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CEPL554: Earned Value Management


This course includes:

Two self-check quizzes

Two discussions

One tool for use on the job

One final project

Completing all of the coursework should take about five to seven hours.

What You'll Learn

Apply the earned value method for assessing degrees of project completion

Create accurate forecasts to communicate time and budget required for project completion

Diagnose and resolve work motivation problems

Apply best practices in coaching and development situations

Course Description

As a project manager, you are responsible for knowing how your project is performing against timelines and budgets. This

course introduces you to a method that allows you to quickly determine if your project is off target by calculating metrics

that describe the work already performed on a project against the proposed expectations. You also learn how to design

jobs by identifying what motivates employees and develop coaching skills to help employees meet project goals.

Frank Wayno Senior Lecturer, College of Engineering, Cornell University

is a specialist in large-scale organizational change and managerial effectiveness.Frank Wayno

He recently researched the processes for total quality success used by winners of the Malcolm

Baldrige Award. His consulting work has involved helping entrepreneurial firms in a variety of


Click Play to Listen

industries manage the life-cycle transitions that occur with growth. Frank developed a successful

consulting practice with manufacturing and service organizations on competency-based

behavioral education for executives and increasing organizational effectiveness through

participative change strategies. Before that he was a corporate officer at Merrill Lynch, charged

with advising senior management on work redesign and organizational restructuring.

Start Your Course


Module Introduction: Earned Value Method

As the project manager, your stakeholders look to you to keep your project's budget and timeline moving according to

plan. But in the uncertain environment that surrounds each project, it is likely that something will happen to force some

sort of deviation from the plan. When this happens, it is important that the project manager be able to maintain credibility

by demonstrating knowledge about the deviations and defining alternatives for how to overcome them.

Control systems are designed to help you understand where a project is relative to plan. As a project manager, you will be

called upon to demonstrate your understanding of project performance. An accurate control system is an effective means

of explaining project status to your stakeholders. This, in turn, helps demonstrate your capabilities as a project manager.

The earned value method acts a control system, helping you to understand when and how your project has deviated from

schedule. But how does it work? This module introduces the key metrics for the earned value model and demonstrates

how you can use those metrics to create forecasts that demonstrate project realities to your stakeholders.


Watch: Talking About Success


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2.

3.

4.

Read: Components of a Control System

Key Points

Control system: monitoring and controlling performance, cost, and schedule

A project can meet 2/3 of these needs, and still fail the third

Project managers are in the business of bounding and coping with uncertainty. Your organization probably has its own

tools for this function, be they Gantt charts, budgeting software, or other project management tools and processes.

For project managers, a control system must contain a means of monitoring and controlling performance, cost, and

schedule. It is important to consider that even if a project is on time and on budget, it can fail with regard to performance

quality. Likewise, it might be within cost limits but well behind schedule. For this reason, it is essential that you have an

integrated method for communicating these three elements in such a way that the dependencies and trade-offs are clear.

Obradovitch and Stephanou (1990) note that the communication and control system must include some combination of

the following elements:

Financial reports-most organizations have a pre-existing system for calculating expenses and generating reports

Updated network plans (project graphs)-showing changes and slippages for all project components

Performance, cost, and time graphs, including variance reports

Progress reports

Subcontractor or vendor performance reports (if applicable)

Special problem reports

Results of meetings-including project and system design reviews

In general, the project manager should always be able to answer these vital questions:

Will the project be completed on time?

Are costs consistent with work completed? Will there be enough money left to complete the project?

Does the quality of performance meet the specifications?

What problems are you experiencing and what progress are you making in affecting solutions?

Understanding the answers to these questions allows the project manager to speak confidently about the progress of the

project and helps management make the best decisions about how to proceed with a given project. Having a control

system in place demonstrates your effectiveness as a project manager and helps you to display confidence and

competence in your leadership and managerial oversight abilities.

M. M. Obradovitch and S. E. Stephanou. "Project Planning and Scheduling," pp. 81-90 in Project Management: Risks and

. Daniel Spencer Publishers, 1990.Productivity


Read: Gantt Charts

Key Points

Gantt charts provide clear visual representation: completed work, remaining work

Gantt chart shows degrees of completeness

A Gantt chart is a common tool for communicating and controlling a project's progress. Gantt charts provide clear visual

representation of what work has been completed and what work still needs to be done. They also demonstrate how the

work that has or has not been done might influence the rest of the project, making the status of the project clear to you

and your stakeholders.

The tasks listed in a Gantt chart are equivalent to those listed in a work breakdown structure. That is, the task list is the

differentiated list of items that need to be accomplished to successfully complete the project. You can create subtasks to

show more precisely how the project will be completed. The group bar can also help you demonstrate the

interdependencies of one task to the others.

Gantt charts use shading to demonstrate the level of completeness of a given task. Note that the group bar inherits the

completion of its subtasks. In addition to providing timelines that tell stakeholders whether work is or is not finished, the


chart shows degrees of completeness that more accurately track your success in managing a project.

Gantt charts demonstrate dependencies, or tasks that cannot be started until another task has been completed. They also

denote the critical path for the project, that sequence of dependent tasks that defines the longest route to project

completion. Your stakeholders will want this information because it demonstrates why certain tasks can become a source

of bottlenecks and delays in the project. Delays on tasks that have few dependencies are less likely to become

bottlenecks than tasks that inevitably delay other critical activities.


