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Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester III Course: Master of Business Administration Subject: Managing Human Resources in Projects Subject Code – PM0013 Semester: III Assignment No: 1239 Date of Submission at the Learning Centre: 06/12/2010 ASSIGNMENTS – Set 1 Q. 1 Write short notes on a. McGregor’s theory b. Maslow’s Theory c. Precedence diagramming method Staffing Management Plan d. Dependency determination McGregor’s Theory McGregor’s Theory X and Y are appealing to managers and dramatically demonstrate the divergence in management viewpoints toward employees.
As such, Theory X and Y have been extremely helpful in promoting management understanding of supervisory styles and employee motivational assumptions. There are two aspects of McGregor’s Theory: · X theory · Y theory X theory: 1. Employees normally do not like to work and will try to avoid it 2. Since employees do not like working, they have to be coerced, controlled, directed and threatened with punishment to motivate them to work 3. The average employee is lazy, shuns responsibility, is not ambitious, needs direction and principally desires security Y theory: . Work is as natural as play and therefore people desire to work 2. Employees are responsible for accomplishing their own work objectives 3. Comparable personal rewards are important for employee commitment to achieve work goals 4. Under favorable conditions, the average employee will seek and accept responsibility 5. Employees can be innovative in solving organizational problems 6. Most organizations utilize only a small proportion of their employees’ abilities Maslow’s theory:
The focus on human influences in organizations was reflected most noticeably by the integration of Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of human needs” into organization theory. Maslow’s theories have two important implications for organization theory: 1. People have different needs and are therefore motivated by different incentives to achieve organizational objectives 2. People’s needs change predictably over time, which means that – new needs arise as the needs of people lower in the hierarchy are met
The various levels of Maslow’s theory are: [pic] The precedence diagramming method (Which is also known by the three letter anagram PDF) refers to a specific project management technique in which the project management team and or the project management team leader employs a schedule network diagramming technique in order to graphically represent any known and preexisting schedule activities via the use of boxes (which can also be referred to as nodes).
Once all of these particular schedule activities have been graphically displayed in this box, or node format, at that point all of the individual boxes are linked together via the use of a line which represents any logical relationship (of if there are more than one, logical relationships) that are found to exist. The fundamental and most significant benefit to using the precedence diagramming method format technique is that it quickly and easily allows the project management team and or the project management team leader to view all schedule activities and their relationships with one another.
Q. 2 Describe the following conflict resolution styles a. Avoidant Approach b. Accommodating Approach c. Consensus Approach d. Collaborative Approach Ans: Avoidant: Some people will do anything to avoid a direct confrontation. They agree even though they are opposed to the outcome. This style can not be tolerated on the project team. Each person’s input and opinion must be sought. It is the responsibility of the project manager to make sure that this happens. A simple device is to ask each team member in turn what he or she thinks about the situation and what he or she suggests be done about it.
Often this approach will diffuse any direct confrontation between two individuals on the team. Accommodating: Here, one party is ready for keeping the psychological door open to the other party. When the issue is more important to oneself than to the other person, this strategy works better under such situations. Forgetting or Forgiving on one issue may be key to moving the conflict to a new level where issues may be discussed better. It can be a useful, but a temporary fix among the parties. Consensus Building:
Consensus building is a process that a team can follow to reach agreement on which alternative to proceed with for the item (action, decision, and so forth) under consideration. The agreement is not reached by a majority vote, or any vote for that matter. Rather, the agreement is reached through discussion, whereby each participant reaches a point when he or she has no serious dis agreement with the decision that is about to be taken. The decision will have been revised several times for the participants to reach that point.
Consensus building is an excellent tool to have in the project team tool kit. In all but a few cases, there will be a legitimate difference of opinion as to how a problem or issue should be addressed. There will be no clear-cut action on which all can agree. In such situations the team must fashion an action or deci sion with which no team members have serious disagreement even though they may not agree in total with the chosen action. To use the method success fully, make sure that everyone on the team gets to speak.
Talk through the issue until an acceptable action is identified. Conflict is good, but tries to be creative as you search for a compromise action. As soon as no one has serious objections to the defined action, you have reached consensus. Once a decision is reached, all team members must support it. If the project manager chooses to operate on a consensus basis, he or she must clearly define the situations in which consensus will be acceptable. The team needs to know these situations. Collaborative approach: In this approach, the team looks for win-win opportunities.
The approach seeks out a common ground as the basis for moving ahead to a solution. This approach encourages each team member to put his or her opinions on the table and not avoid the conflict that may result. At the same time, team members do not seek to create conflict unnecessarily. The approach is constructive, not destructive. Q. 3 List and explain in brief the key features of a project Ans: Relevance of HRM trends in Projects The development of HRM in projects is part of a more general development of HRM and of trends linked to HRM issues in a wider industry context.
The three important working life and HRM trends: knowledge intensity, individualisation, and decentralisation of HR responsibilities; are put forth by practitioners as well as by researchers, and they are particularly interesting and relevant in relation to the increased use of project-based structures and work systems. Knowledge intensity and competence development The trend of knowledge intensity refers to the focus on knowledge as the most strategically-significant resource of the firm.
Knowledge is then considered to be the fundamental source of competitive advantage and there is also a stream of research that addresses the ‘knowledge economy’ and ‘knowledge workers’. Moreover, several researchers argue that knowledge intensity is tightly coupled with the increased use of project-based structures. For example, Sydow, et al. (2004:1475) suggests that “Recent interest in the emerging knowledge economy has reinforced the view that project organizations in their many varieties are a fast and flexible mode of organizing knowledge resources. For knowledge-intensive organizations and their survival in highly competitive markets, the skills and competencies of individual employees are then crucial, so competence and competence development are important issues. This is reflected in the results from the Cranet Survey 20041, which indicate that firms invest more than ever in competence development of their employees. Today’s working life, in which employees change employer and assignments increasingly often, requires a solid competence base and an individual responsibility for developing that base.
