Premium Essay

Trophy Project Case Study

In:

Submitted By camille2424
Words 831
Pages 4
Communications and Procurement in Project Management
CPM 620- D1

Homework #4

Trophy Project Case Study

November 11, 2011

There are three problem areas within this company that really stands out and have contributed to the trophy project’s failures. The conflicting organizational structure, the lack of senior management support, and the project manager all contributed to the failure of the trophy project.
Organizational structure problem:
The company appears to be operating as a matrix organizational structure with a project manager assigned to this specific project. However, there is a lack of support amongst the project manager, the functional manager, and senior management. Due to the lack of project-oriented emphasis on the trophy project it appears that the company is operating more as a traditional organizational structure. “In the traditional structure, the power spectrum is realized through the hierarchy, whereas in the project structure, power comes from credibility, expertise, or being a sound decision-maker” (Kerzner, 2006, pg. 198). The company should focus on using a pure matrix organizational structure and give the project manager the support and required resources needed to successfully complete the project.
Management problems:
It was apparent that there was no support from the functional and senior management on this project. There was also a lack of support by the project office and the line managers. The line managers finally realized that they had a role in the project several months after the project started. This caused a significant delay in the project and they were unable to make up any time that had already been lost.
The functional manager never supported Reichart, the project manager, throughout the project. Even after corporate staff stepped in and made some dramatic changes to the project, the functional manager still did not

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Trophy Project Case Study

...International Journal of Project Management 26 (2008) 591–600 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijproman Managing public–private megaprojects: Paradoxes, complexity, and project design Alfons van Marrewijk a,* , Stewart R. Clegg b,1 , Tyrone S. Pitsis b,2 , Marcel Veenswijk a,3 a b Department of Culture, Organization and Management, Faculty of Social Science, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands ICAN Research Center, Faculty of Business, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Sydney, Australia Received 1 March 2007; received in revised form 25 July 2007; accepted 20 September 2007 Abstract Recent studies show that despite their growing popularity, megaprojects – large-scale, complex projects delivered through various partnerships between public and private organisations – often fail to meet costs estimations, time schedules and project outcomes and are motivated by vested interests which operate against the public interest. This paper presents a more benign and theoreticallygrounded view on what goes wrong by comparing the project designs, daily practices, project cultures and management approaches of two recent megaprojects in The Netherlands and Australia, showing how these projects made sense of uncertainty, ambiguity and risk. We conclude that project design and project cultures play a role in determining how managers and partners cooperate to achieve project objectives to a greater...

Words: 8394 - Pages: 34

Premium Essay

The Trophy Project Case Study

...Executive Summary The Trophy Project was fundamentally mismanaged from the start. The management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, controlling and directing personnel and resources were poorly executed by both senior and project level management. Customer expectations were not well defined and scope creep was allowed to take place without proper administration. There did not appear to be a corporate champion for this project who could mentor and resolve conflicts that were beyond the authority of the project manager. Plus, the project manager appeared to be inexperienced and was not very adept at negotiating with upper level and functional management to obtain the proper resources necessary to achieve the project objectives. 1. Did the project appear to be planned correctly? No, the project did not appear to be planned correctly. The project scope, resource requirements, schedule and the budget were not well defined. The project did not describe how the project team would be structured or where authority lines were drawn for tasks priorities and structure units. There didn’t appear to be a clear objective outlined for the project and resources were not efficiently utilized or properly managed. There was a lack of leadership support from senior management. When senior management did get involved, they were threatening instead of constructive and failed to seek a true understanding of the underlying problems that plagued the project. Lastly, the customer...

