Thornhill Community Health Group Project Management Plan

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Project Background
Structure And Contents Of The Project Management Plan
Contents Of The Project Management Plan
Conclusion
Recommendation
List Of References

Introduction

Thornhill community project is a neighborhood community project whose center of attention is on the welfare of its people. Therefore, this report is crucial since it analyses the Thornhill community project with regard to how it conducts itself in enhancing the lives of its members.

This emanates from the fact that a community project is normally established to deal with critical issues affecting members of a community, such as health, cognitive behavioral development, as well as training programs (Tallon 2010: 144). However, such a project normally faces a number of dilemmas when it comes to managing the financial and human resource (Chopra 2005:455).

Brown (2009: 25) states that a community project is faced with a number of challenges since a successful human resource for a community project calls for a framework that is time consuming. In addition, the most effective approach for assigning a financial and human resource framework requires a critical approach and a thorough evaluation.

A community project is vulnerable to financial constraints since the project’s proposal calls for good planning of the budget as well as a clear definition of the scope of the project’s tasks with a specified timeline to accomplish its goals.

This is attributed to fact that community projects rely on donors’ funds, which prefer their funds to be used within a specified period (Brosius et al. 2005: 261). Thus, this report is structured in a manner that gives an impression on how Thornhill community project can attain sustainability on human and capital resources.

Project Background

KEgoodpractices.org (2011) points out that Thornhill Community Health Group is located in Southampton, which is only 5miles from Southampton city center. This project is a sponsored project, and its main aim is to cater for the need of the deprived and underprivileged in the economical and social sphere, including health inequalities, unemployment state, as well as low aspirations state.

The Thornhill community’s participatory budget is able to handle the needs of the needy people through an additional funding from the local government of England as well as through the communities department.

The Participatory budget, which facilitates participation of citizens in matters pertaining to community’s welfare, helps to enhance the budgets and provide insight on setting up priorities for the entire community. These roles are of paramount importance to the members of this community, as this community needs support in diverse areas due to a number of reasons, which include

Some community members express feelings of loneliness, and they would like to have an access of social activities in their area,
Some community members would like to be assisted with an advocate or a representative who will ensure adequate representation of legal matters in the criminal justice system.
Disabled community members of the community members would like their needs to be acknowledged and met,
Some community members would like to challenge an opinion made by the authority governing their community, and
Some community members would like to express their intimidating experience and would like the perpetrators to face the law.

Structure And Contents Of The Project Management Plan

Justification of the Project

Thornhill Community Health Group is truly a community project since it involves all members of the community in the decision making process. The main aim of a community project is create an avenue for democracy to the local community in a bid to empower them in decision pertaining to their particular community (KEgoodpractices.org 2011).

Hence, every person is made to feel part of the community, and this, in turn, helps the project to get a clear knowledge that it holds the capacity of addressing the decisions that affect their community members’ day-to-day lives. As a result, all people within the community become actively involved in the decision making process since their feelings are validated.

There are diverse reasons why project management techniques can be adopted in managing this project. The Thornhill community Health Group has a wide scope of members, hence necessitating the need for financial management, time management, effective communication with stakeholders, and risks management, which help this project to attain a number of project’s benefits.

These benefits include the social development, health benefits resulting from advice based on healthy living, benefits resulting from information pertaining to community’s safety, crime prevention initiatives through the youth programs, and job-training benefits (KEgoodpractices.org 2011).

According to (Aucoin 2007: 271), project management techniques can facilitate a number of positive contributions to a community project since they contribute to a number of factors, which include

Increased democratic space due to an increase in opportunities for decision making;
Increased peoples empowerment through involving all members of the community;
Improved mobilization of the resources, energy, and resources;
Improved decision-making process; and
Increased fight against segregation, as the main goal of the community project is to provide services, especially to members of the community who are disadvantaged or marginalized.

Rationale for Project Management Plan

A project management plan is a document that has undergone a careful analysis in order to facilitate definition of how a particular project executes its operations, monitors the already executed operations, and defines how these operations are controlled (Schwalbe 2000: 151). A project management plan normally has unique characteristics that help in differentiating it from ordinary functions carried out on everyday basis.

