KEY DEFINITIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Key Definitions

Concurrent Engineering

An approach to project staffing that, in its most general form, calls for implementors to be involved in the design phase. (Sometimes confused with fast tracking)

Functional Manager

A manager responsible for activities in a specialized department or function. (e.g., engineering, manufacturing, marketing)

Functional Organization

An organization structure in which staff are grouped hierarchically by specialty.

Line Manager

(1) The manager of any group that actually makes a product or performs a service.
(2) A functional manager.

Matrix Organization

Any organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of individuals assigned to the project.

Organizational Breakdown Structure

A depiction of the project organization arranged so (OBS) as to relate work packages to organizational units.

Project Management Team

The members of the project team who are directly involved in project management activities. On some smaller projects, the project management team may include virtually all of the project team members.

Project Manager

The individual responsible for managing a project.

Project Team Members

The people who report either directly or indirectly to the project manager.

Projectized Organization

Any organizational structure in which the project manager has full authority to assign priorities and to direct the work of individuals assigned to the project.

Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)

A structure which relates the project organization structure to the WBS to help ensure that each element of the project's scope of work is assigned to a responsible individual.

Team Development

Developing individual and group skills to enhance project performance.




Human Resources Management Processes



Organizational Planning

  • The process of identifying, documenting, and assigning project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships.
  • Input includes:
    • Project interfaces:
      • Organizational interfaces: formal and informal reporting relationships among different organizational units.
      • Technical interfaces: formal and informal reporting relationships among different technical disciplines.
      • Interpersonal interfaces: formal and informal reporting relationships among different individuals working on the project.
    • Staffing requirements: define what kinds of skills are required from what kinds of individuals or groups in what time frames. (a subset of the overall resource requirements)
    • Constraints: factors that limit the project team's options. May include the following:
      • Organizational structure
      • Collective bargaining agreements (union agreements, etc.)
      • Preferences of the project management team (what worked before, etc)
      • Expected staff assignments (skills and capabilities of specific individuals)
  • Methods used:
    • Templates
    • Human resource practices
    • Organizational theory
    • Stakeholder analysis
  • Output includes:
    • Role and responsibility assignments:
      • Roles are who does what while responsibilities are who decides what
      • Roles and responsibilities must be assigned to the appropriate project stakeholders.
      • Should be closely linked to the project scope definition. A RAM can be used for this purpose.
    • Staffing Management Plan:
      • Describes when and how human resources will be brought onto and taken off the project team.
      • A subsidiary element of the project plan.
      • Should also consider how project team members will be released when no longer needed. (should reduce or eliminate the need to "make work" to fill in the time between one assignment and the next, and should reduce or eliminate the uncertainty about future employment opportunities)
    • Organization chart
    • Supporting Detail: May include:
      • Organizational impact: what alternatives are precluded by organizing in this manner.
      • Job descriptions (also called position descriptions)
      • Training needs



Staff Acquisition

  • The process of getting the required human resources assigned and working on the project.
  • Input includes:
    • Staffing management plan
    • Staffing pool description: Considerations include:
      • Previous experience
      • Personal interests (Do they want to work on the project?)
      • Personal characteristics (Will the individuals or groups work well together?)
      • Availability (Will the most desirable individuals or groups be available in the necessary time frame?)
    • Recruitment practices
  • Methods used:
    • Negotiations
    • Pre-assignment: staff may be pre-assigned as part of project charter or as part of an awarded competitive proposal agreement where certain staff was agreed upon.
    • Procurement: used when organization lacks sufficient in-house human resource or skills.
  • Output includes:
    • Project staff assigned
    • Project team directory



Team Development

  • The process of developing individual and group skills to enhance project performance.
  • Input includes:
    • Project staff
    • Project plan
    • Staffing management plan
    • Performance reports: Provides feedback to the project team about performance against the project plan
    • External feedback: Project team must periodically measure itself against the performance expectations of those outside the project.
  • Methods used:
    • Team-building activities
    • General management skills (reference PMBOK, 2.4)
    • Reward and recognition systems
    • Collocation: involves placing all, or almost all, of the most active project team members in the same physical location to enhance their ability to perform as a team. (a war room is an example of collocation)
    • Training
  • Output includes:
    • Performance improvements: improved project performance. Improvements can affect many areas of project performance such as:
      • Improvements in individual skills may allow personnel to perform their work more effectively.
      • Improvements in team behaviors may allow team members to devote a greater percentage of their effort to technical activities.
      • Improvements in either individual skills or team capabilities may facilitate identifying and developing better ways of doing project work.




