Case Study 2 Construction

Fred’s Sheds

Fred Smith, the founder and chief executive of Fred’s Sheds, received a phone call one afternoon from a local farmer, Mr Jones, requesting a quote to design and build a large storage shed on his property. Fred asked Mr Jones what size and type of shed he would like, when he wanted work to commence, and when he wanted it completed.

Mr Jones told him that he required a large shed, big enough to store his tractor and utility vehicle, and spaces for a workbench, tools and fertilisers.  

He also specified that the shed must have power, water and a toilet. He requested that the shed be made of high quality materials, because twice in the previous ten years some of the other sheds on his property had been damaged by inclement weather, costing him many thousands of dollars in repairs.

Mr Jones wanted work to commence in 6 week’s time and would like the job completed no more than 3 weeks after that so he would have a place to store his vehicles before the winter rains came.

Mr Jones asked Fred to come up with a design and quote to build his shed and asked him to present them to him at a meeting at his house in a week’s time.

He told Fred that he was obtaining three quotes from three different builders, and that he would select his preferred builder based on four criteria.

These were quality, the ability to start and finish on time, and cost.

Mr Jones said he would like to spend no more than $40,000 on the shed, but would consider alternate proposals that were a little higher in price if they could exceed his minimum evaluation criteria.

As soon as Fred hung up the phone his mind started to think of all the different tasks he would need to do to win and complete the job. Having built many sheds before, he was confident he had the project management skills to build a shed that met Mr Jones’s extensive criteria. He jotted down some of his thoughts on a notepad so that he would not forget anything.

First of all, Fred knew he would have to come up with a winning design, so he would need to put his designer, Karen, on the job of coming up with some innovative designs.

Fred would also have to source higher quality building materials than he usually used because, although Fred always used good materials, he thought he would try to use the best possible materials, if it was cost effective, to give him the edge in meeting Mr Jones’s stringent evaluation criteria over his two competitors.

Fred also knew that he would need to plan the human resources necessary to complete the job in the timeframe required. Some of his other construction projects were nearing completion, so it would not be too much of a problem getting some of his construction workers to start in 6 weeks’ time. However, Fred was not sure about the availability of his subcontractors, Eddie the electrician, Bob the plumber, Gary the glazier and Tony his fencing contractor and odd job man, because business was booming and they were all very busy.

If he was successful in winning the contract, Fred knew that there would still be lots of work to be done. After signing the contract, he would need to submit a Development Application and construction certificate to the local council and await their approval.

Mr Jones’s final selections for colour and style of shed materials would need to be finalised and a deposit received prior to commencing work.

Once all that had been accomplished, Fred and his team of four would have to prepare the site for construction. This would involve performing underground cable service checks, and perhaps contracting a surveyor to locate existing boundaries as the shed was going to be built close to the boundary with Mrs Mitchell’s neighbouring property.

The site would need to be cleared, temporary site facilities such as a toilet, site fencing, power and water would have to be established, the site set out and the formwork built. Following this, the site would be excavated.

While the excavation was taking place, Fred would need to remember to book a council inspection for the formwork prior to concreting, as well as booking the concrete truck, a date for the shed to be delivered, a date for the shed installation team to put the shed into place, and dates for his subcontractors to come and install power and water.

After pouring the concrete and finish, his team would need to strip the formwork. At this time Fred could invoice Mr Jones for a progress payment as this represented a milestone in the project. Following this the shed could be delivered and installed,

Eddie the electrician could be called in to connect the mains power, Bob the plumber could connect the water and install the toilet and Gary the glazier could install the windows. While they were busy doing that, Fred and his team could start clearing the site, removing any rubbish and the temporary site amenities.

Once all these tasks were accomplished, the job would be at practical completion. Fred would then meet with Mr Jones, present him with a final bill and handover the keys to the shed. Fred smiled to himself feeling confident that he would beat his two competitors to the job and thinking that he would soon have another satisfied customer.

Complete the work breakdown structure (WBS) template.

Work Breakdown Structure Template

What are the five steps in a sales and operations planning process, and identify at least three activities in each step.

Should employees have the right to participate in decisions that effect them? Give at lease detail 5 pros and 2 cons.

We have all been there...assigned to that perfect group or team that works like a well oiled machine, or assigned to the team from places too hot to mention that doesn't seem to function at all. With those experiences in mind, please discuss the relationship between team cohesiveness and performance.

A small copy center uses 4 400-sheet boxes of copy paper a week. Experience suggests that usage can be well approximated by a normal distribution with a mean of 4 boxes per week and a standard deviation of .40 boxes per week. 2 weeks are required to fill an order for letterhead stationery. Ordering cost is $4, and annual holding cost is 33 cents per box. Use Table.

a. Determine the economic order quantity, assuming a 52-week year. (Round your answer to the nearest whole number.)

