THE SOLUTION 1 Running head: THE SOLUTION

The Solution David Toby Meyers Comm/215 - Essentials of College Writing Fred Duhon July 12, 2011

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The Solution That is a lack of planning problem. Not to worry, with every problem there is a solution. Do not think of them as problems, think of them as challenges or better yet opportunities. This is where the project managers are rewarded for everything running smoothly even under difficult circumstances. The problem is that Mr. Robbins did not think this through. Sometimes we are so busy with all our regular duties that these special days just seem to roll up on us and pounce like a pack of wild gorillas. Do not let that 10,000 pound gorilla get the project manager down. Simply outline the project; what does one need for this. Add what one has and does not have and make sure everyone is aware of the change of schedule. As it is, this is an orientation for new hires to their new work environment. Planning does not just know what to do; an important event such as fifteen new hires requires a lot more than a list of what to do. Planning requires a completion of certain tasks before the event happens. Here we can list the issues that the project manager have that way we know if we have solved them all. Monica contacted Carl about the training schedule, orientation, manuals, policy booklets, physicals, drug tests, and a host of other issues, (UOP, 2011). 1. Training Schedule 2. New Hire Orientation Meeting.

THE SOLUTION 3 3. Applications. 4. Manuals. 5. Policy Booklets. 6. Physicals. 7. Drug Tests. 8. A host of other issues.

"What am I going to do? (UOP, 2011)." Now is the part where everything works out. One needs to think about these possible solutions. Break down the problems into parts and solve for completion. Number One, the Training needs a training process outlined and to be scheduled. Number Two, the New Hire Orientation meeting needs an operating space and a plan for presentation.

In the Case Study (UOP, 2011) Mr. Robins has forgotten to schedule the training so that now it conflicts with the new software training: Upon his return to the office, he decided to check out the training room for the orientation. There, he found Joe, from technology services, setting up computer terminals. Carl reviewed the scheduling log and found that Joe had also reserved the room for the entire month of

THE SOLUTION 4 June for computer training seminars for the new database software implementation.

A possible solution is to rent out a separate space or one could negotiate a time compromise with Joe from technology services. However the project manager decides to handle it, the project manager will need a place to hold the orientations and trainings. Number Three, Applications for hired employees need to be filed. A possible solution is to, at the orientation make all new hires fill out an application or just the ones that do not have one. Number Four, Manuals. He then searched the orientation manuals and found only three copies with several pages missing from each, (UOP, 2011). This one is pretty difficult; printers normally take several weeks to order custom publications, so one might want to call them as soon as possible. If one does not have enough time or do not have the budget required for custom publications, take all the manuals to a copy place like Kinkos and just have them copy enough to make it through the training. Number Five, Policy Booklets. Just as with the Manuals, one needs copies. So the same procedure may be applied, first search for even a single whole copy, then copy enough for the orientation. Number Six, Physicals. At the orientation, serve them with a notice that tells the new hires to have a physical. Depending on whether the company is

THE SOLUTION 5 allowing the new hires to go to their own doctor or to a company doctor the project manager may need to have the appointments scheduled in advance. Number Seven, Drug tests. At the orientation, serve them with a notice that tells the new hires to have a drug test. Depending on whether the company is allowing the new hires to go to their own clinic or to a company clinic one may need to have the appointments scheduled in advance. Number Eight, A host of other issues. The project managers will have to identify them and attempt to avoid collision with an unidentified problem.

A managerial problem can be described as the gap between a given current state of affairs and a future desired state. Problem solving may then be thought of as the process of analyzing the situation and developing a solution to bridge the gap. While it is widely recognized that different diagnostic techniques are appropriate in different situations, problem solving as a formal analytical framework applies to all but the simplest managerial problems, (Heiser, 2011). The desired state here is of completion of the training and other tasks of orientating new hires. What is happening here is that there is a lack of organization of tasks and responsibilities. From the moment the supervisor

THE SOLUTION 6 gave Mr. Robbins this task, he should have developed a project schedule, break down the project into tasks and critically think about the solutions. The winning strategy is actionable and decisive reasoning. Project leaders must make decisions as project manager; be decisive. Project leaders must meet project requirements or the company will suffer in profit losses. These are certainties. Use the processes of Critical Thinking and formulative Problem Solving to sort out the details. Critical Thinking is a type of analysis that disciplined scholars use to evaluate an idea. It involves quantifiable research, balanced in context and involves a formulated decision making process (Encarta, 2009). The project manager must write a Project Schedule and Budget; organize them into tasks as soon as possible. The Project Schedule and Budget lets us know what tasks are happening in what order and how much it costs. Project leaders must schedule effectively. Project leaders must interpret that schedule to predict shortfalls. Most of the time spending a little bit more money so that something may get done faster is better than saving time and money, not allowing deviations from the time budget. Time can often be the most expensive item in ones budget and the project manager should respect the importance of time.

These deviations, in turn, may cause other deviations to future scheduled events. As the deviations spread throughout the project network, a loss of the

THE SOLUTION 7 synchronization of the activities and resources in the project begins to occur. This loss of synchronization in the project may result in a degradation of project performance, (Swartz, 2008).

Conclusion Mr. Robbins we talked about making a list, then breaking down the project into tasks responisbilites and dates of neccessitated completion . Write a Project Schedule and Budget. Critically think about the tasks and about the tasks and how they fit togeather.Time is the most expensive item in ones budget. The winning project strategy is always actionable and decisive reasoning. Some projects will never end; unless they are finite, they are infinite. They will continue to consume resources until the project is closed. Planning is the most important step to success. If one does not have certain ingredients to bake,the cake will not taste like a cake, it will not rise or worse it will make a burnt lump in the panhave to scrape out. You are the project manager, the buck stops with the project manager, (Haughey, 2001). Scraping a project is much more embarrassing and costly than a new cake mix and baking pan. Do not even open the box unless the project leaders have all, or the most important interests or understood thoroughly, otherwise

THE SOLUTION 8 project leaders might end up on the wrong end of the scrapper. Go in there, pull your pants up and get to work.

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References Encarta (2009). Encarta, World English Dictionary: Critical Thinking. Retrieved on July 15, 2011 from Bing: bing.comhttp://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search? q=define+critical+thinking&qpvt=What+is+Critical+thinking %3f&FORM=DTPDIA. Haughey (2001). Eight Key Factors to Ensuring Project Success. Retrieved July 15, 2011, from Project Smart: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/eight-key-factors.doc. Heiser (2011). Problem solving. Reference for Business: Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. Retrieved on July 14, 2011 from referenceforbuisness.com: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Or-Pr/ProblemSolving.html#ixzz1S6upHSK1. Swartz (2008).Managerial Perceptions of Project Stability. Retrieved July 15, 2011, from Project Management Journal: http://www.allbusiness.com/trendsevents/investigations/11813712-1.html. University of Phoenix (2011). Carl Robbins Case Study. Retrieved on July 14, 2011 from ecampus.phoenix.edu:

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https://portal.phoenix.edu/classroom/coursematerials/comm_215 /20110705.