Events And Entertainment Planning And Project Management

The event: the entertainment aspects of it

Discuss about the Events and Entertainment Planning and Project Management .

Event management is defined as that domain of management that utilizes project management  concepts, tools and techniques   so as to plan and materialize large scale events like  that of formal  parties, convocation, festival, conferences  and so on and so forth (Rojek, 2014).

The students of the  University of Plymouth have arranged for  an event,  with  the  aim of raising funds  that would  be donated to one of the most  renowned  NGOs of the United Kingdom,  the  WDC or  the Whales  and Dolphin Conservation.  The details of   this event have been provided  in  the report.

The students  of the  University of Plymouth (in cooperation  of the  administrative   authorities of  the  organization) have decided  to  conduct   the “Save  the Dolphins Weekend” at the  University premises. The   said festival   would include the following events for the students of the institute,   the alumni and their families:

1. Stage Performances:
2. Performances confirmed so far: AQ Flying Orchestra, Beat Breakers, Blue Spots, Co Op Big Band, Fanfara, Haunt the Woods, Kouatchou, Reggasjas, RSVP, The Turbans and Yaaba Funk.
3. Traditional Thai dance performances presented by the Plymouth Thai Association

iii. Traditional Indian dance performances presented by the Plymouth Indian Association

1. Performances by the song writer-singer students of the Plymouth University
2. The Plymouth Film Program: a screening of short movies developed by the students of the Plymouth University.
3. Workshops
4. Zumba lessons by the students of the Plymouth University
5. Salsa lessons by the students of the Plymouth University (Turner, 2016). 

iii.Spanish Guitar lessons by the students of the Plymouth University

1. Activities for the alumni and their families
2. Campus tours for the alumni and their family members.
3. Reunion for the alumni

iii. A harbor cruise trip

1. Health checkups

The total revenue generated from the festival would essentially be donated to the Whales and Dolphin Conservation, so as to assist them in their worldwide activities.

The scope of the project

The scope of the project includes the following:

1. Making arrangements for all the performances, activities, workshops and programs that have been mentioned in section 2 of the report.
2. Develop and conduct the programs in a manner that creates awareness regarding the conservation of dolphins and whales among the audience.
3. Making lodging arrangements for the alumni and the other spectators who visit the University during the festival.

The project being described in this report has the following objectives:

1. To organize and conduct a festival that would entertain the spectators.
2. To create awareness among the spectators regarding the need for conserving the underwater ecosystem and the activities being conducted by the ‘Whales and Dolphin Conservation’.

iii.   To raise significant amount of funds that would be contributed to the WDC.

The budgetary estimation of the project is being provided below:

Table 1:  The budgetary estimation of the project

Activity		Cost
Payments   to  be   made for the stage performances		$     200,000.00
Making arrangements for the dance performances		$            100.00
Making arrangements  for  the performances  by  the students  of  the University		$            100.00
Making arrangements  for ‘The Plymouth Film Program’		$         5,000.00
Making arrangements  for   the workshops to  be conducted by the students   of  Plymouth University		$            500.00
Campus tours for the alumni and their family members		$            100.00
Reunion for the alumni		$         5,000.00
Harbor cruise trip		$       10,000.00
Making  arrangements for the Health checkups		$            500.00
Venue		$                   –
Designing and   constructing   the stage		$         3,000.00
Power consumption		$       12,000.00
Accommodation for spectators		$         5,000.00
Promotional activities		$         1,000.00
Permission  from local  authorities		$            150.00
Permission  from law and order departments		$            150.00
Making arrangements for evacuation facilities in  case  of any emergency		$         1,000.00
Making arrangements for emergency  healthcare facilities		$            500.00
Making arrangements for fire prevention		$         1,200.00
Miscellaneous costs		$       10,000.00
Estimated Budget:		$          255,300.00

(Source: Developed by author)

The target audience for the event can be divided into the following classes:

1. The students enrolled to the Plymouth University: The under-graduate and post-graduate students, along with the research scholars who are currently enrolled to the Plymouth University are being considered as the primary target audience of the festival ((Turner, 2016).
2. The alumni of the Plymouth University: The alumni of the Plymouth University (as well as the members of their families) are expected to participate in the festival.
3. The faculties and administrative personnel associated with the Plymouth University are also expected to be presented at the festival along with their families (Kerzner, 2013).

In the following sections of the report, discussions have been made on the schedule  of the entire  project, along with  the expected outcomes  and deliverables of the project.

