Question 1
The Custom Bike Company has set up a weighted scoring matrix for evaluation ofpotential projects. Below are five projects under consideration.
a. Using the scoring matrix below, which project would you rate highest? Lowest?
b. If the weight for "Strong Sponsor" is changed from 2.0 to 5.0, will the project selection change? What are the three highest weighted project scores with this new weight?
c. Why is it important that the weights mirror critical strategic factors? Provide a response in 75-100 words
|
Criteria
|
Strong
Sponsor
|
Supports
business
strategy
|
Urgency
|
10% of sales from
new products
|
Competition
|
Fill
market
gap
|
Weighted
Total
Part a
|
Weighted
Total
Part b
|
|
Weight
|
2.00
|
7.00
|
4.00
|
3.00
|
1.00
|
3.00
|
|
|
|
Project 1
|
9
|
5
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
|
|
|
Project 2
|
3
|
7
|
2
|
0
|
5
|
1
|
|
|
|
Project 3
|
6
|
8
|
2
|
3
|
6
|
8
|
|
|
|
Project 4
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
10
|
6
|
9
|
|
|
|
Project 5
|
3
|
10
|
10
|
1
|
8
|
0
|
|
|
Question 2
Review the description of Michael Eisner's gong show approach in Box 3.3 of the textbook. In your own words, describe what you think might be the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? In what kinds of organizations would it be most appropriately used? Why do you think so?
Provide your response in 200 - 250 words
Box 3.3
Eisner's Gong Show at Disney
During his tenure as Disney CEO, Michael Eisner applied somewhat unconventional methods for project selection, one of which was "gong show." "Once a week, we'd invite everybody to come to a conference room, and anyone could offer up an idea or two and, right on the spot, people would react. We loved the idea of big, unruly, disruptive meetings; that's what the gong show was all about. The Little Mermaid came out of a gong show, and so did Pocahontas. Lots of ideas came outof those meetings, and people had a great time."
Thus, with all we have said about the value of a systematic selection process, we must recognize that, in practice, there are other, less formal approaches that can work effectively.
Question 3:
Your family (you, your spouse, and five-year-old child) are planning a trip to Walt Disney in Orlando, Florida. Representatives from upper management (your spouse and child) have specified that the trip will entail travel to Orlando, a four-night stay, and three days spent in Disney World itself. You and your spouse have allocated about $5,000 from your annual budget for this project.
a. Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for this project using one of the formats described in the textbook - top-down outline, bottom-up aggregation or mind mapping. You should have at least 15 work packages at the lowest level
b. Select three of the deliverables included in your WBS and, for each, list three key performance indicators
Question 4:
Read the article, E. Nelson and E. Ramstad, "Trick or Treat: Hershey's Biggest Dud Has Turned Out to Be Its New Computer System" The Wall Street Journal, October 29, 1999, p. A1. Based on your reading of the article, as well as your own creative ideas, describe a negative outcome risk for each of the risk sources presented in Exhibit 6.1. For each of these risks, describe actions you could take to prevent it or prepare for it, and describe how you would monitor the situation so that you were assured of being aware of the risk if it did occur.
Provide your constructed response in 500 - 700 words.
Exhibit 6.1 of Textbook: Sources of Uncertainty
The content of the article is also provided below.
Hershey's Biggest Dud Is Its New Computer System By Emily Nelson and Evan Ramstad Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB941156105920533040