Task 1: Introduction to the Project
Digital technology has transformed the conventional ways of operating businesses. In this report,the key challenges to operate business operations in an organisation where digital technology is not being used to its maximum potential. In this report, the aims and objectives of “Caffe Nero”- a coffee house brandhas been enlisted. In addition to this, a project management plan has been discussed. A work breakdown structure and Gantt chart are also produced.
In the course of the research, the major challenges to business organisations that work in a climate where the digital technology is under-utilised will be studied. The theme and chosen project work within it, will help in exploring and examining a relevancy of business’s aspects in reference to the business environment. The research work demonstrates the capabilities required to implement and manage a project. In this report, an investigation will be carried out that focuses on executing a business project in order to meet business aims and objectives. This will talk about decision-making, research activities, and problem-solving methods using project management abilities.
Project Management is the process of application of skills, knowledge, and experience in managing the different tasks of the project. From a very long time, the researchers are inventing numerous methods in order to systematically implement the project management process within the organisation. In the given scenario, Caffe Nero, is seeking the expansion of business but the major challenges in that growth is the underutilisation of the digital technology (Marshalland Rossman, 2014). The aim of the project management is to identify the objectives of the tasks so that they can be accomplished. There six essential elements that should be covered in every project management plan:-
Work Breakdown Structure
Preparing a work breakdown structure is important for the businesses so as to implement different steps of management, such as planning, organising, executing, and implementing the strategies in a process. WBS helps in division of the work among the employees and getting the tasks accomplished effectively and efficiently.
Gantt chart
Gantt chart is helpful for the managers in tracking the operation’s task against the deadlines. It is planning tool that reflects the beginning and ending dates of a different operations through a horizontal bar graphs. Managers can easily notice the progress of a project and set priorities. Team members can also see which task is running delayed and the chart can be altered accordingly to balance it. In addition to this, using the chart, managers can compare the projected and the real progress.
In the comprehensive project management plan produced by Caffe Nero, the emphasis has been given to planning, organising, monitoring, controlling, and implementing activities. The aim of the project management is to optimise the use of scarce resources in order to achieve the organisational goals.
Planning of Scope:The management ofCaffe Nerois planning each and every task as per the objectives of their business. It barely make use of project management tools in operating business.
Costing and Budgeting: Allocating funds to a particular aspect of business is the most crucial factor.This can be made easier by making use of different costing tools. Caffe Nero is not implementing any of such tools in costing. This increases the time consumption (Kerzner, 2013).
Time-framing:This is crucial as time is a scarce resource for every organisation. Performing all the functions timely is essential otherwise, company has to bear losses.
Controlling: In this, the organisation tries to control its each and every organisational tasks. The management tries to build coordination among different department for better efficiency.
Risk Analysis: This involves the study of all the factors that can affect the business adversely. It is a well-known fact that without taking risks, an organisation cannot succeed (Biber, et. al., 2017).
Task 2: - Literature Review & Research Methodology
According to Piccinini, et. al., (2015). Transforming industrial business: the impact of digital transformation on automotive organizations. Three key themes are there affecting the business strategy in the current world:-have been discussed in this paper: - 1.) The radicalization of the IT-enabled businesses undergoing transformation, (2) The changing state of various industrial organisation through digital technological transformation, (3) the presence of physical–digital conflicting issues. In of the inferences of this paper, it is suggested that an organisation which want to thrive in the era of digitalization should develop the capabilities to see the large benefits of digital modernization.
As per Bharadwaj, et.al, (2013). Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights.There arefour important factors that direct the modern digitalise organisational strategies, namely scope, scale, speed of digitalization, and business value sources.
According to Lindh, et.al, (2015). How Does Information Technology Impact on Business Relationships? The Need for Personal Meetings. The paper investigates how IT influences the social relationships. The study tries to figure out different alterations caused by making use of IT in the business relationships. The penetration of IT in business relationships is checked by the extent of its use and the level of influence over desires of personal meetings.
For the small scale businesses likeCaffe Nero, both quantitative and qualitative research method can be brought into use in order to meet the objectives of the study. For gathering the data, questionnaire method will be used. In the mechanism of gathering the information, the questionnaire method serves many purposes. Even though it doesn’t provide the comprehensive evaluation of the scenario, it supports other data analysis procedures.
Quantitative Research Method: It talks about the quantity of the data and provides a wide range of choices that assist in getting the best quality of work. The data collected is usually in the numeric form or charts or tables. The data is analysed and based on that results are interpreted. Data is collected by making use of some well-structured instruments. Questionnaires are the most common way of collecting the numerical data.
Qualitative Research Method: The data collected in this research reflects the quality of an aspect rather than the numeric values. This has a wider scope than the quantitative method. This method is faster than the previously discussed method. The mechanism is straightforward and is based on simple questions. It is useful in gaining the unified experience. This method gives importance to the time and money resources of the organisation.
Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Since Caffe Nero is a smaller organisation and collecting data may be easier as the sample size is quite small.On one hand, the qualitative research provides freedom to the investigator to conduct research according to his needs, and on the other, it sometimes takes a large amount of time to complete the task. Talking about the quantitative research, the study needs a humongous amount of data in order to make inferences out of it and achieve a higher accuracy. A large amount of data are needed to be studied along with graphs and tables. This requires an data interpretation expert.
Caffe Nerois not making the best out of the available technological measures. It has been rated among the worst organisations of the UK.Employee satisfaction level and morale is low in there. For this case study, Bharadwaj, et.al, (2013). Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights, is the most apt literature available. The paper integrates the business infrastructure with products, services, and processes. It discusses how digitalisation is transforming the business strategies, processes, working abilities. It also summarises the role of IT in operating business operations. It can be helpful in the case of Caffe Nero, as it shed light on various digital strategies and discusses how the organisational structure can be reshaped using digital technology.
Sampling is the process of selecting the smaller units out of population in order to understand and collect data about it. There are two types of sampling: a) Probability Sampling b) Non-probability sampling.
In probability sampling method the samples are chosen randomly. This avoid the any biasedness in the data. The types of probability sampling are mentioned below.
In non-probability sampling, the sampling of the data is not randomised but depends upon the choice of the researcher. The demerit of this process is that it may induce biasedness in the data. Types of non-probability sampling is given below.
In the case of Caffe Nero, one can make use of probability sampling as it is more reliable and does not provide biased data or misleading data.
Since there are various methods available for conducting a research, such as questionnaire, focus groups, in-depth interview, observation, and many more. The selection of a method is based on the type of a research and its objective. Questionnaire method is apt in the case of Caffe Neroas it is a quantitative methods and once the data is collected, it is easy to analyse after converting it into some graphs or pie charts. Once the graphs are prepared, the researcher can easily take out inferences from that. Questionnaire method provides a comprehensive evaluation and test the effectiveness of the organisational strategies.
First point to note in this research is that surveys and questionnaires are not identical. Questionnaire is a tool for data collection and always consists of set of questions that are asked to the respondent. Questionnaire is the one of the many methods of survey i.e., it is the part of the survey. The advantages and disadvantages of questionnaire are discussed below:-
Advantages:-
Disadvantages:-
Name:
Age:
Gender:
1. Is Caffe Nero operating business by using any online website or mobile app for booking?
Yes
No
2. What are the challenges stopping Caffe Nero to use the digital platforms?
Adoption issues
High cost
3. How can the organisation improve its current business position?
Using project management tools
Using mobile app
Optimal use of organisation’s resources
4.Will the use of digital platforms mobile app helps the customers?
5.Will this technical approachreduce the burden of the management of Caffe Nero?
The relationship between the validity and reliability is complex. The stronger the base of the reliability, the weaker is the validity and vice versa. Reliability is termed as the consistency of the measurement. It could be based upon three types of consistency: overtime, across items, and across different researcher. On the other hand, validity is the accuracy in the measure of a test. In non-statistical research, reliability and validity are synonymous but in actual world, they are different. Test which is valid can be called reliable, but the opposite is not the same. The validity and reliability of a test cannot be declared by only a single study, but they are defined after numerous studies.
The accuracy and reliability of the two category of research methods assist in determining the validity of the research method. The two approaches are unique in themselves and are crucial from the point of data collection and analysing the quality of the data.
The qualitative method is dependent on the accuracy of the instrument or tools used in interpreting the data. It relies heavily on logical data. Those questions are only taken into account whose answers are satisfactory and relevant.
Quantitative method provide the graphs and pie charts. Making inferences out of those figures is quite easy and understandable. The only challenge in this method is that the validity and reliability depends on the accuracy of the data gathered. If the data is incorrect, then the results may be misleading.
Project management is the comprehensive process responsible for planning, organising, staffing, controlling, decision-making, and other functional activities. Caffe Nerois the coffee house brand and is not utilising the digital platform up to its potential. The with the correct project management plan that focuses on just using the mobile app, organised way of planning along with the sound decision-making. Monitoring and controlling the tasks of the organisation by project management can help in resource management and efficient execution. Using online booking sites and mobile app can help in increasing the success of the organisation. It also leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty. For the study purposes, the quantitative method (questionnaire method)has been adopted for data collectionthat will help making the final decisions (Burke, 2013).
Task 3: Data collection & Analysis
In order to analyse the data of the research work, the MS Excel has been taken into use. The questionnaire comprises five set of questions which were asked from a sample size of 100 people (randomly chosen).
From the aforementioned diagram, it can be figured out that 70% of the respondents are in favour of using digital technology while 30% are not supporting it.
The above pie chart indicates that 67% respondents believe that adoption issues are the key challenges in using the digital platforms. 33% thinks it is the high cost that is a major challenge.
