More Subjects
HR Project Management Final Team Report
John A. Wilson
Strayer University
Dr. Tony Denkins
Assignment 5
Author Note
HR Project Management Final Team Report
Report Overview
HR is an essential part of every organization. It mitigates people-related risks associated with a project in an effort to ensure that everyone is doing exactly what they are supposed to. This enhances the probability of everyone at the organization get the support they need and work towards a successful project. Project managers, especially in terms of HR always start off with the needs of a project. They delegate the tasks at hand and ensure the best possible outcome for the said project.
Project Management is primarily composed of four different components. These components work in complete harmony with one another to achieve the common goals of Human Resource Management, which makes them crucial and essential at the very same time. The first of the four components in Strategic planning. It involves an analysis of the business environment of an organization, with respect to the goals and objectives it seeks to achieve. Strategic planning is always carried out with a vigilant eye on the guiding principles, the vision statement and the mission statement of the project. The goals defined by strategic objectives are both short term and long term and serve to reflect the performance of the organization. For this purpose, it employs the use of the programs as well as the company portfolio that it has in place.
Once a strategy has been put into place, all that is left is the management as well as leading the HR project. Here, the absolute power is held by the manager, who can influence the actions of all those around him. Whether this power is legitimate or expert, it has the potential effect of curbing corporate problems, while also ensuring low-risk percentile, management and communication issues in the organization. Here, motivating the group of people he manages and keeping them on track is also the manager’s responsibility.
Once the strategy is in place, with the tasks delegated to the right people who are being led by a team lead, next comes planning considerations in relation to the project. It discusses the scope of the project, where everyone is aware of what their job description actually entails and are ready to deliver. With regard to planning considerations, choosing to work with people with a certain behavioral skill set is essential. This includes an optimal level of communication among various members of the project, as well as key leadership potential exhibited by the team lead. The project costs, along with the determination of a set budget and mitigation of risks involved, is also kept in mind in this phase of project management.
In the end, the last, and perhaps one of the most vital components of an HR project revolves around tracking the progress of the HR project, the potential results of the project along with finalizing the project upon its completion. In this aspect, both internal and external progress is not only maintained but tracked in Realtime to estimate when the project will be completed. Projects prove to be more beneficial for an organization as they provide a chance to the organizations to learn various new strategies and aspects related to different fields. Thus, using strategies to maintain and sustain the project progress, aligning the needs of HR and the project and addressing means to resolve any conflict are all important parts of the last component of project management.
Organizing HR Projects
Strategic Planning
Strategic Analysis
Strategic Analysis is defined as a process that involves an analysis of business environment of an organization, taking into account the environment in which an organization operates. It is one of the major element in order to facilitate decision making. Strategic refers to anything that is of superficial level and analysis asserts the breakdown of larger section into small fragments. If a company holds certain objectives and mission in terms of goals, strategic analysis plays a significant role in achieving those objectives. It would not be wrong to say that strategic analysis is a long term task that involves continuous and systematic planning along with resource investment. In a simplified form, strategic analysis is an external review of the happenings in environment in which an organization operates, adhering to long, medium and short term features (Joseph M.Putti, 2015).
Strategic analysis refers to three main paradigm
SWOT Analysis. It refers to the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and certain threats.
Elements within the control of project team
Elements on which team of project control has no/ little control
Guiding Principles
Guiding principles refer to the principles that are used to highlight "the baseline of organization" as well as, "mechanism used for achievement of vision” (Bratton, et, al. 2000).
Vision Statement
Vision statement is a single sentence that highlights and laments organization in terms of future. There are two major aspects that are associated with “Guiding Principles” such as, “requiring extra effort to be achieved” and other paradigms refer to “multiyear goals that may require a new vision.”
Mission Statement
It refers to the mechanism that is designed for achieving vision. It includes several considerations such as culture, core values, primary customer, beliefs, primary business and organization's core purpose. The purpose of mission statement infers existence of an organization. Core values refer to the circumstances and factors that can facilitate decision making and beliefs reflect the attitude of organization towards people. It also asserts the stance for which leaders stand for. Culture considers the attitude and attribute of the members of an organization. Primary business areas highlight major areas of interest of an organization, referring to products, and services. Primary customers are the actual people or customers for which an organization works to satisfy and fulfill their needs.
