Proj6005 Sustainability In Project Portfolio Assessment Answers

1.Critically evaluate the strategic value of project management and project portfolio management, paying particular attention to their potential impact on social equity, project management life cycles, resource management and organisational change.

2. Demonstrate understanding and initiative in the application of project portfolio management tools, techniques and processes to achieve improved business practices and performance and integrate sustainable project outcomes

3. How the Westpac Incorporates sustainability in decision making and its operations

Introduction

The organization of focus will be the Westpac Corporation Banking that is located in Sydney Australia. The institution offers the basic banking services that include, receiving deposits, lending of funds, acting as underwriters and brokers (Oh, Park & Ghauri, 2013).  The company is stirred to offer the leading quality services to its customers and the community for their betterment. The company operates in New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific. Westpac targets to satisfy the financial needs of its customers through the financial services that it renders.

The introduction of project portfolio management into the institution will make the management to better manage its resources in the bid to realize the strategic and tactical goals of this great organization (Weber & Feltmate, 2016). Through instilling PPM into the organization, it will be able to monitor better and execute its various projects that will aid in meeting the set objectives in time. With the introduction of PPM at the company, the gap between the formulation of strategic policies and the implementation of the same will be shortened that explaining why lower costs will be incurred in the running of the company (McNeil, Frey & Embrechts, 2015). The projects that will be entailed in the PPM will include; Digitization of the banking services, ad-hoc reporting, data security, compliance to the recent regulations, infrastructure development. The projects will be factored in by the integration of the PPM systems.

Situation Context and Evaluation

The view of PPM considering size and Project needs

It is imperative to note that WBC is a large organization given that it is operating in various countries.  The introduction of PPM to the company will be viewed as a positive step in the realization of the company’s objectives through the cutting down of costs to ensure efficiency (Vincent, 2016). It is thus evident to say that the fact that the company will be able to enjoy the economies of scale makes the adoption of PPM to be a great move to the achievement of its end goals.

The current methods of project management and the likelihood of Improvement

The company currently manages its projects through the use of the apt method where it implements most of its projects in phases. For instance, the company has made part of its services to be accessed online such as customer care, depositing of money and accessing account balances by the clients (Khan, Fernandez & Jiang, 2016). Also, the company is using the Extreme programming which is XP software utilized in the improvement of the financial services, customer satisfaction and supports the objectives of the project's manager.

The scope of the development will be wider in that it will be more insightful in making informed decisions on which projects to take or which ones to hold. The organization will only take into consideration projects that have the highest returns and those that will make the organization realize its goals. 

Westpac as a company is concerned about the positive implications of involving itself in sustainable strategies in its operations.  To begin with, the company is aware of the social, economic, environmental and the legal requirements that directly affect its growth and survival. The company has recently devoted $10billion towards the mitigating of climate change projects by the year 2020 and an additional $25billion by the end of 2030. It is also  essential to not that the company has been selective in the granting of funds  to projects or organizations that  prompt the effects  of climate change like in the case  of the coal mine investments(Pomering, 2017).  It has also aimed at reducing its emissions from its facilities by 9% by 2020 and an impressive 34% by 2030. Through socially responsible activities, it has equipped the community with knowledge on the importance of being climate resilient and on the benefits of reducing the effects of climate change.

   The other criteria that have been used by the company are ensuring that every member of the society is financially included thus economical sustainability. That is the company can provide financial services that are sensitive to the needs of the community (Nicholas & Steyn, 2017).  The company has made the decision of complying with the UN calls for Sustainable Development Goals. The company aims at being a leader by helping the society to effectively manage their funds, improve their financial stability so that they can actively participate in the building of a sustainable economy.

The sustainability criteria also incorporate it ensuring that its executives and stake holders always acquire the up to date information that will aid in materializing the sustainability objectives of the company. In 2016, the company came up with the Stakeholder Advisory Council to educate the executives and the stakeholders on the available opportunities so as to ensure robustness in the governance of the company (Turner, 2016). Also, to achieve social equity, the company has assured that it is always informed on the needs of the stakeholders so that they can be encompassed in the making of the overall decisions (Islam, Jain & Thomson, 2016).

The scope of improvement and how it can be achieved

There is a scope for improvement more in the economic sustainability of its operations so that it can be in a position to serve a larger market that has more diverse needs in the light of the changing requirements of the customers. It involves continuous research and development on customer value, requirements and needs and then integrating it in PPM. The other factor that has to be considered is technological agility where the organization has to make sure that it is always at par with the recent developments in the banking sector.

Opportunities and Threats

Successes of Introducing PPM

The introduction of the PPM model in the organization is imperative in that it is going to create a competitive advantage for the company through the company's ability to provide unique and quality services that most of its competitors are not conversant with. Also, the implementation of the PPM  can be done  both in the local  offices of the company and also  internationally which explains what the market share of the company  will increase comparatively with the continued  use of the PPM  model (Daniel, Ward,  & Franken, 2014). Also, the company will be on par with the recent developments that are emerging in the industry more so the rapid adoption of the PPM model in most of the banking organizations. Lastly, it is evident that with the introduction of the PPM model, the company will be able to fully satisfy the needs of the time adverse customers want to be part of the digitization of most of their services (Schwab, 2015).

