...Assignment 3: Selling Executives on Project Management Deborah Miller Strayer University Project Management BUS 375 Professor George Dollar May 22, 2015 1. Analyze the fundamental reasons why the executives in the case refused to listen to their own employees but were willing to listen to a consultant. Discuss the main reasons why the executives still seemed apprehensive even after the consultant’s presentation. 2. Imagine that you are the consultant from the case study. Speculate on three (3) strategies that you could employ to get the executives to understand your point of view and thus support your project management recommendations. I believe there are three fundamental reasons why the executives in the case refused to listen to their own employees but were willing to listen to a consultant. The first is the belief that the consultants possess top-level expertise in the field, whereas employees possess only average knowledge in the field. In other words, executives were receptive to the consultant because of their status. They were able to call on someone who they believed combined excellent management skills…with high-level industry-specific expertise (MBA & Company, 2014). The second reason is the belief that employees are looking out for own interests, rather than the company's interest (i.e. management’s interest). In noncooperative cultures, employees are more concerned about their well-being and personal interests than that of their team, organization...
Words: 868 - Pages: 4
...Selling Executives on Project Management Derrick Smalls BUS 375 – Project management Strayer University Dr. Shah Jamali Fall quarter of 2013 Introduction “Despite tremendous growth in the project management profession and substantial proof that the profession has helped increase productivity and bottom line earnings, some senior-level executives are still fighting progress” (Janice Thomas, PhD, Connie Delisle, PhD, and Kam Jugdev with assistance from Pamela Buckle). Selling project management to Executives is very difficult to do when the company main profit for years was based on products produced by the company and not project based work. Discuss the Main Reasons Why the Executives Still Seemed Apprehensive The executives were afraid to lose the balance of power the company was built off of. The executives did not want one person to have the majority of the power. If this was to happen one person would have the final say on critical and non-critical decisions. If this person was to make poor decisions this can cause the company to lose more profit and a competitive edge on the project driven portion of the company. If this were to occur it will affect the company as a whole. The executives are thinking strategically about the best interest of the company. “Based on the perspective that senior executives focus at a strategic level and view project management as tactical” (Janice Thomas, PhD, Connie Delisle, PhD, and Kam Jugdev with assistance from Pamela Buckle)...
Words: 461 - Pages: 2
...Selling Executives on Project Management This case focuses on Levon Corporation. For almost two decades the Levon Corporation has been successful at acquiring contracts until recently. In the past Levon has been awarded contracts through competitive bidding .Unfortunately for Levon, the contract acquisition criteria has changed and their perspective clients are now requesting information about their project management capability. This is not the first time Levon has been approached about project management according to the text. Levon’s sales and marketing teams has continuously expressed their concern and interest in project management being implemented within the company. Unfortunately they received no consideration from the executive team. Eventually the executives reluctantly brought in a project management consultant. I will explore two reasons why the executives did not listen to their employees, but a consultant. The first reason is that they had no trouble acquiring contracts until recently. The definition of a business is: the purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit(dict.com). The executive committee’s main responsibility is to make sure that the company is remaining profitable. When the company’s profitability is in jeopardy it is the executive committee’s responsibility to act. The fact that Lenovo group was being downgraded in proposal evaluation was a big indicator to the executive committee. Due to this reason project management became a necessity...
Words: 318 - Pages: 2
...Assignment 3 Selling Executives on Project Management Pamela Payne-Powell Bus 375 2/15/2015 Abstract The executives at Levon Corporation watched their companies revenue drop tremendously. They refused to listen to their employees on what was going to happen and refused to implement things that were necessary for the growth of the company. Executives eventually agreed at the very least to listen to a presentation by some consultants who could help their company get out of trouble. Analyze the fundamental reasons why the executives in the case refused to listen to their own employees but were willing to listen to a consultant. Discuss the main reasons why the executives still seemed apprehensive even after the consultant’s presentation. In the Levon Corporation’s case, the executives neglected the voices which were supporting project management. The employees tried to present ideas, but weren’t given attention or the respect they deserved. A lot of the executives knew that the management had become very crtitical to remain profitable and they were running into losses because of not having the critical project management capabilities. The executives also feared that project management could bring a shift in power. As a result, they could not support or pay attention to any idea that came from inside. Kernzer says, “the sales and marketing personnel continuously expressed their concerns to senior management, but the concerns fell upon deaf ears.” (Kernzer, 2013)...
