MGMT627 Project Management Assignment No. 1 Fall 2011 - solution soon

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Case:

The board of directors of a local not-for-profit organization that collects and buys food and distributes it to people in need is having its September board meeting. Sitting in the conference room are Mr. Basit, the board chairperson, and two board members, Ms. Robina and Mr. Salman. Mr. Basit announces, "Our funds are almost exhausted. The demands on the food bank and kitchen have been increasing. We need to figure out how to get more funds."

"We have to have a fund-raising project," responds Ms. Robina.

Mr. Salman suggests, "Can't we ask the local government if they can increase their allocation to us?"

"They're strained. They may even cut our allocation next year," replies Mr. Basit.

"How much do we need to get us through this year?" asks Ms. Robina.

"About 1 million Rupees," answers Mr. Basit, "and we are going to start needing that money in about two months."

"We need a lot of things besides money. We need more volunteers, more space for storage, and another refrigerator for the kitchen," says Mr. Salman.

"Well, I guess we can make that all part of the fund-raising project. This is going to be fun!" says Ms. Robina excitedly.

This project is growing. We'll never get it done in time," Mr. Basit says.

Ms. Robina says, "We'll figure it out and get it done. We always do."

"Is a project what we need? What are we going to do next year – another project?" asks Mr. Salman. "Besides, we're having a hard time getting volunteers anyway. May be we need to think about how we can operate with less funds. For example, how can we get more food donation on a regular basis so we won't have to buy as much food?"

Ms. Robina jumps in. "Great idea! You can work on that while we also try to raise funds. We can't leave any stone unturned."

"Time out," says Mr. Basit. "These are all very good ideas, but we have limited funds and volunteers and a growing demand. We need to do something now to make sure we don't have to close our doors in two months. I think we all agree we need to undertake some type of initiative. But I'm not sure we all agree on the objective."

Questions:

1. What are the needs that have been identified?

2. What is/are the project objective(s)?

3. What are the risks involved in the project?