Task: Please answer each of the following questions using the case "Chrysler and BMW..." (Harvard Business School case, no. 9-600-004) by H. Kent Bowen.
Question 1) Which engine block sealing design should Jack Smith choose and why? How should he make the decision: by fiat, with senior managers, or in a more general meeting?
Question 2) What type of organizational structure did Chrysler most closely resemble during Lee Iacocca's tenure? In the years following Iacocca's tenure, what changes did Chrysler make regarding product development projects and what were the results of these changes?
Question 3) What motivated the joint venture between Chrysler and BMW? What are some key factors that may have increased or decreased the joint venture's likelihood of success?
Question 4) Briefly summarize the cost, time, and scope constraints for this project. What did Smith do to ensure that everyone understood the metrics that would determine project success?
Question 5) What was Smith's approach to integrating product design and manufacturing? Did it work, why or why not?
Question 6) Project managers often have to make decisions under conditions of uncertainty with imperfect information. What steps did Smith take to minimize uncertainty and maximize available information? Which tools, analyses, or other information are most critical to the engine block sealing decision and why?