Watch: Earned Value Basics

The basic metrics of the Earned Value Method:

* Budgeted Cost of the Work Scheduled (BCWS)

* Actual Cost of the Work Performed (ACWP)

* Budgeted Cost of the Work Performed (BCWP)

In recent PMI publications [Section 7.4.2.1 Earned Value Management, ©2013 Project Management Institute. A Guide to

the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) - Fifth Edition, page 217 to 219], this nomenclature has

been simplified:

* BCWS == PV: Planned Value

* ACWP == AC: Actual Cost

* BCWP == EV: Earned Value

Then the basic formulas are simplified as:

* CV: Cost Variance = EV - AC

* CPI: Cost Performance Index = EV / AC

* SV: Schedule Variance = EV - PV

* SPI: Schedule Performance Index = EV / PV

* CSI: Cost Schedule Index = (CPI) (SPI) or (EV / AC) (EV / PV)


Read: Calculating Indices

Key Points

Cost Schedule Index (CSI) is important for analyzing project performance

A CSI <1 means project is behind schedule; a CSI >1 means it's ahead

A CSI too low (or even too high) can be cause for investigation

The earned value method relies on three key metrics:

Planned Value (PV)

Actual Cost (AC)

Earned Value (EV)

By calculating the differences among these metrics, you can get a sense of the degree of variance between the status of

your project and the project budget. You can also use these numbers to calculate indices that tell you whether your project

is over or under budget, and ahead of or behind schedule.

Cost Performance Index (CPI) = EV / AC

(<1 = over budget; >1 = under budget)

Scheduled Performance Index (SPI) = EV / PV

( <1 = behind schedule; >1 = ahead of schedule)

These indices allow you to calculate a single index that will give you an idea of how your project is performing against

budget at a given point in time. The Cost Schedule Index-or Critical Ratio-is the multiplicative product of the CPI and the

SPI.

Cost Schedule Index (CSI) = (CPI)(SPI) or (EV / AC) (EV / PV)

(a CSI of <1 indicates a problem in your project)


In calculating CSI, you reduce the complexity of the project to a single quantifiable measure of project performance. But as

always when you reduce a complex system to more manageable components, a lot of what is happening can be lost in

translation; effective project managers can still talk knowledgeably about the details in the entire project, even when

looking at a single index.

Before you begin a project, you should work with your stakeholders to identify a level of risk and variance they are willing

to tolerate. You can use a control chart* like the one below to map how low or high your stakeholders will allow the CSI to

get. If a CSI is at 1, then the project is perfectly on target. You and your stakeholders should recognize that this critical

ratio will often fall below 1; there is variance and uncertainty in any project, and you just need to make sure that it stays

within a level that you have accounted for. When it falls further, you need to diagnose the problem and work on creating

interventions that allow you to correct the course of the project.

Note that the control measures also come in if the CSI gets too high. Even though this means the project is ahead of

schedule and budget, there still might be cause for concern. If it gets high enough, there may be problems in quality

because someone is taking shortcuts or using inappropriate materials, or your plans may need to be re-examined. The

CSI and a predetermined control chart can help you decide when you need to investigate.

*Meredith, J.R. and Mantel, S.J.Jr. Project Management: A Managerial Approach (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2000),

pp. 481


Read: Applying CSI

Key Points

Calculate ACWP: Actual Cost of Work Performed

Calculate BCWS: Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled

Calculate BCWP: Budgeted Cost of Work Performed

Consider this example:

You have a short-term, ten-week project. Before the project starts, you define a budget and construct a Gantt chart

indicating how you will complete the four critical tasks over the ten-week period.

To stay on top of your project, you request weekly cost reports from the accounting system and update your Gantt chart to

reflect progress. At week four, the project looks like this:


How can you use the Cost-Schedule Index-or Critical Ratio-to see where the project is with respect to your original

schedule? First, you need to create and assess the three earned value metrics.

Actual Cost of Work Performed

The easiest item to calculate is the ACWP, since you already have those numbers from the reports you pulled from the

system. ACWP at week four is the sum of resources spent to date for each of the tasks relevant to that measurement

period. For all metrics, you ignore Task D, since you have not started it yet and your plan does not yet call for it to be

addressed. Thus, ACWP for the project is $1500 + $3000 + $2900, or $7400.

Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled

BCWS is the amount you expect to have spent on the project by the end of week four. Calculating BCWS for task B is

straightforward. Task B was started in week one; it was supposed to be finished by the end of week three, and it is indeed

finished. The planned budget for this task was $3000. Thus, the BCWS for task B is $3000. But what of tasks A and C? By

the end of week four, task A was supposed to be almost completed, since it involved five weeks of work and four weeks

have already passed since it was started. Task C started at the same time as task A, but was scheduled to take seven

weeks, so production here is in midstream. How do we calculate the BCWS for each of these?

For the sake of this example, let's make the simplifying assumption that budgeted resources will be spent evenly across all

the production weeks associated with any given task. Therefore, the $1500 for Task A would be spent at a rate of $300

per week for each of the five weeks that task will require, while for task C the budgeted $5700 will be expended at a rate

of $814 per week over the seven-week task duration. Thus, at week four, we would have expected to have spent $1200

(or $300/week x 4 weeks) on task A and $3256 (or $814 x 4 weeks) on task C. BCWS at week four for task A is therefore

$1200 and for task C is $3256 and BCWS for the entire project is $1200 + $3000 (for task B) + $3256, or $7456.

Budgeted Cost of Work Performed

This metric is based on a percentage of work completed for a task. Since tasks A and B have been completed by the end

of week four, the value of BCWP for them would be 100% of the budgeted amount that had been estimated for them at the

beginning of the project, or $1500 for task A and $3000 for task B. Following our assumption about work being evenly

distributed across the intervals associated with a task, we have completed two weeks of the anticipated seven weeks of

work (or 28.6%) for task C, so the BCWP for task C is 28.6% of $5700 (the total budgeted for it), or $1628. Thus, BCWP

for the entire project is $1500 + $3000 + $1628, or $6128.