EOQ =?

b. If the copy center reorders when the supply on hand is 9 boxes, compute the risk of a stockout. (Round "z" value to 2 decimal places and final answer to 4 decimal places.)

Risk =?

c. If a fixed interval of 5 weeks is used for ordering instead of an ROP, how many boxes should be ordered if there are currently 22 boxes on hand, and an acceptable stockout risk for the order cycle is .0228? (Round "z" value to 2 decimal places and final answer to the nearest whole number.)

Q0=?

Please research the web and find two articles that deal with leaders (CEO’s politicians, public figures) who have experienced significant personal changes on their way to becoming an effective leader. Recap for us and talk about some of the changes. Do you think this changes are ”required”? Have you experienced these changes yourself?

Be able to discuss the two broad approaches to responding to predicable variability in a supply chain, and what methods are used in each approach.

List & Discuss the arguments for and against social responsibility by business? Can you think of any additional arguments (for or against)?

The desired daily output for an assembly line is 300 units. This assembly line will operate 425 minutes per day. The following table contains information on this product's task times and precedence relationships: TASK TASK TIME (SECONDS) IMMEDIATE PREDECESSOR A 35 — B 40 A C 35 A D 40 B E 15 C F 75 C G 45 E-F H 30 D-G Balance this line using the largest number of following tasks. Use the longest task time as a secondary criterion. (Leave no cells blank - be certain to enter "0" wherever required.)

The desired daily output for an assembly line is 300 units. This assembly line will operate 425 minutes per day. The following table contains information on this product's task times and precedence relationships: TASK TASK TIME (SECONDS) IMMEDIATE PREDECESSOR A 35 — B 40 A C 35 A D 40 B E 15 C F 75 C G 45 E-F H 30 D-G What is the efficiency of your line balance, assuming it is running at the cycle time in part b? In percentage

Manufacturing facilities may experience production delays due to unexpected natural events, such as fires, or anticipated, but ignored, defects or human-made problems. What are three (3) to five (5) contract clauses and/or negotiated business terms that you would want to include as the purchaser of manufactured items critical to your company's success to avoid or mitigate risks associated with production interruptions.

(i) Develop your written part by answering the six questions given in the case. Each question may be answered in about 150 to 200 words. (50% to the marks)

(ii) Develop a PowerPoint presentation. You have to take one side, either the company ThyssenKrupp or the fired employee. If you decide to represent ThyssenKrupp, then you are the defense lawyer. If you decide to represent the fired mechanic, you are the Plaintiff’s Lawyer. Present your arguments with evidence and supporting matter to the Judge (Raj Mohanty) via a PowerPoint presentation. In a courtroom, the Judge is always addressed as “Me Lord” or “Your Honor”. (50% to the marks) No presentation in the classroom or on Adobe Connect will be needed. Your only chance to convince the judge is through your PowerPoint

. ThyssenKrupp Elevator Canada INTRODUCTION During a lunchroom break, a male employee at ThyssenKrupp decided to take up a dare from a fellow colleague for $100 and the Jackass-like prank was videotaped then posted to YouTube. When it came to the attention of the HR manager and other senior management, the employee was fired for violating company policy. The employee argued in court that the organizational culture allowed such behavior. But would the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) agree?

BACKGROUND ThyssenKrupp Elevator Canada was subcontracting elevator installation at a construction site in downtown Toronto where a large office building was being built. All the workers on the site, including those from ThyssenKrupp, and the main contractor of the site, PCL Construction, were male and the culture of the workplace was described as a “macho” environment where pranks were played. There were reportedly pictures of women and provocative calendars hanging on walls, as well as signs displaying vulgar humor. There was little concern about these as access to the building was restricted to people involved in the construction project. One of ThyssenKrupp's employees at the site was an elevator mechanic. He and several other employees engaged in what he called “picking” on each other and playing pranks to keep things light at work. They also watched pornographic scenes on a worker's iPod and episodes of the television show Jackass, which features individuals doing stupid activities on dares.

