Knowledge Management in Project

PROJECT REPORT ON
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT

MANAGEMENT
UNDER SUPERVISION OF:
SUBMITTED BY
NAME
ENROLLMENT NO
STUDY CENTER CODE :
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree

of Master of Business Administration (Project Management)
2011

MANAGEMENT
Under Supervision of
Submitted By:
Name
Programme
Enrolment No.
Study Centre Code
MBA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With Candor and Pleasure I take opportunity to express my sincere thanks and
obligation to my esteemed guide ... It is because of his able and
mature guidance and co-operation without which it would not have been
possible for me to complete my project.
It is my pleasant duty to thank all the staff member of the computer center who
never hesitated me from time during the project.
Finally, I gratefully acknowledge the support, encouragement & patience of my
family, and as always, nothing in my life would be possible without God, Thank
You!
(STUDENT NAME)
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project titled Knowledge Management in Project
is an original work of the Student and is being submitted in partial fulfillment
for the award of the Masters Degree in Business Administration of
. This report has not been submitted earlier either to this
University or to any other University/Institution for the fulfillment of the
requirement of a course of study.
Signature of Student
Signature of Supervisor
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN

PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
prepares
for
submitted as a partial fulfillment of MBA programme is my original work and it

has not been prepared as the basis of any reward.
(STUDENT NAME)

MANAGEMENT
ABSTRACT
Knowledge Management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices
used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable
adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise
knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizational
processes or practice.
Knowledge Management efforts typically focus on organizational objectives
such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing
of lessons learned, integration and continuous improvement of the organization.
KM efforts overlap with organizational learning, and may be distinguished from
that by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic asset and
a focus on encouraging the sharing of knowledge.

MANAGEMENT
TABLE OF CONTENT
TOPIC
PAGE NO.
1. Introduction ...9
2. Review of literature..64
3. Objective of the Study......83
4. Research Methodology.....85
5. Data Analysis and Findings....88
6. Conclusion..102
7. Bibliography ..106
8. Questionnaire......112
CHAPTER- 1
INTROUDCTION
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Knowledge Management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices
used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable
adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise
knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizational
processes or practice.
An established discipline since 1991 (see Nonaka 1991), KM includes courses
taught in the fields of business administration, information systems,
management, and library and information sciences (Alavi & Leidner 1999).
More recently, other fields have started contributing to KM research; these
include information and media, computer science, public health, and public
policy.
Many large companies and non-profit organizations have resources dedicated to
internal KM efforts, often as a part of their 'business strategy', 'information
technology', or 'human resource management' departments (Addicott, McGivern
& Ferlie 2006). Several consulting companies also exist that provide strategy
and advice regarding KM to these organizations.
Knowledge Management efforts typically focus on organizational objectives
such as improved performance, competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing
of lessons learned, integration and continuous improvement of the organization.
KM efforts overlap with organizational learning, and may be distinguished from
that by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic asset and
a focus on encouraging the sharing of knowledge.
Different frameworks for distinguishing between knowledge exist. One
proposed framework for
categorizing the
dimensions
of
knowledge
distinguishes between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge

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represents internalized knowledge that an individual may not be consciously

aware of, such as how he or she accomplishes particular tasks. At the opposite
end of the spectrum, explicit knowledge represents knowledge that the
individual holds consciously in mental focus, in a form that can easily be
communicated to others.[9] (Alavi & Leidner 2001). Similarly, Hayes and
Walsham (2003) describe content and relational perspectives of knowledge and
knowledge management as two fundamentally different epistemological
perspectives. The content perspective suggest that knowledge is easily stored
because it may be codified, while the relational perspective recognizes the
contextual and relational aspects of knowledge which can make knowledge
difficult to share outside of the specific location where the knowledge is
developed[10].
The Knowledge Spiral as described by Nonaka & Takeuchi.

Early research suggested that a successful KM effort needs to convert
internalized tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge in order to share it, but the
same effort must also permit individuals to internalize and make personally
meaningful any codified knowledge retrieved from the KM effort. Subsequent
research into KM suggested that a distinction between tacit knowledge and
explicit knowledge represented an oversimplification and that the notion of
explicit knowledge is self-contradictory. Specifically, for knowledge to be made
explicit, it must be translated into information (i.e., symbols outside of our
heads) (Serenko & Bontis 2004). Later on, Ikujiro Nonaka proposed a model
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(SECI for Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization) which

considers a spiraling knowledge process interaction between explicit knowledge
and tacit knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995). In this model, knowledge
follows a cycle in which implicit knowledge is 'extracted' to become explicit
knowledge, and explicit knowledge is 're-internalized' into implicit knowledge.
More recently, together with Georg von Krogh, Nonaka returned to his earlier
work in an attempt to move the debate about knowledge conversion forwards
(Nonaka & von Krogh 2009).
A second proposed framework for categorizing the dimensions of knowledge
distinguishes between embedded knowledge of a system outside of a human
individual (e.g., an information system may have knowledge embedded into its
design) and embodied knowledge representing a learned capability of a human
bodys nervous and endocrine systems (Sensky 2002).
A third proposed framework for categorizing the dimensions of knowledge
distinguishes between the exploratory creation of "new knowledge" (i.e.,
innovation) vs. the transfer or exploitation of "established knowledge" within a
group, organization, or community. Collaborative environments such as
communities of practice or the use of social computing tools can be used for
both knowledge creation and transfer.[11]
The past three decades have been marked by rapid growth of the software
industry. The necessity to find better ways to produce software products of high
quality and within budget has lead to considerable research efforts investigating
new means for improving an organizations ability to plan, forecast, manage,
implement, and control its activities in projects where people and their
capabilities have a major impact on project performance and its quality. Thus,
the research community has provided organizations with a considerable variety
of software process models, project management techniques and tools.
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Managing an organizations knowledge more effectively and exploiting it in the

marketplace is the latest pursuit of those seeking competitive advantage. The
interest in knowledge management has surged during the last few years, with a
growing number of publications, conferences and investment in knowledge
management initiatives.
In a year long study of international best practice (Skyrme and Amidon 1997),
two main thrusts were identified. The first is that of making better use of the
knowledge that already exists within the firm, for example by sharing best
practices. This addresses the oft cited lament: if only we knew what we knew.
Too frequently people in one part of the organization reinvent the wheel or fail
to solve customers problems quickly because the knowledge they need is
elsewhere in the company but not known or accessible to them. Hence, the first
initiative of many knowledge management programs (between a third and a half
according to surveys) is that of installing or improving an Intranet, and adding
best practice or expert databases.
The second major thrust of knowledge focused strategies is that of innovation,
the creation of new knowledge and its conversion into valuable products and
services. This is sometimes referred to as knowledge innovation (Amidon
1997). This requires an environment where creativity and learning flourishes
and knowledge is encapsulated in a form where it can be applied. One way is to
embed knowledge into products, where it is more easily disseminated. Products
from tractors to domestic appliances are getting smarter, while other products,
such as software, represent packaged knowledge.
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The range of knowledge management activities is broad, and touches many

aspects of business operations, for example:
Creation of knowledge databases - best practices, expert directories, market
intelligence etc.
Effective information management - gathering, filtering, classifying, storing
etc.
Incorporation of knowledge into business processes e.g. through the use of
help screens in computer procedures or access to experts from icons
Development of knowledge centers - focal points for knowledge skills and
facilitating knowledge flow
Reuse of knowledge at customer support centers e.g. via case-based
reasoning
Introduction of collaborative technologies, especially Intranets or groupware,
for rapid information access
Knowledge webs - networks of experts who collaborate across and beyond an
organizations functional and geographic boundaries
Augmentation of decision support processes, such as through expert systems
or group decision support systems.
In fact, any activity that uses and applies knowledge can benefit from the
disciplines of knowledge management, and that covers most managerial and
professional activities. Therefore, like other management fads before, many
existing business practices (such as information management and intelligence
gathering) are coming under the knowledge management umbrella. Similarly,
information systems solutions, such as document management and data
warehousing are being similarly relabelled.
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Such relabelling raises the question as to whether the current knowledge focus
is merely a passing fad. The importance of knowledge as a strategic lever can in
fact be traced back many years, to writers like Peter Drucker, who is credited
with coining the term knowledge worker (see explanation in Drucker 1993).
More recently, writers such as Quinn (1992), Wiig (1994), Nonaka and
Takeuchi (1995), and Stewart (1997) have given important insights as to the
contribution of knowledge to corporate success.
What is new, and therefore makes knowledge management more fundamental

than simply a passing fad are the following factors:
The value of an organizations wealth is increasingly in its intangible assets its people, know-how, brands, patents, licenses, customer relationships etc.
Knowledge can command a premium price in the market - Applied knowhow can enhance the value (and hence the price) of products and services.
Examples are the smart drill that learns how to extract more oil from an oil
field, and the hotel chain that knows your personal preferences and so can
give you a more personalized service.
As suppliers and consumers get more globally connected (e.g. through the
Internet), access to critical knowledge becomes easier and more cost
effective.
As organizations become more efficient at what they do, they need to apply
new learning and talent to help them differentiate themselves in the
marketplace.
By retaining knowledge as organizations downsize or restructure,
organizations can save costly mistakes and prevent reinventing the wheel.
The significant change as companies respond to these factors is that their
knowledge processes become more explicit, more systematized, more crossorganizational and more geographically dispersed. As a consequence they more
15
readily lend themselves to the application of information and communications

technologies (ICT).
Thus, surveys (e.g. Murray and Myers 1997, Chase 1997) have shown email,
Intranet,
Internet
as
effective
knowledge
management
tools.
Also,
videoconferencing, document management, online information sources and

decision support tools are quite widely used as such, although views diverge as
to their effectiveness.
The First Generation - What Went Wrong?