Strategic Objectives
Strategic Objectives refers to the means that are utilized for an organization in order to achieve vision and mission. It is significant to note that strategic objectives occur annually, taking into account that objectives are modified and reformulated every year. Strategic objectives define both, long term and short term results (Bratton, et, al. 2000). Long term objectives are inherently strategic, taking into account that they shape the overall orientation of an organization. On the other hand, short term goals reflect the performance of organization's program (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Essence of goals
It is significant to note that, effective objectives are “effective” in nature adhering to certain attributes such as, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Result-based and Time-specific. It is equally important to note that SMART goals are the actual stance towards achieving required gaols (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Flow-Down Objectives
Flow-Down objectives refer to those objectives that have the potential to enforce, "strategic objectives". Flow-down objectives are enforcement and real-time implication of the strategic objectives. It is important to note that Flow-Down objectives are implemented through ongoing operations. The stance of implication of objectives relies on projects as the primary methods (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Portfolio Alignment
Portfolio alignment is management tools that can agile program management. Project portfolio management is a process by which the projects of an organization are evaluated in order to define benefits, aims and purposes. There are different aspects of portfolio management such as portfolios, programs, project and subproject and assessment of organization's ability to perform projects (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Portfolios
It refers to the composition of programs, sub-portfolios projects, and ongoing operations. Portfolios are a major tool to adhere to balance between small and large projects, high risk and low-risk projects. Portfolios also determine equilibrium between the high rewarding and low rewarding project, taking into account the time required for the completion of the projects as well as the substantial time that is required for the achievement of project goals (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Programs
Programs are an accumulation of subprograms, related projects and the activities that can synchronize organizational goals. Programs last as long as organization lasts because organization cannot work without programs that are highly dependent on the organizations. It is significant to note that projects that are localized within a program are of limited duration and they are managed at a level that is above project manager (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Project Portfolio
Project Portfolio refers to the collection of projects that are grouped so that they can be managed collectively. The management of portfolio includes management of projects referring to certain aspect and paradigms such as identification of projects, their selection, prioritization, sorting of resources and the governance of the projects (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Projects and Sub Projects
Project is a collection of multiple subprojects. It is the responsibility of project manager to coordinate several subprojects and make certain decisions that are best for the project. The subproject is a fragment that is attained by division of project, referring to obtaining more manageable pieces (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Organization’s ability to perform projects
It refers to the ability of different stakeholders to perform actions that are associated with projects such as teamwork, PM process, and leaders. The ability of an organization to perform required actions are dependent on the ability of each of the stakeholder to perform duties that are required of them (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Importance of these steps
“The steps of strategic planning can guide project team to make decisions that could act as a code of conduct in terms of long and short term goals, taking into account that required changes can be made by adhering to both quality and quantity” (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Vision and Mission Statement
Vision
To incorporate word class human resource management adhering to best practices and technologies with continuous learning and improvement.
Mission Statement
The mission of Project team is to provide effective management of human resources by implementing and developing policies, services, and programs that can contribute to the attainment of employee and corporate goals. Project team aims at balancing the needs of company and employees, ensuring a diverse workforce void of discrimination. Organizational goals are achieved by adequate training and development in the areas of career development of employees, government regulations and employment laws. The aim of project team is to hire most qualified employees by adhering to employment market place.
Project Charter
Project Charter is an informal contract between the sponsors and the project team. It would not be wrong to say that project charter is a contract in which two or more parties are freely in contact with each other, this contract cannot be changed arbitrarily (Bratton, et, al. 2000). Project charter is a stance that offers something for value, taking into account that it is a living document that changes with a change in condition. It is asserted that project charter is a transition from project initiating stage to project planning stage (Bratton, et, al. 2000).
Uses
Authorize project manager to proceed
Project charter allows the project manager to proceed with the plan. There are two specific considerations with it, mentioned below
Commitment of resources to a project
Resource commitment is a project management document that is used in the planning of human resource. This form does not use all the projects however it refers to the resource sharing between different departments. Commitment of resources highlights the stance of "check and balance" between different resources (Bratton, et, al. 2000).
Providing official status in the parent organization
Project charter is a tool that can pave the way for granting official status to the parent organization. It refers to the fact that charter is more like a code of conduct that allows an organization to incorporate the stance of “set pattern”. It is evident that official status highlights the "expected conduct” that can keep contractors and stakeholders in synchronization with each other (Bratton, et, al. 2000).