Words: 687 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Trophy Project

...MODULE 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT: PROGRAMME MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND INNOVATIVE IMPROVEMENT CASE STUDY: “TROPHY PROJECT” GROUP ASSIGNMENT 05 JUNE 2012 We the undersigned hereby declare that this assignment is our own work. It has not been previously submitted for any other examination. Nocawa Johnson________________________________ Nolusindiso Mitani_________________________________ Welhemina Mnguni_________________________________ Content 1. Executive Summary………………………………………………………….....2 2. Body (Problems and Causes)……………………………………………….....3 2.1 Poor Planning…........................................................................................3 2.2 Programme behind schedule….................................................................4 2.3 Fruitless expenditure……………………………………………………...….4 2.4 Lack of Leadership………………………………………………………..….5 2.5 Lack of Communication……………………………………………….….….6 2.6 Lack of teamwork (no cohesion)……………………………………….……6 2.7 No goals and no objectives…………………………………………………..7 2.8 Conflict and Resistance………………………………………………………8 2.9 No Programme Management Office…………………………..………….….8 2.10 No required skills..........................................................................9 2.11 Lack of Technology……………………………………………….…9 2.12 Lack of Authority……………………………………………………10 3. About leadership in the top and functional management levels of the Organisation…………………………………………………………………...

Words: 4473 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Trophy Project

...Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 3 2. Major problems Experienced in the Trophy Project 4 2.1. Synopsis of the Trophy project case study problems 4 3. List of Problems 4 3.1. Operational 4 3.2. Behavioural 5 3.3. Structural 5 4. Leadership at Top Management and functional management levels of the Organisation 7 4.1. Initiation Structures 8 4.2. Dysfunctional roles of Functional Manager 8 4.3. Lack of Senior Management Support 8 4.4. Reactionary Management style 10 4.5. Implementation strategy 10 4.6. Lack of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 11 4.7. Internal Processes perspectives 11 4.8. Lack of Innovation and Learning (Learning and Growth) Perspective 11 5. Reichart’s Leadership and Managerial Abilities 12 5.1. Planning 12 5.2. Organizing 12 5.3. Staffing 12 5.4. Leading 13 5.5. Controlling 13 5.6. Major Skills lacking in Reichart’s leadership 14 6. Recommendations 14 6.1. Implementing a Strategic Transformation and Change Management Programme 15 6.1.1. Strategic transformation planning 15 6.1.2. Creating a Climate for Change 17 6.1.3. Continuous Organisational Improvement 17 6.1.4. Risk Management 18 6.1.5. Control 18 6.1.6. Stage–Gate Model 18 6.1.7. Balanced Scorecard 19 7. Conclusion 19 8. References 20 9. Annexure 22 9.1. Planning, Control, organising, & leading 22 9.2. BS – PM Learning Organisation Value Chain Schematic 23 9.3. Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change 23 9.4. Strategic transformation process 24 9.5...

Words: 4860 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

The Trophy Project

...Case Overview The ill-fated Trophy Project was in trouble right from the start. Reichart, who had been an assistant project manager, was involved with the project from its conception. When the project was accepted, Reichart was assigned as the project manager. From day one, the schedules slipped and expenditures were excessive.Reichart found out that functional managers were charging direct labor time for “pet projects” to the Trophy Project resources. When he complained about it, he was told not to meddle in functional managers’ resource allocation and expenditures. After approximately six months, he was requested to present a progress report to the corporate and division staff. Reichart took this time to bare his soul. The report substantiated that the project was forecasted to be one year behind schedule and estimated cost at a 20% overrun. The project staff supplied by line managers was inadequate to stayed at the required pace let alone make up lost time. This was his first opportunity to present project problems to people in position to correct the situation. As the result of his frank and candid evaluation, nonbeliever and line managers realized that they had a role to play in the completion of the project. Most of the problems were out in the open and could be corrected by providing adequate staffing and resources. Corporate staff ordered remedial action and staff support to provide a chance to bail out his program. Reichart’s report yielded unexpected results...

