On a project spanning several international locations, a pattern of delays was detected. Investigation showed key activities were scheduled during overseas office holiday periods. What should the project manager do next?

The project manager should update the schedule to reflect the actual availability of resources due to holidays and then redistribute work. This proactive approach addresses the root cause of the delays (unaccounted holidays) and attempts to mitigate the impact on the project timeline by optimizing resource allocation. Simply updating the schedule and informing the sponsor is insufficient as it doesn't try to solve the problem. Hiring temporary staff or asking for overtime are less desirable options as they increase costs and may not be feasible or sustainable solutions for recurring holiday periods.