PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management: The Custom Woodworking Company Case Study

Project Management: The Custom Woodworking Company Case Study

Executive Summary

This paper is based on a case study related to Custom Woodworking Company engaged in making wooden cabinets and furnitures. This paper will address the issues of project management faced by Custom Woodworking Company during the course of project completion. The project is titled as “Woody 2000 project”, and the firm's top management has engaged itself in debate over the Company's manufacturing capacity. While John Carpenter wants his plans to automate the project management proceedings to continue and for this he has taken his partners into confidence. This paper will present a solution-based framework along with some recommendations for better management of the project.

Background of the Woody 2000 Project

In 1989 there was a mini-boom in commercial construction in south-western BC. With the possibility of a major airport expansion, and free-trade opportunities south of the border, Bruce Sharpe persuaded Woody's directors that they were well placed to expand their manufacturing business. Miles Faster, regularly complaining that the company's production efficiency was being thwarted by lack of manufacturing space, made a pitch to John Carpenter for moving to completely new and more modern facilities. John Carpenter, with a vision of growth based on computer controlled automation, talked over the idea with his father. Woody discussed it with his wife who in turn brought Kim Cashman and Spencer Moneysworth into the debate.

Objectives of the Project

At John Carpenter's insistence, lured by longer production runs and higher and more consistent mark-ups, the firm wants to move to completely new and more modern facilities. John Carpenter, with a vision of growth based on computer controlled automation was at the heart of this project.

How you Plan to Solve the Problem

At the very heart of PM is the concern for fulfilling the task of the particular project at hand. That task can be described in physical terms—a house to be constructed, to give one example—or in abstract terms—a reorganization of the market activities of a company, as another example—and the task is central for the project (Pinto, 2006). And the ability of a project manager to see to it that the project is planned and organized in such a way that the task is fulfilled within the constraints of the resources provided and on time is what distinguishes an efficient and able project manager from an inefficient one. A project manager is also judged on the ability to handle the group team so that the goals can be attained.

Project work is essentially teamwork, and the past few years have seen an increasing interest in people aspects of project work. The fact that projects and temporary organizations are just that—temporary—has effects on how people behave and on how they view the work being done. And most of the time, the task to be fulfilled is clear not only to people involved but also to the general public (Kreiner, 2005). Project Management has a more transparent situation when it comes to the way to manage ...