Case Studies Management, Coursework Example

The case study provides that the Trophy Project was ill-fated from the start. Reichart had previously served in the company as an assistant project manager. When the Trophy Project was accepted by the company, Reichart was next in line and was then assigned as the project manager.

From the conception of the project, it appeared that the Trophy Project was not planned out properly. They were already behind schedule and experienced slips within the first days. Reichart was spending too much money. Thanks to poor planning and inexperience of the line staff, inability for function managers to comply the project was falling apart.

From the actions of the functional managers, it was clear that they were not fully committed to the project. From the beginning of the project, the functional managers were charging direct labor time to the Trophy Project but working on their own side projects to benefit themselves. They fatten their own pockets with “pet” projects on the side under the vice that Reichart was not to meddle in their affairs. (Kerzner, 2010)

At the initial stages of the Trophy Project, the functions displayed their lack of commitment by not relaying pertinent information to Reichart. Even after first complaining to upper management about the functional managers, the functional managers realized, they had a primary part in completion of the project. Yet, they did not provide adequate staff, “assuming that the additional manpower.” (Kerzner, 2010) Reichart had received from corporate would accomplish that task.

The Trophy Project was also plagued with problems throughout the project. Even after, Reichart went to complain, it seemed upper management gave him more work. However, upper management was supportive, they did provide him with more workers when asked, and assigned him an assistant project manager. Reichart reported to an operations manager and was made to provide weekly assessments about the project ongoing. Upper management was committed to finishing the project, but the project was already doomed. Throughout the projects end, two program managers were assigned, and the Trophy Project was completed a year later with 40% cost overrun. (Kerzner, 2010)

A project manager can improve his time management skills through knowing the “energy cycle” of their people by assigning tasks based on people’s energy cycles that will help with better productivity and better performance. By giving pertinent difficult assignments to employees with high energy periods, the work will get properly done. For the not so important or smaller tasks, the project manager can dole assignments to employees during low energy cycles.

Energy cycles can function at different times for different people. For people that work different shifts, their energy cycles are all different. According to the textbook, the most productive time of the day was the primary energy peak from between 9:30am and 11:30am.(Kerzner, 2010) A good project manager take into account this information and schedule tasks and activities for times when the employees would be at their top performance.

In order to calculate an existing business value, the top two methods are by looking over the books to determine future profits and return on investments. This method is best for determine if the business owner paid attention to market trends, sales, and investments. It is best to look over the financial statements to look at cash flow, owner’s equity, and other essential accounts. Another method of assessment is to determine how much are the assets of the business are worth. By appraising the assets they will able to create a clear picture of how much in the present is the company worth with an estimate in the future if they assets were to remain. This is the easiest method as not a lot of calculation is needed in determining the value.

In negotiating a strategy to purchase the business, the first step is to do research on the business. Investigate and gather all relevant documents such as, letter of intent, tax returns, financial statements, sales records, and other vital information pertaining to the company. Draft out contracts, leases, and hire an attorney in order to prepare all legal documents and proceedings. Before closing, draft the sales agreement and discuss purchase price, bill of sales, trademarks, and other essentials before signing over the agreement.

The idea for a new business would be a catering service that operates out of the consumer’s home. The feasibility analysis would be to create a market analysis. For this specific catering service,  there is an open market with no direct competition. Studying the trends in the market showcase that the business ideal is economically feasible. The cost of production is relatively low without paying for assets such as cooking appliances, they save much on startup costs. Food would be the main inventory, with specialization taken into account with the hiring of professional chefs and waiters. Insurance and liability would be high, employee background checks would be vital to operations, and customer satisfaction would be the top priority in helping the company grow and succeed. If the customers are satisfied it is a strong possibility they would be repeat customers and help with free promotion through referring others.

Crafting a business plan is hard work but essential in helping outline the business ideal and prepares a strategy for future growth. The first step is to outline what the business will be and what will be its purpose. Once the purpose of the business is outlining then the process can move on to the much needed step of gathering research and information on the market, and how to successfully market to them on and offline. Next would be outline potential financials. Account for future income, investments, financial statements, and other statements. Lastly is your strategy including locations, target demographics, product lines, and other important factors that this business need to succeed. The one recommendation is when determining the audience, take into account those not targeted. Look out in the market for the sector not getting paid attention to and cater to them. By doing this it might unpredictably help the business become an overnight success.

References:

Buying An Existing Business. (n.d). SBA.gov U.S Small Business Administration. Retrieved from http://www.sba.gov/content/buying-existing-business

Kerzner, H. (2010). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. (10 ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.