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Master Project Management Program.
Module: EMBA 601 Enterprising Leadership in
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Rafieu Gibao Mambu

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Major Project Report 2: Case Studies

A). Read the case: Acme manufacturing Company, page 48, and answer the questions presented at

the end of the case. In addition to the text question, provide your personal analyis of the case.

Case : Acme Manufacturing Company

Steve Arnold is a production manager at Acme Manufacturing Company in New Jersey. When
Steve drove into the parking lot at the plant on Tuesday morning at 8:35, he was already 35
minutes late for work. Steve had overslept that morning because the night before he had stayed
up late to finish the monthly production report for his department. He parked his car and entered
the rear of the plant building. Passing through the shipping area, Steve spotted his friend George
Summers and stopped to ask how work was progressing on the new addition to Georges house.
Entering the office at 8:55, Steve greeted his secretary, Ruth Sweeney, and asked whether
anything urgent needed his immediate attention. Ruth reminded him of the staff meeting at 9:30
with Steves bossFrank Jones, the vice president for Production and the other production
managers. Steve thanked Ruth for reminding him (he had for- gotten about the meeting) and
continued on to his adjoining inner office. He went to his desk and began looking through the
piles of papers to find the memo announcing the meeting. He vaguely remembered getting the
memo last week, but had not had time to read it or look at the attached materials. His phone
rang, and it was Sue Bradley, the Sales vice president, who was inquir- ing about the status of a
rush order for one of the companys important clients. Steve promised to look into the matter and
get back to her later in the day with an answer. Steve had delegated the rush order last week to
Lucy Adams, one of his production supervisors, and he had not thought about it since then.
Stepping back into the outer office, Steve asked Ruth if she had seen Lucy today. Ruth reminded
him that Lucy was at a training workshop in California. She would be difficult to reach until the
session ended late in the afternoon, because the workshop facilitators regard cell phone calls and
text messages as an unnecessary distraction. Steve asked Ruth to leave a message for Lucy to call
him during a break in the training. Going back into his office, Steve resumed his search for the
memo about the meeting with his boss and the other production managers. After 10 minutes of
frantic searching, he finally found it. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a proposed
change in quality control procedures. By now it was 9:25, and there was no time to read the
proposal. He hurried out to get to the meeting on time. During the meeting, the other production
managers participated in the discussion and made helpful com- ments or suggestions. Steve was
not prepared for the meeting and did not contribute much except to say that he did not anticipate
any problems with the proposed changes. The meeting ended at 10:30, and Steve returned to his
office, where he found Paul Chen, one of his production supervisors, waiting for him. Paul wanted
to dis- cuss a problem caused in the production schedules by a major equipment break- down.
Steve called Glenda Brown, his assistant manager, and asked her to join them to help rearrange
the production schedules for the next few days. Glenda came in shortly and the three of them
worked on the production schedules. At 11:25, Ruth came in to announce that a Mr. Ferris was
waiting and he claimed to have an appoint- ment with Steve at 11:30. Steve looked at his
calendar but could not find any entry for the appointment. Steve asked Ruth to tell Mr. Ferris
that he would be ready shortly. The schedules were completed around 11:40. Since it was nearly
noon, Steve invited Mr. Ferris to join him for lunch at a nearby restaurant. During lunch Steve
learned that Mr. Ferris was from one of the firms that provided materials used in the production
process at Acme, and the purpose of the meeting was to inquire about some changes in material
specifications the company had requested. As Mr. Ferris talked, Steve realized that he would not
be able to answer some of the techni- cal questions. When they returned to the plant at 1:15,
Steve introduced Mr. Ferris to an engi- neer who could answer his questions. Steve walked back
to his office, where his sec- retary informed him that Lucy had returned his call while he was out
to lunch. Just then, Steves boss (Frank Jones) stopped in to ask about the quality figures he had
asked Steve to assemble for him last week. Steve explained that he had given top pri- ority to
finishing the monthly production report the last few days and would do the qual- ity information
next. Frank was irritated, because he needed the quality data to finalize his proposal for new
procedures, and he had made it clear to Steve that this task was more urgent then the production
report. He told Steve to get the quality data to him as soon as possible and left. Steve
immediately called Glenda Brown and asked her to bring the quality data to his office. The task of
reviewing the data and preparing a short summary was not difficult, but it took longer than he
anticipated. It was 2:40 by the time Steve completed the report and attached it to an e-mail to his
boss. Looking at his calendar, Steve noticed that he was already late for a 2:30 meeting of the
plant safety committee. The committee meets weekly to review safety prob- lems, and each
department sends a representative. Steve rushed out to the meeting, which was held in another
part of the plant. The meeting was dull this week, without any important issues or problems to
discuss. The meeting ended at 3:30, and as Steve walked back through his section of the plant, he
stopped to talk to his assistant manager. Glenda wanted some advice on how to resolve a
problem in the production assignments for the next day. They dis- cussed the problem for about a
half-hour. When Steve returned to his office at 4:05, his secretary was just leaving. She reported
that Lucy had called again at 4:00 before leaving to fly home from the conference. Steve was
feeling tired and decided it was time for him to go home also. As he drove out of the parking lot,
Steve reflected that he was getting further behind in his work. He wondered what he could do to
get better control over his job.