Computer support of knowledge activities is far from new. In the 1970s there
was a proliferation of expert systems, and heightened interest in artificial
intelligence. It was suggested that they might radically transform knowledge
activities within firms. The reality, as we know in hindsight, is that they fell far
short of expectations. They could handle only a narrow range of problems, they
required extensive knowledge elicitation, and they failed to grasp the
fundamental nature of human thought processes. This era is best characterized
as the one where we tried to make computers think, rather than using computers
to help humans think.
Today, after years of steady progress, artificial intelligence has evolved new
techniques, such as neural networks and intelligent agents, and is being widely
applied in a growing number of applications. Our research also found it is used
to some degree in a significant proportion of the world-class knowledge
management programs we investigated. The main hurdle affecting all
applications of ICT to knowledge management is coping with the fundamental
difference between explicit and tacit knowledge (Figure 1).
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Whereas explicit knowledge is that which can be codified into documents,

databases and other tangible forms, tacit knowledge is that in the heads of
individuals. Ask a
Tacit Knowledge
Contextual
Mental Processes
Difficult to Transfer
Explicit
Knowledge
Tangible
Systematic
Ease of Transfer
Figure 1. Two Types of Knowledge
person to describe explicitly how to ride a bicycle and they cannot, yet they
know how to. This distinction, and the processes by which tacit knowledge is
converted in to explicit knowledge and vice versa, is one of the central planks of
Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). Our research found it one of the most widely
cited concepts by knowledge management practitioners, yet one that is often
ignored by information systems professionals. There seems to be a Western
tendency to capture knowledge by getting it into a database. Yet some of the
most successful applications of ICT in knowledge management include those
that help human-human communications, most notably groupware, and
especially Lotus Notes.
Frameworks for Thinking and Action
From the perspective of a knowledge architect, frameworks provide a
convenient way of thinking about the role of ICT in supporting knowledge
processes. Most frameworks map different ICT tools according to their function
and whether they are used individually or by teams. One such framework is
shown in Table 1.
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Passive (information)
Active
(knowledge)
Meeting support
Video-conferencing
Person
to
Person
Person
to
Computer
Computer conferencing
Expert networks
Document Mgmt
Info Retrieval
Knowledge bases
Expert Systems
Decision Support
ComputerComputer
Data Mining
Neural Networks
Intelligent Agents
Id e n tify
K n o w le d g e D is c o v e r y
T o o ls
D a ta M in in g
T e x t R e tr ie v a l/M in in g
C o lle c t/
C o d ify
In fo r m a tio n fe e d s
In te llig e n t A g e n ts
C re a te
K n o w le d g e
D a ta b a s e
Docum ent
R e p o s ito r ie s
(D a ta W a re h o u s e s )
D iffu s e /
U se
D e c is io n S u p p o r t
G ro u p w a re
V id e o c o n fe r e n c in g
T h in k in g a id s
C o n c e p t u a l M a p p in g
In f r a s tr u c t u r e :
Figure 2.
N e tw o r k s - In te r n e ts ;
In t r a n e t s
Representative information systems solutions mapped against the
knowledge processes they augment.

Table 1. Knowledge Transfer Mechanisms
From an analysis of a wide range of tools and classifications, Jan Wyllie of
Trend Monitor International has developed the functional schema shown below:
A MIND: Assimilation and Interpretation

a Mapping, b Summarization, c Significant pattern discovery, d Decision support
B COLLABORATION: Network and Communication
a Conversing, b Workflow, c Information sharing, d Resource sharing e Groupware
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C CONTENT: Gathering and Retrieval

a Preparation, b Classifying, c Searching,
D MEDIA: Storage and Form
a Numeric databases, b Textbases, c Imagebases,
d Filtering, e Indexing
d Multimedia
A framework that most managers can easily relate to is that which maps various
ICT tools according to the knowledge processes they enhance. Having learnt
about Business Process Reengineering, many are now well oriented to the
process view of the firm. Figure 2 shows a schematic of knowledge processes
(similar to a value chain), whose left hand categories distinguish the two strands
of knowledge management - identifying existing knowledge and creating new
knowledge. A representative selection of ICT tools are mapped into different
knowledge processes.
Some Key Technologies
The impact of each technology varies enormously from situation to situation.
Several technologies recur in many knowledge management programs, partly
because they are generic and pervade many core activities and processes. The
main ones are now briefly reviewed.
Intranet, Internet
The ubiquitous Internet protocols make it easy for users to access any
information, any where, at any time. Further, browsers and client software can
act as front-ends to information in many formats and many of the other
knowledge tools such as document management or decision support. Remember
too, that the basic functions of email, discussion lists and private newsgroups
often have the biggest short term impact.
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Booz Allen & Hamiltons Knowledge Online is an Intranet that provides a

wealth of information (e.g. best practice, industry trends, database of experts) to
their consultants world-wide. Through active information management by
knowledge editors (subject experts and librarians) the information remains well
structured and relevant.
Groupware - Lotus Notes

What groupware products like Lotus Notes add over and above Intranets are
discussion databases. Users such as Thomas Miller, a London based manager of
insurance mutuals, access their organizational memory, as well as current
news feeds in areas of interest, through one of Lotuss key features, its multiple
views. When writing new insurance proposals, existing explicit knowledge
can be assembled from the archive, guided by an expert systems front-end,
while tacit knowledge is added through discussion databases.
Intelligent Agents
The problem of information overload is becoming acute for many professionals.
Intelligent agents can be trained to roam networks to select and alert users of
new relevant information. Additionally they can be used to filter out less
relevant information from information feeds. However, in practice it seems that
a well run knowledge center, such as those at Price Waterhouse, the best
intelligent agent is still a human being!
A related technology is that of text summarizing, which British Telecom have
found can summarize large documents, retaining over 90 per cent of the relevant
meaning with less than a quarter of the original text.
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Mapping Tools
There are an increasing number of tools, such as COPE and IDONS, that help
individuals and teams develop cognitive maps or shared mental models. These
have been used by companies such as Shell to develop future scenarios and
resolve conflicting stakeholder requirements. In addition, other mapping tools,
such as those found in Knowledge X, can represent conceptual linkages
between different source documents.
Document Management
Documents, and especially structured documents, are the form in which much
explicit knowledge is shared. With annotation and redlining facilities, they can
become active knowledge repositories, where the latest version and thinking is
readily shared amongst project teams.
By using a document management system for the construction of the Thelma
North Sea oil platform, AGIP reduced construction time by 9 months and
reduced document handling costs by 60 per cent. Suppliers like Dataware are
repositioning their products as knowledge management products and are also
adding knowledge enriching functionality.
Knowledge Enriched Solutions
With a burgeoning and lucrative market for knowledge management solutions,
many companies are simply relabelling their products and approaches e.g.
information management as knowledge management, databases as knowledge
bases,
data
warehouses
as
knowledge
repositories.
True
knowledge
management solutions are not simply new labels, but add knowledge-enriching
features. These include:
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Adding contextual information to data - where was this information used?

What factors need to be considered when using it?
Using multimedia e.g. adding video clips or voice to databases of best
practice or problem solution databases
Providing annotation - adding informal notes to individual data items; using
MAPI enabled software, where a document or file can be sent with a
forwarding note by email
Qualifying information - giving details of originator, users adding comments
about the quality of information
Providing links to experts - a click button to contact an expert (either by
email or phone). GIGA, for example, lets its client access global experts
through its web site (http://www.gigaweb.com).
These all help the transfer of tacit knowledge, and any tool should increasingly
provide hooks that add new levels of interaction, not just person-to-computer
but person-to-person.
Knowledge Collaboration Architecture

Over time, the boundaries of individual tools blur (c.f. groupware and Internet,
document management and information retrieval), and effective usage requires
seamless interoperability and fluidity of information and knowledge flow.
Therefore organizations using ICT to support knowledge activities need to think
about an overall architecture. Some companies, such as Glaxo Wellcome are
recognizing that knowledge management requires changes in established
technical architectures. Our analysis of several companies who have developed
architectures that support knowledge management indicates that tools and
supporting processes are needed at several levels (Figure 3).
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Collaboration
Conversations
Communications
Connections
Figure 3 - Levels of an IT Knowledge Infrastructure
At the base level is the requirement that people should be able to connect into
knowledge whenever and wherever they are (in the office, at remote sites, on
the move etc.). At higher levels, there must be mechanisms for threaded
conversations and structured collaborative work.
As you move up through each architectural layer (each of which depends on the
one below), more of the challenges are people and organization, rather than
technology, related. In our experience, most large organizations, taking their
position overall, are still between the bottom two levels.
Achieving the Benefits
As any manager of change or implementer of ICT infrastructure knows, it is the
human, organizational and cultural factors that are the ultimate determinants of
success. ICT solutions for Knowledge Management are, in essence, social
computing, and therefore need such an approach. Implementations that are
successful are typically found to share the following characteristics:
Clear vision and leadership - a solid appreciation of the contribution of
knowledge to business success and how IT can help.
Multidisciplinary teams - including information managers (librarians),
facilitators, business experts as well as technologists.
User and business-centric. Users are actively engaged in developing solutions
that enhance knowledge activities.
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Well designed processes that engage humans where they are best, and allow
them to interact with computers where computers perform best. A business
process that does not consider applying best knowledge (and updating it) is
an incomplete process.
Active learning and experimentation. There is no such thing as a finished
requirement specification. Solutions evolve and adapt.
A knowledge sharing culture. People want to share information and their
experience and are rewarded for doing so.
Projects are usually based on three major factors, time, cost, and scope. Once
these three aspects are defined it is the project managers responsibility to
manage within the constrained values. For instance, if a projects scope must be
met at a maximum budget of $5 Million, and completed within fifteen months,
then the project manager must continually evaluate the impact on cost, and time,
if additional project scope is proposed.
This places the project manager in a unique role. Technical personnel tend to
place their highest priority on the technical aspects of the product (scope), and
give lower priority to the schedule (time) and budget (cost). Finance personnel
tend to place their highest interest on cost, and generally remained unconcerned
about time or scope.
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CRITICAL PROJECT MANAGER SKILLS

If there is any field that requires a broad set of skills it is project management.
Three in particular are technical skills, leadership skills, and business skills.
Technical Skills. Having technical skills is important for project managers
working in todays high-technology fields is critical but it is not the only needed
skill. They must have proven leadership skills and pragmatic business skills.
Although it would be impossible for a project manager to master all disciplines
participating on a project, it is vital that managers have a working knowledge of
each discipline. This level of knowledge should enable them to communicate
effectively with technical personnel, and to recognize and understand technical
problems.
Leadership Skills. If a project manager has a solid grasp of project management
techniques, principles and processes, yet has inadequate leadership skills, the
results will often be disastrous. Leadership skills include the ability to
communicate effectively, to negotiate with peers, subordinates and superiors,
and the ability to use the proper leadership style. A common mistake made by
corporate stakeholders is assuming that because an individual is strong
technically he must be strong in the area of leadership.
Business Skills. Modern-day corporations are realizing that the most effective
way to manage project costs is to delegate responsibility to project managers
25
and hold them accountable. As a result, project managers must have a working
knowledge of the financial aspects, and understand the language spoken by
business personnel. Terms such as then-dollars and constant dollars must be
understood. Project managers must know what NPV, ROI, and B/C ratios are,
and how to adjust for the time-value of money.
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES
While there are various types of organizations used today, the two most
prominent are the functional and matrix forms.
Functional Organization Structure. Prior to about 1960 most corporate
organizations favored a functional organization structure, also called a
traditional organizational structure. The structure was very vertical with each
employee having one boss. The simplified diagram below illustrates the basic
form of this structure. Division managers and department heads were also
included in some cases. Organizations still using this structure tend to be in the
public sector where there is little if any competition and pressures to produce
new products quickly are minimal.
26
Each functional manager was responsible for hiring employees having a specific
field of knowledge or skill set. For instance, one functional manager would be
responsible for hiring and administering individuals who were mechanical
engineers. Another functional manager would be responsible for hiring and
administering electrical engineers.
The advantage of this type of organization structure is that all specialists within
a functional group tend to keep each other current with the latest technology.
They cross-pollinated each other. Also, each employee had only one boss,
making the chain of command simple and easy to understand.
There are several disadvantages to this type of structure. First, no one has
overall responsibility for a given project. Each has his own piece of the pie.
Second, many employees within a group are not gainfully employed all the
time. Often they are challenged with attempting to find ways to fill up their
work day. Third, customers become frustrated when trying to understand the
status of their product. Each functional manager may know a specific aspect of
27
the products development but none have a full knowledge of product

