A regional outlet for McDonnell’s Office Supplies employs two administration/clerical staff, an office manager, three full-time sales people, a floor manager, and a warehouse/purchasing manager. The company’s head office wants to run a trial to make an induction process for all staff that familiarises them with the office layout, reporting lines and general duties such as locking the office at the end of the day and evacuation drills. Additionally, they want some basic training in the types of products and services they offer, which includes stationary supplies, binding services, photocopying and printing services and home delivery.
You have been contracted by McDonnell’s Office Supplies head office in Perth to fulfil this requirement by utilising current staff at the regional office. You will report your daily progress to the HR manager in Perth and submit a weekly expense report. Additionally, you will provide progress reports to the local manager (a schedule has not yet been decided). You have been allocated a budget of $4000 (not including your consulting fee). Within this budget, you must account for the time you allocate jobs to employees (at a flat rate of $150 per employee per day). All stationery expenses and testing of the process must also be covered by this budget.
The company is currently looking at all HR systems and processes including professional development and certified training for managers through a registered training organisation.
Once an induction process has been created, you are to submit it to the local manager fro sign-off, who will then forward it to national HR for sign-off and implementation throughout the company’s 80 outlets (of which another regional outlet is located just 30 minutes drive from your base).
1. Define the organisational structure, and lines of authority and communication within McDonnell’s Office Supplies contract environment.
2. Describe how each of the following legislative requirements might affect the project. Provide examples for each.
Anti-discrimination legislation
Ethical principles
Codes of practice
Privacy laws
Environmental issues
OHS
3. How would you determine if the project relates to the organisation’s overall mission, goals, objectives and operations? Who could you ask and why?
4. Outline the critical steps – and the reasons for them – that you should take to gain full understanding of:
the scope and parameters of the project, the project team and all stakeholders
the needs of stakeholders
the resources necessary for the project to be successfully completed
the limits of the project manager’s responsibility
how the project relates to others being run within an organisation
