Explain how a cost plan can assist in managing costs

Reference no: EM133605085

Manage Business Resources

Assessment Task 1: Knowledge questions

Questions
Provide answers to all of the questions below:

Complete the table below to describe information sources necessary when planning for resources. The first row has been completed as an example for you to follow.

Complete the table below to describe the requirements for resources included in operational plans:
Explain the importance of budgetary control.

Explain how a cost plan can assist in managing costs and its use over the project life cycle.

List two organisational policies and procedures that may apply to cost management in relation projects and resources.

Explain four procedures that a company could use to minimise risk.

Explain how legislation and its related regulatory requirements relate to risk management. In your answer:

identify two different legislative and regulatory requirements that may apply to risk management.

for each legislative requirement, explain how it relates to risk management.

provide one example of how regulations support one of the legislation.

The broader environment impacts on a business. Provide one example of how potential changes in government priorities can impact a business and the risk management strategies that can be put in place.

Discuss the purpose of risk management standards. Include an example of a risk management standard in your answer.

Assessment Task 2: Project Portfolio

Assessment information
Information about how you should complete this assessment can be found in Appendix A of the Business Works Student User Guide. Refer to the appendix for information on:
where this task should be completed
how your assessment should be submitted.
Note: You must complete and submit an assessment cover sheet with your work. A template is provided in Appendix B of the Student User Guide.

Activities
Complete the following activities:

Carefully read the following:

This project requires you to manage business resources by developing, implementing and reviewing three resource plans.
These resources can be any type of resources that are needed to meet the business or project's objectives including physical and/or human resources.
Resources may include:
Hardware / software
Buildings / plant / machinery
Vehicles
Marketing or branding assets
Books / training resources
Intellectual Property
Human resources (e.g., labourers / customer service or administration staff)
You can do this based on the assumption that you are the team leader of a case study business.
Vocational education and training is all about gaining and developing practical skills that are industry relevant and that can help you to succeed in your chosen career.
You will be collecting evidence for this unit in a Project Portfolio. The steps you need to take are outlined below. Before you begin, complete page 4 of your Project Portfolio.

Analyse resource requirements

To start with, read through the Simulation Pack, or other related business information.

Start working through Section 1 of your Project Portfolio. In order to do this, you will be required to:
Review the business planning
Outline the business context and the regulatory and legislative considerations
Consult with relevant stakeholders to find out the nature and level of resourcing required

Determine the internal resourcing capabilities and any external resourcing requirements
Plan for sharing of resources across departments or business units.
If using the case study in the simulation pack for this unit, you need to select one of the operational activities provided to you in the operational plan extract. Three different resources have been identified for each different activity that you will base your project on.
There are a range of activities outlined that meet the two different business objectives. Read through this information and select the activity and three resources related to that activity. A range of policies and procedures related to finance authorisation, procurement, privacy, communication and recruitment have been provided for the range of different resources you might select.

As part of this step, you are required to consult with relevant stakeholders (at least two) to find out the nature and level of resourcing required. If in the workplace, you can meet with real stakeholders and invite your assessor to attend in person, online or record the meeting/s for them to watch later.
Your assessor will be looking to see that you can:
Use structure and language appropriate to the context of the meeting and the types of stakeholders you are meeting with.
Collaborate and negotiate the nature and level of resource requirements to inform planning
demonstrate effective communication skills including:
Speaking clearly and concisely
Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
Asking questions to identify required information
Responding to questions as required
Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding.
You can arrange only one meeting to discuss the three resource plans if the same stakeholders are involved for all three plans. This may be the case for a smaller business with a one-person (or smaller) management team. Or you may need to have more meetings if the company needs to include more stakeholders, for example, the HR department and other business or operational units and it's more appropriate to have more than one meeting. You will specify this in Section 1 of your Project Portfolio and include evidence of all the meetings including observations or video recordings as relevant to your situation.
i This meeting should take 20 minutes.
This meeting may take place with your assessor or you may like to video record the session for your assessor to watch later. Your assessor can provide you with more details at this step. Make sure you follow the instructions above and
meet the timeframes allocated. If this session is not viewed in person by your assessor, you will attach proof of the meeting to Section 1 of your Project Portfolio.

Submit Section 1 of your Project Portfolio and include all attachments as required in this section.

