Implementation Plan For Friar Tucker Galleria Project

Implementation Plan for Friar Tucker Galleria

Friar Tucker International (FTI) is a hospitality services chain that manages 35 entertainment and cuisine establishments. Friar Tucker has these establishments across different yet distinct markets. FTI maintains 15 cuisine establishments, 10 sports entertainments establishments, eight family entertainment establishments and has agreements with two hotel chains (Apollo Group, 2003). Ricardo Bellini, the dynamic CEO of Friar Tucker, has expanded FTI's business by entering into agreements with several hotel chains to plan and execute projects for them. FTI's business is booming to a point where not only was Ricardo able to complete projects that fell into their core business but he also stepped outside the core business with the hotel chain agreements. The eccentric method in which projects were chosen, led the CEO to create a project selection committee to identify the projects the company should pursue.

The project selection committee (PSC) was tasked to short-list three projects that were determined as being in line with the company's strategic objectives and core business. The committee was given a set of critical success determinants along with the critical weight associated with each determinant. The PSC narrowed the project list to Friar's Nest, Braithwaite Greens and Galleria.

After applying a relevance factor to each critical success determinant, and based on the weight of each determinant, the project selection committee decided that the Galleria project best fit the strategic objectives of FTI.

Friar Tucker's Strategy

FTI currently operates in the hospitality services industry, specifically the family entertainment business. Friar Tucker's vision is "to be among the top ten hospitality service providers in the family entertainment business, based on their superior service levels and innovative marketing" (Apollo Group, 2003). FTI also has a secondary vision to attract more visitors and customers through their food and entertainment establishments and to ensure an enjoyable family experience. This vision sparked the current 35 managed establishments however, the vision was not the inspiration behind the Galleria.

The motivation behind the Galleria comes from FTI's key focus areas over the next three years. FTI wants to establish their presence in the entertainment hospitality segment, consolidate their presence in the cuisine business by expanding into specialty cuisine establishments, and to expand into the corporate entertainment segment. The Galleria project fits into these key focus areas while strengthening the corporate primary and secondary visions.

The Galleria project strategically aligns itself with the core values, visions and focus areas that FTI has developed. "The Galleria is a proposed entertainment center that houses a multiple screen theater, indoor gaming, restaurant, two bistro cafÐ"©s and a shopping mall that offers several thousand square feet of retail space. This enterprise is expected to attract a variety of customers considering it is designed to be a complete entertainment center. Since the Galleria is a new project, it is expected to build new core competencies that will allow FTI to achieve their vision of becoming one of the top ten hospitality providers in the industry. The Galleria will also establish a presence into the corporate entertainment segment and strengthen their presence in the entertainment segment" (Apollo Group, 2003). FTI has projected over $2 million in revenues from the renting of the cafÐ"©s and theaters. The expectation is that these revenues will be generated through aggressive marketing to major corporations to use the Galleria facilities for off-site meetings and corporate gatherings. Friar Tucker also hopes to strengthen their brand image through the projects they implement. The Galleria is a project that could attract a large number of people, however, the impact on brand value is marginal since the project would span across multiple components within the entertainment industry.

The Galleria project has the potential to impact the vision and objectives of Friar Tucker International. Each person associated with the implementation of this project must successfully complete their tasks on time to avoid delays or failure of the project. The project team also needs to identify any shortfalls, risk factors and consequences associated with the Galleria project.

Unique Implementation Plan for Completing the Galleria Project

The first task for the Galleria project is to finalize approval of the project. The project selection committee identified a suite of three projects and narrowed those choices down to the Galleria project. The Galleria project still needs approval by the CEO as the project that he would like to implement this year. In order for the PSC to ensure this project is completed on time, approval by the CEO needs to take place by the end of May. Once the project is approved, the PSC must choose a vendor to complete construction of the project.

FTI has a vendor matrix that is very accurate in determining which vendor to user. FTI has developed several criteria factors and applied a specific weight to these factors that is used in choosing a vendor. Based on these criteria, the PSC must assign a value that will aide in the selection of the vendor. The criterion for vendor selection is schedule, cost, experience, financial stability process maturity, quality of resources and track record with FTI. FTI has identified four potential vendors to subcontract the construction work. All of the vendors bring their own unique style, experience, process and track record to the table. The PSC must decide on which vendor will provide the best service to FTI. The vendor selection process should be completed by the end of June in order to keep the project on time.

The project selection committee chose Atoll Solutions as their vendor of choice for the Galleria project. The vendor selection matrix rated Atoll the highest and seems to be an ideal fit for this project. Atoll has a good reputation with reasonable costs and is known for their quick turn around times. Atoll also brings a wealth of experience to the table having been in business for 25 years. Extensive experience ensures that Atoll has mature processes that have withstood the test of many projects. This maturity provides the PSC with some confidence that Atoll can be considered a reliable vendor that is not new to the business. The only drawback that the PSC determined with Atoll was their lack of track record with FTI. This will be the first project that Atoll was worked with FT on, so the lack of familiarity