Any project management plan has some requirements that are necessary for the successful start [core process] and a successful completion [facilitating processes].

By using prescriptive theory, the project management plan is able to ascertain the relationship between the actions taken through the project management plan and the corresponding goals. This is done through a number of actions including system design, systems control, and systems improvement (Ekstedt 1999: 54).

An explicit theory, on the other hand, explains project management plan with an aim of revealing the advantages associated with it. The revelation that comes forth include

Project management plan plays the role of interpreting observed behavior among the members of the community, thus enabling the project manager to predict the community’s future behavior;
Project management plan plays the role of creating an avenue for designing tools that can be used for analyzing and controlling the behaviors of the community members;
Project management plan gives room to formation of a common framework that facilitates members of the community to work in accord;
Project management plan facilitates innovations, which have the capacity of being conveyed to other management projects;
Project management plan facilitates build up of knowledge for its staff members, thus empowering all the members of the community (Academic Publishing 2008: 636).

Methods for Using the Project Management Plan

All member of Southampton community are intended to be the main audience of the project management plan, but the project puts much emphasis on the disadvantaged group (KEgoodpractices.org 2011). In order to carry out a successful implementation in the decision making process, the project manager must acquire wide knowledge and skills, as well as qualities and values.

The community members need to be provided with information pertaining to the scope of the project, time management, and financial report. Thus, the project manager must be well informed on the community’s status in order to address on health inequalities, effects of sexual harassment or rape, and other forms of needs that affect the lives and health of the community members

Ghodous (2006: 875) alleges that information should be provided to the members of the community project in a manner that outlines vigilant steps, which point out the action that should be carried out, the person responsible for the task, the timeline for performing the task, the total cost of the task, the costs already incurred, and the expected cost.

Thornhill Community Health project is in a position of clarifying the observed behavior. In addition, it has already come up with a universal language that enhances cooperation among the community members and discloses how the design and control systems can be improved (KEgoodpractices.org 2011).

The Thornhill Community project employs a number of views in managing the project. The flow view plays a significant role in the time management as well as elimination of unforeseen risks as it provides a good interdependence between diverse project’s tasks unlike the transformation view.

The community project also employs the value generation view, which endeavors to provide the community members with substantial satisfaction. This contrasts with the transformation view since the transformation view does not take into consideration that the needs of the community members should be viewed from a different perspective from the work schedule (Ghodous 2006: 876).

Relationship between the Methods for the Project Management Plan and the Theory

An effective and a competent community project is a team that is able to quickly identify the problems of the community and respond to them as they arise. The project should not only use the project manager’s knowledge, but it should also be open to the local people to give their views in order to come out with substantial results (KEgoodpractices.org 2011).

The Thornhill Community Health Group has been structured using a theory that takes into account the managerial process, which include planning, execution, and control of knowledge.

In the theory of planning, Thornhill Community project uses a number processes, which include core processes, as well as facilitating processes. The core processes define the plan, the cost, the activities, the project’s resources planning, and judgment of duration of time for the activities. An effective budgeting of the project’s cost facilitates this.

In the theory of execution, the Thornhill community project plays a critical role in ensuring that the project’s work is in accordance with the time and quality specification, as it is critical in ascertaining a project’s sustainability (Rad 2002: 67).

The project’s authorization system is designed in a manner that creates a balance between the project and the already set cost. This has influenced the manner in which authorization is practiced, as it depends on the type of project undertaken by the project.

In the theory of controlling, the process can either use performance reporting which executes corrections or overall change control, which recommends changes at the planning procedure.

Contents Of The Project Management Plan

External forces influence the Thornhill project management plan because it is a community project. Brown (2009: 26) states that community projects attract new funding since donors become more interested in the community work as it has a greater credibility than an individual organization.

However, a community project is normally faced with challenges since its success depends highly on a good budget planning as well as a clear definition of the scope of the project. This is attributed to the fact that donors like to see their funds used within a specified period, which is normally a short period (Brosius et al. 2005: 261).

