(a) Why are office allocations so difficult? What factors must be considered when planning an office layout?

(b) Offer Jeannette a method for monitoring the office move. Explain why this method or approach would be reasonable.

(c) How long should it take from the day the decision is made to move until the move is completed? Employees only work Monday through Friday. All of Jeannette’s activity time estimates assume a five-day work week.

(d) What are the critical activities for the timely completion of this office move?

(e) What recommendations could you make to Jeannette to make this easier in the future?

Jeannette, the senior administrative assistant, has just learned that she is in charge of the upcoming move of the research office at Southwest University. She has coordinated several such moves before and immediately begins organizing her thoughts. Determining what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and who needs to do it are critical to a successful move. From past moves, Jeannette knows the first step is having the management team allocate the offices available to the different departments.

She knows that each department manager fights for the best office space. Because of the politics, Jeannette expects this activity to take three weeks.