Developing a common understanding
Organization character incorporates teamwork; it paves the way for attributes such as trust, agreement, commitment, and communication. Common understanding reflects mutual understanding taking into account that a sponsor is less likely to bring bout a change in the original agreement. It is significant to note that common understanding is the stance that keeps the sponsor and stakeholders in coordination with each other (Bratton, et, al. 2000).
Creating commitment
Commitment is one of the catchlines of the organizational charter; it is an analysis of abstract relationship that keeps the contractor in touch with each other with complete trust (Bratton, et, al. 2000).
Screen-out poor projects
Organizational charter is one of the major tools that allow an organization to screen out poor projects, taking into account the fact that a systematic and procedural analysis of decision paves the way for continuous betterment and evaluation (Bratton, et, al. 2000).
Three Charter Elements
There are different elements of charter, taking into account individual significance of each; however, three major elements are as follows
Risk, assumptions, and constraints
Risk refers to an uncertain situation that could have a positive or negative impact on the project. It is asserting that “negative connotation” is commonly associated with risks.
Assumption refers to the supposition that is made while planning a project; these presuppositions adhere to factual basis. Negative assumption refers to risk that can threaten the overall goal achievement in an organization (Joseph M.Putti, 2015).
Constraints
It refers to the restrictions and limitations in the implementation of project. Constraint may range from external factors to certain internal factors. A common example of constraints is lack of money (Joseph M.Putti, 2015).
Resources
Resource refers to the budget adhering to a level of confidence in the estimate; it refers to the identification of expenses that a project manager can authorize. Resource estimation also highlights the control of needs of sponsor as well (Li, Y., et, al. 2018).
Stakeholders
In the case of stakeholders, charter determines the actual stakeholders who can have an influence on the decision making power. Stakeholder list determines the actual stakeholders who can have impact on the organizational decisions (Bratton, et, al. 2000).
Statement of Emphasis
Organization charter is more like an action plan that determines the future circumstances, side by side it keeps the present and ongoing action to be controlled by the mutual coordination of both stakeholders and sponsors. Organizational charter is the spine of organization, adhering to an analysis of facts and figures in terms of major elements of organization such as resources, and stakeholders.
Leading and Management in the HR Project
Types of Manger Power
Power
Power is defined as the ability of the manager to influence the actions of other people who are working with him. It is significant to note that power is a tool that can mitigate or encourage someone to do something. Power reflects the stance of impacting and highlighting objectives in terms of influencing both stakeholders and other team members. There are different types of power that are associated with the project manager, named as legitimate power, reward power, expert power, referent power, and punishment power (Kerzner, et, al. 2013).
Two major types of power to consider are,
Legitimate power
Legitimate power refers to the values that are concerned with the project that are actually influenced as a result of the action. It highlights the stance of “rights and regulation”, taking into account that the party has the right to do so. Legitimate power occurs with the support of normal authority in an organization and it is respected by the legitimate authority. Legitimate power would be relevant to my project because it will allow me working in accordance with laws, adhering to minor oppression. It is one of the great sources to make others abide by my will without much argumentation (Zwikael, et, al. 2019).
Expert Power
Expert power is one of the catchlines of successful project management, taking into account that the team respects someone due to the sake of expertise. Expert power is more like an idea that allows project manager and team members to work in synchronization with each other. It refers to the skill and abilities that made someone to exercise its will and allow others to respect its opinion. It would be relevant to my project because this skill is the most significant thing that makes someone superior to the other group member or team members, adhering to the core standards of working (Marion, et, al. 2018). Expert power will inculcate an instinct of "actuality", because team members will be well known to the abilities a project manager, facilitating the stance of decision making.
Possible Issues in Project management
Following are the issues in project management
Corporate Problems
It is one of the internal problems that a project manager has to face, taking into account that a company or a firm may have ambiguous or unclear goals. A poorly planned project has no future, asserting problems with corporate. It refers to the issues and consequences in terms of budget, goals, and timeframe. Corporate problems are much similar to the issues that are associated with goals and objectives. These risks can be mitigated by having clear project expectations in terms of team members and tasks to do (Marion, et, al. 2018).
