Project being proposed
After all the problems we experienced from the beginning of the assignment we still have to continue with this project in pairs so me and George discussed the types of activity to organise and I decided that we should create a recipe booklet which we can sell to the people.
What are we going to do?
What we are going to do is create an A5 size recipe booklet, the booklet will only contain recipes for desserts. Recipes will be taken from selected websites.
What will the booklet look like?
The booklet will have around 30 pages altogether with 25 recipes in it. Each recipe will include a picture to show what the cooked recipe will look like.
The booklet will be in colour with a front cover and will be priced 50p each.
How will we do this?
After we have chosen the recipes, we will use Microsoft Publisher to create each page of the booklet including the front cover. And we also intend to use the College equipment to make and print the booklets such as, computers and printers. About 20 copies of the booklets will be made.
Who are we going to sell the booklet to?
We are hoping to sell the booklets to the College staff and a few of our friends and family and anyone else who is willing to buy them.
When will this activity take place?
We are hoping to sell the booklets at the end of February, so the exact date that would be suitable for us is Friday 28th.
Objectives of the project
Firstly our aim of this project is to organise an activity to raise money for charity.
If any money is raised, we have decided to donate it to “Cancer Research UK”.
Objectives
To achieve this aim, we first need to set up some objectives, objectives are the goals which help us to achieve and reach the aim (target) to make the project run successful. Objectives are said to be:
S. M. A. R. T
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Agreed
R – Realistic
T – Time constraint
Therefore our objectives are:
Objective one
“To create a suitable recipe booklet on the computer by the agreed date”
If we are able to find suitable dessert recipes on the internet then we should be able to construct our booklet on the computer.
Objective two
“To print out sufficient colour copies of the booklet to show as examples”
If we are able to use the college printer machine to print the booklets then I guess there shouldn’t be any problems with producing copies of the booklet.
Objective three
“To provide the buyers some delightful recipe they can use”
If we can meet the two previous objectives then all that’s left to do is to sell the booklets to the people.
If we do manage to sell them then we will have accomplished all our objectives and this would mean our aim would also be achieved.
The three objectives I think are S.M.A.R.T so there is a chance that we can achieve them all because they are realistic, in other words achievable.
Constraints
While organising this project/activity, constraints could occur. The term constraint means something that gets in the way of the planning of the project, a range of problems could occur which could stop the project going ahead.
Constraints on objectives
Therefore I have identified the possible constraints on the objectives I have set that could arise with the planning of the project.
Constraints on objective one
“To create a suitable recipe booklet on the computer by the agreed date”
A range of constraints could occur with this objective such as; there may be no suitable recipes of desserts we can obtain from the internet. The College computer may not have the software we intend to use (Microsoft Publisher) to create our booklet with, or there might even be system problems with the College computers. So if any of these problems does occur then obviously we can’t create the booklet by the agreed date because there are going to be delays.
How this may be dealt with?
These constraints could possibly be dealt with; we might be able to solve the problem by using alternative methods such as using computers at home to help us continue achieving this objective.
If there aren’t any suitable dessert recipes on the internet then we’ll have to visit the local library (which is located in Barnsley town district) to search for the recipes there.
If the College doesn’t have the software program we intend to use (Microsoft Publisher) then I’ll have to use my own computer at home because the program is available on my computer, the same also goes for any system problems that the College might be having.
Constraints on objective two
“To print out sufficient colour copies of the booklet to show as examples”
One of the main constraints of this objective is the printers; there may be difficulties with the printing due to system failure, not enough paper, not enough or right type of ink (colour or black/white).
Another constraint is the costs that may be involved when using the College printing equipment; we might have to pay to use the printers.
How this may be dealt with?
If we do experience any problems with the printers then we will have to use a different printer at another College site or either at home for the time being.
Also if there are costs involved then we will have to think of other alternatives to print the booklets. (See contingency plan)
Constraints on objective three
“To provide the buyers some delightful recipe they can use”
The key constraint here is selling the booklets to the people. There may be problems with selling them because people might not be interested and if a lot people see it that way then the booklets might not sell at all.
Another important constraint is that the given recipes might be inaccurate so obviously if this does happen then the end result is going to be wrong for the consumers who purchased the booklets.
All the constraints of objective one and two will have an overall affect on achieving objective three.
How this may be dealt with?
Before making the booklet, we will have to be careful and make sure the recipe we put in the booklet is accurate, we will need to check there are no mistakes, that all spelling and grammar are correct and that the whole booklet is formatted in a suitable way so everyone will find it easy to read.
