Step 1- Analysis of the relevant facts
Every organization, be it a business or an educational organization faces various kinds of problems and issues. However, it is important that the problems are resolved as soon as they occur, before it spreads more widely. This assignment highlights a critical issue that has been faced by SWIM (Sloan Women in Management) club. The issue was a critical one and recommendations have been provided such that the issue could be mitigated successfully and a solution has been proposed. The problem has been divided into 8 stages and a recommendation is provided.
As mentioned in the given case study, SWIM is one of the largest clubs in MIT Sloan. The club was founded in 1980 and their goal is to support the female candidates and create opportunity for them such that the female students might get better opportunities to strive for excellence in their career. The SWIM club, with a preparation of 11 months had planned an annual conference. In order to make the conference a success, a long-term preparation has been taken by the club (Hornstein, 2015). The annual conference was historical event in MIT and hence all the members were involved (Cummings & Worley, 2014). Moreover, the students along with the alumni worked together to achieve success in the conference. A committee was created for the conference. The committee engaged the current students of MIT, along with various eminent alumni (Frankland et al., 2013). The speaker recruitment team, the marketing team, operations team and the sponsorship team was made with various members and were led by the experienced members of the SWIM club. The recruitment of the speakers for the conference is a critical task. This is because, the speakers invited for the conference will attract more students and alumni to join the conference. Moreover, the panellists’ had to be informed much earlier such that they could keep themselves free in the slot given to MIT (Hayes, 2014). Many of the speakers would fly from various parts of the world to attend the conference. However, amidst these preparations, as the big day came nearer, the weather conditions worsened (Frankland et al., 2013). The weather experts forecasted that there will be storm and the amount of snow might would vary from 3 inches to 50 inches (Hornstein, 2015). The conference committee was in a great dilemma, whether to continue with the scheduled conference or postpone it. Moreover, the committee was receiving emails from all over the world, confirming the schedule of the conference.
The root of the problem is an uncontrolled condition. As mentioned in the case study, there was a forecast of storm where the snow could range from 3 inches to 50 inches. However, this was an uncontrolled condition as there was no control over the weather. The root problem was a major issue for the conference committee (Cummings & Worley, 2014). Most of the speakers who were invited were coming from various parts of the world. Hence, an adverse weather condition resulted in delay of the flights and cancellation of many flights (Hayes, 2014). The storm was forecasted to take an adverse turn and could be worse in the next 48 hours (Frankland et al., 2013). This forecast created panic among the participants and everyone was concerned regarding the schedule of the conference, whether it would be held on the same time and date or will be postponed.
Step 2- Determination of the root problem
The main components of the problem as mentioned in the case study is the adverse weather condition that will cause delay in the flights arriving at Sloan for the conference (Hornstein, 2015). Moreover, with the prediction of snowfall, most of the participants fear that they might be stuck in the storm. However, it was not feasible for the conference committee to cancel the conference or postpone it (Cummings & Worley, 2014). This is because, all the bookings and accommodations had to be postponed, causing confusion among the participants. Moreover, the speakers who were invited from all over the world had to cancel their bookings and they might not be able to allocate alternative slots (Frankland et al., 2013). Thus, the main component identified was the adverse weather condition.
The conference to be hosted was of international repute and people from all over the world was coming to attend the MIT Sloan conference (Hornstein, 2015). The various possible alternatives were already ruled out. One of the possible alternative was to postpone the conference. However, this was not possible since the venue would not be available for the consecutive three months. Another possible alternative was to hold a half day conference, such that everyone could reach their destinations before the storm (Cummings & Worley, 2014). However, this alternative was not a good one. This is because, the committee had disbursed the tickets for a whole day conference (Hayes, 2014). If the conference will be shortened, the attendees might not turn up, thus giving rise to a disrespectful situation for the celebrity speakers (Hornstein, 2015). Moreover, another alternative was to refund the money to the sponsors and cancel the conference (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). However, this would be one of the most unprofessional decisions on behalf of SWIM and MIT (Frankland et al., 2013). One possible alternative was to host a video conference with the speakers who could not arrive (Hornstein, 2015). However, in such a situation, the attendees might not turn up. An alternative that was feasible and could be suggested is that the arrival of the guests are postponed and accommodation is made for all the guests and participants, in case they cannot return, if it snows.
Most of the alternatives that have been mentioned above are not feasible as they might cause operational and financial loss (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). Moreover, since MIT is of international repute and the conference is also of international standard, with invitees from all over the world, hence any alternative cannot be suggested as the best alternative (Cummings & Worley, 2014). However, among the various possible alternatives, the alternative of choosing to pre-pone the travelling schedule and accommodating all the guests and participants could be the most suitable one.
The chosen alternative plan is to pre-pone the dates of travelling, by one day. This is help the participants and the guests to reach the venue safety and attend the conference (Hornstein, 2015). However, the operational cost would increase accommodation of so many participants and guests had to be made in the MIT campus (Frankland et al., 2013). However, this would be the best possible alternative.
In order to implement this plan, all the guests and participants would be informed by email. The email would convey that if the participants are not able to reach the venue due to the storm, they might avail to pre-pone their travel, such that could travel successfully, without being caught in the snow. However, for the guests and participants who find it feasible enough will travel on the scheduled date itself.
This is the best possible alternative. Along with the accommodation, provision for video conferences will also be made (Hayes, 2014). If the snow is worse and the participants could not arrive then they could attend the conference via video calls.
Conclusion
Thus, it might be concluded that the conference would not take place as planned, with favourable weather conditions. However, the next best possible way to host the conference on the scheduled date has been highlighted in this assignment. The SWIM club might choose the alternative plan of pre-pone of the arrival of the guests and the invitees, along with proving them accommodation. Moreover, the SWIM club has to arrange for video conference facilities, such that the invitees and the guests might be able to attend the conference virtually, even if they cannot attend it physically. Thus, this is the best possible, and feasible solution that could be implemented by the SWIM club such that the glory of the MIT Sloan and SWIM club could be maintained, along with achieving success in the annual conference.
References
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage learning.
Frankland, R., Mitchell, C. M., Ferguson, J. D., Sziklai, A. T., Verma, A. K., Popowski, J. E., & Sturgeon, D. H. (2013). U.S. Patent No. 8,484,111. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291-298.
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