Project Management The Managerial Process McGraw Hill CASE STUDY GROUP ASSIGNMENT OPTION 1- DUE WEEK 6 SESSION 1
FRANKLIN EQUIPMENT LTD (FEL)
HRM 4016
This is a team project that is a combined written report and a presentation of your findings. There
may be four to six people assigned to a team as directed by the professor Students will be
assigned to a group either in class or online prior to the end of week 3.
Read the case study thoroughly to obtain an understanding of FRANKLIN EQUIPMENT LTD
(FEL) and the current business situation. As you go through the case study, identify issues and
aspects of the situation that will help you to analyze the case and write thorough responses to the
questions outlined below. You must use HR concepts and do secondary research in order to
support your responses.
Please follow APA standards for works cited. Students are reminded that references must be cited
for all sources of information. Use Times New Roman and use 11-point font.
Each team will submit a ten-twenty page paper responding to the questions that are outlined on
the case study. This will include the cover page, and works cited, PPTS (condensed to fit on 8.5
x 11 inch pages), meeting minutes, peer evaluations and a team contract. Include handouts in this
report as appendices, as well. Students are to rewrite the questions and the related responses.
Teams are expected to respond to the questions using the HR concepts used in the course and
using secondary research both from the text and other sources. Your cover page for the report
must include the respective names and student numbers of all team members, professor name and
course number. You will submit the completed report including the first two meeting templates,
references, and team contract and peer evaluations, PPTS in class by the deadline outlined to you
by the professor.
You are expected to individually and privately evaluate each of your team members on their
contribution to the team project. Include a peer review for each member of the team including
self. Each member of the team must complete peer evaluations individually. One person will
need to compile the peer evaluations and include as attachments and hand in during class. Be
honest in your evaluations please. Use the template that has been assigned for this purpose.
A minimum 8 – maximum 10-minute presentation is required from each group. Do not use internet
based connection ie. Hotmail or Prezi. You must provide the class with the context of the case prior
to presenting your findings and solutions. Students are encouraged to be creative with your
presentations. Everyone in the team must participate. Do NOT read your report to the class. You
must try to engage the class in your discussion.
Presentations require a power point presentation capturing important information. You may
consider handouts as well. PPTS must be included in your report. Keep in mind you are making a
business presentation therefore business casual is required. Presentations are to be ready the same
day. Presenters will be drawn at random for delivery. All students must be ready to deliver their
presentation or will be assigned a penalty for delay. .
The written report of the assignment is due in Week 6 Session 1 is due in class and the
presentation is due on the same day in class. The assignment is valued at a total of 20% of your
final mark for this course. 1 Project Management The Managerial Process McGraw Hill Late reports and presentations will be penalized 20% per day when students cause lateness.
Plagiarism is a serious academic misconduct that can result in failure of the course. Assignments
are not accepted via email.
CASE STUDY-FRANKLIN LTD.
Franklin Equipment, LTD (FEL) with headquarters and main fabrication facilities in Saint John,
New Brunswick, was founded 100 years ago to fabricate customer designed large machines for
construction businesses in the Maritime Provinces Over the years its product lines became
strategically focused on creating rock-crushing equipment for dam and highway construction and
for a few other markets that require the processing of aggregate. FEL now designs, fabricates and
assembles stationary and portable rock-crushing plants and services its own products and those of
its competitors.
In the 1970s FEL began to expand its market from the Maritime Provinces to the rest of Canada.
FEL currently has several offices and fabrication facilities throughout the country. More recently
FEL has made a concerted effort to market its products internationally.
Last month, FEL signed a contract to design and fabricate a rock-crushing plant for a Middle East
construction project, called Project Abu Dhabi. Charles Gatenby secured this contract and has
been assigned as a project manger. This project is viewed as a coup because FEL has wanted to
open up markets in this area for a long time and has had difficulty getting prospective customers
to realize that FEL is a Canadian firm and not from the United States. Somehow these customers
view all North American vendors as the same and are reluctant to employ any of them because of
international political considerations.
A project of this scope typically starts with the selection of a team of managers responsible for
various aspects of the design, fabrication, delivery and installation of the product. Manager
selection is important because the produce design and fabrication vary with the unique needs of
each customer. For example, the terrain, rock characteristics, weather conditions, and logistical
concerns create special problems for all phases of plant design and operations. In addition,
environmental concerns and labor conditions vary from customer to customer and from region to
region.
In addition to the project manager, all projects include a design engineer, an operations manager,
who oversees fabrication and on-site assembly; and a cost accountant, who oversees all project
financial and cost reporting matters. Each of these people must work closely together if a wellrunning plant is to be delivered on time and within costs constraints. Because international
contracts often require FEL to employ host nationals for plant assembly and to train them for
operations, a human resource manager is also assigned to the project team. In such cases, the
human resource manager needs to understand the particulars of the plant specifications and then
use this knowledge to design selection procedures and assess particular training needs. The
human resource manager also needs to learn the relevant labor laws of the customer’s country.
FEL assigns managers to project teams based on their expertise and their availability to work on a
particular project given their other commitments. This typically means that managers without
heavy current project commitments will be assigned to new projects. For instance, a manager
finishing one project will likely be assigned a management position on a new project team. The
project manager typically has little to say about who is assigned to his or her team. 2 Project Management The Managerial Process McGraw Hill Because he secured Project Abu Dhabi and has established positive working relationship with the
Abu Dhabi customer, Gatenby was assigned to be project manager. Project Abu Dhabi are Bill
Rankins, a brilliant design engineer, Rob Perry, operations manager with responsibility for
fabrication and installation, Elaine Bruder, finance and cost accounting manager and Sam
Stonebreaker, human resource manager. Each of these managers has worked together on
numerous past projects.
