Sei sulla pagina 1di 18

Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2

_____________________________________________________________________________

Unit 2 Traits of a Project Manager

Structure

2.1 Introduction:
Objectives:
2.2 Project manager‟s knowledge base.
Self Assessment Questions: 1
2.3. Developing People Management Skills
Self Assessment Questions: 2
2.4 Business related Competency
Self Assessment Questions: 3
2.5 Business Knowledge in Project Professionals
Self Assessment Questions: 4
2.6 Summary
2.7 Terminal Questions:
2.8 Answers to SAQs and TQ‟s

2.1 Introduction:
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 behaviour 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.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 17
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

2.2 Project manager’s knowledge base.


Real education is supposed to change the mental make-up of a man, his outlook
towards life and things around him, in short, his commitment. If we really possess the
shortcomings that have been highlighted in the above referred report, then we need a
good education programme and not simply short-term training programmes. The short-
term training programmes are good to impart skills in preparation of networks,
development of performance budgets, design of systems, performance measurement,
project reviews, etc. but they would not prepare a man to accept uncertainties without
any grouse, continuously project things he would be required to manage, and above all
manage a project through installation of self-controlling systems.

Perhaps the need for a basic degree in engineering comes from acceptance of the fact
that an engineer's main business is design, operation and maintenance of systems,
though the emphasis there is mainly on hardware systems. The hardware system forms
the core in any project and the concern for effective performance of the hardware is so
over-riding that almost all recruitment advertisements for project managers look for an
engineer having a basic degree in the hardware system of the project. Whether this is
necessary can be debated at length, but the employers as also the educational planners
seem to have agreed on one point that a project manager must have basic education in
the hardware system which forms the heart of any project.

An organization chart, in most cases, is the simplest and quickest way to demonstrate
the project manager's authority. Details such as where a project manager is positioned,
to whom he reports, those with whom he communicates, and all those who report to him,
will tell much about a project manager's authority though not in very clear terms.

A project manager may be positioned in many situations, and in each case the authority
he can wield and consequently the end results he can produce will be different. He
serves, at best, as a staff assistant to the chief executive. The project manager, in this
position, does not make any decision for the project, nor does he provide any staff
service to the functional departments who make all the decisions relating to the project.
The project manager merely collects information—collects and communicates the same
to the chief executive. This arrangement may be chosen by a chief executive who wants
to directly control the project but cannot devote much time to keep track of details.

The chief executive may expect the project manager to coordinate and expedite the
project which the latter will find a very trying proposition in view of his not having any
authority. He may influence some decisions taken by the chief executive or by the
functional departments, but he cannot himself make any decision which can become

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 18
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

binding for others. In other words, he has to rely on personal authority for getting things
done and not on positional authority.

Many would consider that at least for engineering construction projects, the project
manager should possess a basic degree in engineering—advanced education in project
management and/or training in effective project management could follow. Accordingly,
almost all the universities who are thinking of formal education in project management
are planning for post-graduate programmes after a basic engineering education. This,
one could see, is slightly different from general management education programmes
where even arts graduates are admitted.

Area Specific Competency


Business 1. Business and industry knowledge—understanding of
Competencies business dynamics, and key success factors in your
industry; understanding measures of performance
2. Organizational knowledge—understanding your
organization‟s goals, strategies, priorities, culture, key
measures
3. Financial management—budgeting, projecting income
and costs; tracking variance; working within a budget;
calculating return on investment and business impact of
programs
Interpersonal 4. Communicating—active listening; attending to others;
Competencies getting your message across; giving and receiving
feedback; writing clearly, using correct grammar and
spelling
5. Inspiring others—building sponsorship; motivating
others; advocating for training; getting stakeholders to care
6. Managing expectations—contracting; setting and
managing expectations; explaining when training is not the
solution
7. Building relationships and networking—actively
building relationships inside and outside your organization
9. Managing resources—identifying, selecting and working
effectively with internal subject-matter-experts and external
resources (consultants, professors, interns, etc.)
Intellectual 10. Prioritization and decision-making—setting priorities
Competencies based on needs; making decisions based on priorities
11. Organization and project management—organizing to

