The Three Cannibals: Part One- The Problem
By Patricio Torres-Palacio, Ph.D.—
Managers work with projects all the time. It is pretty much their job. For such a goal, knowledge and skills are necessary. Among the managerial skills that are indispensable for success in Project Management, several could be highlighted: presentation, critical thinking, team building, and ingenuity. Some of the most successful businesses are the result of some of the most ingenious solutions.
The following is a problem used as class exercise in MBA 5358 “System Project Management.” The challenge is to use ingenuity to find the solution to the problem.
Part One: The Problem
You are a successful and well-known Project Manager who is an expert in planning. One day you are just relaxing at your office when the phone rings. It is a close friend of yours, an archeologist who has traveled with two assistants to the jungle to explore proofs of an ancient civilization. He is calling you from his cellphone, and he seems very frightened.
YOU: Hello?
YOUR FRIEND: Oh, I am so glad I found you! I am in serious trouble! Because you are an expert in planning, you are the only one who can help me.
YOU: What happened? How can I help you?
YOUR FRIEND: My two colleagues and I were exploring a dense part of the jungle when we reached a river. We were thinking about crossing the river when suddenly we noticed that we were surrounded by three cannibals. The cannibals said that the only thing they wanted was to cross the river as well, but we certainly did not trust them. I think that if we do not take measures, we are going to be eaten by the cannibals.
YOU: OK, tell me more about the situation
YOUR FRIEND: At the river there is only one little boat. In the boat only one or maximum two people can fit. Obviously, the person or at least one of the two persons who take the boat to cross the river must know how to row. All of us, the three explorers, know how to row and only one of the three cannibals knows how to row. The most important thing is that in any scenario the number of cannibals should not be greater than the number of explorers because we are sure that if that happens, they will eat us. Please, please, give us a detailed plan on how to solve this situation.
YOU: OK, OK, I am going to start thinking about it right away and will get back to you with a detailed plan of what to do.
YOUR FRIEND: OK but please hurry up; I think we are in danger here.
You hang up the phone and start to work on that plan immediately.
What is your plan?
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Please feel free to comment with your solutions, and check our blog next week for a post on the “solution.”
Patricio Torres-Palacio, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Operations Management, Cameron School of Business