Ensuring risks are low
Risks are one of the major threats that a project manager has to face. It is one of the hard tasks because the overall project is hampered and distorted by internal factors. These risks can be mitigated by building a strong circle of trust and analysis that intimates which part of the project is not feasible and worth to do. It asserts the significance of the protective measures and the analysis of assumed risks, taking into account that there would be no risks for the project in future. Moreover, risks can also be mitigated by having a strong sense of accountability asserting that modifications are made before it’s too late (Marion, et, al. 2019).
Communication Issues
Communication is also one of the risks that a project manager has to face. There are certain barriers in terms of adequate communication, having the potential to create hurdles in successful accomplishment of project. It refers to the gaps between the manager and the teammates, taking into account that every individual plays an equal role in terms of a successful project. These risks can be mitigated and analyzed by having a clear code of instructions (Kerzner, et, al. 2013).
Managing Issues
It refers to the risks that arise due to misunderstood expectations. It is significant to note that these issues arise when there are gaps between the proposition and the actual action of a manager. These issues can be mitigated by having clear expectations in terms of resources, deadlines and future goals (Marion, et, al. 2019). It also includes issues that are related to payment and training because they play a crucial role in formulating the ideology of employees and team members towards a manager.
Extended Challenges
There are a number of extended challenges that a project manager has to face such as,
Resource Conflict
These conflicts or issues refer to the “insufficiency of resources”, taking into account that there are no sufficient resources that can staff the project accurately. It is significant to note that these issues refer to the lack of accountability and a decreased approach towards the identification of objectives (Zwikael, et, al. 2019).
Strategies
There are certain strategies that can address these issues, such as accountability and maintaining a register that could keep a check on the resources. Both the actions will let the manager know about that resources available and the number of resources that are required for future.
Fragmentation
It refers to the issues that are the result of inadequate planning and resources processes and tools that can lead to inadequate actions (Marion, et, al. 2018). Fragmentation also refers to the inadequate division of resources, labor or time, asserting that three of them are highly significant for successful project completion. It refers to the lack of communication baseline taking into account the future of project scenarios.
Strategies
There are a number of strategies that could be used but adequate communication and check and balance will be specific taking into account that it will allow a project manager to address all the gaps in the plan. An analysis of the labor force and the division of labor can allow a project manager to stay updated regarding present and future objectives.
Dependency Conflict
Dependency conflicts refer to the gaps in terms of equipment resources, instructions, and deliverables. These conflicts also include lack of attention of a manager towards project details and the amount of resources that are provided for the completion of the project (Marion, et, al. 2018).
Strategies
Dependency conflicts can be mitigated by having clear objectives and expectations taking into account the analysis of resources and scheduling. Maintain logs is one of the strategies that could act as a rescue to dependency conflict.
Unrealized business value
Business value is all about priorities and any hampering to these values are a major tool to create massive challenges for a project manager. Unrealized business values include late arrival of resource, lack of check and balance and deviating instructions.
Strategies
These challenges can be overcome by proper scheduling and analyzing project goals in terms of future goals and expectations. It also includes an analysis of the facts and figures in terms of “type of business” and the approach towards future goals and resources.
Communication Management
The aim of communication management plan is to impart effective communication in order to address and manage stakeholders, taking into account that the project is completely accurate. It would not be wrong to say that the communication plan is more like a structured plan that could impart accountability and check and balance towards the achievement of goals within the set time. A communication plan that I will be following during my project would be having a clear purpose, set of instructions, methods, and timing.
Purpose
The plan would be having a clear purpose in terms of all the relevant fields and authorities such as information seeking, schedule, issues, quality, risks and change control. All the escalation and directions would be evident (Marion, et, al. 2018).
Structure
My plan will be having a clear structure in terms of templates and forms. All the statement would be void of ambiguity. The communication plan will be made in accordance with a purpose having a clear structure, all the instructions would be clear (Zwikael, et, al. 2019).
Methods
I’ll take into account the required methods of communication such as push method, referring to E-mail, text, and instant messaging. I will use pull method whenever required such as blogs, internet and bulletin boards, asserting that all the team members have access to them. The interactive method would be an effective source for communication taking into account that I will stay in contact with my team members through telephones, group wares, and wikis. However, the most preferable method that I’ll be using would be push method (Marion, et, al. 2018).