Several authors have also discussed changes in traditional competence development approaches within contemporary organizations, due to the increasingly knowledge-intensive work, changing organizational structures and project-based work. In this context, project-based learning is a product of the times. Individualization and employability Another trend, closely related to the first one, is the ‘individualization’ of working life and society which has had, and keeps having, a great influence on HRM.
The Cranet Survey 2004 reveals that employment contracts are increasingly being closed on an individual level; the importance of central union negotiations has decreased. Moreover, individuals seek less support from central unions and more frequently act independently. Work and career have become a ‘life project’ with the purpose of self-realization and that loyalty therefore is closer attached to the own person than to any collective forms of loyalty bases. Authors claim that jumping between organizations is becoming a natural part of working life.
This is a trend that is also acknowledged internationally by authors who discuss people’s ‘project-based learning’ as a ‘career capital’ that can be invested in current and future project activities. On the one hand, the individualization places higher requirements on organizations to create attractive and developing working environments in order to attract and keep valuable employees. On the other hand, it also involves an increased responsibility of co-workers in the employee-employer relationship.
This development implies an empowerment of the individuals in their working life, and an important source of motivation, but there might also be a backside of the coin. The increased requirements on ‘stressed-out knowledge workers’ reflect on their own learning and development through project-based ‘curricula’. Q. 4 Write a note on human resource planning. Ans: 1. Objectives of Manpower Planning:- The persons concerned with manpower planning must be clear about goals of manpower planning because once the wrong forecast of future requirement of human resources are made, it may not be possible to rectify the errors in short-run. . Current Manpower Inventory:- Assessment of demand for operating personnel presents less problems of uncertainty & current manpower supply can be adjusted accordingly. But for supervisory and managerial levels projection is complex problem because required talents are not available at a short notice. This will also help in drawing recruitment & development plans to meet the needs of certain skills future. 3. Demand Forecasting:- A proper forecast of manpower required in future say, after one year, two years & so on must be attempted.
The factors relevant for manpower forecasting are as follows. (i) Employment Trends:- Manpower planning committee show examine number of employees on pay roll during past 5 year to knew trend within each group to determine whether particular group has been stable or unstable. (ii) Replacement Needs:- arises due to death, retirement, resignation & termination of employees. It may relate to supervisory, skilled, clarical groups and must be anticipated in advance. (iii) Productivity:- Gain in productivity will also influence requirements of manpower. Planning for productivity has several aspects.
The first aspect relates to effective utilisation of manpower. The second aspect relates to installation of more productive tools, equipments. The last aspect relates to matching of skills with requirements of jobs. (iv) Growth & Expansion:- A good organization always tries to adopt itself to change in method & techniques of Production. Therefore Manpower planner should take all these factors into account while studying impact of various business expansion plans on manpower requirements. (v) Absenteeism:- Means a situation when a person fails to come for work when he is scheduled to work.
Due to absenteeism work get upset leading to overtime work which in turn leads to increased cost of production. The management should go into cause of absenteeism & attempt to reduce absentism as far as possible. (vi) Work Study:- Can be used when it is possible to apply work measurement to know how long operations should take & amount of labour required. This is also known as ‘workload analysis. ‘ 4. Job Requirements:- Job analysis is the qualitative aspect of manpower requirements since it determines what is the quantum of work which an average person can do on a job in a day.
It facilitates division of work in to different jobs. 5. Employment Plans:- This phase deals with planning how organization can obtain required number of right type of personnel as reflected by personnel forecasts. 6. Training & Development Programme:- Training is essential not only for new employees but also for old employees for improving their performance. Similarly executive development programmes have to be devised for development of managerial personnel. The talent of employees are not fully productive without a systematic programme of training & development. 7.
Appraisal of Manpower Planning:- After training programmes have been implemented, an appraisal must be made of effectiveness of manpower planning. Deficiencies in programmes should be pointed out & catalogue of manpower inventory should be updated periodically. Corrective actions should also be taken whenever it is necessary to remove deficiencies in manpower planning. Q. 5 what do we mean by developing a project team process. Enumerate the 5 stages of team development. Ans: Developing the Project Team The business-to-business environment is changing, and those changes are per manent.
Organizations are routinely outsourcing processes that are not part of their core business or core expertise. There are two reasons for choosing to use contract team members instead of the company’s own employees: · Shortage of staff · Shortage of skills Those shortages have made it possible for a whole new type of business to grow – tech-temps are the name we associate with this new business opportu nity. The day of the small contractor and niche market player is here to stay. To the project manager, this brings the need to effectively manage a team whose membership will probably include outside contractors.
Some may be with the project for only a short time. Others may be no different from core teams except they are not employees of your company. Typically, contracted team members are available for only short periods of time on the project. They possess a skill that is needed for just a brief time. They are assigned to the project when it is time for them to contribute their skills. As soon as they have completed their assigned task, they leave the project. Organizing the Project Team Now that you have identified the individuals who will become the project team, it is time to make them function as a team.
Remember right now that they are a herd of cats; they are not a team – at least not yet. First, we’ll briefly look at authority and responsibility, then several procedural matters that the team will have to discuss and agree on. Authority Authority and responsibility go hand in hand. To have one and not the other makes no sense. How often have we been in situations where we were respon sible for making a certain thing happen but had no authority over the resources needed to make it happen or no authority to make and carry out a decision?