Therefore, donors have an influence on the Thornhill Community project management plan since the project is forced to hold crashing techniques in fixing a project schedule. In crashing, the schedule of a project is shortened either when it wants to meet the goal within a specified period or when the project dates are too close.

For case in point, a project schedule requiring some piece of work to be done in three months can be compressed to do the same tasks in two months. Though crashing leads to completion of tasks at as a faster rate, its main disadvantage is that it can produce unsatisfactory results (Klein 2000: 88).

The Thornhill Community management project depends highly on the skills that the individuals possess (KEgoodpractices.org 2011). The number of assignments per individual depends on the schedule.

Each individual is assigned to a specific task to ensure that resources are assigned with an unbiased workload. This can be enhanced by coming up with a list indicating the type of activity to be undertaken alongside the undertaker as illustrated in Table A. below.

Task	Undertaker	Profession
Planning of projects	James	Board director
Supporting Budget	Philips	Counselor
Conflict Resolution	Rachael	Steering Committee

Table A.

The most common human resource conflict that can arise in a community project is the lack of balance in the management of human resource workloads. This can lead to over allocations or under allocation. An extra conflict may arise because of a change of the human resource assignment schedule.

Project schedule is critical because failure to observe the likely effects that can result from such adjustments in the schedule can hinder the realization of the community’s goals (Klein 2000: 93). The above project schedule [Table A] is of paramount importance as it contains viable information that can prevent under allocation of duties or even work overlap.

Thornhill Community project has a viable approach of project management plan since it provides us with a framework that resolves the issue of lack of project’s sustainability. This framework suggests that project’ consultants should have sufficient conversation with the members of the community in order to facilitate sustainable condition.

This conversation should be based on a number of factors including how workload is affected by changes taking place in the community, how the community project can come up with a project that gives room to dynamic changes, and how the project can handle its external stresses and shocks.

The Thornhill Community Health project has been sustainable since it has the capacity to assess the overall performance of the project. Klein (2000: 76-80) points out that assessing a project’s overall performance can be achieved by coming up with a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and the responsibility matrix. The WBS is a project management tool that is employed in defining and organizing the whole scope of a project.

It breaks down the plans into smaller and convenient pieces of work. Generally, a tree structure illustrates the important group activities that constitute to the main part of the project. The responsibility matrix, on the other hand, takes into account a large number of variables. It therefore plays a major role in ensuring that the project is running smoothly.

Figure A. below shows the framework used in ascertaining sustainability of the Thornhill Community Health project, as it exemplifies a number of key aspects that provide the members of the community with knowledge, opportunities, guidance, and assessment.

Figure A.

The whole framework is integrated in order to work as one team, and, at the same time, it defines the responsibility on an individual basis to a point where the dynamic process of work is recognized. The functions of all the areas of the Thornhill Community structure, however, must be well understood.

These areas involve an effective communication with the community in order to establish networks, boundaries, and the relationships with the members of the Southampton community.

Since the social values of this community are dynamic and are subject to changes, it is worthwhile to carry out a survey of old and new practices, which call for emergence of fresh needs, as a successful community project calls for updated information (Kerzner 2010:53).

Wheatley (2006: 30) affirms that an update of information on the needs of a community facilitates sustainability of a community project since the community project gets into a position of meeting present and the future needs of the people of the community. Therefore, this framework provides room for flexibility, as it serves the role of enabling change.

In addition to this, Wheatley (2006: 30-35) emphasizes on the need of incorporating love and belongingness in a community project in order to form a strong bond within the neighborhood of the project. Therefore, a sustainable community project is not only made up of vision and mission but also values that derive from the culture of the community.

The Thornhill Community Health project contains the right information since it addresses on the fact that Human resource assignment for a community project should not rely on old skills only but on the dynamic skills that an individual possess.

The number of assignments per individual should depend on a schedule. A human resource list should bear the assignments of each individual to ensure that resources are assigned with an unbiased workload. An estimate of resource needs can be measured in terms of the tasks to be undertaken.

Brown (2009: 31) points out that an estimate of the resource needs can be generated after establishing the scope of the project. This can be achieved by using resource leveling. The resource leveling is a project management tool that is used to examine unbalanced use of resources in a project.

