unit 7: human resource management pmbok guide, … · ... en:000 ver.2.0 7-1 unit 7: human resource...

© CMF Solutions and ESI July 2013 PMC:DJ4:EN:000 ver.2.0 7-1

Unit 7: Human Resource Management (PMBOK® Guide, Chapter 9)

The questions on this topic focus predominantly on people and behavioral issues; there are some questions on traditional human resource administrative functions. Seecourse slide #7-1 for an overview of human resource management.

Major Processes

9.1 Plan Human Resource Management (establishing roles, responsibilities, reporting relationships, and creating a staffing management plan)

9.2 Acquire Project Team (getting the human resources needed to complete the project)

9.3 Develop Project Team (improving competencies and interaction of team members)9.4 Manage Project Team (tracking performance, providing feedback, resolving

issues, and coordinating changes)

Human resource management involves organizing, managing, and leading the project team. The processes are aimed at making the most effective use of the people associated with the project, including all stakeholders (sponsors, customers, team members, upper management, and others). The project sponsor should work directly with the team to assist with funding, scope questions, and influencing other key stakeholders for the benefit of the project. PMI encourages early involvement of key team members in the planning process to improve the plan and to increase commitment.

The project management team, a subset of the project team, is responsible for project management and leadership. This group is also called the core, executive, or leadership team.

Managing and leading include:

• Influencing the project team: Involves controlling factors in the project environment that may affect project performance. These factors include communication, politics, cultural issues, geographic locations, and interpersonal interactions (including personality issues).

• Professional and ethical behavior: The core management team should behave in an ethical manner and ensure that other team members do likewise. Unit 14, Appendix I and Appendix II, provides details of the PMI®

Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Unit 7: Human Resource Management

7-2 PMC:DJ4:EN:000 ver.2.0 © CMF Solutions and ESI July 2013

9.1 Plan Human Resource Management (PMBOK® Guide, p. 258)

Human resource planning involves identifying, documenting, and assigning project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships. These roles may be assigned to individuals or to groups. It also creates the staffing management plan that addresses how team members will be acquired and released, training needs, reward systems, and safety issues.

The process must also identify required skill sets and consider that the project team is competing for limited human resources.

Plan Human Resource Management

Inputs Tools Outputs

1. Project management plan 2. Activity resource requirements 3. Enterprise environmental factors 4. Organizational process assets

1. Organization charts and position descriptions

2. Networking 3. Organizational theory 4. Expert judgment 5. Meetings

1. Human resource management plan

Four Key Inputs for Plan Human Resource Management (PMBOK® Guide, p. 259):

1. Project Management Plan: Developing the human resource management plan, which is a component of the project management plan, is supported with other information including:

• The processes that apply to each phase of the project life cycle.

• How work will be executed to accomplish project objectives.

• Change and configuration management plans.

• How integrity of baselines will be maintained (often involves revised baselines as a result of changes).

• Communication needs and methods (keep stakeholders informed).

2. Activity Resource Requirements: Human resource needs are determined as a result of the activity resource planning conducted in time management (Section 6.4.3.1).



3. Enterprise Environmental Factors: Factors that may influence human resource planning include:

• Organizational culture and structure: If the organization uses a functional stovepipe or a weak matrix structure, the project manager would have less control and power. Conversely, projectized teams or a strong matrix structure would confer significant control and power on the project manager.

• Existing human resources: The skill sets as well as the number of people currently available. It may be necessary to engage in some form of outsourcing if in-house assets are not sufficient to support the project.

• Personnel administration policies: The system for hiring people and getting people assigned to specific teams.

• Marketplace conditions: Competition, the availability of contractors who can accept your outsourcing needs, and the general state of the economy (are training and travel currently limited and are there any hiring freezes?).

3. Organizational Process Assets: Organizational Process Assets that may apply to human resource planning include:

• Organizational standard processes and role descriptions

• Templates for organizational charts and position descriptions

• Lessons learned and historical information on organizational structures that worked on previous projects

• Escalation procedures for handling issues

Five Key Tools for Plan Human Resource Management (PMBOK® Guide, p. 261):

1. Organization Charts and Position Descriptions: The PMBOK® Guideidentifies several ways to document roles and responsibilities. Figures 9-4 and 9-5 on pages 261-262 show several ways to record and display roles and responsibilities. Review the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) on these two pages. A well-known example of a RAM is a RACI chart (responsible, accountable, consult, inform).



Key points:

• The objective of this step is to make sure every work package has an unambiguous owner. So, to avoid confusion, a RACI chart should never show more than one person accountable for the same task.