Human Resources Management Concepts



Organizational Systems

  • Project based: Operations consist primarily of projects. Two categories:
    • Organizations that derive their revenue primarily from performing projects for others (architectural firms, engineering firms, consultants, construction contractors, government contractors, etc.)
    • Organizations that have adopted management by projects
      • Have management systems such as accounting, financial, reporting and tracking in place to facilitate project management
  • Non-project based:
    • Absence of project-oriented systems generally makes project management more difficult.
    • Examples include: manufacturing companies, financial service firms, etc.



Organizational Cultures and Style

  • Culture is reflected in shared values, beliefs, norms, expectations, policies, procedures, view of authority relationships, etc.
  • Organizational cultures often have a direct influence on the project.
    • A team proposing an unusual or high-risk approach is more likely to secure approval in an aggressive or entrepreneurial organization.
    • A project manager with a highly participative style may encounter problems in a rigidly hierarchical organization while a project manager with an authoritarian style may be equally challenged in a participative organization.
  • Project managers need to be aware of the organization's cultures and style.



Organizational Structure

  • The organization's structure often constrains the availability of resources for the project.
  • Structure types:
    • Functional:
      • A hierarchy where each employee has one clear superior.
      • Staff are grouped by specialty, such as production, marketing, engineering, and accounting.
      • Project work is done independently within each department.
    • Project Expeditor (PE):
      • The project expeditor acts as a staff assistant to the executive who has ultimate responsibility for the project.
      • The workers remain in their functional organizations and provide assistance as needed.
      • The PE has little formal authority. The PE's primary responsibility is to communicate information between the executive and the workers.
      • Most useful in the traditional functional organization where the project's worth and costs are relatively low.
    • Project Coordinator (PC):
      • Project expeditor is moved out of facilitator position into a staff position reporting to a much higher level in the hierarchy.
      • The project coordinator has more authority and responsibility than a PE.
      • The PC has the authority to assign work to individuals within the functional organization.
      • The functional manager is forced to share resources and authority with the PC.
      • The size of projects in terms of dollars is relatively small compared to the rest of the organization.
    • Matrix: (see PMBOK, pgs. 21-22)
      • Maintains the functional (vertical) lines of authority while establishing a relatively permanent horizontal structure to interact with all functional units supporting the projects.
      • One result of the matrix is that workers frequently find themselves caught between the project manager and their functional manager.
      • Advantages: Improved PM control over resources, rapid response to contingencies, improved coordination effort across functional lines, people have a "home" after the project is over, etc. (See Principles of PM, pg. 18)
      • Disadvantages: Not cost effective due to excess administrative personnel, workers report to multiple bosses, more complex structure to monitor and control, higher potential for conflicts due to differing priorities, power struggles, and competition for resources, etc. (See Principles of PM, pg. 19)
      • Weak matrix: Maintains many of the characteristics of a functional organization. The project manager's role is more like that of a project coordinator or project expeditor.
      • Balanced matrix: In-between weak and strong. The project manager has more authority than in a weak matrix. The PM is more likely to be full-time than part-time as in a weak matrix.
      • Strong matrix: Similar in characteristics to a projectized organization. There is likely to be a department of project managers which are full-time.
    • Projectized:
      • Team members are often collocated.
      • Most of the organization's resources are involved in project work.
      • Project managers have a great deal of independence and authority.
      • Departments either report directly to the project manager or provide services to the various projects.



Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities

  • Integrator
    • PM is the most likely person who can view both the project and the way it fits into the overall plan for the organization.
    • Must coordinate the efforts of all the units of the project team.
  • Communicator
    • Communicates to upper management, the project team, and other stakeholders.
    • The PM who fails to decipher and pass on appropriate information to the appropriate people can become a bottleneck in the project.
    • The PM has the responsibility of knowing what kind of messages to send, who to send them to, and translating the messages into a language understood by all recipients.
  • Team Leader
    • Must be able to solve problems
    • Guide people from different functional areas
    • Coordinate the project to show leadership capabilities
  • Decision Maker
    • Makes key decisions such as allocation of resources, costs of performance and schedule tradeoffs, changing the scope, direction or characteristics of the project.
    • This is an important role with significant consequences for the project as a whole.
  • Climate Creator or Builder
    • The PM should attempt to build a supportive atmosphere so that project team members work together and not against one another.
    • Seek to avoid unrest and negative forms of conflict by building supportive atmosphere early.



