Question20

CASE STUDY: The Carlson Project

"I sympathize with your problems, Frank," stated Joe McGee, manager of project managers. "You know as well as I do

that I'm supposed to resolve conflicts and coordinate efforts among all projects. Staffing problems are your

responsibility."

Frank: "Royce Williams has a resume that would choke a horse. I don't understand why he performs with a lazy, I-don't-

care attitude. He has fifteen years of experience in a project organizational structure, with ten of those years being in

project offices. He knows the work that has to be done."

McGee: "I don't think that it has anything to do with you personally. This happens to some of our best workers sooner or

later. You can't expect guys to give 120 percent all of the time. Royce is at the top of his pay grade, and being an

exempt employee, he doesn't get paid for overtime. He'll snap out of it sooner or later."

Frank: "I have deadlines to meet on the Carlson Project. Fortunately, the Carlson Project is big enough that I can

maintain a full-time project office staff of eight employees, not counting myself. "I like to have all project office

employees assigned full-time and qualified in two or three project office areas. It's a good thing that I have someone

else checked out in Royce's area. But I just can't keep asking this other guy to do his own work and that of Royce's. This

poor guy has been working sixty to seventy hours a week and Royce has been doing only forty. That seems unfair to

me."

McGee: "Look, Frank, I have the authority to fire him, but I'm not going to. It doesn't look good if we fire somebody

because they won't work free overtime. Last year we had a case similar to this, where an employee refused to work on

Monday and Wednesday evenings because it interfered with his MBA classes. Everyone knew he was going to resign

the instant he finished his degree, and yet there was nothing that I could do."

Frank: "There must be other alternatives for Royce Williams. I've talked to him as well as to other project office

members. Royce's attitude doesn't appear to be demoralizing the other members, but it easily could in a short period of

time."

McGee: "We can reassign him to another project, as soon as one comes along. I'm not going to put him on my

overhead budget. Your project can support him for the time being. You know, Frank, the grapevine will know the reason

for his

transfer. This might affect your ability to get qualified people to volunteer to work with you on future projects. Give Royce

a little time and see if you can work it out with him. What about this guy, Harlan Green, from one of the functional

2

groups?'

Frank: "Two months ago, we hired Gus Johnson, a man with ten years of experience. For the first two weeks that he

was assigned to my project, he worked like hell and got the work done ahead of schedule. His work was flawless. That

was the main reason why I wanted him. I know him personally, and he's one great worker. "During weeks three and

four, his work slowed down considerably. I chatted with him and he said that Harlan Green refused to work with him if he

kept up that pace."

McGee: "Did you ask him why?'

Frank: "Yes. First of all, you should know that for safety reasons, all men in that department must work in two- or three-

men crews. Therefore, Gus was not allowed to work alone. Harlan did not want to change the standards of performance

for fear that some of the other employees would be laid off. "By the end of the first week, nobody in the department

would talk to Gus. As a matter of fact, they wouldn't even sit with him in the cafeteria. So, Gus had to either conform to

the group or remain an outcast. I feel partially responsible for what has happened, since I'm the one who brought him

here.

"I know that has happened before, in the same department. I haven't had a chance to talk to the department manager

as yet. I have an appointment to see him next week."

McGee: "There are solutions to the problem, simple ones at that. But, again, it's not my responsibility. You can work it

out with the department manager."

"Yeah,'' thought Frank. "But what if we can't agree?"

20.1 Give a brief synopsis of this case study[10]

20.2 Was the overloading problem unfair?[10]

20.3 How should the project manager handle Royce William?[10]

20.4 How should the project manager handle Gus Johnson?[10]