Sikkim Manipal University Managing Human Resources in Project PM0004

MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES IN PROJECT - PM0004MBA SEMESTER 3

ASSIGNMENT (SET – 1)

1. (a) What do you mean by Project Management & Mention Key features of a Project? (b) What do you mean by Competency & explain briefly:(i) Organizational competency(ii) Core competency.Explain need for competency.

Ans:(a) Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is sometimes conflated with program management, however technically a program is actually a higher level construct: a group of related and somehow interdependent projects.

A project is a temporary endeavor, having a defined

beginning and end (usually constrained by date, but can be

by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique

goals and objectives, usually to bring about beneficial

change or added value. The temporary nature of projects

stands in contrast to business as usual (or operations),

which are repetitive, permanent or semi-permanent

functional work to produce products or services. In practice,

the management of these two systems is often found to be

quite different, and as such requires the development of

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distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate

management.

The primary challenge of project management is to

achieve all of the project goals and objectives while

honoring the preconceived project constraints. Typical

constraints are scope, time, and budget. The secondary—

and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation

and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined

objectives.

Project plan can be considered to have five key

characteristics that have to be managed:

Scope: defines what will be covered in a project.

Resource: what can be used to meet the scope.

Time: what tasks are to be undertaken and when.

Quality: the spread or deviation allowed from a

desired standard.

Risk: defines in advance what may happen to drive

the plan off course, and what will be done to recover the

situation.

(b) Competence is a standardized requirement for an

individual to properly perform a specific job. It encompasses

a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior utilized to

improve performance. More generally, competence is the

state or quality of being adequately or well qualified, having

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the ability to perform a specific role.

For instance, management competency includes the traits

of systems thinking and emotional intelligence, and skills in

influence and negotiation. A person possesses a

competence as long as the skills, abilities, and knowledge

that constitute that competence are a part of them,

enabling the person to perform effective action within a

certain workplace environment. Therefore, one might not

lose knowledge, a skill, or an ability, but still lose a

competence if what is needed to do a job well changes.

Competence is also used to work with more general

descriptions of the requirements of human beings in

organizations and communities.

I. The Organizational Competence:

It was initiated by David McClelland in the 1960s with a

view to moving away from traditional attempts to describe

competence in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and

to focus instead on the specific self-image, values, traits,

and motive dispositions (i.e. relatively enduring

characteristics of people) that are found to consistently

distinguish outstanding from typical performance in a given

job or role. It should be noted that different competences

predict outstanding performance in different roles, and that

there is a limited number of competences that predict

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outstanding performance in any given job or role. Thus, a

trait that is a "competence" for one job might not predict

outstanding performance in a different role.

Nevertheless, as can be seen from Raven and Stephenson,

there have been important developments in research

relating to the nature, development, and assessment of

high-level competencies in homes, schools, and workplaces.

II. A core competency: is a specific factor that a

business sees as being central to the way it, or its

employees, works. It fulfills three key criteria:

1. It provides consumer benefits

2. It is not easy for competitors to imitate

3. It can be leveraged widely to many products and

markets.

A core competency can take various forms, including

technical/subject matter know-how, a reliable process

and/or close relationships with customers and suppliers. It

may also include product development or culture, such as

employee dedication.

Core competencies are particular strengths relative to

other organizations in the industry which provide the

fundamental basis for the provision of added value. Core

competencies are the collective learning in organizations,

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and involve how to coordinate diverse production skills and

integrate multiple streams of technologies. It is

communication, an involvement and a deep commitment to

working across organizational boundaries. Few companies

are likely to build world leadership in more than five or six

fundamental competencies.

The need for Competency is shown in action in a situation

in a context that might be different the next time you have

to act. In emergency contexts, competent people will react

to the situation following behaviors they have previously

found to succeed, hopefully to good effect. To be

competent you need to be able to interpret the situation in

the context and to have a repertoire of possible actions to

take and have trained in the possible actions in the

repertoire, if this is relevant. Regardless of training,

competence grows through experience and the extent of an

individual to learn and adapt. However, there has been

much discussion among academics about the issue of

definitions. The concept of competence has different

meanings, and continues to remain one of the most diffuse

terms in the management development sector, and the

organizational and occupational literature

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Q2. (a) Explain the need for development of

management skills & also explain different steps

involved in developing management skills.

(b) Explain each of the following competencies briefly:

Time Management

Cost Management

Human Resource Management

Risk Management

Contract Management

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Communication Management

Scope Management

Quality Management (c) Explain the characteristics of a project team.

