Q1: What are some of the major problems facing the

management of Hyten in accepting Formalized Project

Management?

There are many problems faced by Hyten Corporation due to

accepting Formalized Project Management.

 One of the problem is trying to decide whether to hire from

within or outside the organization. As mentioned by Jason
Finney (Assistant Director of Presonnel) , Hyten should stop
hiring from outside the organization as there are many
competent people within the organization who possess MBA
degrees in System or Project Management and the familiarity
with the company.

 In his opinion, this would actually be an advantage to the

organization. Also, if Hyten continues to hire outsiders, it
would create some distention from the current employees.
Competent people at Hyten will start filtering to places of
new employment.

 Sue Lyons (Director of Personnel) agreed with Jason that

filtration will take place if personals from outside the
organization were hired to manage Projects.

 Also, Hyten can expect backlash from people who have to

teach employees their new roles .
 According to John Rich (Director of Engineering) , there is no
need to “change a winning combination” as the
implementation of Project Management would “mess things
up”. In his view, the current system at Hyten has a good
chain of command and the new matrix would only create
problems.

 The main problem addressed by John is that the Engineering

Department is a very technical and they cannot take
directions from someone outside the department. In
addition, bringing someone from outside the organization
would only make it worse. Also, the Engineering Department
took charge in previous projects and do not want to lose the
control of power . Many employees like the way the company
is being run now and do not like change.

 Bob Gustwell (Scheduling Manager) agrees that it is a

natural reaction for employees to fight against the change in
management style. Another problem that could arise is there
will be conflict between Functional and Project Managers.

 They would be at the same grade level and neither one has
authority over the other. However, if there is a situation
where the two disagree on to either direction or quality of
work, this will leave the functional employee in an awkward
position.
  There is a tendency for any employee to bend towards the
individual who signs his or her promotion and evaluation
form. This can influence the projec

Q3 : Are there any good reasons why Hyten should go to

formal Project Management ?

Introduction of a more formal type of project management has

been used in the past and is a proven success. Formal Project
Management will help stop the unproductive internal competition
in Hyten as there will be less competition between Managers and
the Company. Employees can instead focus on the main project
goal collectively. Managers within the Business Development
Department (BDD) who perform Informal Project Coordination will
not have to take on the duties such as calling meeting and
keeping everyone informed of their work status, etc on top of
their own work. This would mean, these important tasks can have
sole focus. Therefore, the management of the organization would
be more efficient and effective. Communication will increase
between departments if there is a Formal Project Management
which will help highlight and solve problems for employees.
Formal Project Management will mean that all departments can
actively participate in the planning cycle of the Project. That way,
they will remain aware of how they affect the function of other
departments and prevent overlapping of work in departments,
etc. Also, the implementation of Formal Project Management
should enable Hyten to stay on schedule and get better
cooperation. For an example, the Product Design group starts
making changes that require new cost figures and lead times.
These changes result in cost overruns and in not meeting
schedule dates. Typically, these changes continue right up to the
production start date. Manufacturing appears to be the bad guy
for not meeting the scheduled start date. Moving forward, similar
circumstances can be minimalized or avoided entirely. Hyten has
very diversified product lines. Therefore, the introduction of an
Official Project Manager would mean all resources can be
allocated efficiently. Also, there is a reduction of all products being
treated the same. The organization needs someone to coordinate
the work of various departments to prevent this continuous
redoing of various jobs. We will at least have a chance at meeting
the schedule, reducing cost, and improving the attitude of my
people. Among the personals in the organization who were in
favour of the transition are :

Frank Harrel (Quality and Reliability Manager) Formal Project

Management would increase communication between
departments
George Hub (Manager of Manufacturing Engineering) under the
current system there so many product changes that it creates
cost overrun and meeting schedule dates are not met Bill Knapp
(Director of Marketing) the organization needs focus on more than
one direction and that Formal Project Management would be good
for them With the implementation of Formal Project Management,
there would be better coordination between various Projects,
departments and products. Formal Project Management would be
advantageous and would help to efficiently allocate resources to
those projects, products and markets that would optimize output
(profit, productivity, etc)

Q4: Will formalized Project Management make it appear as

though Business Development has taken power away from
other groups? Manpower for the Business Development
Department was taken from both outside the company and from
within the division. This was done to honour the

Corporation’s commitment to hire people from the outside only

after it was determined that there were no qualified people
internally (an area that for years has been a sore spot to the
younger managers and engineers). When the Business
Development Department was organized, its level of authority
and responsibility was limited. However, the Department’s
authority and responsibility have subsequently expanded, though
at a slow rate. This was done so as not to alienate the functional
managers who were concerned that project management would
undermine their “empire.”