• In addition to the various charts, project assignments are also listed in subsidiary management plans. For example, the risk management plan assigns risk-related activities to team members.

• A WBS displays deliverables and work packages.

• An OBS (organizational breakdown structure) displays departments, units, or teams and can show what work they are responsible for.

• An RBS (resource breakdown structure) displays individual resources (human, equipment, facilities) and can show what activities they are involved in.

• The RAM is the primary tool used to display information about roles and responsibilities (who does what). The RAM does not show the timing of the work (see Figure 9-5, PMBOK® Guide p. 262).

2. Networking: Informal interactions for the purpose of understanding potential political and interpersonal influences on the project. Networking may also assist in acquiring specialized skills or in establishing beneficial external partnerships. Examples of networking include informal conversations, lunch meetings, attendance at conferences, and recreational activities (tennis, golf, softball, boating, racquetball, and so on).

3. Organizational Theory: There is an abundance of published literature on almost every form of organizational structure. The literature includes “how to” information as well as critical success factors (what works and what does not).

4. Expert Judgment: Used to determine the following:

• Preliminary requirements and required skills • Assess roles, preliminary effort level, and number of resources • Determine reporting relationships • Lead times for staffing • Identify risks associated with acquiring, retaining, and releasing

staff members • Compliance with government and union agreements

5. Meetings: Used so that team members can reach consensus about the human resource management plan.



One Key Output for Plan Human Resource Management (PMBOK® Guide, p. 264):

1. Human Resource Management Plan: The following information should be addressed:

• Roles and Responsibilities: The following items should be defined:

Role: The work or function performed by a person on the project(business analyst, engineer).

Authority: The right to make decisions, apply resources, and grant approvals.

Responsibility: The work a team member is expected to perform.

Competency: Required skills and capabilities.

• Project Organization Charts: Graphic display of reporting relationships.

• Staffing Management Plan: Describes when and how resource requirements will be met.

Staff acquisition: Whether resources will come from within the organization or from outside using procurement management.

Resource calendars: Standard working calendars must be coordinated with project needs. A popular tool is a vertical bar chart known as a resource histogram (see course slide #7-2 and Figure 9-6, PMBOK® Guide, p. 266). This tool may also be called a resource loading chart.

Staff release plan: When and how people are moved off the project when they are no longer needed. Two benefits of effective staff planning may include: 1) Reduced costs by moving resources promptly when no longer needed (instead of “making work” until the project is over), 2) Improved morale by reducing uncertainty about future employment opportunities and providing smooth transitions to the next job.

Training needs: If team members do not have all the required competencies or skills.

Recognition and rewards system.

Compliance and safety.



9.2 Acquire Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 267)

Staff acquisition is getting the right people assigned to the project. Failure to do so in a timely manner may affect schedules, costs, risks, quality, and ultimately customer satisfaction.

Acquire Project Team


1. Human resource management plan 2. Enterprise environmental factors 3. Organizational process assets

1. Pre-assignment 2. Negotiation 3. Acquisition 4. Virtual teams 5. Multi-criteria decision analysis

1. Project staff assignments 2. Resource calendars 3. Project management plan

updates

Three Key Inputs for Acquire Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 269):

1. Human Resource Management Plan: The human resource plan (developed by the previous process) provides information about the timing of resource needs, skill sets required, and resource charts identifying how many people are needed. The primary information to develop this plan includes:

• Roles, responsibilities, skill sets, and competencies

• Organization charts

• Staffing management plan (provides resource histogram and release plans)

2. Enterprise Environmental Factors: When recruiting team members, the following factors should be considered:

• Human resource information: Who is available, their previous experience and ability, their interest in working on your project, and their cost rate.

• Personnel administration policies: How is outsourcing conducted?

• Organizational structure: Functional, matrix, or projectized?

• Location: Single or multiple, domestic or international?



3. Organizational Process Assets: Relevant OPA for staff acquisition would include organizational standard policies and procedures (HR procedures governing staff assignments).

Five Key Tools for Acquire Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 270):

1. Pre-assignment: Usually occurs in either of two circumstances, 1) particular people were promised as part of a competitive proposal or 2) staff assignments on an internal project were made in the project charter.

2. Negotiation: Reaching agreement with functional managers and other project teams about whom you need and when.

3. Acquisition: When an organization does not have the requisite staff or they are committed to other projects, the needed skills can be procured from outside the organization. Such an action is taken in lieu of hiring and training a permanent employee.

