Kerzner office Equipment

1. Read the attached case entitled Kerzner Office Equipment, and answer the four (4) questions that follow the case.

Answer:

1. On the first meeting Briggs completed acquiring a team and updated project directory with actual phone numbers and emails. She correctly allowed everyone to present himself so that team members got to know each other. Moreover, she requested team members to indicate busy and available hours in order to create resource calendar.

What she really hasn’t done, she hasn’t exerted any efforts to project planning. Although project was rather small, Briggs had to invest some time into planning activities. In the first place Briggs should have designed formalized charter prior the meeting and distribute it among team members. Second, the team had to complete stakeholders register and identify project’s scope.

She did not distribute agenda in advance and did not inform participants about their responsibilities. Also Briggs did not specify deliverables along time limits for actions that would ensue from the meeting.

Project manager overlooked need of assigning precise roles to her staff with comprehensive responsibilities, duties and authorities (Responsibility assignment matrix).

Eventually, she should have found more suitable than cafeteria place for group meetings and keep on meeting in the same place.

1. As seen from the case description, most of team members were appointed without any objective reason or reference to their competence or propensity. Furthermore, two of them even did not show up on the meeting what demonstrated perceived low project’s priority. In future Briggs is alleged to encounter problems related to involvement of team majority into project activities.  This risk is exacerbated even more by ambiguous role distribution within the project scope activities.
2. Briggs needs to find motivators for all her colleagues. Using means of communication and negotiations she could elicit behavioral driving factors of different team members and use them as motivators for conveying satisfaction.

For example, Cara Miller from Plastics likely would be happy to invest tons of efforts into project because she considers herself as good in organizing of parties and such work for her would be privilege. This chance to prove her talents pertains to high self-actualization level of Maslow’s pyramid so is very valuable for the project.

Another case is observed with Rick Fennah who has been working there since the beginning. That person anticipates recognition of his merits. He is going to work hard provided he feels significance and respect.

Therefore, everyone in the team could be motivated by right role distribution or by other means like reward, praise, honor or credit.

Other way to improve collaboration in the project team lies in enlisting support of team members’ superiors who in turn would encourage them to contribute into the project.