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 19
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

be productive; planning and tracking multiple tasks and


projects
12. Strategic thinking—seeing the big picture; identifying
realistic strategies to accomplish short and long-term
organizational goals
HRD 13. Needs assessment—using a range of methods to
Technical identify and prioritize gaps in learning and performance;
Competencies distinguishing training needs from other types of needs
14. HRD knowledge—designing, managing development of
learning and performance solutions; evaluating
effectiveness of solutions; using adult learning theory;
performance consulting
15. E-learning—understanding requirements for effective
E-learning; managing E-learning resources; evaluating
effectiveness of E-learning
16. Facilitation of learning—leading adult groups to
encourage learning face-to-face and through technology
17. Consulting—working with clients to identify problems
and to find workable solutions; using appropriate consulting
style for the situation
Personal 18. Positive attitude—being optimistic; seeing
Competencies opportunities in any situation; staying upbeat; avoiding burn-
out
19. Resilience—bouncing back from change, challenges,
stress and difficulties; being proactive and open to change
20. Flexibility—envisioning a wide range of solutions;
adjusting approach in mid-stream; willing to choose a good
solution even though it isn‟t perfect

Self Assessment Questions: 1


1. A Project Manager’s preferred qualification is in the domain of
A. Software of the project
B. Hardware of the Project
C. People Skills
D. Language Skills

2. Which of the following is not one of the listed areas of competency for a
Project Manager?
A. Communication skills

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 20
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

B. Interpersonal Skills
C. Cultural Competency
D. None of the above

2.3. Developing 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 organizations 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 work. And how to work with the
organization. Organizational skills are particularly important during the project
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 21
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

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 organisation‟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 orgaisations 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 obvious 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.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 22
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

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 previous 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. That is the topic of the next section.

Self Assessment Questions: 2


1. Which of the following skills is not related to People Management skills for
Project Management?
A. Team building skills
B. Business Skills
C. Conflict Resolution skills

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 23
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

D. Writing Skills

2.4 Business related Competency


A project manager must make decisions to guide the actions of others. This, in brief, is
his authority. A project manager, in the first instance, must have authority to enable him,
in turn, delegate it to others. These are some of the important issues which must be
considered for the successful implementation of a project.

The know-how required by a project manager in handling project management


dealing with:
1. Project scope
2. Project goals
3. Project execution mode
4. Project organization
5. Project purchase
6. Contracts, contractors and consultants
7. Project technical performance
8. Project schedules and budgets
9. Fund and other resources
10. Project personnel
11. Public/Shareholders
12. Project environment
13. Management systems and procedure
14. Project performance review

It can be easily understood that on some matters the project manager will have no
authority, and on others he may either have absolute authority or share with corporate
and functional managers. Therefore, unless there is some documentation about the
project manager's authority, there is bound to be some confusion. This would partly
explain why project managers in different organizations may function differently. Even in
the same organization two project managers may not be able to function identically if
some minimum documentation does not exist.

For a company executing projects either regularly or for the first time, it would be neces-
sary for the chief executive to issue what may be called a project charter soon after the
project manager is appointed. The charter, at its minimum, may define the project scope,
the project goals, name the project manager and his directing authority, name the project
reviewing authority and request cooperation of all concerned in the execution of the
project. Only the inexperienced would believe that problems relating to authority get
resolved once a project manual is prepared.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 24
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

A consensus on the same has not been reached as yet. Meanwhile, it may be
worthwhile for us to discuss what our expectations from the project manager are and
leave it to the educational planners to design the curriculum for the education and
training of project managers.

A project manager requires a unique set of roles and responsibilities for executing his
duties. It would appear that these may vary depending on the agency a project manager
represents. Of course, the roles and responsibilities of the owner's project manager
would not be exactly the same as that of the prime contractor or that of a project
management consultant. The project manager‟s specific tasks falls into two main
elements like:

1. He has the responsibility to define „How‟ the task will be done and „where‟ it
will be done.
2. He also has the responsibility of providing sufficient resources to accomplish the
objectives with the project constraints.

In order to fulfill the above said responsibilities, the project manager requires
competencies in the following business areas.

