Case Study: Corwin Corporation

Corwin Corporation was presented with a golden opportunity to partner with Peters Corporation to research and develop a new rubber product. This project presented many advantages for Corwin Corp and seemed like it would be a sure win. Yet, they lost. Not only was the project terminated before completion, but Corwin Corporation lost a great deal of their investment in the project and lost a very important client in the Peters Corporation. What went wrong for Corwin Corporation? What could they have done differently to ensure a better outcome? I will answer these questions as I lay out the major mistakes that Corwin made and how they could have been avoided. I will also assess whether or not Corwin Corporation should have accepted this assignment …show more content…
According to Project Management: Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Harold Kerzner says that the role of the project sponsor is “primarily to maintain executive-client contact. In addition, they should provide guidance of setting objectives, priorities, the project organizational structure, project policies and procedures, master planning, staffing, monitoring the execution, and helping to resolve conflicts.” In this case, Corwin executives including the President, V.P. of Marketing, and V.P. of Engineering, along with R&D Director did very little to perform these duties and support the project manager. Therefore, West was left to plan the entire project, manage the relationship with the client, interact with the in-house representative, control the budget, and direct the staff. Without the help of the project sponsors, the project was overtaken and domineered by the in-house representative and the project objectives were not met. Once Reddy stepped in to support West, it was too late and the project was already derailed. This illustrates the importance of the involvement of upper level executives in planning, monitoring, and executing the project objectives and providing direction and support to the project manager and communicating directly with the client. Alfonso Bucero, author of the book, Project Sponsorship: Achieving …show more content…
1). The executives at Corwin skipped much of this careful planning process, because they felt forced to make a decision without meeting together and creating a project plan. This meeting is essential to project success. Therefore, I would recommend that before committing to major projects that all projects sponsors and stakeholders meet and discuss the benefits and the risks associated with the project and carefully plan the project objectives. If this cannot be done within the timeline allowed, perhaps it is best that Corwin pass on the