First read the attached case then Use the assignment brief as a guideline to the work.
Master of project management BUSM-2083 Project Procurement and Ethics Assignment 3: Analysis of Harvard Case Study Number of words: 1800–2000 (excluding References, figures, tables and exhibits) General Instructions: Assignment 3-Individual case analysis This assignment will assess your critical thinking skills and ability to understand and analyse different project scenarios. The selected project is a Harvard case (Please refer to Boeing Australia Ltd Case in Coursepacks folder). You have to read the case thoroughly and provide deep and accurate analysis. You may need to address the following questions in your report in details: Q1: What are the limitations of BAL's current procurement processes? Q2: How can you effectively manage customers, suppliers, and the internal organisation using e-procurement strategies? Q3: What issues, in relation to procurement, need to be considered when trying to upgrade a company's technology platform? Q4: Is the size of a company an important issue when considering an e-procurement strategy? Please follow the Marking Criteria: ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: High Distinction (80- 100%) (excellent exploration of main issues with outstanding level of independent thinking and critical analysis) Distinction (70-79%) (comprehensive exploration of main issues with high level of independent thinking and critical analysis) Credit (60-69%) (all the main issues are addressed and some good independent thinking and analysis) Pass (50-59%) (majority of the main issues addressed but inadequate evidence of independent thinking and analysis) Fail (0-49%) (failure to adequately address the main issues and lack of understanding of the basic principles) Case summary 10% 1.relevance to the case 2.key points identified Critical analysis on the case 40% 1.Evaluation of depth of analysis 2.Identification of the enablers/challenges 3.Comparisons 4.Creative response Discussion/ recommendation 30% 1.Justification, Description 2.Critical response 3.Supported proposition Writing, synthesis & genre/field 20% 1.Assignment layout/ Structure 2.Grammar and Syntax 3.Cover page 4.Referencing 5.Technique 6.Argument construction Boeing Australia Limited: ... Peta Ashworth prepared this case under the supervision of Dr Ali Farhoomand for class discussion. This case is not intended to show effective or ineffective handling of decision or business processes. © 2003 by The Centre for Asian Business Cases, The University of Hong Kong. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (including the Internet) - without the permission of The University of Hong Kong. Ref. 03/170C 1 August, 2003 1 ALI FARHOOMAND Boeing Australia Limited: Assessing the Merits of Implementing a Sophisticated e-Procurement System Formed in late 1996, Boeing Australia Limited (BAL) was a relatively new company and a global extension of the US firm, The Boeing Company. BAL developed capabilities in the areas of space and communications, site management, and the upgrade and maintenance of military aircraft and equipment. As BAL grew, so did the legacy information system it used for both internal communications and external dealings with customers. BAL, however, faced difficult decisions as it sought to upgrade its procurement systems and processes to improve operations. In early 1999, BAL recruited a new National Procurement Manager, Russell Menere, whose immediate task was to look for gains in productivity by improving procurement processes, either through cost savings or by reduced processing time. To meet this objective, Russell initiated a number of short-term improvements. These included the rationalisation of a large number of BAL’s suppliers; improving BAL’s relationships with its key suppliers; the introduction of a credit-card purchasing system for low-value, large-volume consumables, and the adoption of electronic ordering processes with BAL’s larger suppliers. In 2002, with new opportunities available through e-business technology, Russell needed to decide what BAL’s next step should be. Should BAL invest in a new system that would simplify the procurement process across different divisions and support complex interfaces with suppliers? Alternatively, should Russell recommend that BAL continue to sit on the fence and seek short-term improvement tools for integration with its existing legacy systems? Could BAL afford to wait, given that the main requirement of its major customer, the Australian Defence Force (ADF), was timely information in support of military readiness and the national security of Australia? Russell thought that one of the biggest challenges would be to find an appropriate system that could provide mutual benefits to BAL and its suppliers within budget constraints. To precisely define BAL’s requirements, Russell felt that it was necessary to map the Company’s existing procurement system, and this was done through the use of a Materials Management Process Council (MMPC). HKU271 For the exclusive use of M. Qasim, 2018. This document is authorized for use only by Mmuhnad Qasim in Procurement and Ethics taught by FARSHID RAHMANI, RMIT University from Jul 2018 to Jan 2019. 