development. This type of organization structure is very weak in product
development integration.
Matrix Organization Structure. Many corporations today have moved toward

the matrix form of organization structure. This structure has been found to
alleviate many of the deficiencies with the functional form. As seen in the figure
below, lines of authority flow both vertically and horizontally. Hence, the term
matrix.
While employees still report administratively to their functional managers, they

are assigned to project managers for the duration of their need. Once their
support to a project is completed they return to their functional group ready to
28
be assigned to another project. Project managers extract employees from the

functional organizations as needed.
In many cases employees are assigned to multiple projects. This creates the
problem of spreading an employee over too many projects resulting in lost time
as they transition physically or mentally between projects. As the number of
projects supported increases so does the lost time due to transitioning. An
employee assigned to four projects is not available for 25% of their time to each
one as might be expected. The available time is actually closer to 19%.3 The
lost time, 6% is due to transitioning.
The tendency to spread employees over too many projects is precipitated by

functional managers who are required to keep their assigned budgets to a
minimum. In order to accomplish this they must assign their employees to
projects which have their own budgets. These same pressures on functional
managers cause them to hire fewer people than needed to prevent unassigned
personnel from charging against their budgets.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS GROUPS
The Project Management Institute has posited five major process groups. A
process is defined as a set of interrelated actions & activities performed to
achieve a pre-specified product, result, or service. Each process is characterized
by its inputs, the tools and techniques that can be applied, and the resulting
outputs.
The five groups consist of project initiation, planning, executing, monitoring
and controlling, and closing processes.
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Initiating Process Group. Those processes performed to define a new project or

a new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project.
Planning Process Group. Those processes required to establish the scope of the
project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain
the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve.
Executing Process Group. Those processes performed to complete the work

defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications.
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group. Those processes required to track,
review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any
areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding
changes.
Closing Process Group. Those processes performed to finalize all activities
across all Project Management Process Groups to formally close the project
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CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS

In the funding application process, you clearly defined the objectives of your
project, sought partnerships with organizations with similar objectives and
developed a detailed action plan for your project. In doing so, you laid the
foundations for success. Consider the following traits that characterise
successful projects:
1. Clear objectives - The most successful projects have clearly defined
objectives from the outset.
2. A good project plan - A carefully thought-out plan serves two purposes.
First, it allows everyone involved to understand and perform their part in
the project. It shows who is responsible for what and estimates how much
money, people, equipment and time will be required to complete the
project. Second, it serves as a monitoring tool, allowing you to take early
action if things go wrong.
3. Communication, communication, communication - Your project is a
collaborative effort between all of the individuals and organizations
involved. You all need to work together to maintain effective and
continual communication between the parties.
4. A controlled scope - Numerous issues will come up throughout your
project, and not all of them will contribute to your overall objectives. It is
important to stay focused on your priorities, with little wasted time or
attention.
5. Stakeholder support - Projects typically involve several stakeholders,
who invest time and resources in the project. It is important to maintain
stakeholder support throughout the project, so the project team can meet
its objectives.
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How many of these characteristics does your project have? How can you
improve it?
The tools and techniques provided throughout this module are all designed to
help you meet these five characteristics.
Planning Your Project
Every project has a life cycle, composed of the phases it goes through from
beginning to completion. The broad phases of an Office of Learning
Technologies funded project are:
1. Formulating the concept, goals and objectives of a project that uses
technology to enhance learning and skills development;
2. Applying for OLT funding;
3. Conducting the initial phase (developing partnerships, conducting a needs
assessment, community learning asset mapping);
4. Conducting the pilot project;
5. Writing a final report and disseminating your results to others.
The techniques in this module will help you with the fourth phase, conducting
your community learning pilot project. In formulating your project and
applying for funding, you have already done substantial project planning:
identifying partners and project team members, assigning responsibility for
tasks, developing an action plan, budgeting resources and preparing a marketing
strategy and evaluation plan. These elements form the basis of a project plan.
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A project plan sets the ground rules and states them in a clear fashion. This is
especially important since OLT projects typically include multiple partners and
stakeholders with differing interests and perspectives.
Why Plan?
First, it is vital that everyone understands and agrees to the "ground rules" that
will govern the project from here on in. You need to ensure that the objectives
are clearly stated so that there is no disagreement later on.
Second, the project plan helps you to control and measure your progress. Now
that your team members and financing are finalized, you should revisit your
action plan and add the specific details that will allow you to manage
successfully.
Third, the project plan will help you deal with any changes that may occur (and
they inevitably do occur!). For example, what if a stakeholder wants to add a
new objective to the project? A clear project plan will help you deal with this
situation in keeping with the overall project objectives.
Finally, the project plan will help to cement stakeholder support over the
coming months and years of the project. This is important because you will
need the support of people from different organizations, and you will not have
direct authority over them.
What is in a Project Plan?
No two projects are the same; hence no two project plans are the same. To
provide the maximum benefits, your project plan should be relevant,
understandable and complete, and reflect the size and complexity of your
unique project.
33
Your project plan should include the following elements:

1. A project charter
2. A calendar of activities
3. A time schedule
4. A responsibility matrix
5. A project plan budget
6. Major milestones with target dates
7. A risk management strategy
The project manager, sponsor, every partner, and all key project staff should
have a copy of the project plan. It is a valuable tool that can help to avoid
confusion
about
the
projects
scope
and
misunderstandings
about
responsibilities, timeframes or resource management.

The amount of detail in your project plan will depend on your needs. It may be
quite brief or very detailed. It is up to you to develop an appropriate project plan
based on the nature of your project.
1 - The Project Charter
The Project Charter is a document that demonstrates management support for
the project, authorizes the project manager to lead the project and allocate
resources as required. It is very easy to create a project charter. It simply states
the name and purpose of the project, the project managers name and a
statement of support by management. It is signed by senior management of the
responsible organization and the partner organizations.
The project charter should be distributed widely - to anyone with an interest in

the project. This will help build momentum, reinforce the project manager's
34
authority, and possibly draw other interested and valuable team members into
the project.
The charter can be e-mailed to broaden its distribution easily and quickly.
2 - The Calendar of Activities
A Calendar of Activities is one of the most important tools in a project
manager's toolkit. By dividing a project into the individual tasks required to
complete it, the Calendar of Activities:
Provides a detailed view of the projects scope;
Allows you to monitor what has been completed and what remains to be
done;
Allows you to track labor, time and costs for each task;
Allows you assign responsibility for specific tasks to team members;
Allows team members to understand how they fit into the big picture.
Designing a Calendar of Activities requires some effort, and you may think that
your project is too small to warrant the effort. However, with the action plan
you developed when applying for funding, you already have the information
you need to get started.
Creating a Calendar of Activities
The action plan you developed when applying for OLT funding breaks down
your project into its component activities. For the initial phase, you described
them on a month-by-month basis, for the pilot phase on a quarterly basis. The
activities in your action plan may be considered summary tasks. Some of these
tasks are small enough to manage as is, but others will need to be broken down
further into their logical parts.
35
These smaller units of work, tasks, will be assigned to individuals and should be
specific enough to track and manage performance, but not so small that you
spend too much time chasing details. As a guideline, it doesnt make sense to
define tasks that take less than half a day to perform over the lifecycle of the
project.
The following example illustrates the work breakdown structure of the summary
task Conduct learner evaluation of skills development content:
Conduct learner evaluation of skills development content
Create interview guide (1/2 day)
Interview learners (2 days)
Collate responses (1/2 day)
Write report (1 day)
Discuss report at weekly meeting (1/2 day)
Revise learning material content (4 days)
Approve evaluation (1/2 day)
The bulleted items are the units of work that will be assigned to one or more
individuals. Each task should begin with a verb that specifies the work to be
done. Be sure to estimate the time required for each task, since tasks left openended are an invitation to procrastination.
The last task within each category should always be to approve the work of that
phase, a good management practice. When all the work units are done, you will
mark the Calendar of Activities to show the summary task as being complete.
In the meantime, you will know exactly what steps remain to be done. Organize
your Calendar of Activities on a quarterly basis. This will help you to prepare
the quarterly progress reports you will be submitting to OLT.
36
When you've finished your Calendar of Activities, look at it objectively. Does

it capture everything you need to do? Is it logical and easy to read? If not,
rework it so that it becomes a meaningful tool. Getting the Calendar of
Activities designed properly will save you hours of effort later on.
3 - The Time Schedule
In your action plan you laid out the activities of your project in their logical
sequence. You have now expanded on the action plan to create a Calendar of
Activities with a detailed work breakdown structure. Having identified the
tasks to be completed and determined the sequence for doing them, you are
ready to prepare the Time Schedule.
The Time Schedule identifies logical relationships between project activities,
ensures personnel is available for tasks when needed and helps you to manage
time effectively and complete your project when planned.
When setting the Time Schedule, review all the tasks and the sequence for
doing them. Some tasks are dependent on others and can only be started when
others are finished. Other tasks can be done concurrently, if you have sufficient
human resources. External factors may also influence your Schedule. You may
already have a list of eager learners and the learning materials ready for your
projects launch date, but repairs at the local community centre mean that the
classroom facilities are unavailable until next month.
Project management software permits you to use Gantt charts for schedules.
Gantt charts are popular because they graphically display the relationships
between tasks. If you do not have project management software, spreadsheet
software can also be used for schedules, as in this example showing one
summary task:
37
Time Schedule
Task
Hours per week

Week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 Total

Create interview guide
Interview learners
16
20
Collate responses
Write report
Discuss report at weekly meeting
Revise learning material content
24
32
Approve evaluation
Sub-total
16
28
28
76
Managing the Time Schedule