Sources of Authority and Control: (Power)

  • The PM must deal with upper management, subordinates, functional managers, interface personnel, and people outside the firm.
  • The degree to which the PM can influence each of these groups will have a bearing on the success or failure of the project.
  • The PM must exert some type of power so that the necessary concessions or cooperation can be obtained.
    • Formal:
      • A legitimate (or positional) form of power.
      • Based on a person's formal position in the company.
    • Reward:
      • A legitimate (or positional) form of power.
      • Refers to positive consequences or outcomes that a person can offer.
    • Coercive (Penalty):
      • A legitimate (or positional) form of power.
      • Refers to negative consequences that a person can inflict on others. (firing, docking, reprimand, etc.)
    • Referent:
      • A form of personal power.
      • Refers to earned power when people admire a person and want to follow that person as a role model. Also called charisma.
    • Expert:
      • A form of personal power.
      • Refers to earned power that a person acquires based on his technical knowledge, skill, or expertise on some topic or issue.
    • NOTE: The exam may equate legitimate power with formal power. Formal power, reward power, and coercive power are considered legitimate forms of power. You'll have to figure out from the question as to what context legitimate is being used. Choose the best answer.



Leadership Styles

  • Many PM's have a preferred style of leadership.
  • Some may fit their leadership style to the situation.
  • Leadership styles have been described in terms of four possible extremes:<(as described in Adams, Principles of Project Management, pg. 158-159)
    • Autocratic:
      • The PM solicits little or no information from team.
      • Makes decision solely.
      • Also referred to as Directing.
    • Consultive autocrat:
      • Intensive information input is solicited from the team.
      • The PM still makes the decisions, solely.
      • May also be referred to as Persuading.
    • Consensus Manager:
      • Problem presented to the team for open discussion and information gathering.
      • Team makes decision.
      • Also referred to as Participating.
    • Shareholder Manager:
      • Little or no information exchange takes place within the group.
      • The team has the ultimate authority for the final decision.
      • Also referred to as Delegating.
      • This style is considered to be poor management.
    • NOTE: May also want to study the leadership styles as defined in Verma's, HR Skills for the PM, pg. 218. The styles are slightly different.



Motivation Theories

  • Motivation theories attempt to explain and analyze how personal and intrinsic factors interact and influence one another to produce certain types of behavior.
  • It is important for project managers to understand what motivates their workers.
  • Maslow's hierarchy of human needs: (from lower to higher)
    • Physiological needs
    • Security
    • Social
    • Self Esteem
    • Self Actualization
  • Herzberg related Maslow's needs to the job.
  • Eight well-known motivation theories:
    • Theory X: (developed by McGregor to describe how managers relate to subordinates)
      • Most people dislike their work and will avoid it.
      • Most people lack ambition and have little capacity for problem solving and creativity.
      • Workers prefer direction and avoid taking responsibility and initiative.
      • Workers motivated only by Maslow's lower level needs (physiological and safety).
      • Workers are self-centered, indifferent to the needs of the organization, and resistant to change.
    • Theory Y: (also developed by McGregor)
      • Most people meet high performance expectations if appropriately motivated and the climate supportive.
      • Most people are creative, imaginative, ambitious, and committed to meeting the organization's goals.
      • Most people are self-disciplined, can direct and control themselves, desire responsibilities, and accept them willingly.
      • Workers are motivated by Maslow's higher level needs (self esteem and self actualization)
    • Theory Z: (Developed by Ouchi. The source was the Japanese workplace)
      • Similar characteristics as Theory Y.
      • Management deems workers as trustworthy and capable of working without close supervision.
      • Workers are motivated by self esteem and self actualization.
      • Japanese management provides a supportive environment with lifetime employment, consensus decision making, and collective responsibility.
      • Ouchi compared Japanese organizations (Type J) with traditional American organizations (Type A).
      • Ouchi theorized that to the extent lifetime employment, consensus decision making, and collective responsibility could be incorporated into American organizations, then worker productivity and motivation would improve.
      • Ouchi called this new hybrid American organization, Type Z.
    • Contingency Theory: (Developed by Morse and Lorsch)
      • People have a central need to develop a sense of competence. This need continues to motivate even after competence has been achieved.
      • Project managers should ensure that there is a good match between team members' skills and their assignments and that the organizational climate is conducive to meeting team members needs and achieving a sense of competence.
    • Goal Setting Theory: (Developed by Latham and Locke)
      • Working towards a goal is a major source of job motivation.
      • Individuals have an internal desire to achieve goals.
      • Clear, specific, concise, and challenging goals motivate team members.
      • Project participants must be allowed to participate in setting goals, formulating plans and implementation strategies in order to gain participants' acceptance and commitment to meeting project goals.
    • Expectancy Theory: (Developed by Victor Vroom)
      • People think seriously about how much effort they should put into a task before doing it.
      • Motivation occurs if there is an expectation of a favorable outcome.
      • A person's behavior is based on the strength of their expectation that an act will be followed by a desired outcome or good performance.
      • A person's behavior is based on their expectation that good performance will be rewarded. The attractiveness of the reward to the individual also influences a person's behavior.
      • Project managers should try to ascertain the most important needs of their team via informal communication and by developing interrelationships with team members.
    • Reinforcement Theory: (Based on Skinner's behavior modification theories)
      • Human behavior is shaped by the previous positive or negative outcomes experienced by a person.
      • Desirable behavior will be repeated if rewarded and undesirable behavior can be discouraged by punishment.
    • Equity Theory: (Developed by Adams)
      • People are motivated by their desire to be treated equitably.
      • People compare their jobs and compensation with those of others on the project. Inequities can influence the degree of effort they exert.
      • Inequities can result in conflicts and problems, thus requiring considerable effort from the project manager, functional managers, and human resources personnel to resolve.
      • Project managers must ensure that all project participants are compensated fairly for their contributions to project success.
  • See Verma's, HR Skill for the PM, pg. 75, for general suggestions on motivating employees. The suggestions are taken from the best of the above motivation strategies.