The schedule of the project has been provided in the table below:

Table 2:  The schedule of the project

Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish	Predecessors
Save the Dolphins Weekend Project	43 days	Fri 20-05-16	Tue 19-07-16
Project starts	0 days	Fri 20-05-16	Fri 20-05-16
Stage 1: The Planning stage	18 days	Fri 20-05-16	Tue 14-06-16
Developing student committees who would oversee the entire project	5 days	Fri 20-05-16	Thu 26-05-16	1
Developing an initial plan for the entire event	5 days	Fri 27-05-16	Thu 02-06-16	3
Allocating responsibilities to the members of the festival committees	2 days	Fri 03-06-16	Mon 06-06-16	4
Developing the project schedule	3 days	Tue 07-06-16	Thu 09-06-16	5
Developing the budget	3 days	Tue 07-06-16	Thu 09-06-16	5
Communicating with sponsors	2 days	Fri 10-06-16	Mon 13-06-16	7
Collecting funds from sponsors	1 day	Tue 14-06-16	Tue 14-06-16	8
Collecting permissions from all government authorities	2 days	Tue 07-06-16	Wed 08-06-16	5
End of planning stage	0 days	Tue 14-06-16	Tue 14-06-16	6,9,10
Stage 2: Making arrangements	22 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 14-07-16
Making arrangements for the stage performances	17 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 07-07-16
Developing a list of performers who the project team can approach	5 days	Wed 15-06-16	Tue 21-06-16	11
Communicating with the performers	5 days	Wed 22-06-16	Tue 28-06-16	14
Collecting quotations from the performers	2 days	Wed 29-06-16	Thu 30-06-16	15
Negotiating with the performers	2 days	Fri 01-07-16	Mon 04-07-16	16
Booking the performers	3 days	Tue 05-07-16	Thu 07-07-16	17
Communicating with the Plymouth Thai Association	2 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 16-06-16	11
Finalizing the performances to be made by the Plymouth Thai Association	1 day	Fri 17-06-16	Fri 17-06-16	19
Performances by the Plymouth Thai Association finalized	0 days	Fri 17-06-16	Fri 17-06-16	20
Communicating with the Plymouth Indian Association	2 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 16-06-16	11
Finalizing the performances to be made by the Plymouth Indian Association	1 day	Fri 17-06-16	Fri 17-06-16	22
Performances by the Plymouth Indian Association finalized	0 days	Fri 17-06-16	Fri 17-06-16	23
All stage performances finalized	0 days	Thu 07-07-16	Thu 07-07-16	18,24,21
Making arrangements for the workshops	7 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 23-06-16
Selecting student committees for conducting and overlooking the Zumba lessons	7 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 23-06-16	11
Selecting student committees for conducting and overlooking the Salsa lessons	7 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 23-06-16	11
Selecting student committees for conducting and overlooking the Spanish Guitar lessons	7 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 23-06-16	11
Arrangements for the workshops co completed	0 days	Thu 23-06-16	Thu 23-06-16	27,28,29
Making arrangements for the alumni activities	17 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 07-07-16
Selecting student committees who would participate in the campus tours	7 days	Wed 15-06-16	Thu 23-06-16	11
Training the students who would provide campus tours to the alumni and their family members	10 days	Fri 24-06-16	Thu 07-07-16	32
Communicating with healthcare institutes for providing healthcare facilities to the alumni	5 days	Wed 15-06-16	Tue 21-06-16	11
Finalizing the healthcare facilities that would be provided to the alumni	5 days	Wed 22-06-16	Tue 28-06-16	34
Booking the cruise trip	3 days	Wed 15-06-16	Fri 17-06-16	11
Booking the said healthcare facilities	2 days	Wed 29-06-16	Thu 30-06-16	35
Arrangements for the alumni activities completed	0 days	Thu 07-07-16	Thu 07-07-16	33,36,37
Making arrangements for fire prevention	5 days	Fri 08-07-16	Thu 14-07-16	38
Making arrangements for emergency medical services	5 days	Fri 08-07-16	Thu 14-07-16	38
Making arrangements for security	5 days	Fri 08-07-16	Thu 14-07-16	38
All arrangements completed	0 days	Thu 14-07-16	Thu 14-07-16	25,30,38,39,40,41
Stage 3: The event	3 days	Fri 15-07-16	Tue 19-07-16
The event	3 days	Fri 15-07-16	Tue 19-07-16	42
Event completed successfully	0 days	Tue 19-07-16	Tue 19-07-16	44
End of project	0 days	Tue 19-07-16	Tue 19-07-16	45

 (Source: Developed by author)

The figure below depicts the Gantt chart of the project.

Figure 1: The Gantt chart of the project

(Source: Developed by author)

The following outcomes are being expected from the project:

1. The successful conduction of the Save the Dolphins Weekend Festival.
2. Awareness regarding the conservation of the underwater ecosystem (Kerzner, 2013). 
3. Significant amount of funds for supporting the activities of Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

The deliverables of the project are:

All project reports including the budget and schedule estimations, the contracts being made with the performers, the permissions granted by the government authorities, the expenses being made, etc (Hill, 2013).

Background of the event

The progress reports of the project, submitted on a weekly basis.