Despite your best efforts at scheduling, there is often a rush to meet project
deadlines. There seem to be three major reasons for this:
No project manager is assigned. Most project resources are focused on

completing the project deliverables, with little attention paid to actually
managing the project.
A perception that project management is "administration" or overhead. In

fact, as we try to emphasize throughout this toolkit, project management
is an essential foundation for ensuring quality and timeliness.
Lack of awareness of project management techniques.
38
The following hints may help to keep your project on schedule:
When creating the Time Schedule, involve key personnel who are
familiar with individual tasks, can estimate the time they will require and
know the problems you may face.
Discuss the responsibilities and priorities that partners have within their
own organizations that may impact the time they can devote to your
project.
Allot time in the schedule for project management activities - 10% of

total project time is a general rule of thumb.
Hold regular project status meetings with the entire team to discourage
procrastination and identify difficulties early.
The duration of a task depends on the number of people you assign to it and
their productivity. For simple, labour-intensive tasks, you can shorten the
duration by recruiting additional resources (perhaps from a local community
group). For more complex tasks, such as advanced research, adding more
resources may not help because only highly skilled people can be productive on
these tasks. Adding more resources may simply increase your cost, with no
improvement in quality or time requirement.
As the project progresses, there may be tasks that were not foreseeable in the
original plan, or you may wish to undertake additional tasks to enhance the
overall project outcome. If so, you will need to consider the impact on both the
Time Schedule and resources. If your organization and your partners decide
that changes to the Schedule are warranted and feasible, the project manager
should get a written agreement for the revised plan from all the key stakeholders
in the project.
39
4 - The Responsibility Matrix

Your project will be a collaborative effort by a number of individuals and
organizations working together toward a common goal. Managing a diverse
team, often spread over several locations, can present some special challenges.
A Responsibility Matrix is a valuable project management tool to help you meet
these challenges. A Responsibility Matrix ensures that someone accepts
responsibility for each major project activity and that nothing falls through the
cracks. It need not be complex and is easily created by using your project
Schedule.
To create a Responsibility Matrix, refer to your Time Schedule. The left hand
column enumerates all the required tasks for your project. Across the top of the
chart, list all the team members (e.g. project manager, evaluation consultant,
office administrator, technical support etc.) for your project. Enter a code in
each cell that represents that team members involvement in the task in that
row. For example:
Responsibility Matrix
Project Team Members
Task
Project
manager
Evaluator Teacher
Instructional
Technical
designer
support

Create
interview guide
Interview
Learnners
Collate
40
responses
Write report
Discuss report
at
weekly
meeting
Revise
learning
material
content
Approve
evaluation
S Sign-off; A Accountable; P Participant; I Input

Choose codes appropriate to your project; the key is to clearly identify who has
a role in every activity, who is accountable and who must sign off. Make sure
the matrix is included in the project plan so that every participant is clearly
aware of their responsibilities.
5 - The Project Plan Budget
As part of the application process, you prepared a budget for your project that
meets OLT guidelines. This best estimate of costs will be an important tool
for managing resources while delivering a quality result.
It is important to have the most detailed and accurate estimates possible for
major project costs (usually wages, materials and supplies and overhead) at the
start of the project. With this information, the actual process of producing the
41
Project Plan Budget is simple. Simply add up the labour and equipment costs of
each task in the Time Schedule you produced. These costs should fit within the
financial budget approved by OLT.
Keep the Project Plan Budget as simple as possible while maintaining accuracy.
If you have experience in project accounting, enter the costs estimates from the
budget for each of the tasks in your Schedule. This way, as actual expenses
come in they will automatically be posted to the project, making the Financial
Detail sheets and Cashflow Forecast forms required in your quarterly reports to
OLT easier to fill out.
If you are not familiar with project costing, you can use spreadsheet software to
monitor your budget. List all the Time Schedule tasks at the left of the
spreadsheet, the resources to be used, cost estimates from your budget, actual
costs and the difference, if any, in columns to the right:
Project Budget
Task
Budgeted Actual
Resources to be Used
Costs
Costs

Create
interview
guide
Interview
Learnners
Wages of project manager,

teacher; Evaluator's fees.
$600
Wages of teachers; rental of

meeting
room;
laptop $375
computer.
42
Budget Actual
Costs
Collate
responses
Write report
Discuss report
at
weekly
meeting
Revise
learning
material
content
Approve
evaluation
Evaluator's fees.
$200
Evaluator's fees.
$400
Wages of project manager,

teachers, technical support;
Evaluator's,
instructional
$800
designer's fees.
Wages of teachers, technical
support;
Evaluator's, $1200
instructional designer's fees.
Wages of project manager
Subtotal for learner evaluation of skills

development content
$200
$3775
6 - Major Milestones and Target Dates

Milestones are significant events in a project, usually the completion of a major
deliverable. You defined project milestones and set target dates in your project
action plan as part of the application for funding process. List these milestones
and target dates in the Project Plan to ensure that everybody involved in the
project is aware of them. While all those involved doubtless recognize that
meeting them is important to achieving the objectives of your project, there are
also additional, less obvious, benefits. Meeting milestones on schedule prevents
wasting resources, maintains the momentum of the project and builds credibility
among potential future partners.
43
Managing a project requires a constant balancing of resources and priorities.

These constraints, coupled with unexpected effects of circumstances outside
your control can make it difficult to meet milestones and target dates, but the
Calendar of Activities, Time Schedule and Responsibility Matrix are powerful
tools to ensure you do.
The following are a few hints to help with the process:
Ensure the partners and key personnel have signed off on the project plan,
explicitly committing themselves to milestones and target dates.
Review the Time Schedule and Responsibility Matrix at weekly or biweekly project team meetings to address problems before they result in
major slippage.
Make sure each individual has the recognized authority and access to
resources needed to complete tasks they are accountable for in the
Responsibility Matrix.
Allow sufficient time for training for all team members to perform
effectively.
Meet with team members individually to discuss the expected outcomes

of the project and the tasks they are assigned, as well as to point out any
difficulties they may face and answer any questions they may have.
Recognise your project teams success when they meet milestones and
target dates.
What is Risk?
Risk is inherent in all projects. In project management terms, risk refers to an
uncertain event or condition that has a cause and, that if it occurs, has a positive
or negative effect on a projects objectives, and a consequence on project cost,
schedule or quality. For example: the cause of a risk may be requiring a
classroom with networked computers for the learners in your skills development
44
project. The risk event is that Internet connection is delayed and the classroom
is not available for the anticipated start date. This affects your objective,
offering computer literacy training to underemployed adults, with the
consequence that you must rent another facility or delay project activities.
Naturally, you would prefer to maximize the probability and consequences of
positive events and minimize the probability and consequences of events
adverse to your project objectives. A risk response plan can help you. It
identifies the risks that might affect your project, determines their effect on the
project and includes agreed-upon responses for each risk.
The Risk Management Strategy
Identifying Risks
The first step in creating a risk response plan is to identify risks which might
affect your project. The project manager, key staff and project partners should
brainstorm referring to the project charter, calendar of activities schedule and
budget to identify potential risks. Those involved in the project can often
identify risks on the basis of experience. Published information resources are
also available that identify risks for many application areas.
Common sources of risk in community learning initiatives include:
Technical risks such as unproven technology
Project management risks such as a poor allocation of time or resources
Organizational risks such as resource conflicts with other activities
External risks such as changing priorities in partner organizations
45
Developing Risk Response Strategies

You cannot prepare for or mitigate all possible risks, but risks with high
probability and high impact are likely to merit immediate action. The
effectiveness of your planning determines whether risk increases or decreases
for your projects objectives. Several risk response strategies are available:
Avoidance changing the project plan to eliminate the risk or protect the
objectives from its impact. An example of avoidance is using a familiar
technology instead of an innovative one.
Transference shifting the management and consequence of the risk to a

third party. Risk transfer almost always involves payment of a premium
to the party taking on the risk. An example of transference is using a
fixed-price contract for a consultants services.
Mitigation reducing the probability and/or consequences of an adverse

risk event to an acceptable threshold. Taking early action is more
effective than trying to repair the consequences after it has occurred. An
example of mitigation is seeking additional project partners to increase
the financial resources of the project.
Acceptance deciding not to change the project plan to deal with a risk.
Passive acceptance requires no action. Active acceptance may include
developing contingency plans for action should the risk occur. An
example of active acceptance is creating a list of eligible instructors that
can be called upon if last minute replacements are needed for your
project.
Since not all risks will be evident at the outset of the project, periodic risk
reviews should be scheduled at project team meetings. Risks that do occur
should be documented, along with their responses. Your lessons learned may
be useful to others or on future projects.
46
Define Project team structure