Conflict Management

  • Contemporary view of conflict management:
    • Inevitable between humans
    • Often beneficial
    • Natural result of change
    • Can and should be managed
    • Neither good nor bad but can have positive and negative results for the organization.
  • The PM must carefully select the method of managing conflict appropriate for his organization so that an atmosphere conducive to constructive results is developed.
  • Five methods of managing conflict:
    • Withdrawal:
      • Retreating from actual or potential disagreements and conflict situations.
      • Appropriate only in certain situations such as when a cooling-off period is needed.
      • A temporary tactic: does not resolve the conflict, only delays it.
    • Smoothing:
      • De-emphasizes differences and emphasizes commonalities.
      • Keeps the atmosphere friendly.
      • A temporary tactic: does not resolve the conflict, only delays it.
      • Should be used in conjunction with another method.
    • Compromising:
      • Considers various issues and searches for solutions which bring some degree of satisfaction to the conflicting parties.
      • This method is considered to be a lose-lose. Both parties must give up something that is important to them; however, this method usually provides some acceptable form of resolution.
    • Forcing:
      • Exerts one's viewpoint at the potential expense of another party.
      • This method provides resolution but is considered to be a win-lose.
    • Problem Solving: (confrontation)
      • Directly addresses disagreements.
      • Conflict is treated as a problem. The problem is defined; information is collected; alternatives are identified and analyzed, and the most appropriate alternative is selected.
      • Theoretically considered the best because both parties can be satisfied if they work together to solve the problem.
      • Both parties must want to solve the problem and be willing to work together.
      • Time-consuming method.
      • This method is considered to be a win-win.



One Party Conflict Management

  • This method relates more specifically to personal styles.
  • Five styles of handling conflict:
    • Win-lose:
      • High concern for personal goals and low concern for relationships.
      • Related to the forcing method above.
    • Yield-Lose:
      • Low concern for personal goals and high concern for relationships.
      • Related to the smoothing method above.
    • Lose-Leave:
      • Low concern for personal goals and low concern for relationships.
      • Related to the withdrawal method above.
    • Compromise:
      • Moderate concern for personal goals and moderate concern for relationships.
      • Related to the compromise method above.
    • Integrative:
      • High concern for personal goals and high concern for relationships.
      • Related to the problem solving method above.



Team Building

  • Definition: the process of getting a diverse group of individuals to work together effectively as a team.
  • Purpose: to get project team members focused on the big-picture and to concentrate on overall project goals.
  • Characteristics of an effective team:
    • Team members must be interdependent
    • Team members must have a reason for working together.
    • Team members must be committed to working together.
    • The team as a whole must be accountable.
    • Team members must have a moderate level of competition and conflict.
  • Symptoms of bad teamwork:
    • Frustration
    • Conflict and unhealthy competition
    • Unproductive meetings
    • Lack of trust or confidence in the project manager
  • Team building process guide. (Must be carried out by the PM although not necessarily in this sequence):
    • Plan for team building.
    • Negotiate for team members.
    • Organize the team.
    • Hold a kick-off meeting.
    • Obtain team member commitments.
    • Build communication links.
    • Conduct team-building exercises.
    • Incorporate team-building activities into all project activities.
  • Effective Team Communications:
    • Be an effective communicator.
    • Be a communications expediter.
    • Get rid of communication blockers.
    • Use a tight matrix.
    • Have a war room.
    • Make meetings effective.
      • Establish a meeting policy.
      • Only call a meeting if there is a real need.
      • Make the purpose of the meeting clear.
      • Prepare an agenda and follow it.
      • Encourage participation.
      • Use meetings as part of the team building process.
      • Issue minutes.
      • Follow-up on assigned tasks and action items.

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