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The main challenges that the Lyle project met occurred as a result of the incompetence of the Project manager, Don Jung. His immediate superior, Fred Franks had a conversation with him about the problems that he had brought to the company and the effects it would bring both to himself and the reputation of the company in general. Don was reported for not promoting a cooperative attitude between his department and the functional managers of the firm.

The lack of Don’s cooperative attitude undermined his relationship with the other managers particularly John Mabby, the head of the purchasing department. Mabby claimed that the lack of cooperation with Don would end up in his project exceeding the allotted working time with 6,000 hours. The implication of this is that the project will exceed the duration agreed upon with the client which would translate to a reduction of the payment. Exceeding the deadline of completion would result in the company having to compromise with the client so the payment is cut down by a certain percentage depending on the agreement.

Moreover, exceeding deadline is a blow to the company’s reputation in the construction market. This is a huge risk considering the construction market is a highly competitive market and with their reputation scarred, they will begin to lose client to their competitors. Another implication of Don’s attitude is the increase of the production capital. Adding 6000 hours to the project would mean that the company has to pay their workers for their time which will increase the cost of production. When added to the compromise that the company will have to make with its clients due to the exceeding of the deadline, it is clear that the whole project will be a loss that will cut the companies capital. Don’s incompetence is therefore a great threat to the company’s well being.

Another accusation that Don faced was his disregard of the company’s standard procedures of engagement. Following the report that Mabby gave him, Don ignored his requests even though he had been warned twice by Bob Stewart, a subcontractor to the purchasing department. In his opinion, Don though that because the purchasing was assigned to an outside party, his involvement was not of great concern. He argued that the subcontractors had enough man-hours to complete the additional work. However, Mabby let him know that the purchasing department still needed to perform its man-hour allocation. Don was reluctant to cover the additional Man-hour problem and even Harold Mont, the vice president of engineering accused don of ignoring the established standard company procedures.

His ignorance made him convened his team to have the various departments of the project to use shortcuts in making up for the lost time that resulted from the delays that he caused. This called for the various departments to overlook the standard procedures that should be involved in such cases. The probable result of using shortcuts in completing the project in time was a substandard work which would have a great impact on the company’s reputation. Besides, overlooking the standard procedure of the construction work put the workers in great risk of injury or death. The company will then have to explain to the law why this happened or have to pay for the medial bills of the injured individuals. Either way, the company stands to lose.

Based on these findings, there are great changes that are required particularly in Don’s role as the project manager. The first and obvious role is to have him fired. This is what Franks wanted to do but this would prove as a challenge because bringing in another project manager in short notice will present the company with the problem of having to wait till Don’s replacement is up to speed with the project. This will still present the problem of added work hours and exceeding the deadline which would rather be prevented if Don behaved accordingly.

To this end, Franks allowed him to continue on the condition that he would operate in accordance with the various operational departments. In doing so, he will present the purchasing department with the opportunity to address their man-hour problems. The engineering department will also work to their best form without risking the occurrence of the hazards of the construction process. In general, operating in accordance with the other department’s will promote symbiosis in the company which will result in a smooth operation of the activities involved during the project.

Another change that was demanded of Don was to listen and be attentive to the comments of the various departments. Communication between the functioning departments of the company was necessary for a smooth operation of the whole project. The lack of communication of the production department was the beginning of this problem. It was so bad that a subcontractor had to be involved in the process of trying to address the matter. He even went on to have his department facilitate the process of the various departments without the agreement of the department heads.

Don clearly has a communication problem and a lack of communication is among the key areas where company’ should stress on if they want to maintain their existence in the market. It can not be made any clear based on the prior findings such as the loss of reputation in the highly competitive market. As such, Don should make cooperation his first priority. He should not have take matters in his hands after he realized that he had caused the company dearly. Accepting his incompetence to the other functional department heads would improve the cooperation needed to cut back on the production tie rather than the foul relationship that he stood to create when he had the various departments overlook the standard company procedures.

2

Based on the case study, the processes that are involved in the submission of a request to deal with the changes necessary included developing a new scope, assessment, review, testing, implementation and the closing of the project. It is without a doubt that the company was in a rather compromising situation with its client concerning the completion of the project, a fact which resulted from Don’s incompetence. However, following his warning and second chance from Franks, it is clear that a new change control process was necessary.

A meeting with the various department heads was necessary. In it, they would assess the damage that hade been caused by Don. Next, they would draft a new plan that involved the maximization of production so as to reduce the additional 6000 man-hours that seemed inevitable. Next they would analyze the plan based on impact and risk assessment. This would ensure that the new plan does not cause problems along the way. It will include the relationship between the functional departments as demanded by the new plan. The plan will then be reviewed by Franks. He will ensure that no other department is strained during the process so as to minimize the production time and finish the project in excellent standards.

Next is the testing of the implemented change process and to ensure that it works well with the company’s standard procedure, the various departments and the client’s required standard. If the plan is successful during the implementation stage, then Frank’s together with the various department managers will close the change process and implement the new plan so the company complete the project in time or compromises high standard with exceeding the deadline. In doing so, the company will keep its future projects from the client and also maintain its reputation in the market.

3

There are two options to completing the change request. The first is exceeding the deadline but finishing the project to standard that exceed the client’s expectations and the other is meeting the deadline but increasing the production time. The first instance seem to be a risky venture, exceeding the deadline will make the client disappointed but this can be addressed easily if the project exceeds their expectations. It will also mean that more capital is injected in the production because the work-hours will exceed the planned completion time. The other option is meeting the deadline but the client is disappointed. Chances are that the client will pull out from future projects and the company’s reputation will be adversely affected. Therefore, the only option available is exceeding the deadline but creating a high standard project. In doing so, the client will maintain their relationship with the company and the company will be in a position of bargaining in the future projects.

4

Change Control Form

1. PROJECT DETAILS

1. REQUEST DETAILS

1. CHANGE DETAILS

1. CHANGE JUSTIFICATION

1. IMPACT OF CHANGE

6. FORM DISTRIBUTION LIST

References

Wysocki, R. K. (2012). Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme (6th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Wiley.