The purpose of this process is to define an effective team structure for a project
organizational unit. The team structure defines the roles, responsibilities and
relationships of the people managing and working within a project
organizational unit. An appropriate team structure will help to optimize the
efforts of the team and the success of the project. An inappropriate one can
undercut the efforts of a hard working group of people and impede their
success. This process is performed during Plan phase. Often, it is carried out by
the functional managers/Senior management responsible for the people who will
staff the project. The project manager should influence the functional managers
to ensure that the team structure meets the requirements of the project.
The first consideration in organizing a team is the objective of the team. Has the
team been asked to explore possibilities and alternatives? Is the team charged
with solving a complex, poorly defined problem? This is often the case with
study projects or when implementing a new technology.
Broadly, there are two different organizational approaches: In the normal
approach, each teamis responsible for a specific set of activities and the work
products move between the teams according to a predefined work flow. The
team members all have similar skills. In the multidisciplinary approach; each
team is responsible for completing some of the work products. The team
members have different skills and, possibly, are multi-skilled.
47
Certain project approaches favor certain team structures. For example, rapid
application development (RAD) works best with multidisciplinary teams. It is
necessary to have a team structure so that all the members of the project
understand their roles and their working and reporting relationships. However,
all team structures introduce some measure of inflexibility. It is important to
understand that there is no right team structure for a project and that usually it
depends on the organizational requirements and needs of the project.
Review the Project definition to understand the overall project objectives and
context. Review the Organizational breakdown structure (OBS) and the Work
breakdown structure (WBS) to understand what the project organizational unit
that is being structured must accomplish. Determine the appropriate team model
for the unit by considering the broad objective(s) of the unit and, if applicable,
48
the work patterns that have been selected. Note that several models may apply if
the project organizational unit has several objectives. Plan the number of
team(s) within the project organizational unit and how the responsibilities of
the organizational unit will be split between the teams. Consider how the teams
will be managed within the organizational unit. Estimate the size of each team
and determine the skills that each team will require. The right number of
people in a team depends on factors such as the nature of the work. Consider
carefully how skills that are known to be expensive and/or in short supply
should best be deployed. Document the roles and responsibilities of each of the
teams within the project organizational unit in the OBS.
Acquiring staff
This function includes processes to:
Identify potential sources (external/department in the organization) of project
staff.
Define skill and activity descriptions that can be used by recruiters and
resource managers to obtain staff from appropriate sourcing organizations.
Select staff for the project finding the:
right people,
with appropriate skills,
available when needed,
for the right duration,
within planned costs can be a daunting and time-consuming challenge.
Here are six key areas in which HR professionals can help lay the foundation
for excellence in project management.
49
Strategy
The ability to respond quickly to changing business needs and customer
demands is a good thing. Or is it? We would argue that an organization that
strives to speed up its response time to specific needs risks ending up with
nothing more than the ability to do the wrong thing faster.
Most business and customer needs can be met in a variety of ways, but not all
solutions will be consistent with how the organization wants to be positioned in
the market. Nor will every profitable project take the organization where it
needs to go. To be of real value, the projects into which an organization puts its
efforts need to be tied to its strategy.
There are a number of ways in which human resource executives can help
leaders move strategy from a statement to an operating reality. The senior HR
executive can take a lead role in helping the top team set up a system for
evaluating proposed projects in terms of their strategic relevance and impact.
HR can also take responsibility for ensuring that all those assigned to projects
understand how their goals relate to the overarching strategic goals of the
business.
Current and Future Leadership
Historically, top managers have been selected for their financial skills more than
for their ability to manage complex projects. The modern organization requires
leaders who can translate a broad strategic vision into manageable projects and
sell them up (to the board and shareholders) and down (to the organization and
customers).
HR can play a key role in recruiting and developing a new breed of leaders,
with broader, more project-relevant skills. When interviewing candidates for
50
management positions, they need to look for individuals with proven success in
not only formulating, but also implementing organization strategy; people who
have a track record of bringing complex projects to completion; and those who
can inspire others to get work done.
Interestingly, these skills closely parallel those of successful project managers.
As HR executives work with project managers in their organization, they need
to closely observe and mentor this rich source of future executives.
Quality
What is project quality? On time, on budget and on specification, right? Not
necessarily. What if landing a man on the moon before the Soviets had cost the
United States an extra $20 million dollars? What if Henry Ford had taken an
extra four months to launch the Model T that built an industrial giant? Would
these projects have been labeled failures? Not likely.
Meeting cost and schedule expectations is important, but these are often
indicators of efficiency rather than of quality. A quality project is one that meets
customers' needs -- even if it takes more time or spends more money than was
originally planned.
To produce a quality product, a project team must continuously survey,
anticipate, clarify and confront issues in and around the project to ensure that
the end result will delight the customer. If the customer's needs change, so must
the project plan?
HR leaders must install behaviors that separate the need to find the cause of a
problem from the need to make a choice on plan actions. Problems, decisions
and actions can't be addressed the same way. Each requires people to gather,
sort and analyze different information differently. And rarely can a person come
51
to the best resolution alone. It almost always requires help from others to
provide needed information or to implement. Having a common, visible
approach to resolving project issues speeds and improves outcomes.
For the HR executive, this means ensuring that the workforce has the
communication, interpersonal, teaming and critical-thinking skills necessary to
turn on a dime.
Methodology
Many organizations have protocols, processes and procedures in place to control
the initiation and implementation of projects. These are valuable and necessary
to efficiently and effectively deploy resources to the highest-value projects. But
these protocols can devolve into a low-value, bureaucratic, paper-pushing
exercise unless the people using them understand the "why" behind the "how."
The challenge for HR is to provide the workforce with both the protocols and
the thinking processes behind them. There is logic to defining, planning and
controlling projects, and the better all involved understand that logic, the better
they can participate in projects, and the faster they can move from project to
project.
Communication
Many project managers believe that you can't communicate too much during a
project. We beg to differ. Unnecessary communication distracts the project team
from achieving results. Technology has enabled rapid -- but not necessarily rich
-- communication, which often results in data overload. Project-team members
are overwhelmed by reports, spreadsheets and e-mails.
52
To keep project teams from drowning in paperwork, HR leaders need to work

with IT and telecommunications professionals to ensure that the necessary datacollection tools are in place -- and unnecessary ones are eliminated.
They can also ensure that project management training includes proper use of
the correct communication tool. For example, each step of a projectmanagement methodology can be broken down into a series of questions. What
is the project intended to accomplish? What is the best way to accomplish this?
What is the logical order of work? What specific part of the project are we
having trouble with? Communication can be greatly enhanced if it is centered
on a specific part of the project-management process.
Performance Environment and Culture
In order to excel at projects, an organization needs to have a performance
system that supports this approach to getting work done. This is where HR
executives can shine.
First, top to bottom, everyone in the organization must understand what project
behaviors are expected. It must be clear when in the process the behaviors are
expected to be exhibited. People must have the time, tools and resources to do
as expected. Sufficient rewards and incentives must exist for proper project
participation. Finally, frequent and meaningful feedback is needed to either let
the team knows that its project work is meeting company goals or, if not, what it
needs to do differently to turn the situation around.
HR can work with management to ensure that all these elements are present in
the performance system for project teams as well as for all members of the
workforce.
53
Why organizations need to change

Change management is relevant as though the research finds that change is
taking place at an ever-increasing pace, the evidence suggests that most change
initiatives fail. For example, recent CIPD research suggested that less than 60%
of re-organizations met their stated objectives which are usually bottom line
improvement. This is consistent with other published research.
The impact of failures to introduce effective change can also be high: loss of
market position, removal of senior management, loss of stakeholder credibility,
loss of key employees.
Finally, one organizational response to change is that organizational forms are

themselves evolving. Therefore, the change management response will have to
be adaptive. For example, the increased competitive challenges and the need to
be responsive to the changing environment are resulting in emerging
organizational models. Traditional organizational models following functional
or matrix lines are being supplemented by new models. These might rely on
project teams, on networks, on virtual structures.
In theory, certain of these newer models, for example virtual and project-based
structures, allow increased flexibility to respond to change. However such
models are not always introduced uniformly, and in practice often introduce
other issues that also impact upon change management, for example ability to
share knowledge and to operate efficiently. Also, as more companies rely on
these new structures, for example, sub-contractors and agency staff, the
traditional psychological contract between organization and employee can no
longer be relied upon to elicit employee engagement, motivation and ultimately
superior performance, all of which are particularly important in times of change.
54
These structures may also impact effectiveness of communication, which

again has implications for change effectiveness.
What issues have been identified in the change management process?
A large number of issues have been identified as having negative impact on
effective change management. Some of the key themes are identified below,
covering
organizational
issues
and
individual
resistance
to
change.
Organizational issues individual change initiatives are not always undertaken as

part of a wider coherent change plan, for example through considering linkages
between strategy, structure and systems issues. Therefore a change that
considers a new structure but fails to establish the need to introduce new
systems to support such a structure is less likely to succeed.
Lack of effective project management and programme management disciplines
can lead to slippages in timings, in achievement of desired outcomes, in
ensuring that the projects do deliver as planned.
Insufficient, relevant training, for example in project management, change
management skills, leadership skills can all impact negatively on the
effectiveness of any change initiative.
Poor communication has been linked to issues surrounding the effectiveness of
in achieving effective change in various ways. For example, imposed change
can lead to greater employee resistance (see section below also).
Finally, lack of effective leadership has been identified as an inhibitor of
effective change.
55
Individual/group resistance to change

Resistance to change can be defined as an individual or group engaging in acts
to block or disrupt an attempt to introduce change. Resistance itself can take
many different forms from subtle undermining of change initiatives,
withholding of information to active resistance eg via strikes.
Resistance to change can be considered along various dimensions:
* individual versus collective
* passive versus active
* direct versus indirect
* behavioral versus verbal or attitudinal
* minor versus major.
Similarly two broad types of resistance can be considered:
* Resistance to the content of change - for example to a specific change in
technology,
to
the
introduction
of
particular
reward
system.
* Resistance to the process of change. This concerns the way a change is

introduced rather than the object of change per se, for example, management restructure
jobs,
without
prior
consultation
of
affected
employees.
Management need to be aware of these different criteria to ensure they respond

appropriately.
Suggested reasons for resistance include: loss of control, shock of new,
uncertainty, inconvenience, threat to status, competence fears. It is important to
try to diagnose the cause of employee resistance as this will help determine the
focus of effort in trying to reduce/remove the issue.
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What can be done to make change management more effective?

From the issues raised in the section above, it can be seen that change is
complex and there is not a single solution. However, a number of key areas of
focus emerge.
Effective leadership is a key enabler as it provides the vision and the rationale
for change. Different styles of leadership have been identified, for example
coercive, directive, consultative and collaborative. These different styles may
each be appropriate depending on the type and scale of change being
undertaken. For example, when there is a large-scale organization-wide change
a directive style has been identified as most effective.
Appropriate and timely training is frequently identified as key to effective
change. Examples of training requirements might include:
* Project and programme management skills to ensure change initiatives are
completed both on time and to budget.
* Change management skills, including communication and facilitation.
* Leadership coaching.
Two-way communication with employees (see our factsheet on Managing the
psychological contract) and their active involvement in implementation has also
been identified as a key enabler of change. Active participation is one suggested
means of overcoming resistance to change. However, research has indicated that
part of the communication/participation issue might arise from a potential
mismatch between what the employer and employee opinions are regarding
levels of communication. For example, in a recent study of both employers and
employees, employers believed they were involving and communicating with
employees at a considerably higher level than was reported by employees.
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WHY ORGANIZATIONS ARE ADOPTING BEST HR PRACTICES?