Timing
I will make sure that my communication would be clear and compact in terms of timing. I will make use of charters, and project plans, taking into account that they would be used and applied in time. All the routines would be shared one week before actual execution making sure that none of the team-mates is left behind. I will try to negotiate my timing with my team members as well so that the project life cycle is not hampered by the stance of lack of time, taking into consideration the output acceptance (Marion, et, al. 2018).
Planning Considerations for the HR Project
Scope of the Project
This project is about understanding and knowing the exact job descriptions and job specifications of major people of the university. Those people mostly include Director of the university, Deputy Director, Vice Chancellor, Deans of different faculties, chairman of all department, Heads of departments and department coordinators. In terms of task management, each member of the project will perform different activities or tasks. Every member will be assigned with a specific task or duty for which he/she will be responsible to perform with perfection and add results into the project. The main deliverable or purpose of this project is to know that what are the exact duties and responsibilities of the above-mentioned people (both, roles in the documentation and actual duties).
By delivering this outcome, this project can be extremely beneficial for HR Department of the university for any decision making as well as they will know the actual duties of these bodies beyond what they have in writing about them. Afterward, another major part of this project is the estimation of costs, expenses or expenditures that how much budget will be needed and how costs will be allocated. As well as where the financial requirements will be gathered from (Clark, 1989).
At the end and final step of the scope of the project, we will have to define the expected deadlines of the project. For deadlines, the shortest deadline of the project will be to complete, finalize and submit the result at the end of the coming month and the longest deadline (not longer than) is completed before the final exam of the current semester. Any change request can be made from the team players if any issue or problem occurs in any aspect or at any stage of the project. This request will be made only for the purpose of generating exact, outcomes.
Behavioral Skills Associated with Project Resourcing
There is a number of behavioral skills which all have their importance in project resourcing as well as there are some crucial technical skills which have also the connection with project resourcing. But some most critical and important (based on my consideration) are listed and described in details below.
Communication among Project Members
Leadership
Public Speaking
Team Building
Communication among Project Members
Communication among project members is 90 plus percent important in the success of every kind of project no matter the project is of small size or large. Communication is considered is the most important factors because success or failure and efficiency of the project mostly depend on the strong-ness of communication among project members. Activities and operations and their efficiency also depend on the communication because if the communication among team members of the projects if strong and fine then the activities and responsibilities will be performed better than having weak communication(Burke, & Barron, 2014). Like, all the activities of the project are related to each other and the responsibilities of members are connected with each other. So if members can communicate their progress then they are able to perform better than what has been done, what is going and what is needed to be done. Beyond that, if the communication of members with project leader is good then the progress of work and how a member is performing his/her duty can be checked out by the leader which result to the efficiency of project operations.
Leadership
Leadership is an important factor in the success of every project. Leadership plays a huge role in the project and defines the success and failure of the project. The critical stress in project management or handling is making sure that things are going fine and well while motivating team members of the project towards delivering the desired outcomes as well as ensuring the success of the project. Beyond that, leadership factor in project is very crucial and critical because leadership is the factor which is responsible for answering each and every question as well as to provide the desired outcomes. Sometimes, the importance of leadership in the project(s) depends on the nature and size of the project. If the project is of large size then the leadership become more crucial while it also has a keen role in small size project (Burke, & Barron, 2014). So based on these factors and analyses, leadership is an important and crucial skill required in the project out of mentioned four skills.
Public Speaking
All projects or project of any kind needs members who have the capabilities to be a good public speaker. This is important because project members are the people who face meeting with all the people who are connected with the project. In a project, there is a number of bodies who are highly involved and project members have to answer them. Those bodies include project manager, project supervisor, people or bodies who provide financial resources and the people or public which can be affected in any way by the project (Burke, & Barron, 2014). So, in this case, you must have the capability to face all of them and answer what they ask and what resolve the issues or problems they face or might face. So in short because of this consideration, public speaking is one of the important and critical & crucial skills required in the project.
Team Building/Team Working
Team building and/or team working is a behavioral skill which is mentioned as last one out of mentioned but it is an important and critical skill in the project because the concept of team building or teamwork is basically introduced for project-based activities and operations. It is an important and critical behavioral skill because if there is a well-designed and well-built team then there will strong communication too (Burke, & Barron, 2014). So your project progress and operations will be as good as your communication is (mentioned above too). Beyond that, suppose a project manager has not built a good team for the project then it would be extremely difficult and even impossible to run a successful project and bring desired outcomes as well as satisfy expected need (Martinelli, et.al 2017). So because of these reasons, team building and teamwork are a critical skill for any project.
