Joe Bednarski

OGL320 SPR21

Module 6

In the Altex case study, we looked at the Altex corporation which was just awarded a military

defense contract. The original contract awarded was a cost-plus-percentage-of-cost contract, which are

also referred to as cost-reimbursable contracts. These types of contracts are where the buyer

(Government), pays the costs plus the contractor (Altex) is paid a fee to include profit. In this case, at

the time risk management plans were not required to part of the contract. The project manager wanted

to create a risk management plan, but the sponsor did not and was under the pretense that the military

would only expect 60-70% of the requested specifications. The sponsor also believed that if the R&D

team were required to create a risk management plan it would lead to the team felling pessimistic. I

feel that in this case a risk management should be necessary and be part of the proposal phase. This

would show good faith in the event something with the project goes wrong. If I was the buyer I would

require a risk management plan when securing a contract. This particular PM is then instructed to

create a risk management proposal in private. I think that the risks should be addressed with input from

the entire team and with the sponsor. Communication is still the number one way of ensuring project

success.

In the Margaret Heffernan’s clip “Dare to Disagree”, she talks about her findings that

disagreement can lead to solutions to problems. She gives an example of a study where it shows where

X-rays were the cause of death for children from mother’s who received X-rays while pregnant. The

medical community and investors were hyping up the benefits of the X-Ray and were quick to dismiss

her claims. A few decades later it turns out that her findings were correct. The main idea is that just

reporting information and facts might not get the point across if nobody seems to care. Heffernan
states that constructive conflict is good for getting a message across. It roots out differences in opinions,

potentially better solutions and encourages better connections. These same concepts could be applied

to project management because when we build a diverse team with different backgrounds and

experiences to help design something, the potential for success increases.