4. Virtual Teams: Virtual teams spend little or no time working face to face. Given modern technology, virtual teaming makes the following approaches possible:

• Teams with members from different geographic areas

• Use people who work from home or work different shifts

• Add special expertise even though they are not in the same location

• Pursue projects that would have been rejected due to travel costs

When using virtual teams, communication and conflict management become more important than ever. The potential disadvantages of virtual teams include:

• Misunderstandings due to communications difficulties

• Feelings of isolation

• Difficulty sharing knowledge, experience, and information

• Cost of communications technology

5. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis: Criteria used to rate or score potential team members. Examples include:

• Availability, cost, and experience • Ability, knowledge, and skills



• Attitude and international factors (location, time zones, language abilities)

Three Key Outputs for Acquire Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 272):

1. Project Staff Assignments: Recorded using an organizational chart and a team directory.

2. Resource Calendars: Documents the time periods in which specific resources can be used. This information must anticipate changes due to vacations, illness, promotions, retirements, commitments to other projects, and so on.

3. Project Management Plan Updates: The staffing plan on most projects is subject to a variety of changes caused by issues such as gaps in required skill sets, lack of training and experience, and accidents that require removal of an asset from the team.

9.3 Develop Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 273)

This process is aimed at improving the competencies, interactions among team members, and the overall team environment to, in turn, improve project performance.Includes the following:

• Team development involves:

1) Improving the ability of team members to contribute as individuals.

2) Improving the ability of the team to function effectively (includes team spirit, cross-training, and mentoring within the group).

3) Improving trust and cohesiveness among team members.

• Also, PMI emphasizes that team development occurs throughout the entire project life cycle.

Developing an effective team is a primary responsibility of the project manager. In doing so, project managers must:

• Motivate the team and facilitate team building

• Promote open, effective communication

• Manage conflict constructively

• Encourage collaborative problem solving

• Manage cultural diversity on global projects (see Unit 14, Appendix II, p. 14-7 to 14-14)



Develop Project Team


1. Human resource management plan

2. Project staff assignments 3. Resource calendars

1. Interpersonal skills 2. Training 3. Team-building activities 4. Ground rules 5. Colocation 6. Recognition and rewards 7. Personnel assessment tools

1. Team performance assessments

2. EEF updates

Three Key Inputs for Develop Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 274):

1. Human Resource Management Plan: Provides guidance about team issues such as rewards, feedback, training, disciplinary action, and team building.

2. Project Staff Assignments: This process begins by knowing who is on the team.

3. Resource Calendars: Identifies when team members are available for team development activities.

Seven Key Tools for Develop Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 275):

1. Interpersonal Skills: Also called “soft skills”, PMI has historically identified the following interpersonal skills that are useful for team development. They include:

• Problem solving: defining the problem, identifying alternatives, and making a timely decision.

• Leadership: developing a vision and strategy and motivating others to achieve that vision

• Influencing: getting things done even though you may have limited formal power

• Negotiation and conflict management: conferring with others to reach an agreement or to overcome a problem

• Communication: the exchange of information



• Motivation: “energizing people” to high levels of performance

Remember this list using the acronym PLINCM!

PMI has also identified emotional intelligence, team building, and group facilitation skills as highly appropriate for developing the team.

2. Training: Activities to enhance performance; can be formal or informal and may involve classroom, on-line, on-the-job, mentoring, or coaching.

3. Team-Building Activities: Can vary from a quick exercise during a meeting to a professionally facilitated off-site experience such as a ropes course. These activities are undertaken primarily to improve team motivation and performance. A major goal is to encourage the team to work together to collaboratively resolve issues that arise. Involving the team in planning and establishing rules for dealing with conflict are examples of actions that improve team performance as a secondary effect.

Be familiar with the following model that identifies five stages of team development (known either as the Tuckman model or the Tuckman ladder):

• Forming: Team members meet and learn about the project and their roles. Members often experience confusion and uncertainty at this point. Members tend to act in an independent manner and not be open to other team members.

• Storming: As work begins, team members may clash and compete for desired assignments and outcomes. Opposing sub-groups may form and differing ideas may produce conflict.

• Norming: Team members begin to adjust behavior and support the team. Team begins to trust each other and share ideas and information.

• Performing: Team functions as a well-organized, cohesive unit. Issues are handled smoothly.

• Adjourning: The work is completed and the team is released from the project. Team may feel separation anxiety if they had matured effectively into the performing stage.

Stages may be skipped, repeated, or never achieved depending on circumstances.



4. Ground Rules: This involves establishing clear expectations regarding behavior. Listening, being on time, taking responsibility for communication, “be hard on the issue but not on the person” are examples of team rules. When established by the team itself, these rules are easier to enforce if problems arise later.