Words: 5525 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

The Trophy Project

...Project Control Management Assignment Abstract Introduction Section 1: The Trophy Project: Project Controls 1.1 Project Planning and Estimating 1.2 Requirements Definition 1.3 Risk & Issue Management 1.4 Reporting (Cost & Status) 1.5 Integrated Planning Section 2: The Importance of Integrated Planning as a Project Control 2.1 Integrated Planning 2.2 Integrated Planning in BAE Systems Section 3: The Consideration of Human Factors at WCE 3.1 The WCE Strategic Change Programme 3.2 Why Change Programmes Fail Conclusion Abstract Wynn Computer Equipment – a reasonably successful and good business to work for (benefits & salary wise), had been suffering with issues in productivity. These issues were mainly derived from a combination of poor communication, bad planning, a confusing organisation structure and a lack of direction & team morale/ teamwork. The company received a contract for the ‘Trophy Project’ – which was project managed by a previously junior member of staff – Reichart. The project was extremely problematic and was delivered very late and at great cost, mostly due to the poorly executed project control mechanisms within the business (during planning and project implementation). The business could have greatly benefitted from using a more integrated approach to project planning and control- something which BAE Systems finds of great importance to their project management activities. Introduction...

Words: 4881 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Pm-Project Management

...top leadership on The Trophy project compounded Reinhart’s problems and made managing the project a complete nightmare. This was also mainly due to the fact that there was no business case formulated for this project. The baseline plan might have been formulated but it did not cover all aspects of the project plan. For instance there was no clear project objective outlined so the team members only realised that they had a role to play months after the project had started. Had the project been divided into work packages commonly called Work Breakdown Structure, and responsibilities handed to the right parties the project would have kicked off on a positive note. By creating a network diagram which shows what goes where and the interdependencies of activities it would have made it easier for everyone to see the objective of the project. There was a need to review the project immediately after it was realise it was falling behind and measures put in place to remedy this. Reinhart conducted his own investigation and realised that the line managers where charging him direct labour time which proved to be expensive, this item could have been noted before commencement of the project had all players been consulted before hand. The line managers had no idea what they had to do on the project but where just given tasks to perform without knowing the strategic vision of the organisation as regards the project.  There was a need to do a risk analysis on the project as this would prepare Reinhart...

Words: 3246 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

The Trophy Case

...The Trophy Project INTRODUCTION Already mentioned by the first sentence in the case study, this was an "ill fated" project. Upon reading the case it is evident that there are multiple issues related to this project. Reichart, a previous assistant project manager was assigned his first, The Trophy Project, project as project manager. From the beginning it seemed that he was in over his head, since they were already over budget and under schedule. Due to his lack of experience as project manager, it seemed that he was not respected among the functional managers. They were taking advantage of his position to charge direct labor time and also taking the advantage to work on their own pet projects. When he complained he was not taken seriously. A major issue plaguing this project is the a lack of planning resulted in schedules slipping and excess expenditures. There was absence of the organization of resources and budget during this project. This along with disorganization and insufficient tactical leadership leading to resulting in chaos and the downfall of the project. With all of these issues plaguing the project, it was destined to be a failure. PROJECT PLANNING There was no planning when this project was conceived, which resulted in the project finishing behind schedule and over budgeted. There was no obvious work breakdown structure(WBS) to show what work need to be completed and who needs to complete it. Since this project had its issues from the start it was...

Words: 758 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Trophy Project

...The Trophy Project  |   | Save Paper | Category: Case Study Analysis | Word(s): 3104 | Page(s): 13 | View(s): 1572 | Rank: 0 |   | [pic] TABLE OF CONTENTS    1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY    2. INTRODUCTION    3. QUESTION 1    4. QUESTION 2    5. QUESTION 3    6. QUESTION 4    7. CONCLUSION    8. BIBLIOGRAPHY    1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | The lack of support from top leadership on The Trophy project compounded Reinhart’s problems and made managing the project a complete nightmare. This was also mainly due to the fact that there was no business case formulated for this project. The baseline plan might have been formulated but it did not cover all aspects of the project plan. For instance there was no clear project objective outlined so the team members only realised that they had a role to play months after the project had started. Had the project been divided into work packages commonly called Work Breakdown Structure, and responsibilities handed to the right parties the project would have kicked of on a positive note. By creating a network diagram which shows what goes where and the interdependencies of activities it would have made it easier for everyone to see the objective of the project. There was a need to review the project immediately after it was realise it was falling behind and measures put in place to remedy this. Reinhart conducted his own investigation and realised that the line managers where charging him direct labour time which...

