Target Company
NPOs are mainly private entities that practices self-governance via the direct control as well as management of projects, procedures and activities. Moreover, the profit they make is not distributed but instead utilized as form of meeting the ultimate goals of the firm (Rathi & Given, 2017). However, NPOS experiences difficulties as far as funds allocation is concerned and it is worsened by the fact that resources are often deeply controlled within the companies. NPOs are also involved in funding the project they undertake and do not generate profits for the organization but give back to the community or society (Devalkar, Sohoni, & Arora, 2017).
The research study deals with Small-scale Non-Profit organizations (NPOs) in the community as far as project management are concerned and with regard to the critical success factors. For long time, the NPOs have been facing issues when implementing the project management. Some of the issues include lack of guidance within the organization, external pressures like government pressure, weak management as well as financial struggles (Anderson & Lannon, 2019).
Overview of the proposed research study.
The project mainly aims at identifying factors, which mostly contribute to higher rates of success among the small-scale NPOs and improve the identification as well as monitoring of the CSFs since they greatly influence the outcomes of the project. Therefore, the objectives of the project will be identifying the main CSFs, which are applicable to small-scale NPOs based on the factors that have a higher contribution to project failure within the NPO’s operations. Understanding of these factors will help in improving project monitoring within firms that have limited resources. When it comes to the desired outcomes, the project will mainly look at the set of CFS variables, which can monitored by the organizations using limited resources. Moreover, a qualitative technique will be relied upon when handling the research project and it will rely on the modified Delphi method, to explore the perspectives and experience of managers and stakeholder groups within a small-scale NPO (Avella, 2016).
Project management plan
A Gantt chart presented below will guide the project management plan (Geraldi & Lechler, 2012).
Gantt chart
| TASK | Task Name | DURATION days |
DEPENDENCIES | STATUS | START DATE | END DATE |
| 1 | Milestone 2 Approval | 25 | Pending | 11/2/2019 | 11/27/2019 | |
| 1.1 | Incorporate initial mentor feedback | 4 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/8/2019 | |
| 1.2 | 2.5 Project Study Protocol | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.3 | 2.6 Overview of the Project Study Plan | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.4 | 2.7 Recruitment | 11 | 8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 |
| 1.4.1 | Identify Inclusion Criteria | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.4.2 | Guarantee minimum burden on the involved party | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.4.3 | Identifying target organizations | 11 | 10 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 |
| 1.4.4 | Identifying consultant participants | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.4.5 | Solicit participation | 11 | 11,12 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 |
| 1.4.6 | Informed consent | 11 | 13 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 |
| 1.4.7 | Site permissions for organizations | 11 | 14 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 |
| 1.5 | 2.8 Instruments (Interviews) | 6 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/10/2019 | |
| 1.5.1 | Draft interview questions | 5 | Pending | 11/2/2019 | 11/7/2019 | |
| 1.5.2 | Practice interview questions with non-participants | 11 | 17 | Pending | 11/7/2019 | 11/18/2019 |
| 1.5.3 | Revise interview questions | 7 | 18 | Pending | 11/15/2019 | 11/22/2019 |
| 1.6 | 2.9 Data Collection | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.7 | 2.10 Data Analysis | 11 | 22,23 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 |
| 1.7.1 | Purchase and download Nvivo | 0 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/4/2019 | |
| 1.7.2 | Using coding criteria | 10 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/14/2019 | |
