Assignment 3: Selling Executives on Project Management

Assignment 3: Selling Executives on Project Management 
Due Week 6 and
worth 100 points

Read the Chapter 10 Case titled “Selling Executives on Project Management.”
Write a one to two (1-2) page paper in which you:

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.
3. Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other
   Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
  margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or
  school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional
  instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s
  name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and
  the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

SELLING EXECUTIVES ON
PROJET MANAGEMENT (CASE STUDY)

Background

  The executives at Levon
Corporation watched as their revenue stream diminished and refused to listen to
their own employees that were arguing that project management implementation
was necessary for growth. Finally, the executives agreed to listen to a
presentation by a project management consultant.

Need for Project
Management

  Levon Corporation had been
reasonably successful for almost twenty years as an electronics component
manufacturer. The company was a hybrid between project-driven and non-project
driven businesses. A large portion of its business came from development of
customized products for government agencies and private-sector companies around
the world.

  The
customized or project-driven portion of the business was beginning to erode.
Even though Levon’s reputation was good, the majority of these contracts were
awarded through competitive bidding. Every customer’s request for proposal
asked for a section on the contractor’s project management capability. Levon
had no real project management capability. Since most of the contracts were awarded
on points rather than going to the lowest bidder. Levon was constantly
downgraded in the evaluation of the proposals because of no project management
capability.

  The sales
and marketing personnel continuously expressed their concerns to senior management,
but the concerns fell upon deaf ears. Management was afraid that their support
of project management could result in a shift in the balance of power in the
company. Also, whatever executive ended up with control of the project
management function could become more powerful than the other executives.

Gap Analysis

  Reluctantly, the executives
agreed to hire a project management consultant. The consultant was asked to
identify the gaps between Levon and the rest of the industry and to show how
project management could benefit the company. The consultant was also asked to identify
the responsibilities of senior management once project management is
implemented.

  After a
few weeks of research, the consultant was ready to make his presentation before
the senior staff. The first slide that the consultant presented was Exhibit
10-5, which showed that Levon’s revenue stream was not as good as they thought.
Levon was certainly lagging the industry average and distance between Levon and
the industry leader was getting larger.

  The
consultant then showed Exhibit 10-6. The consultant had developed a project management
maturity factor based upon such elements as time, cost, meeting scope, ability
to handle risks, providing quality products, and customer interfacing and reporting.
Using the project management maturity factor, the consultant showed that Levon’s
understanding and use of project management were lagging the industry trend.

  The consultant
then showed Exhibit 10-7, which clearly illustrated that, unless Levon takes
decisive action to improve its project management capability, the gap will
certainly increase. The executives seemed to understand this but the consultant
could still see their apprehension in supporting project management.