GEC Scenario #38: Design Work

Submitted by GEC on Mon, 04/16/2018 - 19:10

This sample scenario is from a collection of 70+ Global Engineering Competency (GEC) scenarios developed for instructional and assessment purposes. For more information, including links to usage tips and other supporting resources, visit our About page.

As an engineer in a U.S.-based manufacturing firm, you are sent to Stuttgart to lead a product design partnership with a German company. The joint venture has been underway for nearly two years. You are preparing for a joint planning meeting with your German counterparts. Your American colleagues want to stop the design work because costs are mounting and the product nearly meets the original design specifications. What would you do?

  1. As team leader, declare that the design phase is ending.
  2. As team leader, give a presentation that builds a strong case for stopping the design work.
  3. Seek additional resources to continue the design work.
  4. Ask your American team members to take the lead in proposing an end to the design work.
  5. Before the meeting, try to get the leader of the German group to agree with stopping the design work.
  6. Seek support from management to revise the original design specifications. 

Recommended Uses: INSTRUCTION/TRAINING (see our GEC Resource Guide for additional guidance)

Citation: Jesiek, B. K. and Woo, S. E. (Eds.). (2018). GEC Scenario #38: Design Work. Retrieved from https://geec.info/gec38

License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 1160455 and 1254323. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. We also acknowledge support for this work from Purdue's Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment and Research (CILMAR).
Tags: 
engineering cultures
Germany
inter-organizational
hierarchical/vertical
product manager
design
joint venture