The world is increasingly becoming competitive. Cities are faced with difficult situation of having to deal with the dynamics of the corporate world. Dubai is one of the cities that have come out strongly as a center of business. It has embraced a number of technologies as a way of improving the way of life of its people. The emerging technologies and environmental concerns are some of the factors that corporate bodies have to deal with in order to ensure smooth operations. According to Choudhury (1988), management units in must be able to handle two most important factors in the current dynamic world. The first factor is the emerging technologies. The emerging technologies have the capacity to make or break a firm, especially in the service sector. Not all emerging technologies are important to an organization. Some are very important while others are completely irrelevant. This is one fact that the management of Jumeirah Palm has come to appreciate.
Understanding the emerging technologies would help a firm gain a competitive edge over other firms. This has seen most firms come up with various projects that are geared towards achieving specific goals in this field. The second factor is environmental conservation (Roberts, 2011). As technology continues to improve the way of life of people, the environment is increasingly under threat of destruction. Emerging technologies continue to pose more threats to the environment. Various agencies have come out strongly to oppose the emerging technologies. Some of them have openly attacked a number of leading firms in the world. Attack from such agencies can be very dangerous because it would generate negative publicity for the firm. For this reason, project management teams have tried to be at peace with these agencies in order to be seen as champions of a clean world.
Jumeirah Palm has always operated in such an environment since it was established. There is increased pressure from various quarters for the firm meaning that this project has to meet their demands. It requires the management of this project to develop strategies that would help it operate with the highest possible efficiency. The project management team must turn to some of the current project management strategies in order to be competitive in the market.
Project Rationale
This project is aimed at increasing the land area of Dubai City. The choice of increasing the land area at the expense of emerging technologies was arrived at when the project management team realized that there was need to ensure that the city expands in size. In the current world, land area is one of the most important factors for any city. This city is one of the leading business cities in the world today. However, the population is growing very fast and the city is becoming uncontrollable, especially in terms of waste management. There is no enough space in the city to help in the management of waste. The leadership of this city is concerned about the environmental watchdogs, which would attack it for polluting the environment. The firm is interested in becoming an environmental champion. Through this project, the city is planning to expand its land, not only for the purpose of inhabitation, but also because of the need to have an extra land for managing wastes. It would convince the society that it cares for their social welfare. This project would be a concerted effort for this city to confirm to society that it is determined to bring a positive change to the environment. Although this project would come with costs, the long-term effects of the project would boost the image of the city globally. One of the main shortcomings of the project pertains to wrong prioritizations that lead to delays in completion of the project (Reid, 1999). The leadership of Dubai city emphasizes on projects that have direct financial benefits to the city. The management of the city should give emphasis to both short-term and long-term benefits. Through this, it would come to appreciate the importance of conducting the above process.
It is also important to understand the mission and vision strategy of this project, in order to rationalize the project. The vision of this project is to have a city that is free from pollution, especially the plastic wastes. The city should be large enough to accommodate the growing population of Dubai. The mission is to engage the society positively in order to participate in preserving the environment. The leadership of this city hopes to have an environment that has the capacity to sustain the increasing population.
Project Plan, Time, and Budget
The Project Outline
Objectives of the Project
The following are some of the objectives that this city should consider maintaining. The objectives are meant to satisfy marketing requirements, financial capacity of the city and the general image of this city in the selected market.
- The city of Dubai should be increased in size in terms of land mass in order to sustain the increasing population.
- The environment should be free from all other wastes. The city should deregister companies that do not consider coming up with a strategy of eliminating wastes from the environment.
- The city should have a clear strategy of how various firms working in this city can manage their wastes.
- The community should be sensitized to eliminate all forms of environmental pollution. This can be achieved by running adverts in both mass and social media. The community should be made to appreciate that it has a role to play in ensuring that the environment is kept clean.
- The society should be made to appreciate the importance of continued environmental conservation even after the departure of the team from this company.
