Project management

The board of directors has recently appointed Authur Mabuso as the new Chief Executive Officer. Arthur has a reputation for leading successful organisational transformations from his previous appointments in other companies. His leadership is predominantly transformational, characterised by his strong vision, inspirational communication and focus on employee development. He believes in creating a culture of innovation, empowerment and accountability.

Upon joining PCL, Arthur conducted a comprehensive analysis of the company’s operations, market position and employee satisfaction. The following issues were identified: 

Arthur’s first major initiative was to launch a company-wide transformation programme dubbed “PCL revamped”, aimed at revitalising the company’s culture, processes and market research. The programme includes the following components: 

However, Arthur faces the following challenges in implementing “PCL revamped”: 

Within the first six months, PCL revamped has shown promising results. Early innovations from the hubs have led to the development of two new product lines which are yet to be launched into the market. Employee engagement scores have improved and there is a noticeable increase in collaboration across departments. However, some resistance remains and Arthur is working on addressing these issues through continued communication and support. 

(a) Explain FIVE objectives of innovation hubs in the context of “PCL revamped”. 

(b) Suggest FOUR potential strategies that Arthur could use to overcome resistance to change among the long standing employees. 

(c) Analyse FOUR potential long-term impacts of the “PCL revamped” programme on the company’s culture and market position. 

(d) Evaluate THREE roles of leadership development in the success of “PCL revamped”. 

(e) Discuss THREE roles of client feedback in enhancing PCL’s service quality and client relationship. 

(f) Explain THREE differences between “strategic goals” and “operational goals” in the context of PCL. 

(g) Highlight FOUR ways in which the Chief Executive Officer may address the challenge of balancing short-term operational needs with long-term strategic goals. 

(h) Advise the Chief Executive Officer and his team on FIVE alternative pricing strategies that the company could adopt when introducing the new products.  

The two were involved in the day to day running of their company though they were board members. Peter was the chairman of the board of directors while Patrick was the chief executive officer (CEO). Patrick was responsible for operations in the company, Peter was responsible for leadership, marketing and human resource in addition to carrying out the chairman’s role. This at times brought about confusion in the company leading to bad decisions.

Due to the complexities associated with the shift from partnership to a company and the confusion in decision making, MWRPL hired the services of Mamlaka Management Consultancy (MMC) to assist in establishing working structures and recruitment of relevant key personnel. Before the consultants came on board, the business had a workforce of 67 employees, a few working on permanent basis while majority were engaged on temporary contracts. 

The Consultants analysed the defunct partnership business to establish strengths and weaknesses and recommended a divisional structure. They also advised that all the employees who were retained by the business after conversion into a company for them to change their mindset. MMC also recommended to MWRPL to recruit new employees in order to fill identified skills gap. The consultants insisted that the staff recruited be apt in intuition, technology, data collection, analysis and dissemination of information to ensure decisions in the company were mainly arrived at scientifically. The new employees were to focus on both internal and external matters affecting the company. 

The company’s main objective as stated in its Memorandum of Association was to offer wood and roofing products in the country. MWRPL segmented its market by offering tailor made solutions to two classes of customers; furniture for home owners and roof construction for the construction industry. The company adopted diverse marketing as its primary marketing strategy. 

Most of the company’s operations took a job shop approach. For each segment, the company worked on one project at a time before moving to the next project. Project scheduling skills were necessary to the production managers so as to ensure customer orders were completed on time. This ensured high levels of customer satisfaction.

To continuously improve the quality of its products, MWRPL invested heavily in technology and customer service. A slogan was devised and circulated “think and delight the customer”. Improved quality of its products and services has resulted into lowering of the production cost. As compared to the competitors, the market now prefers MWRPL’s products due to quality and affordability. 

The company diversified its services to capture new customers and markets. In year 2021 and after carrying out an environmental analysis, MWRPL noted an opportunity through its research and marketing department and included solar appliances in its products offering. This targeted low-income earners in rural areas who were not connected to the national electricity power grid. 

By mid-2022, the demand for the wood products and roofing services had exponentially expanded with the company’s clientele being spread in all the 47 counties in the country. MWRPL has since expanded its operations and services and has opened branches in all East African Countries. The company has future plans of opening branches in West African countries. 

(a) Explain why the following are important to MWRPL: 

     (i) Internal analysis. 

    (ii) External analysis. 

