Discuss two
situations in the past four years where you have taken an active
leadership role. How do these events demonstrate your managerial
potential? (Anderson)
Wellwork Action
Team
After working
nearly a year as a production engineer, one morning I experienced a kind
of epiphany. I realized that our profit center had effectively gained
manpower and resources in the form of increased attention from vendors
with whom we had recently formed strategic alliances. By improving
communication between these vendors as well as between our profit center
and these companies, I envisioned a unified approach that could improve
and expedite our production operations. With the encouragement of the
operations superintendent, I arranged a brainstorming session for
supervisory level personnel from our operations staff and our new
alliance partner’s companies. From that session, a “Wellwork Action
Team” was created with the specific purpose of improving and
streamlining our operations procedures in order to reduce the cost of
increase the quality of our projects in the field.
After being chosen
facilitator for our Wellwork Action Team, I set for myself two personal
goals: first, to maintain enthusiasm among team members and second, to
implement the ideas and concepts brought forth by our team into our
everyday procedures. To ensure continued involvement, I first convinced
myself that the potential benefits that might be gained from having this
team merited the time and energy of its participants. Next, I personally
committed myself to the project and firmly discussed my commitment with
each of team members. Third, I led the team in drafting a mission
statement and clearly defining our goals. We identified measurements by
which we could evaluate our progress. Finally, I promised the team
members that we would keep meetings to a minimum and re-evaluate the
usefulness of our team in eight weeks.
From June 1995 to
the present, our Wellwork Action Team has successfully increased
efficiency in our oil pumps, reduced electrical costs by 6 percent, and
nearly doubled the production of three oil wells. As our team continues
to evolve, we envision reducing our wellwork budget from $5.0
million/year in 1995 to $4.6 million/year in 1996 while maintaining oil
production and reducing operating expenses. Our current challenges
include overcoming conflicts in the schedules of our team members and
providing for long-term oil recovery as well as short-term cost
reduction.
Applying New
Technologies
When most people
envision an oil well, they picture ten-foot-high rod pumping units, the
kind common to Los Angeles and West Texas because of their durability,
availability, and efficiency. With 300 wells on a mere 10 acre island,
however, these units are impractical for our use; a less efficient,
higher cost and lower-profile type of centrifugal pump is employed by
our company. Recently, a small L.A. firm invented a new method of using
common rod-type pumps without the bulky surface equipment. This marriage
of new technology with old rod-style pumping appeared to have
significant potential for reducing costs on our island. Although I do
not normally design our pumping equipment, I assumed active project
leadership when deciding to install the first unit and apply the new
technology.
Because our
operations personnel and vendor partners were unaccustomed to handling
hundreds of 30-foot long rods and putting them into use, I met with the
inventor of the new subsurface equipment and two related vendors who
would supply the rods. Rather than provide specifications to each vendor
for a bid as is customary, I chose one vendor from the onset and
entrusted him with the project. I assigned him to work with the inventor
of the new equipment and asked them to together devise a low cost, high
quality engineering design for us. In doing so, the possibility existed
for them to overdesign and overprice the equipment, reducing efficiency
and thus defeating our purpose. Nevertheless, a tremendous upside
potential existed in allowing the vendors to harmonize their efforts and
experience. I hoped to receive a superior product born from the sweat
equity of their two companies.
My strategy was
tested in November 1994 when two units were installed. They have
operated without failure since installation and have reduced operating
costs by 38 percent on those wells. In this instance, my management
challenge was to delegate non-traditional responsibilities to our
vendors. I feel that this experience has improved our business process
and taken us further down the path towards mutually beneficial business
relationships with our vendors. I will continue to work in this manner,
keeping a careful eye out for the abuse potential created when allowing
a vendor to design and price their own equipment for our applications.
These two examples
have several positive qualities. First, they are concise and well
structured. Second, although both situations come from the professional
sphere, they balance well with each other. One focuses more on office
policy and stresses the applicant’s ability to see the big picture in
management. The other deals with an in-the-field hands-on engineering
solution and stresses his inventiveness, attention to detail, and
technological skills. Third, these examples stress unique background-not
many business school applicants would understand how to design
oil-pumping equipment. They show that he is not afraid to get his hands
dirty. Finally, the essayist gives very detailed proof of tangible
results
