The role of a project manager can be described as "[to] take responsibility for planning, implementing and completing the project- (Meredith & Mantel, 2000: 85) and is entirely dependent on the project identity, requirements and deliverables. The Regency Plaza case is no exception. Due to the nature of the project there is a large amount of sales and marketing involved, as well as the traditional project management skills such as managing design and construction as well as maintenance of cost, time and quality levels. .
Managing Design.
The Regency Plaza project involves both condominium and hotel sub-contracts . Hodgkins was hired to manage the condominium project and so was hired after the conceptual design of the building was completed. This means that the scope of the design component of the project was limited by the design of each of the floor plates with which she was provided. The Regency Hotel Group (RHG) provided Hodgkins with strict targets that had to be achieved if the project were to be successful. A specialist in Condominium design and marketing, Russel Farley, was a member of the project team specifically hired to provide expert assistance and advice that would help Hodgkins achieve those targets. The Boston Redevelopment Authority also provided stringent guidelines with regards to the quantity of condominiums that could be constructed. The combination of these different requirements meant that Hodgkins was forced to disregard the advice proposed by Farley in favour of a design that would allow for more condominiums and therefore a higher probability of achieving the financial targets set by the RHG.
This action on the part of Kris Hodgkins is open to criticism. A fundamental part of the design process is designing the base modules that will constitute each individual condominium. Farley made is opinion quite clear with his recommendation that larger condominiums be built because there was more of a market for that particular type of condominium.