Words: 3154 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

The Trophy Project

...CRANEFIELD COLLEGE OF PROJECT AND PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT MODULE M2 GROUP ASSIGNMENT CASE: The Trophy Project DATE: 13 March 2013 We hereby declare that this assignment is entirely our own work, and that it has not previously been submitted to any other Higher Education Institution. We also declare that all published and unpublished sources have been fully acknowledged and properly referenced. This includes figures, tables and exhibits. Where modified by us, this has also been indicated. Name | Signature | ID Number | Dorothy van Heerden | | 7003230015080 | Delareze Joubert | | 7911030059084 | George Klopper | | 6510115056089 | Morne Grobler | | 8006265241082 | Salome Cilliers | | 8502170130089 | Tammy Pieterse | | 7811030086089 | Thabi Qaqane | | 7812220436084 | Andre Henn | | 7807285013083 | * Index Index 2 1 Executive Summary 3 2 Introduction 4 3 Problem Identification 5 3.1 SWOT Analysis of the Trophy Project 5 3.2 Problem Analysis 6 3.2.1 STRUCTURAL 6 3.2.2 Behavioural 7 3.2.3 Organisational 13 4 Recommendation 15 4.1 Organisational Effectiveness 15 4.2 The Balanced Score Card Approach 15 5 Conclusion 18 6 Bibliography 19 Executive Summary This document, by means of a thorough analysis of the case study, reveals that the Trophy Project is in a state of disorder. It identifies problematic behavioural structural and organisational issues within the company and discuses leadership problems that the company experiences throughout...

Words: 4449 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Trophy Project

... Key issues in managing people in projects including teamwork and communication Richard had his first experience as a project manager that give us a sense that shortcomings were inevitable. It was not entirely Richards fault, I would blame it to the whole organization for not recognizing their responsibility and contribution towards the project and instead going along with their pet projects. The lack of consensus among centralization structure over the project was caused due to lack of communication. Stakeholders including client should have often asked for progressive report and any lousy performance at the interval should have got an immediate remedial reaction to maintain the project on right pace. Today, in almost every organization, people work in teams or groups. That means managers should be skilled in managing individuals, and managing groups as well. The goal of a manager is to build a good performing team where people do their work, do it well, and respect and support one another. To do this, you must work to promote teamwork, understanding and collaboration among the people you manage on an on daily basis. The rules of working together as a team should underpin how the team is operated. Managing people is not always just acting as overseer, it is to make sure that they get their work done satisfactorily and conveniently, which was missing in trophy project. It also means involving people throughout the team in a creative role, to ensure that together you are...

Words: 1422 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Keyboard

...CRANEFIELD COLLEGE OF PROJECT AND PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT M2 PROGRAM MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE AND INNOVATIVE IMPROVEMENT MODULE WESTRAND GROUP ASSIGNMENT The Trophy Project “Case Study” “We hereby declare that this assignment is entirely our own work, and that it has not previously been submitted to any other Higher Education Institution. We also declare that all published and unpublished sources have been fully acknowledged and properly referenced. This includes figures, tables and exhibits. Where modified by us, this has also been indicated.” Compiled by: Name | Signature | ID Number | Nomsa Thobane | | | Lucille Olivier | | | Misokuhle Thusi | | | Vuyani Mawetu Matoti | | | Brenda Neshishivhe | | | ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 3 2. Problem Identification 4 2.1 Structural Strategic Variables 4 2.1.1 Organisational structure 4 2.1.2 Other Structural Strategic Variables 5 2.2 Behavioural Strategy Variable 7 2.2.1 Management 7 2.2.2 Management Leadership 9 2.2.3 Functional Management Leadership 11 2.2.4 Project Management 12 2.2.5 Project Management Leadership 15 2.3 Operational Strategic Variables 16 3. Recommended Approach 16 3.1 Structural Strategic 16 3.1.1 Matrix Organisational Structure 16 3.2 Behavioural Strategic 18 3.2.1 Balance scorecard 18 3...

