CSU MSL5080 Unit VI case study

Case Study Help -6
Read
the case study on page 456 of the textbook entitled “Southwestern University
Traffic Problems.” As you read the case study, take notes on how the concepts
with Network Modeling can lead you to develop effective solutions to the two
associated Discussion Questions.

Read
the case study on page 494 of the textbook entitled “Southwestern University
Stadium Construction.” As you read the Case Study, take notes on how the
concepts of Project Management can lead you to develop effective solutions to
the three associated Discussion Questions.

Read
the case study on page 494 of the textbook entitled “Family Planning Research
Center of Nigeria.” As you read the Case Study, take notes on how the concepts
of Project Management can lead you to develop effective solutions to the three
Associated Discussion questions located on page 496.

You
are to answer TWO of the three case studies in a minimum three- to four-page
paper. Use any tables, graphs, or charts that you deem necessary to support
your response. Use appropriate APA style to cite any outside sources.

References
Render, B., Stair, R. M., Jr., & Hanna, M. E.
(2012). Quantitative analysis for
management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

Southwestern
University (SWU), located in the small town of Stephenville, Texas,
is experiencing increased interest in its football program no that a big-name
coach has been hired. The increase in season ticket sales for the upcoming
season means additional revenues, but it also means increased complaints due to
the traffic problems associated with the football games. When a new stadium is
built, this will only get worse. Marty Starr, SWU’s president, has asked the
University Planning Committee to look into this problem.
Based
on traffic projections, Dr. Starr would like to have sufficient capacity so
that 35,000 cars per hour could travel from the stadium to the interstate
highway. To alleviate the anticipated traffic problems, some of the current
streets leading from the university to the interstate highway are being
considered for widening to increase the capacity. The current street capacities
with the number of cars (in 1,000s) per hour are shown in the accompanying
figure. Since the major problem will be after the game, only the flows away
from the stadium are indicated. These flows include some streets closest to the
stadium being transformed into one-way streets for a short period after each
game with police officers directing traffic.
Alexander
Lee, a member of the University Planning Committee, has said that a quick check
of the road capacities in cars per hour that may leave th stadium (node 1) is
33,000. The number of cars that may pass through nodes 2, 3, and 4 is 35,000
per hour, and the number of cars that may pass through nodes 5, 6, and 7 is
even greater. Therefore, Dr. Lee has suggested that the current capacity is
33,000 cars per hour. He has also suggested a recommendation be made to the
city manager for expansion of one of the routes from the stadium to the highway
to permit an additional 2,000 cars per hour. He recommends expanding whichever
route is cheapest. If the city chooses not to expand the roads, it is felt that
the traffic problem would be a nuisance but would be manageable.
Based
on past experience, it is believed that as long as the street capacity is
within 2,500 cars per hour of the number that leave the stadium, the problem is
not too severe. However, the severity of the problem grows dramatically for
each additional 1,000 cars that are added to the streets.

Discussion
Questions
1. If there is
no expansion, what is the maximum number of cars that may actually travel from
the stadium to the interstate per hour? Why is this number not equal to 33,000,
as Dr. Lee suggested?
2. If the cost
for expanding a street were the same for each street, which street(s) would you
recommend expanding to increase the capacity to 33,000? Which streets would you
recommend expanding to get the total capacity of the system to 35,000 per hour?

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Southwestern University

Internet Case Study: Southwestern
University

After 6 months of study, much political arm wrestling,
and some serious financial analysis, Dr. Martin Starr, president of Southwestern University, had reached a decision. To
the delight of its students, and to the disappointment of its athletic
boosters, SWU would not be relocating to a new football site, but would expand
the capacity at its on-campus stadium.

Adding 21,000 seats, including dozens of luxury
skyboxes, would not please everyone. The influential football coach, Bo
Pitterno, had long argued the need for a first-class stadium, one with built-in
dormitory rooms for his players and a palatial office appropriate for the coach
of a future NCAA champion team. But the decision was made, and everyone, including
the coach, would learn to live with it.

The job now was to get construction going immediately
after the current season ended. This would allow exactly 270 days until next season’s
opening game. The contractor, Hill Construction (Bob Hill being an alumnus, of
course), signed his contract. Bob Hill looked at the tasks his engineers had
outlined and looked President Starr in the eye. “I guarantee the team will be
able to take the field on schedule next season,” he said with a sense of
confidence. “I sure hope so,” replied Starr. “The contract penalty of $10,000
per day for running late is nothing compared to what Coach Pitterno will do to
you if our opening game with Penn
State is delayed or
canceled.” Hill, sweating slightly, did not need to respond. In football-crazy Texas, Hill Construction
would be mud if the 270-day target were missed.

