Spring 2008, King Saud University Engineering Administration Dr. Khalid Al-Gahtani 1 Project Management Functions Planning – (what are we aiming for and

Spring 2008, King Saud University

Engineering AdministrationDr. Khalid Al-Gahtani

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Project Management Functions

• Planning– (what are we aiming for and why?)

• Organizing– (what’s involved and why?)

• Motivation– (what motivates people to do their best work?)

• Directing– (who decides what and when?)

• Control– (who judges results and by what standards?)



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Leading (Directing)

• Motivation and leadership• Teamworking and Creativity



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Motivation

• Motivation tries to determine what gets people to work and what gets them to work better

• Motivation affects the production and quality of work



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Motivation (Continue)• Lack of motivation creates several problems

such as:– people do not feel like doing the job or– it gets done but not very well,– people get to work late,– miss deadlines, ..., etc.

• Many factors affect why people take jobs and the weightings applied to each factor vary with each individual

• Psychology has much to offer in the way of motivational theories.



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Self- fulfillment

Self-expression

Recognition, respect

Safety, shelter, warmth, etc

Physiological needs, food, clothing etc.

Basic Needs (Physical)

Higher Needs (Psychological)

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

1. Working conditions 2. Salary 3. Relations with superiors

working condition 4. Company policy

1. Achievement 2. recognition 3. the work itself (type of work) 4. taking responsibility (level of responsibility) 5. chance to advance

(promotion)

Herzberg

Hyg

iene

fac

tor

Mot

ivat

ors

Maslow and Herzberg



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John W. Hunt• Hunt proposed that:

– predicting people’s behavior is achieved by considering their personal goals.

– People can be motivated by creating an environment in which their goals can be satisfied while the goals of the organization are also satisfied.

• Individual’s goals are:– comfort, structure, relationships, recognition

and status, power, autonomy, creativity, and growth.



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John W. Hunt (Continue)• Hunt assumes people’s needs are not

constant – in contrast of Herzberg and Maslow

theories.• Example: A graduate engineer will have

a goal of finding a job that offer good training. Later this goal will be better salary, then the goal is to find flexible job…etc.



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Motivation in Practice

• Practically, motivation is a complex process-what motive one person might not motivate another.

• Managers have to try to build up what their subordinates are likely to like and then establish what it is that drive them.

• Questioning subordinates is unlikely to provide reliable answers in short period of time.



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Leadership

• Leadership is the way in which managers influence people to meet the objectives of the organization.

• Authority should be achieved through respect so that people do what is needed because they themselves appreciate the need.



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Leadership (Cont.)

• Establishing leadership is difficult. It is a management skill that can be developed with time.

• People have to be motivated through sound leadership in order to meet the company’s objectives.

• There is no correct way to lead, but there are different styles depending on the circumstances.



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Leading Styles

1. Authoritarian:– Allowing the subordinate no role in the decision-

making

2. Democratic:– Where the decision making is delegated to the

subordinates

3. Task-centered leader:– The leader is concerned with the task to be

accomplished and sees subordinates as tools that are used to get the job done.



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Leading Styles

4. The employs-centered leader:– Leader is mainly concerned with the welfare and

well-being of subordinates, with the view that if the subordinates are cared for them the task will be achieved through their commitment.

5. Theory X: – “old-fashioned” managers believe that people dislike

work and must be forced to work and that people prefer to be told what to do.



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Leading Styles

5. Theory Y: – (opposite of X),– people exercise self-direction and self-

control in the service of objectives to which they are committed.

– People will actively look for responsibility and use their imagination and creativity to solve problems.



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Factors of Leadership styles

1. For Managers:– personalities, background knowledge,

experience, value system, confidence in employees.

2. For subordinate:– knowledge, experience, working as groups,

their feeling of independence or to be guided.

3. The situation:– company’s expectation, culture, constraints

(time, confidentiality, …etc).



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Teamworking and Creativity

• Teamworking• Optimization Team Composition-Theory• Managing the Creative Process• Problems Solving• Methods to Improve Solution Generation• Decision Making (Proposal Evaluation)



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Teamworking

• Teamworking is a life long habit for mankind:– In family,– at school, and– at work we work in teams.

• Teams are often formed to solve problems and so needed to be creative.



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Teamworking (Cont.)

• Teamworking brings true holisom.– Holistic team is an entity whose whole is greater

than the sum of its parts.– This means that the group acquires new abilities

that the individuals could not have provided along (i.e. colonies of ants).

• Mangers need to know:– how to bring about the benefits of holistic teams– and has to avoid forming ineffective teams (team

composition).



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Optimization Team Composition-Theory

• Team theories describe how to form the best possible team.

• A good theory must describe not only how to select individuals, but has to select groups that will work effectively together “team balancing”.



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1. Simple Theories

• In most models, separate team roles are identified:– could be functions that the team requires for

success such as leading, or– they may be attributes of people that are helpful

in teamworking such as respect for colleagues.• Each theory describes a way of identifying

the attributes a given individual can bring to the team (through questionnaire).



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1. Simple Theories (Cont.)

• These theories do not provide:– experimental evidence to support their

prediction– nor do they provide a way of measuring the

role each individual take in team with accuracy.• They are only concerned about:

– having the required expertise in the team– and not concerned about team homogeneity.



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2. Advanced Team Theory (Belbin Theory)

• Belbin’s research was centered on the performance of teams at a management game called “Teamopoly”.

• Belbin uses proven psychological classifications to generate his team roles.



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Team-role developed by Belbin

1. Company worker (CW);– carries out agreed plans systematically and

efficiently.

2. Chairman (CH);– control the way in which a team moves toward

the group objectives.



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3. Sharper (SH);– shapes the way team effort is applied

(discussion, outcome of group activities).