5. Colocation: Placing team members in the same physical vicinity (also known as a “tight matrix”) enhances communication and other team development issues. When colocation is not possible, a “war room” may be used to help create a better sense of identity with the project.

6. Recognition and Rewards: Actions that promote or reinforce desired behavior. Project teams often need to implement their own systems as the overall organization may not always meet the needs of individual projects. Although helpful, a project team does not necessarily need a substantial budget for rewards. Compensatory time for a job well done, access to education opportunities, a chance to deliver the presentation to upper management, “Dove Bar Certificates” (ice cream bar given in the spirit of a “gold star” from your teacher), assistance in getting a computer upgrade, and the potential list is limited only by one’s imagination.

Key points:

• Only desirable behavior should be rewarded.

• Team members should not be punished for unrealistic expectations imposed by senior management.

• Rewarding only some team members may harm cooperation and cohesiveness in the group.

• Public recognition is effective with many people (not all).

• Recognize performance during the project instead of waiting until afterward.

7. Personnel Assessment Tools: Provides insights into team strengths and weaknesses using tools such as:

• Attitudinal surveys and structured interviews

• Ability tests and focus groups

Two Key Outputs for Develop Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 278):

1. Team Performance Assessments: Formal or informal assessments by the team and by outsiders may help the team judge their effectiveness and set



continuing goals for the future. The PMBOK® Guide mentions the following indicators of good performance:

• Project goals are met (technical, schedule, cost)

• Improvements in personal, individual skills

• Improvements in team cohesion (better communication, reduced instances of conflict, and generally positive feelings)

• Reduced turnover rates

2. Enterprise Environmental Factors Updates: Environmental factors that may be updated as a result of team development include personnel administration (employee training records and skill assessments).

9.4 Manage Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 279)

Managing the team involves tracking team performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and coordinating changes. Important management skills for managing the team include communication, negotiation, conflict management, and leadership.

• Management of the team is complicated when members report to more than one boss (a common challenge in matrix organizations wherein employees report to a functional manager as well as a project manager).

• Management of these dual reporting relationships is a critical success factor in project management.

Manage Project Team


1. Human resource management plan 2. Project staff assignments 3. Team performance assessments 4. Issue log 5. Work performance reports 6. Organizational process assets

1. Observation and conversation

2. Project performance appraisals

3. Conflict management 4. Interpersonal skills

1. Change requests 2. Project management plan

updates 3. Project documents updates 4. EEF updates 5. OPA updates

Six Key Inputs for Manage Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 281):

1. Human Resource Management Plan: Portions of the plan that are relevant at this point include roles and responsibilities, organizational structure, and the staffing management plan.



2. Project Staff Assignments: A list of team members whose performance will be evaluated.

3. Team Performance Assessments: Ongoing formal or informal assessments of the entire team’s performance as a group. Through this process, it is possible to identify and resolve issues, deal with conflict, and improve team communication.

4. Issue Log: Assigns responsibility for resolving specific issues to specific people within a designated target date.

5. Work Performance Reports: Provides documentation of actual performance against the plan. Areas such as cost, schedule, quality, scope validation, and procurement audits are of special interest.

6. Organizational Process Assets: Organizational Process Assets that can influence managing the team include:

• Certificates of appreciation

• Newsletters and websites (for recognition)

• Bonus structures

• Corporate apparel

• Other organizational perquisites (benefits offered as motivation and rewards such as special parking or a window office)

Four Key Tools for Manage Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 282):

1. Observation and Conversation: These techniques are used to remain in touch with the feelings of team members and identify any developing problems early.

2. Project Performance Appraisals: The need for performance appraisals during a project depends on factors such as organizational policies on appraisals, length of the project, and the organizational structure (for instance, the project manager would have little input to appraisals in a weak matrix).

Feedback for appraisals can come from supervisors directly observing the project work or it can come from external sources. A common practice involves the use of 360-degree feedback from multiple sources (peers, superiors, subordinates, customers).



3. Conflict Management: Team members are responsible for initially attempting to resolve conflict at their own level (before escalating to higher levels). If conflict escalates, the project manager should ensure that the issue is addressed early, in private, and involves a collaborative approach. This area has historically been the subject of numerous questions.

PMI cites seven major sources of conflict in the project environment. In descending order of importance or likelihood, they are:

1. Schedule

2. Priorities

3. Resources

4. Technical opinions

5. Administrative procedures

6. Cost

7. Personalities

NOTE: Personality conflicts are the least likely kind of conflict on this list; however, our intuition might lead most of us to consider personality to be a major cause of conflict. Therefore, beware of personality conflict as a “distractor” (incorrect) choice on these questions about conflict!