Ans:a) A Management Skill in all business areas and human

organization activity is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources.

Steps involved in developing management skills:

Maintain the Status Quo

While you may have been hired or promoted because of

your creative vision, don’t plan on implementing radical

changes your first few weeks on the job, especially if you’re

new to the organization. Introducing too much change too

soon, can send the message to your team as well as other

managers that you think you understand the company’s

workings better than they do.

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Establish yourself in your new role and gain the confidence

of others by taking the time to get the lay of the land before

you start sharing ideas that affect the organization’s

structure, processes and systems. Even if you do know

better, you’ll still need the support of people around you to

make things happen.

Get to Know Your Team

Make an effort to reach out individually to all those who

now report into you. Schedule one-on-one meetings to get

an idea of what your team perceives to be the department’s

or company’s strengths and weaknesses and solicit their

ideas for solutions.

Learn How to Delegate

One the most basic management skills that’s often least

used by first-time managers is delegating. After all, when

you complete a task yourself you have complete control

over the outcome. However, by not delegating you’re doing

both yourself and your staff a disservice.

Be Courteous

Don’t underestimate the effect of a simple “please”, “thank

you” or “good job” can have on your employees. Whether

they’ve spent the last three days archiving files or churning

out a top-notch client presentation, acknowledging their

efforts goes a long way toward communicating the value

they bring to your team.

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Avoid Burnout

a lot of new managers get caught up in the excitement and

enthusiasm of their new positions and for all the right

reasons: they want to learn as much as they can as quickly

as possible and start getting things done in order to

demonstrate their commitment to the company. As a result,

first-time managers often wind up working excessive hours

and when you’re working that hard, for that long, not all of

those hours can be productive.

b) Time Management

Time management: refers to a range of skills, tools, and

techniques used to manage time when accomplishing

specific tasks, projects and goals. This set encompasses a

wide scope of activities, and these include planning,

allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time spent,

monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing. Initially

time management referred to just business or work

activities, but eventually the term broadened to include

personal activities as well. A time management system is a

designed combination of processes, tools and techniques.

Some authors (such as Stephen R. Covey) offered a

categorization scheme for the hundreds of time

management approaches that they reviewed

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First generation: reminders based on clocks and watches,

but with computer implementation possible; can be used to

alert a person when a task is to be done.

Second generation: planning and preparation based on

calendar and appointment books; includes setting goals.

Third generation: planning, prioritizing, controlling (using

a personal organizer, other paper-based objects, or

computer or PDA-based systems) activities on a daily basis.

This approach implies spending some time in clarifying

values and priorities.

Fourth generation: being efficient and proactive using

any of the above tools; places goals and roles as the

controlling element of the system and favors importance

over urgency.

Some of the recent general arguments related to "time"

and "management" point out that the term "time

management" is misleading and that the concept should

actually imply that it is "the management of our own

activities, to make sure that they are accomplished within

the available or allocated time, which is an unmanageable

continuous resource".

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Cost Management:

Cost management is the process by which companies

control and plan the costs of doing business. Individual

projects should have customized cost management plans,

and companies as a whole also integrate cost management

into their overall business model. There is no single

accepted definition for this term, because it has such broad

applications and possible strategies. When properly

implemented, cost management will translate into reduced

costs of production for products and services, as well as

increased value being delivered to the customer.

For a company's management to be effective overall, cost

management must be an integral feature of it. It is easiest

to understand this concept if it is explained in the context of

a single project. For instance, before a project is started,

the anticipated costs should be identified and measured.

These expenses should then be approved before any

purchasing occurs. During the process of completing a

project, all incurred costs should be noted and kept in a

record of some kind, to help ensure that the costs are

controlled and kept in line with initial expectations, to the

extent that this is possible.

Human Resource Management

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Human resource management: (HRM) is the strategic and

coherent approach to the management of an organization's

most valued assets - the people working there who

individually and collectively contribute to the achievement

of the objectives of the business.[1] The terms "human

resource management" and "human resources" (HR) have

largely replaced the term "personnel management" as a

description of the processes involved in managing people in

organizations.[1] In simple sense, HRM means employing

people, developing their capacities, utilizing, maintaining

and compensating their services in tune with the job and

organizational requirement.