RACI Chart
Project Phases
Leader/Manager
Member 1
Member 2
Member 3
Phase 1
Team Development
Task 1 (Define Project Scope)
Task 1 (Project Approval)
Task 2 (Activity Scheduling)
Phase 2
Checking Outcomes
Task 3
(Skills Review)
Task 4 (Budget Projection)
Task 5 (Project Execution)
Phase 3
Performance Evaluation
Task 5 (Project Execution)
Task 5 (Project Execution)
Controlling
In the ARCI chart, the main responsibilities have been assigned to project leader and project leader will be responsible for overall project management.
Budget Determination with Project Costs
Using the WBS of the Project
The first step in determining the associated budget of the project through the help of WBS of the project. In this, we first checked out the deliverables and their components which are approved to generate the deliverables. After that, we worked on cost estimation for every package of each WBS. In this way determining the associated budget became easier for us than determining the overall budget (Callahan, et.al 2011). After that, the obtained information has been used for aggregating costs estimates associated with the project and setting costs baselines.
In determining this cost for the project, we have looked over several things/components and gone through below steps for determining the cost associated with the project.
First of all, we defined the direct labor cost of our project but we don't have this cost because our project is of small scale and it is performed by students which have been assigned as an assignment.
At the second step, we estimated the material costs of the project. In these costs, we estimated the cost of the material. In our material costs, we have identified several costs for different things which are documentation cost, printing cost of pages, travel cost of visiting a different place (dues) and some other costs.
Beyond that, we also estimated and set out some extra costs for equipment which can be used at any stage of the project but we are not clear about that at the time.
Other than above estimations, we should have to set an estimate the cost of the software which can be used in the project. The software may be MS Project which can be used and its cost may occur.
According to (Callahan, et.al 2011), project office and estimation of its cost is also an important component but we don’t need any office or specific location to perform our work because we are in small scale project, so this cost has been ignored in the process.
Cost Aggregation
Cost of our project has been aggregated by summing the cost of every individual work package to account up to our project level. This has been achieved by summing estimating lower costs associated with the project within the breakdown structure (Callahan, et.al 2011). In this aggregation, we also considered reserve analysis and funding limit reconciliation.
Ways of Risk Identification
There is a number of ways which can be used by a project leader, project head or project manager for identification of possible risks which are highly associated with the project and can affect the results of operations of project negatively. But! In our project (a small level project) there are three ways have been used to identify possible risks. These ways are described in enough detail below.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the most usable and common way which enables the manager to identify possible risk which may occur during the project. This technique involves the process of working together to identify possible risks. Brainstorming encourages free-flowing conversation among a group of people who are knowledgeable about the project (Martinelli, et.al 2017). It is also the best way to identify the key controls for the identified risks so that it becomes easier for the project manager to resolve an issue and eliminate risk before it occurs.
Checklist
After brainstorming, the checklist is considered as the most useful and best way of identifying project risks. The checklist can be used by the project manager to identify possible risks associated with the project. It (checklist) is the pre-populated list of risks which have been developed usually from past and realistic experiences. It is developed from the result of any previous assessment or from a previous happening or incident(s) (Martinelli, et.al 2017). The project manager can prepare a checklist of key controls in his / her list to control effectiveness. This is the most realistic way through which a project manager can identify all possible risks because this checklist has been developed from past experiences which had happened earlier.
Cause and Effect Diagram
After above mentioned (two) ways which can be used by project managers for risk identification, the next and most usable & realistic way is cause and effect analysis/diagram. Cause and effect are one of the powerful tool /ways. The project manager can use this way or technique to identify the causes or reasons which may lead to creating risk(s) (Martinelli, et.al 2017). In this way, if a project manager or project head can identify or address the reasons or causes so that he or she can eliminate and reduce the risks and their possibilities of happening.
