Question

Case Study. Multi Projects

Multi Projects, Inc., is a well-established consulting firm with 400 employees. It has many projects going on at the same time for various clients. Multi Projects has a good reputation, and nearly 30 percent of its business is from previous clients. It targets growing companies for future business and has been successful in this area, too. Because of the growth, things have been quite hectic, with employees trying to keep up with the work, keep clients satisfied, and bend

over backward to accommodate new clients. Multi Projects has been hiring new employees in fact, it has grown from 300 to 400 employees over the past two years.

Multi Projects has a matrix organizational structure. As new projects come in,

a project manager is assigned. One project manager may be assigned to several projects at one time, depending on the size of the projects. Projects range in value from $20,000 to $1 million and can be from one month to two years in duration. Most projects are about six months in duration and worth about $60,000 to $80,000. The firm performs a range of consulting services, including

market research, manufacturing system design, and executive recruiting. Its cli- ents are medium to large corporations and include banks, manufacturers, and

government agencies.

Multi Projects just got a call from Growin Corporation, which wants to go

forward with a project that Multi Projects proposed nearly six months ago. Part- ners at Multi Projects are surprised by the good news. They had thought the

project was dead. They are also very interested in carrying out a first project for Growin Corporation because it is a rapidly growing company. Multi Projects sees an opportunity to do several projects with Growin Corporation in the future.

Jeff Armstrong has been assigned as project manager for the Growin Corpo- ration project. He has been with Multi Projects for about a year and has been

anxious to get a challenging project to manage. He worked on the proposal for the Growin project.

460 Part 3 People: The Key to Project Success

Tyler Bonilla is a senior systems engineer. He has been with Multi Projects

eight years. He has an excellent reputation, and previous clients with whom he has worked usually request that he be assigned to their projects. He enjoys his work, even though he is extremely busy. He is currently working full time on a project for Goodold Company, a previous client. Goodold said that one of the reasons it does business with Multi Projects, rather than with another consulting firm, is the great work Tyler does on their projects.

Jennifer Fernandez is the manager of systems engineering. She has been with Multi Projects about 15 years. Tyler reports to Jennifer, but because of his heavy workload and associated travel, he does not get to see Jennifer very often, other

than at her monthly staff meetings.

Julie Capriolo is the project manager for the Goodold Company project. She

has been with Multi Projects for about two years. Tyler is assigned to her project full time. The project has a tight schedule, and everyone is putting in extra hours. Julie feels a lot of pressure, but she has a good project team she relies heavily

on Tyler. She had heard from a friend who used to work with Jeff that Jeff is very ambitious and will do whatever it takes to make himself look good. This had not been of concern to Julie because she and Jeff have separate projects and do not run into each other very often.

The day Jeff is assigned to be project manager on the Growin Corporation project, he runs into Tyler in the hallway. We got the Growin project, he tells Tyler.

Great, responds Tyler.

Jeff continues, You know, one of the big reasons they gave the project to us rather than another consulting firm is because we promised you d be the lead systems engineer on the project, Tyler. They were impressed with you when we met with them to present our proposal. When do you think you can start work on the project?

Unfortunately, I can t. I m tied up on the Goodold project, and things are

really hectic. I ll be on that project for another four months, says Tyler.

No way! exclaims Jeff. This Growin project is too important to me I

mean, to us. I ll take care of it.

You d better talk to Jennifer, Tyler tells him.

Jeff stops by Jennifer s office. She s busy, but he interrupts her. I gotta have Tyler Bonilla on my Growin project. He wants to work on it, but he said I should

talk to you.

That s impossible, says Jennifer. He s assigned to Julie Capriolo s Goodold project for the next four months.

Julie? Who s she? Never mind. I ll find her and work it out. You probably have somebody else you can assign to her project, replies Jeff, as he quickly bolts out of her office in search of Julie.

That s my decision, not yours or Julie s! shouts Jennifer. But by that time

Jeff is gone and does not hear what she says.

