Project Execution

An Introductionto Project Management

MGMT8550-23W

The company you work for has a wellness program for employees. This includes providing health and fitness information, ongoing encouragement, and regular activities for employees. The company has started a project to help people in your company lose weight and you have been assigned as the project manager. (assume there are approximately 500 people in your company).

This project involves a competition in which employees have formed into teams who encourage each other and monitor their weight loss weekly. The team with the greatest weight loss will be rewarded by being given tickets for a popular show or sporting event or some similar incentive. The competition will be six months long and you have a budget of $5,000.

You are halfway through the project, and morale is very low. The employees are losing interest and some of the teams are not making progress. Although many people have been participating and have lost weight initially, many have plateaued or started gaining weight back. You realize that this is a motivational challenge and draw on your knowledge of motivational theories from MGMT8550 to solve this problem. Keep in mind that a person's weight is a sensitive issue and that employee participation in a program like this must be voluntary and cannot be tied to job performance in any way.

For the scenario above, choose one of the motivational theories studied in the Executing Process Group. Explain the theory in 2 - 3 sentences. Decide how you will use this theory to address the motivational issue in the project described above. This will be your plan. Then in 3-5 sentences explain how your plan will use the theory to address the motivational challenge. Note, no additional research is required for this assignment.

Your answer will be approximately of a page in length and include the following headings.The marks for each section are noted in brackets.

1. Name of the theory or technique being used. (1)
2. Explanation of the theory or technique. (2)
3. Plan to address the motivational challenge. (2)
4. Description of how the plan is making use of the theory or technique. (2)

• Overall quality, professional written language, and thoroughness (3)
  • Including correct spelling, proper choice of words (it's better to use a simpler word, than to use the wrong word), proper grammar, no run-on sentences etc. and answer provided with the headings and format noted above.