Consider using the acronym SPoRT (Schedule, Priorities, Resources, Technical) to remember the top four sources of conflict.

Conflict can sometimes be avoided through the following techniques:

• Clear assignment of tasks (avoid ambiguity or overlapping responsibilities)

• Inform the team: • Exactly where the project is headed: goals and objectives • Results of key decisions (involve the team when appropriate) • Changes

• Make work assignments challenging and interesting

Conflict may have a negative or a positive effect on the project depending on how it is handled. Project managers must recognize the following aspects of conflict:

• Conflict is natural and promotes a search for alternatives.

• Conflict is a team issue; openness promotes resolution of conflict.



• Conflict resolution should focus on issues and problems, not personalities.

• Conflict resolution should focus on the present, not the past.

• PMI encourages the possibility of off-site team building as one effective method to defuse conflict.

PMI recognizes five methods for responding to conflict. The methods were adapted from the original work of Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann.

Technique Description Problem Solve/Collaborate • Approaching conflict as a problem to be solved

• Using open exchange of information; searching for alternatives that satisfy the needs of both parties, i.e. “win-win”

• Used when the issues are too important for compromise

• Historically, PMI called this the best method for conflict resolution

• PMBOK® Guide now says each approach has its place (which is what TK originally said)

• TK (Thomas and Kilmann) originally called this collaborating

• PMI has also called this “confronting”

Compromise/Reconcile • Searching for solutions that bring “some degree of satisfaction” to both parties (partial wins)

• May be a back-up approach if problem solving fails or powerful parties cannot agree or there is time-pressure for a solution

• TK: Might result in a lose-lose if solution not supported



Technique Description Smooth/Accommodate • Emphasizing areas of agreement rather than

areas of disagreement • Conceding one’s position to maintain harmony

and create goodwill • Used when contentious issues threaten ability to

reach an agreement • Concern: the agreement may be temporary

because the difficult issue was not resolved and will re-emerge

• TK: Called this accommodating

Withdraw/Avoid • Retreating (temporarily) from conflict • Used when angry, belligerent behavior threatens

both the agreement and personal working relationships

• Used when the issue is not vital to you and you do not wish to risk damaging the relationship

• TK: Called this avoiding

Force/Direct • Satisfying your needs at the expense of others • Results in a win-lose • May be used in an emergency • Should be used sparingly because of the following

2 problems: 1) creating antagonism (an enemy waiting to get you back), 2) stalemate (the other party has more power than you believed or simply gets angry and won’t cooperate)

• TK: Called this competing



4. Interpersonal Skills: Appropriate interpersonal skills help a project manager bring the best from their team members. PMI identifies the most frequently used interpersonal skills as:

• Leadership: Among other things, leadership is the ability to effectively communicate a vision and inspire individuals and team to high performance.

• Influencing: Ability to be persuasive, clearly articulate positions, listen effectively, consider all perspectives, gather important information, and promote trust. Influencing is crucial because many project managers have little or no direct authority over key stakeholders (functional or weak matrix organizations).

• Decision making: The ability to negotiate, identify alternatives, and make a timely decision.

Five Key Outputs for Manage Project Team (PMBOK® Guide, p. 284):

1. Change Requests: Staffing changes may affect the project management plan in numerous ways (the schedule or budget may change). Staffing changes may include rotating someone to a different assignment, outsourcing, or replacing someone who left unexpectedly. If change requests occur because of staffing issues, they should be processed using integrated change control.

2. Project Management Plan Updates: The human resource management plan may be updated.

3. Project Documents Updates: The issue log, roles description, and staff assignments may be updated.

4. Enterprise Environmental Factors Updates: Factors that may be updated as a result of managing the team include:

• Input to performance appraisals

• Personnel skill updates

5. Organizational Process Assets Updates: Organizational Process Assets that may be updated as a result of managing the team include:

• Historical information and lessons learned

• Templates

• Organizational standard processes



Other Topics:

See course slides #7-3 - #7-13 for information on power, motivation theories, leadership styles, and delegating.

Power and authority: PMI recognizes the following types of power and authority.The concepts of power and authority in this context are almost interchangeable.

• Legitimate power (formal authority): Derived from the person’s position on the organizational chart. In a projectized organization, project managers usually have considerable formal authority. However, project managers tend to operate with relatively little formal authority in other situations.