Question:

1. What specific things did Steve do wrong, and what should have been done in each instance?

2. What should Steve do to become more effective as a manager?

Answers to the question and Analysis of the case.

Matters arising from the case are as follows:

Steve woke up late, though he overslept as a result of late midnight work on the monthly

production report.

Entered workplace at 8:35 am, and by the time he could reach his office to start work, it

was 8:55. Which means he was 55 minute late alredy.

Metting with production VP, which he did not planned for.

Lost of memo, which includes detail of what was to be discussed. Unable to plan.

Was unable to follow up on the rush order that was made with luch adams, wo was on

that day out in california on aworkshop,was unable to reach luch because phone was off.

Memo was found, but no proper planning was done.

Meeting at 9:25 am was to discuss changes in quality control procedures, no time to read

to proposal, also no prepartion was made. Because he did not prepare he was unable to

make any contribution, his only words was he did not anticipate any problem with the

proposed changed.

Steven gave top priority to finishing the monthly production report, intead of him

finishing the quality figure report which was more needed than the monthly report.
 Steven completed the quality figure report by 2:40 pm and send the report to Frank jones,

his own boss.

Late for another meeting which should have stated at 2.30pm. he went to the meeting

unplanned though the safety committee metting that day was dull and there was nore

serious issue to discuss and no problem which needs great attention.

Steven spend some time with glenna on giving her an advice on how to solve a problem in

the production assigment for the next day,he spent another half gour on that.

Returning tohisoffice,he noticed that he sectetary was leaving the office.

On returning to his desk at around 4:05,he decided that it was time to go home, it was at

this time that he reflected that he was getting far behind on his job, and he need to do

something about it.

Answers to the question and Analysis of the case.

1. What specific things did Steve do wrong, and what should have been done in each

instance?

Conceptions of leadership effectiveness differ from writer to writer. One major distinction

between different definitions of effectiveness is the type of consequence or outcome used to

determine how successful a leader is. These outcomes include such diverse things as group

parformance, attainment of group objectives, group survival, group preparedness, group capacity

to deal with crises, subordinate satisfaction with the leaaer, subordinate,commitment to group

objectives, the psychological well-being and personal growth of followers, and the leader's

retention of his or her position af authority in the group. The leader effectiveness measures used

most often are the exterit to which the leader's group or organizational unit performs its

task and attains its objectives.

On the case of Steve Arnold Specific things that he did wrong are that he arrived late at the office,

did not plan for the day as he spent long time last night trying to complete the monthly
production report. Monthly production report that he spent lots of time on was not urgent as

compared to the urgency of the report on quality figures. Quality figure report was needed by a

top executive, Frank Jones who also serves as his own boss. Was unable to plan work for

theday, as a result was moving from one meeting to another,from one appointment to another

call, as a result was really not been able to focus on managing his time well. Because of the fact

that he did not plan the day, he was unable to categorised top priorities as against things that

are not urgently required. Steve as part of his job role was to have delagated some of his work /

task to people around him, he failed to follow up with Lucy Adams on the rush orders. His

participation on the saftey committee meeting was not planned, though there was not much

things to discuss as there was no serious incident or issue to discuss. As a production manager,

saftey in production was an area where much attention need to be given. Also his preparation on

the meeting at 9:25 am, was also of shambles. He has no time to read to proposal for the change

in quality control procedues. Quality control in a depatmen t like production takes a high priority

as quality should be the watch word of every product. A review of the proposal would have given

him the glimpse of what is to be discussed, ideas which he would have thought of, deliberated

on, and if possible aviced on.

2. What should Steve do to become more effective as a manager?

The case for steve arnold is one that has vivivly open my eyes when it comes to the real nature of

managerail task and responsiblities. On one occasion, one can say that steve did not plan his job

well, on another occasion one can say that he was really doing somethinh important, ie the

monthly production report that he was working on. He was really busy on this report until late

hour last nightwhich made him not to woke up earlier. Waking up late from bed and been in a

position where you have not reflected on the things to do for the day, create a bad day at times

for people especially so when at times day work are hectic at the workplace. Inorder for steve to
become effective in his workplace, the following ate thus things which he should try to master/

prcatice for his managerail responsibilities to be on course.

Make time for reflective planning: Managers face relentless pressures for dealing with

immediate problems and responding to requests for assistance, direction, or authorization.

Some of these prob- lems require immediate attention, but if managers become too preoccupied

with react- ing to day-to-day problems, they have no time left for the reflective planning that

would help them to avoid many of the problems, or for the contingency planning that would help

them cope better with unavoidable problems.