Words: 6304 - Pages: 26

Free Essay

Case Study

...PROJECT MANAGEMENT MANCHESTER CASE STUDY Daniela Banegas Haces Aug 12th 2011 SUMMARIZE CASE There is a Manchester United Soccer club (MUSC) in New Hampshire which purpose is to prepare recreational players for the State Olympic Development Program and/ or high school teams. Nicolette Larson is a “soccer mom” of one of the 24 members of the club and she was elected to be the director of the tournament therefore, she will need to organize the club´s first summer tournament. This year MUSC plan to host the soccer tournament because it is an excellent idea in order to gain money and raise funds. There is a problem with this which is that they will need more soccer fields in order to expand Rock Rimmon soccer complex so that they are be able to host everyone What Nicolette Larson did was that she started the process of organizing the situation by making a meeting with the tournament committee and suggested a brainstorm but the meeting did not went as planned because everyone started complaining about different circumstances, different ideas came up, half of the people abandoned the meeting and at the end there was no concrete result because Nicolette ended up with seven sheets full of different ideas and they spent more time on the meeting than they should. IDENTIFY AND DEFINE CENTRAL PROBLEM OR PROBLEMS There is one central problem which I could divide in particular specific ones. The main problem is that; * The committee is not getting along well in order to...

Words: 1044 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Trophy Project

...The Trophy Project was a lengthy project that seem was obviously very important to the company. Reichart, who was a prior assistant project manager, was given the reigns and selected as the project manager (PM) for the Trophy Project. From the very beginning, the project faced challenges that are common to many projects. As a PM, Reichart had many roles and responsibilities throughout the duration of the project. Reichart needed to direct and control the project. As the PM he needed to use interpersonal and communication skills with both functional managers and his project team to accomplish every task in the project. Unfortunately Reichart and the team ended up falling behind schedule, over spent the budget, and didn’t accomplish the project in accordance with the customer’s desires. The following is a list of problems that Reichart and his team encountered with some potential ways that he and the project team might have been able to fix them. 1. Competition over team leadership: From the very beginning of the project, Reichart was faced with the issue of functional managers not using the funds allocated to them for the project to complete actual work for the project. Functional managers were using line workers to accomplish different tasks that weren’t associated with the project while still billing the project for the hours. When Reichart made different people aware that this was happening he was told to not meddle in affairs of the functional managers. It was his...

Words: 1382 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Dfsa

...Work Breakdown Structure Of Manchester United Soccer Club BY MD. ZABER TAUHID ABIR MD. ZABER TAUHID ABIR 0|Page Answer To the Question No 01: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Manchester United Soccer Club Case Study Manchester United Soccer Club The Soccer Tournament Tournament Rules Arranging Playground Finding Sponsors Referees & Artists Final Ceremony Selecting Players Playground Rules Contacting Local College Field Design Playing Equipment Selecting Sponsors Collecting Fund Qualified Referees Hiring an Artist Television Coverage Rewards Basic Soccer Rules Game Schedule Entry Fees Examining the Field Hiring the Field Field Dimension Viewer’s Gallery Player’s Shade Goal-Posts Main Referee Sideline Referee Designing T-Shirts Designing Sweatshirts Trophy for Wining Team Man of the Tournament Best Goal Soccer Balls for playing MD. ZABER TAUHID ABIR 1|Page Detail: The major deliverables for the project and a draft of the work breakdown structure for the tournament is as follows: 1. Manchester United Soccer Club “The Soccer Tournament” 1.1. Tournament Rules 1.1.1. Selecting Players 1.1.2. Playground Rules 1.1.2.1. Basic Soccer Rules 1.1.2.2. Game Schedule 1.1.2.3. Entry Fees 1.2. Arranging Playground 1.2.1. Contacting Local College 1.2.1.1. Examining The Field 1.2.1.2. Hiring The Field 1.2.2. Field Design 1.2.2.1. Field Dimension 1.2.2.2. Viewer’s Gallery 1.2.2.3. Player’s Shade 1...

Words: 686 - Pages: 3