• Expert power (technical authority): Involves the project manager’s knowledge of technical matters. Some PM’s are held in high esteem because their knowledge and experience is recognized and respected by the team and relevant stakeholders. This source of power is not automatically conferred because of one’s appointment as the PM.

• Reward power (authority): To the extent that project managers can provide things that are valued by team members, they can elicit more dedication and cooperation from the team. Examples of rewards include monetary bonuses, time off, furniture or computer equipment, certificate of appreciation, assistance with access to education or a desired job, and so on.

• Referent power (authority): Citing the authority of a powerful person in the organization who clearly has high formal authority. It is preferable to use this authority in a positive, motivational way. However, there may be some people who need the implied threat to make them cooperate.

• Coercive or penalty power: The basis of this power derives from the threat of retaliation or withholding something of value. In general, PMI believes this approach ought to be used as a last resort.

• Bureaucratic or administrative power: Gaining goodwill and “favors owed” by navigating the administrative red tape of organizations for your team.Radar O’Reilly in the television series M.A.S.H. provided a classic example of working the system to get things done for people (who then owed him favors in return).

• Interpersonal or charisma power: Influence derived from interpersonal skills that encourages others to cooperate with you because they want to.



NOTE: PMI recommends maximum use of reward and expert power and minimal use of coercive power.

Motivation theories: The following seven motivation and leadership theories are of particular importance for the exam:

1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Abraham Maslow postulated that if certain “lower-level” human needs were not met, the higher-level needs would be relatively unimportant. Lower-level needs included basic physical survival necessities and safety.

• Physiological: Physical survival necessities such as food, water, and shelter.

• Safety: Protection from threats, deprivation, and other dangers.

• Social: The need for association, affiliation, friendship, and so on.

• Self-esteem: The need for respect and recognition.

• Self-actualization: The opportunity for personal development, learning, and fun/creative/challenging work. Self-actualization is the highest level need to which a human being can aspire.

2. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y:

• Theory X: The traditional view of the work force holds that workers are inherently lazy, self-centered, and lacking ambition. Therefore, an appropriate management style is strong, top-down control.

• Theory Y: This view postulates that workers are inherently motivated and eager to accept responsibility. An appropriate management style is to focus on creating a productive work environment coupled with positive rewards and reinforcement.

3. Herzberg’s Hygiene Factors: Hygiene factors include items such as pay, working conditions, and attitude of the boss. Poor attention to hygiene factors may cause low motivation and low cooperation. However, proper care of hygiene factors is merely expected; that’s how things are supposed to be.Therefore, proper attention to hygiene factors does not lead directly to high motivation. For example, employees expect to have a decent office to work in and also to be paid fairly compared to other people doing the same work.



4. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory: Victor Vroom stated that people will be highly productive and motivated if two conditions are met: 1) people believe it is likely that their efforts will lead to successful results and 2) those people also believe they will be rewarded for their success.

5. McClelland’s Trichotomy of Needs: David McClelland identified three needs that tend to motivate people:

• Need for Achievement: People with a high need for achievement prefer tasks that provide for personal responsibility and results based on their own efforts (not simply the result of good luck). They also prefer quick feedback on their progress.

• Need for Power: People with a high need for power desire situations in which they wield power and influence over others. They seek positions with status and authority and tend to be more concerned about their level of influence than about effective work performance.

• Need for Affiliation: People with a high need for affiliation are motivated by being liked and accepted by others. They tend to participate in social gatherings and may be uncomfortable with conflict.

6. Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid: Blake and Mouton provided a model that measures two aspects of how people lead:

• Concern for Production: Leaders who score high on this dimension have a high concern for results or production. They are concerned primarily about tasks and getting things done.

• Concern for People: People who score high on this dimension have a high concern for feelings and attitudes. They care about how employees feel about the work place and whether employees are comfortable.

The model yields a score for each dimension where a 1 is low concern and a 9 is high concern. A 9,1 leader cares entirely about results regardless of employee feelings. Conversely, a 1,9 leader will not push people for results if doing so would endanger the comfortable environment of the work place. A 5,5 leader represents the ability to combine both concerns in an effective balance.



7. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Myers and Briggs developed a well-known model that describes four important personality dimensions that affect human behavior and communication:

• Extravert vs. Introvert: Indicates how we interact with the world and where we direct our energy. Extraverts are energized by being with other people whereas introverts are energized by spending time alone.Extraverts think out loud whereas introverts think things through inside their head.

• Sensing vs. Intuitive: Indicates the kind of information we naturally notice. Sensing people trust what is certain, value common sense, and are oriented to the present. Intuitive people like new ideas, value innovation, and are oriented to the future.

