Developing missile: The power of autonomy - Case Study Example

Developing missile: The power of autonomy With the main objective of the air to surface team being in designing and developing a high value missile with high levels of efficiency and effectiveness, as the leader, I am indebted to carry forward the vision and mobilize the effort of other team members towards the course of the objective. Under such, there is the need to have a clear cut vision through which the objective would be pursued. As the team leader, I would mobilize the efforts of the other members through a strategic vision that would not only explain the deliverables but also on the efficiency and effectiveness in time management. Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile program brings together various players among which is the government and contracted firms through which the development and testing of the missile and infrastructure would be realized. Question 1: vision statement The vision of this program therefore is to produce the highest innovation in missile development at the lowest cost possible and within the shortest time possible. Under such, high level of evaluation and assessments would characterize the procurement and tender awarding processes without compromising on quality, cost as well as team work for effectiveness. With an ultimatum of the project being such short, there is therefore the need to have clear cut vision(s) for the different departments involved at any stage of working in the project but with the various departments’ visions working in harmony with the overall vision of producing the highest innovation in missile development at the lowest cost possible and within the shortest time possible. Question 2: key actions that Terry Little took Immediately Terry Little was assigned the responsibility of heading the program, he strategically devised various approaches through which he was to realize the expectations of his senior and what exactly the program was about (Laufer, Ward & Cockburn, nd). Among other immediate actions that he took was to collect information on the past procedures and performances of the previous teams which had the responsibility organizing and facilitating team trainings and fostered collaborative interactions with all players in the program. The collection of the information was more critical in that it would help the new manager understand the failures and the reasons for the same that affected the performance of the previous team. Besides, that would be instrumental in helping him avoid the loop holes but more importantly, the information would have him understand in depth the assignment as was laid before him. Secondly, he adopted the procedure of having the team members with whom he was to work into a vigorous training program. Through the program, the team members were to be enlightened on the expectations of the program and through the first meeting that he held initially, he made it clear that the vision was simply a solid on and as such, no excuse for deviation would be executed. He also made clear his responsibility as the team leader where facilitation and overseeing the project run. He also asserted how serious the assignment was and said that firing an employee was not as hard as would be expected. Thirdly, Little redrafted the program design through which the assignment was to be realized. Through redrafting, he was able to make the program more clearly through lesser bulky document and changing approximately 90% of what the original document had and what e thought was unnecessary for the success of the program. This also helped him reduce the cost estimations by almost a half and he was able to reevaluate on time expectation of the program. Finally and most important of all, Little had high regard on team relations as against the outcome and as such undertook a very intensive campaign to unite the employees and to have every employee visualize the ultimate vision and goal for the project. Through bringing together the goals of the various employees, Little enabled all have common goals and this was ensured through frequent meetings in the project period for evaluation and for asserting the course of the common efforts on the program. However, he esteemed departmental responsibilities in contributing towards the entire program and as such ensured that all departments worked independently but in harmony. However, a critical analysis of his immediate actions shows that he didn’t take into perspective the effect of bureaucracy as he emphasized though indirectly when he asserted his authority in managing the program. This is justified by the common feeling that engulfed all in the meeting who doubted their job security under such strict leader. In as much as his approach was very successful, the risk of failure trough resigning and working under coercion was high as against working through deliberate choice and in intrinsic pleasure. I would therefore have adopted better methods of asserting my authority as the team leader that would create a more close relation with the subjects as against threatening. Besides, I would not only rely on the documented information on the previous management of the program but would consult the fired manager and this would enable me clearly visualize the practical challenges that they faced instead of relying on documents only. Biasness in collected information would have been very detrimental in the success of the program under Terry and as such the necessity of need to consult my predecessor. Nevertheless, I must acknowledge Terry’s approach to organizational change as he realized great success in reshaping the direction of the organization through the success of the project. Question 3: fallacies, consistencies, and inconsistencies Learning and autonomy describes the process through which Terry’s efforts in bringing the missile program to success. In contrast to the majority of managers’ thoughts, project management does not only involve making decisions, controlling performance as well as conducting reviews but rather a range of various aspects as Terry took it. According to Terry, this would be a fallacy and terry would come out as inconsistent while he opted to take a different stand in the same. He esteemed collaboration in relations with alliances through which the employees would be empowered through boosting their confidence. Besides, he proved wrong the models in management studies which showed that almost everything in the management practice would be quantifiable when he found out that you can model on something even if it does not exist. His approach diverged from all such propositions and he adopted very distinct approach to the problem at hand. However, although his approach proved higher effectiveness and efficiency at the end of the period, other approaches would have equally worked for actualization of the project. I would have proposed that he adopts frequent reviews o the project as well as strict decision making processes in order to institute an ordered working environment. Much leniency in a work place would lead a structure that has no accountability and hence produce undesired outcome. Question 4: Recommendations Organizational management tools have increased especially with the advent of technological advancement where the organization can adopt technology in management. This paper therefore recommends the adoption of computerized system of storage and sharing of information which would have aided in Terry’s effort in understanding the position of the organization (Bilesuar, 2014; Bahli, 2004). Moreover, this paper would propose that Terry adopts a wholesome structural adjustment in the teams which he was to work with. This would be justified with the reason that doing the same thing repeatedly in a similar would not yield to different result. If Terry was to have the program run with the same structure as it was previously, then the likelihood of similar poor results would be expected. Finally, this paper would propose that Terry adopts a reward system that would be in place to motivate the workers. Organizational management must consider the intrinsic and external factors that either boost or lower the morale of workers as this would contribute towards the general performance of the organization. Besides, this would work to contribute towards the general approach that Terry adopted in harmonizing the working relations in the employees. References Bahli, B. (2004). Information technology and organizational transformation: Solving the management puzzle. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 11(3), 416-418. Bilesuar, R. S., Nazari, E., Jelodarloo, S. N., Sharifi, F., & Nouri, K. (2014). The study of relationship between the use of information and communication technology and management of organizational knowledge. Kuwait Chapter of the Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 3(6), 8-16.  Laufer A. Ward D., & Cockburn A., (nd). Developing a Missile: The Power of Autonomy and Learning. Retrieved from Read More