Plan daily and weekly activities: The extensive practitioner-oriented literature on time

management shows consider- able agreement about the importance of planning daily and weekly

activities in advance (e.g., Webber, 1980). When planning daily activities, the first step is to make

a to-do list for the day and assign priorities to each activity. This type of prioritized activity list

may be used with a calendar showing required meetings and scheduled appointments to plan the

next days activities. Most of the discretionary time should be allocated to high- priority

activities. If insufficient time is available to do important activities with immedi- ate deadlines,

reschedule or delegate some activities that are less important. The task of juggling the various

activities and deciding which to do is a difficult but essential compo- nent of managerial work.

Remember that it is more efficient to do a series of similar tasks than to keep switching from one

type of task to another. Sometimes it is possible to schedule similar activities (e.g., several

telephone calls, several letters) at the same time during the day. In addition, it is wise to take

into account natural energy cycles and biorhythms. Peak alertness and efficiency occur at

different times of the day for differ- ent people, and peak periods should be used for difficult

tasks that require creativity.

Take advantage of reactive activities: Although some degree of control over the use of ones

time is desirable, it is not feasible for a manager to plan in advance exactly how each minute of
the day will be spent. The unpredictable nature of the environment makes it essential to view

chance encounters, interruptions, and unscheduled meetings initiated by others not just as

intrusions on scheduled activities, but rather as opportunities to gain important infor- mation,

discover problems, influence others, and move forward on implementation of plans and informal

agendas. Obligations that might otherwise be time wasters, such as required attendance at some

meetings and ceremonial occasions, can be turned to ones advantage (Kotter, 1982; Mintzberg,

1973).

Understand the reasons for demands and constraints: It is essential to learn how others perceive

the managers role and what they expect. Perception of demands and constraints inevitably

involves subjective judg- ments, but many managers fail to take the time necessary to gather

sufficient informa- tion on which to base these judgments. Do not assume that everyone agrees

with your vision, priorities, or ideas about effective management. Before one can satisfy people

or modify their expectations, it is necessary to understand what they really desire

Expand the range of choices: Too many managers focus on the demands and constraints and fail

to give ade- quate consideration to opportunities to define the job in different ways. It is

essential to step back from the job and see it in a broader strategic perspective. It is usually

possible to be proactive with superiors about defining the job in a way that allows more

discretion, especially when role ambiguity is already present due to poorly defined

responsibilities. Choices may be expanded by finding ways to avoid demands and reduce

constraints. A managers planning and agenda development should include a conscious analysis

of the demands and constraints limiting current effectiveness, and how they can be reduced,

eliminated, or circumvented.

Determine what you want to accomplish: Time is a scarce resource that must be used well if the

manager is to be effective. The key to effective time management is knowing what you want to

accomplish. A person with a clear set of objectives and priorities can identify important activities
and plan the best way to use time; without clear objectives, no amount of planning will improve

time management. The objectives and priorities may be informal, as with Kotters (1982) mental

agendas, but they need to be identified by a deliberate, conscious process.

Analyze how you use your time: It is difficult to improve time management without knowing

how time is actually spent. Most managers are unable to estimate very accurately how much

time they spend on different activities. Most time management systems recommend keeping a

daily log of activities for 1 or 2 weeks. The log should list each activity in 15-minute blocks of

time. It is helpful to indicate the source of control over each activity (e.g., self, boss, subordi-

nates, others, organizational requirements) and whether the activity was planned in advance or

an immediate reaction to requests and problems. Typical time wasters should be noted on the

log (e.g., unnecessary interruptions, meetings that run too long, searching for misplaced items).

The time log should be analyzed to identify how important and necessary each activity is.

Consider whether the activity can be eliminated, combined with others, or given less time.

Identify whether too many activities are initiated by oth- ers, and whether adequate time is

allowed for activities that are important but not urgent.

Avoid unnecessary activities: Managers who become overloaded with unnecessary tasks are

likely to neglect activities that are important for attaining key objectives. Managers may accept

unnec- essary tasks because they are afraid of offending subordinates, peers, or the boss, and

they lack the self-confidence and assertiveness to turn down requests. One way to avoid

unnecessary tasks is to prepare and use tactful ways to say no (e.g., say that you could only do

the task if the person does some of your work for you; suggest other people who could do the

task faster or better; point out that an important task will be delayed or jeopardized if you do

what the person requests). Some unnecessary but required tasks can be eliminated by showing

how resources will be saved or other benefits attained.

Conquer procrastination: Even when it is obvious that an activity is important, some people delay

doing it in favor of a less important activity. One reason for procrastination is the fear of fail- ure.

People find excuses for delaying a task because they lack self-confidence. One remedy for a long,

complex task is to divide it into smaller parts, each of which is easier and less intimidating.

Deadlines are also helpful for overcoming procrastina- tion. When setting deadlines for

completion of difficult tasks, it is better to allow some slack and set a deadline that is earlier than

the date when the task absolutely must be completed. However, having some slack should not

become an excuse for not start- ing the task. Schedule a definite time early in the day to begin

working on unpleasant tasks that tend to be procrastinated. Such tasks are more likely to get

done if tackled first before the daily stream of demands provides excuses to avoid them.