Here is a look at the consolidated metrics:


Calculating Indices

Now that you have the metrics you can calculate the performance indices.

This index is less than 1, so we are operating over budget. Specifically, our budgeted costs are 83% of what we are

actually spending.

This index tells us that there is a deviation from the schedule. Despite the fact that we finished Task A a week ahead of

schedule, the delays in task C mean that overall, the project is behind schedule.

Finally, the CSI gives us an overall indication of project health.

You would assess this number against a control chart to see if you need to intervene to get the project back on track. This

decision will be different for all projects and all stakeholders, but it is likely that a number as low as .68 will warrant some

kind of intervention. If this were your project, you should be prepared to explain why task C is behind schedule, whether

the problem is unique to this task or may be something systemic that may also influence task D (which hasn't yet started),

and what you are doing about the issues in task C.


1.

Read: Creating Reports and Forecasts

Key Points

Informing stakeholders is more than telling them the CSI

Create formal status reports that contain information about overall status

The status report can convey a more realistic assessment than the CSI

The earned value method is valuable because it provides an easy way for you to communicate project status to your

stakeholders. But simply telling a stakeholder that the CSI is .68 or 1.2 will be meaningless unless you explain what the

index means to the future success of the project.

Effective status reports:

Are formal written documents. Remember that the purpose of a status report-especially if your project is

behind schedule-is to help stakeholders understand that you are competent to continue leading. Formal

documents demonstrate care and attention, which will help you to send the message you are trying to send.

Contain information about the overall status of the project. In a short executive summary, you should be able

to demonstrate where the project is with respect to its budget and schedule and whether it will be completed

within all constraints.

Contain information about specific components. This includes information about individual tasks as well as

information about specific problems the project might be facing.

Demonstrate an understanding that a project can look like it is doing better than it actually is. If everything is

on time except one element that is on the critical path, a CSI might be high even if the project is in danger of

serious delays. Good status reports are honest and demonstrate that the project manager understands the

nuances of the project.

Help people understand the implications for future performance.

The table below explains methods for creating accurate forecasts.

What you calculate... How you complete calculations

Cost to Completion You can use three methods to create a new budget

forecast for completing the project.

Assume the rest of the project goes according to

In this method, the cost of completion isplan.

equal to the cost to date plus the budgeted


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3.

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2.

expenses remaining. In other words:

Cost to completion = ACWP + (Total budget -

BCWP)

Ex. 7400 + (13200 - 6128) = $14,472

Assume the rest of the project has a proportional

Here, the budgeted expensesincrease in cost.

remaining are multiplied by (1/CPI).

Ex. 7400 + (13200 - 6128)(1/.83) = $15,921

Assume only tasks running over budget will need

adjustment.

Ex. Adjust task C but assume the budgets do

not change for A, B, and D.

Time to Finish There are two methods for forecasting new

times-to-completion for the project.

Assume the rest of the project incurs a proportional

To calculate, multiply theincrease in time spent.

planned time left by (1/SPI).

Ex. (10 - 4) * (1/.82) = 7.3 weeks

Assume the project needs to be explicitly

Re-estimate the completion timerescheduled.

for all tasks and then use a software system

(such as a CPM or PERT scheduling tool) to

create a new schedule.


Module Introduction: Motivating Employees

Why is it necessary to motivate employees? Project teams form rapidly, change frequently and operate in a dynamic

environment; therefore responsive, motivated employees are essential to the success of the organization. To be effective,

a project manager needs to understand what motivates employees and team members within the context of the roles they

perform. The best project managers are adept at diagnosing motivational problems and intervening to encourage high

performance.

If you discover that your project is not meeting its budget and timelines, you might begin to question what is causing this

deviation. Are there events in your project, organization, or market that have caused delays? Were there particular

expectations that were unclear or-if clear-unrealistic? If you cannot identify a cause for delay, it might mean that you have

a human resource problem. This module describes you how you can tell if motivation is at the heart of project delays.

When two parties enter into a work relationship, they each bring with them a tacit understanding of what each expects

from the other. Unfortunately, it is often the case that the two understandings are not aligned. The first strategy for

motivating employees is to manage this psychological contract. In this module, learn the skills necessary to make explicit

that which is inherently implicit.

A second issue to be addressed when motivating employees is to manage yourself as a resource. This strategy implies

that you make yourself available as a role model for people on your team. In doing so, you must be aware of your own

strengths and weaknesses so that you can model the best possible behavior to employees. This module introduces the

competencies associated with self-reflection and self-control.

A third strategy for motivating employees is to provide them with exciting jobs that meet their psychological needs. As a

project manager, you are in the business of combining tasks and project needs to create job roles on your team. If you

understand what motivates the people on your team, you can assign those roles to meet their needs and optimize

performance.

A fourth and final strategy for motivating employees is helping them to believe in themselves. This strategy relies on your

ability as a project manager to help team members believe they can accomplish their work…and that in doing so, they can

gain the rewards they hope to receive.

The final motivational strategy is helping others to believe in themselves…and to grow. This strategy is partially dependent

on your ability to exercise a competency for developing others. This module discusses a model for coaching and

development that underscores your ability to exhibit this competency and perform the strategy.


Read: Why Motivation?

