Friar Tucker Implementation Plan Research

The goals of an organization pertain to profitability, return on investment, delivery of benefits to customers, and taking advantage of windows of opportunity. Projects support the strategic initiatives and achieve the goals when implemented successfully. Implementation planning is required to address the priorities, timescale, lessons learnt, impact, participation, and risks (Corboy & O’Corrbui, 1999). This paper presents the results of an implementation plan research performed by Team 2 that exemplify the concepts of project planning, strategic implementation, organizational culture, and project management structure. Finally, this paper compares and contrasts the known approaches to project network by the different organizations and evaluates the need for a free slack in specific projects as well as the components of risk management process.

The baseline of this research is derived from the Friar Tucker International (FTI) simulation (University of Phoenix, 2007). FTI illustrates the application of strategic management process to identify, select, and initiate projects that are aligned to an organization’s strategic plan in the midst or organizational politics. The company setup a Project Selection Committee to identify the type of projects the company should consider. The simulation exemplified the use of Request for Proposal (RFP), critical success factors, and weights in the evaluation and selection of a project and the right vendor to subcontract parts of the execution. The project selection was based on investment, earliest time to break-even, steady revenue quickly and enhanced over time, and capability to build new competencies, brand image, and secure new customers.

According to Gray-Larson (2005, p.73), ‘Weighted scoring models result in bringing projects to closer alignment with strategic goals’ (Gray & Larson, 2005, p.37). FTI exemplified the scoring model for the vendor selection based on timely completion (schedule), cost, experience, financial...