FLEXIBLE BENEFITS SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AT MEDICAL CENTER CASE 1.2 ement a ne Senior management of Shah Alam Medical Center decided to system that would reduce the cost and improve the service of its emplo procure and implem yee benefits cover stem would have to meet four goals: improved responsiveness to employee nea s flexibility, better cost management, and greater coordination of human resoura re tives from four departments-Human Resources (HR). Financial Systems (FS), and Int Services (IS)-and six technical experts from the consulting firm of Hun and Baro tives with business strategies. A multifunctional team of 13 members was formed with Early in the project a workshop was held with participants from Shah Alam an B and finalize project objectives and develop a project plan, milestones, and schedule. Pr pletion was set at 10 months. In that time HBS had to develop and supply all hardware o clar Project com and soh- r the new system; the system had to be brought on-line, tested, and approved; HR work had to be trained how to operate the system and load existing employee data; all Shah employees had to be educated about and enrolled in the new benefits process; and the enr data had to be entered in the system director of FS was chosen to oversee the project. She had the technical background and had previously worked in the IS group in implementing Shah Alam’s patient care information system; everyone on the team approved of her appointment as project leader. She selected two team leaders to assist her, one each from HR and IS. The HR leader’s task was to ensure that the new system met HR requirements and the needs of Shah Alam employees. The iS leader’s task was to ensure that the new software interfaced with other Shah Alam system Members of the Shah Alam team worked on the project on a part-time basis, spending roughly half their time on the project and the other half on their normal daily duties. The project manager and team leaders also worked part-time on the project, although each gave the project priority hah Alam’s senior management had made it clear that meeting project requirements and time lines was imperative. The project manager was given authority over functional managers and roject team members for all project-related decisions QUESTIONS 1. What form of project management (basic, program, etc.] does this case m resemble? most closely The project manager is also the director of FS, one of several departments that w ted by the new benefits system. Does this seem like a good idea? What are the pros a cons of her being selected? and on the team members part-time assignment to the project and the expectation that they give the project top priority Much of the success of thi not employed by Shah Alam, namely the HBS consultants. They must develop hardware/software benefits system. Why was an outside firm likely chosen s project depends on the performance of team members the entire art What difficulties might this pose to the project man for such an in meeting project goals?