Centre for Postgraduate Studies

MBF 2133 PROJECT QUALITY ASSURANCE, HUMAN RESOURCE AND

COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT II

This assignment contains three (3) questions. You are required answer all the questions.
Instruction for Submission of Assignment: Assignments must be submitted to PGC on or before
15 February 2016.
This assignment carries a 30% weightage toward final grade.

Question 1
S. K. Grinnell and H. P. Apple, authors of the article When Two Bosses Are Better Than
One, (Machine Design, January 1975, pp. 8487) identified the following four major problems

associated with staffing:

People trained in single-line-of-command organisations find it hard to serve more than one
boss.

People may give lip service to teamwork, but not really know how to develop and maintain
a good working team.

Project and functional managers sometimes tend to compete rather than cooperate with
each other.

Individuals must learn to do more managing of themselves.

Discuss each problem and identify the type of individual most likely to be involved (i.e., engineer,
contract administrator, cost accountant, etc.) and in which organisational form this problem
would be most apt to occur.

Question 2
C. Ray Gullet (Personnel Management in the Project Organization, Personnel
Administration/Public Personnel Review, NovemberDecember 1972, pp. 1722) identified

the following five personnel problems.

Staffing levels are more variable in a project environment.

Performance evaluation is more complex and more subject to error in a matrix form of
organization.

Wage and salary grades are more difficult to maintain under a matrix form of
organization. Job descriptions are often of less value.

Training and development are more complex and at the same time more necessary
under a project form of organization.

Morale problems are potentially greater in a matrix organization.

How would you, as a project manager, cope with each problem?

Question 3

Manager A is a department manager with thirty years of experience in the company. For the
last several years, he has worn two hats and acted as both project manager and functional
manager on a variety of projects. He is an expert in his field. The company has decided to
incorporate formal project management and has established a project management
department. Manager B, a thirty-year-old employee with three years of experience with the
company, has been assigned as project manager. In order to staff his project, manager B has
requested from manager A that manager C (a personal friend of manager B) be assigned to
the project as the functional representative. Manager C is twenty-six years old and has been
with the company for two years. Manager A agrees to the request and informs manager C of
his new assignment, closing with the remarks, This project is yours all the way. I dont want
to have anything to do with it. Ill be too busy with paperwork as the result of our new
organizational structure. Just send me a memo once in a while telling me whats happening.

During the project kickoff meeting it became obvious to both manager B and manager C that
the only person with the necessary expertise was manager A. Without the support of manager
A, the time duration for project completion could be expected to double. This situation is ideal
for role playing.

Put yourself in the place of managers A, B, and C and discuss the reasons for your
actions. How can this problem be overcome?

How do you get manager A to support the project?

Who should inform upper-level management of this situation?

When should upper-level management be informed?

Would any of your answers change if manager B and manager C were not close friends?

END