Crosby Manufacturing Corporation Case Study



Crosby Manufacturing Corporation Case Study

1. Case Synopsis

Wilfred Livingston the president of Crosby Manufacturing Corporation had called a meeting with the department managers to resolve the problem they have with their management cost and control systems (MCCS). In order to update the current MCCS and to increase the company's business base and growth Livingston wants to replace the present computer system with a more advanced model. They discuss about the feasibility study and the cost and time constraints to implement such a change. The EDP managers iterate that they should also do evaluation of vendors besides the benchmarking tests. Livingston appoints Tim Emary, who is inexperienced, as the project leader of the planning group and gives a time line for the project to finish.

2. Emary as a Project Manager

We see in the case study that Crosby Manufacturing Corporation's president, Livingston, appointed Tim Emary to be the project manager of the concerned project. While Emary is a capable planner, he is not from either the formal project management group or the EDP department. These are primary functional departments from which project managers are mostly inducted from. I think Livingston's selection of Emary as a project manager was a mistake. The project is very important and it would have been better for the project if someone who had experience could work on it. Tim Emary is not an experienced person in the field of project management. He may not be able to tackle each and every situation that he comes across while the project is being implemented. The knowledge of how to manage a project is very important in order to successfully complete the project within the constraints given.

3. Possible Reactions of the Functional Employees over Emary's Appointment

Employees may show many possible reactions towards the appointment of Emary. Some ...