...552 NETWORK SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES CASE STUDY CROSBY MANUFACTURING CORPORATION “I’ve called this meeting to resolve a major problem with our management cost and control system (MCCS),” remarked Wilfred Livingston, president. “We’re having one hell of a time trying to meet competition with our antiquated MCCS reporting procedures. Last year we were considered nonresponsive to three large government contracts because we could not adhere to the customer’s financial reporting requirements. The government has recently shown a renewed interest in Crosby Manufacturing Corporation. If we can computerize our project financial reporting procedure, we’ll be in great shape to meet the competition head-on. The customer might even waive the financial reporting requirements if we show our immediate intent to convert.” Crosby Manufacturing was a $250-million-a-year electronics component manufacturing firm in 2005, at which time Wilfred “Willy” Livingston became president. His first major act was to reorganize the 700 employees into a modified matrix structure. This reorganization was the first step in Livingston’s long-range plan to obtain large government contracts. The matrix provided the customer focal point policy that government agencies prefer. After three years, the matrix seemed to be working. Now they could begin the second phase, an improved MCCS policy. On October 20, 2007, Livingston called a meeting with department managers from project management, cost accounting, MIS,...
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...The Reluctant Worker Cherry Barksdale BUS375 Project Management Professor McKenzie Strayer University July 28, 2013 Identify and analyze three of the core skills that were at play in the case of the reluctant workers, referencing the ten skills described in Chapter 4. Tim Aston was a young eager employee that knew what job he wanted and went after it. Apparently he did everything he knew to do to qualify for this job on paper. One thing he did not anticipate on was the different personalities that he had to deal with. Not that he was a bad project manager himself, but the three core skills he needed at this time was something that is developed over time. Team building, leadership and conflict resolution became very important with this project. Not that this was not in his training but he probably never had to use these core skill as the project manager in charge of his own team. ((Program Management 10th edition, Harold Kerzner Ph.D. p149) Team Building Skills In order for Tim to be successful with his team he must get to know them in a way that the conversation and interaction does not just occur when passing each other in the hallway, elevator or parking lot. Hopefully before his team was chosen he had the conversation with them about the dedication needed to complete the project. The importance of being committed to the project and maintaining an open communication with the team. Although Tim has to show that he is the program manager he also needs...
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...Professor: April 30, 2013 As evident in the case by Morris (2012), the three main skills discussed include communication skills, employee motivation and job interest. Morris (2012) indicates that Aston is complaining on the fact that his workers are clearly not motivated to do their work, and that by around 4 O’clock, a huge number of the staff are quick to clear their desks and vacate the office premises. This is a clear suggestion of the fact that the employees are not contented with their jobs at all and that most them wish to be out in the towns as disparate to the office premises. In such a case, it is clear that the employees are not interested in the job at all. To make matters shoddier, Morris (2012) indicates that at times the employees do not turn up for afternoon meetings for claims that they would miss their car pools. Aston is then forced to schedule morning meetings. Secondly, Aston seems not to come up with a method to make sure his employees to communicate with him (Morris, 2012). At most times, the employees presume that they are conversant with everything and are not interested in the job at all. This may also recount to the fact that a great proportion of them are aged, and are not weary of the fact that Aston will be their boss for the longest time ever (Morris, 2012). Thirdly, the employees have no interest in their job. Morris (2012) give an example of when Aston had scheduled a test, and the customer’s top...
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...Case Study: “Crosby Manufacturing Corporation”, PMCS * Write a brief synopsis This case study deals with the Crosby Manufacturing Corporation. The president (Wilfred Livingston) of the company realized that they were losing their competitive edge due to their out-dated management cost and control system. When Wilfred became president he had two major phases he wanted to implement; 1) Employee reorganization 2) an improved MCCS policy. To initiate the latter phase, Wilfred called a meeting with department managers from project management, cost accounting, MIS, data processing, and planning. He expressed how the current system was not sufficient and capable of supporting the company. The managers weighed in with appropriate lists, preliminary schedules, suggestions and opinions that were valid. Wilfred also added that he was going to appoint Tim Emary as project manager due to his wealth of knowledge pertaining to planning. * Did Livingston make any mistakes initially? How do you think the functional employees feel? Are there other alternatives? I do not think Livingston made any mistakes initially? When he became president one of the company’s goals was to obtain large government contracts. Wilfred knew that government agencies preferred companies with customer focal point policy and that the matrix structure provided that policy. I believe the functional employees didn’t like the restructuring that occurred when Wilfred became president. The average person does not...