Back in his office, Hill again reviewed the data (see the
following table, and note that optimistic time estimates can also be used as
crash times). He then gathered his foremen. “Boys, if we’re not 75% sure we’ll
finish this stadium in less than 270 days, I want this project crashed! Give me
the cost figures for a target date of 250 days, and also for 240 days. I want
to be early, not just on time!”

Time Estimates (days)
Activity Pred(s) Opt Most
Likely Pess Crash Cost/Day
A. Bonding, insurance, tax structuring — 20 30 40 $1,500
B. Foundation, concrete footings for boxes A 20 65 80 $3,500
C. Upgrading skyboxes stadium seating A 50 60 100 $4,000
D. Upgrading walkways, stairwells,
elevators C 30 50 100 $1,900
E. Interior wiring, lathes B 25 30 35 $9,500
F. Inspection approvals E 0.1 0.1 0.1 $0
G. Plumbing D,
F 25 30 35 $2,500
H. Painting G 10 20 30 $2,000
I. Hardware/AC/metal workings H 20 25 60 $2,000
J. Tile/carpeting/windows H 8 10 12 $6,000
K. Inspection J 0.1 0.1 0.1 $0
L. Final detail work/cleanup I, K 20 25 60 $4,500

1. Develop a network drawing for Hill
Construction and determine the critical path. How long is the project expected
to take?

2. What is the probability of finishing in
270 days?

3. If it is necessary to crash to 250 or 240
days, how would Hill do so, and at what costs? As noted in the case, assume
that optimistic time estimates can be used as crash times.

The Family Planning Research Center of
Nigeria
Dr. Adinombe
Watage, deputy director of the Family Planning Research Center in Nigeria’s
Over-The-River Province, was assigned the task of organizing and training five
teams of field workers as part of a large project to demonstrate acceptance of
a new method of birth control. These workers had already had training in family
planning education, but must receive specific training regarding the new method
of contraception. Two types of materials must also be prepared: (1) those for
use in training the workers, and (2) those for distribution in the field.
Training faculty must be brought in and arrangements made for transportation
and accommodations for the participants.
Dr. Watage first
called a meeting of his office staff. Together they identified the activities
that must be carried out, the necessary sequences, and the time they would
require. Their results appear in Table 1.

Table 1 The Family Planning Research Center

ACTIVITY

MUST FOLLOW

TIME (IN DAYS)

STAFFING NEEDED

A

Identify faculty and their schedules

—

5

2

B.

Arrange transport to base

—

7

3

C.

Identify and collect training materials

—

5

2

D.

Make accommodations

A

3

1

E.

Identify team

A

7

4

F.

Bring in team

B, E

2

1

G.

Transport faculty to base

A, B

3

2

H.

Print program material

C

10

6

I.

Deliver program materials

H

7

3

J.

Train team

D, F, G, I

15

0

K.

Do fieldwork

J

30

0

Louis Odaga, the
chief clerk, noted that the project had to be completed in 60 days. Whipping
out his solar-powered calculator, he added up the times needed given in Table
1. They came to 94 days. “An impossible task then,” he noted.
“No,” Dr. Watage replied, “some of these tasks can go forward in
parallel.” “Be careful though,” warned Mr. Oglagadu, the chief
nurse, “there aren’t that many of us to go around. There are only 10 of us
in this office.”
“I can check
whether we have enough heads and hands, once I have tentatively scheduled the
activities,” Dr. Watage responded. “If the schedule is too tight, I
have permission from the Pathminder Fund to spend some money to speed it up,
just so long as I can prove that it can be done at the least cost necessary. Can
you help me prove that? Here are the costs for the activities with the elapsed
times that we planned. Also, here are the costs and times if we shorten them to
an absolute minimum.” Those data are in Table 2.

Table 2 The Family Planning Research Center

Normal

Minimum

Average Cost
Per Day Saved ($)

Activity

Time

Cost($)

Time

Cost ($)

A.

Identify faculty

5

400

2

700

100

B.

Arrange transport

7

1,000

4

1,450

150

C.

Identify materials

5

400

3

500

50

D.

Make accommodations

3

2,500

1

3,000

250

E.

Identify team

7

400

4

850

150

F.

Bring team in

2

1,000

1

2,000

1,000

G.

Transport faculty

3

1,500

2

2,000

500

H.

Print material

10

3,000

6

4,000

250

I.

Deliver materials

7

200

2

600

80

J.

Train team

15

5,000

10

7,000

400

K.

Do fieldwork

30

10,000

20

14,000

400

Source:Professor Curtis P. McLaughlin,
Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Some of the tasks in this
project can be done in parallel. Prepare a diagram showing the required network
of tasks, and define the critical path. What is the length of the project
without crashing?
2. At this point, can the project
be done given the constraint of having only 10 persons?
3. If the critical path is longer
than 60 days, what is the least amount that Dr. Watage can spend and still
achieve the schedule objective? How can he prove to the Pathminder Fund that
this is the minimum cost alternative?