| 1.8 | 2.11 Validity and Reliability/Trustworthiness | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.9 | 2.12 Ethical Considerations | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.10 | 2.13 Summary and Conclusions | 11 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.11 | Submit MS2 to mentor | 0 | Pending | 11/15/2019 | 11/15/2019 | |
| 1.12 | Incorporate mentor feedback | 8 | 27 | Pending | 11/18/2019 | 11/26/2019 |
| 1.13 | Final Mentor approval | 3 | 28 | Pending | 11/26/2019 | 11/29/2019 |
| 2 | Milestone 3 Approval (IRB) | 14 | Pending | 11/29/2019 | 12/13/2019 | |
| 2.1 | Submit to Capella IRB | 0 | 29 | Pending | 11/29/2019 | 11/29/2019 |
| 2.2 | Receive initial IRB feedback | 5 | 31 | Pending | 11/29/2019 | 12/4/2019 |
| 2.3 | Incorporate IRB feedback | 2 | 32 | Pending | 12/4/2019 | 12/6/2019 |
| 2.4 | Resubmit for IRB approval | 7 | 33 | Pending | 12/6/2019 | 12/13/2019 |
| 3 | Milestone 4 Approval | 221 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 6/12/2020 | |
| 3.1 | Approach organizations/Individuals to request project participation | 30 | 11,12 | Pending | 11/13/2019 | 12/13/2019 |
| 3.2 | Confirm participants of study | 44 | 11,12 | Pending | 11/13/2019 | 12/27/2019 |
| 3.3 | Obtain informed consent from each participant | 60 | 37 | Pending | 11/13/2019 | 1/12/2020 |
| 3.4 | Schedule interviews | 70 | 38 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 1/13/2020 |
| 3.5 | go through research questions | 65 | 22 | Pending | 11/8/2019 | 1/12/2020 |
| 3.6 | Analysis | 9 | 10 | Pending | 11/4/2019 | 11/13/2019 |
| 3.7 | Practice Interview Questions | 30 | 19 | Pending | 12/13/2019 | 1/12/2020 |
| 3.8 | Conduct interviews | 31 | 39 | Pending | 1/13/2020 | 2/13/2020 |
| 3.9 | Transcribe Interviews | 37 | 43 | Pending | 1/13/2020 | 2/19/2020 |
| 3.10 | Data Analysis | 30 | 44 | Pending | 2/20/2020 | 3/21/2020 |
| 3.11 | Write up findings | 7 | 45 | Pending | 4/24/2020 | 5/1/2020 |
| 3.11.1 | 3.1 Introduction | 7 | 45 | Pending | 4/24/2020 | 5/1/2020 |
| 3.11.2 | 3.2 Data Collection Results | 7 | 45 | Pending | 4/24/2020 | 5/1/2020 |
| 3.11.3 | 3.3 Data Analysis | 7 | 45 | Pending | 4/24/2020 | 5/1/2020 |
| 3.11.4 | 3.4 Contribution to Theory, the Literature, and the Practitioner Knowledge Base | 7 | 45 | Pending | 4/24/2020 | 5/1/2020 |
| 3.11.5 | 3.5 Project Application &Recommendations | 7 | 45 | Pending | 4/24/2020 | 5/1/2020 |
| 3.11.6 | 3.6 Conclusion | 7 | 45 | Pending | 4/24/2020 | 5/1/2020 |
| 3.12 | Submit write up to mentor | 0 | 46 | Pending | 5/1/2020 | 5/1/2020 |
| 3.13 | Incorporate mentor feedback | 7 | 53 | Pending | 5/1/2019 | 5/8/2019 |
| 3.14 | Submit final project | 0 | 54 | Pending | 5/9/2020 | 5/9/2020 |
| 4 | MS5 Approval obtained | 0 | Pending | |||
| 4.1 | Approval and revision process | 26 | 55 | Pending | 5/9/2020 | 6/4/2020 |
| 4.2 | Final Study Submission | 0 | 57 | Pending | 6/4/2019 | 6/4/2019 |
| 4.3 | MS5 Approval Obtained | 14 | 58 | Pending | 6/4/2019 | 6/18/2019 |
| 5.00 | GRADUATE!!!! | 0 | 59 | Pending |
Ethical issues contingency plan.
Some of the ethical issues to consider while carrying out the project involve the privacy, confidentiality, and data security procedures and concerns while safeguarding the participants in the study. Confidentiality. There are number of principles to observe when carrying out the project. The most fundamental ethical rule to stress on is doing good (beneficence as well as non-malfeasance (avoiding doing harm) (Englander, 2012). therefore a researcher is it essential to obtain consent from the participants. During research, data is collected and some information shared by the participants are not only sensitive but also confidential (HHS, 1979). It is important as a researcher to abide by the agreement and ensure that information shared to the public has consent from the participants.
Furthermore, it is essential to minimize the risk of harm towards the participants. Sharing of sensitive information could damage the participants’ reputation. As a researcher, it is vital to ensure the information put on the paper is free from harming the participants. It is also my responsibility as a researcher to ensure that the participants are protected through anonymity and confidentiality (HHS, 1979). In case, the participants demand his name not be mentioned, it should not be mentioned in the project work. Participant’s private data like his personal life should also be confidential and avoid exposing it to the public.