The best practices in the management of Human Resources are the ones which
optimize a workforce so that it can not only get more done, but also ensure a
greater level of efficiency, timeliness & quality accomplishing an increase in
overall productivity. The important areas in which the best human resources
practices must be applied include the creation of viable & attractive benefits &
compensation packages, managing the performance of employees, making sure
that business practices & worker conditions stay well within the law, creating a
positive, enjoyable work environment, talent recruitment and mapping out the
best Human Resources strategy for the future.
In the past HR was considered as an expense rather than an investment. But
today many top-performing organizations have realized that following best
practices for HR is vital to long-term success.
HR is all of the practices that surround people, from recruiting, orientation and
training to corporate culture and non-monetary rewards, as well as benefits and
compensation. HR is about creating a workplace where employees, the most
valuable asset for most companies, can perform to their peak potential.
Competition for the best employees is intense, especially today as the job
market recovers after several years in a slump. Thus effective employers need to
level the playing field by emphasizing their unique advantages.
One of the first features the prospective talent look at while browsing the job
listings are the salary levels and the benefits packages. Hence an organization
implementing best HR practices makes sure that these benefits and pay scales
meet the companys budget while remaining attractive and competitive enough
to pull in the very best talent possible.
58
Since managers give a voice to the company culture, training at the manager
level is very critical as the best mangers are those who can motivate,
communicate, retain and inspire. They hold individuals accountable, evaluate
and coach their employees.
Best HR practices are also vital for retaining talent in an organization. Preferred
employers are not only making endeavors to cope up and allay the long-term
employees but are now devoting their HR resources to On-boarding wherein an
organization takes newly hired employees and immerses them in the
organization.
From the very first day on the job, it is crucial for the employees to know their
duties, get honest feedback on their performance and reward for exceeding
expectations.
Another important aspect of best practices is the accurate and productive
evaluation and enhancement of performance among the employee base. Indeed,
performance management is one of the key functions of a human resources
department.
Another best HR attribute that organizations should stress on is career growth
and succession which may be learning opportunities or opportunities to take on
more responsibility by offering be learning opportunities, or opportunities to
take on more responsibility.
HR functions that cant be efficiently performed in-house are being outsourced
in order to fill any gaps in building a comprehensive HR program, either for
routine tasks such as payroll and benefits management or more strategic goals
such as recruiting and management training.
59
Companies exhibiting the Best Practices have been found to have:

Higher Employee Engagement:Engaged employees display the behaviors that are critical to business success
and developing a competitive edge. They speak positively about the company,
have no immediate intention or desire to leave, and willingly put in extra effort
to ensure strong company performance. Career Opportunities & Sense of
Accomplishment are the key drivers of employee engagement for many
companies.
Better Financial Results & Customer Satisfaction:Best Employers deliver better business results and are more capable of building
a sustainable business model. According to the Hewitt Survey, the Best
Employers have outperformed their counterparts in terms of revenue over the
previous two years & have consistently demonstrated a growth in their
profitability. Also, a large body of literature (A research study by Centre for
Advanced Human Resource Studies) supports the notion that the work practices
of an organization influence individual employees feelings of commitment to
an organization which in turns influences employee behavior in towards
fulfilling customer needs.
A Strong Reputation That Attracts Talent:-
Great Places to work as per the Grow Talents Study, 2006 are able to attract
talent based on a strong employer brand. They create an employee value
proposition that differentiates their employment offer distinctly from that of
other organizations.
60
Better Retention of Key Talent:Organizations with best practices attempt to build long-term employee
relationships. They create a working environment in which their key people
enjoy working for them and want to be part of the success story. Their
employees also see them as promoting people who are best equipped to meet the
future demands of the company. Also, the Leaders at such organizations are
perceived by employees to build relationships with all levels in the organization
and treat employees as their most valued asset.
ENGAGED EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN FOUND TO EXHIBIT:
Higher self-motivation
Confidence to express new ides
Higher productivity
Higher levels of customer approval and service quality
Reliability & low turnover
Organizational loyalty and thus less employee turnover
Lower absenteeism
Effective employers today are learning and sharing their best HR practices with
each other through benchmarking which involves measuring performance,
systematically identifying best practices, learning from leading organizations,
and adapting best practices as appropriate. This provides organizations with
tools, models, skills, methods, and data to improve the effectiveness of their
human resource programs for their customers by learning and sharing of
information.
61
Unfortunately, theres no universal definition of knowledge management (KM),

just as theres no agreement as to what constitutes knowledge in the first place.
For this reason, its best to think of KM in the broadest context. Succinctly put,
KM is the process through which organizations generate value from their
intellectual and knowledge-based assets. Most often, generating value from such
assets involves codifying what employees, partners and customers know, and
sharing that information among employees, departments and even with other
companies in an effort to devise best practices. Its important to note that the
definition says nothing about technology; while KM is often facilitated by IT,
technology by itself is not KM.
Think of a golf caddie as a simplified example of a knowledge worker. Good
caddies do more than carry clubs and track down wayward balls. When asked, a
good caddie will give advice to golfers, such as, The wind makes the ninth
hole play 15 yards longer. Accurate advice may lead to a bigger tip at the end
of the day. On the flip side, the golfer having derived a benefit from the
caddies advice may be more likely to play that course again. If a good
caddie is willing to share what he knows with other caddies, then they all may
eventually earn bigger tips. How would KM work to make this happen? The
caddie master may decide to reward caddies for sharing their tips by offering
them credits for pro shop merchandise. Once the best advice is collected, the
course manager would publish the information in notebooks (or make it
available on PDAs), and distribute them to all the caddies. The end result of a
well-designed KM program is that everyone wins. In this case, caddies get
bigger tips and deals on merchandise, golfers play better because they benefit
from the collective experience of caddies, and the course owners win because
better scores lead to more repeat business.
With the excitement and sense of urgency and momentum of a new project, the
natural tendency is to dive right in. Your enthusiasm and imagination will be
62
essential to meeting project objectives, but they are not enough alone.
Successful projects require effective management.
In the application process for OLT funding, you have already done much of the
groundwork for sound project management and your hard work will pay
dividends now. With a relatively small amount of additional planning before
you begin your pilot project, you can help ensure a successful outcome.
The purpose of this learning module is to introduce you to the rudiments of
project management. The module is divided into subsections which introduce
some basic terminology of project management, describe the characteristics of
successful projects and provide practical advice on creating a simple yet useable
project management plan for your community learning pilot project. We hope
you will find it useful.
63
CHAPTER- 2
REVIEW OF
LITERATURE
64
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
According to Adnane Belout[13]Today, human resource management (HRM) is
being renewed in organizations and gradually affirming its strategic role.
However, the results of an empirical study conducted by Pinto and Prescott
[Journal of Management 14 (1988) 5] within a context of project management,
contradict this trend. These authors concluded that the Personnel factor was
the only factor in their research that was marginal for project success. This
paper attempts to retest their conclusions in rethinking issues of validity of the
measures used in their study. In line with research by Tsui [Human Resource
Management 26 (1987) 35; Administrative Science Quarterly 35 (1990) 458]
and some of Belout's recommendation [International Journal of Project
Management 16(1) (1998) 21], the construct validity of the human resources
factor has been examined and a model proposed. Results show, first of all, that
although there was a link between project success and the Personnel factor
(based on the correlation analyses), this factor did not have a significant impact
on project success. Our results tend also to confirm that the relationships
between the independent variables and project success will vary according to
life cycle stage. The results also show that for three distinct structures
(functional, project-based and matrix), the Management Support and Troubleshooting variables were significantly correlated with success. Finally, this study
confirms a moderating effect between the independent variables and project
success, depending on the sector studied. All in all, this research adds another
step in conceptualizing HRM in project context which is still very rudimental.
In this sense, researchers should, in the future, improve the construct validity of
the Personnel variable by improving the psychometric properties of the
questionnaires used in the project management context. This study also shows
65
the problem of multicolinearity, which appears to be excessive in the use of PIP.

Finally, a fundamental question is posed: does HRM in the context of project
management have specific characteristics that make its role, social
responsibility and operation different from the so-called traditional HRM?
According to David E Guest said that Human resource management (HRM) is
a term which is now widely used but very loosely defined. In this paper it is
argued that if the concept is to have any social scientific value, it should be
defined in such a way as to differentiate it from traditional personnel
management and to allow the development of testable hypotheses about its
impact. Based on theoretical work in the field of organizational behavior it is
proposed that HRM comprises a set of policies designed to maximize
organizational integration, employee commitment, flexibility and quality of
work. Within this model, collective industrial relations have, at best, only a
minor role. Despite the apparent attractions of HRM to managements, there is
very little evidence of any quality about its impact. Furthermore very few UK
organizations appear to practice a distinctive form of HRM, although many are
moving slowly in that direction through, for example, policies of employee
involvement [14].
According to Adnane Belout University of Montreal, School of Industrial
Relations, Montreal, Canada[15] Project management strategy research has
focused on the effects of structure and planning operations (such as budgets,
date completion and quality) on project success. In the past, projects have been
managed as technical systems instead of behavioral systems. Relatively little
attention has been paid to human resource factor. However, the Project
Management Institute in its official definition of Project Management Body of
Knowledge (P.M.B.K.) included human resource management as one of the six
fundamental basic functions of project management.1 In this arena which lacks
theoretical foundation, a relatively recent study made the situation even worse.
66
Pinto and Prescott (1988) concluded that the Personnel factor (independent
variable) was the only factor in their research that was marginal for project
success (dependent variable). This paper takes a critical look at this research and
attempts to respond to their controversial findings. The main objective is to
improve the thinking aspects and to highlight the validity of the measures used.
People are the backbone and most valuable resource for successfully executing
any project. To survive and grow in the 21st century, project management
practitioners must learn and use appropriate interpersonal skills that inspire all
those involved in a project. This book offers practical guidelines that can be
used to develop and implement the practices of communication, motivation,
negotiation, conflict resolution, conflict and stress management and leadership.
Human resource Skills for the Project manager is Volume Two of the Human
Aspects of Project Management Series [16].
A model for developing and implementing human resource management
strategies incorporating both an external fit (human resource management fits
the developmental stage of the organization) and an internal fit (the components
of human resource management complement and support each other) is
proposed. Human resource management is seen as having five developmental
stages and six strategic components. These are combined to form the Human
Resource Strategic Matrix. The implications of these ideas for research and
practice are discussed.
According to Andrew Longman, HR executives can take the lead in helping
their organizations excel in increasingly important project work. Among other
issues, they need to ensure employees understand the strategic relevance of the
specific projects and need to create performance systems and cultures that
reward involvement on project teams.
67
One key change that has largely eluded the attention of management gurus is the
shift in how work gets done. The modern enterprise has become project driven
and this change presents significant new challenges and opportunities,
especially for HR professionals.
Project work comes with a package of idiosyncrasies. No two projects are
exactly alike. Project teams rarely rotate intact from one project to the next.
Talent is added and subtracted as needed or as it is available. Similar needs are
often met with dissimilar solutions. And projects tend to be "green field"
activities, without benefit from previous "lessons learned." Excelling at
managing projects and people requires a broadly embedded understanding of
how effective project work happens and of the new behaviors needed for
success. It is a challenge for which HR professionals are uniquely suited.
According to David E. Guest in 1990 human resource management (HRM) is a
term which is now widely used but very loosely defined. In this paper it is
argued that if the concept is to have any social scientific value, it should be
defined in such a way as to differentiate it from traditional personnel
management and to allow the development of testable hypotheses about its
impact. Based on theoretical work in the field of organizational behaviour it is
proposed that HRM comprises a set of policies designed to maximize
organizational integration, employee commitment, flexibility and quality of
work. Within this model, collective industrial relations have, at best, only a
minor role. Despite the apparent attractions of HRM to managements, there is
very little evidence of any quality about its impact. Furthermore very few UK
organizations appear to practice a distinctive form of HRM, although many are
moving slowly in that direction through, for example, policies of employee
involvement.
68
According to David P Lepak Pennsylvania state university he study examines