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...CROSBY MANUFACTURING CORPORATION Q1 : Crosby Manufacturing was a $250-million-a-year electronics component manufacturing firm in 2005, at which time Wilfred “Willy” Livingston became president. His first major act was to reorganize the 700 employees into a modified matrix structure. This reorganization was the first step in Livingston’s long-range plan to obtain large government contracts. The matrix provided the customer focal point policy that government agencies prefer. After three years, the matrix seemed to be working. Now they could begin the second phase, an improved MCCS policy. Livingston believe that they need to replace their own computers with advanced ones to meet the competition , he says" In order for us to grow, we’ll have to develop capabilities for keeping two or even three different sets of books for our customers In order for us to grow, we’ll have to develop capabilities for keeping two or even three different sets of books for our customers " MIS Manager Prepared a feasibility study for the project and contact with EDP Manager in order to determine the cost ,after that Livingston: “Because of the importance of this project, I’m going to violate our normal structure and appoint Tim Emary from our planning group as project leader ,he is from planning group knowing little about computers but he does know how to lay out a schedule and get the job done. Q2: Livingston did a critical mistake by choosing a project leader from another department, and it...
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...Crosby Manufacturing Corporation: Implementation of a New System The Firm In 2005, the Crosby Manufacturing Corporation was an electronics manufacturing firm, employing 700 employees (Kerzner, 2009). According to the company’s president, Wilfred Livingston, they have had some trouble keeping up with their competitors and losing out on contracts due to their MCCS reporting system not being up to government standards. Livingston even remarked that they were considered “nonresponsive to three large government contracts because we could not adhere to the customer’s financial reporting requirements.” (Kerzner, 2009, p. 552). To be able to successfully compete in the market, they would need to replace their current computer system with one that is more advanced and update the MCCS reporting software. To head the project, Livingston has appointed Tim Emary from the firms planning department. Emary is not as knowledgeable as the other departments on computers, but is well adverse in scheduling techniques. Livingston has given Emary a deadline of eighteen months to complete the project (Kerzner, 2009). Selecting a Project Leader As mention before, Tim Emary was selected for the role of project manager. Tim, however, is not from the formal project management group nor the EDP department where their project managers are normally selected. Also, Tim is not as knowledgeable on the technical side of computers as other departments, and yet, is heading a project to advance and update...
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...quality and poor quality. He extended his quality management to encompass nonmanufacturing processes, especially those that might be thought of as service related. Juran is credited with defining quality as fitness for use rather than simply conformance to specifications. Juran was one of the first to think about the cost of poor quality. This was illustrated by his "Juran trilogy", an approach to cross-functional management, which is composed of three managerial processes: quality planning, quality control and quality improvement. Without change, there will be a constant waste, during change there will be increased costs, but after the improvement, margins will be higher and the increased costs get recouped. Philip b. Crosby Philip Bayard "Phil" Crosby, (June 18, 1926...
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...The Super Project Case Analysis Dilemma of incremental analysis [Author Name] General Foods is a large corporation organized by Product lines. Corporation was planning to introduce a new product Super – a new instant dessert, based on flavored, water-soluble, agglomerated powder. Super would be offered in four flavors although chocolate was estimated to account for 80% of total sales. The requested capital investment for Super was $200,000, and its production would take place after modifying an existing building, where Jell-O was manufactured and by using available capacity of Jell-O agglomerator. Cost for the key machine was not included in the project. On the basis of test market experience, once the product is introduced, it was expected to capture a 10% of dessert market share, 80% of which would come from growth in total dessert market share and 20% of which would come from erosion of Jell-O sales. There are basically four categories of capital investment project proposals at General Foods corporation: (1) safety and convenience; (2) quality; (3) increase profit; and other. Super project was considered into third category, as a profit-increasing project. Crosby Sanberg, a manager of financial analysis at General Food Corporation calculated return on investment in three different ways of on Super Project. The first technique was Incremental basis, which projected Super project would have an attractive return of 63% in 7 years, which in-turn could directly identify with...
