Question

Subject- Operations and supply chain management

Ch 14 Yamaha Calendar: Project management and Change Management

A recent hire, fresh from college graduation, joined a recreation company that sold snowmobiles, motorcycles and outboard motors.

One of the first projects he was given was to create a calendar to give to their dealers to give to their customers. Showing the various products being used in their seasons was a popular concept, and the senior management fully supported the idea.

Forming a team, the young graduate developed a project plan. Quotes were gathered, a preliminary product concept developed, design ideas were brainstormed. Budget was approved, all the distribution plans were put together. The team reported their plans to a senior executive who served as a champion for the project.

The concept was called the “weekend Warrior Calendar”. It would show 13 months of activities, with beautiful outdoor photography of snowmobiles in the winter, outboards and all terrain vehicles in the spring and fall, and in the summer personal watercraft and motorcycles. As well, traditional calendars showed each week as showing a Sunday to Saturday week. The teamdeveloped the idea to have the week shown as Monday to Sunday. This way, since weekend usage of the products was so high, people could better plan their weekend itinerary.

Although the team seemingly was progressing, some of the team members were not pleased. One member quoted “These kids. Think they can come in here and change the world! Suddenly we need a champion, a project charter. Geez, what are minutes???” I like the kid, but we got more processes than productivity.”

Another project member had similar comments. “I hear all these new ideas being bounced around, and I never get to bring my opinion. I guess everything is going ok, but am I the only one who hates this design. Every calendar starts on Sunday and ends On Saturday. Weekend Warrior Calendar? I think we are asking for confusion.”

It was true, to reflect the nature of the owners of recreation products, who often spend their weekends enjoying their snowmobiles and boats, the calendar was designed to reflect this timing. But there was some project team resistance. The push back was muted as many of the members were extremely enthusiastic about the design, often drowning out dissent.

The first complaint came from an inside employee. She had used the calendar to develop a purchase plan and all the dates ended up being wrong as she assumed a traditional calendar design. Later, a dealer called the VP and suggested the new calendar was a great idea, but felt the lack of communication on how it was a different calendar was not adequate.

The VP was livid. “How come I did not know about this?” The Marketing director was also upset. “I was the project Champion and they did not inform me about this? Now I look bad”

Our young project manager was feeling the heat!

Questions

1. From a change management perspective, what could the team have done better or differently to introduce this unique calendar concept?
2. What could cause team members to have different opinions with-in the team? Why was there no full consensus? What does this indicate about the team’s development and performance capabilities?
3. Since the project has had a poor introduction, what can the team do to recover?

Need all three answers with simple language

Answer 1

(1)

In the point of view of change management, the team should have done more to implement the calendar in the following ways: Good coordination-The team struggled to remind users of the calendar's importance. And the workplace inside used it as a conventional calendar that shouldn't have done so. Participation of others - Senior and current members of the staff would have asked for feedback and thoughts regarding calendar changes. Opposition overcome – Members of the project team showed opposition to the concept. Note, a project can only work if all the team members had common objectives and purpose to accomplish the aims of the group.There would also be no fear on the part of the team leaders. This will be surmounted by reminding them of the value of using the new calendar.

(2)

Team participants had varying views with-in the squad as they were not getting their input and feedback. The project manager was supposed to simply execute his plans by taking recommendations for changes from the project team members and to make the project a success. There was no consensus, as the project manager could not clearly articulate the plan, its advantages and how the project team could contribute to the project's progress.The latter suggests that the growth and efficiency capabilities of the department are at stake. The project team is neither welcomed nor asked for their suggestions. The growth of the team is not taken into account and their skill capacities are measured until the targets are set. The project manager's main goal is to make the project calendar successful without acknowledging the efficiency capacities of the team members and their resistance.

(3)

Because the project has a weak start, the team will only rebound if the project manager talks adequately on the project's priorities, product creation and encourages all team members to join for changes. The team managers would encourage other team leaders to speak up and listen and discuss their concerns. It will tackle collective opposition and allow the initiative to progress toward meeting the goals effectively.

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