4. Plant (PL);– advances new ideas and strategies to major

issues.



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5. Resources Investigator (RI);– explores and reports on ideas,– development and resources outside the

group.

6. Monitor Evaluation (ME);– analysis problems,– evaluates ideas and– suggestions.



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7. Team Worker (TW);– supports members in their strengths and

underpinning members in their shortcomings.

8. Completer Finisher (CF);– ensures that the team is protected against

mistakes in aspects which need high attention.



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2. Belbin Theory (Cont.)

• A questionnaire-based analysis of team roles are used to produce a numerical rating for each individual.

• A successful team is a balanced team,– one in which all roles are present and

unbalanced team will be a losing team.



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• This theory was experimentally verified, therefore, it has found its way into the practice of many organizations that use it for forming teams (i.e. Board of Directors).



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• Belbin also produced a list of dangerous group combinations:– as a contradiction to the proposal that the

best way to form a team is to pick one expert or more in each field required.

• Belbin theory takes into account availability of expertise and team homogeneity.



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Managing the Creative Process

• Contemporary creativity comes from group-work.

• Modern problem solving is an organized, rational approach aimed at producing the required breakthroughs at the times they are needed.



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Problems Solving

• Problem solving is the gateway to progress• Several techniques exist. Any good

technique should include the following steps in some form or another.

– STEP1: Examination– STEP2: Proposal– STEP3: Implications– STEP4: Implementation



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STEP1: Examination

• In order to solve a problem one should be clear on what the problem actually is.

• Clarity of thought and the application of rationality are the keys to being accurate in identifying the real problem.



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STEP2: Proposal

• A good problem solving depends on being able to identify the best solution to the problems.

• It is usually difficult to arrive at the best solution straight way.

• The ideal approach is to produce lots of different ideas and then weigh one against another to find the best one.



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STEP3: Implications

• Usually a proposal designed to solve a problem will have implications.

• Some implications are significant enough to render a proposal unworkable.



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STEP4: Implementation

• No solution to a problem is complete without due considerations being given to implementation of the solution.

• Implementing a solution to a problem is a management issue. A plan must be produced for implementing the solution.



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Methods to Improve Solution Generation

• To generate ideas needed for the proposal phase of the problem-solving process, two techniques are presented:– (1) Brainstorming,– (2) lateral thinking.



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(1) Brainstorming

• The technique aims at generating a big number of solutions to a given problem. In most cases only a few of the generated ideas will be used to solve the problem.



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(1) Brainstorming (Cont.)

• The technique relies on having a group seeing the problem with fresh eyes and using their imagination to produce solutions.

• During a brainstorming session, ideas should be generated free from rational constraints. After the session a rational approach is used for the selection of a good solution.



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(2) Lateral Thinking:

• In vertical thinking one starts with known conditions and then applies steps of reasoning to reach a goal (engineers use this).

• In lateral thinking one has an inspiration and sees a new angle of the problem and the solution is accordingly. It is a brainstorming on your own.



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Decision Making (Proposal Evaluation)

• Good decision making is a key to success• Decision making as a process can be

divided into independent, elemental sections and optimizing each one.– I Decision-making Techniques– II Collecting– III Start with Objectives



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(I) Decision-making Techniques

• Objectives facilitate clear and corporately beneficial decision-making at all levels.

• Rational decision making is impossible with conflicting objectives.



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(II) Collecting

• Whenever a decision is to be made there are always options.

• Data collecting aims at: (1) collecting sufficient amount of facts about each

option

(2) ensuring that all options are known.• Quantity and accuracy of data collected has

to be consistent with the measurable effects of the decision.



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(III) Start with Objectives• Occasional wrong decision is an inevitable

consequence of making decisions. People should learn from mistakes.

• Some of the evaluative techniques that may be used to assist the process are:– (1) Search for Extrema– (2) Penalty Costs– (3) Matrix Assessment– (4) Overriding Constraints– (5) Use of Math– (6) Consequence Analysis



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(1) Search for Extrema

• Sometimes objectives may require the decision maker to aim at extremum (max. or min.) of some variables. (e.g. min. possible time ≥ C.P. plans)

• Extrema are poor ways to specify objectives and lead to unclear choice (What project duration is acceptable should be the question)

• Sometimes they are appropriate and they are used in common practice.



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(2) Penalty Costs

• All decision come not only with potential benefits but also with costs associated with the decision being wrong (Penalty costs)

• The Risk associated with the decision usually decided taking it or not.



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(3) Matrix Assessment

• A very simple and effective way of choosing among alternatives when many different attributes have to be weighted against each other (see Fig.)



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(3) Matrix Assessment

Attribute Max. score

Glass Plastic-

N3 Silica

Plastic-N2

Clarity 20 19 17 15 17 Low cost 20 5 15 10 18 Weight 20 2 19 13 16

Refractive index 15 14 8 9 12 uniformity 10 10 6 8 6 Stability 15 15 11 13 11

Total 100 65 76 68 80



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(4) Overriding Constraints

• In some cases overriding constraints significantly reduce the number of options available. Such constraints should first be identified before the beginning of the process:– (i.e. upgrading an existing camera model without

changing the original body shell-space constraint).



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(5) Use of Math

• A good technique to use to arrive at a decision (unbiased and dependable). Some times it allows for probability evaluation in the process of decisions making.



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(6) Consequence Analysis• In some cases the consequence of a

decision interacts with the issue upon which the decision is made.

• Anticipating all consequences possible of a given action is not usually possible so efforts should be directed in the most important directions.

• For the use when the consequence of a decision is so essential in the selection process (price reduction decision).

Documents

Spring 2008, King Saud University Engineering Administration Dr. Khalid Al-Gahtani 1 Project Management Functions Planning – (what are we aiming for and