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...covers all aspects of project management and may be used as a capstone for a course. This new edition: - Contains 100-plus case studies drawn from real companies to illustrate both successful and poor implementation of project management - Represents a wide range of industries, including medical and pharmaceutical, aerospace, manufacturing, automotive, finance and banking, and telecommunications - Covers cutting-edge areas of construction and international project management plus a "super case" on the Iridium Project, covering all aspects of project management - Follows and supports preparation for the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification Exam Project Management Case Studies, Fourth Edition is a valuable resource for students, as well as practicing engineers and managers, and can be used on its own or with the new Eleventh Edition of Harold Kerzner's landmark reference, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Contents: Preface xi 1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES 1 Lakes Automotive 3 Ferris HealthCare, Inc. 5 Clark Faucet Company 7 Creating a Methodology 11 Honicker Corporation 14 Acquisition Problem 18 2 IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT 27 Kombs Engineering 29 Williams Machine Tool Company...
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...CHAPTER 4.0 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Quality – Has Many Definitions Evolution of Quality What Quality Gurus Have Said The Concept of Total Quality Management The Business Processes and Quality Vendor Quality Human Aspects of Quality World Class Manufacturing Bibliography Foot Notes 89 CHAPTER 4.0 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 4.1 QUALITY – HAS MANY DEFINITIONS: It is true that Quality has a number of definitions. 4.1.1 Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary72 defines Quality as “The standard of something when it is compared to other things like it” This would mean that a process of comparison occurs in the mind of a customer before the quality is judged and decision made. Customers usually compare products or services with their past experience or the experience of their friends or family members before a judgment is made. This is normally how a common man looks at quality issue. 4.1.2 The Oxford dictionary also defines quality as “How good or bad something is” 4.1.3 The other definition and which is very short and common is “Quality is customer satisfaction”. This is defined by J. M. Juran 55 and adopted by ISO – 840271. This definition has a vast spectrum of “Quality” definition as each and every customer has his or her own perception of quality and therefore wide variation in the level of satisfaction. All the latest techniques of Quality Management are designed to take care of this aspect of satisfying every customer for the product or service...
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...13-Problems Chapter 14-Problems Chapter 15-Problems Chapter 17-Problems Chapter 18-Prob1ems PART TWO: Solutions to Case Studies Clark Faucet Company Kombs Engineering Williams Machine Tool Company Wynn Computer Equipment (WCE) Reluctant Workers Hyten Corporation Macon, Inc. Continental Computer Corporation Goshe Corporation Acorn Industries MIS Project Management at First National Bank Cordova Research Group Cortez Plastics Phil Condit and the Boeing 777 Teaching Note AMP of Canada (B) Case Study AMP of Canada (C) Case Study AMP of Canada (A) Teaching Note AMP of Canada (B) Teaching Note AMP of Canada (C) Teaching Note Riverview Children’s Hospital Teaching Note Como Tool and Die (A) Como Tool and Die (B) Apache Metals, Inc. Haller Speciality Manufacturing An International Project Manager’s Day (B) Case Study An International Project Manager’s Day (C) Case Study An International Project Manager’s Day (D) Case Study Hazelton International Limited and An International Project Manager’s Day Teaching Note Hazelton International Limited and An International Project Manager’s Day: Decision-Making Exercise Teaching Note Ellen Moore (A): Living and Working in Korea Ji’nan Broadcasting Corporation Teaching Note Quasar Communications, Inc. Jones and Shephard Accountants Fargo Foods Government Project Management Falls Engineering...