(b) The County Chamber of Commerce assisted its members in generating business ideas. Discuss FIVE techniques that could have been used by the members to generate business ideas. 

(c) Analyse FIVE characteristics of the organisational structure recommended by Mamlaka Management Consultancy (MMC). 

(d) Despite being board members, Peter and Patrick were involved in the day to day running of their company leading to bad decisions. With reference to the above statement, analyse FOUR inhibitors to effective decision making. 

(e) MWRPL adopted diverse marketing as its primary marketing strategy. Propose to MWRPL, SEVEN strategies that they could use while developing a diverse marketing campaign. 

(f) MWRPL’s production managers were expected to possess project scheduling skills in order for them to be effective. Highlight SIX contents they could have included in their project schedules.     

In the year 2015, the company fully acquired Brillers Agencies Limited (BAL) which operated in the same area with DCL. The Board of DCL however resolved that the two companies would operate independently and some members of the Board of DCL would sit in the Board of BAL.

Due to his vast experience and successes, the Board of DCL appointed James Shark as the chairman of the newly reconstituted Board of BAL, an added responsibility to that of the CEO’s position at DCL. The Board also appointed Engineer Rebecca Ayoo as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BAL. Her rich corporate leadership experience enabled her to spearhead transformative changes in the entire organisation. Within a short period of time, manual processes had been automated and data held in old files digitised. BAL opened four more regional branches and restructured processes to make the company more efficient. 

Based on her experience in the water sector, Engineer Rebecca Ayoo recommended to the Board that the company carries out a national study to establish the actual demand for its services based on its strengths and weaknesses. This was to inform further strategic decision making. Vertex Researchers and Consultants (VRC) were hired to carry out the study. When the full report was presented to the Board of Directors, majority of board members were excited, but the chairman, James Shark was hesitant and gave a directive that further analysis be done on every recommendation. The study revealed that there was great demand for services such as waste management, sewerage networks and water supply in major towns in the country since most county governments were not able to meet the high demand for the growing numbers of residents especially in urban areas. The consultants in their report had included a detailed risk assessment matrix, cost benefit analysis, human capital requirements, market demand forecast and proposed implementation strategy for each project.

Another report was presented in a Board meeting six months later and the Board recommended the implementation of the projects in phases based on risk factors and return on investment (ROI) of every project. The chairman was cautious and advised that the company should implement one project at a time. He argued that each project should be given reasonable time before embarking on another one. According to him, every project was to be treated as a cost-centre. He further advised against expanding the company’s operations outside its core mandate irrespective of the projected returns. VRC was again engaged to oversee the implementation of the first project. This project included drilling of boreholes in five major towns and distribution of water trucks. The service proved to be very profitable. 

Two years after the retirement of James Shark as the Chair of the DCL Board, his predecessor Alex Kim whose risk appetite was higher than that of James Shark convinced the Board to implement all the other projects recommended in both reports. He was able to convince both the Boards of BAL and DCL, the parent company’s Board (where he also sat as a director), to extend BAL’s operations in two other regions of Africa. This resulted in the opening of regional offices in West Africa and South Africa. In these two regions, the company operated as Global Drillers Company Limited (GDCL). Engineer Rebecca was against this aggressive move and insisted that the company should remain focused on its core mandate. She was however overruled by her Board. Some Board members started frustrating her efforts at BAL leading to her resignation as CEO of the company.

Last year most counties restructured their services including water supply and waste management. This affected the company’s bottom-line negatively that the company could not sustain its branches in the country nor the high number of employees. All the branches outside the country were also struggling to break-even.

Alex Kim has called for a brainstorming meeting for Board of Directors and Management to address the challenges with a view of re-engineering the company’s processes.

(a) State FIVE political factors that Drillers Company Limited (DCL should consider when planning expansion of its operations. 

(b) Discuss FIVE steps that Engineer Rebecca Ayoo could have followed to institute changes at BAL.

(c) Vertex Researchers and Consultants in their report to the Board of BAL had included a detailed risk assessment matrix for each project. Examine FIVE benefits that would accrue to BAL from the preparation of a risk assessment matrix.

(d) Propose FIVE possible hurdles which BAL was expected to overcome as the business expanded to other regions in Africa.

(e) Assuming that you are a Board member of BAL, prepare a FIVE point memoranda in support of Alex Kim’s idea of re-engineering the company’s processes.