Leading company staff in thinking bigger, operating in direct relationship to customers and stockholders’ needs, while staying flexible and adaptable to economic and market shifts ( Gaddy, p.171)” are all examples of priorities faced by companies that want to be competitive .
Friar Tucker International (FTI) is a hospitality service chain that has annual revenues in excess of $300 million and employs 1,200 people. The company currently manages 35 entertainment and cuisine establishments .FTI is seeking to expand operations through diversifying its portfolio, while maintaining the company’s strategic objectives (Apollo, 2008). This paper will discuss the issues and opportunities in relationship to the existing projects.
Situation Analysis
Project selection, funding, resource allocation and prioritization are important issues which must be addressed, while maintaining focus on the company’s strategic objectives. FTI has been accepting investment projects on a seemingly random nature (Apollo, 2008).
CEO, Ricardo Bellini has established a Project Selection Committee (PSC) to identify the types of projects for consideration. However, the PSC has not demonstrated the necessary skills in development and implementation of program management. Each of the PSC’s have his or her pet projects that they support, yet they all want to please the CEO and have chosen to follow his lead on the latest project, the Galleria. The PSC does not have metrics in place to weigh all factors against strategic goals. The committee also lacks the effective use of data in to achieve optimal performance. Furthermore, no performance management metrics are in place to monitor the project, once chosen (Apollo, 2008). The stakeholders of FTI include the CEO, the hired consultant and various senior managers who make up the PSC. The Project Selection