The above objectives satisfy the SMART criteria of a good project. They are very specific because they aim at eliminating all forms of wastes, besides the main aim of increasing the land area for the city. They are measurable because after the project, it would be easy to determine the size of the city and the level of pollution in the environment. The project is achievable because the region of focus is specific. The team has the financial capacity to meet the obligations.
Project Implementation
This project would be very important in ensuring that this city succeeds in becoming the center for business. It would bring out a favorable image of the city in the world. When implemented successfully, it would be possible for the city to sustain increased population because most individuals are attracted to the lucrative business opportunities in Dubai. It would have a competitive advantage in the world as a city that is concerned with the welfare of its populace. It would be possible to convince the world that this city is more concerned about the social well being of the society and it is determined to transform it to a better place to live. Therefore, businesspersons would find it easy to conduct business activities in the city.
Gaps Skills
This project is very ambitious. However, it requires individuals who understand technical aspects of land reclamation. The city has a limited number of employees who are experts in this area. There will be need to ensure that enough workforce is hired for this task. The management of this city is forced to look for the workforce from other places, especially the western countries. This would be important to ensure that the project obtains the right expertise for this job (Panneerselvam, 2010). This would definitely increase the total cost of the project because the outsourced labor demand an extra pay for the tasks they are hired to undertake. This would also contribute to the delay in finishing some of the activities of the project as the concerned authorities in the city would have to take time looking for the right workforce.
Feasibility Analysis
The current world is very competitive and it requires cities to come up with appropriate formulas of managing competition. This project is geared towards ensuring that this city gains some advantage in the world by increasing the land area. There is a very strong competition from other cities, such as Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, to become the economic centers in this region (Kanda, 2011). An emerging crop of investors who prefer robust cities exist. Such individuals would always demand specious cities that support its populace. These people have the capacity to spend most of their wealth in the country. If they can be convinced to invest in the city, the project would be able to regenerate and repay the amount of money that was used in its development. This project is viable because the city stands to gain a lot when it expands. It would cost this city a considerable amount of money. The city would need to spend over $ 100 million to make it have the impact that it expects. However, this amount and much more would be recovered through increased business transactions in the city.
Project Risks
Although this strategy is very beneficial to the city, it has some risks that may affect the city in one way or the other. The leading risk of this project, as explained above, is the financial constrain. The project will require a lot of financial investment. The management of this city would be forced to invest heavily in this project, some of which may have to be borrowed. The society may also fail to appreciate the effort made by the city officials in coming up with the project (Murch, 2004). As such, they may not consider helping it in repaying any debt that could have been taken to finance the project. The city can mitigate the financial risks by setting aside enough finances for such activities on a yearly basis. In order to ensure that the society appreciates the work of the management, the management should consider engaging them directly in activities of the project.
Timeline for the Project
In every project, there must be a clear schedule that should be followed to ensure that it achieves its objectives. This project should be completed within four months. The system should be up and running within the four months from the day it is officially launched. The Gantt chart below specifies the activities that will be carried out in this project.
The above Gantt chart demonstrates all the activities that should be accomplished within a specified time. The activities should be accomplished within a time span of four months. The activities should be done within the specified time in order to achieve the desired results in the best way possible.
Corporate structure
Jumeirah Palm project would be started by the Government of Dubai in a bid to expand the city. The project is wholly owned by the government of Dubai. It would have a management structure that is very similar to that of a firm. The project would be run in the same way a firm is run, with a management structure that is answerable to the government of Dubai. The management of this project would use simple strategies in order to control the operations of the project. As the project expands, the management should realize that there would be need to have a clear management structure. The project would have to acquire employees who would constantly ensure that the activities of the project are run smoothly (Heldman, 2011). The number of employees would be on the rise, as the Jumeirah Palm would become a fully-fledged profitable project in the city of Dubai. The management would realize that there would be need to have a centralized management system that would help it run its operations with the least effort ever and free from direct control by the government of Dubai.
