Over the years, E has had a number of business successes in the building trade and property development. Her latest venture is to build a hotel in YX town. E has already gained the financial backing, identified a suitable site, had an architect draw up plans and received planning permission. She wants the construction work on the hotel to begin without delay.   

E has appointed P to be the project manager on the basis of his impressive record of managing successful construction projects. Though, conflicts are already emerging as E is interfering in the management of the project. She is frustrated by the time P says he needs for the project planning phase, and is irritated by his insistence on formalising the project management process. E is putting pressure on P to cut corners in the first stages of the project, and to get started on the construction of the hotel.

Discuss the potential problems that the hotel project could face without good project planning.

A key part of the planning stage of the project management process contains defining clear objectives and setting realistic estimates in terms of budget and time and resources required.  Without this, it is unlikely that an estimation of the baseline budget and project schedule can be constructed to present a realistic assessment of the time and funding needed, and the resources required for the successful execution of the hotel project. The outcome could be that the project ends up with unrealistic timescales and the dissimilar activities may not be sequenced logically, to make the most effective and efficient use of resources. This could also result in budget overspend and delays in several stages of the project. Ultimately the hotel project may fail to be completed on time.