Project Management

Project Human Resource Management

Attique Ahmad

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 Understanding Human Behavior
• Project Managers must understand human behavior,
perhaps more so than functional managers. The reason for
this is that Project Manager must continually motivate
people toward successful accomplishment of project
objectives.

• Motivation cannot be accomplished without at least a

fundamental knowledge of human behavior.

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 Understanding Human Behavior
• Hierarchy of human needs (Maslow)
– Basic needs
• Physiological need
• Security/security
• Social
– Self-esteem
• Esteem includes self respect, reputation, recognition and self
confidence of being the best and the expert in their
respective field.
– Self-actualization
• Self Actualization is doing what one can do best, realization
of potential and constant self development. Giveback to the
community.
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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

People are motivated by ‘unsatisfied’ needs 4

Project Manager’s Interpersonal Influences

– Formal Authority: PM is perceived as officially

empowered to issues orders

– Reward Power: PM is perceived to as capable of

directly or indirectly dispensing rewards (i.e. Salary,
promotion, bonus, future work assignments)

– Penalty (Coercive) Power: PM is perceived as capable

of directly or indirectly dispensing penalties.

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Project Manager’s Interpersonal Influences
– Expert Power: PM is perceived as possessing special
knowledge or expertise.

– Referent Power: The ability to gain support because project

personnel fell personally attracted to the Project Manager.

– Best is expert and reward

– Worst is coercive or penalty

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 Understanding Human Behavior
• Theory X (McGregor)
– The average worker dislikes work and avoids work
when possible
– To induce adequate effort, the supervisor must
threaten punishment and exercise careful supervision
– The average worker avoids increased responsibility
and seeks to be directed
The manager who accepts Theory X normally
exercises authoritarian type control over workers.

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 Understanding Human Behavior
• Theory Y (McGregor)
– The average worker wants to be active and finds
the physical and mental efforts on the job
satisfying
– Greatest results come from willing participation
which will tend to produce self direction towards
goals without coercion and control
– The average worker seeks opportunity for
personal improvement and self-respect

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 Behavioral Theories
• Theory Z (Ouchi)
– Japanese way of handling people
– Three Ingredients
• Trust
• Recognize ever changing relationship among people
• Intimacy
– Cultural Values
• Lifetime employment
• Slow promotions and infrequent evaluations
• Non-specialized career paths
• Collective decision making and responsibility

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Human Relationship and Administration Skills

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 Negative Roles of Human Resources in Project Management

Reference:
Dr. Harold Kerzner’s PROJECT MANAGEMENT A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO PLANNING,
SCHEDULING, AND CONTROLLING
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ORGANIZING AND STAFFING THE PROJECT OFFICE AND TEAM
 Negative Roles of Human Resources in Project Management
● The aggressor
● Criticizes everybody and everything on project management
● Deflates the status and ego of other team members
● Always acts aggressively
● The dominator
● Always tries to take over
● Professes to know everything about project management
● Tries to manipulate people
● Will challenge those in charge for leadership role
● The devil’s advocate
● Finds fault in all areas of project management
● Refuses to support project management unless threatened
● Acts more of a devil than an advocate
● The topic jumper
● Must be the first one with a new idea/approach to project management
● Constantly changes topics
● Cannot focus on ideas for a long time unless it is his/her idea
● Tries to keep project management implementation as an action item
forever
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 Negative Roles of Human Resources in Project Management
●The recognition seeker
● Always argues in favor of his/her own ideas
● Always demonstrates status consciousness
● Volunteers to become the project manager if status is recognized
● Likes to hear himself/herself talk
● Likes to boast rather than provide meaningful information
•The withdrawer
● Is afraid to be criticized
● Will not participate openly unless threatened
● May withhold information
● May be shy
● The blocker
● Likes to criticize
● Rejects the views of others
● Cites unrelated examples and personal experiences
● Has multiple reasons why project management will not work 13
 Positive Roles of Human Resources in Project Management

Reference: Dr. Harold Kerzner’s PROJECT MANAGEMENT A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO PLANNING, SCHEDULING, AND CONTROLLING
Page 182:ORGANIZING AND STAFFING THE PROJECT OFFICE AND TEAM

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 Positive Roles of Human Resources in Project Management
● The initiators
● “Is there a chance that this might work?”
● “Let’s try this.”
● The information seekers
● “Have we tried anything like this before?”
● “Do we know other companies where this has worked?”
● “Can we get this information?”
● The information givers
● “Other companies found that . . .”
● “The literature says that . . .”
● “Benchmarking studies indicate that . . .”
● The encouragers
● “Your idea has a lot of merit.”
● “The idea is workable, but we may have to make small
changes.”
● “What you said will really help us.” 15
 Positive Roles of Human Resources in Project Management

● The clarifiers
● “Are we saying that . . . ?”
● “Let me state in my own words what I’m hearing from the team.”
● “Let’s see if we can put this into perspective.”
● The harmonizers
● “We sort of agree, don’t we?”
● “Your ideas and mine are close together.”
● “Aren’t we saying the same thing?”
● The consensus takers
● “Let’s see if the team is in agreement.”
● “Let’s take a vote on this.”
● “Let’s see how the rest of the group feels about this.”
● The gate keepers
● “Who has not given us their opinions on this yet?”
● “Should we keep our options open?”
● “Are we prepared to make a decision or recommendation, or is there additional
information to be reviewed?”

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 Conflicts
• Conflict Management
– Conflicts in a team are normally unavoidable
– It is Project Manager’s responsibility to resolve
the conflicts to the best interests of the Project

During the initial phase of the project, the team suffers

from role conflict.
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 Conflicts
• Conflicts can occur over
– Manpower resources
– Equipment and facilities
– Capital expenditures
– Costs
– Technical opinions and tradeoffs
– Administrative procedures
– Priorities
– Scheduling
– Personality clashes
– Responsibilities

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 Conflict-Handling Modes
»Withdrawal
• Retreating from actual or potential
disagreements and conflict situations
• Appropriate only in certain situations
such as when a cooling-off period is
needed
• A temporary tactic, does not resolve
the conflict, only delays
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 Conflict-Handling Modes
»Smoothing
• De-emphasizes differences and
emphasizes commonalities
• Keeps the atmosphere friendly
• A temporary tactic: does not resolve
the conflict, only delays it
• Should be used in conjunction with
another method
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 Conflict-Handling Modes

» Compromising
• Considers various issues and searches for
solutions which bring some degree of
satisfaction to the conflicting parties
• Both parties must give up something that is
important to them, however, this method usually
provides some acceptable form of resolution.
Considered a lose-lose method

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 Conflict-Handling Modes

» Forcing
• Exerts one’s viewpoint at the potential
expense of another party
• This method provides resolution but is
considered to be a win-lose

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 Conflicts
• Conflicts can occur over
– Manpower resources
– Equipment and facilities
– Capital expenditures
– Costs
– Technical opinions and tradeoffs
– Administrative procedures
– Priorities
– Scheduling
– Personality clashes
– Responsibilities 23
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