We will have to make the booklet attractive, eye catching and include a range of delightful recipes which might actually make the people buy it.
I have also identified another constraint which will affect all three of the objectives, this is the timing, we are not sure how long it will take to construct the whole booklet, how long it will take to obtain recipes from the internet/library, or how long it will take to sell the booklets (whether it will sell quickly or not).
Lastly the final constraint is legislation, this is particularly important but it depends on the type of project/activity being proposed. Generally legislation needs to be considered in all aspects of the project because when planning an activity, we have to be aware of the legislation which may affect us. The main legislation that should be taken into account is:
- Data Protection act
- Health & Safety
- Equal Opportunities
- Other legislation that relates to the project
I will give a brief explanation of each of these legislation and then consider whether it concerns us or not, in other words whether it will have an affect on us.
Data protection
The purpose of data protection act is to protect personal data and to make sure data is used accurately and for the purpose it is intended only.
Principles of data protection
Anyone processing personal data must comply with the eight principles of good practice. Data must be:
- fairly and lawfully processed;
- processed for limited purposes;
- adequate, relevant and not excessive;
- accurate;
- not kept longer than necessary;
- processed in accordance with the data subject's rights;
- secure;
Therefore the data protection act would apply to us if our project expanded e.g. if there are going to be more demand for the booklets then we would have to consider other ways to distribute the booklets to them, this would be mail order. Mail order would involve people giving their postal address and other personal details, so we would have to be careful not to disclose any of their information to other irrelevant people because it is confidential.
Health and Safety
Health and Safety is an important issue to consider when organising an activity because it is important to ensure that people are not going to be in any danger or be put at risks.
An understanding of the basic workplace Health and Safety procedures means you can protect yourself against workplace hazards.
Below are the Health and Safety best practices to maintain
- Establish safe work procedures, incorporate College recommendations to assure that we are not exposed to any risks
- Prior to beginning work, clear the area of trip and fall hazards
- Provide safe access to all work areas
- Lock and tag electrical equipment and secure mobile equipment against movement e.g. computer wires
- Stay focused for your own safety and for the safety of other students
Health and Safety can affect us during our organising of the activity.
For example:
The wires of the equipment may not be secured to one side and we may trip over them and injure ourselves.
If we are working on the computers for a long time then the computer screen may cause us eyesight problems or physical problems.
We need to make sure that the chairs are not all over the place or in our way so we can get access to our work area.
So while working on our project, we had to be cautious and careful of any danger.
Equal Opportunities
The equal opportunities legislation deals with discrimination.
Below are the acts that relate to discrimination:
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Race Relations Act 1976
- Equal Pay Acts 1970 and 1983
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995
- Human Rights Act 1998
When organising and planning our project, careful considerations had to be made regarding the booklets e.g. disability people.
While working together we had to ensure that the booklet was legible and easy for everyone to read so we had to ensure that the font and size of the text was realistic just in case people had any difficulties such as eyesight.
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 and 1995
Another legislation we have to consider is the consumer legislation act; the sale of goods act 1979 and 1995
This act gives the civil rights to consumers when buying goods or services.
This is one of the most important Acts as it covers the basic requirements of purchasers, which goods must be:
- as described - goods must match their description
- of satisfactory quality - in relation to price paid, the description and age of item
- fit for the purpose for which they are intended - goods must carry out the purpose they are made for
This act affects us because our project involves selling something to the consumers. So we will have to comply with the terms of this act.
Planning Schedule
A planning schedule is a list of tasks and responsibilities to be completed by the set date. It contains details of the tasks/responsibilities and the person to be completed by.
To help us plan our project successfully, we produced a computerised planning schedule of tasks to be completed before, during and after the event showing how the project progressed through its different stages.
We also considered the planning schedule as some form of monitoring for our project because each week we would update the schedule and at the same time we was also monitoring our performance and project.
Administrative requirements (physical and human resources)
This project being proposed is quite small so therefore not many requirements for the project are needed apart from the obvious which are:
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People. People are required to make the booklet which is myself and George and we also need to sell the booklets to other ‘people’.
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Computer. This is mainly needed to produce the whole booklet from scratch.
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Internet. This is needed to search for the recipes. The internet is a good approach to obtain recipes because it is easy and simple to use.
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Printer. This is needed to print our booklets with.
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Paper. Obviously paper is needed to print the booklets on.
