Please read scenario below and assignment is beneath it: Scenario: You are a pro

Question

Please read scenario below and assignment is beneath it:

Scenario: You are a project manager for Advancement Corporation, which specializes in providing quality pharmaceuticals to doctors throughout the United States. The company has over 20,000 employees. It is critical that skilled scientists and technicians be hired to ensure the proper development of pharmaceuticals through clinical trials. It is absolutely essential for Advancement Corporation to continuously recruit, select, and train qualified personnel. A predatory executive search firm has convinced many of the leading scientists in the company (about 20 people) to hand in their resignations after accepting employment with Advancement Corporation’s main competitor. As the project manager chosen by the CEO to address and rectify this crisis, you are granted the following authority: You have the ability to act as the CEO’s deputy. This fact is known throughout the company based on a top management meeting with the CEO. The whole company understands that this is a full-time project manager position.

Assignment:

After presenting the CEO with your strategy based on a successful joint meeting held with the executive director of research and development and the executive director of sales, the CEO has informed you that in fact she wants you to develop this plan according to the phases of the project management life cycle: starting, planning, executing, and providing closure for a project.

In your opinion, what are the limitations of the project management life cycle theory?

How would you improve the project management plans of two other project managers if you were the project manager of their respective projects? Be supportive and constructive.

Explanation / Answer

Start:

Limitations of the PMLC( Project Management LIfe Cycle Theory), is that all said and done, in the real Market which is volatile, you need to really access a lot of Uncontrollables before starting up a new project. However, Project Management Life Cycle does help in funneling the project, helping to keep its objectives aligned and meeting the deadline and plan, on the allocated budget, thus reducing the chances of failures or haphazard project behavior.

Point 1: As per the given scenario, the culprit predatory executive search firm who has convinced the 20 key people, needs to be taken to task as well. There are two ways of doing this.

1. Calling a meeting with the head of the Executive search firm and understand why it is doing what it's doing and who is the Market comeptitor that might be at gain from the same.

2. Have a detailed one on one discussion with the 20 key scientists and understand their reason for taking such a harch step. Do whatever is possible to ensure that you keep them with you. Adopt Retention strategies, involve Human resource and Finance if need be.

This will at least help you save at least 35-40% and you can go on to the next step. This is a good opportunity of getting in new talent. Since Clinical Trials are a key in this industry, thus new Talent will bring with them loads of new ideas and knowledge which can be leveraged upon. Train the new hires quickly while you have some of the old Pro's still on your side.

You should also look ahead and declare 'retention bonus' for your employees to not leave you. Make Teams and delegate responsibility. Have more regular reviews and ensure your Project Charter is visible. Have Dashboards and track the progress of your Project on a regular basis. Share the Milestones with all the Teams. Ensure that you present to the Management the Project Charter and Review the Progress with specific callouts on Costs involved and how you are making sure that the resources employed are being utilized effectively and productively. The Exit interviews would have given you an indepth about the broken processes. Go ahead and act. Reaccess. Conduct Townhalls if you must. Float out Engagement Surveys.

Projects will move forward with Regular Reviews and effective governance with quality framework in place as well. Always keep your Managers informed. Transparent Reviews and action items with accountability is the key.

Point 2: Helping out the two other project: Understand what the requirements are exactly. Both might not be having the same need interms of assistance on a certain level or management skill. Once you have done that, go ahead with a review of their project plan / charter. Ensure that the project is clearly defined. Key activities should have SPOCs( Single Point of Contact) appointed who would be accountable for their deliverables on the project journey. Ensure that both the Managers are able to leverage on each other's abiliies as well and work as a Team. Collaboration is the key. Once again important learning from the previous one on ones and Employee satisfaction surveys should be incorporated , so that the Project Teams are always geared up and Believe in the Idea behind the Project and know their importance in the overall scheme of things. Ensure you always have backup ready incase anouther predatory executive search firm crops up. Bake in the Costs of Attrition, rehire & retrain. Ensure that Employees are engaged and the cost of Employee engagement is also baked into your P&L statements. Track and review each milestones and if a process is identified broken, plan and fix it. Remember Time is money. Ensure that both the Project Managers have a Project Review tied to their Performance Appraisals. This woul dalso ensure that extra effort is put into the job.

In the end all I can say is that Project Management LIfe Cycle Theory is not rocket science and anyone with People Focus and an Analytical bent of mind can ace it.

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