Additionally, all the participants will participate in the project voluntarily and none of them will be forced or influenced to contribute in the paper. Such a move helps in ensuring that they participate share information willingly, they speak their mind without any influence, and this helps in preventing biasness (HHS, 1979).
Analysis of potential issues and application of ethical issues
The privacy of the participants is quite essential and need to be given much attention. As a result, the project will ensure the all the personal information which participants have requested them not be shared to the third parties are effectively safeguarded. Some information are quite sensitive and despite been very critical in illustrating the data and analysis it is important to respect their decisions and ensure the content is not shared.
Present data at a conference or submit a report to a periodical
The obtained data will be presented through a presentation whereby the audiences will be taken through what the data is all about, its importance to them and how it can help solve the issues they face. The audience must however avoid sharing the information presented. When submitting to periodical require seeking permission from management of the particular periodic site. It is also important to secure the report and ensure that anyone viewing or downloading the report obtain consent before accessing it.
The project is quite important to the industry since it will help them to identify the issues affecting their performance as well as mechanism of making a change and solve the issues. When issues are solved, the affected companies may consider implementing the proposed recommendations in the paper. Once the paper is complete, it is necessary to seek a meeting with affected group. A conference for instance could be held or even look for an opportunity when the organization hold their annual conferences (Verschuren et al.2010). After organizing a meeting, the audiences will not be provided with a copy of the project but also address them and give a brief speech of what it entails and why it is important to them. The speech will touch on most important point as well as guide the affected people on how to turn the project into a greater asset. However, that method is still not effective since it may only reach a few people. Therefore, it is important to publish the report on share it through online platforms like websites related to the NPOs. In such platforms, the affected parties can easily access the project.
Plan for delivering change suggestions to the target company.
Delivering change suggestions to a specific organization will begin with seeking a meeting with management. Once the management agrees to hear what the project contain, a meeting will be held and present the concepts covered in the project. For instance, during meeting, an issue affecting the organization will be highlighted and then give a possible solution to the issue and guide the firm on what to do in order to eliminate the problem. When sharing the project with the firm, it is important to ensure that they do not share the information or the paper with third parties without my consent or the consent of the university.
Conclusion/Reflection.
Project management play a fundamental role in organization and therefore organizations must have an effective framework of carrying out their projects as well as manage the resources they have in order to achieve their goals. The NPOs for instance faced a lot of challenges related to the critical success factors of project management failures. The project will significantly identify the issues affecting the firm as far as project management is concerned and provide most reliable recommendations that can be implemented by the affected companies. When carrying out the project, I have very important skills related to the project management and they will help when carrying out a project in future at the workplace. One of them is establishing identifying the stakeholders to involve in the project study as well as knowing to interact with them as they provide required information. Moreover, the study has helped in gaining data collection skills and analyzing data. Gantt chart, on the other hand, is quite fundamental since it helps one to plan about future schedules of the project (Geraldi & Lechler, 2012). Moreover, an effective Gantt chart helps one to know the length of the project and managing dependencies between the activities involved.
The concepts covered in class as well those applied when handling the project will of great importance once I start working. While carrying out projects at the workplace, the important factor to figure is its importance or how it is going to impact the organization. Moreover, one need to determine the time required, the right participants as well as resources to use while undertaking the project.
References
Anderson, K. & Lannon, J. (2019). Project management performance assessment in the non-profit sector. Project Management Research and Practice, 5, 1-20. doi:10.5130/pmrp.v5i0.5910.
Arsić, S. (2018). Key factors of project success in family small and medium-sized companies: the theoretical review. Management: Journal of Sustainable Business & Management Solutions in Emerging Economies, 23(1), 33–40. doi:10.7595/management.fon.2017.0013
Avella, J. R. (2016). Delphi panels: Research design, procedures, advantages, and challenges. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 11, 305-321. Retrieved from http://www.informingscience.org/Publications/3561
Geraldi, J., & Lechler, T. (2012). Gantt charts revisited: A critical analysis of its roots and implications to the management of projects today. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 5(4), 578-594.
Verschuren, P., Doorewaard, H., & Mellion, M. (2010). Designing a research project (Vol. 2). The Hague: Eleven International Publishing.
Englander, M. (2012). The interview: Data collection in descriptive phenomenological human scientific research. Journal of phenomenological psychology, 43(1), 13-35.
HHS (1979). The Belmont Report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/belmont-report/read-the-belmont-report/index.html#xbasic