Key Points

Compatibility that stems from personality traits and psychological need structures can influence job performance

Motivation is the multiplicative function of effort, skill, and ability

Personal models of what constitutes motivation may not be validated models

Earned value management is designed to give you an idea of when your project is off target. If you find there is a problem

and you perceive that the problem might be associated with the workforce, how can you think about what the problem

might be?

At its core, you are talking about an optimization problem. Specifically, you are looking for a way to get the most out of the

individuals who work for and with you. There are a number of frameworks for thinking about how people perform the work

they are assigned. In general, job performance is a function of employees' abilities and skills related to a specific job or

task. It's also a function of their compatibility with their specific role, compatibility that stems from personality traits and

psychological need structures. Finally, their performance is a function of how clearly they understand their role and the

production system in which they work. Most importantly, it is a function of the environment in which they are trying to

complete the work. In this module, you look at motivation as the multiplicative function of effort, skill, and ability as

described by the factors just defined.

Based on your experiences, you look at the world around you and form ideas about why people would want to work hard.

As you move into leadership positions, you may choose to use these models to shape your efforts to motivate employees

in your project or organization.

The truth, though, is that these aren't always validated models. A number of rigorously researched theories describe what

motivation is and how it comes to exist in the workplace. In this course, you explore a framework that draws elements from

these theories. This framework suggests that managers should address four issues when trying to encourage the

motivation of those around them:

Attend to the psychological contract

Manage yourself as a resource

Design jobs appropriately

Help others to see and believe in themselves

As you explore these four issues, consider your implicit model and try to appreciate when it does-and does not-accurately

reflect what we know about motivation.


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Activity: Reflection

In this course project worksheet, you will analyze a personal experience through the lens of the motivation model

presented in this course. Through your analysis, you will gain a better understanding of how the model is applied, making

it easier for you to extend the elements to other problems you face in your organization.

To complete this activity:

Download the Course Project worksheet and save it.

Complete Part One.

this worksheet throughout the course, then submit it at the end of the courseSave your work. You will return to

for feedback and grading.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ecornell/content/CEPL/CEPL554/cepl554_project_worksheet.docx


Read: Psychological Contract at Work

Naomi is shocked to see an email from Charles. What does he have to say?

Naomi is shocked. It's true that Charles has been a valuable resource, but he has no leadership experience. Howard, on

the other hand, has led three previous F.W. Inc. projects to market. She had no idea Charles expected the promotion to

be his…but she doesn't want to lose him as a resource. Can she get him back on her team?


Read: Tacit Web

Key Points

Psychological contracts often exist unspoken, or at least not fully explained

Psychological contracts comprise expectations

When these expectations are not mutually understood, it can lead to a spiral of demotivation

Properly managed, a tacit web of expectations can have great power to help you be an effective leader

Think about a contract. If you sign a contract with somebody offering a service, typically the contract gives you both some

idea of what they are offering you and what you are going to pay for the service. In a sense, a contract is about an

exchange relationship: what are the two parties going to do for each other?

A psychological contract is no different. It deals with the mutual web of expectations between an individual and an

organization detailing what the two can offer and expect from one another. But there is one complication: the

psychological contract is often tacit-the parties do not explicitly discuss it. Even when it is written down (often as a

component of a work contract), it is often incomplete.

The contract consists solely of expectations, but-for several reasons-these expectations are rarely communicated. First,

one or both parties may be unclear about their expectations and how they want them fulfilled. Imagine a job interview.

When it is going well, each party presents themselves in the best possible manner, because they are trying to attract the

other. To get a good candidate into the organization, a recruiter might misrepresent the rewards system in the

organization, prompting expectations that cannot be fulfilled.

At other times, we may be unaware that we even want a reward until we do not get it. Then when we don't, we are very

disappointed. In both cases, a lack of definition makes it difficult for anybody to predict our expectations about rewards for

work performed.

Or we may assume that our expectations are so natural that we take them for granted. In this case, we believe that if

everybody wants a particular reward (or, more accurately, if we perceive that everybody wants a particular reward), then

we do not need to explicitly state it.

And in still other cases, the culture of an organization-or the culture of the environment in which the organization

exists-may inhibit verbalization of expectations.

Each of these situations is troubling because, properly managed, this tacit web of expectations can have great power to

help you be an effective leader. If not attended to, however, it can lead to a spiral of demotivation that can disappoint

individuals and be a disadvantage to the organization.


Listen: Exploring the Psychological Contract


Read: Understanding Perceptual Objectivity

Key Points

The Perceptual Objectivity competency involves understanding others' worldviews

Listening and empathy skills enhance the competency's development

Others must confirm both the accuracy and utility of our understanding

The eCornell course "Introduction to Project Leadership" introduced a model of leadership competencies that, if properly

employed, can increase the likelihood of project success. One competency that is critical for dealing with personality

differences in project teams is Perceptual Objectivity.

The Perceptual Objectivity competency involves the capacity to get in touch with the worlds and the world views of

others-to understand their thinking. The competency can be applied to two classes of situation: when your perspective

differs from that of another person, and when you discern the perspectives of others in a conflict that doesn't necessarily

involve you.

When you are objective, you stand outside your biases or prejudices and sense the world as another experiences it.

Perceptual Objectivity has to do with the senses and the way we "read" others. At a more basic level, it is also about how

well we listen-and hear.

This is an instrumental competency, which means that it enables you to support your subordinates more effectively,

address conflict issues at their heart, build a team with awareness of the members' diverse perspectives, and increase

your capacity for accurate self-assessment, another competency in this model of high-performance leadership.