To be effective, the project manager must have authority over the” project. It is his or her job to get the project done on time, within budget, and according to specification. That authority is often delegated, but it is the project manager who is ultimately responsible. The major difficulty that project managers have is that the project team is not their line responsibility. Team members are assigned based on their expertise but report to other managers, which means that the project manager will have to exercise the best leadership skills and diplomacy to get the job done.
The key is in the project planning activities that schedule resources to windows of time. It is here that the resource manager makes the commitment of people resources. Honoring that commitment within the time allotted reduces the incidence of problems. If the project manager remembers to keep the resource managers involved and aware of all project changes, negotiations will proceed better when circumstances warrant. Responsibility There is no question where the responsibility lies. This responsibility cannot be delegated.
The project manager assigns activity management responsibility to team members. They are then responsible for completing their assigned activ ity within its scheduled window of time and for producing the activity deliv erables on time according to specification. It is the project manager, though, who is ultimately responsible for completing the project as expected. In con veying this sense of responsibility to each team member, the project manager must exercise sound leadership and management skills.
He or she will do this by maintaining a consistent level of interest in and communication with each of their activity managers, by involving them and engaging them in planning, change management deliberations, and problem resolution. He or she will keep everybody on the team informed of project status. Balancing a Team Balance on the team is a critical success factor for any team that hopes to suc cessfully complete its project. There are several ways to measure balance and several characteristics of the team that have been used to define balance. Let’s take a simple example – learning styles.
Learning styles are measured using an instrument, the Learning Styles Inventory (LSI), which was developed by David Kolb in 1981. Kolb identifies four learning styles: Assimilating. Assimilators are people who excel at collecting and repre senting data in crisp logical form. They are focused on ideas and concepts rather than people. These individuals like to put data and information together into models that explain the situation from a larger perspective. As a result, they are more interested in something making sense logically than they are in any practical value.
They are not results-oriented people. These types of individuals are generally found in the more technical or specialist careers, such as developers. Diverging. These individuals like to look at alternatives and view the situation from a variety of perspectives. They would rather observe than take action. Divergers like brainstorming and generally have a broad range of interests and like together information. On a project team these people will often suggest outside-the-box thinking and offer suggestions for other approaches than those that may have already been identified. Accommodating.
These individuals are results-oriented and want to put things into practice. They are adaptive and can easily change with the circumstances. Accommodators are people persons. They are strong at imple mentation and hands-on activities and are good team players. They tend to be action-oriented and more spontaneous than logical. As problem solvers they rely on people for input rather than on any technical analysis. On the project team you can count on these people to help foster a strong sense of teamwork, and they will often be found facilitating the working together of team members.
They will often be the peacekeepers as well. Converging. These individuals like to assemble information in order to solve problems. They like to converge to the correct solution. Convergers are the solution finders but not the solution implementers. Their strength lies in their ability to take concepts, models, and ideas and turn them into practical use. They are not particularly people-oriented and would rather work with technical tasks and problems. They are good at picking the best option among a number of alternatives.
On the project team these will be the results-oriented members. They will drive the team into action by help ing it focus on which approach to a situation is best and then mobilizing the team into action. Now suppose you have a team that is loaded with convergers and does not have a single diverger among their members. What do you think might hap pen? With no one on the team to encourage looking for alternatives (the role of the diverger), you would very likely have a rush to judgment, or “group think,” as the convergers press the team into action.
We have personally wit nessed many situations where a single approach to a problem is presented, and the convergers on the team aggressively suggest that the team go forward with the single proposed solution without even considering whether there is an alternative. Teams that are involved in high-technology projects are likely to display this behavior, A team that has balanced learning styles among its members is a team that is prepared to do a very good job at solving problems and making decisions. Q. 6 List & explain the 3 major issues related to delegation which need close scrutiny.
Ans: Delegation Delegation is considered essential when one has to be at more than one place and doing more than one thing simultaneously. A manager at his individual level can achieve this by entrusting some task to the care or management of his subordinates. In project management delegation has to take place not only at the individual level but also at the institutional level. An organization desirous of executing a project will be required to delegate authority to the project manager commensurate with the tasks entrusted to him.
The project manager, in turn, may entrust a part of his task to insiders and part to outside organizations having requisite skills for management of the same. Each time he has to delegate authority necessary for the accomplishment of the tasks. It is interesting to note that the reasons for delegation, the process of delegation as also the expected outcome from delegation are almost the same with individual as well as insti tutional delegation. But delegation at the individual level and with insiders is known more for various lapses, and if the same is allowed to perpetuate at the institutional level it may be disastrous for any project.
We should, therefore, examine what goes wrong with delegation at the individual level so that the same is avoided when delegation is institutionalized. The issues relating to delegation which need close scrutiny are: 1. What to delegate? 2. When to delegate? 3. How to delegate? Delegating authority skills, tasks and the process of effective delegation Delegation is one of the most important management skills. These logical rules and techniques will help you to delegate well (and will help you to help your manager when you are being delegated a task or new responsibility – delegation is a two-way process! ).
Good delegation saves you time, develops you people, grooms a successor, and motivates. Poor delegation will cause you frustration, demotivates and confuses the other person, and fails to achieve the task or purpose itself. So it’s a management skill that’s worth improving. Here are the simple steps to follow if you want to get delegation right, with different levels of delegation freedom that you can offer. This delegation skills guide deals with general delegation principles and process, which is applicable to individuals and teams, or tospecially formed groups of people for individual projects (including ‘virtual teams’).
