Regency Plaza Condominium Project: A Case Study in Management

The case study revolves around Kris Hodgkins, the project manager for a condominium development at the Regency Plaza hotel complex, who faces several challenges including projects running behind schedule and over budget, slow condominium sales, and a weakening local economy. Hodgkins is particularly concerned about changes to unit 1203 which deviate significantly from the standard floor plan, necessitating the rework of already installed components. The case presents several options for Hodgkins to consider, including a meeting with stakeholders to discuss the situation, stopping work and turning the unit over to the Millers as an empty shell, or moving the Millers to a different unit where interior work has not yet commenced. Each option has its own set of problems and potential benefits that Hodgkins must carefully weigh. Desklib provides access to similar case studies and study tools to aid students in understanding project management concepts.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the Organization
Author Note

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Answer to Question 1
The project manager Kris Hodgkins finds herself in a situation that the project which was
given to her was running behind the scheduled time and even over budgeted. She could even see
there was a radical departure in the sketches which she made from the standard floor plan which
was initially made. There was also a need for ripping out some of the works which were already
installed. By late June, when the work of construction in the hotel was appearing towards the
completion which was scheduled to be opened on 15th July, faced a sudden dropdown in the
speed of work. This was because the manpower required for the construction was reduced due to
the frequent changes which was going on at that period of time. Even the marketing of the units
of condominium went very slowly. She could even have sent the drawings to Grogan who in turn
would sent him to the subcontractors. Grogan even told her that if she further wanted to make
changes in the unit then she would have been given written authorization for stopping work and
she would also be prepared for paying subcontractor who may claim for about $25,000 for being
out of the sequence of work. It was very much important for Hodgkins to act quickly in the
situation and a face to face to meeting with the owners, Millers, the internal designer and the
project architect. This would be the first option. Discussing about the situation and thinking of
positive ways for resolving the problem was very much essential. She could inform the Millers
that it was too late for customizing the unit. After closing on the unit, they might make the
changes themselves even though any sprinkler change might cause shutting down the whole
floor. She could even involve trying to push through these changes which night minimize the
work load which were to be ripped out. She could even hire a small contractor in general for
coming in and trying to finish out the unit before its closing. It was quite difficult for getting
different contractors who would come to the site of the job for such small items. The

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mobilization as well as the high expenses would result in making their quotes more and more
prohibitive. The main disadvantage of this approach would be that Kelly would give a very small
amount of credit for the work which was to be done and the purchased materials and also the
management of two contractors would be very much difficult to handle. Another option would
be stopping work on the unit and turning the whole of the unit over to the Millers as a shell
which would be empty and they could themselves finish at their own convenience. Several
problems were related to this option as well. Most of the banks might not lend against that
particular unit till the developer would obtain a certificate for occupying the unit though some
banks might make exceptions for some special clients who would put large amount of down
payment. Hodgkins was not sure if Millers would do it. It might also be possible that the control
of the Regency over the project might be reduced to a great extent. The last option which could
be taken was to directly move the Millers to a separate unit on a higher floor where the working
in the interior had not yet been started. This might help in gaining additional time.

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References
Morris, P., 2013. Reconstructing project management reprised: A knowledge
perspective. Project Management Journal, 44(5), pp.6-23.
Pinto, J.Â. and Williams, N., 2013. Country project management maturity. Project Management
Institute.
Poorvu, William J., and Richard E Crum. "Regency Plaza."Harvard Business School Case 391-
021, November 1990. (Revised January 2008.)
Seymour, T. and Hussein, S., 2014. The history of project management. International Journal of
Management & Information Systems (Online), 18(4), p.233.