two alternative views--universal and contingency--of the human resources
(HR)-performance relationship in manufacturing settings. Results from a survey
of 97 plants primarily support a contingency approach to human resource
management (HRM). An HR system focused on human capital enhancement
was directly related to multiple dimensions of operational performance (i.e.,
employee productivity, machine efficiency, and customer alignment), but
subsequent analysis revealed that this main effect was predominately the result
of linking human-capital-enhancing HR systems with a quality manufacturing
strategy. Other manufacturing strategies also moderated the HR-performance
relationship.
According to Adrune University of Montreal, Project management strategy
research has focused on the effects of structure and planning operations (such as
budgets, date completion and quality) on project success. In the past, projects
have been managed as technical systems instead of behavioral systems.
Relatively little attention has been paid to human resource factor. However, the
Project Management Institute in its official definition of Project Management
Body of Knowledge (P.M.B.K.) included human resource management as one
of the six fundamental basic functions of project management.1 in this arena
which lacks theoretical foundation, a relatively recent study made the situation
even worse. Pinto and Prescott (1988) concluded that the Personnel factor
(independent variable) was the only factor in their research that was marginal
for project success (dependent variable). This paper takes a critical look at this
research and attempts to respond to their controversial findings. The main
objective is to improve the thinking aspects and to highlight the validity of the
measures used.
According to Karen A. Golden the first stage of a two-stage research project on
the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and strategic
69
business planning (SBP) is described. Based on data collected from senior

human resource executives in 10 Cleveland area companies, a typology of
HRM-SBP linkages is developed. Factors which appear to influence the extent
of HRM-SBP integration are identified and discussed. An agenda for future
research is provided.
According to Jonathan Michie the relationship between HRM and performance
was explored in 366 UK companies using objective and subjective performance
measures and cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Using objective measures of
performance, greater use of HRM is associated with lower labor turnover and
higher profit per employee but not higher productivity. After controlling for
previous years performance, the association ceases to be significant. Using
subjective performance estimates, there is a strong association between HRM
and both productivity and financial performance. The study therefore confirms
the association between HRM and performance but fails to show that HRM
causes higher performance.
According to Michael A. West Developing effective health care organizations
is increasingly complex as a result of demographic changes, globalization, and
developments in medicine. This study examines the potential contribution of
organizational behavior theory and research by investigating the relationship
between systems of human resource management (HRM) practices and
effectiveness of patient care in hospitals. Relatively little research has been
conducted to explore these issues in health care settings. In a sample of 52
hospitals in England, we examine the relationship between the HRM system and
health care outcome. Specifically, we study the association between high
performance HRM policies and practices and standardized patient mortality
rates. The research reveals that, after controlling for prior mortality and other
potentially confounding factors such as the ratio of doctors to patients, greater
use of a complementary set of HRM practices has a statistically and practically
70
significant relationship with patient mortality. The findings suggest that

managers and policy makers should focus sharply on improving the functioning
of relevant HR management systems in health care organizations as one
important means by which to improve patient care. Copyright 2006 John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
According to Charis Brewster Cranfield University the concept of human
resource management (HRM) has been much debated in the literature. The
concept developed initially from work in the U.S.A. in the 1960s and 1970s and
since then has been adopted increasingly around the world. This paper argues
that in Europe there is only limited acceptance of the organisational autonomy
upon which the concept is based, and that, therefore, different approaches to the
notion of human resource management are required. External constraints are
analysed and a new model of the concept that would encompass EuroHRM is
proposed.
According to B Fabi and N Pettersen the paper reviews the literature on the
different human resource management (HRM) practices in project management.
Through an analysis of more than 60 publications in French and English, it sets
out current knowledge on the existence, the quality and the problems relating to
HRM practices in diverse project management environments. The HRM
practices considered are the following: human resource planning, reception or
organizational entry, selection, job analysis, remuneration, performance
assessment, training and career planning. The conclusion contains some
evaluative commentaries on the present state of knowledge concerning HRM
practices in project management. Some recommendations for future research are
also proposed.
71
According to Stephen J. Wood Institute of Work Psychology, School of

Management, and ESRC Centre for Innovation and Organization,
University of Sheffield, It is often assumed that research over the last decade
has established an effect of human resource management (HRM) practices on
organizational performance. Our critical assessment of existing studies finds
that, although collectively they have opened up a promising line of inquiry, their
methodological limitations make such a conclusion premature. We argue that
future progress depends on using stronger research methods and design that, in
turn, will require large-scale long-term research at a level of magnitude that
probably can only be achieved through partnerships between research,
practitioner and government communities. We conclude that progress so far
justifies investment in such big science.
According to David E. Bowen and Carmen Galang we explore how the role of
Human Resource Management (HRM) varies across countries on two
dimensions. One is how the status of HRM departments may vary (e.g.,
perceptions of its importance and involvement). Second is whether there is
cross-country strategic HRM (SHRM) in terms of the conventional contingency
approach (linking HRM practices to strategy), as well as a resource-based view
of the firm (e.g., developing organizational capability as competitive
advantage). Results included significant differences in HRM status across
countries;
significant
correlations
between
status
and
organizational
capability; and in Asian countries, a slight tendency for HRM practices to be

linked more to a differentiation strategy, whereas, in Anglo countries, a strong
linkage between HRM practices and organizational capability. 2002 Wiley
Periodicals, Inc.
The study of human resource management (HRM) has been invigorated by the
promise that there is a best-practice, high-involvement management (HIM) that
72
can guarantee superior organizational performance. None the less, there remain
concerns that contingency theory still rules, that is, that the fit between the
human resource systems and their context, and particularly the organization's
business strategy, is all important and, thus, that HIM will only outperform
other systems in certain circumstances. In the 1990s, there has been a spate of
research that has sought to test whether HIM is indeed universally relevant. This
paper reviews these studies. The paper first introduces the conceptual
dimensions of the debate concerning HRM and performance. This shows that
the issues go beyond a simple competition between universalism and
contingency theory. There are more complicated hypotheses linking human
resource practices beneath the surface of the recent literature. The second part of
the paper overviews the studies in the light of these hypotheses, revealing that
they present an uneven picture. Firstly, there are conceptual differences
underlying the studies and, secondly, the results vary between them, and the
effects of HIM vary between performance measures even in particular studies.
Though a fair number of the studies claim to support universalism, their claims
are not always unequivocally supported by their research evidence, and it is
premature to conclude in its favour. If anything, there is more support for the
lean production argument that stresses the interaction effect between HIM and
total quality management on performance.
BEST HR PRACTICES
Human Resource is all of the practices that surround people, from recruiting,
orientation and training to corporate culture and non-monetary rewards, as well
as benefits and compensation. HR is about creating a workplace where
employees, the most valuable asset for most companies, can perform to their
peak potential.
73
The best practices in the management of Human Resources are the ones which
optimize a workforce so that it can not only get more done, but also ensure a
greater level of efficiency, timeliness & quality accomplishing an increase in
overall productivity.
The Best Employers in India 2007 study, conducted by Hewitt Associates and
Great Place to Work Study 2006 study conducted by Grow Talent provides a
definitive benchmark against which one can measure how effective an
organization is in providing a workplace that engages the intellectual and
emotional commitment of its employees.
The key parameters on the basis of which the best HR practices can be
categorized and the trends observed for each of these are:
Recruitment, Hiring & Induction:-
Modern management thought focuses attention on "people" as the key to

successful deployment of resources to meet organizational goals and realize
strategies. The Recruitment and Selection process promotes successful hiring
decisions that can truly impact the success of a department or faculty. This
constitutes initiating the Recruitment Process through advertising, screening
applicants, selecting the Interview Panel, conducting the Interview Plan i.e.
Interview Scheduling and the Interview Environment, making the Selection
Decision (Candidate Evaluation, Reference Checking) and making the offer.
Research has consistently shown a high degree of correlation between being a
preferred employer and superior financial results. Being a preferred employer
involves the following key criteria:
74
POSITIONING THE EMPLOYER BRAND

The employer brand is an image of the organization that employees and
prospective employees have. It includes perceptions of functional benefits,
economic value and psychological attributes associated with the employment
experience. It is a critical factor which determines the decision to apply or stay
with the organization. Also, it would be aligned to the corporate brand promise
to customers (As per a Hewitt Study, there is a strong linkage between
employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction).
SOURCES OF TALENT
The Best employers practice the philosophy of hiring for a career as opposed to
hiring for a job. They deploy employee referral, internal job posting, internal
recruitment team, external consultant, job fair, job sites, and Company internet
site as the common methods of recruitment for different levels of management.
At the Senior Management level, head-hunters, referrals and internal
applications are the primary sources of talent. At the Middle Management level,
internal applications, referrals and head-hunters are primary sources
supplemented by applications solicited in advertised positions. At the Junior
Management levels, all methods except job fairs are widely used by most of the
preferred Employers.
MAKING THE SELECTION DECISION
According to the Hewitt Best Employers Survey, the Best Employers lay much
greater emphasis on the softer attributes such as fit with culture &
organization values and competencies as compared to the other employers
which is in line with the recruitment policy to hire for career
75
General criteria used by the Top 25 Employers (Hewitt Survey & GPTW Study)
to make the Selection Decision Figure 2.1, Source: The Hewitt Best Employers
in India 2007 study & GPTW study, 2006.
These criteria are assessed through a multi-step process consisting of multiple
rounds of interview with HR, potential supervisor, skip-level supervisor, senior
management and a probationary period.
MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS
Preferred employers in addition to monitoring how many openings were filled
and in what time period, they also use process quality metrics like rate of wrong
fits and performance of new joinees. This helps them tune the process, align it
with the market & business requirements and drive employee engagement.
INDUCTION/ ORIENTATION PROCESS
A key characteristic of effective employers as per the GPTW Study, 2006 is the
emphasis laid on ensuring that a new joinee is completely on-board. Not only do
they focus on the content of the orientation program, but also on how it is
delivered and then followed through. They use the orientation program to
communicate expectations forwards to the employee and backwards to the
organization.
Learning & Development, Career Progression: Provision of a learning
environment with systematic developmental inputs in order to grow the depth
and quality of the talent pipeline at all levels and ensures a higher return in each
role is very important for an effective employer. Training is now treated as an
investment rather than a cost. Research by Mercer Human Resource Consulting
has shown that "Career & Opportunity" is the single most important driver of
employee engagement in Asia. It suggests that people are more likely to pursue
76
alternative employment opportunities for career development than financial