Words: 649 - Pages: 3
...No question about it: This is a tough time to be selling to business customers. The budget allowances simply aren’t there. If you thought it was hard to make a sale before—when typically 85% of a customer’s budget was allocated to existing commitments and only 15% remained for discretionary spending—you’re finding out how much harder it can be, as even that fraction disappears in across-the-board cuts. Making matters worse, your customer relationships have lost much of their power. With less money to go around, proposals are subjected to higher levels of review in buying organizations, and the managers you’ve traditionally dealt with are no longer the decision makers. All this would be thoroughly discouraging if not for one fact: Companies have survived downturns before, and some have even profited from them. In the research and consulting we’ve done since the 2001 dot-com bust, we’ve seen how. Rather than resign themselves to hearing the standard “Sorry, we have no budget for that,” some vendors—even some very young start-ups— have found a way to reach their customers’ resource owners and motivate them to allocate the necessary funds. Using what we call provocation-based selling, they persuade customers that the solutions they bring to the table are not just nice but essential. Provocation-based selling goes beyond the conventional consultative or solution-selling approach, whereby the vendor’s sales team seeks out current concerns in a question-and-answer dialogue with customer...
Words: 3442 - Pages: 14
...PROJECT PROPOSAL Title The title of the project is “To identify, study and suggest improvements on the sales and distribution strategies of FMCG products in Rural India.” Rationale Rural marketing and rural penetration are very key issues in FMCG companies today. With heavy penetration of all FMCG categories in urban India and with a highly fragmented market in most categories, the only way the categories can show substantial growth is through penetrating deeper and deeper into rural India. This involves creating product awareness, creating brand awareness, generating trials and facilitating repeats. In the whole process, sales and distribution of these products forms the backbone. The dynamics of selling FMCG products in rural areas is very different from urban areas, especially because media has a lower reach in these areas and Cable & Satellite penetration in these areas is quite low. Hence the sales and distribution function of a company will largely determine the fate of its products in rural areas. Therefore it will be very interesting to study what works for a category in rural areas and whether such learnings can be applied across categories to facilitate growth in rural areas. Scope The project would comprehensively cover S&D issues in rural India and will try to address them. Some of these issues are: Channel design and channel features Retailer profiling and retailer management Operational design associated with channel management ...
Words: 610 - Pages: 3
...to our standard fuel efficient cruisers. Cruisers decided adding a new product line would help achieve long term success. With the support of our customers and our research we should be able to accomplish short term and long term goals, in the next 5 years. Previously, Cruisers has used the traditional organization in our project management. It has been successful because Cruisers has only been manufacturing and selling our standard fuel efficient cruiser. Now, with the new project of manufacturing the Touring Class motorcycles, we will need to adjust our management organization. Using traditional organization will inhabit Cruisers to take control over the production of the new motorcycles. In order to manufacture and produce this new class of motorcycles, Cruisers will need to put in place a team to head this project. As the project manager, I will assign someone I feel has shown great potential here within Cruisers. Someone who has both great responsibility, but also the energy to ride this project through. Developing a new line of motorcycles will require new attention to a lot of different areas. Research in marketing will require parts of the project team to study the patterns of the consumer when it comes to this type of motorcycle. This specific group of the team would report to their direct leader, who would then report to me. This will ensure that the line of command stays in control. This will also show...