Listening and empathy skills enhance the competency's development. This competency is obviously interactive-we cannot

perceive others accurately without their concurrence. Perceptual Objectivity also involves the skill of self-transcendence,

the capacity to reach beyond your own immediate perceptual experiences into the larger world of others. Such a skill

provides a foundation for gaining a true understanding of the needs, aspirations, perspectives, and expectations of others,

and it is fundamental to our ability as managers to encourage high performance in those who work for and with us.

To demonstrate this competency, it is not enough just to state others' views. Competency requires substantial use in

one-on-one and group settings in which others confirm both the accuracy and the utility of the way we understand their

views and perspectives.

A person demonstrating this competency

Describes another person's point of view on an issue when it differs from his or her point of view

Accurately states the differing perspectives that each party in the conflict brings to the situation

Recognizes or explicitly regrets another person's loss of status or injured feelings resulting from actions taken for

the good of the organization


Read: Building a Capacity for Perceptual Objectivity

Key Points

Acquiring the Perceptual Objectivity competency can be put in terms of a step-by-step process beginning with recognition

and ending with application

If Perceptual Objectivity is so critical to project managers' efforts to understand the needs and expectations employees

carry in their psychological contracts, then acquiring this competency is an important step for project leaders trying to

increase the likelihood of motivating employees.

The competency acquisition process follows the pattern through which most people learn any behavior:

1. Recognition

In this stage, you come to identify a competency when you see it. Recall the behaviors associated with the Perceptual

Objectivity competency:

Describes another person's point of view on an issue when it differs from his or her point of view

Accurately states the differing perspectives each party brings to the conflict

Recognizes or explicitly regrets another person's loss of status or injured feelings resulting from actions taken for

the good of the organization

When you see these behaviors, you know you are witnessing Perceptual Objectivity in action.

2. Understanding

In this stage, you see how the competency works for managers. For Perceptual Objectivity, you come to understand how

its effective use with members of a project team or co-workers in an organization helps managers to understand and

convey empathy for the expectations of their subordinates, and to make explicit what had previously been implicit in the

tacit web.

3. Measure

This is a stage of discovery, wherein you learn which competencies you have and which are as yet underdeveloped. This

requires a degree of accurate self-assessment. Ask yourself, "When trying to understand the needs and expectations of

others, do I truly exercise the three behaviors associated with the Perceptual Objectivity competency?"

4. Experimentation

In this stage, you try the competencies you have never attempted before.

5. Practice

In management settings, consciously practice putting the competencies to work for you when dealing with your superiors,

subordinates, and peers. As you enter each interaction, think about how you will employ each behavior to gain a clearer

understanding of the psychological contract.

6. Apply

As you consistently and appropriately apply the behaviors, you eventually find that you are competent to use them as part


of your daily duties.


1.

2.

3.

Activity: The Psychological Contract

In this part of the project, you return to your reflection exercise and answer a series of questions related to the employees

whose performance you were trying to encourage.


If you have not already done so, download the Course Project worksheet and save it.

Complete Part Two.

Save your work. You will return to this worksheet throughout the course and submit it for grading.



Read: Admitting Mistakes

Key Points

Direct confrontation often leads to defensive behavior that can be counter-productive

Admitting to mistakes can lead to conflict resolution

When Charles did not get the promotion he expected, he confronted Naomi about her hiring decision. How might Naomi

react? Here are two possibilities.

Take One: The Confrontational Manager

After receiving the email, Naomi marches to Charles's office. She is angry…was he threatening her by suggesting he

would no longer work so hard? She gets to his office and walks in. "Charles," she says, "I can't believe you would send

this email. You have said nothing to suggest that you wanted that promotion! I'm not a mind reader, Charles. Besides,

Howard has been the marketing lead on several other projects. He's way more qualified than you. Why would I give you

the promotion, especially when you behave like this under pressure?"

"That's not fair," says Charles, taken aback. "I made it clear that I was looking to expand my leadership opportunities. You

just have not been listening. And as for my attitude, you know that I have been putting in extra hours to finish this project

on time. You're just accusing me of a bad attitude because you feel so guilty!"

The two yell at each other for another ten minutes, each getting more defensive and confrontational. Finally a frustrated

Naomi storms out of Charles's office and back to her own. Charles asks for a transfer and leaves the MicroWidget team.

Take Two: Mistakes Were Made

After receiving the email, Naomi decides to approach Charles.

"I'm sorry if you feel betrayed by this decision," she says. "I did not realize that you expected to receive the promotion. I

should have been more attentive to your expectations."

Charles shrugs. "I really thought it was going to be mine…but I suppose you are not solely to blame. I never explicitly told

you that I wanted it. So how could I expect you to know?"

The two spend another few minutes discussing plans for how they will communicate more openly and effectively over the

coming months. Pleased, Naomi returns to her office. Charles remains a productive member of the MicroWidget team.


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3.

Read: Accurate Self-Assessment

Key Points

Realistic self-analysis: our self-image matches how others perceive us

Three competencies are closely related to managing yourself as a resource:

Accurate Self-Assessment

Self-Control

Stamina and Adaptability

The essence of the first-Accurate Self-Assessment-is realistic self-analysis in which our self-image concurs with the way

others experience us. In this competency perhaps more than any other, the reading of others and objective verification is

critical. The self-assessment is accurate because of feedback. When this competency is fully operational, there is

consistency to our presentation and complementarity with others' experience of us. Work in this competency involves the

three components of competency expression: intention, use, and objective confirmation.