03/170C Boeing Australia Limited 2 Company Background BAL’s history dated back to 1937, when an Australian group, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, was licensed to build the NA-33 training aircraft for Northern American Aviation Incorporated. Further contracts to manufacture warplanes led to the formation of the government-owned Aerospace Technologies of Australia (ASTA), which in 1995 was sold for A$40 million to the company, Rockwell Systems Australia.1 By 1995, Rockwell Systems Australia had developed capabilities in the areas of ship systems and electronics, so aircraft production, modification and servicing became a good extension to its business. BAL was officially formed on 6 December, 1996, when Boeing acquired Rockwell’s aerospace and defence business, which included most of its Australian operations. In 1998, BAL made a strategic move to relocate its head office from Sydney, New South Wales, to Brisbane, Queensland. BAL occupied 10 floors within the Brisbane head office where over 400 employees were engaged in central administration, finance, purchasing, engineering, logistics, technical publishing, management information systems and project management functions. These supported the four key divisions that made up the organisation [see also Exhibit 1]: 1. The Military Aerospace Support Division provided engineering services in the areas of design, development, integration and testing of upgrades/modifications to aircraft for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as well as engineering support to scientists and researchers of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation’s Aeronautical and Maritime Research Library. 2. The Commercial Aviation Services Division, in conjunction with Boeing Airplane Services, a unit of Boeing USA, was developing Commercial Aviation Services to provide integrated fleet management within the Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific and Asia region and a Centre of Excellence Training Facility. 3. The Knowledge Systems Division provided innovative solutions for ground-based command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for customers. 4. The Space and Communication Services Division sought new ways to provide communications support services for customers, in designing advanced defence satellite communications solutions and other research and design to develop information management and decision-making tools to enhance the business of BAL’s commercial customers. Relocating the four divisions under one roof allowed BAL to achieve synergies through more centralised and standardised operations, and also allowed employees to feel they were part of a single, larger team. However, the four divisions were still autonomous in many ways. They found and executed their own work, and reported the same measuring criteria in financial dollars, project performance and product quality terms, as well as a range of other measures required by BAL’s balanced scorecard.2 In 2002, BAL had over 3,000 employees. In addition to their head office, BAL had operations in 12 different locations around Australia. These locations were strategically aligned with the locations of its major customer, the ADF. 1 US$1=A$1.70 2 See Kaplan and Norton (1996) for more information on the “Balanced Scorecard” approach. For the exclusive use of M. Qasim, 2018. This document is authorized for use only by Mmuhnad Qasim in Procurement and Ethics taught by FARSHID RAHMANI, RMIT University from Jul 2018 to Jan 2019. 03/170C Boeing Australia Limited 3 Customers Everybody still thinks of Boeing as Boeing aeroplanes. Here in Australia we don’t have much to do with commercial aircraft. We are mainly site management, military aircraft and space and communications. - Russell Menere, National Procurement Manager BAL’s major customer was the Australian Defence Force (ADF), which included the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Australian Army. The ADF employed approximately 51,500 full-time personnel. The government had estimated that the ADF spent approximately A$12 billion dollars annually to meet its most important objective, which was to ensure the defence and security of Australia. The services required by ADF of BAL varied according to the nature of the military service. Some examples of on-going contracts included: Management and maintenance of military sites on behalf of the ADF. For example, at Amberley Air Force Base in Queensland, BAL provided most of the life-cycle support activities including maintenance and upgrades on F-111 aircraft. BAL had a similar arrangement with the ADF Helicopter School operating out of the RAAF Base, Fairbairn in Canberra and other sites. Modifications and upgrade projects such as the F/A-18A/B Weapon System Hornet Upgrade Project at Williamtown, New South Wales. Here a fleet of 71 aircraft were being upgraded