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.
