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Management Approval Was Only Obtained At Headquarters Without Involvement Of Local Management
Oct 03,2007 00:00
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Management Approval Was Only Obtained At Headquarters Without Involvement Of
Local Management
A project was formulated either at headquarters or in one of
the locations of the firm. Staff at headquarters then take the project idea and
develop a plan. However, they do so without the knowledge of local conditions or
involvement of regional management. This actually happened in southeast Asia
where a cement plant was conceived by bureaucrats in the country, giving the
aid. The plant was then constructed along with docks and supporting facilities
by the foreign government. It failed miserably. The climate in the foreign
country was cold; the climate in the other country was very humid. The cement
was produced and put on the dock. However, the ship to pick up the cement was
delayed due to mechanical breakdowns. The cement hardened on the dock and the
dock collapsed. Then the cement in the plant froze up. The plant was worthless.
Impact
What was a good idea turned out to be a bad idea when
planned from headquarters. As the preceding example shows, the result can be
total failure. More importantly, the experience puts a damper on any future
projects.
Prevention
The best approach is to develop the plan as a collaborative
effort between the local and headquarters management. Both local and
headquarters goals need to be spelled out along with potential issues, roles,
and issues.
Action
If a project gets started from headquarters and starts to go
bad, one course of action is to kill the project. However, there is often too
much invested in the project to do this. There is a lack of will. A better
approach is to redirect the project toward local goals.
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