Progress, Results, and Finalizing the HR Project
As the world of business is changing incredibly in nowadays, every function related it is also garnering extreme importance for the company. In the current times, no organization can deny the importance of any function for the sustenance and the growth of its business. Whether it’s sales, marketing, finance administration or human resource management, every function is equally important and profitable for the organization. Some functions are internal and remain limited to the walls of the organization, whereas others tend to reach out of the boundaries of the organization and deal with the outer world like the customers, the dealers, the retailers, and the contractors. Sales, marketing, and advertising are mainly such departments that are considered to be the outdoor or the intermediating departments of an organization, whereas departments like human resource management and finance are those departments which do not have any link with the outer world and deal with the internal matters of an organization. No matter what role every department is performing, all the functions are closely interlinked, and no organization can survive without the mutual harmony of these departments.
In today’s world, companies focus more on the short term projects as compared to performing a similar role or job for the whole life. The companies prefer to pick up or select and even start short time projects which can be completed in a specific time and the company can then focus on the next project or the assignment. The human resource department plays a very vital role in this respect (Grey, et, al, 2008). There are also multiple projects that keep coming specifically from the area of human resources so that the organization can assign the projects to its HR team as well. There are certain significant aspects of the projects whether they are related to the HR department or any other field and specific strategies need to be designed as per the need and the time frame of the project.
Discussion
Projects prove to be more beneficial for an organization as they provide a chance to the organizations to learn various new strategies and aspects related to different fields. As projects are dynamic in nature, they give an opportunity to the employees of an organization to come together for a limited period of time and learn new concepts from various fields. Projects also allow the current employees to exhibit their current skills at a platform within the organization or outside the organization.
Most organizations prefer to pick up or chose projects in accordance with their areas of expertise. For example, an IT firm will prefer to conduct projects that are related to the field of Information Technology, a marketing or advertisement company will love to do projects that are related to the area of marketing and a law firm will undertake assignments or projects that constitute litigations. All these firms prefer to conduct projects in their respective area of expertise because they know that they can manage it very well and can perform, with excellence. This is the mostly carried on practice but it is not a rule of thumb; companies also pick up projects out of their field and hire experts and staff out of the organization so that they can perform the tasks for them. In both cases, an elaborated planning and strategic decision making are required so that the project can be executed successfully.
Successfully Directing and Managing a Project
Successfully directing and managing a project or a project plan refers to the extent the objectives of the project are achieved. It is not an easy job; rather it requires very hard work. It a complex and complicated job of performing, leading, controlling, implanting and even hiring and firing. The process of project management is also closely linked to the project integration management. The main purpose of the project planning, direction, and management activities is to coordinate and produce.
Directing and managing project work involves all the processes involved in the project, it refers to all the activities that encompass the area of the project management. It starts from the very beginning of the project and goes till the last part of the project has been delivered to the clients per their expectations (Burke, 2013). It involves an extensive planning process and designing of strategies as per the requirements of the project. Sometimes, it also requires to perform the complete function of an HR department, like recruitment, hiring, firing and planning the compensation roles. It usually happens when the team has been or is going to be outsourced for the project.
Strategies to Manage and Sustain Progress in HR Project
As the HR department is an internal function of the organization, the core competencies of the department are only in human resources. It cannot perform other functions with that much excellence as compared to its own area of expertise. Although human resources constitute an important part of the project or project management, the whole project cannot rely on a single function. However, some projects are only and specifically related to the area of human resources. The management of a project that is specifically related to the area of human areas also requires to follow some specific rules and strategies, which are necessary and required for sustaining and managing the project (Kerzner, & Kerzner, 2017). Some of these strategies that can be adopted for successful sustenance and management of the project are;
Aligning the HR needs and the Project needs
It a mandatory requirement for the HR department to look into the fact that the human resource needs or human resource strategies are well-aligned with the needs of the project. It should be carefully checked by the managers who are in charge of the project to check the demands of the project and align them according to the demands of the project.
Project Design and Structure
As the project under discussion encompasses the areas of specialization of human resources, the managers need to make sure that the overall structure and the execution of the project is in accordance with the definitions of the HR.
Compensation and Benefits
The strategies of an HR project should be carefully aligned with the project and as the project is directly related to the area of HR, the compensation and benefits should be decided in such a way that they justify the amount of effort required for the project.
