‫المملكة العربية السعودية‬

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ‫وزارة التعليم‬

Ministry of Education ‫الجامعة السعودية اإللكترونية‬
Saudi Electronic University

College of Administrative and Financial Sciences

Assignment 2
Project Management (MGT 323)
Due Date: 06/08/2022 @ 23:59

Course Name: Project Management Student’s Name:

Course Code: MGT323 Student’s ID Number:
Semester: Summer Semester CRN:
Academic Year:2021-22

For Instructor’s Use only

Instructor’s Name:
Students’ Grade: /15 Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low

General Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY

 The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated
folder.
 Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.
 Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented, marks may be reduced
for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page.
 Students must mention question number clearly in their answer.
 Late submission will NOT be accepted. Peer-Reviewed Journals are required as
references.
 Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or
other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions.
 All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font.
No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).
 Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.
 Do not make any changes in the cover page.

Assignment Workload:
 This Assignment comprise of a Case Study and Discussion questions.
  Assignment is to be submitted by each student individually.

Assignment Purposes/Learning Outcomes:

After completion of Assignment-2 students will able to understand the

1. Defining the concepts, theories and approaches of project management. (L.O-1.1)

2. Analyze to work effectively and efficiently as a team member for project related
cases. (L.O-3.1)
3. Evaluate to monitor and control the project. (L.O-3.2)

Assignment-2: Case Study & Discussion questions

Assignment Case study Question:

(Marks 9)

Please read the Case-8.3 “Tham Luang Cave Rescue.” from Chapter 8
“Scheduling Resources and Costs” given in your textbook – Project
Management: The Managerial Process 8th edition by Larson and Gray page
no: 304-307 also refer to specific concepts you have learned from the
chapter to support your answers. Answer the following questions for Part-1,
Part-2.

Part-1: Case study questions

1. How did the physical environment of the cave affect the

rescue plan? Explain in 250 words (3 Marks).

2. How did the rescue team respond to the risks of the project?
Explain in 250 words (3 Marks).
 3. Some have called the rescue a miracle and that luck was the
decisive factor. Do you agree? Explain in 150 words (3
Marks)

Part-2: Discussion questions

Please read Chapter 8 Pg-No. 279 & 281 carefully and then give
your answers on the basis of your understanding.

4. Why would people resist a multi project resource scheduling

system? (3 Marks) (200 words)

5. What do you think would have happened if the Washington

Forest Service did not assess the impact of resources on their
two-year plan? (3 Marks) (200 words).

Answers:

Part 1: Case Study Questions

How the Physical Environment of the Cave Affected the Rescue Plan

Rather than being surrounded by warm tropical water, the tunnel was dark and filled with

frigid currents, which made it difficult to remain invisible for long periods of time. The

narrow passageways going into the cave made the use of a submersible unfeasible.

Diving time rose by an hour or more as divers manoeuvred through flooded areas with

strong currents, tighter tunnels, and zero visibility to get to where the boys were

stationed. The monsoons were showing no indications of letting up, and it was difficult to

estimate when they would finally cease. As a result, the rescue workers did not know
what the best plan of action was. While the divers searched for the missing boys and

coach beneath the rocks, they would have to wait for the rainy season to end, which

would require them to put their lives in danger on a daily basis in order to provide the

boys and coach with food and other necessities. (Chutatip Khotprathum et al., 2018).

It would be excessively costly and time-consuming for the rescue crew to attempt to drill

through a few thousand feet of rock. In addition to this, there was a lack of clarity on the

precise location of the drilling site. Fears that the boys might become hypoxic if they

stayed in the cave any longer grew as the oxygen levels in the cave dropped faster than

expected. Additionally, the monsoon rains were projected to continue for an additional

week. A prolonged period of flooding was thus inevitable. This made it difficult for the

rescuers to devise an effective approach. (Larson & Gray, 2021).

How the Rescue Team Responded to the Risks of the Project

The people attempting to rescue the hostages were forced to make adjustments after

running into a number of obstacles. They were able to find the guys by following the

guiding ropes. The difficulty of the task was cut down from five hours to just a little over

two as a direct consequence of the discovery that they could use pumps to extract water

from the cave. During the rescue effort, the young guys were given harnesses, buoyancy

jackets, and wetsuits so that they could be extracted from the water. This made it possible

for them to be hauled from the water. Because the boys were so underweight and required

a significant amount of oxygen, full-face masks were given to them so that they could

keep their normal breathing patterns. This allowed the boys to get the oxygen they need.