Its features include:

Organizational management

Personnel administration

Manpower management

Industrial management

Risk Management

Risk is defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on

objectives (whether positive or negative). Risk management

can therefore be considered the identification, assessment,

and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and

economical application of resources to minimize, monitor,

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and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate

events or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Risks

can come from uncertainty in financial markets, project

failures, legal liabilities, credit risk, accidents, natural

causes and disasters as well as deliberate attacks from an

adversary. Several risk management standards have been

developed including the Project Management Institute, the

National Institute of Science and Technology, actuarial

societies, and ISO standards. Methods, definitions and goals

vary widely according to whether the risk management

method is in the context of project management, security,

engineering, industrial processes, financial portfolios,

actuarial assessments, or public health and safety.

The strategies to manage risk include transferring the risk

to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative

effect of the risk, and accepting some or all of the

consequences of a particular risk.

Contract Management

The term contract management is typically used in

procurement or purchasing departments. As part of the

procurement department’s responsibilities, the manager

negotiates, accepts, and signs contracts with suppliers of

goods and services to the organization. Contract

management is the process of ensuring that the supplier

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honors their negotiated contract terms. Although the role of

procurement in the negotiation process is an essential part

of a cost management process, contract management is

where the actual savings are either achieved or missed.

Effective contract management practices result in lower

operating costs, efficient services, and a stronger

bargaining position during the next round of negotiations.

Contract management includes ensuring contract

compliance, acting as the primary contact for issues related

to service and dispute resolution, as well as managing any

payments or clauses negotiated into the contract. In

general, contract management can be broken down into

three main areas: thresholds, rebates, and performance

clauses.

Communication Management

Communications management is the systematic planning,

implementing, monitoring, and revision of all the channels

of communication within an organization, and between

organizations; it also includes the organization and

dissemination of new communication directives connected

with an organization, network, or communications

technology. Aspects of communications management

include developing corporate communication strategies,

designing internal and external communications directives,

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and managing the flow of information, including online

communication. New technology forces constant innovation

on the part of communications managers

One simple and popular communications method is called

the weekly reporting method: every employee composes an

e-mail report, once a week, including information on their

activities in the preceding week, their plans for the

following week, and any other information deemed relevant

to the larger group, bearing in mind length considerations.

Reports are sent to managers, who summarize and report

to their own managers, eventually leading to an overall

summary led by the CEO, which is then sent to the board of

directors. The CEO then sends the board's summary back

down the ladder, where each manager can append an

additional summary or note before referring it to their

employees.

Eventually, each employee will receive a long e-mail,

containing many or all of the above-mentioned summaries,

from every level of management; reading the full result is

rarely a requirement. Curious or ambitious employees are

considered more likely to read the result; task-centered

employees, however, are not.

Scope Management

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A plan which describes how project scope will be managed

and how, Scope change will be integrated into the project.

Includes an assessment of how likely and frequently the

project scope may change and a description of how scope

changes will be identified and classified.

Scope Management Plan indicates:

A subsidiary element of the overall project plan.

Describes how project scope will be managed.

Describes how scope changes will be integrated into

the project.

Should also include an assessment of the expected

stability of the project scope.

Should also include a clear description of how scope

changes will be identified and classified.

Quality Management

Quality management can be considered to have three

main components: quality control, quality assurance and

quality improvement. Quality management is focused not

only on product quality, but also the means to achieve it.

Quality management therefore uses quality assurance and

control of processes as well as products to achieve more

consistent quality.

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The influence of quality thinking has spread to non-

traditional applications outside of walls of manufacturing,

extending into service sectors and into areas such as sales,

marketing and customer service

C) Characteristics of a project team:

Commitment:

Commitment to the project by the core team is critical

to the success of the project. The project manager must

know that eacrT core team member places a high priority of

fulfilling his or her roles and responsibilities in the project.

The core team must be proactive in fulfilling those

responsibilities and not need the constant reminders of

schedule and deliverables from the project manager.

Shared responsibility:

Shared responsibility means that success and failure

are equally the reward and blame of each team member.

Having shared responsibility means that you will never hear

one team member taking individual credit for a success on

the projects nor blaming another team member for a failure

on the project.

Flexibility:

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Team members must be willing to adapt to the

situation. “That is not my responsibility” doesn’t go very far

in project work, schedules may have to change at the last

minute to accommodate an unexpected situation. It is the

success of the project that has priority, not the schedule of

any one individual on the project team.

Task-orientedness

In the final analysis it is the team members’ ability to

get their assigned work down according to the project plan

that counts. In other words, they must be results-oriented.

