Questions

Create a job posting for the project managers position. Keep in mind that a new project manager will have to work from home for a little while.

must be referenced using APA citation format

The Project Report is limited to one page per question plus one page for all references

CASE STUDY

A global company, XYZ Ltd., is developing a software tool for the food industry. The project team consists of 20 members located in South Korea and 30 members located in several Canadian cities (Vancouver 8 members, Toronto 15 members, and Montreal 7 members). Korean team members have previously developed similar tools and understand the application environment. Even though Canadian team members have required skills and expertise in variety of IT technologies, they do not have previous experience with applications developed exclusively for the food industry. The project schedule is very aggressive; project is scheduled to be completed in 12 months. In addition, there are several technical issues to be resolved before the design effort can be finalized. The project manager is worried. The team missed three important milestones in the last six months. When discussing the situation with team leads, the aggressive schedule is usually blamed for the project delays. The project manager thinks otherwise. He noticed that Korean and Canadian teams frequently wait on other team to provide information or to make a decision. As result, the valuable time is missed and schedule is slipping. The manager decides to meet with each team separately to discuss collaboration issues. The following are project managers notes captured during the team meetings.

Korean Team 20 team members all working from the same office Team members have been working together for several years and have a very good working relationships. Everyone feels included regardless on their position. Internally, information is exchanged both formally and informally. The project is very important for Korean team. They want to be successful so that their division is recognized as the leader in software development for the food industry. Each team member can perform different tasks and act as a backup for others when required.

• Issues reported: Language. Problems with verbal communication. Many team members are not proficient in English and prefer the written communication (example: emails). Waiting too long for responses from the Canadian team. If a delay in communication is affecting the schedule or quality of product, they contact the manager of the Canadian team in hope to get the answer. Not sure if Canadians are hiding information? In some cases, attachments are missing; sometimes, only a few team members receive emails from Canada. They are often forced to make decisions quickly. At times, they agree to what the Canadian team is proposing just to be polite but, in reality, they are still considering a proposal/recommendation. This leads to misunderstandings later. They are very concerned about project delays. In the past, they never had a similar experience. They are afraid that their reputation and a reputation of their division will be affected negatively if things do not get better.

Canadian Team Total: 30 members: Vancouver 8 members, Toronto 15 members, and Montreal 7 members Team members are organized by function. Almost all team members also work on other projects. Because they are very busy, they share information only on a need-to-know basis. Many team members stated that they dont have a time for lengthy emails and discussions. They need decisions to be made quickly so that they can return to their work.

Issues reported: They acknowledge that the other team is very competent and has the expertise required. The problem is that their roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined. They never know who to contact in Korean teams office. Language barrier. Communication through a middle man (someone in Korean team who is more proficient in English) and/or inability to clearly understand a message/question. Sometimes need to clarify a question several times before they can answer (additional delay). Formal communication. They would prefer a phone call instead of an email. Canadian team members are not co-located. Difficult to reach stakeholders at times (vacations, business trips, etc.). As result, they are not always able to respond in timely manner to Korean teams requests and questions. This upsets Korean team members so they go directly to Canadian manager (Canadian team gets upset in return) or they start working on things that are responsibility of the Canadian team

After meeting with both teams, project manager decides to quit his job and gives a two-weeks notice to the project sponsor.

Rubics-

Deliverables demonstrate knowledge of the course content by integrating major and minor concepts into the response as well as evidence of extensive research effort. Information included in the report is consistently accurate.