The final events to be held on 15^th, 18^th and 19^th of July, 2016.

The structure of the project management team has been   depicted in the figure below:

Figure 2:   The structure of the project team

(Source: Developed by author)

The following section of the report emphasizes on the stakeholders associated with the   project and the methods that would be utilized for communicating with them as and when the project commences.

The stakeholders associated with the project under consideration have been enlisted below:

1. The administrative authorities of the University of Plymouth: The event in consideration is not only being supported by the administrative authorities of the University, but the said authorities are making active participations in making arrangements for  the festival (Hill, 2013). 
2. The festival committee: The festival committee (consisting of students and faculty members of the University) are responsible for making all the arrangements necessary for conducting the festival.
3. The sponsors of the festival: The sponsors of the project are facilitating the financial activities of the project. Thus, the sponsors are being considered as one of the primary stakeholders of the project (Crawford, 2014).
4. The target audience of the festival: The students presently studying  at  the University  of  Plymouth, the faculty members   of  the University and  the alumni ( along with  their family member) are being considered  as the  target audience, as  well as one of   the key stakeholders of   the festival.
5. The ‘Whale and Dolphin Conservation’: The ‘Whale and Dolphin Conservation’ or the WDC    would be highly benefitted from the festival (the revenue generated from the festival would be donated to this very organization) and thus should be considered as one of the stakeholders of the project (Heldman, 2013). 
6. The performers: The success of the entire festival depends on the performances of the performers, thus the performers are being included in the list of stakeholders of the project under consideration.

 The stakeholder analysis matrix of the project under consideration is being provided below:

Table 3: The stakeholder matrix of the project

	Importance of stakeholder
Un-known	Little or no importance	Some importance	Significant importance
Influence of stakeholder	Significant importance	The sponsors of the festival	i. The administrative authorities of the University of Plymouth ii. The festival committee
Some importance
Little or no importance	Whale and Dolphin Conservation	i. The target audience of the festival ii. The performers
Un-known

(Source: Developed by author)

The following table depicts the methods to be utilized for communicating with the stakeholders   of the project:

Table 4: The communication management plan

Sl. No	Stakeholder	Information  to be communicated	Mode of communication	Frequency    of communication
1	The sponsors of the festival	1. The budgetary requirements   of the project. 2.  The  utilization of the budgetary resources  of  the project	1.   Official Mails 2. Presentations	Once in  a fortnight
2	The administrative authorities of the University of Plymouth	The progress made  by  the  festival committee	1.   Official Mails 2. Presentations	Once  in a week
3	The festival committee	Any changes deemed necessary by the administrative authorities of the University of Plymouth or the other   stakeholders of the project.	1.   Official Mails 2. Official  meetings	As and when  required
5	Whale and Dolphin Conservation	The   outcomes of  the  project	1. Official Mails 2. Official  meetings 3. Presentations	After the  project ends
6	The target audience of the festival	The   list of events of the festival	1. Official Mails 2.  Other  promotional activities	After  the  activities have been finalized,  up till the event starts
7	The performers	Any changes deemed necessary by the administrative authorities of the University of Plymouth or the other   stakeholders of the project.	1.   Official Mails 2. Official  meetings	As and when  required

(Source: Developed by author)

The following risks, associated with   the project, have been identified:

Table 5: The Risk Management Plan of the project

Sl. No	Risk description	Management Plan
1	Enough funds might not be available from the sponsors.	The  organizers should reconsider  their budgetary requirements
2	One or more performers  might not  be  present ( or be late) at the performance	The organizations must  develop backup  plans for such scenarios
3	The task  of gaining   permissions from the government   authorities might be time consuming	Enough   time must be allotted for this task while scheduling the project.

(Source: Developed by author)

 The following techniques would be utilized for evaluating and controlling the project   under consideration:

Project control:  Tools like Tracking Gantt charts,  control charts and baseline Gantt charts help  in comparing  the progress  made by the  project (on a particular date) with the expected progress of the of project on that  particular date, which in turn can be used for  controlling  the  project (Heagney,  2012). 

Project evaluation: The earned value analysis method is widely utilized for evaluating the progress   made by the project (terms of completion of activities and utilization of budgetary resources) and  would be utilize  while evaluating  this project (Kerzner,  2013).

Conclusion:

The entertainment aspects of the Save  the “Dolphins Weekend”, along with its aims and objectives have  been  discussed  in  section 2 and 3  of the report, while an  estimation  of the budget  required for  conducting the  event has  been provided  in section 4. The   other  aspects   of  the  project, like that of the structure of  the project team,  the tools and techniques being utilize for  managing the resources,   the project communication and risk management plans and the control  techniques to be  utilized by the project manager  has also been  discussed  in the report. In the  light  of  the discussions made  in the report, it can be  concluded   that  the said event  can be successfully  conducted, thus  meeting  the  aims and objectives of the project.

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