I would recommend Stacey Thomas to select Bill Fence as a project manager since he has graduated in computer science and Andy Dover has graduated in Civil Engineering and he doesn’t know much about the computers. Bill is service oriented and he has the ability to describe concepts in nontechnical terms and solving technical problems. We can also see that Bill has a lot of experience since he was selected to develop the bank’s Web site in 1998 he was alone in the project though he was supervised by the bank’s directors of information systems. Since he was doing computer programming he proposed alternative ways for incorporating key features into the Web site. We can also see that Bill was so committed that he completed the project on time and became the Webmaster and now he is in charge of maintaining the bank’s Web site. Looking at Bill’s experience and the successful project he was undertaking I feel that he will be in a position to make it possible for the Quantum to be able to expand its Web site and include an online bill payment service, open accounts online, manage their investments portfolios online, allow customers to apply for credit cards and loans online.
I would recommend the project to be organized in matrix, this is because matrix is a structure in which functional and staff personnel are assigned to both basic functional area and to a project or product manger. The matrix provide dual channels of authority, performance, responsibility evaluation and control, it also makes the best use of talented people within a firm. It accommodates a wide variety of project-oriented business activities and provides good training ground for strategic managers. It also gives the middle management broader exposure to strategic issues. The project manager maintains project control over all resources including cost and human resources, rapid responses are possible to changes, conflict resolution and project needs.
I agree with Ms. Thomas’s decision of staffing the project internally because in the case of Bill, everybody is aware of his work and they can clearly see that the two projects he started were successful. They also know that he is service oriented, keeps time and he is always involved with all the technical aspects of the bank’s site. Ms. Thomas felt that giving the project to one of the staff will be better since she has worked with them and she trusts their work because they have enough experience.
The major advantages of staffing the project with Quantum employees include, improving the morale the employees, helps in retention of employees since they are fully aware and well acquainted with the bank’s operating procedures and they require little training. It’s also less costly than going for an outside candidate, staffs are tried people and therefore they can be relied upon. It promotes loyalty among employees for it gives them a sense of job security and opportunities for advancement. The bank is in a position to evaluate the presently employed than outside candidates, this is because the company maintains a record of the progress and experience and services of the employees.
The advantage of utilizing the services of an outside consulting firm is that there will be no favors as compared to internal staffing, it will portray a positive image of Quantum bank and it will be a way of advertising the bank. External sources provide the required types of personnel for the required project having skills, training and education up to the required standard. In outside consulting firms persons are recruited from a large market, it also proves economical because potential employees do not need extra training in the job. In conclusion, I chose matrix structure because structures like pure project can hinder the accumulation of knowledge in an organization over time or within specialism due to contract break up of the project teams. Functional projects do not provide the project oriented emphasis necessary to accomplish the project tasks, decisions normally favor the strongest functional groups and there is no customer vocal point. In the long run response to customer needs is slow and motivation and innovation are decreased. Moreover, in functional projects coordination becomes complex and additional lead time is required for approval of decisions. In functional structures ideas tend to be functional oriented with little regard for ongoing general organizational activities or projects. There is also difficulty in pinpointing responsibility; this is as a result of little or no direct project reporting, there is very little project oriented planning and no project authority. Therefore, I would highly recommend matrix structure which does not have these limitations. Nevertheless, I preferred staffing the project internally because external consultancy can be a time consuming and expensive exercise.