Words: 1467 - Pages: 6
...Assignment 1: Project Proposal BUS 517 Strayer University Project portfolio management method Management of this project requires just a few people with qualities and various skills in management bearing in mind that the project is at its genesis. It will therefore include the founder of the project who will work closely with two financial partners and all together they form the executive management of the project. Financial managers play a vital role in this project since everything that is likely to be involved in this project will require a certain specific amount money which they will have to allocate the correct amount for the success of the project. At this early stage also, most decisions in the project will be made by the founder himself but may also be assisted by the two financial partners. In addition, it is also the responsibility of the founder to as well monitor or manage all the business activities within the project reason being that the project is still at its early stages and therefore may not require many people in the management; in other words, it only requires a very simple kind of organization. However, in the near future whereby the project is expected to pick up and grow drastically, the management is expected to change by especially having more managers who will manage various units in the project. It is also expected in the future that as the project grows the management structure will be divided into two to include, the executive management and the...
Words: 2468 - Pages: 10
...telecommunication solutions in more than 100 countries. The company’s tradition business model was simple. With help of national telecom monopoly it dominated the home market and sold products worldwide. But in mid 1990s, market became deregulated and many players entered the market. Stiff competition, technological up gradation, led to shift in Siemens ICN business model. The company now focused not only on selling a product, but giving consultation, financing and system integration. Selling customer specific solution had become an important value adding activity. For this reason the company had to rely more on the front line managers as they were more knowledge about upcoming technology. Sales people had to act like consultant to customers. Suddenly there was need of business analysis, business development, network planning and outsourcing. There was a need of identifying best practise and using it on a global scale. This lead to the birth of “ICN SHARE NET”. SHARE NET ICN: The ICN Share Net is active in 80 countries worldwide. The marketing executives, sales executives, research and development managers of Siemens use the ICN Share Net. There is certain entry restriction. On the other hand there is no one sourcing of knowledge but every member can contribute, publish his ideas thoughts on Share Net. The main objective of Share Net is to identify, detect the local idea, innovation and...
Words: 746 - Pages: 3
...information and reports on market trends, competitor performance and level of own achievements against Trade Marketing & Distribution and Cycle Planning objectives. Assessing any new trade channels/opportunities and recommending models for further enhancement of own Trade Marketing performance. Establishing close relationship with distributor organization and key customers in order to address distribution, pricing, stock level and freshness issues in a timely and cost effective manner. Managing budget for trade programmes for the area. Making suggestions to the Cycle Plan in developing activities to achieve the sales targets. May 2008 — April 2010 (2 years) British American Tobacco — Fast moving consumer goods (non-food) Business Development Executive Act as a bridge between Brand & Trade Marketing teams Interact with them from the very early planning stage Coordinate planning, implementation & evaluation of cycle activities Work closely with Brand Marketing, Trade Marketing Field Force and Marketing Finance teams...
Words: 602 - Pages: 3
...with candidly that this entire project is a heartily attempt to reach maximum accuracy. I therefore take this opportunity top express my utmost gratitude and indebtness to all who have contributed in some way. I highly express my sincere thanks to Mrs. CHANCHALA MISTRY who helped me throughout the project. Last but not least I would like to pleasure a word of appreciation to my family & friends who supported & helped me to make this project a success. CONTENT 1) Acknowledgement 2) Objective of the study 3) Organization structure 4) Quick facts of MUL 5) Some successful stories of MUL 6) Vision ,values 7) Division and Departments 8) Organization chart 9) HR vision 10) HR initiative 11) Culture building initiative since Inception 12) Focus of effective management process since Inception 13) Induction and Succession 14) Matter usually discussed in the Induction program of MUL 15) Induction program 16) Meaning of Recruitment 17) Process of recruitment a) for a particular city b) for a particular dealership c) depending on the availability of infrastructure d) for a particular qualified person 18) Selection meaning 19) Selection process of MUL 20) Meaning of training 21) Importance of training 22) Sales and training department of MUL 23) Training process for sales executives 24) Training process for sales manager/general manager/branch manager 25) Training and Development of Dealers sales executives 26)...
