people issues in project management
Post on 15-Jul-2015
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PEOPLE ISSUES IN
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
Importance of handling people
issues in project management
When projects fail in an organization, it can be for
lack of project management expertise.
But more usually projects fail because an
organization did not focus sufficiently on the
people aspects of the project – that is, the affect
on people the project brings
When the people risks of a project are given little
or no prominence, it creates resistance, apathy
and a lack of commitment, which have a
significant impact on the events and timelines of
the project plan
Project human resource
management
Project human resource management is multifaceted. It is the ability to lead, direct, and orchestrate the project team, the customers, project partners, contributors, and any other stakeholders to achieve the desired results for the project’s purpose.
Throughout the project, the project manager will have to address project team retention, labor relations, performance appraisals, and, depending on the nature of the project work, health and safety issues
Project human resource
management
As the project progresses, the number of
stakeholders in the project may change. The
project manager and the project team will
need to be aware of the coming flux of
stakeholders and how this change may affect
the dynamics of the project team and the
project work.
An approach to project human resources may
work well in one phase of the project but not in
another due to the stakeholders that have
become involved.
Project human resource
management
Because people drive processes, it makes sense to build competence in people management skills as well as in quantitative and analytical process management.
Project managers may even have to pull together teams of people who do not all work for their company.
Contractors view themselves as colleagues or peers and must be managed differently from your own employees.
People Issues in project
management
Today, companies cannot offer lifetime employment, nor can they guarantee raises, benefits, job definition, or management stability. They cannot repay loyalty with loyalty, or hard work with compensation. Thus, the challenge of motivating employees goes far beyond that of the olden days.
The workforce is increasingly diverse, not only culturally and ethnically, but in other ways as well. It includes, women, older workers, handicapped workers and any other group protected by law from discrimination in hiring.
Also, with the demands for skilled, high-tech workers at all levels, employee searches span the globe and cross cultural barriers.
People Issues in project
management
A stressful work environment leads to stressed employees, who in turn contribute to a more stressful environment
Stressed people are more likely to make mistakes and generally perform at less than their optimal level. The more mistakes an individual makes, the worse he feels about his job and himself, and the more likely he is to experience burnout. A high burnout rate means a high turnover rate, and more time for you spent on re-hiring and retraining
People Issues in project
management
Staying within time and cost limits goes a long
way toward stress-free project management
within the process and people issues that
come with the job.
Many problems can occur to throw project
processes off schedule, but managing people
issues well can do a great deal towards
keeping things running smoothly.
People Issues in project
management
In projects with multiple teams, each might
have a different orientation and goals.
The teams might be physically isolated and
maintain separate offices, creating and
reinforcing separating boundaries that lead to
“us versus them” attitudes. These make for a
portentous project environment and bode ill for
project success.
People Issues in project
management
Failures in projects often can be traced to the inability of a team to make the right decisions or perform the right tasks.
These failures often stem from the maladies that teams suffer: internal conflict; time wasted on irrelevant issues; and decisions made haphazardly.
Team members often are more concerned with getting the task done than with doing it right. Many teams never know what their purpose is, so they never know when, or if, they have achieved it.
People Issues in project
management
Conflict arises between customers and contractors, project staff and functional groups, and different contractors and departments. It occurs between people on the same team, different teams in the same organization, and teams in different organizations
The primary sources of conflict in projects are schedules, costs, priorities, manpower levels, technical opinions, administrative issues, and interpersonal conflicts, which vary in relative importance depending on the stages of the project life cycle.
Major sources of conflict during the
project life cycle.
People Issues in project
management
People are ordinarily reluctant to accept
change, yet in projects change is the norm.
Administrative procedures, group interfaces,
project scope, and resource allocations are
constantly changing.
Expansions and contractions in the labor force
make it difficult to establish obligations and
reporting relationships that will last.
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