H.M.S. Pinafore Case Analysis

Case Analysis

Manuel Zambrano, mzambra2@calstatela.edu

MGMT 460

February 9, 2015

        H.M.S. Pinafore is the theatrical performance that will be shown at the University of Western Ontario. The play will be managed by the G & S Society and funded by the school. Last year’s attempt at producing a show, gave management many problems that need to be addressed this year. The major problems that the performance encountered where associated with; timing and scheduling, budgeting, being ready for opening night, and the availability of volunteers and space.

        The order of the activities do not have well established predecessors, which is a major problem. A critical path must be established in order to figure out the order that the activities must be performed in, and the longest time it could take to do these activities. Before any work can begin the budget must be approved and that will take two days. From the meeting, Francis figures out the first step is finding a location for the audition, which is supposed to take about a week. Next he will have to pay for advertising in order to find a production crew. Depending on the amount they spend for advertising, this step could take about a week. Once they hire a production crew, which will take 28 days, the next person they need to hire is a set designer. After the design is made, the set must be built. The design will take 14 days to make and 42 days to build. The costume parade is next and takes five days to prepare. Conducting dress rehearsal takes two days and is the next step. Performing the show takes ten days and is the final step in the current critical path. The current critical path takes 117 days to complete.

        By making a couple of recommendations, the critical path can be shortened while staying within budget. Since the previous years’ budget allowed for a master builder, this year should be the same.  By adding eighty dollars a day in costs, the set build time can be shortened by a week. A second recommendation is to spend more money on advertising for the production crew. The added costs associated with more advertising are not described in the case, but by spending more on advertising the hiring time can be reduced by two weeks. The new critical path cannot be shortened any further. The revised critical path starts with the budget approval, which takes two days. Next, the place of auditions is located. This step will take a week. The reduced advertising time will save us a week here and Francis can move on to holding auditions. Holding auditions will take two days. Rehearsal is next and still will take a total of 84 days. Dress rehearsal is next and will take two days. Finally, the shows will take ten days to perform. The new critical path can be completed in 107 days, as opposed to 117. While this may not seem ideal, it is important to note that the majority of people working on the play are volunteers. The more time you ask of the volunteers and the bigger the chance of you losing them, therefore it is very important to reduce the critical path in order to make sure the production is ready for opening night and reduce the chance of lost staff. [pic 1][pic 2][pic 3][pic 4][pic 5][pic 6][pic 7][pic 8][pic 9][pic 10][pic 11][pic 12][pic 13][pic 14][pic 15]