(Larson & Gray, 2021).

To prevent the youngsters from being separated in the event of poor visibility, it was

planned to attach an oxygen cylinder to the front of each boy's torso, attach a handle to
each, and tether them to a diver. They were anaesthetized by a rescue team physician

before their voyage started, so they were asleep for a brief time. This was done to keep

the youngsters calm and not put the rescuers' lives in jeopardy. Dive team members

helped push the kid from behind when they were in tight spots. The children were

transported on drag stretchers across a flooded portion that was about 200 metres in

length. The young men were able to save their energy in preparation for the subsequent

portion of the course that would be flooded. (Issa & Tu, 2020).

Opinion on Whether the Rescue was a Miracle and Luck

The cave remained stable and did not collapse at any point over the course of the rescue

effort, which took place despite the presence of severe weather. One may refer to this as a

miracle. The persistent rain that fell over a period of many days did not, however, have

any effect on the rock formations within the cavern. The power of nature should be

commended for getting them through this protracted period of time without sufficient

food, clothes, or shelter. After all, there was no guarantee that they would still be alive if

they had been found. They had developed what is known as a "survival adaptation" as a

result of the environment of the cave, which enabled them to stay alive until they were

discovered and rescued. The fact that the pump ultimately stopped working just before

the rescue mission was about to be called off shows how fortunate the guys were. (Issa &

Tu, 2020).

Part 2: Discussion Questions

Why People Would Resist a Multi-Project Resource Scheduling System

The limited amount of resources that are available is the root of the problem. When using

these strategies, there is a limit imposed on the total amount of time and resources that
are provided to each individual worker. This limit may range anywhere from 0 to 100.

Because there are so many projects, organisations need to decide which ones should get

the greatest attention and when that attention should be provided to them. This is a

decision that must be made because there are so many initiatives. When put into practise

inside an organisation, scheduling techniques for projects requiring a large number of

resources have the potential to result in conflict. It is difficult for the upper management

of the organisation to assess the level of success achieved by each project and to make an

accurate prediction of the amount of resources that will be required. In addition, the

scheduling of many different projects might result in a significant amount of uncertainty,

especially with regard to the distribution of the available resources. This might result in

delays in the projects, which can cause the firm to lose out on some of the revenue that

they could have gained if they had brought their goods to market at a later date. Bringing

their products to market later can be a solution to this problem. (Chutatip Khotprathum et

al., 2018).

The Possible Occurrence if Washington Forest Service Failed to Assess the Impact

of Resources about their strategy for the next two years.

If the deadline hadn't been fulfilled, there was a significant possibility that the project

wouldn't have been finished with all of the necessary capabilities when it was supposed

to be. If this hadn't happened, the project would not have gone as smoothly as it did.

Following the completion of an evaluation, it became abundantly clear that closing a gap

in the planning would be essential to ensuring the overall success of the project. If the

plan had been allowed to continue without acknowledging the obvious mistake, it would

have resulted in a poorly performed or failed project, the employment of unskilled or

untrained people, the inability to meet the project's goals, delays, and financial losses.
Moreover, the plan would have employed unskilled or untrained people. If the mistake

had been identified from the beginning of the plan, it would have been scrapped. In

addition, the method would have led to the employment of people who had very little to

no relevant experience or education, which would have been a problem. As a

consequence of this, a greater proportion of the money that was anticipated to be

collected would not have been collected, which would have resulted in a missed

opportunity. (Chutatip Khotprathum et al., 2018).

References

Chutatip Khotprathum, Weera Saengsit, Suthida Konglertmongkol, Pariyapa

Amornwanichsam, Thailand. Krasūang Watthanatham, & Al, E. (2018). The

Tham Luang Cave Rescue : A Global Mission. Ministry Of Culture.

Issa, S. B., & Tu, Y. (2020). A survey on the resource-constrained project and multi-

project scheduling problems. Journal of Project Management, 117–138.

https://doi.org/10.5267/j.jpm.2019.11.001

Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project management: The managerial process (8th

ed.). Mcgraw-Hill Education.