Develop resource plans

Develop your three resource plans in Section 2 of your Project Portfolio. As part of this step, for all three resource plans, you need to plan for:
The costs and budget associated with the resources
Timelines
The acquisition and allocation of the resources
Risk management and contingency planning
After you have completed Section 2 of your project portfolio, develop a formal Scope of Requirements document in a template of your choice (or a specific workplace template if relevant), that can be sent to the selected vendors once approval from management has been granted. Attach this to section 2 of your project portfolio.
Develop a system for monitoring the resource usage that includes a policy and procedures for the evaluation of the resource allocations.
As part of the next activity steps, you will need to follow this procedure when you evaluate and report on the resource usage.
Attach these procedures to your portfolio in Section 2.
i There are three separate resource plans in Section 2 of your Project Portfolio. You need to complete all three separately for each of the resources.
As part of this step, you are required to obtain the necessary approvals for your plans. If using the case study, develop an email requesting approval from the Operations Manager for your plans and attach it to your portfolio.

Submit Section 2 of your Project Portfolio and include all attachments as required in this section.

Implement your planning and allocate the resources

It's now time to put your planning into action by negotiating and obtaining the resources according to your plans. This needs to be completed within the timeframes outlined in your planning and according to all other organisational requirements such as procurement policies. As part of this step, you will need to provide evidence that you have done this for all three of your plans which will include:
obtaining quotes
obtaining the necessary approvals to move forward arranging the acquisition of the resources. Refer to Section 3 of your Portfolio for more details.Ensure to work in line with the resource allocation and monitoring system and procedures developed in the previous activity step.Complete Section 3 of your Project Portfolio to record this evidence.If using the case study, you can assume that your manager has approved your recommendation after you send the email recommending your preferred suppliers. If in the workplace, attach any approvals you received as part of the process.

Submit Section 3 of your Project Portfolio and include all attachments as required in this section.

Review and report on resource usage

If completing this in the workplace, a period of time needs to have passed so that you have data to review. There must also be at least one corrective action that needs to be implemented for at least one of the resources. If using the case study, your assessor will provide you with some specific information tailored to your unique portfolio.

Review the data about the resource usage for all three resources and develop a report that includes information on the usage of these three resources. In your report include:
An overview of the level of performance achieved in relation to the resource usage.
How the resource usage helped meet the business unit's objectives.
Suggest improvements to work practices that increase efficiency of these resources.
Provide a review of the compliance of the program and adherence to the budget.
Report on corrective action where there has been a budget overrun or goals haven't been met and an action that has been implemented to achieve optimal efficiency of the resources (at least one corrective action must need to be completed for at least one resource and evidence of this needs to be provided as an attachment in this section).
Work into Section 4 of your project portfolio to plan your report and corrective action and then from your notes develop a formal report and include this report as an attachment in this section.

Case Study - WORLDUCATION

Information specific to this project
At a recent board meeting, the Board of directors approved the development of a cloud-based solution where customers can access the software remotely on their own devices.
The CEO asked every manager to create an operational plan to implement this model in their department.
The Sales manager has decided to address the objectives "increase sales to increase donations to needy classrooms" and "strengthen the skills of our people, to better support customers".
Activities that need to be implemented that relate to the first objective include:
Activity 1: Create an online advert for the new product (quoted price of $25,000)
Activity 2: Arrange a live demonstration for existing customers
Activity 3: Create rewards program to reward school based on number of downloads Activities related to the second objective include:
Activity 1: Train sales staff to use new product
Activity 2: Organise school visits
Activity 3: Sponsorship program to develop personal relationships between less fortunate children and sales staff
A dedicated new in-house trainer will be required to provide training on the new product to staff and clients and an advertising consultant is needed to create a multi-media advert.

Section 1: Analyse resource requirements

Complete this section before the stakeholder meeting/s.

Provide an overview of the business and its strategic objectives and goals.
Describe the regulatory and legislative context of the business that relates to managing resources.
Outline the specific objectives of the business unit/s that you are basing this project on.
E.g., business unit, project or department that requires these resources.

Resource 1 Which resource are you going to focus on for this project and which activity does it relate to?
Resource 2 Which resource are you going to focus on for this project and which activity does it relate to?
Resource 3 Which resource are you going to focus on for this project and which activity does it relate to?

Describe the stakeholders you need to meet with to discuss the nature and level of resource planning for all three resources.