Words: 714 - Pages: 3
...Can Selling Be Globalized? THE PITFALLS OF GLOBAL ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT David Arnold Julian Birkinshaw Omar Toulan T o international companies, there is something both inevitable and desirable about the trend towards globalization of the sales function, usually referred to as global account management. It is inevitable because major business customers are generally well down the road to globalization in supply chain management, and from their major suppliers worldwide they increasingly demand contracts with standardized terms in areas such as product specification, price, and service standards. It is desirable because the institution of global customer management is in line with trends like customer relationship management and building customer-centric organizations, ideas which currently hold much sway with top executives in many multinational corporations. However, vendor companies should think carefully before jumping on the global customer bandwagon. Such relationships can turn out to be quite different from expectations. In many cases, vendors find that the unanticipated costs outweigh the benefits. Over the last two years, we have conducted field research into global account management from the vendor's perspective in Europe and North America. In over half the corporations, we found management struggling to figure out how to make this system work. In many cases, the major change that resulted from classifying a customer as a global account was increased downward...
Words: 5905 - Pages: 24
...KELLER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT FIN-567: OPTIONS & FINANCIAL FUTURES MARKETS PROJECT GUIDELINES General Guidelines This project is about quality and substance, not about volume. Your narratives should be concise, comprehensive, and easy to read. APA format is required. Your pricing numbers for derivatives must be expressed in a spreadsheet format. Your presentation should be in the following order: 1. Executive Summary 2. Explanation of Hedging Strategy 3. Spreadsheet 4. Explanation of the strategy’s risks and rewards 5. Conclusion Executive Summary This narrative should be a brief explanation of the objective, strategy, and conclusion. There need only be enough information to provide a reader an overview of the issue, your approach, and your perceptions on how you will benefit. Spreadsheet For every derivative security you select as a part of your strategy, there should be a spreadsheet entry identifying the derivative, and all purchasing or selling elements, e.g. strike price, expiration, and costs. You should also show possible outcomes. Example, if you recommend selling a call option, then show the net results if the underlying stock moves down, stays flat, and rises above the strike price. The net results should be expressed in net dollars (actual return or loss), actual percentage gain or loss, and annualized percentage gain or loss. Risks and Rewards This is a narrative based on the probabilities shown in...
Words: 261 - Pages: 2
...Starting an E Commerce Online Business Keller Graduate School of Management Managerial Applications of Information Technology 11/12/2011 [Type the fax number] Jamie Lynch You want to start an E commerce business selling your products and services online but how to get started? Milestone 1 Problem: The business problem to be solved is how can an entrepreneur start and maintain a successful E commerce business online? Background: The first key to starting a successful online business is to first understand ecommerce and how it operates. Most people understand that ecommerce or electronic commerce refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, it stretches beyond just the buying and selling of goods; it also includes an online process of developing, marketing, selling, delivering, servicing and paying for products and services. “The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at one point in the transaction's life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail, mobile devices and telephones as well”. (Electronic Commerce, modified...
Words: 3665 - Pages: 15
...E-Sonic Compensation Paper Todd Lipscomb, Belma Alic, and Teresa Halpin Davenport University Strategic Analysis Outline: 1. Strategic Analysis A. E-Sonic NAICS falls into two different codes 334614 and 512220. The first code 334614 definition is, “Providing mass duplication of recorded products; Software and other Prerecorded Compact Disc, Tape, and Record Reproducing” (). This code is given in reference to E-Sonic’s producing of music on to various forms of products. The second code 512220 is, “Releasing, Promoting, and Distributing sound recordings. Integrated Record Production/Distribution” (). B. Analysis of E-Sonic’s external market environment 1. Sonic records are a part of the recording and production studio industry, which is going on to start E-Sonic. “Sonic Records, a market-leading recording studio and production house, has witnessed declining demand for music CDs” (). The company boasted over $15 billion in revenue five years ago. However, times have changed over the past five years; technology has greatly improved over time. There have been many technological advances that has offered alternatives to CDs. The one thing that has improved the industry some is the government regulations against pirating music, which is essentially stealing the merchandise. 2. E-Sonic’s competition is pretty fierce as the market has been going for quite some time now. It kind of goes along with, don’t reinvent the wheel if it is already working. Consumers...
Words: 4888 - Pages: 20