Challenges of adopting PPM and how to curb them

The company will experience some threats when it implements the PPM model.  It is clear that the model is not new in the market and probably most of the competitors are implementing it and thus it will be significant for the company to correctly utilize the PPM model in the most precise way and the light of the strategic objectives of the company.  The other threat is the fact that the organization will have to incur more costs in the training of the project managers on the best way to incorporate PPM in the operations (Kaiser, El Rabbi, & Aleman, 2015). It is thus up to the organization to ensure that enough funds are disbursed to the training of the staff so that every member of the organization is conversant with the working and the objectives to be met through the introduction of PPM. Lastly, the utilization of PPM systems prompts change that most of the employees are resistant about. The company thus has to ensure that it introduces a change management strategy that will support change.

Development of the Plan

Key elements of the PPM and Its Impact on the Goals

The PPM planning incorporates key elements that must be taken into consideration. The key features include the cost that will be entailed to aid in the realization of the PPM completely.  The element has an impact on the objective of the organization for the organization is stirred to run its operations in an effective. It is thus basic to note that the introduction of the PPM in the company should not lead to inefficiencies (Finnerty, 2013). The other factor is the time that the model will require. If the time frame of the model is significant in the planning process of the PPM. The PPM should be able to be within the time limits of the company.  If the PPM takes a longer period than that which was specified, then the organization will not be able to achieve the strategic and tactical objectives within the stipulated time.

To add on, quality of the results of the PPM model is also a primary factor to consider. The quality of the results is of the essence in that the company has the role ensuring that the services that are always rendered to meet the satisfaction levels of the customers. If quality services are met, then the company is in a better position to adopt the program because it will make it necessary for the organization to meet its success motives (Strang, 2014). Moreover, the risk that is associated with the project is paramount in the establishment of the viability of the project that is in question.  It is considerate to state that if the project is too risky, then the company may avoid it for it may have a negative impact on the attainment of the goals of the company.  The risks that are taken should correspond with the benefits that will be accrued by the organization.

PPM model of choice and the reason for choosing it

 The PPM model that is the most feasible for Westpac is the Unified Portfolio Management Model. The UPPM is essential for the company in its plan to integrate PPM in its operations. UPPM allows for the governance and easy management of the portfolio. The model also has fewer threats as compared to the other models, and thus the company will enjoy more benefits.

Implementation of PPM

The   PPM can best be implemented at Westpac through the training of the staff on how to handle the PPM model in the company. Also, it should ensure that the technologies that are available are those that can support the PPM systems.  The management of the company should also be made to support the PPM so that the PPM model can be fully be integrated into the organization (DeAngelo & Stulz, 2015). Instigating of the management support is the ability to encourage the continuous improvement of the PPM.  Lastly,   it can be put into action through the defining of the scope of the projects or the programs that are to be monitored or supervised by the PPM models.

Tools and Techniques

The tools that are available for managing types of Project Portfolios and the most viable for Westpac

The techniques that have the capability of securing the types of project portfolios that are available.  The methods include the formation of a shared mission in regards for the PPM.  The managers are also supposed to develop proficient skills in the management of the projects.  The other technique includes governance of the portfolio and risk management (Anantatmula & Webb, 2016). The techniques that will be the most viable for the organization will be to equip the project managers with the right skills that will help them to coordinate the projects most desirable. The other technique is to ensure that the company engages in risk management techniques to allow the company to mitigate and to prevent the potential risks that the company may experience.

References

Anantatmula, V. S., & Webb, J. B. (2016). Critical chain method in traditional project and Portfolio management situations. In Project Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 1005-1022). IGI Global.

Daniel, E. M., Ward, J. M., & Franken, A. (2014). A dynamic capabilities perspective of IS project portfolio management. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(2), 95- 111.

DeAngelo, H., & Stulz, R. M. (2015). Liquid-claim production, risk management, and bank capital structure: Why high leverage is optimal for banks. Journal of Financial Economics, 116(2), 219-236.

Finnerty, J. D. (2013). Project financing: Asset-based financial engineering. John Wiley & Sons.

Islam, M. A., Jain, A., & Thomson, D. (2016). Does the global reporting initiative influence sustainability disclosures in Asia-Pacific banks?. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 23(3), 298-313.

Kaiser, M. G., El Arbi, F., & Ahlemann, F. (2015). Successful project portfolio management beyond project selection techniques: Understanding the role of structural alignment. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), 126-139.

Khan, M. R., Fernandez, W. D., & Jiang, J. J. (2016). Is there such a thing as agile IT program management?.

McNeil, A. J., Frey, R., & Embrechts, P. (2015). Quantitative risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools. Princeton university press.

Nicholas, J. M., & Steyn, H. (2017). Project management for engineering, business, and technology. Taylor & Francis.

Pomering, A. (2017). Communicating CSR Through Corporate Image Advertising. In Handbook of Integrated CSR Communication (pp. 171-190). Springer International Publishing.

Oh, C. H., Park, J. H., & Ghauri, P. N. (2013). Doing right, investing right: Socially responsible investing and shareholder activism in the financial sector. Business Horizons, 56(6), 703-714.

Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

Strang, K. D. (2014). Investment selection in complex multinational projects. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management (IJITPM), 5(2), 60-77.

Turner, R. (2016). Gower handbook of project management. Routledge.

Vincent, J. (2016). Westpac Banking Corporation v Wittenberg (2016) 330 ALR Brief, 43(11), 21.

Weber, O., & Feltmate, B. (2016). Sustainable Banking: Managing the Social and  Environmental Impact of Financial Institutions. University of Toronto Press.