Delegation is a very helpful aid for succession planning, personal development – and seeking and encouraging promotion. It’s how we grow in the job – delegation enables us to gain experience to take on higher responsibilities. Effective delegation is actually crucial for effective succession. For the successor, and for the manager too: the main task of a manager in a growing thriving organization is ultimately to develop a successor. When this happens everyone can move on to higher things.
When it fails to happen the succession and progression becomes dependent on bringing in new people from outside. Delegation can be used to develop your people people and yourself – delegation is not just a management technique for freeing up the boss’s time. Of course there is a right way to do it. These delegation tips and techniques are useful for bosses – and for anyone seeking or being given delegated responsibilities. As a giver of delegated tasks you must ensure delegation happens properly. Just as significantly, as the recipient of delegated tasks you have the pportunity to ‘manage upwards’ and suggest improvements to the delegation process and understanding – especially if your boss could use the help. Managing the way you receive and agree to do delegated tasks is one of the central skills of ‘managing upwards’. Therefore while this page is essentially written from the manager’s standpoint, the principles are just as useful for people being managed. A simple delegation rule is the SMART acronym, or better still, SMARTER. It’s a quick checklist for proper delegation. Delegated tasks must be: • Specific • Measurable • Agreed Realistic • Timebound • Ethical • Recorded Traditional interpretations of the SMARTER acronym use ‘Exciting’ or ‘Enjoyable’, however, although a high level of motivation often results when a person achieves and is given recognition for a particular delegated task, which in itself can be exciting and enjoyable, in truth, let’s be honest, it is not always possible to ensure that all delegated work is truly ‘exciting’ or ‘enjoyable’ for the recipient. More importantly, the ‘Ethical’ aspect is fundamental to everything that we do, assuming you subscribe to such philosophy. he steps of successful delegation 1 Define the task Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated. Does it meet the criteria for delegating? 2 Select the individual or team What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team? What are they going to get out of it? What are you going to get out of it? 3 Assess ability and training needs Is the other person or team of people capable of doing the task? Do they understand what needs to be done. If not, you can’t delegate. 4 Explain the reasons You must explain why the job or responsibility is being delegated.
And why to that person or people? What is its importance and relevance? Where does it fit in the overall scheme of things? 5 State required results What must be achieved? Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other person. How will the task be measured? Make sure they know how you intend to decide that the job is being successfully done. 6 Consider resources required Discuss and agree what is required to get the job done. Consider people, location, premises, equipment, money, materials, other related activities and services. 7 Agree deadlines When must the job be finished?
Or if an ongoing duty, when are the review dates? When are the reports due? And if the task is complex and has parts or stages, what are the priorities? At this point you may need to confirm understanding with the other person of the previous points, getting ideas and interpretation. As well as showing you that the job can be done, this helps to reinforce commitment. Methods of checking and controlling must be agreed with the other person. Failing to agree this in advance will cause this monitoring to seem like interference or lack of trust. 8 Support and communicate
Think about who else needs to know what’s going on, and inform them. Involve the other person in considering this so they can see beyond the issue at hand. Do not leave the person to inform your own peers of their new responsibility. Warn the person about any awkward matters of politics or protocol. Inform your own boss if the task is important, and of sufficient profile. 9 Feedback on results It is essential to let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have achieved their aims. If not, you must review with them why things did not go to plan, and deal with the problems.
You must absorb the consequences of failure, and pass on the credit for success. ASSIGNMENTS – Set 2 Q. 1 Explain effect of an individuals of work environment. Ans: Work Environment A work environment can be identified as the place that one works. i. e. -in an office building in a cube, at home at the kitchen table, from a car or truck, at a construction site. All are work environments. We tend, however, to hear about “healthy work environments. ” This can point to other factors in the work environment, such as co-workers, air quality, ergonomic seating, management (the boss! , child care, parking, noise, and even the size of one’s cube. A work environment doesn’t require a job. It requires that work has to be done in some place. Say you need to do homework. Where do you do it? At school in study hall? At your kitchen table? On the floor at a friend’s house? These can also be considered work environments. Work environment means the milieus around a person. It is your social and professional environment in which you are supposed to interact with a number of people. All of them are to be there with you.
They are working there. They are supposed to co-ordinate with you in one way or he other. They may be working under you or you may be working under them. It depends upon your position at status at a work place. It is not important that an office would always be called your work place. It can be your home environment where you use to work for all the time where you are supposed to interact with your family members by and by. This environment is all about the people at your home and those who have any concern at your home.
Work environment does not only counts the living world tings but also the materialistic world stuff. It may count the room or home where you are working. It may counts the things that you are using in one way or the other. It is all about things and livings that are around you where you are working. External/Internal Factors External/Internal Factors The purpose of this paper is to explain rapid change, globalization, technology, E-business, innovation, diversity, ethics and how these external and internal factors that can affect a company’s management performance under these conditions.
Starbucks now has locations in Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. With locations in this many counties, Starbucks owners had to learn how businesses were operating in these countries to be accepted and allowed to do business around the world.
Starbucks had other issues to deal with while trying to expand into the market. Labor unions were formed to help deal with disputes between Starbucks and the employees. The two unions are called Industrial Worker of the World and Starbucks Workers Union. In the world market Starbucks had to able to compete with other coffee sellers. In order to do that Starbucks had to keep the prices comparable to the other coffee makers that have been the world market already. Starbucks is currently fighting a battle over Fair Trade Beverages.