A few years ago, FEL began contracting for team facilitator services from several consulting
firms to help new project teams operate effectively. Last month, FEL recruited Carl Jobe from
one of these consulting firms to be a full time internal consultant. A number of managers,
including Gatenby, were so impressed with Jobe’s skills that they convinced FEL top
management of the need to hire a permanent internal facilitator; Jobe was the obvious choice.
Because Gatenby was instrumental in hiring Jobe at FEL, he was excited at the prospect of using
Jobe to facilitate team building among Project Abu Dhabi team members. Gatenby was very
proud of having secured this project and had expected to be appointed project manager. He knew
that this project’s success would be instrumental in advancing his own career.
Gatenby told Jobe. “This project is really important to FEL and to me personally. I really need for
you to help us develop into a team that works well together to achieve the project’s goals within
budget. I’ve observed your success in developing teams on other projects and I expect you will do
the same for Project Abu Dhabi. I’ll take care of you if you help me make this work”.
Jobe outlined for Gatenby how he would proceed. Jobe would begin by interviewing team
members individually to learn their perceptions of each other and of the promises and pitfalls of
being involved in this project. Meetings of the entire team would follow these interviews using
the information he collected to help establish a team identity and a shared vision.
Jobe interviewed Bruder first. She expressed skepticism about whether the project could succeed.
During the interview, Bruder appeared to be distant and Jobe could not figure out why he had not
established good rapport with her. Bruder intimated that she expected a lot of cost overruns and a
lot of missed production deadlines. But not knowing Jobe well, Bruder was reluctant to identify
any specific barriers to the project’s success. While she would not directly say so it was clear to
Joe that Bruder did not want to be a part of Project Abu Dhabi. Jobe left this interview confused
and wondering what was going on.
Jobe’s next interview was with Perry, the operations manager. Perry has worked at FEL for 15
years and he immediately came to the point: “This project is not going to work. I cannot
understand why upper management keeps assigning me to work on projects with Rankins. We
simply cannot work together and we don’t get along. I have disliked him from day one. He keeps
dropping the fact that he’s has earned all these advanced degrees from Purdue. And he keeps
telling us how things are done there. I know he’s better educated than I am and he is really smart.
But I am smart too and am good at what I do. There is no need for Rankins to make me feel like
an idiot because I don’t have a degree. Jobe, I’ll be honest with you. Rankins has only been here
for five years, but I hold him personally responsible for my problem with alcohol and for its
resulting effect on my marriage. I got divorced last year and its Rankin’s fault.”
Jobe next talked with Rankins, who said, “ I don’t care what you do. Perry and I simply can’t
work closely together for the nine months it will take to get it done. One of us will kill the other.
Ever since I arrived at FEL, Perry has hated my guts and does everything he can to sabotage my
designs. We usually worry about customers creating change orders; here it’s the fabrication and
operations manager who is responsible for them. Perry second-guesses everything I do and makes 3 Project Management The Managerial Process McGraw Hill design changes on his own, and these are always bad decisions. He is out of control; I swear he
stays awake at night thinking up ways to ruin my designs. I don’t have this problem with any
other manager.”
Jobe left these interviews thoroughly discouraged and could not imagine what would come up in
his interview with Stonebreaker. But Stonebreaker was quite positive: “I enjoy these international
projects where I get to travel abroad and learn about different cultures. I can’t wait to get started
on this.“
Jobe asked Stonebreaker about the ability of various team members to work together.
Stonebreaker replied. “No problem” We’ve worked together before and have had no problems.
Sure, there have been ruffled feathers and hurt feelings between Rankins and Perry. Rankins can
be arrogant and Perry stubborn, but its never been anything that we can’t work around. Besides,
both of them are good at what they do and are professionals. They’ll keep their heads on
straight.”
Jobe was even more bewildered. Gatenby says this project’s success rides on Jobe’s facilitation
skills. The finance manager appears to want off this project team. The design engineer and
operations manager admit they detest each other and cannot work together. And the human
resources manager, having worked on projects with Perry and Rankins before, expects a rosy
working relationship and anticipates no problems.
Jobe had a second meeting with Gatenby. Before discussing the design of the team-building
sessions, he asked questions to learn what Gatenby thought about the ability of team members to
work together. Gatenby admitted that there has been very bad blood between Perry and Rankins,
but added, “ That’s why he hired you. It’s your job to make sure that the history between those
two doesn’t interfere with Project Abu Dhabi’s success. It’s your job to get them to work well
together. Get it done.”
Their dialogue toward the end of this meeting progressed as follows:
Jobe: “Why do you expect Rankins and Perry to work well together, given their history? What
incentives do they have to do so?
Gatenby: “As you should know, FEL requires formal goal setting between project managers and
functional managers at the beginning of each project. I’ve already done this with Bruder,
Stonebreaker, Perry, and Rankins. Perry and Rankins have explicit goals stating they must work
well together and cooperate with each other.”
Jobe: What happens if they do not meet their goals?”
Gatenby: “I’ve already discussed this with top management. If it appears to me after two months
that things are not working out between Perry and Rankins, FEL will fire Rankins.”
Jobe: “Does Perry know this?”
Gatenby: “Yes”. 4 Project Management The Managerial Process McGraw Hill Discussion Questions
1. Evaluate the criteria FEL uses to assign managers to project teams. What efficiencies do
these criteria create? What are the resulting problems?
2. Why is it even more important that project team members work well together on
international projects such as Project Abu Dhabi?
3. Discuss the dilemma that Jobe now faces.
4. What should Jobe recommend to Gatenby, and substantiate your response using HR and
OB concepts that you have learned from the text and class that are detailed and
appropriate to the issues. 5