• Thinking vs. Feeling: Indicates our preferences when we make decisions. Thinking people are logical, detached, and analytical. They proceed in an objective way and prefer that justice is achieved as a result of their decisions. Feeling people are fair-hearted, involved, and subjective. They worry about how a decision will affect others emotionally. They identify with the emotional pain of others and prefer tact and harmony.

• Judging vs. Perceiving: Indicates whether we prefer to live in a structured way or a more spontaneous way. Judging people are planned and orderly, are happiest when a decision has been made, derive satisfaction from finishing projects, and take deadlines very seriously. Perceiving people are spontaneous and flexible, are happiest when options are still available, derive satisfaction from starting projects, and consider deadlines to be “elastic.”

Leadership Styles: Know the following three leadership styles:

• Autocratic: Leader makes decisions without input, participation, or seeking consensus.

• Democratic: Leader seeks and encourages participation, feedback, and consensus of the group. This style is participative and seeks decisions by consensus.

• Laissez-Faire: From the French meaning roughly “let alone” or “leave be.” This is a passive leadership style that does not impose close supervision or top-down directives. Works well with “high-knowledge” experts who do not want or need to be told how to do their work.



Delegating: The process of distributing authority from the project manager to another person working on the project. The amount of authority delegated must be sufficient to accomplish the task. The PM may not delegate responsibility; the PM ultimately remains responsible for correct and timely completion of the work.

Advantages of delegating:

• Develops the skills of your team

• Distributes work better

• Increases motivation among team members

• Increases productivity; gets work done more efficiently

Signs of poor delegation:

• Team is experiencing confusion and conflict

• You are always working late

• Morale is low

• Workers have frequent questions about delegated tasks

• Poor delegation or no delegation is inefficient and expensive!

How to delegate:

• Choose a person suitable for the task (expertise, availability)

• Explain the task clearly and completely

• Confer sufficient authority with respect to access to equipment, facilities, information, and resources

• Keep in touch; monitor progress; provide assistance if needed

• Allow alternative approaches; praise a job well done

What not to delegate: You should avoid delegating certain sensitive aspects of leadership, such as:

• Hiring

• Firing

• Pay

• Organizational policy

• Management of key stakeholders



Resource planning tools:

The following resource planning tool is not covered in the PMBOK® Guide but has appeared on the exam:

Resource Gantt Chart: Uses the structure of a regular Gantt chart to show who is working on which tasks at what time.

Kick-off meetings: You should know that 1) kick-off meetings are the responsibility of the project manager (not upper management), and 2) you should know the objectives of a kick-off meeting. The following list was published in a PMI monograph:

Objectives of a kick-off meeting:

• Introduce team members • Establish working relationships • Establish lines of communication • Set and/or review goals and objectives • Review project status • Review project management plan • Identify problems and issues • Establish responsibilities / accountabilities • Obtain commitments

Halo Error: A tendency to rate someone consistently high or consistently low based on preconceived notions. “First impressions can be misleading” error.

Concurrent engineering:

• A technique that overlaps tasks and phases in a project

• Also forms a multi-disciplinary, core team that works together from the beginning of the project. The result is more work is done in parallel and late changes are reduced.

• Concurrent engineering has a good track record in reducing costs and improving schedules.



Additional terminology:

Fringe benefits: Standard items provided to employees such as education, training, profit sharing, medical benefits, employer matching of social security benefits, and so on.

Perquisites (“perks”): Special awards such as access to the executive dining room, a company car, a corner office, special parking, and so on.

Arbitration: Disputes heard by a neutral third party. The parties usually agree in advance that they will abide by the resulting decision.

Productivity: A ratio of output divided by input, e.g., number of items produced per hour of labor.

“H.R. functions”: Aside from the traditional roles of recruitment and hiring, human resource departments may provide the following functions that are relevant to project teams:

• Training

• Career planning

• Team building



Self-Study Drill Practice: Human Resource Management

Question Answer

1. When an employee is motivated primarily by a desire for personal growth, Maslow would say that person is responding to which human need?

1. Self-actualization, the highest-level need on Maslow’s hierarchy (p. 7-19).

Note: All page numbers in this drill practice refer to the study guide unless otherwise indicated.

