SA Adventures Unlimited Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SA Adventures Unlimited - Essay Example The first organized trip by SA Adventures Unlimited which was a three-week excursion across Ecuador and Peru that became a resounding success which prompted the business to expand its size and scope. From that single trip, it has grown to having 16 different excursions scheduled that includes trips to Central America. Additional personnel were also recruited that shared their similar passion for South America and the outdoors. As the business grew, the Rodriguez’s however are beginning to experience problems. Two of the tours were beyond the budget because of unanticipated costs which eroded the year’s profit. They also had to refund 30 percent of the tour fee because the group was stranded for five days in Blanco Puente after missing a train connection. Customer satisfaction is declining as customers were beginning to complain about the quality of accommodation and the price of the tours. The Rodriguez’s were also having hard time tracking cost across their projects and did not know their financial position until after their taxes were prepared. Clearly, the Rodriguez’s are having hard time coping with the demands of their expanding business. Excursions were poorly planned resulting in missing train connection and poor accommodation which severely undermined customer’s satisfaction that ultimately reduced their profits. Worst, their inability to track their costs across projects made it more difficult for them to plan future excursions which could undermine the business’s viability.... Each excursion or project that SA Adventures organizes is unique, complex, non-routine, one time effort that is limited by time, budget, resources with the objective of satisfying the customer (Gray & Larson, 2011). Thus, it is imperative that SA Adventures Unlimited must have a good grasp about Project Management to effectively and efficiently utilize human and nonhuman resources to reach predetermined objectives (Gray & Larson, 2011). Such, the extent of the application of Project Management to SA Ventures Unlimited is pervasive in all its operation due to the very nature of business which is organizing excursions that is project based. Project Management is complex. Unlike the traditional task in an organization where functions are segmented, Project Management is non-routinary and requires a lot of  problem  solving, coordination and time management to get a project done on time, within budget and in accordance to customer’s specification  (Gray & Larson, 2011).   The repercussion of failing to define, plan, executive and deliver the service is already obvious in the SA Adventures Unlimited case that it resulted to an erosion of profit and uncertainty to plan future excursions. The nature of the job at SA Adventures Unlimited also required interfacing between the customer and the companies capabilities. Being the interface between the company and the client, SA Adventures Unlimited personnel have to reconcile customer expectation with what is feasible and reasonable  (Gray & Larson, 2011)  and have to resolve issues that may arise as they execute the project. In executing the project, this would require a delicate balancing act between the trade-offs of time, cost and performance to get a