Learning outcomes:
LO1 Demonstrate an understanding of and the ability to identify and quantify risk and value at both the strategic and project levels
LO2 Develop and apply systems and tools to the management of risk and value
LO3 Develop and justify contingency and disaster recovery plans
Assignment Scenario
You are a project manager in a plastics manufacturing company, DuraSeat Ltd. The main business of your company is the production of plastic chairs and tables for schools and offices, which are distributed throughout the UK and Europe. Your manufacturing plant is situated inside the Industrial Park of Tonsell town and is close to three housing estates and a small village, which in total have a population of about 2000 people (See map below). River Crange passes directly alongside your site boundary. The river is a successful habitat for several kinds of fish, and supports a thriving local small-scale fishing industry. Your manufacturing plant has been in its present location for over 25 years and is in a prime location because of the nearby road and rail networks which your company uses to transport its raw materials and finished products.
In recent times, unusually heavy rains have caused the river to overflow its banks. This flooded your site and caused a large leak from your chemical storage tanks into the river. In the summer of 2016, an explosion in the plant spread toxic fumes to the surrounding residential areas and the fishing village. This has had serious health consequences (including a dramatic increase in respiratory diseases) on the local population for which your organisation is currently facing legal actions from various individuals and interest groups. As a result of these incidents, a section of the local community has been quite vocal in their objection to your continued presence at the site. However, because you employ approximately 300 workers the majority of whom come from the local community, there is still some tolerance of your business among a sizeable majority of the locals. Whilst the local administration and planning authorities want your plant to relocate, they cannot enforce the move through the planning laws as the plant’s site carries some immunity. They are also very much aware of your company’s contribution to the local economy as a major employer.
In addition to the environmental and planning issues, your company has been unable to achieve its annual sales targets in the last two years due mainly to increased competition from suppliers from Eastern Europe and Asia. This has been of great concern to the shareholders of your company who are worried about the value of their investments.
You are required to carry out the following tasks:
1) Profile the risks to your organisation given the above scenario and prepare a quantitative assessment of the risks using an appropriate risk register for the following strategic categories of risk:
i Political
ii. Economic
iii. Social
iv. Technological
v. Legal
vi. Environmental
vii. Competitive
(30 marks)
2) Prepare a disaster recovery plan against some possible hazards to your company’s operations. The plan must include 2 environmental hazards and 2 technological hazards. The format of your report should include a profile of the hazards as well as the contingency plan and the disaster response for each hazard.
(30 marks)
3) Provide a detailed value chain analysis of your company’s business with a view to improving your performance in the market.
(30 marks)
(Equivalent of 2000 words)
Marking Scheme
Task 1
Profiling the risks in each category 10%
Risk register with appropriate mitigations 20%
Task 2
Hazard identification and profiling 10%
Contingency plans & response strategy 20%
Task 3
Clear identification of a business-specific value chain
(not a generic value chain) for your company 10%
Identification of possible non-value –adding activities (hypothetical)
and suggestion of appropriate value-adding improvements 20%
Overall Presentation –demonstration of research/analysis and
communication skills; appropriate formatting of report; quality
of references using the Harvard style and free from plagiarism 10%
Total 100%
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