The company success with the production of a fuel-efficient motorcycle for the market pushed them to take another bold step, they are already planning of introducing a new product. This new product is a motorcycle that will fall under the category of the touring class. The new product will also have different specification in its size, the motor speed, target market and its price. With the timeline for the project at five years, the company is clearly looking for a long-term investment in this product. The project manager that will lead the development of this product will assemble a new team composed of individuals from different departments within the organization with different expertise. The selection process of the team members will involve a mix of old and new members. The members of the previous team selected will continue to contribute what they have learned in the previous project and the newer members will come up with new and better ideas. Not only that, assumptions will be made such as what type of company structure that the company has.
The company is using a matrix type structure in developing the product. A matrix is a type of structure in which function and product is combined to achieve the company’s goal. Matrix structure, “also called the project management approach is sometimes used in conjunction with the traditional line-and-staff structure in organization. It combines two different forms of departmentalization-functional and product that have complementary strengths and weaknesses.” (Gitman & McDaniel, p. 181-182)
With limited financial and human resources, the company opted for this type of structure. The resources of the company will be fully utilized as well as the expertise of each of the members of the organization with such a structure. Joining members of the project team will remain in contact with the department where they belong. They can also be taken out, albeit temporarily to perform other task that is crucial to the overall operation of the company. At the end of the project, all of the members will return to work in the department to where they belong.
The new project will be composed of members from various departments specifically picked to create the new product. Those members of this team will continue to report to their managers within their department but their contact would be limited since their primary focus is to create the new product as a team. The team will consist of members from the technology, engineering, and marketing department of the company. The team will have a project manager in-charge of overseeing the whole project while the staff assigned to this project “has two direct supervisors: the line manager from her or his specific functional areas and the project manager.” (Gitman & McDaniel 2008, p. 182)
The project manager will be under the direct supervision of the Chief Executive Officer. This is to ensure that the resources needed to fund this project will be used solely for it and the expertise of the members of the team will be utilized according to their functions. By using this type of structure, it will promote camaraderie of all members of the team despite the fact that they came from different departments within the organization. However, the opposite may happen too.
The five major process of program management are the initiation, planning, execution, review & control and wrap-up. (Armstrong 2001, p. 77) It is in the initiation phase that the project management team is given authority to start the project and after which a plan is developed. The project management team will execute and review the product and the wrap up is the last phase of the project.
Considering that the top management had already decided to develop a new product and all other areas of the new product development process have been laid out such as the (a) the generation of new idea, (b) idea screening, (c) concept development and testing, (d) business analysis, (e) product development, (f) marketing strategy, (g) test marketing, and (h) commercialization. According to Armstrong, the project manager will perform steps to develop the new motorcycle model by
(1) Obtaining the staff needed for the project. The staff will come from different departments to ensure that their expertise in various areas can be utilized. However, majority of the staff comes from the different segment within the Engineering department.
(2) Roles and responsibilities will be assigned to each of the members of the team picked for this new product that will be developed.
(3) An organization chart will also be developed to emphasize the team’s structure and each of the member’s responsibility
(4) Prepare Project Notebook and Project files for the recording of the whole project and what transpire during its development.
(5) A detailed work breakdown structure is also created to ensure that all members are aware of the work responsibilities assigned to them.
(6) Reporting frequencies will be established for the benefit of the top management to which the project management directly reports into.
(7) Risk assessment procedures will also be conducted.
After those steps, the team will begin to perform the work assigned to them until the wrap up of the project. Contingencies will also be taken into consideration. “In any organization, having people play their roles and take defined responsibilities plays a critical part in ensuring success.” (Armstrong 2001, p. 76)
2). Recommend one (1) strategy to the senior executives that the organization might use to balance short- and long-term needs. Specify the crucial resources that you would need as a project manager to run the existing business interests at the same time that the business changes to the production of touring class motorcycles.
