Importance of Good Human Resource Management On Projects

Topic Project Human Resource Management Topic Objectives By the end of this topic you should be able to:  Explain the importance of good human resource management on projects.  Define project human resource management and understand its processes.  Summarize key concepts for managing people by understanding the theories of organizational psychologists and management experts.  Discuss organisational planning and create a project organisational chart, responsibility assignment matrix, and resource histogram.  Understand issues involved in project staff acquisition and explain the concepts of resource assignments, resource loading, and resource levelling.  Assist in team development with training, team-building activities, and reward systems. Short Answer Questions 1. Explain the terms intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation. How can a project manager use these concepts to motivate members of their team? Give examples. Answer: Intrinsic motivation: motivation to carry out activities for personal benefit and personal rewards Intrinsic motivation: motivation to carry out activities in exchange for remuneration or avoid punishment Managers can use intrinsic motivation and members want to improve their skills or knowledge, but external motivation it can be used to encourage members to increase their salary or force them to complete their work on time. 2. Use an example to explain the terms over-allocation, resource levelling and resource loading. Answer: Over allocation means that more resources are allocated than are available to perform work at any given time. For example, a processor that processes a large number of job commands. Resource load refers to the amount of individual resources required by an existing project plan in a specific time period. For example, divide employees into working hours by day, week, month, or project duration. Resource leveling is a technique for resolving resource conflicts by delaying tasks. For example, stop the overallocation of resources. . 3. Imagine you work for a project management consultancy firm, name Enterprise Consulting. Your CEO James Kirk has assigned you the role of project manager, for a communications systems upgrade, for an accounting firm whose practice is based in Camperdown with a second office in Cobden (which is open for 2 days per week). Your team consists of two members Nyota Uhura a sub-contracted telecommunications expert, and Montgomery Scott a technician. Trek accountancy is run by co-directors Gene Roddenberry, and Leonard Nimoy. Hikaru Sulu works as a senior accountant at the Camperdown office and Christine Chapel works as an accountant sharing her time between Camperdown and Cobden. Gary Spock works as a part-time pay roll officer (with some computer skills). Leonard McCoy is a full-time administration officer at Camperdown, and Pavel Chekov works as a part-time administration officer at the Cobden office. The Corangamite Shire Council is a major client of Trek accounting. a. Develop project organisational charts for the “Trek Accounting Camperdown & Cobden Communications Upgrade Project 2012”. b. Why are organisational charts useful tools to a project manager? Identify key people/positions in your organisational charts, and indicate why these are important. Answer: It will display information about all employees involved in the organization and their roles: the CEO, the coordinator is the board of directors and technical experts of Seine Telecom, and the accounting administrator is the main head of the department. 4. a. Describe the purpose of, and differences between a RACI chart and a RAM chart. Ans: . The RACI design is a chart for understanding mission critical and mission critical commitments within Endeavor. Complete the visual effects of the job that everyone is playing in social situations. In terms of finetuning the core job of staying and cultivating pioneers, charting is also a fabulous exercise. RAM Figure is supported by different subordinates, individuals and skills to complete the work required by . Program managers (PM) use it to explain positions and commitments in social situations, events, and cross-value systems. A request for bid (RFP) may require RAM provided by temporary professionals. b. Create a RAM chart using the WBS listed in Figure 1, for the “Trek Accounting Camperdown & Cobden Communications Upgrade Project 2012”. Use Table 1 (at end) Figure 1: 1. Initiating 1.1. Determine/assign project manager 1.2. Identify key stakeholders 1.3. Prepare project charter 2. Planning 2.1. Prepare scope statement 2.2. Prepare WBS 2.3. Prepare schedule baseline 2.4. Prepare cost baseline 2.5. Prepare procurement management plan 3. Executing 3.1. Develop communications specifications 3.1.1. Review current system 3.1.2. Conduct research 3.1.3. Prepare specifications 3.2. Contract supply firm 3.2.1. Solicit quotations 3.2.2. Select and reject quotation(s) 3.2.3. Sign contract 3.3. System Upgrade 3.3.1. Install hardware and software 3.3.2. Test system 3.3.3. System roll-out 4. Controlling 4.1. Status reports 4.2. Weekly team meetings 5. Closing 5.1. Prepare final project report 5.2. Prepare lessons learned report 5.3. Formal acceptance and closure 5. Following is a description of the “Trek Accounting Camperdown & Cobden Communications Upgrade Project 2012” members current aspirations and results of Hertzberg motivation-hygiene test. Team member Current aspirations Nyota Uhura security, and protection from physical and emotional harm requires control, and supervision creativity, problem solving, self-fulfilment likes to be involved and consulted belongingness, acceptance and friendship Montgomery Scott Gene Roddenberry Hertzberg test score Hygiene Motivation 20 10 18 12 15 15 Team member Leonard Nimoy Hikaru Sulu Christine Chapel Gary Spock Pavel Chekov a. Current aspirations prefers to be friendly with boss and management self-respect, autonomy and achievement prefers responsibility, and autonomy hunger, thirst, and shelter prefers guidance, and daily meetings with boss recognitions, prestige, status prefers credit for effort, and incentives, good salary food, water requires supervision, and training acceptance, love, affection prefers collective decision making, and trust Hertzberg test score 22 13 14 24 18 16 11 18 22 20 Sketch Maslow’s hierarchy diagram and insert each team member at their correct level. Label and describe each level. Ans: b. Indicate which team members are likely to prefer a McGregor’s theory X management