Time management

Good management requires that resources are used to achieve particular goals within specified periods of time. For example, capital borrowed from a bank must be converted into goods and services for sale, and back into cash for repayment of the loan, within a period acceptable to the bank. One of the key issues in time management is the prioritizing of tasks, so that the most urgent ones are identified and carried out first. For example, when converting business premises, planning permission needs to be obtained before builders are contracted to make the alterations. Although this may seem obvious, when many hundreds tasks need to be completed, the planning and organizing of tasks in this way is essential.

Businesses use two key techniques to help them plan and manage tasks:

Critical path analysis (CPA) is a technique used to break down a project into its component activities, place them in the right sequence, and then decide when to carry them out. The aim is to identify the minimum amount of rime required to complete the entire project.

For example, in marketing there are a series of stages, including market research, research and development (R&D), test marketing, pricing, distribution, promotion, selling and after-sales service, which can be further broken down into key steps and prioritized. Some of these activities are critical, such that if they are delayed, the whole project will take longer than expected. For example, the lead time between ordering and taking delivery of materials is critical in production.

The objective of CPA is to schedule tasks in a way that minimizes time and costs. A series of lines, each one representing an activity, can be drawn in the form of a network diagram, or PERT chart (Program Evaluation and Review Technique). Adding the time each activity is expected to take allows a business to identify the critical path of the project – that is, the minimum time needed to complete it.

Figure below shows a PERT chart for a project to install new computer equipment in an office. It shows that no activity in the network can be started until all preceding activities have been completed. To complete all the individual tasks would take 31 days. But because some tasks can be carried out at the same time, the whole project could be completed in 20 days. A delay in any one of the activities on the critical path will delay the whole project.

Move furniture and files (2 days)

Remove old equipment (3 days)

Replace furniture and files (1 day)

Agree funding (5 days)

Install new equipment (4 days)

Rewire office (5 days)

START

FINISH

Order new equipment (10 days)

Check equipment (1 day)

Fig. A PERT chart for installing new computer equipment

A GANNT chart is simply a horizontal bar chart, each bar representing a different activity. The vertical axis records the different activities which need to be undertaken, and the horizontal axis records time. The length of each bar is determined by the amount of time needed to complete each activity. Bars can also be shaded to show how much work has been completed under each task.

A GANNT chart for installing new computer equipment

Tasks / Date	27.01	03.02	10.02	17.02	24.02
Agree funding Order new equipment Remove old equipment Move furniture and files Rewire office Replace furniture and files Check equipment Install new equipment

Work completed

Work outstanding

To prepare a GANNT chart, a manager will list all the activities necessary to complete a project, and then estimate the time required for each one. Progress is then checked against the chart. If the project is ahead of schedule, the manager may decide to move some employees to another project. If the project is behind schedule, extra labour may be required to finish it on time.

Дата добавления: 2015-12-08