Selling Project to the Management
This paper will follow order# 114243 Selling a project to the right management is critical to its survival and
overall success.
Purpose: From the project from order# 114243, support for this project and the projects standing in the
strategy of the business. Elaborate on how you will develop and implement the process to convince
management of its promising benefits and operational effectiveness.
Description: Answer the following discussions:
Now that you have identified critical information over the previous weeks do you see any risks in selling
this project to your management team? Explain
You have indicated whether this project fits the strategic plan for the business.
IF this project fits the strategic plan, explain how you plan to present this project to your management?
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IF this project does NOT fit the strategic plan, explain how you plan to present this project to your
management
Selling Project to the Management
Introduction
Management survival and success is to a great extent influenced by the ability to sell the
project to the right management. To achieve this, the project must be feasible and present
undisputable benefits and demonstrate operational effectiveness. The project should also be
aligned with the organization’s strategic plan and hence ensure that it adds value to the
organization. This paper details how I will convince the management on the potential benefits
and operational effectiveness of the Samsung Galaxy A10 project. This involves the
development and implementation of the process of convincing the management.
Risks in selling the project
Selling the project to the management presents various risks, mostly based on how
strategic the project is in relation to the organization’s goals and objectives. There is the risk of
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having the project rejected by the management if it is not considered feasible enough to warrant
funding. Such decisions are informed by factors such as return on investment, presence of more
promising projects and management judgment among other factors. Shenar & Dvir (2013) note
that at any particular time, managers have to make a decision based on numerous project
proposals.
The second risk is that the project may not be within the company’s immediate goals and
aspirations. Samsung implements numerous projects depending on what is considered most
strategic for the company to compete effectively. If the company’s objective is to promote its
electronics business for example, the likelihood of a mobile phone project being funded may
lower than a project for developing new television technology. The company’s priorities thereby
determine the feasibility of the project. Unfortunately, mobile phone technology is phased out
quickly and therefore the project cannot be effectively pushed forward to a later date and it
would therefore remain fruitless.
The third risk is that the associated cost may limit the company from investing in the
project. This would render the project futile, despite the efforts invested towards its
development. Hulett (2012) notes that managers are often biased towards costs and the likelihood
of judging the project based on costs are high. This means that the presentation must be
convincing enough to make managers look beyond costs and instead consider the impact and
future potential of the project. In the event that managers are more concerned about the project
cost but find the idea worthwhile, the budget may need to be adjusted, which may impact on
certain project parameters.
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The ability of the plan to communicate the impact and show costs versus benefits is of
great importance. In presenting the project plan, this may not come out as effectively as it should
and this presents a risk of the management not understanding the process well (Swathi, 2015).
This is the fourth risk and which is mostly associated with the presenter’s ability to connect with
the audience, such that what is presented is interpreted in the intended manner. If the
management for example fails to capture the idea and justification, the project may end up being
rejected. This may also be influenced by personal factors such as bias towards certain technology
and past experience with similar projects.
Project presentation plan
This project aligns well with Samsung’s strategic plan, which seeks to provide customers
with the highest quality products and the latest phone technology. This insinuates that the project
plan involving the production of Samsung Galaxy A10 will be well embraced by the
management. It is however important to note that managers are presented with numerous
projects, all with high potential to positively impact the organization’s bottom line. Accordingly,
the presentation must appeal to the management based on its ability to contribute to the
organization’s performance and its feasibility (Maley, 2012). In this regard, demonstrating the
alignment of the project to the organization’s strategy is imperative. The presenter’s zeal and
passion also contributes significantly to the management’s decision on the project. In this
relation, I intend to present the project to the management as detailed below.
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The first thing is to prepare effectively for the selling meeting. This includes
understanding the project concept and processes, identifying the managers who will be present at
the meeting and thinking about potential questions and queries that they may have (Duarte,
2012). Swathi (2015) notes that the trick is to be adequately prepared for the presentation by
mastering the facts of the project including the project plans and deliverables, budgets,
timelines, risk analysis, possible challenges and how these factors influence the organization’s
position.
Besides understanding the components of the project, I will ensure that I demonstrate the
knowledge on the problem, which is keeping up with competition, meeting customer growing
needs and enhancing profitability; and the solution, which is producing a phone with improved
capabilities such as the A10. I will ensure that I effectively demonstrate how the benefits
associated with the project are likely to impact on the organization’s profitability. It is at this
point that I will indicate how the project feeds into the organization’s strategy. As noted by
Maley (2012), a project is more likely to be accepted if it contributes to the company’s strategic
goals; hence the reason why it is considered an important aspect when selling a project to the
management.
An important factor to consider is to ensure that the management fully understands the
value addition potential of the project (Shenar & Dvir, 2013). Quality, customer satisfaction and
industry leadership are major concerns for Samsung. A project that promises to improve these
aspects is therefore likely to receive positive feedback from the management. In this regard, I
would make quality and customer satisfaction my focus; indicating how the project would lead to
significant growth in the market share based on the high quality and unique smart phone. To
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further justify the A10 project, I would demonstrate the phone’s superiority to competing brands
and how this would ensure that Samsung can compete effectively in the smart phone industry. A
comparison of various smart phones in the same category would serve the purpose of
demonstrating how the A10 will compete in the market. This approach is considered effective
because it makes major strategy objectives and potential value addition the focus of the
presentation.
In presenting the project, it is important that I make the management aware of overall
project risks and challenges that are likely to affect the timeline. This should also include the
mitigation plans to ensure that the project is successfully completed. Being open about the
project shortcomings ensures that the management anticipates such challenges, as opposed to
where the presentation only shows the perfect side of the project, only for the challenges to
emerge when the project is underway (Thamhain, 2013).
Making a presentation and answering questions may not always be enough to provide
adequate information regarding the project. Therefore, I plan to come up with reference
documents that can be distributed to the panel for further reference. The documents will provide
the information presented in details and with additional models and graphical presentations.
It is important that I leave the management convinced about the project and my
presentation must therefore end with a reemphasis of the project’s contribution to the company.
This will involve repeating the project goals and objectives and how its implementation will
influence the company’s ability to compete effectively in the smart phone market.
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To ensure that I address the management questions effectively, I intend to familiarize
myself with all the project details, including mitigation plans for possible challenges that are
likely to be picked from the presentation (Soriano, 2012). This may be anticipated through prior
circulation of the project document to the concerned managers and asking them to make
comments on possible issues that they would like to be addressed.
Conclusion
It is clear from this discussion that convincing managers to accept a project can be a
daunting task and the presentation must be done in such a way that it is highly persuasive. This
includes demonstrating the impact of the project to company strategy and future performance.
This discussion also establishes that there are various risks that could emerge the presentation of
the project; thus limiting the management’s ability to adopt the project.
In developing the presentation, I will ensure that I emphasize on how the project will affect
quality, customer service and profitability. I will also ensure that I am well prepared by
understanding all aspects of the project and answering all queries and concerns effectively.
Finally, reemphasizing the relevance of the project to the company’s strategic objectives will
play an important role in ensuring the managers are well convinced.
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References
Duarte, N. (2012). How to Present to Senior Executives.