The Fair Trade Certification was put into place to ensure farmers were being a fair market price for the products being sold around the world. (Equity in a Bottle. Beverage World; 12/15/2006, Vol. 125 Issue 12, p33-33, 1/6p). Globalization has opponents also that like to attack the company on the internet. The website URL is www. ihatestarbucks. com. The site has many entries from non-Starbucks customers and former customers too. (Staying pure. Economist; 2/25/2006, Vol. 378 Issue 8466, p72-72, 1p, 1c) Starbucks covers Ethics on many different levels and through the following paragraphs the levels…
Q. 2 Explain organizational chart and its various types. Ans: Organizational Charts & Organizational Structures The general trend of HR orientation of the line manager role is definitely closely related to the changing design and role of the HR department. As more HR responsibilities are decentralised to the line, the role of the HR department inevitably changes. The question is what the ‘new role’ for the HR department implies, and how HR specialists as well as the organization itself should be organised to contribute to a well-functioning HR organization. Organization Chart
An organizational chart (often called organization chart, org chart, or organ gram (me)) is anillustration that shows the arrangement of an organization and the relationships and relative ranks of its components and positions/jobs. The term is also used for similar diagrams, for example ones showing the different elements of a field of knowledge or a group of languages. The word ‘Organ gram’ is widely accepted as being created by Graham Halewood. An organizational chart of a company usually shows the managers and sub-workers who are the part of the organization.
It also depicts the relationships of directors: managing director, chief executive officer: various departments, etc. In many companies the organization chart is large and complicated and is therefore further dissected into smaller charts for each individual department within the organization. The following is an example of a simple hierarchical organizational chart is the image-chart on the right. [pic] An example of a ‘line relationship’ in this chart would be between the Program manager and the two project managers.
These two project managers are directly responsible to the Program manager. Various shapes such as rectangles, squares, triangles, circles etc. can be used to indicate different roles. Colour can be used both for shape borders and connection lines to indicate differences in authority and responsibility, and possibly formal, advisory and informal links between people. A department or position yet to be created or currently vacant might be shown as a shape with a dotted outline. Importance of the position may be hown both with a change in size of the shape in addition to its vertical placement on the chart. There are three different types of organization charts: · Hierarchical · Matrix · Flat (also known as Horizontal) 1. 6. 2 Hierarchical Organization Chart A hierarchical organization is an organizational structure where every entity in the organization, except one, is subordinates to a single other entity. This arrangement is a form of a hierarchy. In an organization, the hierarchy usually consists of a singular/group of power at the top with subsequent levels of power beneath them.
This is the dominant mode of organization among large organizations; most corporations, governments, and organized religions are hierarchical organizations with different levels of management, power or authority. For example, the broad, top-level overview of the general organization of the Catholic Church consists of the Pope, then the Cardinals, then the Archbishops, and so on. Members of hierarchical organizational structures chiefly communicate with their immediate superior and with their immediate subordinates.
Structuring organizations in this way is useful partly because it can reduce the communication overhead by limiting information flow; this is also its major limitation. A hierarchy is typically visualized as a pyramid, where the height of the ranking or person depicts their power status and the width of that level represents how many people or business divisions are at that level relative to the whole – the highest-ranking people are at the apex, and there are very few of them; the base may include thousands of people who have no ubordinates). These hierarchies are typically depicted with a tree or triangle diagram, creating an organizational chart or organogram. Those nearest the top have more power than those nearest the bottom, and there being fewer people at the top then at the bottom. As a result, superiors in a hierarchy generally have higher status and command greater rewards than their subordinates. The business owner traditionally occupied the pinnacle of the organization.
In most modern large companies, there is now no longer a single dominant shareholder, and the collective power of the business owners is for most purposes delegated to a board of directors, which in turn delegates the day-to-day running of the company to a managing director or CEO. Again, although the shareholders of the company are the nominal top of the hierarchy, in reality many companies are run at least in part as personal fiefdoms by their management; corporate governance rules are an attempt to mitigate this tendency.
Hierarchies and hierarchical thinking has been criticized by many people, including Susan McClary and one political philosophy which is vehemently opposed to hierarchical organization: anarchism is generally opposed to hierarchical organization in any form of human relations. Tetrarchy is the most commonly-proposed alternative to hierarchy and this has been combined with responsible autonomy by Gerard Fairtlough in his work on Tetrarchy theory.
Amidst constant innovation in information and communication technologies, hierarchical authority structures are giving way to greater decision-making latitude for individuals and more flexible definitions of job activities and this new style of work presents a challenge to existing organizational forms, with some research studies contrasting traditional organizational forms against groups that operate as online communities that are characterized by personal motivation and the satisfaction of making one’s own decisions.
Matrix-based Organization Chart Matrix Management is a type of organizational management in which people with related skills are combined for work assignments. For example, all engineers may be in one engineering department and report to an engineering manager, but these same engineers may be assigned to different projects and report to a project manager while working on that project. Therefore, each engineer may have to work under several managers to get their job done. Some organizations fall somewhere between the fully functional and pure matrix.
These organizations are defined in the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) 4th Edition as composite. For example, even a fundamentally functional or matrix organization may create a special project team to handle a critical project. Whereas project-centered organizations (like those in engineering, construction or the aerospace industries) have structures built around project teams as their functional units, matrix organizations follow the traditional structures, with some adjustments to their hierarchy to support project units.
Proponents of matrix management suggest that there are two advantages to matrix management. First, it allows team members to share information more readily across task boundaries. Second, it allows for specialization that can increase depth of knowledge and allow professional development and career progression to be managed. The disadvantage of matrix management is that employees can become confused due to conflicting loyalties. The belief is that a properly managed cooperative environment can neutralize these disadvantages.