style, and those who are more likely to prefer a theory Y management style. What does this tell you about how to go about managing these individuals give examples? Answer: Theory X management style Nyota Uhura Leonard Nimoy Gary Spock Theory Y management style Christine Chapel Pavel Chekov Montgomery Scott Gene Roddenberry This can show how independently employees are involved in any project, their interest in the job, and how much effort they put into completing any project. c. Hertzberg’s motivation-hygiene test was administered to your team. See their scores above. Indicate the appropriate management/motivational approach for each team member given the above scores. Answer:  Nyota Uhura- This test shows that Nyota is not satisfied with the work  Leonard Nimoy- The level of hygiene is very high, which means it is also unsatisfactory  Gene Roddenberry- Hygiene and Motivation is the same, so in a neutral state   Gary Spock- Hygiene level is lower than Motivation is lower than shows He is is is happy and management Hikaru Sulu- Hygiene level of Motivation lower than Motivation lower than shows his is quite happy is almost the same as managing Christine Church-hygiene and motivation are almost the same, so she is neutral Pavel Chekov (Pavel Chekov)-Hygiene and motivation are the same, so she stays neutral. 6. Explain two types of team-building activities that could be used by project managers to develop project teams. How might Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people be used to develop effectiveness of teams, give an example? Ans: Communication: This will help broaden the person in charge to understand the problem of the cause or colleagues. IT Troubleshooting: This operation will help the project leader to solve problems in the project by discussing and thinking with colleagues. The 7 Habits of High Efficiency Talents provide a way to deal with the continually improving team and its work or projects. Technology involves analyzing and changing the characteristics of the parts, the motivations of the parts and how they perceive the risk of changing the way they behave and interact with others. Find out how to focus on time, determine your own core goal, and make helpful connections with others. Case Study Nylex Plymer Products Nylex Polymer Products is Australia’s largest maker of plastic products and a leading manufacturer. It was founded in 1947and markets a range of brands including garbage bins, industrial and garden hoses, marine upholstery and automotive interior trim. Perhaps its most famous product is the Esky cold box, an Australian household name. Glen Casey, former St Kilda Australia Rules football player and aged just 44, took charge of Nylex on 1 February 2003. Casey has previously worked from Thorn EMI, Phillips and Dulux Paints. He joined the board of St Kilda in the second half of 2001 and is credited by the president helping to turn the club around. Not long before Casey took over Nylex, the company, like St Kilda, was in poor shape. Its debt was about $480 million. His predecessor, Alan Jackson, had pursued a growth strategy and spend more than $500 million on acquiring other companies between 1995 and 2000. However, no attempt was made to integrate the acquisitions, resulting in a disjointed structure. Jackson resigned in April 2001 with Nylex close to $500 million in debt. The company had almost been liquidated the previous year and its banks placed stringent financial conditions on the company in 2001. Peter Crowley took over but resigned in September 2002. Casey became managing director not long afterwards. His strategy to try and put Nylex back on its feet was to sell assets and use the money to reduce the crippling debt. The strategy worked well because by February 2004, it debt has reduced to $140 million and Nylex was expected to break even or even post a small profit for the 2003-2004 financial year. Even its share price increased by 62.5% over the 12-month period to February 2004 but was then just 32.5c. By mid 2004 it had dropped back to 26.4c. Since June 2003, 13 of Nylex’s businesses were sold for more than $150 million. While many of these businesses had been performing poorly, others, such as Pryda Reid building products, had been doing well. The sale of so many businesses has had a damaging effect on the morale of its employees. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) has been particularly concerned about changed conditions for workers under new owners of former Nylex businesses. While some good staff left Nylex because they found it difficult to work under conditions of insecurity and uncertainty, Casey felt that if he could turn Nylex round, he could say to the staff: “the future is bright, you don’t have to look over your shoulder to see if there is another business being sold in the background or we’re going under”. This he believed, would significantly increase staff motivation. To further increase staff morale, Nylex began its first advertising campaign in January 2004, something the company had not done for four years. Once again Nylex is seeking to acquire small companies with a view to radically increasing sales and cutting overheads of those companies. Casey had, by February 2004, become excited and generally upbeat about Nylex’s future. He even talked openly about paying a dividend to the company’s shareholders. (Davidson et al, 2004, p335) 7. Where would you locate staff in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Why? Answer: In 2 is safe because the business is lost and employees feel the economic crisis in the business. 8. How might Hertzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory apply to the workers of Nylex? Give examples. Answer: For example. Nylex's motivation is very low because it lost its business, but its level of hygiene is because they discovered the economic insecurity and uncertainty in the business. 9. Which of McClelland’s acquired need theory could be applied to Casey himself? Why? Answer: The achievements of Theory are being applied to Casey, because the rest of the employees have left Nylex, but he still believes that the business will grow again in the future and is trying to motivate other employees. Try to avoid risks. 10. Refer to the required journal reading for this week Pillai (2006). Provide two ideas presented by Pillai, that might be useful pieces of advice for Casey in handling the staff of Nylex through conditions of uncertainty and insecurity. Answer: Start advertising campaigns and increase sales and cut expenses for other small businesses.