on the project will ensure that you can deliver a good project in the specified timeframe.

· As a lengthy report, it is a sustained piece of writing that requires careful development. After all your work in conducting your project, you want your report to present a comprehensive and readable account of your project.

· Big projects can never be completed in one huge effort. Start early. Take an hour here and there to puzzle through key issues. Build up your sources and ideas, layer by layer. Review your tool kit to see what resources will be of use. Once you have done this, sustained effort leads to robust drafts. Further sustained effort then leads to an effective final draft.

· If you have implemented your project plan, you have already done most of the work for your project. Your task in preparing your project report is to describe the work you have done, the methods used to elicit information about the problem and what evidence or data you gathered in the course of your project. The ‘tool kit’ of resources that you have been compiling throughout the PSM Program is another source of information, facts and ideas that you will draw on. You may have searched the literature during your information-gathering stage and collected other information and data that you need.

· It is important at this stage to review and an***** the information and data you have gathered. If you find there are gaps in this, now is the time to do additional research. What is it telling you about the problem and the proposed solutions that you have investigated?

· Keep notes of your thoughts throughout the project. Some people involved in large projects maintain a journal where they regularly record observations, discussions that they have had, or decisions that they have taken about an aspect of the project. Later when writing up their findings, they use the journal as an aide mémoire to recall details that might otherwise be lost. The themes and patterns that you identify in your information will provide the substantive basis of your project report and the data gathered will provide the evidence to support your solution, as well as your recommendations for further action.

· Your work based project should follow a structured process. If you have broken your project up into stages using the problem-solving logic, this logic provides an initial framework for writing up your project report, for example, using each of the stages as headings. While ultimately you might settle on a less prescriptive framework, this gives you a solid foundation for identifying the content that will become sections in the body of your report. Be prepared to restructure if it becomes apparent the outline is not working or you are finding it hard to make the links between different sections. Seek advice from colleagues about whether the structure you propose makes sense to them.

· Refer to section 4 in Part A of this guide for extensive details regarding preparing and writing your report.

· Some additional tips:

· add references to the literature in the analysis areas, in particular your chosen topic from PSM Unit 4

· emphasise the outcomes, why they were or were not achieved, the relationship to the plan and to how it happened in practice

· use a critical approach, reflect and think critically

· showcase your learning from the entire program

· demonstrate your leadership ability.

Report format

· While there will be some variation in the contents of project reports, all reports are expected to comply with report format as per Section 4 in Part A of this guide. On top of this there are some specific guidelines to do with the nature of the project as below:

1. Letter or memorandum of transmission

2. Title page

3. Table of contents

4. Executive summary or synopsis

The executive summary or synopsis sums up the whole report in a very concise fashion. It is a separate page that should contain a limited number of paragraphs summarising the main content of each of the main sections of the report. For example:

· the problem/situation and organisational background, including your role, from the introduction (see below) and the aim and project objectives

· the background in terms of other studies or contextual details

· the method or the main approach to your project – e.g. survey, interviews, examining reports etc.

· the alternative solutions canvassed and the justification for the solution that was implemented

· the most important recommendations.

5. Introduction

The introduction provides a general background of the project and an overview of its aims and objectives. It should establish the context of the project, including any relevant background, including your role. It should also provide signposts to the reader about what will be in the remainder of the report and in what order.

6. Body of the report (do not have a heading that says body use informative headings)

Here you will have text under a series of headings that are relevant to your project. Listed below is the content that you must cover. You may not use these headings as such but you need to address the content they cover in the body:

· method, including information gathering and evidence to support arguments

· identification, diagnosis and understanding of the problem

· solution implemented and how it will address the problem of performance

· integration of theory from selected topic of PSM Unit 4 and other sources and application of theory and skills to the project

· critical analysis of key issues

· evaluation

Text under any additional headings/sections needed for your report.

7. Recommendations

In this part of the report, you acknowledge any deficiencies in the project and to make suggestions for how future projects could avoid the same pitfalls.

Everything that you recommend in the recommendations must have a secure anchor in the preceding sections of the report. Evidence or justification must exist in the body of the report. If you have done a properly designed project, the same issues or themes will flow through the whole report and in this case when the reader gets to your recommendations they will not be surprised, or be thinking ‘where on earth did that idea come from?’.

The recommendations should be specific, practical and feasible. Recommendations are often presented in point form.

8. Conclusion

9. References

For the project report, references are not limited to published works. The participant who obtains background information (as opposed to data gathering) for a project through interviews should include a list of interviewees in the references (confidentiality permitting). Data obtained from non-published sources should also be listed. The report and the reference list must make it very clear what was your work and what was existing.

10. Appendices or attachments

Your project proposal and project plan must be appended, along with any questionnaire, interview schedule etc.

Aside from your project proposal and project plan, there is a limit of 1000 words for other appendices. Note that assessors are not required to read or comment on appendices, other than the project plan and project proposal, but may scan them to glean an overall impression of the additional detail that is available. Participants should be very selective and careful about using additional appendices.

PSM UNIT 4: MANAGING DOWN: OPERATIONAL MANAGEM’T IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

MAJOR ASSIGNMENT – ASSESSMENT RESPONSE SHEET FOR WORK BASED PROJECT

Participants – complete your details and attach this sheet to the front of your work based project Your assessor will provide feedback and return this sheet to you.

Participant to complete

Participant’s name: State/Territory:

Participant’s email address:

Date of submission:

Assessor to complete Grade: /85

Assessor’s name:

Assessor’s email address:

Work Based Project Assessment

Report section Mark

Preliminary partsLetter or memorandum of transmissionTitle pageTable of contentsExecutive summary or synopsis /5

Introduction /3

Body of reportMethod, including information gathering and evidence to support argumentsIdentifying, diagnosing and understanding the problemSolution implemented and how it will address the problem of performanceIntegration of theory from selected topic of PSM Unit 4 and other sources and application of theory and skills to projectCritical analysis of key issuesEvaluation /55

Recommendations /5

Conclusion /2

References /5

Appendices (including project plan) /10

General Comments: (in particular what the participant would need to do to get a higher mark and what has been done well)The actual project and problem-solvedThe process of problem-solving and project management including planningReport writingNote up to 5 marks can be deducted for:· lack of proofreading· poor expression· poor structure· poor presentation· incorrect reference format· not sticking to word limit (+/– 10%)

Assignment Check List

Have you:

c Completed the participant details?

c Numbered pages?

c Used 12-point font?

c Justified the text?

c Double spaced?

c Spell checked and grammar checked?

c Inserted word count?

c Proofread hard copy?

c Put the Assessment Response Sheet as first page?

Faxes have been uploaded-Ross