Ability to work within schedule and constraints:

Parts of being results-oriented, means being able to

complete assignments within the timeframe planned

instead of offering excuses for not doing so. It is easy to

blame your delay on the delay of others – that is the easy

way out.

Willingness to give trust and mutual support:

Trust and mutual support are the hallmarks on an effective

team. That means that every member must convey these

qualities. Team members must be trusting and trustworthy.

Team-orientedness:

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To be team-oriented means to put the welfare of the

team ahead of your own. Behaviors as simple as the

individual’s frequencies of use of “I” versus “we” in team

meetings and conversations with other team members are

strong indicators of team orientation.

Open-mindedness:

The open-minded team member will welcome and

encourage other points of view and other solutions to

problem situations. His or her objective is clearly to do what

is best for the team and not look for individual kudos.

Ability to work across structure and authorities:

In the contemporary organization, projects tend to cross

organizational lines. Cross-departmental teams are

common. Projects such as these require the team member

to work with people form a variety of business disciplines.

Ability to use project management tools:

The team member must be able to leverage technology in

carrying out his or her project responsibilities. Projects are

planned using a variety of software tools, and the team

member must have some familiarity with these tools. Many

project managers will require the team member to input

activity status and other project progress data directly into

the project management software tool.

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Q3 What do you mean by Conflict, describe different sources of conflicts faced by the project managers? What are the different steps involved in resolving the conflicts.

Ans: A conflict is a dispute or a struggle in which each

party expresses opposition towards the other party or

interferes intentionally with other party’s goals attainment.

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Conflict can also be a disagreement about the allocation of

scarce resources or a clash of statuses, values, perceptions

or personalities. Behavioral scientists agree that conflict is

an abnormal phenomenon with only negative

consequences.

Some of the characteristics of conflicts are:

Conflict occurs when two parties have competing goals.

Conflict is unavoidable, and we can learn how to handle

it effectively.

Conflict is not always bad. Constructive conflict can

help solve problems and leads to new ideas.

The Collaborating strategy is the most effective way of

resolving conflict –the resolution is mutually beneficial

for all parties.

The other conflict resolution strategies can be

appropriate for certain types of situations.

Potential conflict over project priorities:

1. Conflict over project priorities:

2. The views of project participants often differ over the

sequence of activities and tasks that should be

understood to achieve successfully. Conflict over

priorities may also not only between the project team

and other support groups but also within the project

team.

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3. Conflict over administrative procedures:

4. A number of managerial and administrative oriented

conflicts may develop over how the project is

managed. The definition of project manager’s reporting

relationships, definition of responsibilities, interface

relationships, project operational requirements, plan of

execution, negotiated work agreements with other

groups and procedures for administrative support.

5. Conflict over technical opinions and performance trade-

off:

6. In technology-oriented projects, disagreements may

arise over technical issues. Performance specifications,

technical trade-offs and the means to achieve

performance.

7. Conflict over manpower resources:

8. Conflicts may arise around the planning of the project

team with personnel from other functional and support

areas or from the desire to use another department’s

personnel for project support even though the

personnel remain under the authority of their functional

or staff superiors.

9. Conflict over cost:

10. Frequently, conflict may develop over cost

estimates form support areas regarding various project

work breakdown packages. For example, the funds

allocated by a project manager to a functional; support

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group might be perceived as insufficient for the support

requested.

11. Conflict over schedules:

12. Disagreement may develop around the timing,

sequencing and scheduling of a project related tasks.

13. Personality conflict:

14. Disagreements may tend to center on

interpersonal differences rather than on technical

issues. Conflicts often are ego-centered.

Steps to resolve conflicts

1. The strategy for managing conflicts is that of

compromise (give and take). In this approach

conflicting parties are asked to make certain sacrifices

in exchange for some concessions from the other party

for the good of the company.

2. We must encourage productive conflict and reduce

destructive conflict to foster the positive outcome of

disagreement and minimize more adverse effects.

3. Another strategy is handling conflict head-on. It is

nothing but standing firm and taking the role of a

dictator and rejecting the views and beliefs of the other

party or standing between the warring factions and

ordering to cease the conflict.

4. The success of resolving conflicts depends on the

mutual cooperation and creativity of the parties.

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5.To successfully resolve a conflict, we must understand

both sides of the issues, discus how the conflict affects

people’s performance. Focus should be on facts and

behavior and not on feelings or personalities/egos.

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