2. The tendency to consistently rate someone high or low based on an impression is called ______.

2. halo error(p. 7-23)

3. In which organizational approach does the PM have the greatest authority?

3. Projectized(p. 2-6 and course slide #2-9)

4. Which resource management tool focuses on “who does what”?

4. Responsibility matrix; also called a responsibility assignment matrix (pp. 7-3/4).

5. In which direction is the balance of power shifted in a weak matrix?

5. Power is shifted in favor of the functional managers in a weak matrix(p. 2-5).

6. What does it mean to be an autocratic manager?

6. Autocrats make decisions without seeking input from others (p. 7-21).

7. Name the seven tools for develop team. 7.Interpersonal skills Training Team-building activities Ground rules ColocationRecognition and rewards Personnel assessment tools (pp. 7-9 to 7-11)

8. What is one way to create a greater sense of identity among team members?

8. Get and use a project war room so that the team can work in the same physical location(p. 7-11, colocation)

9. Name five ways of dealing with conflict. 9. Problem solve/ Collaborate (Confront) Compromise/Reconcile Smooth/Accommodate Withdraw/AvoidForce/Direct (Compete) (pp. 7-15/16)

10. If both parties in a conflict employ forcing, what is a possible outcome?

10. Stalemate (p. 7-16)



11. What is concurrent engineering? 11. An attempt to lower costs and accelerate schedules through the use of multi-functional teams and overlapping of project phases(p. 7-23).

12. What is the difference between a responsibility matrix and a resource Gantt chart?

12. A resource Gantt chart shows the timing of the tasks and a responsibility matrix does not (pp. 7-3 and 7-23).

13. List five examples of fringe benefits. 13. Profit sharing, training, medical benefits, education, and employer matching of social security payments(p. 7-24).

14. Parking spaces and access to an executive dining room are examples of ______.

14. “Perks”, also called by the formal terminology perquisites(p. 7-24)

15. What is arbitration? 15. The hearing and resolution of a dispute by a neutral third party (p. 7-23).

16. During a vitally important negotiation, one of the parties has become angry and is now acting in a confrontational, belligerent manner. Which conflict method would be appropriate?

16. Withdraw/avoid (p. 7-16)

17. What does McGregor’s Theory X postulate about the work force?

17. Workers are inherently lazy and must be managed with a strong, top-down approach(p. 7-19).

18. What is the major difference between the authority of a project expeditor and that of a project coordinator?

18. The authority of an expeditor is generally limited to the department or division headed by his/her vice president. The authority of a coordinator is more likely to work across departments or divisions (p. 2-5).

19. How is productivity normally measured? 19. Output divided by input (p. 7-24)

20. Aside from the traditional role of hiring, name three other HR roles that affect project teams.

20.Training Career development Team building (p. 7-24)

21. David McClelland identified three needs that motivate humans. They are ______.

21. a) the need for achievement (people who prefer tasks that provide for personal responsibility and results based on their own efforts), b) the need for power (people who desire situations in which they wield power and influence over others), and c) the need for affiliation (people who are motivated by being liked and accepted by others) (p. 7-19).



22. Name Maslow’s five levels in the hierarchy of needs from lowest to highest.

22.PhysiologicalSafetySocialSelf-esteemSelf-actualization (p. 7-19)

23. What are the objectives of a kick-off meeting?

23.Introduce team members Establish working relationships Establish lines of communication Set and/or review goals and objectives Review project status Review project management plan Identify problem areas/issues Establish responsibilities/accountabilities Obtain commitments (p. 7-23)

24. Name the sources of authority or power that a PM can draw on.

24.Formal authority (legitimate power) Technical authority (expert power) Purse-string authority (reward power) Referent power Coercive/penalty power Bureaucratic power Charismatic power (p. 7-18)

25. Which conflict resolution method is least likely to produce a lasting solution?

25. Smoothing (p. 7-16)

26. Which conflict resolution approach is most likely to produce a lasting solution?

26. Problem solving (p. 7-15)

27. Distinguish roles, responsibilities, and authority.

27.A role is the function a person performs (engineer, analyst). A responsibility is the work someone is expected to perform. Authority is the right to apply resources, make decisions, and sign approvals. (p. 7-5)

28. When is matrix management particularly appropriate?

28. On complex projects involving cross-functional effort (p. 2-5).

29. Name the method that identifies whether a team member may be more disposed to thinking or feeling behavior when faced with a decision.

29.Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)(p. 7-21)



30. Name two dangers associated with using forcing to resolve a conflict.

30.Creation of personal antagonism Stalemate (no resolution) (p. 7-16)

31. a) Name six interpersonal skills (also referred to as general management skills) that apply to project management.

31. Problem solving, leading, influencing, negotiating, communicating, and motivating; use the acronym “PLINCM”

(pp. 7-9/10).

32. Which theory measures a leader’s concern for production versus concern for people?

32. Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid (p. 7-20).