Evaluates his or her performance as a specific example of personal strengths and weaknesses in terms that reflect

recognition; merely describing a personal characteristic does not constitute identifying a strength or weakness

Expresses a desire to seek help to improve on specifically stated personal limitations or weaknesses

Seeks help or takes other action to improve a specifically stated personal limitation, weakness, or deficiency

R. E. Boyatzis. . New York: Wiley & Sons, 1982.The competent manager: a model for effective performance


Read: Self-Control

Key Points

Impulse control affects the good of organizational achievement

Identifiable "triggers" or patterns in situations/relationships make control hard to manifest

A second competency that is critical for successful leaders, especially in their attempts to manage themselves as

resources, is self control.

The Self-Control competency is about impulse control for the good of organizational achievement. Both impulse control

and concern about the organization are involved, and each is important. Think back to the previous scenario. When Naomi

exercised self-control, she was able to approach the situation after thinking more critically about how to talk to Charles.

Her competency in Self-Control helped salvage her professional relationship with Charles and-ultimately-led him to stay on

her team.

We can develop effective strategies to enhance our self-control. Very often there are identifiable "triggers" or patterns in

the situations or relationships in which control is the hardest to manifest. Simulation, practice, and alternative strategies

can be utilized once we identify these triggers.

Self-control is a form of discipline. This competency and others allow one to make changes in behavior. When one

withholds a typical response or replaces it with one more appropriate, one is changing behavior-the essence of the

development and work optimization process.

We are dealing here with coping mechanisms related to stressful and provocative situations. Recognition of the need for

control is step one. Step two is analysis of the situation where control is needed, and of the triggers that set us off. Step

three is the development of alternative strategies. Then we are ready to try them out, evaluate, and build on our

successes and oversee our failures.


Explicitly denies a personal impulse, need, or desire (i.e., makes a personal sacrifice) for the good of an overriding

organizational need

Explicitly replaces a usual personal response with a response that is more appropriate in a given situation

Reports acting in such a way as to not show anger or other kinds of emotional upset when being verbally attacked



Read: Stamina and Adaptability

Key Points

Stamina and adaptability helps maintain performance under stress

Bring physical, emotional, and mental resourcefulness to job demands

The third competency related to managing yourself as a resource is Stamina and Adaptability.

This competency has two dimensions: the capacity to bring physical, emotional, and mental resourcefulness to the often

excessive demands of job and organization, and the flexibility to direct or respond to change. Both dimensions help you

perform effectively.

One element of this competency involves effective diet, rest, change of pace, capacity for physical renewal, and ability to

distance oneself from taking every issue personally. The stamina part involves coping skills through which one analyzes

the opportunity for change and leads in appropriate directions or responds to change in ways that are not devastating or

demoralizing.

The Stamina and Adaptability competency is directly related to stress analysis and stress reduction. Some stress is

positive and energizing. Other stress throws one off stride, leading to physical deterioration and negative responses. This

competency involves taking explicit action to maintain performance under duress and to develop the coping skills that

enable one to take change in stride.


Acts patient and calm in situations of continuing high pressure

Maintains high performance and attention to detail while working on a prolonged task

Takes explicit action to reduce the effects of personal stress without noticeable deterioration of his or her

performance

Changes a course of action, plan, or activity to one that is more appropriate, in reaction to major stressful changes

in the situation



1.

2.

3.

Activity: You as a Resource

In this part of the course project, answer questions about the competencies related to managing yourself as a resource.



Complete Part Three.

You will return to this worksheet throughout the course, and submit it for grading at the end.Save your work.



Watch: Designing Jobs

Though Charles has agreed to stay on the MicroWidget team, his performance has certainly decreased. The incident with

the hiring decision has made him aware of how unsatisfied he is with his role on the team, and he is increasingly

bemoaning the fact that he is bored, unmotivated, and unfulfilled.

Naomi knows there has to be something she can do to make the work Charles does on the MicroWidget project more

interesting. But she does not want to assign him additional tasks if they will leave him busy, but still unfulfilled. How does

she know what sort of redesign will serve him best?

J. R. Hackman and G. R. Oldham. "Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey," Journal of Applied Psychology 60:

159-170, 1975.


Read: Change Principles

Key Points

"Change Principles": adjust core job dimensions to better fit an individual's needs

Consider critical steps of forming natural work units, combining tasks, and establishing client relationships

The Hackman-Oldham Work Design Framework introduced you to a set of Core Job Dimensions or work characteristics

that can be manipulated to fulfill the psychological needs of a team member as a strategy for increasing motivation. As

you can see, these core job dimensions are impacted by applying a set of Change Principles--actions that a project

manager can take to re-design or enrich jobs. The change principles are, but are not limited to, Combining Tasks, Forming

Natural Work Units, Establishing Client Relationships, Vertical Loading, and Opening Feedback Channels. By carefully

selecting among these principles and applying them, job dimensions important to an employee can be augmented and the

natural capacity of the job to encourage high performance by that employee will be increased.

Forming Natural Work Units

increases two of the core dimensions- and . WhenForming Natural Work Units Task Identity Task Significance

re-designing a job, a critical step is to determine the distribution of work among your team members. Tasks should be

grouped into meaningful categories that provide a holistic quality to the actual output. They should be assigned in such a

way that they give employees a sense of ownership. Equitable distribution and ownership can help the employee feel the

work is meaningful and important.

Combining Tasks

As with , combining the steps of a job and making the employee responsible for an entireForming Natural Work Units

process from beginning to end or a significant component of the whole, enables the employee to see and identify with a

finished product. Combining tasks not only combines production steps associated with a job, it also enlarges the range of

tasks the employee is to take on. thus contributes to the core job dimensions, and Combining Tasks Task Identity Skill


1.

2.

3.

