1. In the U.S. Panama Canal Project certain technology and method (innovative) r
ID: 386485 • Letter: 1
Question
1. In the U.S. Panama Canal Project certain technology and method (innovative) revisions were made from an earlier French project which gave the U.S. Project serious advantages in cost and schedule. List and explain two of these.
2. What were worker motivation and productivity building factors introduced in the U.S. Canal Project? List two and explain briefly.
3. Why was Goethals chosen to lead the project after two earlier project leaders resigned? Give two reason and explain very briefly.
4. What is a “trigger” condition? Why must it be identified? Give one example.
5. What is a “motivational bias” and a “cognitive bias” in identifying risks? Give one example of each.
Explanation / Answer
1. In the U.S. Panama Canal Project certain technology and method (innovative) revisions were made from an earlier French project which gave the U.S. Project serious advantages in cost and schedule. List and explain two of these.
Workplace Safety Standards : One of the most prevalent issue with the French Project was work place health and safety standards. The French work force was stricken wit Malaria & yellow fever during the course of the project. Also since the French project was a promoter driven project by private enterprise, they had lesser influence over health and safety regulations in the are Private projects couldn't enforce federal project's regulatory standards. The U.S. Panama Canal Project on the other hand was well aware of this issue and planned for it well in advance. This backed by the weight and might of the Federal Government of the United States allowed them to enforce better work place health and safety standards at their site.
Engineering Issues : French engineers wanted to build a canal that's at sea level instead of a system that used locks which flooded parts of the canal to elevate and lower ships in order to help it transit between different sea levels. While the French approach would involve fewer mechanics, it proved nearly impossible to dig through the ground without flooding it due to the lack of gates, mini dams, locks and compartmentalisation of the canal.
2. What were worker motivation and productivity building factors introduced in the U.S. Canal Project? List two and explain briefly.
Expectancy theory : Expectancy theory of motivation theorises that motivation is dependant on the result or the expectations set about the result. This is a theory where the outcome defines the efforts, motivational levels of the employee or a group of employees. The outcome would be the immense national pride in completing a mammoth task like the U.S. Panama Canal Project.
Equity Theory suggests that motivation os proportional to the distribution of resources between two or more employees or a group of employees, If one or more of the employees or a group of employees feel that there was an asymmetric distribution of resources then that might cause them to feel demotivated. The US Work force were well equipped to work in the Panama Canal which helped them reduce the risk of malaria and yellow fever. These resources helped motivate their workforce.
3. Why was Goethals chosen to lead the project after two earlier project leaders resigned? Give two reason and explain very briefly.
President Roosevelt wanted the United States Army to undertake the project. While he did entertain the idea of using private contractors, a project of such a sale and national importance was deemed worthy of Federal Undertaking. This would give the United States better regulatory, policy , legal and political influence over the project apart from controlling the ROI from the project. Goethals , an Army Civil Engineer was best known for his administrative and supervisory skills which equipped him with the perfect project management skills in order to help execute the project.
4. What is a “trigger” condition? Why must it be identified? Give one example.
Trigger condition is a part of risk management. In fact it's helps quantify the magnitude or risk when it's at a critical level. Projects like the Panama Canal are large scale operations that undergo multiple risk assessments. These risk assessments come with a Trigger Condition which is basically an event which escalates the risk level to a critical level which could effect the outcome of the project drastically. Eg : The Workplace Safety Standards should've been identified as a tigger condition by the French Project Management Team. This would've improved working conditions, overall productivity etc.
5. What is a “motivational bias” and a “cognitive bias” in identifying risks? Give one example of each.
Motivational bias Is the direct cause of vested interests in the outcome of the event or a decision. Vested interests have a huge influence in ideological positions that we take. This has a lot to do with proximity. The closer you are an event the more likely you are to take it more seriously and consider it's pro's and con's from your vantage point. For eg : A jury in courtroom is vetted throughly to ensure that they don't have ties to the plaintiff or the defendant or the outcome of the case because that would undoubtedly hamper their decision making process.
Cognitive bias on the other hand is a bias that's very similar to availability bias, where our pre established ideologies .suppositions, group thinking or collectivism tends to have an effect on our decision making process. A good Example of cognitive bias would be the way Democrats speak of Republicans and vice Versa. The US Presidential elections of 2016 polarised the country to the extreme left and right, almost eliminating the centrists. This was largely due to cognitive bias. Neither of the parties could take a neutral stance on issues.
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