Julie is meeting with her project team in the conference room. Jeff knocks on the door and opens it. Is there a Julie in here? he asks.

I m Julie, she responds.

I need to talk to you ASAP. It s important. Oh, by the way, sorry for interrupting. Looking toward Tyler, who s in the meeting, Jeff says, Hey, Tyler, catch you later, buddy, after I talk with Julie. Jeff then shuts the door and goes back to his office. Julie is noticeably disturbed at the interruption. Chapter 13 Project Management Organizational Structures 461

After her meeting, Julie calls Jeff. This is Julie. What did you want to talk to me about that was so urgent?

About reassigning Tyler to my project. He s interested, and I ve already talked to Jennifer about it, answers Jeff.

That s impossible, declares Julie. He s critical to the Goodold project.

Sorry, says Jeff, but if the Growin project is successful, we ll get more busi- ness from them than we ever got from the Goodold Company.

It s already after 6 o clock and I have to be out of town for a week, but I ll discuss this with Jennifer as soon as I get back, snaps Julie.

Yeah, sure, whatever, responds Jeff.

The next day Jeff calls a meeting with Jennifer and Tyler. He starts by telling them, I called this meeting to figure how soon Tyler can begin working on the Growin project and how you [looking at Jennifer] can get somebody to take his place on what s-her-name s project.

I think Julie should be here for this discussion, says Jennifer.

She couldn t make it. Apparently she s out of town for a week, and we need

to get going on the Growin project. Jeff tells her. We need to prepare for a meeting with them next week. Besides, Tyler is the one we re talking about, and he d rather work on the Growin project. Right, Tyler?

Ah, well, now that you ve asked, I am getting tired of working on the Good- old projects, replies Tyler. I m not learning anything new. I mean, it s okay, but

I d like a change.

Jennifer is astonished. You never mentioned that to me, Tyler.

Jeff breaks in, Well, I guess it s settled. Jennifer, you assign somebody else to the Goodold project who ll feel a little more challenged and tell Julie when she gets back. In the meantime, me and my buddy Tyler have got a lot of work to do to look good for our meeting with the Growin people next week.

CASE QUESTIONS

1. Why is Jeff so anxious to get started on the Growin project?

2. What is wrong with Jeff s approach to handling this situation?

3. What should Jennifer do to resolve this situation?

4. What advantages and disadvantages of the matrix organization are apparent

Answer 1

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Why is Jeff so anxious to get started on the Growin project?

Jeff is excited to get the project started and make a name for himself. He is a very ambitious person, and will do what he has to to make a name for himself. He is willing to set himself up for success while he is putting the whole company at a disadvantage. Jeff wants to start the project so he can keep moving on to the next one assigned to him. Jeff id excited for all that there is to come with the projects from the Growin Project.

What is wrong with Jeff’s approach to handling this situation?

With Jeff being very demanding and ignorant it is hard for him to communicate with the team. He is stopping Tyler in hallways, Julie and Jennifer are being disrupted. He is being selfish in the way that he wants to make a name for himself rather that look at the big picture working on the growth of Multi Projects. Tyler is being put in bad situations by Jeff lying. Jeff is being a big bully trying to push over everyone in the office. Jeff is also lying to the Growin Project people. He is also lacking respect to his coworkers and has a very bad attitude.

What should Jennifer do to resolve this situation?

Jennifer should hold a meeting with Jeff. Tell him how things are expected to be ran at Multi Projects. Then she should hold a meeting with the rest of the employees. Poor communication lead to this huge problem. Julie could have shown better leadership skills.

What advantages and disadvantages of the matrix organization are apparent from this story?

The advantages are the ability to focus on their customers. The customer has the luxury of having their own team dedicated to only them. Also, they did not have to delay the Goodold Project once the Grownin Project stared. They have two channels in which they can report the potential problems to. Their biggest problem was poor communication, no transfer knowledge, misunderstandings, lack of leaderships.

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