Strategies to Address and Resolve any Risks within the Control of the Project
No project is free from risk, every project has certain downfalls and risk factors. It is said that more the risk, greater the chances of project. The type of challenges or the risks involved in the project are directly linked to the area of the project. Some risk or challenges are directly in control of the project or the project manager, whereas some of the challenges are far beyond the control of the management.
One of the major issues that arise in a project management setup is of keeping track of the progress of the project. It can be resolved by properly documenting all the activities of the project.
Another risk that arises in the execution of a project is incorporating changes in the project. The solution to this problem is to keep a close track o0f changes and catering to them on time, whenever they arise.
One of the major strategies that can be adopted to overlook and avoid the risks in the project is to research the challenges coming in the way of the project in the very beginning and prepare for them accordingly.
Actions a Project manager can take at the Beginning of the Closing Out The project
Closing up of a project refers to ending up a project. It is a very important stage in the process of project management as it needs an overall review of the project and finalizing it. A manager needs to be extra careful during this stage as it may be the final outline or the assignment that would be delivered to the client. There are certain actions need to be taken in this respect which are as follows:
Review of the overall Project and making sure that all the work has been done according to the requirements of the client or the project.
Revamping and changing or making improvements to the currently finalized work of Project according to the review.
Preparing a formal report and Submission.
Review of “Project Management in Action: The Power of Lessons Learned”
There are certain instances in which the project team, when working on a project, learn many new things. The issue arises when this newly incorporated or learned knowledge fades out and vanishes with the passage of time. Multiple organizations adopt various strategies in order to retain this knowledge within the employees so that they can carry it with them for a longer term and it can further be utilized in the completion of the internal and external projects of the organization. These strategies include involvement from the participants of the project so that it can help in the long-term retention of the knowledge.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the process of planning, management, tracking and using collaborative tools in order to carry out a task enables carefully planned and well-organized execution of a project. However, without the integration of rightly guided leadership, most projects that happen to reach completion often do so by meeting the bare minimum requirements. In a scenario such as this one, integration of a project leader to lead the people involved in the project in a rightly guided manner, not only motivates the people involved to reach their goals, but it also makes the entire process effortless and efficient for the entire team. This affects the overall morale of the organization, setting the precedence for coordinated hard work among the people involved in order to meet targets and grow together, both as an individual and as a company.
References
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2000). Human Resource Management : Theory and Practice (Vol. 2nd ed). Mahwah, N.J.: Taylor & Francis [CAM]. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=56637&site=eds-live&scope=site
Burke, R. (2013). Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.
Burke, R., & Barron, S. (2014). Project Management Leadership : Building Creative Teams (Vol. Second edition). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=702739&site=eds-live&scope=site
Callahan, K. R., Stetz, G. S., & Brooks, L. M. (2011). Project Management Accounting : Budgeting, Tracking, and Reporting Costs and Profitability (Vol. 2nd ed). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=382100&site=eds-live&scope=site
Clark, K. B. (1989). Project scope and project performance: the effect of parts strategy and supplier involvement on product development. Management Science, 35(10), 1247-1263.
Gray, R. M., Cook, M. B., Natera, M. T., Inglis, M. M., & Dodge, M. L. (2008). Project Management: The. In Managerial Process”, McGraw-Hill.
Joseph M.Putti. (2015). Human Resource Management : A Dynamic Approach. [Place of publication not identified]: Laxmi Publications. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1223947&site=eds-live&scope=site
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management : A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (Vol. Eleventh edition). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=563712&site=eds-live&scope=site
Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Li, Y., Wang, M., van Jaarsveld, D. D., Lee, G. K., & Ma, D. G. (2018). From Employee-Experienced High-Involvement Work System to Innovation: An Emergence-Based Human Resource Management Framework. Academy of Management Journal, 61(5), 2000–2019. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2015.1101
Marion, J. W. (2018). Project Management : A Common Sense Guide to the PMBOK, Part One-Framework and Schedule. New York, NY: Momentum Press. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1703251&site=eds-live&scope=site
Marion, J. W. (2019). Project Management : A Common-Sense Guide to the PMBOK Program, Part Two–Plan and Execution. New York, NY: Momentum Press. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1918052&site=eds-live&scope=site
Zwikael, O., & Smyrk, J. R. (2019). Project Management : A Benefit Realisation Approach. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2089217&site=eds-live&scope=site
More Subjects
Join our mailing list
© All Rights Reserved 2024