. Variety

Establishing Client Relationships

contributes to the core job dimensions, , and . EnablingEstablishing Client Relationships Feedback, Skill Variety Autonomy

the employee to take responsibility to make personal contacts with internal and external clients, contributes to the job

dimensions as follows:

Feedback: Increasing communication opportunities provides greater opportunities for the employee to receive

feedback about their performance directly from the client.

Skill variety: Employees develop interpersonal skills and create opportunities to learn new ways to manage and

maintain relationships with clients.

Autonomy: When an employee feels responsible for how to manage a client relationship, the employee will be

motivated to continue to do the job well.

Vertical Loading

By establishing , the job increases the core job dimension, . Providing the employee with theVertical Loading Autonomy

responsibilities normally associated with those of a supervisor or project manager enables an employee to take on more

responsibility for the job and the work accomplished. This will lead an employee to take more ownership and take on more

accountability for the end product. Some of the responsibilities include:

The scheduling of when and how the work will be completed

The handling of crises and making of decisions regarding the project

The establishing of work priorities

Opening Feedback Channels

provides an employee with more frequent information about how well they are performing orOpening Feedback Channels

not performing. This contributes to the core job dimension, . There are several ways a project manager orFeedback

employer can establish more channels of communication. One way is to establish a quality assurance process-a process

of verifying or determining whether products or services will meet customer satisfaction. Quality assurance facilitates other

individuals to check the work completed and provide immediate feedback where the work needs to be corrected. Any

feedback the employee receives immediately after completing a project allows the employee to determine what needs to

be done better and take action to learn the skills necessary to resolve the problem. This provides the employee with more

opportunities to reflect on the issue when it is recent and they are able to take action to develop the skills necessary to

develop their performance.

J. Richard Hackman. Techniques of Motivation. McGraw-Hill, 1994. 428-432


1.

2.

3.

Activity: Job Design

In this part of the worksheet, you will answer questions about the process of job redesign.



Complete Part Four.

You will return to this worksheet throughout the course and then submit it for grading.Save your work.



Read: Naomi Helps Charles

Based on conversations with Charles, Naomi has given him a new assignment that she believes better meets his

psychological needs. But lately Charles has expressed a great deal of concern over his new job. He is worried he is not

going to be able to perform the new tasks he has been given; he has the proper training, but he is still not sure he is

prepared for the new responsibility.

Beyond that, Charles has started growing concerned about the extra hours that will come with his new combination of

tasks. He will be performing multiple roles on the MicroWidget team, but he will be compensated the same as he was

when the project started. How can his new role not warrant additional pay?

As Naomi listens to his concerns, she wonders if she can do anything to make Charles more confident in his own ability

and to help him succeed as a member of the MicroWidget team.


Watch: Expectancy Model

Expectancy theory is derived from the research and theorizing of numerous behavioral scientists. The formulation

presented here is based upon the particular formulation of Victor Vroom (Work and Motivation. New York: Wiley, 1964),

interpreted most persuasively by Edward E. Lawler, III, in R. M. Steers and L. W. Porter, eds. Motivation and Work

Behavior. New York: McGraw Hill, 1975, pp. 190-200.


Read: Motivational Competencies

Competency A person demonstrating this competency:

Perceptual

Objectivity

Describes another person's point of view on an issue when it differs from his or her point

of view

Accurately states the differing perspectives that each of the parties in the conflict brings to

the situation

Recognizes or explicitly regrets another person's loss of status or injured feelings resulting

from actions taken for the good of the organization

A key to the expectancy model is your ability to recognize the value other people place on work and

rewards. To do this, you must be able to empathize with them and accurately describe their perspective.

Positive

Regard

Expresses the belief that specific individuals in a situation are fully capable of being

effective and doing good things when given the chance

States a belief that specific individuals involved in a situation can change or improve their

performance

When we express our belief in employees' ability to do something -- or to grow or change in some

fashion -- we are increasing their E to P expectancy in that situation. When you, as a boss, authentically

express your belief in their capacities, you invariably raise their performance above that which they

would have shown had you not expressed those expectations. Remember, much evidence suggests

that people raise their performance to meet the expectations of those who are important to them... and

as their project manager, you are important to them.

Developing

Others

Gives subordinates and others performance feedback to improve or maintain effective

performance

Provides others with information, tools or resources to help them get a job done or

improve their abilities

Invites subordinates to discuss problems with the explicit purpose of improving their

performance

Explicitly tells a subordinate that he or she can accomplish an objective in a specific

situation, and illustrates with evidence of past performance

Helps a subordinate accomplish a task while while allowing him or her to take

responsibility for completing the task

The Developing Others competency can be used to increase the E to P expectancy of people who have


just been given a task by increasing the likelihood that they will believe they will succeed. Done well, it

helps them to recall similar past situations, reassures them that you are there to help them succeed, and

can raise their self-esteem. It can also increase the valence assigned to performance and is evidence

that high performance is important, and thus may increase the belief that such performance will be

noticed and result in organizational reward... thus raising the P to O expectancy.


1.

2.

3.

Activity: Performance Assessment

In this final part of the worksheet, you will answer questions about overall performance.



Complete Part Five.

You will submit this worksheet later in the course for grading.Save your work.



Read: Learning Style

Key Points

As a coach, you must be aware of the various learning-style needs of team members

David Kolb's model helps you understand different learning styles by using two axes: conceptual vs. concrete and active

vs. passive

The project manager must analyze the person being coached for signs of learning preference and meet the needs of that

learner

As you coach those who work with you and create developmental opportunities for people on your team, you must be

aware of the various learning-style needs of team members. Not everyone learns in the same way, and project managers

must accommodate these varied learning styles. In the 1970s, psychologist David Kolb created a four-element model to

explain how adults learn. The model is arrayed in a framework that maps the abstract or conceptual vs. the concrete and

the active vs. the passive.