Opponents to matrix management believe that it is an out-datedmethod to organize a company. One disadvantage of matrix management is that it doubles the number of managers when compared to line management, and as the time to reach a decision increases with the number of managers the result may be an increase in management related overhead expenses. The advantages of a matrix include: · Individuals can be chosen according to the needs of the project. · The use of a project team which is dynamic and able to view problems in a different way as specialists have been brought together in a new environment. Project managers are directly responsible for completing the project within a specific deadline and budget. Whilst the disadvantages include: · A conflict of loyalty between line managers and project managers over the allocation of resources. · If teams have a lot of independence can be difficult to monitor. · Costs can be increased if more managers (i. e. project managers) are created through the use of project teams. Representing matrix organizations visually has challenged managers ever since the matrix management structure was invented.
Most organizations use dotted lines to represent secondary relationships between people, and software packages, such as Visio and PowerPoint support this approach. Until recently, Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Human resource management systems (HRMS) software did not support matrix reporting. Late releases of SAP software support matrix reporting, and Oracle eBusiness Suite can also be customized to store matrix information. Matrix Management should not be confused with “tight matrix”. Tight Matrix”, or co-location, refers to locating offices for a project team in the same room, regardless of management structure. [pic] Flat (Horizontal) Organization Chart Flat organization (also known as horizontal organization) refers to an organizational arrangement with few or no levels of intervening management between staff and managers. The idea is that well-trained workers will be more productive when they are more directly involved in the decision making process, rather than closely supervised by many layers of management.
Responsibilities’ that require additional or detail descriptions are usually specified in text-oriented formats. This structure is generally possible only in smaller organizations or individual units within larger organizations. When they reach a critical size, organizations can retain a streamlined structure but cannot keep a completely flat manager-to-staff relationship without impacting productivity. Certain financial responsibilities may also require a more conventional structure. Some theorize that flat organizations become more traditionally hierarchical when they begin to be geared towards productivity.
The flat organization model promotes employee involvement through a decentralized decision making process. By elevating the level of responsibility of baseline employees, and by eliminating layers of middle management, comments and feedback reach all personnel involved in decisions more quickly. Expected response to customer feedback can thus become more rapid. Since the interaction between workers is more frequent, this organizational structure generally depends upon a much more personal relationship between workers and managers.
Hence the structure can be more time-consuming to build than a traditional bureaucratic/ hierarchical model. Q. 3 Describe the elements of enterprise environmental factors-the input to creating HR plan process. Ans: Creating a Human Resource (HR) Plan Creating a Human Resource (HR) plan is the method of identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, and required skills, reporting relationships and creating a staffing management plan. Staffing management plan depicts how and when team members are added to the team, and how the team members are released from the project.
Human Resource planning is utilized to decide and recognize. Human Resources with the necessary skills are essential for the success of a project. One key result of Human Resource planning is the Effective Human Resource planning must think and plan for these factors and widen Human Resource options. The inputs for creating a Human Resource (HR) plan are: · Enterprise environmental factors: The enterprise environmental factors comprises of individuals of an organization interacting and relating with one another.
The enterprise environmental factors that play a major role includes are existing organizational culture, knowing how different technical disciplines work, existing Human Resources and policies and procedures, interpersonal, logical and political issues with respect to Human Resources. – Organizational culture – Organizational culture is an idea in the field of organizational studies and management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization.
It is defined as “the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that controls the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization”. List the organizations or departments that are going to be engaged in the project. Enquire whether there are any existing working arrangements between them. Know the formal and informal relationships between the departments. – Technical – To accomplish the project successfully, list the fields of expertise needed. Interpersonal – List formal and informal reporting relations existing among the team members. Know the team member’s existing job descriptions. – Logistical – Find whether people are in different locations or time zones. – Political – List the individual goals and agendas of stakeholders. Find the informal authority base and how that can impact the project. List the informal agreements that are present. Besides these aspects, there are some restrictions. In human planning, the instances of rigidity are: – Structure of organization – The usual constraint in an organization is a weak matrix structure. Collective bargaining agreements – Contractual agreements with service organizations can require nuances to certain roles and reporting arrangements. – Economical conditions – Some of the restrictions on staffing options can be freezing of hiring, little or no training funds, and lack of traveling budget. · Assets of organizational process: As project management in an organization evolves, experience acquired from past projects is available as assets of organizational processes in terms of checklist, processes, etc. Activity resource requirements: For the purpose of Human Resource needs of the project, Human Resource planning uses activity resource requirements. The basic information regarding the required people and capabilities for the project team members are progressively involved as part of Human Resource planning and information regarding the same is obtained from the activity resource requirement. Accurate inputs for creating a Human Resource (HR) plan leads to good results which have a strong foundation. The different tools and techniques used by project team for creating a Human Resource (HR) plan are: Organization charts and position description: Organization charts and position description clarifies and communicates the roles and responsibilities of the team members and ensures that each work package is assigned accordingly. Organization charts can have three formats[1]: – Hierarchical-type organization chart – Matrix-based responsibility chart – Text-oriented format Hierarchical-type organization chart: The structure of traditional organization charts is used to show positions and relationships among team members in a graphic, top-down format.
Matrix-based responsibility chart: Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) illustrates the connections between work packages or activities and project team members. Text-oriented format: The required detailed descriptions of the responsibilities of team members are specified in text-oriented formats. The documents generally provide information such as responsibilities, authority, competencies, and qualifications in outline form. · Networking: The formal and informal communication between professional and business groups and the people in an organization is known as networking.
