Business Finance Homework Help

Activity I – Qualitative Risk Assessment.
Imagine that you are a member of a project team that has been charged
with developing a new product for the residential building industry.
Using a qualitative risk analysis matrix, develop a risk assessment for a
project based on the following information: :

Identified risk factors Likelihood

1. Key team members pulled off project 1. High

2. Chance of economic downturn 2. Low

3. Project funding cut 3. Medium

4. Project scope changes 4. High

5. Poor spec. performance 5. Low

1. Based
   on this information, how would you rate the consequences of each of the
   identified risk factors? Why? Construct the risk matrix and classify
   each of the risk factors in the matrix.

Activity II – Sochi Olympics—What’s the Cost of National Prestige?

The
Sochi Olympics was an example of project costs running out of control;
so much so that the final price tag (estimated to be more than $50
billion), dwarfed the costs of every other Olympic Games to this point
in time. In addition to picking a questionable, sub-tropical location
for the Games, from the very beginning, the process of developing the
site was subject to meddling from politicians, including President
Vladimir Putin. Another major cost to the final price tag was related to
charges of wide-spread corruption, as sub-projects for the Games (such
as infrastructure, buildings, and roads) ended up with highly inflated
price tags. This is a great case for general class discussion as we
consider the purpose for Olympic Games, the challenges of cost control
with critical deadlines that must be adhered to, and the fact that costs
are rising for Games to the point where in 2017, Rome, Budapest, and
several other cities withdrew their bids to host the 2024 Olympics
because they could not trust the final costs and could not justify the
value they would gain versus the costs of the project.

Questions

1. Consider
   the following statement: “Government-funded projects intended to serve
   as ‘prestige projects,’ such as the Sochi Olympics, should not be judged
   on the basis of cost.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
   Why?
2. Project
   success is defined as adherence to budget, schedule, functionality
   (performance), and client satisfaction. Under these criteria, cite
   evidence that suggests the Sochi Olympics project was a success and/or
   failure.
3. When
   a project has a “hard gate,” like being ready on time, how does that
   affect normal success criteria? Is it fair to judge a project with a
   critical completion date by normal project success standards? Why or
   why not?
4. Consider
   the problems with the Rio Olympics sites that quickly occurred
   following completion of the 2016 Summer Games. Access the internet to
   find evidence of the current state of the Sochi Olympic site. How is it
   being used and what are the current problems and opportunities for
   Sochi?