People who prefer the concrete learn by doing. They try things and then go within themselves to process the inner

experience of having done them. At the opposite end of the spectrum are people who learn from abstract

conceptualization. These people focus on model building to gain a theoretical understanding of a situation.

The other axis considers how we deal with experience. People who emphasize reflective observation experience the world

in a passive way. They watch people who are good at a given task and decide on the best approaches based on what

they see. At the other extreme are people who are active experimenters-those who try a task, then make corrections

based on the result.

Based on where people rate themselves along these two axes, they fall into one of four categories of learner.

In considering coaching, the project manager must analyze the person being coached for signs of learning preference and

meet the needs of that learner when applying a coaching model. The best learning experiences are targeted directly to the

individual. Meeting personal preferences and styles is critical to ensurthe project manager must analyze the person being

coached for signs of learning preference and meet the needs of that learnere success of the coaching process.


The Hay Group (2007). . David A. Kolb, Experience Based LearningKolb Learning Style Inventory: LSI Workbook

Systems.


Read: What is Coaching?

Key Points

A developmental environment: employees receive the feedback, resources, and assistance to succeed

Coaching is a process requiring direct conversation and guided activity

Coaching allows managers to help colleagues solve a problem or perform better

The fourth key issue managers must address to encourage motivation is "helping others to see and believe in

themselves…and to grow." In exploring this issue, you looked at the leadership competency Developing Others. Project

managers are charged with completing some set of tasks. In the interest of reducing uncertainty-specifically, uncertainty

related to whether the people in their projects are competent to perform those tasks-project managers are responsible for

creating a developmental environment in which employees receive the feedback, resources, and assistance needed to

succeed in a given task.

When you are in a developmental mode and trying to get people to see and believe in their own abilities, you may engage

in coaching. Coaching is a process wherein a manager, through direct conversation and guided activity, helps a colleague

to solve a problem or do something better. Keep in mind that coaching is a process, and as such, you should plan to give

it enough time and effort to do it well; effective coaching is usually not a single-interaction, short-term activity. Another

effective definition is-simply-a good coach is someone who helps people to see themselves in the game.

Effective coaches should be future-oriented. You can, however, use the past as a source for data points to raise a

coaching issue. In this way, you use the past as an analytical framework for discussing the future. But dwelling on past

failures will not raise the confidence of your colleagues, so you should always be thinking about moving away from data

about the past and toward planning for the future and setting new goals.

Megginson, D. and Boydell, T. (Boston: McBer and Company, 1986), p.3A Manager's Guide to Coaching


Watch: How To Coach


Tool: Coaching Skills Inventory

Download the Tool

Coaching Skills Inventory

When you are coaching, certain skills are very important. The first step in developing these skills is recognizing those you

display and those you do not. Use the skills checklist below to assess the degree to which you exercise these behaviors.

When you recognize the behaviors you do not yet exhibit, you can begin practicing them in work situations. Eventually,

you will find that you exercise the skill with ease.

Megginson, D. and Boydell, T. (Boston: McBer and Company, 1986), p.3A Manager's Guide to Coaching

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ecornell/content/CEPL/CEPL554/CEPL554_CoachingSkillsInventory.docx


Read: Giving and Receiving Feedback

Key Points

When giving and receiving feedback, a coach must be aware of the aids and hindrances of each

An important component of the coaching process is giving and receiving feedback. As the project manager, you can

exercise certain behaviors that "open the ears" of the person you are coaching. Likewise, there are behaviors that cause

the person you are coaching to shut down. Print and save this list of the key behaviors for giving and receiving feedback.

Likewise with receiving feedback, certain behaviors will help you to get the most out of the feedback by encouraging your

coach to keep giving. Again, there are also negative behaviors that will dissuade the person from continuing to provide

feedback.


Beer, M. (Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear Publishing Co., 1980),Organizational Change and Development: A Systems View

p.145


Listen: Thank You and Farewell

Hi. This is Frank Wayno again. I'd like to thank you for taking this course. I hope I've helped you to better appreciate the

skills needed to diagnose and manage issues of motivation.

Your ability to communicate the project status to stakeholders is essential to your credibility as a project manager-even if

your earned value calculations show a project is behind schedule, demonstrating that you know how, why, and what you

will do to correct problems will help stakeholders to believe in your ability to manage. Understanding the tools and models

needed to improve motivation when you find that people issues are at the root of delays will improve your chances of

project success.

I hope to see you again in one of our follow-on courses that continue our exploration of the skills needed for project

leadership success.


Stay Connected


Supplemental Reading List

To learn more about the concepts presented in this course, you may want to consult, on your own, the following supplemental

resources:

"The competent manager: a model for effective performance " . (1982) - Boyatzis, R.E.

New York: Wiley & Sons.

"Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey," (1975) - Hackman, J.R. and G.R. Oldham

Journal of Applied Psychology 60: 159-170.

"Kolb Learning Style Inventory: LSI Workbook." (2007) - The Hay Group

David A. Kolb, Experience Based Learning Systems.

"Motivation and Work Behavior", pp. 190-200 In R. M. Steers and L. W. Porter, eds. (1975) - Lawler, E.E. III

New York: McGraw Hill.

"Project Planning and Scheduling," pp. 81-90 in "Project Management: Risks and Productivity." (1990) -

Obradovitch, M.M and S.E. Stephanou

Daniel Spencer Publishers.

cepl554: earned value management - amazon s3 · earned value (ev) by calculating the differences...

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