The Business Development Department are already in charge of

six (6) different tasks for the company. Those tasks are:

The company’s long term and short

term business plans;

Current sale forecasts;

Economic and Industrial indicators;

Profit potential;

Internal capacities; and

What customers are willing to pay versus estimated cost The

Business Development sectors (as mentioned) take up much of
the

company’s working area as it is. With the new formalized Project

Management implemented, other sectors may feel that Business
Development is doing more of their work as they now have more
control in organizing and planning. However, the Business
Development Department have NO authority over either
Functional Managers or Functional Employees. Although the
Business Development Department is in charge in keeping the
Project moving and giving reports of problem(s) The duties of the
Business Development Department was to coordinate a Project or
Product from Design to Marketing so that there is no need for
Formal Project Management.

Sue Lyons (Director of Personnel) said that whoever is chosen to

be the Project Manager MUST be qualified. Project Manager
Qualifications should include:

Possessing technical knowledge

Able to work with people

Able to work in a dynamic environment

Concern for team members

Provide work challenge

Implement change

Able to live with change

Provide leadership to implement that change

Develop an atmosphere which allows people to adapt to the

changing work environment Other personals within the
organization who had the opinion that transition from an Informal
to Formal Project Management would cause problems within the
organization are :

Bob Gustwell (Scheduling Manager) , said that some people

around the organization like the way they do things now and it’s
natural for employees to fight against changes in Management
styles.
Frank Kuncl (Plant Engineering)

said that Project Management would burden our manpower with

additional tasks and hinder our activities And lastly,

John Rich (Director of Engineering)

said that Project Management

will only ‘mess things up’. This new matrix will only create
problems.

Engineering has always directed the projects and we should keep

it that way. In conclusion, although it may appear that Business
Development has taken power away from other groups that is far
from reality. Their role is mainly to coordinate the different lines,
groups and departments to achieve maximum output for the
organization.

Q5. What recommendation would you make to Hyten

Corporation?

The challenge in implementing Formal Project Management in

Hyten Corporation is bigger than just telling everyone on the
team to do things a certain

way. People who aren’t used to working within a formal structure

and
framework can sometimes rebel when they are asked to do it for
the first time. These people will first tend to negatively view the
new processes before starting to (grudgingly) see their value. If
Hyten Corporation were trying to help implement a project
management discipline throughout the entire organization, the
job would be much more complex and time-consuming. In that
kind of initiative, Hyten Corporation would be trying to perform a
culture change with project managers, team members, functional
managers, and clients. I would make the following
recommendation(s) to Hyten Corporation before the
implementation of a Formal Project Management:

Leadership

Hyten Corporation would first of all have to appoint a Project

Manager, someone who is the primary person to lead this change.
This Project Manager will have to set the priorities and the tone
for how the project is run. It would be better if a capable
candidate is chosen from within the ranks of the present qualified
staff. If the Project Manager defines and plans the project well,
and then executes and control the project using good techniques,
the other team members should follow his lead. If project team
members see that the project leader is not communicating well,
or if they see the Project Manager accepting new scope
requirements on his own, or if they see confusion on team
members’ roles, they’ll obviously question what they’re doing.
This should not be allowed to happen. A project manager should
talk the talk and walk the walk
Project management advocate

The project team leader or project manager would have to find

someone on every team at Hyten Corporation who can be an
inside partner. The teams at

Hyten Corporation would accept the new processes more quickly

if there’s

another team member on their side. This person should be a

senior individual whom the rest of the team respects. The person
doesn’t have to be a cheerleader but will set a good example and
encourage the rest of the team to follow the work processes
established for the project team

Communication

Introducing a culture change without a frequent, ongoing, and

consistent message is difficult. Hyten Corporation and the project
manager in particular should make sure the team is aware of
what is being done and why. The perceived value and benefit of
the project should be explained the teams and this message
should be repeated often. This type of communication can take
many shapes over time. For example, if any team members does
something right regarding the project management procedures,
they should be praised for their effort. The project manager
should also track and publicize how the team is doing in terms of
meeting commitments for schedule, cost, and quality.

Management fears the loss of control

If Hyten Corporation really want to effectively implement a project

management discipline at their company, they must give a level
of control and authority to the project manager. Some
management, middle managers espe

cially, don’t want to lose that

control. They may want people to coordinate the projects, but

they want to make all the decisions and exercise all the control
themselves. Project Managers should and have to change the
attitudes of these people.

Processes and procedures

Hyten Corporation cannot successfully introduce a good project

management discipline without implementing a set of processes
that everyone can see and understand. This starts off with the
planning processes. With a project their size, I think it should be
understood that Hyten Corporation need, for example, a Project
Definition and a work plan. Hyten Corporation also need to have
processes for managing issues, scope, risk, and communication.
These don’t have to be long, tedious procedures, but they have to
be at a level where people understand what is expected of them
and how the project management processes work.

Training

Finally, after Hyten Corporation have dealt successfully with the

staff dynamics and the required processes, make sure that no one
has difficulty understanding project management skills. Hyten
Corporation must invest in a long term training regimen. They
must think about providing short training to the entire team to
familiarize them with project management processes, and then
sending Hyten Corporationr team leaders or other project
managers to more formal project management training