The project management team in charge with developing the new motorcycle has needs. It needs the continued support of the management as well as the continued diligence of the team members. Its long term goal is to be able to develop the product assigned to them and they will not be able to do that when their needs are also not met. One strategy that can be used to balance both the short-term and long term needs of the team is to seek full-pledged support from both top management as well as the members of the team. This will enable them to create a sound program necessary to achieve its goals. “In an advanced engineering program, sound program/project management means fulfilling the program’s objectives on time and within budget, making effective use of the assigned resources, maintaining good customer and partner relations, and providing a product that meets customer’s needs.” (Armstrong2001, p.7 6)
The project management team needs all the resources to achieve its goal. Its short-term goal might be able surpass the constraints it will experience in its day to day operation. Such constraint can be attributed to the disadvantage of using a matrix type management team to handle the development of a new product. Day to day constraint might be the conflict that arises out of having to report to two different leaders, increase turnover rate of the members of the team and complexity in the division of authority. A way to balance both the long and short-term constraints that might be experienced by a project management leader is to ensure that the team is capable of self-managing. “Self-managing teams and individuals can free up management time and allow creative and flexible approaches to work.” (Corkindale 2008)
3). Suggest the project management leadership style that is most conducive to overseeing the operation of the business growth plan.
The management style that should be used in developing the new motorcycle product should be the democratic type. “Democratic style is one where the manager allows the employees to take part in decision-making, where everything is agreed by the majority. This style can be particularly useful when complex decisions need to be made that require a range of specialist skills.” (Project Management for Development Organizations 2007, p. 104)
All the members of the team were handpicked because of their expertise on a certain field. Not letting them have a say on how the product is developed will defeat the purpose as to why they were chosen in the first place. Their inputs are needed. It is only in a democratic of leadership that members of the team have freedom to speak their mind. The interaction of all the members of the team will create camaraderie as well as expand their knowledge and skills through the inputs they heard from their fellow members. On the other hand, a democratic way of lending is tasking in the sense that meetings and brain storming session will last longer than necessary especially if everybody is contributing their ideas, sometimes leading arguments. One other good thing in this type of leadership style is the fact that it is the leader who will decide as to what it deems as the best decision that could benefit everybody.
4). Recommend at least three (3) risk mitigation strategies to address project plan details that might be forgotten or overlooked. Justify the selection.
The three risk mitigation strategies that the management team can use during the whole product development process are risk research, risk reserves and risk avoidance. These three risks mitigation strategies will help managers achieve their goal of creating a motorcycle. The team should make a wide research on whether or not the product mentioned is doable. Prototyping the said product is necessary. “Obtain more information. Prototyping is a typical research tactic, as are volume testing and increasing output.” (Royer 2001, p. 35) A contingency plan will enable the team to prepare for some setbacks. It “creates contingencies in the project schedule and budget in anticipation of projected risk impacts.” (Royer 2001, p. 35) Lastly, it is prudent for the team to estimate the risk and avoid an approach that involves great risk. “Risk avoidance will eliminate the specific threat or reject an approach because risk is too great and no acceptable means of resolving it can be found.” (Royer 2001, p. 35)
“Risk management planning needs to be an ongoing effort that cannot stop after a qualitative risk assessment, or a Monte Carlo simulation or the setting of contingency levels. Risk management includes front-end planning of how major risks will be mitigated and managed once identified. Therefore, risk mitigation strategies and specific action plans should be incorporated in the project execution plan, or risk analyses are just so much wallpaper.” (Committee for Oversight and Assessment of U. S. Department of Energy Project Management, et al., 2005 p. 41)
A project management team can be successful in creating a motorcycle that is according to the management’s specification if it will be able to sort out all the details it needs. The management structure has to be sorted out as well as the roles of the project manager and its members. Not only that, the phases of the production process should also be planned including the type of leader needed by the management team. Without a sound plan, managers will not be able to understand the whole process and has the tendency to overlook the risk involved in the whole process.
References:
Armstrong, Stephen, (2001). “Engineering and Product Development Management: The Holistic Approach,” Cambridge University Press.
Committee for Oversight and Assessment of U.S. Department of Energy Project Management, Board on Infrastructre and the Constructed Environment, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council, (2005). “The Owner’s Role in Project Risk Management,” National Academies Press.
Corkindale, Gill, (2008), “Surviving Matrix Management,” Harvard Business Review.
Gitman, Lawrence, McDaniel, Carl, (2008). “The Future of Business: The Essentials,” Cengage Learning.
Project Management for Development Organizations (2007) “Fundamentals of Project Management.” Project Management for Development.
Royer, Paul, (2001). “Project Risk Management: A Proactive Approach,” Management Concept Press.
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