Order ID 53563633773 Type Essay Writer Level Masters Style APA Sources/References 4 Perfect Number of Pages to Order 5-10 Pages Description/Paper Instructions
Chance of a Lifetime Case Study
BACKGROUND
Sometimes in life opportunities come up for project managers and they must evaluate the risks and the rewards. This case involves an experienced project man-ager with a well-secured position in a large company who was given the oppor-tunity to join a start-up company. Unfortunately, although some of the critical decisions were his hands, they had a serious effect on his future and career.
SIGNS OF A POOR ECONOMY
Jason was a high school science teacher who liked to dabble in the small labora-tory in the basement of his home. For two years, Jason had been experimenting with the design of long-lasting batteries that could be used in battery-powered cars. Jason was successful in designing two different types of batteries that had much longer lives than existing batteries under development by larger companies. Jason took out patents on his designs and tried to sell them to the larger compa-nies. Unfortunately, with the low cost of gasoline at the pumps, the larger compa-nies were not interested in Jason’s ideas or his patents.
Economists, however, were predicting that within the next year, the cost of gasoline at the pumps could increase by 50 percent or more from $2 per gallon to $3 or more per gallon. If that happened, Jason believed that there would be a significant interest in electric-powered vehicles.
Jason believed that the timing was right to go out on his own. He was earn-ing a little over $40,000 a year as a high school science teacher. He was married with two children, and there were significant financial risks in going out on his own. Despite the risks, his family was supportive of his decision to start up his own company.
Jason needed start-up funding. His family was willing to provide him with $50,000, but Jason knew that this was certainly not enough. This money could be gone in two months or less. He had a friend who had contacts with investment bankers and personal investors. Jason’s friend was also an accountant. Originally Jason thought that the best approach would be to go with investment bankers who were willing to lend him $2 million. Financially, that sounded good. But the investment bankers wanted 75 percent of the company and complete decision-making authority. Jason was reluctant to give up control.
His friend was able to convince a group of investors to provide start-up funds of $500,000. These investors were willing to agree to a 49 percent share in the company. And if Jason were able to repay them their initial $500,000 plus a $100,000 profit at the end of the first year, the investors would return to Jason 44 percent of the company. That way the investors would have a 5 percent ownership in the company and have recovered all of their costs plus a 20 percent profit in just one year. Jason found this deal found attractive. His friend agreed to work as Jason’s accountant on a part-time basis for $10,000 per year plus 10 percent own-ership in the company. The ownership, however, did not include any voting rights and would not be in effect until the beginning of the third year of operations.
HIRING A PROJECT MANAGER
Jason believed that eventually he could sell his patents at a reasonable price. But the real big money would be in obtaining contracts to install his batteries in cars, and the market was somewhat limited. He could work with the automotive manu-facturers as a contractor performing the installation work. He could also work with government agencies creating fleets of electric-powered vehicles for them. In any event, Jason needed a project manager.
After a lengthy search, Jason hired Craig, a 20-year project manager with an automobile supplier and with extensive knowledge of batteries. Craig’s salary would be $50,000 initially and also included 35 percent ownership in the com-pany after two years. Once again, the ownership did not come with voting rights.
Craig would have to write proposals and prepare project plans, schedules, budgets, and stakeholder reports. He would be the prime interface between the clients and the company after contract award.
It was clear at this point that a large portion of the start-up costs would be spent just on writing unsolicited proposals for work on electric-powered vehicles and batteries. Contracts had to be won before the start-up funds were expended.
The moment of truth was now at hand; Jason quit his job as a high school science teacher and started up his company.
AWARDING CONTRACTS
The unsolicited proposals sent to automotive manufacturers fell on deaf ears. Even though the cost of gasoline was increasing, the automotive manufacturers could not see any future in electric-powered vehicles. If necessary, they could also spend billions of dollars to compete with Jason’s company.
Government agencies, however, were very interested in Jason’s ideas. Within three months, Jason’s company had received government contracts to convert some existing gas-powered government vehicles to electric-powered vehicles.
Jason and Craig were now drawing salaries in excess of $125,000 thanks to the government contracts. They rented a large warehouse and converted it into a facility where mechanics could work on cars. They also hired four licensed auto mechanics.
Life was good. Jason’s dream was coming true. His salary was three times his salary as a high school science teacher. He was rapidly paying off his $500,000 start-up debt. The price of gasoline at the pumps was still rising and approaching $3 a gallon. The news media was discussing the need for electric-powered vehicles.
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER
As the contracts with the government agencies began approaching the completion phase, Jason and Craig began writing unsolicited proposals for follow-on work. Gas prices appeared to have leveled off, but the news media was still selling the need for electric vehicles.
A large automobile manufacturer in the United States as well a battery manu-facturer approached Jason about buying out his company. If Jason agreed to sell, then Jason, Craig, and possibly even the accountant could become millionaires overnight.
Craig and the accountant wanted to sell and take their winnings. But Jason was enamored of his title of president and drawing a salary three times what he was earning as a teacher. Craig tried to explain to Jason that the company had no real business plan and that living day to day is not good and, if the government failed to renew the contracts, the company would go under.
Jason refused to listen. Both the automotive manufacturer and the battery company told Jason that their offer was good for only one week. This was cer-tainly not enough time to wait and see if the contracts would be renewed with the government. A decision had to be made.
Once again, Jason refused to consider selling the company. Craig and the accountant told Jason that they might consider legal action to try to force him to sell, but without voting rights, that would be a difficult case to win.
Jason informed the automotive manufacturer and the battery company that he had no intention of selling. Two weeks later, as Jason and his team were finish-ing up the government contracts, the government agencies announced that the contracts would not be renewed. Within a week, Jason’s company was out of busi-ness. Jason returned to teaching high school science and Craig fortunately was rehired by his previous employer.
QUESTIONS
Was Jason right in wanting to start up his own company?
Did Craig make a good decision in giving up a potential $150,000 salary as a project manager to work with Jason?
How does a project manager convince executives that they (the executives) are making bad business decisions? How many clients did Jason’s company have? Who were the company’s competitors, and what was the financial strength of the competition?
If you were in Jason’s position, would you have sold the company? If so, what would you then do with your life?
Is it true that some project managers put their careers at stake each time they take on a new project? Can we call this career risk management?
RUBRIC
QUALITY OF RESPONSE NO RESPONSE POOR / UNSATISFACTORY SATISFACTORY GOOD EXCELLENT Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. 20 points out of 50: The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. 30 points out of 50: The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately. Elements of the required response may also be lacking. 40 points out of 50: The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples. The answer is complete. 50 points: The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples. No aspects of the required answer are missing. Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). Zero points: Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. 5 out 20 points: Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. 10 out 20 points: References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated. Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. 15 out 20 points: Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors. There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. 20 points: Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. 5 points out of 20: The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors 10 points out 20: The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors 15 points out of 20: The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. 20 points: The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. 3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. 5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. They can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements. The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper 7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. 10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally, the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper. GET THIS PROJECT NOW BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK TO PLACE THE ORDER
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