It takes place among co-workers in the organization to comprehend the political and the interpersonal factors in a productive way which will affect the organizational relationship. · Organizational theory: Organizational theory depicts how people, teams, and organizational units behave. Organizational theory has been in practice for a long time, so these theories might not hold good today. But Maslow’s theory might be a relevant one. Q. 4 Describe people management skills that a project manager should possess. Ans: People Management Skills
Projects are often complex and multidimensional. Managing these projects or Programs represents a challenge requiring skills in several areas of management especially in the areas of People management, technical aspects to handle employees, effective leadership abilities etc. , some of such skills are explained below. 1. Team Building: Building the program is one of the prime responsibilities of the project manager. This involves maintaining a. Effective Communications b. Sincere interest in professional growth of team members. c. Commitment to the project. 2.
Leadership: It involves the ability to integrate individual demands, requirements and limitations into decisions that benefit the overall project performance. 3. Conflict resolution: This includes understanding the determinants of conflicts so as to respond to the conflicts effectively. Dysfunctional conflicts result in poor program decision making, lengthy delay over issues and disruption of the team’s effort. Thus, the manager needs a “Sixth sense”. To determine when a conflict is desirable what kind of conflict will be useful and how much conflict is optional for a given situation. 4.
Technical Skill: It is essential for the project manager to understand the technology, markets and the business environment to participate effectively in the search for integrated solution and technological innovations. Technical expertise is necessary to evaluate technical concepts and solutions, to communicate effectively in technical terms with the project teams and to assess the risks and make trade off between cost, schedule and technical issues. 5. Planning skill: It requires the ability to negotiate the necessary resource and commitments from key personnel in the various supporting rganizations with little or no formal authority. The planning must be done such that at any point of time in the project, the plan remains viable. 6. Organizational skill: The project manager must be a social architect, that is, he must understand how the organization works. And how to work with the organization. Organizational skills are particularly important during the project formation when the project manager establishes the project organization by integrating people from different discipline into an effective work team. 7.
Entrepreneurial Skill: The project manager needs a general management perspective. For example, economic considerations are one component area that normally affects the organization’s financial performance. Thus the project manger must understand the importance of reducing costs in the project. 8. Administration skill: The project manager must be experiences in planning, staffing, budgeting, scheduling and other control techniques’ 9. Management support building skill: The project manager is surrounded by a variety of organizations that either support him or control his activities.
An understanding of these interfaces is important to a project management as it enhances their ability to build favorable relationship with senior managements. 10. Resource allocation skill: Once the project begins, different types of resources are needed at different stages. The project manager must understand this need for varying resources and be capable of allocating resources as and when wanted. In many cases, the project manager will just have to take a calculated risk that the team member possesses these characteristics even though the individual has not previously demonstrated that he or she has them.
It will become obvi ous very quickly whether or not the individual possesses these characteristics. If not, and if those characteristics are critical to the team member’s role in the project, the project manager or the team member’s line manager will have to correct the team member’s behavior. Thus the project manager must be both socially and technically aware to understand how the organization functions and how these functions will affect the project organization of the particular job to be done.
The project manger must also understand the culture and value system of the organization he is working with. These business developments resulted in a profound change in organizational structures and how work was being managed. The traditional hierarchical structure was replaced with natural teams, self managed. The traditional hierarchal structure was replaced with natural teams; self managed teams, cross functional teams, employee networks, and project team. A team operated as a group of people with shared objectives and process and possessed complementary skills, knowledge and experiences.
Some of these team structures such as project teams and cross functional teams were not necessarily new, but how the teams operated and the impact of these teams on organizations were far different and much more empowered than in the past to make changes. The team-based structure quickly become a norm in organizations Business and projects benefited when people together well as a team. Successful team based companies saw higher employee morale, innovation, and financial success. But creating a productive, sustainable team environment took more work.
In the past decade, the focus on strategies and process has significantly shifted to team behaviors and project executions. It has been recognized that successful execution requires a stronger emphasis on people skills such as leadership and collaborations, and team behaviors around decision making, problem solving, and conflict resolution. To help, companies began personalizing their value statements by defining specific behaviors that supported those values. These values define how people work together on a day to day basis.
Having balance on the team in all of the characteristics discussed in the previ ous section is certainly a worthy goal, but it is a goal not likely to be reached. In reality, the team is formed more on availability than on any need to balance its membership. That means that teams are not balanced, but they are the team nevertheless. What’s a project manager to do? First of all, the project manager had better know where the imbalance exists. What characteristics does the team have? Where are its strengths and where are its weaknesses? For example, suppose a confrontation has arisen with the client.
We would much rather send an accommodator than a converger to resolve the confrontation. However, there might not be an accommodator on the team. Teams are most likely to be formed without knowledge of this kind of information. It is only after the fact that these imbalances are discovered. On a larger scale, the project manager needs to determine which team members have a greater likelihood of success on which types of work assignments. Build the strategy. If you still have gaping holes, you need a team development plan. Q. 5 Explain staffing management plan. also describe Responsibility Assignment Matrix
Ans: Staffing Management Plan The staffing management plan, a part of human resources plan within the project management plan, describes when & how human resource requirements will be met. The staffing management plan can be formal or informal, highly detailed or broadly framed, depending upon the needs of the project. The plan is updated continually during the project to direct ongoing team member acquisition & development actions. Information in the staffing management plan varies by application areas & project size, but items to consider include: · Staff acquisition · Resource Calendars Staff release plan · Training needs · Recognition & Rewards · Compliance · Safety After acquiring the project team, you must create a proper Project Management procedure that allows feedback and maximum productivity to occur. A staffing management plan or process is ultimately a document that explains the various human resources requirements that will be met for both staff management and employees alike. The plan is essentially a portion of the project management plan in which allows projects to be successful by properly managing various teams to complete tasks effectively and efficiently.
