1. When does project management turn into overmanagement?
2. Brainstorming at United Central Bank (Part I): As part of the 1989 strategic policy plan for United Central Bank, the president, Joseph P. Keith, decided to embark on weekly "brainstorming meetings" in hopes of developing creative ideas that could lead to solutions to the bank's problems. The bank's executive vice president would serve as permanent chairman of the brainstorming committee. Personnel representation would be randomly selected under the constraint that 10 percent must be from division managers, 30 percent from department managers, 30 percent from section-level supervisors, and the remaining 30 percent from clerical and nonexempt personnel. President Keith further decreed that the brainstorming committee would criticize all ideas and submit only those that successfully passed the criticism test to upper-level management for review
After six months, with only two ideas submitted to upper-level management (both ideas were made by division managers), Joseph Keith formed an inquiry committee to investigate the reasons for the lack of interest by the brainstorming committee participants. Which of the following statements might be found in the inquiry committee report? (More than one answer is possible.)
a. Because of superior-subordinate relationships (i.e., pecking order), creativity is inhibited.
b. Criticism and ridicule have a tendency to inhibit spontaneity.
c. Good managers can become very conservative and unwilling to stick their necks out.
d. Pecking orders, unless adequately controlled, can inhibit teamwork and problem solving.
e. All seemingly crazy or unconventional ideas were ridiculed and eventually discarded.
f. Many lower-level people, who could have had good ideas to contribute, felt inferior.
g. Meetings were dominated by upper-level management personnel.
h. The meetings were held at inappropriate places and times.
i. Many people were not given adequate notification of meeting time and subject matter