Sl. No Business Knowledge & Technical Related Competency and Description:


1 Composure
 To Demonstrate the ability to remain calm under pressure without
becoming defensive or irritated
 Handles own stress well and does not show frustration when resisted or
blocked
It is an asset for the organisation if the project manager holds this
competency. It helps during crisis and is able to hold things together.
2 Aptitude to Manage Conflict
 Sees conflict as opportunities and steps forward to deal with them
 Uses excellent active listening skills to read situations quickly, settle
disputes equitably and hammer out tough agreements
He looks for win-win agreements that can be understood & accepted by the
team
3 Decision-Making Ability
 Makes good decisions based upon analysis, wisdom, experience and
judgment.
 Most solutions & suggestions turn out to be correct and accurate when
judged over time.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 25
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

4 Influences Others
 Demonstrates core values and beliefs during good and bad times
 Builds constructive and effective relationships and uses group process
skills to lead or direct a group
He anticipates the effect of an action on people's image of the project and
uses facts, reasons and data to build support.
5 Motivates Others
 Creates a climate in which people want to do their best
 Empowers others by pushing tasks and decisions down and sharing
ownership and visibility
 Makes each individual feel his/her work is important
6 Organizational Savvy
 Is sensitive to how people and organizations function
 Maneuvers through complex political situations effectively and quietly
 Anticipates where the landmines are and plans his/her approach
accordingly
7 Inspires Ownership and Commitment
 Sets challenging goals for self and others and expects high performance
and quality outcomes
 Requires compliance with project standards
 Accepts overall responsibility for success or failure of the project
8 Problem Solving Ability
 Defines problems and identifies root causes
 Verifies assumptions and conducts risk assessment
 Facilitates group problem solving
9 Strategic Communicator
 Keeps key stakeholders informed regarding project status, milestone
performance, meeting notifications and outcomes and other needed
information
 Orchestrates communication so that it is understood, timely and
meaningful to team members, project sponsors and other stakeholders
 Provides communication is that both strategic and tactical
10 Team Manager
 Blends people into teams when needed and defines team goals,
responsibilities and measurements for success
 Creates a spirit and feeling of belonging in his/her team
 Lets people be responsible for their work while holding them accountable

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 26
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

11 Capacity to Execute
 Marshals resources (people, funding, material, support) to get things done
and uses them effectively and efficiently
 Orchestrates multiple activities at once to accomplish a goal
 Keeps people focused on the most important goals and translates them
into specific actions that can be broadly understood
 Continually and publicly measures and assesses project status and
performance against visible standards
 Consistently holds people accountable
12 Budget and Fiscal Capacity
 Develops realistic budgets and guides work within budgetary constraints
 Is sensitive to the agency's various funding streams, fiscal periods and
restrictions
13 Contracting Process
 Uses specifications, deadlines, incentives and penalties to obtain vendor
services and deliverables
14 Defining Work
 Uses a work breakdown structure to identify, organize and schedule tasks
to ensure timely completion
Managing Project Parameters
15  Works with all levels of stakeholders to define project goal, requirements
and scope
 Leads a requirements gathering session so that identification of
requirements can be completed and approved
16 Project Performance
 Manages a project by measuring and monitoring status/performance
 Takes corrective actions as and when required
 Prioritizes unexpected tasks and issues and manages important tasks
simultaneously
17 Project Planning
 Estimates work effort and resources required using input from subject
matter experts, work breakdown structures and questioning techniques.
 Determines workflow and critical path

In other words, once the project manager identifies the requirement for the project, it
becomes his responsibility to identify the technical criteria. The only exception in the
area of R and D here the line manager is usually more technically sound. The line
manager also has the duty and power of allocating resources and appointing jobs to
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 27
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

different people. The functional or line manager is usually under tremendous pressure to
live up to their commitments. They have to cope with;

1. Unlimited work requests


2. Predetermined deadlines
3. Complying requests from higher authorities.
4. Limited number and availability of resources.
5. Unscheduled changes in project plan
6. Unplanned loss, breakdown or absence of resources.
7. Unpredicted lack of progress.

Project management has a special set of tools and techniques, which has scientific
approaches enabling the project managers to plan and evaluate the progress f the
project. But, these tools and techniques are not an end in themselves as they are
capable of generating only numbers and not solutions. It is left to the human wisdom to
interpret these numeric results and implement changes in the project suitably. Thus, the
tools indicate „what; is to be done, but do not indicate how is must be done.