From the above diagram, it can be comprehended that 30% of the respondents thinks that by using project management principles, Caffe Nero can improve its position in the market. 40 % believes that using mobile app can serve the purpose, whereas the other 30% think that by optimising use of the resources, organisation can reap the benefits
58% thinks that the mobile app is very beneficial for the organisation and for the customers as well. Remaining 42% do not agree on it.
It is impressive that more than 60% of the respondent agree on the point that digital technology reduces the burden.
After attempting the whole project report, it can be concluded that digital technology has a huge positive impact on the functioning of the project. From the questionnaire analysis, one can clearly see that the customers and the workers of Caffe Nero are in the favour of implementing the digital technology in project management and other managerial functions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are viable in the following scenario, but for the time purpose, the latter method is brought into use. Based on the inferences of the research, the whole decision-making process can be altered. After the completion of the research evaluation, the management of Caffe Nero may adopt the recommendations as provided in the later section of this project report.
<Task 4: Conclusions & Recommendations
In the following section, the use of digital technology in the business operations have been highlighted. To know people’s and workers’ opinion about the use of digital technology in business, a survey has been conducted. The recommendations based on the results of survey have been given in the report.
Caffe Nero is the UK based small coffee house company with 1500+ employee in total. With the rising competition, the company is losing its market value. The organisation is reluctant towards using the modern platforms. The study is based on the benefits of using the digital technology in the business operations.
The use of digital platform like mobile app for online orders can help the company to improve their market position. Digital technology helps the organisation in accomplishing the goals in the shortest possible time and with maximum efficiency.
Knowing the reason behind reluctance towards implementing the technology is the first step to be taken by the researcher. Taking workshops on regular basis can help in making the team familiar with the new changes in the technology.
Providing training to every employee of the company so that could be made familiar with the use of a particular technology. The financial and other resources have to be optimized in order to reduce the wastages (Bernard, 2017).
In this course of the presentation, it was shown that how the technological advancement can be made in an organisation. It was also shown that people’s feedback also matters in the research. The recommendations for implementing the digital technology in an organisation was also enlisted.
Task 5 – Reflection
The main objective of research is to determine the strength and weakness of digital technology that helps to increase the development of Caffe Nero, UK. It can be recognized that Caffe Nero is the private company and that provides the flexibility to develop the business. With the advanced use of digital technology, there are certain drawbacks that create the negative impact on the management for buying the coffee directly from traders.The benefit of technology is that the organization can maintain the proper record of data through the internet. The main objective of the business to adapt the practices is such manner through which company can get competitive edge in the market place.
Apart from this, the researcher can gathered the data through the quantitative and qualitative data and also interpret s the data in forms of graphs and charts. Quantitative data depicts the data in values and numbers and that helps to interpret the data easily. Qualitative data depicts the information in relation to quality and that can’t be measured. The project also identified the competitive advantage that can be undertaken by the Caffe Nero. It develops the supply chain of coffee products that help to increase the popularity of product(Bernard, 2017).
Approach and learning process:
The researcher has the approach of hybrid methodology to complete the project. Hybrid approach is the mixture of two sources that area quantitative and qualitative approach to collect the data from various sources. The researcher gained the process of learning to compete with environment and work according to the trends of Caffe Nero. It is essential for the researcher to use the reliable and valid sources to collect the data. It can also ensure that the sources which are selected that help to interpret the information and that can be done by the researcher on the basis of their past experiences.
It can be evaluated that the process of project management is a complex and difficult process that requires the knowledge, understanding and skills in the field. It can be identified that the process of management can be evaluated on the basis of their positive and negative aspects of digital technology. It can be observed that the research provides the reliable and clear information in relation to the digital technology for the organization. The researcher also determines the issues that are occurring in the environment for the impact of digital technology. To meet the aims and objectives, the manager evaluates the data properly and also assesses the resources in an effective manner. The research provides the insights into the problems and also develops the hypothesis and ideas for the quantitative research. It also uncovers the trends in opinions and thought and dive into the problem (Geisler and Allwood, 2018).
Appendix-log book
Sources used
How it fits into the plan
Assessed
Tasks
International Journal of Procurement Management
This research has been used by the researcher to analyse the effectiveness in terms of the digital application of the technology used in the business.
20/05/2018
Introduction to Project
Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
This journal was written by the Kerzner and has been used to identify the applications used in the management of the project. This also helps in the proper compliance of the tasks in an effective manner.
24/05/18
Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research. Routledge
This source has been used by the researcher to analyse the approaches used in the completion of the research.
30/05/18
The Value and Necessity of the Project Management Plan: The pre-award phase of BVP projects from the vendor’s perspective.
This research paper helps in the analysis of the effects used in the development of the effective project management plan.
4/06/18
Leading digital: Turning technology into business transformation. Harvard Business Press.
This research paper is used by the researcher to analyse the digital implication of the technology used in the business working for the effective business growth.
12/06/18
Literature Review
Designing qualitative research. Sage publications.
This has been used in the research while the development of effective understanding regarding the qualitative analysis of the data.
16/06/18
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