Apache Metals is an original equipment manufacturer of metal working equipment.

Question

Apache Metals is an original equipment manufacturer of metal working equipment. The majority
of Apache’s business is as a supplier to the automotive, appliance, and building products industries.
Each production line is customdesigned
according to application, industry, and customer requirements. Project managers are assigned to
each purchase order only after the sales department has a signed contract. The project managers
can come from anywhere within the company. Basically, anyone can be assigned as a project
leader. The assigned project leaders can be responsible for as many as ten purchase orders at one
time. In the past, there has not been enough emphasis on project management. At one time, Apache
even assigned trainees to perform project coordination. All failed miserably. At one point, sales
dropped to an all-time low, and cost overruns averaged 20–25 percent per production line.
In January 2007, the board of directors appointed a new senior management team that would drive
the organization to excellence in project management. Project managers were added through
recruitment efforts and a close examination of existing personnel. Emphasis was on individuals
with good people and communication skills.
The following steps were implemented to improve the quality and effectiveness of the project
management system:
Outside formal training for project managers
Development of an apprenticeship program for future project managers
Modification of the current methodology to put the project manager at the focal point
Involvement of project managers to a greater extent with the customer
1. What problems can you see in the way project managers were assigned in the past?
15 marks
2. Will the new approach taken in 2007 put the company on a path to excellence in project
management?
15 marks
3. What skill set would be ideal for the future project managers at Apache Metals?
15 marks
4. What overall cultural issues must be considered in striving for excellence in project
management?
15 marks
5. What time frame would be appropriate to achieve excellence in project management? What
assumptions must be made?
15 marks
(Project management work in solving the problem 25 marks)

Explanation / Answer

1). The way project managers were assigned in the past had many issues:

2). The new approach taken in 2007 was to appoint a new senior management team that would drive the organization to excellence in project management. The approach is right but the success would depend upon proper execution. If people with right skill sets are incorporated and then assigned projects of matching skills and capabilities, the situation will definitely improve slowly.

3). The skill sets as mentioned earlier, should be defined on 3 grounds - technical, managerial and interpersonal.

4). There are no particular cultural issues mentioned here in the organization. But as per the steps taken to improve the management system, the following cultural issues could be addressed:

5). As mentioned, cost overruns averaged 20–25% per production line. Which means that the entire production facility is facing such technical issues and some might be in an even worse condition. Assuming the senior management devise a strategy to reduce the overruns by 50% on an year-on-year basis, a time period of 2-3 years would give beneficial results. This would be assuming there are enough orders to avoid any idle time losses.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.