The project manager therefore must plan, monitor and control the project. Along with
handling people and situations, a project manager need to develop competencies in
technical areas in order to handle the technical issues and guide his subordinates on the
delicate issues related to technology. Hence, he should be equipped with some technical
tools and techniques in handling projects.

The Tools and techniques can be broadly grouped as


1. Project selection Techniques :
a. Cost benefit
b. Risk and sensitivity analysis

2. Project Execution Planning Techniques :


a. Work Breakdown structure (WBS)
b. Project execution plan (PEP)
c. Project Responsibility Matrix
d. Project Management Manual

3. Project scheduling and coordinating Techniques


a. Bar Charts
b. Line of balance
c. Network Diagrams (PERT / CPM)
d. Life cycle Curves.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 28
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

4. Project Monitoring and Progressing Techniques.


a. Progress Measurement Technique (PROMPT)
b. Performance Monitoring Technique (PERMIT)
c. Updating, Reviewing and Reporting Technique (URT)

5. Project cost and Productivity Control Technique:


a. Value Engineering
b. Productivity Budgeting Technique
c. Cost/WBS

6. Project Communication and Clean up Technique


a. Control Room
b. Computerized information system

There could be several variations of the execution arrangement. Take, for instance, the
owner's project manager. He has a responsibility to ensure that productivity of the capital
investment in the project is the highest, i.e. the owner company should be able to build
more projects or more saleable products or outputs with same or lesser capital
investment. Now the project manager for a work-package contract could not be charged
with this responsibility. His job is to complete the scope of work entrusted to his
company as per contract specifications.

He would really not be interested in proposing relaxation of certain specifications or


elimination of certain items of work which merely add to the cost of the project but not to
the value just because it would improve capital productivity. Roles and responsibilities of
project managers will vary. For that matter, one may also conclude that the scope of
project management would depend on the participating agency. Accordingly, there could
be different types of project management, namely, project management by owner,
project management by consultant, project management by contractor, etc.

To be true to the definition and concept of the project and that of project management,
we should not accept such views. Accordingly, while a sub-contractor may designate his
manager as project manager, what he performs should not represent the complete roles
and responsibilities of a project manager. In fact, they are only discharging certain
limited roles and responsibilities which have been delegated to them; they are not
discharging the total function of project management.

A project manager should have fixed roles and responsibilities, and if it so happens that
due to the design of project execution arrangement, a subcontractor's manager also
performs the same, then and then alone, we should call him a project manager. This
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 29
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

approach is necessary to ensure inculcation of professional ethics and development of a


body of knowledge which will meet the need of all types of project managers.
The basic roles and responsibilities of a project manager that we are referring to could
be grouped under twelve heads:

1. Defining and maintaining the integrity of a project


2. Development of project execution plan
3. Organization for execution of the plan
4. Setting of targets and development of systems & procedures for accomplishment of
project objectives and targets
5. Negotiation for commitments
6. Direction, coordination and control of project activities
7. Contract management.
8. Non-human resource management including fiscal matters
9. Problem-solving
10. Man management
11. Satisfaction of customer, Government and the public
12. Achievement of project objectives, cash surplus and higher productivity

Some of the above roles and responsibilities can be considered as general management
capabilities.

Self Assessment Questions: 3


1. In order to get the work done, a project manager has to use his
A. Knowledge of Business
B. People handling skills
C. Technical Knowledge
D. Decision making skills
E. All of the above

2. Which of the following is not one of the challenges in Projects?


A. Unlimited work requests
B. Unplanned delays
C. Unscheduled changes in plans
D. None of the above

3. Which of the following is not one of the roles and responsibilities of the
project manager?
A. System Administration
B. Negotiating for commitments
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 30
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

C. Contract Management
D. All of the above.

2.5 Business Knowledge in Project Professionals


The business decision to assess how the expected loss compares to the cost of
defraying all or some of the loss and then talking the appropriate action, with project
management, the risks that need to be managed are those that will hurt the project itself.
While the project may impact the total business, the total business is not the domain of
the project manager.

This would not be a viable proposition since we may not get many individual specialists
in all aspects of a cement project from limestone prospecting to cement dispatch to meet
the requirement of any country. Neither will those individuals be young and alert enough
to be trained in any new art and science of management.

We believe that this is not necessary. The reality of life teaches us that no individual in
our society, howsoever gifted he might be, can be complete by himself. We all do and
need to supplement each other to survive. This holds true for any system, and in project
management we talk of management-only through system approach.

