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CASE STUDIES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

AaronSide Goes to Teams
Dragan Z
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PROBLEM & SOLUTION
Problem: The inability of AaronSide to complete the project within 8 months
...

II
...
is a family-owned company that took 80 years to be successful and became
internationally recognized in its field of business
...
However, as the
business grows, they encountered two unbeatable rivals within the industry from Europe that are
rapidly expanding in the U
...
Due to the strong market position of their rivals, they find it
difficult to compete with them since they fall to a close third in the market share
...
However, they failed to do so and as a result, they had to be acquired by a Swedish
company, Titan Corp
...
, the management
organization was changed from functional to a matrix structure
...

Going deeper into the case, AaronSide, being under Titan Corp
...
To address the problem and solve it, three alternatives were created that included
conducting research or study to find a new approach for product development, renewing the use
of the relay race approach, and retaining and improving the use of the cross-functional approach
...
Also, the diversity can help broaden perspectives and
create synergy, where the interaction of the members creates a greater effect than the sum effects
of each member acting alone, leading to a high level of creativity
...

III
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The metal machining industry specializes in working with metals to create distinct parts,
assembly, or large-scale structures
...
Machine shop these days includes numerous machine tools that could

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CASE STUDIES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
create a detailed and accurate workpiece
...
It could be stated that these factors
were the company’s competitive advantage and made AaronSide successful
...
According to an article in Harvard Business Review1, a product development process
moved like a relay race, with one group of functional specialists passing the baton to the next
group
...
Through the
application of this approach, their operation started with marketing which conducted market
research and then provided the engineering theme with the design that customers prefer for the
product which led to the final designs being transferred to manufacturing to produce high-quality
output
...
However, in this approach, departments’ heads were the only
ones allowed to communicate on behalf of their subordinates
...

AaronSide faced two critical opponents in the market from Europe
...

AaronSide was losing market share and slipped to a close third that was behind the Europeans
ranking in market share and in the 1990s the business was placed in a distant third
...

The company was extremely reengineered to get its work done
...

AaronSide became ripe for a sale and was acquired by Titan Corp
...

AaronSide shifted from using the relay race approach to a cross-functional approach in
performing their pilot project under Titan Corp
...

When the deadline approached, it turned out the project was far from completion and it required
another eight months to complete the project
...

Thus, the main problem of this case is the inability of AaronSide to finish their pilot project
within 8 months
...
COMPANY ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS
FAVORABLE

UNFAVORABLE

INTERNAL

Strengths
- Efficient and
functional organization
- Fast-paced product
development
- Effective approach or
system (relay race
approach)

Weaknesses
- Low access to resources
- Low coordination between departments
and top management
- Being under new management that has
different practices
- Cross-functional team approach for new
product development

EXTERNAL

Opportunities
- Partnership with other
companies

Threats
- Globalization and international
competition
- Strong European competitors

V
...

AaronSide may conduct research or study to find a new approach for product development
...

Pros:
1
...

Cons:
1
...

2
...

Option 2: Renew the use of the relay race approach
Bring back the relay race approach since it was the approach that they were used to
...

Pros:
1
...

2
...

3
...

Cons:

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CASE STUDIES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
1
...
It may conflict with the goals of maximum speed and
flexibility
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“Good” products that can’t be produced, because the design engineers didn’t check with
production to make sure they had the raw materials, equipment, or skills to deliver on the
product concept
...
Producible products that can’t be sold, because concept development, design, and
production people never checked with sales to see if anyone wanted the product
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Slow speed to market, because of substantial rework required
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Products that don’t inspire customers
...

Retaining the use of cross-functional could be helpful to ensure the quality and excellence
of the product from the initial stage up to the final stage since every member or department has
a touch, awareness, or contribution to the development
...
You can greatly increase creativity and problem solving with the use of cross-functional
teams because of their composition
...
Members of cross-functional teams come with a diversity of experience, expertise, and
knowledge
...
The members of the team have the authority to collaborate and make the decisions for the
product development
...
The diversity can help broaden perspectives and create synergy, where the interaction of
the members creates a greater effect than the sum effects of each member acting alone,
leading to a high level of creativity
...
Market responsiveness
...

6
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Suppliers, designers, developers, producers, marketers,
customers, and support functions fully understand one another’s needs and capabilities
that help accelerate design and development, thus, meeting or exceeding market
expectations
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Institutional learning and continuous improvement
...

8
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Broad participation in the design and
development process increases the probability that: (1) right components are chosen; (2)
right sources of supply are secured; (3) the final product will truly suit customers’ needs
...
The team can take significantly longer to develop cohesion because members come from
different experiences and backgrounds
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A team leader must take care managing team relationships carefully because there may be
a high level of conflict in these teams due to unit rivalry, egos, and possible conflict
between the interests of the various parts of the organization represented by team
members
...
The team can take significantly longer to develop cohesion because members come from
different experiences and backgrounds
...
Adopting team-based product development is costly
...

DECISION MATRIX
ALTERNATIVE COURSE
OF ACTION
1
...


EFFICIENCY
(TIME)

ECONOMY
(COST)

EFFECTIVITY

TOTAL

1

1

1

3

2
...

3
...


3

2

2

7

2

3

3

8

VI
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as a solution to the problem regarding the inability of AaronSide to finish their pilot project within
8 months
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IMPLEMENTATION
RETAIN AND IMPROVE THE USE OF A CROSS-FUNCTIONAL APPROACH
TASK

The management from
Titan
Corp
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DURATION

1-2 days

LEAD
PERSON

Top
Management

REQUIREMENTS
In the meeting, the management
must address that in the product
development project, AaronSide
and its team would need to shift
from a relay race approach to a
cross-functional approach
...
Also, it is a must for the
top management to emphasize that
the team members have the
authority to make decisions for the
project
...


Carefully
project
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3-6 months

Department
Heads and
Team
Members

Monitor the quality of
the vehicle
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Continuous

Top
Management,
Marketing,
Finance, and
another
concerned
department
...

Carefully plan the project
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Discuss the raw materials needed,
supplier, manpower, and other
equipment to help complete the
vehicle
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Upon
finishing the planning, seek for
opinions of the upper management
regarding the proposed plan
...

Ensure that the production would
have a smooth flow from the
inputs, process up to outputs
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Ensure that the outputs are free
from defects
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Present the vehicles produced to
the top management
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CASE STUDIES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
REFERENCES:
Takeuchi, H
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(1986, January)
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Retrieved January 15, 2018, from https://hbr
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(n
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) The Agile Mindset Blog
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thedruckmancompany
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(n
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Cross-Functional Teams
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referenceforbusiness
...
html

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