Why are these stakeholders part of the consultation process?
These may be separate stakeholders or the same ones for all three resources depending on the size and nature of the business
When is this meeting/s set for?
Provide the details of when and where this meeting/s is occurring
What are the internal capabilities of the business in relation to the resourcing requirements?

What are the external resourcing requirements?
Outline any supplier or purchasing considerations, budget or anything else relevant to obtaining quotations here.
Provide an outline of the agenda / main discussion points for this meeting/s.
Copy and paste this row if you are having more than one meeting and fill one out for each meeting.

Complete this section after the stakeholder meeting/s.

Summarise the outcomes of the meeting/s.
Include any decisions that were made and next steps.
Copy and paste this row if you are having more than one meeting and fill one out for each meeting.

Section 2: Planning for resources

You need to complete all three of the plans in this section for three different resources.

Resource Plan 1
Description of resource bid.
Options.
Outline suitable options that may suit
Budget and costs.
Outline the total budget and provide a break down of the costs associated with this resource

What are the timelines for identifying suitable resources and the acquisition of this resource?
Explain how the resource will be obtained/purchased following policy and procedures.
Explain the approval process for this resource.

Resource monitoring usage system
Develop a monitoring system that can be used to monitor the usage and success of this resource in meeting business or project objectives.
Establish a measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
Show how you approached establishing the KPI in a mathematical way using problem-solving.
List ways to monitor the KPI including a timeframe for evaluation.
Develop a formal policy and procedure document and attach to this section (note you can develop just one Resource Usage Policy with different sections for all three resources if you would like to do it this way).

Risk and contingency planning
Complete the table to assess risks and develop contingencies for resources you are planning for.

Potential risks Planned Response
Risk associated with the acquisition or implementation of the resource How will you mitigate the risk?

Resource Plan 2
Description of resource bid.
Options.
Outline suitable options that may suit
Budget and costs.
Outline the total budget and provide a break down of the costs associated with this resource

Risk and contingency planning
Complete the table to assess risks and develop contingencies for resources you are planning for.

Potential risks Planned Response
Risk associated with the acquisition or implementation of the resource How will you mitigate the risk?

Resource Plan 3
Description of resource bid.
Options.
Outline suitable options that may suit
Budget and costs.
Outline the total budget and provide a break down of the costs associated with this resource

Risk and contingency planning
Complete the table to assess risks and develop contingencies for resources you are planning for.

Potential risks Planned Response
Risk associated with the acquisition or implementation of the resource How will you mitigate the risk?

Section 3: Resource acquisition

Resource 1 acquisition
Summarise the process you went through to receive quotations for this resource.
Organisational compliance
How did you adhere to your organisational procurement policy and procedures when receiving quotations?
Timelines
How did you meet the timelines you planned for?

Quotations
List the suppliers/vendors you received quotations from
Attach these quotations to this section of your portfolio
Supplier preference and recommendation
Which supplier do you prefer and why? Summarise your reasons here.
Develop an email outlining your recommendations to the relevant manager and attach this.
Describe how you arranged the delivery / receival of the resource and the processes followed for allocation.
Attach any evidence here as part of the process E.g., emails
/ receipts or delivery documentation, internal communication to staff.
If using the case study you don't actually need to purchase and receive the resource but you can make assumptions and develop emails or internal
communications about allocation as part of the simulation.

Section 4: Evaluation

Resource 1 evaluation
Provide an overview of the level of performance of the resource according to the data reviewed.
Has the resource been used in line with the product specifications and product/service standards?
How has the resource usage been used according to the budget for this resource? Were there any budget overruns? Explain reasons if this was the case.

Suggest improvements to work practices that could increase efficiency of this resource.
Does a corrective action need to be taken in relation to this resource? If yes, summarise this here and then implement it. Attach evidence of this implementation in this section.
Note: There only needs to be one corrective action taken for one resource. Write NA here if you have taken this for another resource.

Resource 2 evaluation
Provide an overview of the level of performance of the resource according to the data reviewed.
Has the resource been used in line with the product specifications and product/service standards?
How has the resource usage been used according to the budget for this resource? Were there any budget overruns? Explain reasons if this was the case.

Resource 3 evaluation
Provide an overview of the level of performance of the resource according to the data reviewed.
Has the resource been used in line with the product specifications and product/service standards?
How has the resource usage been used according to the budget for this resource? Were there any budget overruns? Explain reasons if this was the case.

Reference no: EM133605085

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