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...The Super Project Tobey Overview • Case Summary • Problem Statement • ROFE & Capital Budgeting • Incredible Incremental • Analysis Options • Cash Flows • Recommendations Case Summary • General Foods is a large corporation organized by Product Lines. • Super is a proposed new instant desert, based on a “flavored, water-soluble, agglomerated powder.” • General Foods has numerous projects with strict criteria to judge worthiness. • There are basically three types of Capital Investment proposals at General Foods: Safety, Quality, Increased Profit • Increased Profit: Cost Reduction, Capacity, New Product • Max 10 years payback: as low as 20% PBT • … if expected to be permanent product addition • … if facilities highly reconfigurable • Three analysis types: Incremental, Facilities-based and Fully Allocated. Problem Statement • Above all, Super’s worthiness as a capital investment must be evaluated according to General Foods’ accepted criteria. • Memos indicate that General Foods’ finance personnel are questioning the same criteria’s ability to accurately reflect the value of the Super project. • This is not an accounting exercise. In accounting, one tries to track and attribute all sources of costs. Also, one alters transaction timings to match expenses with income. • This is a capital budgeting exercise. We’re interested in cash flows to judge the value of a project, and when those cash flows occur. • Therefore, our team must 1) evaluate the pertinence of each of the...
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...stockholders indicates a lack of commitment even by those who appear to have the most to gain or lose. Control-The company is losing control of their management, their employees and their investors Improvement- the company is attempting to make changes internally as well as externally; however, seem to be stumbling over their feet. 4. Introduction to the Problem • Identify the Quality Issues that need to be addressed o Performance issues that have continued to be present and duplications since 2009 o Customer service issues due to employees who are not satisfied therefore there is reduce morale and production o Lack of respect and motivation for the employees, no opportunities for advancement o Improved focus on the corporations existing properties prior to attempting to globalize o Quality establishments dwindling therefore customer satisfaction falls and lawsuits with payouts increase o Focus on remaking the hotels and resorts fell like home with the flare desired 5. Opportunities •...
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...Introduction to Quality Chapter 1 The History and Importance of Quality In a broad sense, quality assurance refers to any planned and systematic activity directed toward providing consumers with products (goods and services) of appropriate quality belong with the confidence that products meet consumers’ requirements. Quality assurance has been an important aspect of production operations throughout history. * The Age of Craftsmanship During the middle ages in Europe, skilled craftsperson, adequately trained by craft guilds, served as both as manufacturer and inspector. Quality assurance was informal; every effort was made to ensure that quality was built into the final product by the people who produce it. These themes which were lost with the advent of industrial revolution are important foundations of modern quality assurance efforts. * The Early Twentieth Century In the early 1900s, the work of Frederick W. Taylor, led to new philosophy of production. Taylor’s philosophy was to separate the planning function from the execution function. Managers and engineers were given the task of planning, supervisor and workers took on the task of execution. Inspection was the primary mean of quality control during the first half of the twentieth century. * Post- World War II After the war, during the late 1940s and early 1950s, Quality was not a priority of top managers. Top management showed little interest in quality improvement on the prevention of defects...
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...International Journal of Business and Management January, 2010 Quality Improvement in a Global Competitive Marketplace- Success Story from Nigeria IRECHUKWU, Nkechi Eugenia Kigali Institute of Management P. O. Box 2895, Kigali, Rwanda Tel : 250-788-834-116 Abstract E-mail: iremikky@yahoo.com or irenkechi@yahoo.com In today’s global competitive marketplace, the demands of customers are increasing as they require improved quality products and services. This article puts forward a framework for quality management in organizations with reference to Owena Bank in Nigeria which launched the Programme code-named “Quality is Money (QIM)”, a domesticated version of Total Quality Management and a scheme tagged “Error-Free Banking or We Pay”. For this study, the fifty six (56) organizations in Nigeria that responded represent fifty five per cent (55%) of the total number sampled. The propositions are tested using simple statistical table with responses “YES” and “NO”. The tables show that 35 organizations (62.5%) have actually implemented TQM, while 32 organizations (91.4%) were successful. The results support the argument that the level of success among organizations that have implemented TQM in Nigeria is high considering the fact that three out of every four that have implemented were successful. These results should encourage organizations that are still contemplating its implementation. Keywords: Quality, Improvement, Marketplace, Competitive, Success, Global 1. Introduction ...
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