It would be easy to supplement the inadequacies of a project manager if we are


prepared to accept the project manager's basic role as that of a system integrator and
accept with humility that what the world needs, particularly what India needs, is that
people must work together and nothing great can be achieved unless people can be
made to work together. That is the discipline or specialisation we need for our survival,
growth and prosperity.

It is the synergy that we need to bank upon, and not the energy of a few supermen for
completing our giant projects or completing the great task of elevating our standard of
living through techno-economic projects. If we have been able to achieve success in
some of our projects, without proper education or training in project management, we
must admit we have been able to do so because of a few supermen. We need
education, and training in project management, because no country in the world is lucky
enough to have such supermen in large numbers.

The Six Phases „of the business knowledge areas to be possessed by a Project
manager are given below.

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 31
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

PAHSE DESCRIPTION
Phase 1: Discovery phase. The team investigates, discusses,
Knowledge about the clarifies, and defines the situation. It is important for the
environment or situations team to understand the root causes and evidence that led to
the need for a decision.
Phase II: Characterized by brainstorming and searching for new ideas
Knowledge about and alternatives for resolving the situation, which should
handling teams lead to better choices for the decision. Above all, the team
needs to avoid a rush to judgment
Phase III: Define the criteria for evaluating the alternative decisions.
Ability of making right This involves identifying the advantages and disadvantages
decision of each alternative. Whatever approach is used, the result
should be a ranking of alternatives from most desirable to
least desirable.
Phase IV: Begins once the alternative is chosen. This is the planning
Decision action plan phase for the project team. The team determines activities,
resources, and time lines that are required to implement the
decision. This phase requires a concerted effort to obtain
buy-in from all affected parties.
Phase V: Decision Learning opportunity for the project team. The team
evaluation planning identifies what did and did not work, as well as areas in
which it can improve and how to do so. The value of this
discussion lies in the team's willingness to be honest and
straightforward with one another
Phase VI: Evaluation of Focuses on the quality of results. The team evaluates the
outcome and process situation: Was the situation improved satisfactorily, or will
another round be required? Was the situation defined
correctly, or is revision required? Did the process work as
expected, or will it need adjustment for the next attempt?

Self Assessment Questions: 4


1. Discovery Phase is knowledge about
A. Environment of the project
B. Evaluation of outcomes and processes
C. Decision Action
D. All of the above

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 32
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

2.6 Summary
In the past three decades, business management has dramatically changed, prior to
1970, management was predominantly top down, rules based, and autocratic. A
militaristic philosophy was common. This changed as companies realized that when
power was restricted to the top few, creativity and discretionary performances suffered.
In the 1980s, team based values driven organizations appeared. More employee
participate philosophies were introduced.

Companies were no longer driven by rules and autocrats but by systems and teams.
They were still managed by rules, policies and standard operating procedures. The
effect was to standardize behaviors and shape people to fit process. This visionary
1990s inspired a shared mission, vision, values and objectives approach and opened the
process for greater employee participation with a shared vision and plan people were
considered in Sync with the direction and priorities of management.

2.7 Terminal Questions:


1. List the essential competency areas for a Project manager
2. What are the preferred components of the knowledge base of a Project
Manager?
3. List and explain a few Business related competencies of a Project Manager.
4. What are some of the areas of project management in which the Manager is
required to apply his knowledge and competence?
5. Name some of the tools and techniques a Project Manager is required to use in
his scope of work.
6. What are the phases of Business Knowledge areas a Project Manager is
expected to possess?

2.8 Answers to SAQs and TQ’s

SAQ 1
(1) B
(2) C

SAQ 2
(1) D

SAQ 3
(1) E
(2) D
(3) A
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 33
Managing Human Resources in Projects Unit 2
_____________________________________________________________________________

SAQ 4
(1) A

Answers to Terminal Questions:


(1) Refer Section 2.1 Page 3
(2) Refer Section 2.1 Page 3,4
(3) Refer Section 2.3 Pages 9,10
(4) Refer Section 2.3 Page 8
(5) Refer Section 2.3 Page 13,14
(6) Refer Section 2.4 Page 18

_____________________________________________________________________________
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 34

Potrebbero piacerti anche