The corporate management structure of this project would be a systematic process that would not come into place suddenly. The management would start by bringing together various departments that would be responsible for various tasks. The management would also employ a legal counsel who could represent the government in its daily operations. The project currently has a very complex management structure. The owner, which is the government of Dubai, has realized that the best way to manage the corporate world is to come up with a corporate structure that would enhance functionality of the project. The figure below shows corporate governance model for this project.
Evaluating the Project Decisions and Competitiveness
Jumeirah Palm is a very ambitious project that would make this city very competitive as a business center in the world. The management has to come up with mechanisms through which it could attract investors into the city upon completion. The management realized that the Emirati nationals and other foreigners who reside in this city highly value ethics. It has therefore, come up with two main strategies to manage the behavior of individuals in this city. The management has ethics, as well as employee management as a way of gaining competitive advantage. Ethics, morality, and law are some of the ingredients of a business set up that a firm cannot assume its importance. Investors will always look for a city where the society observes the rule of law and obeys ethics to help in the running of various activities in the firm (Mitch, 2004). A business unit has responsibilities that must be fulfilled in order to be seen as a moral firm. These include economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary measures. The project has an economic and a social responsibility to the society in general. Jumeirah Palm has been very responsible to its stakeholders. The project has been very successful in its operations, making stakeholders have good value for their input. Legally, this project has respected laws and regulations that are put in place to protect the environment. One of the main reasons why it was started was to have extra land where wastes could be disposed. It has been keen to ensure that it adheres to the set laws on environmental conservation. As a way of protecting the environment, the project has introduced policies to all the stakeholders, which must be observed. It has also been a champion of a clean green environment in Dubai.
There has been a call for the world’s major industrialized cities to cut down on their emission of greenhouse gases. It is only a few cities, Dubai city being among them, which have taken a positive reaction to this call (Lewis, 2006). It recently launched a corporate social responsibility to help clean the environment in the entire Dubai. The project has also sponsored planting of trees in various regions around the country, especially in major cities such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It has also endeavored to employ the locals in various activities where they feel the locals are qualified. This is to ensure that it is responsible to the locals as much as possible. The project has also maintained morality and ethics among its employees. It has encouraged ethical behavior among its workforce, by defining specific code of conducts for all its employees.
This way, its employees are able to asses themselves and determine if they are on the right path as far as their behavior is concerned. Management has always factored in the opinions of the employees because it believes that they are the engine of the project. They have been given the opportunity to give their views on how the project can be enhanced in order to give the best service to the locals. This is a utilitarian approach to ethics where decision-making process is based on how well it would satisfy the stakeholders. The project management team respects individual rights in the project, irrespective of the position held. Justice and fairness is one other guiding principle in the project that has been relevant to the firm’s current success.
Project Progress, Reporting, and Managing Project Risk
Strategy can only be beneficial if it is implemented properly. The government of Dubai will not be directly responsible for the operations of this newly created project. However, the project must be able to generate enough finance that can pay back the amount of money that was used to start it. The government will however appoint officials who will be in charge of its management. The officials will be monitoring the progress of the project at regular intervals (Kousholt, 2007). The officials will then make a report to the management on some of the changes that may be necessary. The officials will come up with recommendations on how to manage project risks. The government would then respond appropriately on how to manage these risks.
References
Choudhury, S. (1988). Project management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill.
Heldman, K. (2011). Project management jumpstart. Hoboken: Wiley.
Kanda, A. (2011). Project management: A life cycle approach. New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited.
Kousholt, B. (2007). Project management: theory and practice. New York: Cengage.
Lewis, J. (2006). Fundamentals of project management. New York: American Management Association.
Mitch, R. (2004). Project management. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall PTR.
Murch, R. (2004). Project management: best practices for IT professionals. Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall PTR.
Panneerselvam, R. (2010). Project management. New Delhi: PHI Learning.
Reid, A. (1999). Project management: Getting it right. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Roberts, P. (2011). Effective project management. London: Kogan Page.