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Colour Ink. Colour ink is needed to print the booklets such as the text and images.
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Software - Microsoft publisher. This is needed to design each page of the booklet including the title page. Using a design software like Microsoft Publisher is an advantage because you can make changes to it.
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Stapler. This is needed to staple the booklets together.
People are an important part of our administrative requirements including ourselves because we are the ones who will make the booklets and the other people are the ones who will buy the booklet so therefore people play an important part in this project. We also have to call on other people as advisors such as our mums and tutors.
Most of these requirements are computer-based and some are stationary-based.
All these requirements listed above are all that we need to construct the recipe booklet and also selling them so overall these requirements are important.
Use of skills in communications
The main particular communication skills that were used throughout this whole project were verbal, written and Information Technology skills. These were used to meet most of the needs of the project being planned and operated and also it was the best methods of communication to complete our project successfully.
Verbal
This skill was clearly used to communicate with each other to:
- discuss the project being planned
- discuss any new information emerging
- discuss any problems occurring
- discuss any changes
- allocate responsibilities
Therefore verbal communication is important. It is also useful because it is a straightforward way to communicate directly with each other face-to-face.
Written
This skill was used mainly throughout the whole planning of the project to:
- Record the progression of our project
- Record the minutes of our meetings
- Type up the contents of the booklet
- Type up agendas and minutes
- Write down the responsibilities of our planning schedule
- Make notes for our assignment
Effective written communication is an essential skill, it helps to build a successful project because information can be shared between each other and information can be reviewed over several times. It also helps to develop your writing skills.
Information Technology (I.T)
This skill was used to help with our project because we used the computers for:
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The internet. This was used to search for recipes. We used the internet because it has vast amount of information which connects to millions of computers worldwide, this allows people to communicate, shop, research etc.
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Microsoft Publisher. This was used to design the booklet. We used this software because it can combine information from different sources, such as text, graphics, images, charts and tables. It can reformat information by changing font, style, layout size etc. It can also edit information by amending, deleting and inserting. And finally it can experiment with different layouts, borders and presentation.
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E-mail. This was used to obtain permission from out tutor to use the College printing equipment. We used e-mail because it delivers to the recipients account within seconds, it is also fast, cheap, reliable, secure, and reduces transit and paperwork.
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Microsoft Word. This was used throughout our whole assignment/project weekly.
Information technology is a common skill to use, you can get access to the Internet and use a range of software to produce any sort of work such as, database, spreadsheet, presentations, newsletters, memos etc.
Computers can also provide instant feedback which is beneficial to us because we can make adjustments immediately.
Meetings
The regular meetings we held were an opportunity to check progress, bring up new ideas, and plan for the next event. Even if we have to reschedule occasionally, the communication is maintained. Meeting’s including the documentation of agendas and minutes associate with all three of these communications, because for a meeting to take place you have to use verbal communication to interact with each other and during the meeting we have to record the minutes of the meeting and finally after the meeting we had to type up the minutes and produce an agenda for the next meeting on the computer.
(Copies of the minutes can be found in the appendix)
Contingency plan
A contingency plan is a plan designed to deal with a particular problem that may occur. A contingency is something that may happen, an event that may occur in the future, especially a problem, emergency, or expense that might arise unexpectedly so in that case these problems need to be dealt with, and therefore we must be prepared for it.
Proposed plan
We have planned to print the booklets at College using the College equipment; this includes the computers and printers which is part of our administrative requirements. But before we go ahead with this we first need to obtain permission to use the College equipment from out tutor – Pat White, therefore we sent an e-mail to her. Fortunately she replied back and gave her consent to use the Equipment.
(See Appendix 4)
Contingency plan
However if our proposed plan failed maybe if our tutor did not give her consent to use the College equipment, then we would have to consider other alternatives to print the booklets. This would be to use a local printing company called
‘Pronta Print’ which is located near our College site.
But first of all we need to find out the printing prices they charge for our type of booklets. So I looked up their details on the internet to find a contact address, I found their e-mail address so I decided to e-mail them for a quotation.
(See Appendix 5)
Possible constraints with contingency plan
I have received a reply from the printing company stating the price and it looks like there is going to be problem with this contingency plan.
The obvious problem is the costs, this is because it is higher than we expected. So we are not sure how we are going to deal with this if we have to use this plan. We are not sure if we have that amount of cash to spare even though the project is for charity. So we are hoping that we won’t have to resort to our contingency plan.