A project management plan is created to showcase specific target goals as well as project deadlines for various tasks that your company may need to complete. A staffing management plan can be created in two ways – whether informal and broad, or formal and details, each staffing management plan are tailored to the various needs of each specific project. The information provided within said staffing management plan is determined by the application being completed as well as the size of the project. Thus, creating a staffing management plan that is tailored to your business is imperative to its overall success in your daily operations.
Staff Acquisition A number of questions arise when planning the acquisition of project team members. For example, will the human resource come from within the organization or from external, contracted sources? Will team members need to work in a central location or can they work from distant locations? What are the costs associated with each of level of expertise needed from the project? How much assistance can the organization’s human resource department & functional managers provide to the project management team? Staff Release Plan
Determining the method and timing of releasing team members benefits both the project & team members. When team members are released from a project, the costs associated with those resources are no longer charged to the project, thus reducing project costs. Morale is improved when smooth transitions to upcoming projects are already planned. A staff release plan also helps mitigate human resource risks that may occur during or at the end of the project. Compliance The staffing management plan can include strategies for complying with applicable government regulations, union contracts, and other established human resource policies.
Safety Policies and procedures that protect team members from safety hazards can be included in the staffing management plan as well as risk register Responsibility Assignment Matrix A Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) is a chart displaying the resources assigned to a project. It also shows the assignments that are responsible for. The RAM allows easy identification of all responsibilities for a given resource. A specific type of RAM is the RACI matrix. This shows the resources that are responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed in project activities. Table 7. shows a typical RACI matrix [pic] The matrix is typically created with a vertical axis (left-hand column) of tasks (e. g. , from a work breakdown structure or WBS) or deliverables (e. g. , from a product breakdown structure or PBS), and a horizontal axis (top row) of roles (e. g. , from an organizational chart) – as illustrated in the image of an example responsibility assignment (or RACI) matrix. There is a distinction between a role and individually identified people: a role is a descriptor of an associated set of tasks; may be performed by many people; and one person can perform many roles.
For example, an organization may have 10 people who can perform the role of project manager, although traditionally each project only has one project manager at any one time; and a person who is able to perform the role of project manager may also be able to perform the role of business analyst and tester. The responsibility assignment matrix is commonly known as a RACI matrix. RACI is an acronym derived from the four key responsibilities most typically used: Responsible: Is the one who has the liability to give account of his/her action towards accomplishing the task.
There is typically one role with a participation type of Responsible, although others can be delegated to assist in the work required (see also RASCI below for separately identifying those who participate in a supporting role). Accountable (also Approver or final Approving authority): Those who are ultimately accountable for the correct and thorough completion of the deliverable or task, and the one to whom Responsible is accountable. In other words, an Accountable must sign off (Approve) on work that Responsible provides.
There must be only one Accountable specified for each task or deliverable. Consulted: Those whose opinions are sought; and with whom there is two-way communication. Informed: Those who are kept up-to-date on progress, often only on completion of the task or deliverable and with whom there is just one-way communication. Very often the role that is Accountable for a task or deliverable may also be Responsible for completing it (indicated on the matrix by the task or deliverable having a role Accountable for it, but no role Responsible for its completion, i. . it is implied). Outside of this exception, it is generally recommended that each role in the project or process for each task receive, at most, just one of the participation types. Where more than one participation type is shown, this generally implies that participation has not yet been fully resolved, which can impede the value of this technique in clarifying the participation of each role on each task. The first step in creating a responsibility assignment matrix is to decompose your project and create a work breakdown structure.
Once you have completed this important first step, you will know what the project deliverables will be. If you compose an organizational breakdown structure – breaking the project down into a hierarchy of departments, it will facilitate the process of assigning deliverables to responsible parties. Creating this second chart is an option that is highly recommended. Once you have the list of deliverables, open an Excel file. Down the left-hand side list each deliverable.
If there were intermediate deliverables discovered in the process of creating the work breakdown structure, list those as well. After listing each deliverable down the side, list each resource across the top of the table. Now, you will assign deliverables to resources using the following code for roles: R: Responsible – this is the resource that owns the work. Each deliverable should have at least one person responsible for it. A: Accountable – this is the person who approves the work. There is only one accountable resource.
C: Consulted – this is the person who delivers information required to complete the work. I: Informed: This is the person who is informed of the progress of the deliverable. S: Supportive: This is the person who provides work in addition to the responsible party. V: Verifies: This is the person who ensures that the work meets standards. F: Final Authority: This person gives the final stamp on the completed work. Q. 6 Why we need HR skills in a project manager-Comment Ans: Today, managers in any organization are facing increasingly complex challenges in their regular work life.
These challenges are the result of high escalation in factors like salaries, prices of raw materials, union demands, pressure from the shareholders, high inflation, lack of borrowing power with financial institutions etc. these environmental conditions have existed before but not to the degree that they do today. The project manager is responsible for coordinating and integrating various activities across the organizational functional areas. Hence, he should be a person with varying quantum of knowledge and skills and much have sufficient knowledge and competencies in several areas of management.
His behavior is very important because the functional employees at the interface position find themselves reporting to more than one boss. Objectives: · To understand the competencies of a project manager · To learn about various skills required by a project manager · To understand the need for business related competencies for a project manager · To know about qualities required to become a successful project manager. Project Manager’s Knowledge Base Real educa