ESCALATION OF PRANK BEHAVIOUR Over a period of a few weeks, the mechanic and other employees performed more and more pranks that copied some of the ones they saw on the Jackass show. Typically these events took place in the basement lunchroom where employees gathered for breaks and meals, to change clothes, and to socialize. Soon, money was being offered on dares to do certain actions. For example, one ThyssenKrupp employee accepted a dare that involved a $60 payment—money collected from fellow employees, including three foremen. The dare involved the employee eating spoiled food found in the common refrigerator of the lunchroom. A couple of weeks after the first dare, the mechanic was observed playing with a stapler in the lunchroom on a break. One of the foremen walked in and jokingly said, “What are you going to do with that? Why don't you staple your nuts to something?” The mechanic jokingly replied that he'd do it “if you get enough money.” Though he claimed it was intended as a joke, word spread within a few hours, and soon $100 was raised among seven other ThyssenKrupp and three PCL employees. Another four people were in the lunchroom later that afternoon watching when the mechanic decided to go ahead with the staple dare. He proceeded to drop his work uniform trousers and staple his scrotum to a wooden plank, which was met by “cheering and high fives,” according to the mechanic. With the mechanic's knowledge, the prank was filmed on video. Included on-camera were all those employees present, wearing full worksite uniforms, PCL logos on hats, and TK shirt patches—all easily identifiable and recorded by a worker who was present that day. The mechanic was advised at a later date that the event was posted on YouTube. Initially, the mechanic did nothing about the YouTube posting but eventually asked for it to be taken off the site. To ensure this was done, the mechanic went back to YouTube searching for the video clip, but couldn't find it. He assumed it had been removed, however, it was not—he just didn't search correctly. In total, the video clip was assessable on YouTube for two weeks, during which time many employees in the construction industry watched it. It was during these two weeks that ThyssenKrupp became aware of the video after the HR department received an email with a link to the video, and several people discussed it with a ThyssenKrupp executive at a construction labor relations conference. Conference participants insisted the employee was from ThyssenKrupp, and they questioned how the company could allow something like that to happen during work hours. At this point, ThyssenKrupp management reviewed the video one more time and decided that the mechanic had violated its workplace harassment policy, which prohibited “practical jokes of a sexual nature which cause awkwardness or embarrassment.” The mechanic was fired for “a flagrant violation” of ThyssenKrupp's harassment policy and risking the company's reputation.

CULTURE AT FAULT Upon being fired from his job, the mechanic filed a grievance with the OLRB. He argued that dismissal was too harsh given the culture of the workplace which was accepting of that type of behavior. He also said no one told him not to do it, no one expressed displeasure, and no one mentioned they were offended. He argued that other employees had done stunts but questioned why he was the only one disciplined for his actions. He also claimed to have never seen the workplace harassment policy, even though it was part of the orientation package. THE DECISION In July 2011, the OLRB found the mechanic's misconduct on the employer's premises, plus his permission to record it, “patently unacceptable in almost any workplace.” The fact that his employer was easily identified in the video clip contributed to the decision. The fact that the mechanic claimed not to have known about the corporate harassment policy was irrelevant—he should have known better. The OLRB also dismissed as irrelevant that no one protested or objected to the prank during the lunch break, which the mechanic argued was “not during work hours.” The court stated that ThyssenKrupp has an interest in preventing such horseplay and stunts in the workplace. They are in a safety-sensitive industry and such employee misconduct places the firm's reputation in jeopardy. The seriousness of the mechanic's misconduct also superseded any other factors, such as his claim of being a good employee with a clean record and the argument around the culture. There was no evidence that the company was aware of other pranks, and his role as the principal offender wasn't diminished by the culture, said the board. In dismissing the mechanic's grievance, the board stated, “If (ThyssenKrupp) employees want to emulate the principles of Jackass by self-abuse, they may be free to do so when they are not on the (employer's) premises and cannot be identified as being associated with (ThyssenKrupp).”

Questions

(1) What corporate values did ThyssenKrupp refer to when deciding to terminate the mechanic? What are the health and safety issues involved here? Do you think an informal work environment is leading towards a lack of strict health & safety policy at the workplace?

(2) Considering that the mechanic claimed that the ThyssenKrupp culture contributed to such behavior, in your opinion, does ThyssenKrupp need to change its corporate culture? If not, why not?

(3) Are there any Tort issues involved here? What other legal issues are involved here? Explain.

(4) Did the Ontario Labour Relation Board (OLRB) accept the defense that organizational culture contributed to the employee behavior? Explain their reasoning. Considering the company’s work environment, what factors need to be considered while updating the company’s health & safety policy?

(5) If this case goes to court, what arguments the Plaintiff’s Lawyer, representing the fired worker, would present before the court?

(6) What would be the line of Defense for the Lawyer of Thyssen Krupp Elevator?

1. What do you think are the current and potential challenges and opportunities in the human resources management area?

2. Describe vividly breakeven analysis and explain what a breakeven point is.

Identify and explain at least 4 non-store retailing businesses. What advantages may non-store retailers have over store retailers?

A company manufacturing toys has a fixed cost of $60,000. Variable cost is 6 per toy.

Selling price is $10 per toy. Company target profit is $100,000.

The company found that its variable cost is going to increase by $1.5 and plans to raise its selling price by $3 and reduced the fixed costs by $20,000.

1. How many more (less) toys must be sold at the new price to reach the target profit of $100,000?

2. What is the markup (profit margin %) on sales price at this new sales volume? What is the markup (profit margin %) on total cost?