The two main types of resource leveling include breaking things down between finishing a project within a specified length of time and finishing the tasks using the readily available financial resources (Klein 2000: 104).

Conclusion

The fact that this area is comprised of people with different needs and wants makes the involvement challenging to the project managers.

Although the community project makes an effort of conforming to the recognized theory, the technique and resources that should be applied differs from one person depending on their personal needs. Effectiveness in provision of services thus calls for the counselors to have good skills in designing projects that meet community needs.

More so, the program management plan is faced with a limitation on providing efficient services since it necessitates dedication as well as commitment (Hall et al. 2007: 494).

Education, for instance, requires a long-term commitment, and therefore the project should ascertain that it has the necessary capital resources that will enable the members to complete the education. Funds from the government cannot ensure sustainability of the project, thus creating a challenge to the project management.

Therefore, the Thornhill Community project should have a comprehensive knowledge of what affects the Southampton community, including the causes of crime, vandalism, poor environment, side effects of poor sanitation, as this gives the project the ability to dispense advice on these vices accordingly.

Acquiring this knowledge calls for dedication and commitment since some people are afraid of disclosing this information. However, this project’s management plan has strengths, which emanates from the fact that the project management helps the overall community members to gain comprehensive knowledge about life from the diverse members of the community, thus making the project to explore their issues in a complete manner.

Recommendation

The fact that whole system is integrated in order to work as one-team posses a shortcoming to the project since, according to Sanghera (2008: 186), a good program management plan should employ partially leveled resource schedule that only affects a given section of the schedule in cases of amendments. Hence, the project should only use a view that exemplifies good interdependence between diverse project’s tasks.

Additionally, the organization structure should create room for non-hierarchical communication, and, in doing so, the management will be able to find the right people to perform various project’s tasks. Hence, the project manager should believe in entrusting people who can carry out projects’ tasks effectively to meet the internal quality requirements.

However, the incompetent consultants should be laid off by sending them to conduct other assignment since the manner in which downsize is carried out affects the attitude of the community members and consequently the donors.

More over, while adapting to the new changes, it is imperative to take into account that this calls for arrangements that need to proper definition since the rate at which change is imposed can result to either negative or positive morale of the community. Thus, additional workload should be carried out in a manner that facilitates proper management of human resource.

List Of References

Academic Publishing. (2008) The 9th European Conference on Knowledge Management: Eckm 2008. Academic Conference Limited, Oxford.

Aucoin, B. M. (2007) Right-brain project management: A complementary approach. Management Concepts, Vienna, VA.

Brosius, J., Tsing, A., & Zerner, C. (2005) Communities and conservation: histories and politics of community-based natural resource management. Rowman Altamira publishers, Lanham, MD.

Brown, L. (2009) Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to save civilization. W. W. Norton & Company, New York.

Chopra, K. R. (2005) Ecosystems and human well-being: policy responses: Findings of the responses working group. Island Press, Washington.

Ekstedt, E. (1999) Neo-industrial organising: Renewal by action and knowledge formation in a project-intensive economy. Routledge, London.

Ghodous, P. (2006) Leading the web in concurrent engineering: Next generation concurrent engineering. IOS Press, Amsterdam.

Hall, K. O., Chuck-A-Sang, M., & UWI-CARICOM Project. (2007) CARICOM single market and economy: Genesis and prognosis. Ian Randle, Kingston, Jamaica.

KEgoodpractices.org. (2011). Neighbourhood Management in Thornhill, Southampton. Web.

Kerzner, H. (2010) Project management best practices: Achieving global excellence. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, N.J.

Klein, R. (2000) Scheduling of resource-constrained projects. Springer publishers, New York, NY.

Rad, P. (2002) Project estimating and cost management. Management Concepts, Vienna, Va.

Sanghera, P. (2008) Fundamentals of effective program management: A process approach based on the global standard. J. Ross Pub, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.

Schwalbe, K. (2000) Information technology project management. Course Technology, Cambridge, Ma.

Tallon, A. (2010) Urban regeneration in the UK. Routledge, London.

Wheatley, M. (2006) Leadership and the new science: Discovering order in a chaotic world (3rd ed.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco.

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