reward.
A key point is the use of opportunities within the organization to the mutual
advantage of the employee and organization, thus stretching the long term
benefit of each rupee spent on training. Also another key point is the use of selflearning tools like career counseling tools, company library facilities, tuition
reimbursements and sabbaticals. This reflects the a preferred employers
commitment to their strong belief that development is the joint responsibility of
the employee as well as the organization
DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING PRACTICES
Hewitts Best Employers invest 82 hours of training in their employees and
roughly 0.25-3% of gross revenue. All Best Employers use multiple sources of
development - external, in-house and computer based self-paced learning.
Percentage of Best Employers Using Each of the Following Developmental
Practices.
77
UPCOMING TRENDS IN LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
TEAM CONCEPT:-
The team concept is useful as a low-cost alternative to formal crossfunctional training programs and helps employees become familiar with
broader aspects of the organization.
It helps to build general management skills, teamwork and can be
leveraged to effectively solve organizational problems through internal

consultants.
Also, according to the GPTW Report, effective employers use
autonomous workgroups where a team of employees works together with

minimal oversight by a superior, to produce results for the company.
NEW RECRUIT TRAINING:-
Newly recruited employees not only undergo an orientation program, but

are also provided with job-related and behavioral skills training to begin
contributing confidently and productively in the job assigned.
EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION SCHEMES: Employee suggestion
schemes, where implemented, build engagement through the driver

influence. Not only are they a source of upward feedback from the trenches
or lower levels, but develop employees as corporate citizens.
TUITION REIMBURSEMENTS:All Best employers as per the Hewitt Report provide Tuition
Reimbursement programs to its employees. Most of the effective employers
also offer paid and unpaid sabbaticals to its employees. While paid
sabbaticals are typically offered to enhance effectiveness of employees in
78
their current or future roles, unpaid sabbaticals are used as rewards for long
serving employees with often no requirements beyond employment.
MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS
The most popular methods of measuring effectiveness of the level of learning &
development in an organization remain periodic user feedback and post-training
performance management data (as a measure of transfer of training).
1)
TALENT MANAGEMENT:-
As per the GPTW report, the selected best employers also have in place
focused programs to develop those with higher potential for contribution. These
individuals are the future leaders of the organization and exist at all levels.
Thus, a high potential program must be supported by a strong performance
management framework that not only differentiates between high and low
performers but also, is able to give a fair assessment of the employee's potential.
2)
WORK ENVIRONMENT:-
Best Employers have transparent and employee centered work environments

that contribute towards building a total rewards experience for their workforce.
Best Employers design their strategy, programs and practices to reflect a
people-friendly
employer-employee
relationship
with
the
belief
of
communicating everything which includes sharing of product or service

information and information on the branding of the organization in the
marketplace with management and employees.
79
DOWNWARD COMMUNICATION
Senior management groups are the single most frequent source of
communication for employees regarding the organizational philosophy,
objectives and related business initiatives. 100% of the companies selected in
the Hewitts Best Employers & Grow Talent GPTW have a formal
communication strategy. Employee satisfaction results are the most frequently
communicated pieces of information including business goals and objectives,
company operating results and customer information on an annual basis among
both management and employees. According to research there has been a shift
from
traditional
communication
philosophy
to
transformational
communication philosophy over the years as preferred employers and many

other organizations have increasingly started believing today that the more
employees know the more they can act independently and contribute towards
organizational success.
CHANNELS OF DOWNWARD COMMUNICATION
Downward channels of communication are widely used at the Best Employers
as per the Hewitt Survey. Employers selected by GPTW Study not only
communicate, but ensure that the message reaches.
Most frequent source used for communicating sharing various types of
information with employees.
80
UPWARD COMMUNICATION
Communication at Best Employers is a continuous two way process between the
management and employees and various mediums are used to solicit employee
opinions and suggestions surrounding organizational issues.
Sources of employee input

Source of employee inputs
Selected
Employers
Employee opinion surveys
96%
Focus groups
88%
Representative councils/ panels
68%
Electronic or traditional suggestion 84%

boxes
96%
Employee meetings (Large or small
44%
group)
Other
Table 2.3, Source: Grow Talents Great Place to Work Study, 2006
Effective employers use employee inputs to influence programs and policy
decisions, manage changes in employee motivation, satisfaction or morale and
make product/service or process improvements. Many of these organizations
also use this feedback for enhancing business performance and evaluating
people program effectiveness.
81
GRIEVANCE RESOLUTION
Preferred employers today aim at creating a positive and employee oriented
work environment to enhance productivity and engagement levels. However,
they do understand that there may be individual employee concerns and
suggestions to improve existing systems and processes.
Therefore, they establish channels or processes through which employees can
appeal or complain if they feel unfairly treated.
Processes which employees use to complain & appeal at the selected employers
EMPLOYEE PORTALS
Preferred employers as per the GPTW Study are strong advocates of "selfmanagement" and provide employees with the technology and resources that
they need to make decisions effectively as well as the tools to implement those
decisions. The use of automated employee portals helps in streamlining
processes and enables key Human Resource functions such as Performance
management, Compensation and Payroll Administration
FUN AT WORK
In order to inculcate the element of "fun" at the workplace, organizations should
recognize employee achievements and special days e.g. birthdays, completion
of a number of years of service etc. These celebrations also extend to the
employees spouse, children and family at a majority of Best Employers of
Hewitt.
82
CHAPTER- 3
OBJECTIVES OF
THE STUDY
83
CHAPTER 3
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To find the role of knowledge in the effective project management.
2. To find the role of effective knowledge & project management to achieve the
desired goals by the proper team building.
3. To find the role of human resource administrator in the project management
team building at the different hierarchy levels of the company.
84
CHAPTER- 4
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
85
CHAPTER 4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The current chapter deals with the research methodology adopted in the present
study indicates the selection of sample respondents, collection of data, choice of
statistical tools for analysis of data, in addition to pointing out limitation of the
study.
Methodology adopted
The research is aimed at studying the Role of Knowledge management in
project management at Baluja Labs.
Research design:
The design for this study is descriptive. Since the study will conducted to find
the attitude of employees towards role of knowledge management in project
management. This is a company as we discussed profile of company, which
dealing in software Development, website Development and Seo .
Sampling plan:
Sampling is an effective step in collection of primary data that influences the
quality and correctness of the result.
Sample size:
The sample size is so selected to give the true picture of the problem. 50 middle
level and high level management employees of the company will be randomly
select.
86
Sampling techniques:
Convenience sampling shall be used to conduct this study. Under this technique
sample of respondents will be chosen to the convenience of the respondents.
Sources of primary data and secondary data:
In this study, sample survey will be conducted both primary as well as
secondary data were used. The primary data is collected by structured
questionnaires, Interview and Observation method. Brief information is
collected regarding different attributes to be considered and questionnaire
contained both open ended, close ended and ranking questions. The secondary
data is obtained from magazines, journals, and internet and from various books.
Here I would like to use two types of Questioners, one for Employees and
another one for Clients.
87
CHAPTER- 5
DATA ANALYSIS
AND FINDINGS
88
CHAPTER 5
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

1. Which of the following functional areas best describes your work
responsibilities?
TABLE - 1
Criteria
Frequency
Percentage
Information Technology
10
20%
Human Resources
12%
Organizational Development
8%
Knowledgement Management
4%
Customer Relationship Management
6%
Financial Management
8%
Sales and/or Marketing
12%
R&D
10%
Manufacturing
14%
Operational or senior management
6%
89
FINDINGS:
It is evident from the above table that 20% sample of respondents think that the
Information
Technology
functional
areas
best
describes
your
work
responsibilities, 12% sample of respondents think that the Human Resources

functional areas best describes your work responsibilities, 8% think
Organizational
Development,
6%
agree
with
Customer
Relationship
Management and 4% sample of respondent think Knowledgement Management

areas best describes work responsibilities,
ANALYSIS:
It is analyzed from the table that most of the employees are think that the
Information Technology functional areas best describes work responsibilities.
90
2. What should the primary emphasis of a KM educational program be in

order to be as relevant and useful to you as possible? (Check all that apply)
TABLE - 2
K M Strategies
KM Technologies
Frequency
8
10
Percentage
16%
4%
KM Tools and Methods
12
24%
KM Metrics
12%
Supply-side KM (approaches for enhancing

knowledge sharing)
Demand-side KM (approaches for enhancing
knowledge production, or innovation)
KM Value Propositions and ROI Schemes
16%
11
22%
8%
Theoretical foundations in KM
2%
Criteria
FINDINGS:
KM Tools and Methods primary is emphasis of a KM educational program be
in order to be as relevant and useful, 22% sample of respondents think that the
91
Demand-side KM (approaches for enhancing knowledge production, or

innovation) primary emphasis of a KM educational program be in order to be as
relevant and useful, 16% agree with KM Strategies and Supply-side KM
(approaches for enhancing knowledge sharing),12% sample of respondent think
KM Metrics the primary emphasis of a KM educational program.
ANALYSIS:
It is analyzed from the table that most of the sample of respondents think that
the KM Tools and Methods is primary emphasis of a KM educational program
be in order to be as relevant and useful.
92
3. How would you rank your own level of experience and familiarity with
KM?
TABLE - 3
Criteria
Frequency
Percentage
Introductory
Intermediate
Advanced
20
20
10
40%
40%
20%
FINDINGS:
Introductory and Intermediate rank your own level of experience and familiarity
with KM and 20% sample of respondents think that Advanced level of
experience and familiarity with KM.
ANALYSIS:
It is analyzed from the table that most of the sample of respondents agrees with
Introductory and Intermediate.
93
4. What is the current status of Knowledge Management in IT Companies?
TABLE - 4
Criteria
Frequency
Percentage
Not in Existence at all

Nascent stage
Introduction Stage
Growth Stage
02
08
18
22
40%
16%
36%
44%
FINDINGS:
44% Percentage respondents feels that Growth Stage is current status of
Knowledge Management in IT Companies Where 40% feels Not in Existence at
all is current status of Knowledge Management in IT Companies 36% believe
Introduction stage and 16% say Nascent Stage.
94
ANALYSIS:
Most of the people believe that Growth Stage is current status of Knowledge
Management in IT Companies.
5. Do IT Companies recognize knowledge as a part of their asset base?
TABLE - 5
Criteria
Frequency
Percentage
Yes
No
Cant say
42
7
1
84%
14%
20%
FINDINGS:
84% Percentage respondents feels that IT Companies recognize knowledge as a
part of their asset base, Where 20% cant say any think about that and 14% said
No.
95
ANALYSIS:
Most of the people believe that feels that IT Companies recognize knowledge as
a part of their asset base.
6. What are the problems of IT Companies?
TABLE - 6
Criteria
Frequency
Percentage
Lack of Information
Information overload.
Reinventing the wheel.
Loss of crucial knowledge due to a
key employee leaving the
organization
Poor sharing of knowledge in the
organization
2
8
12
12
40%
16%
24%
24%
16
32%
96
FINDINGS:
40% Percentage respondents feels that Lack of Information is the problems of
IT Companies, where 32% Percentage respondents feels that poor sharing of
knowledge in the organization is the Problems of IT Companies, 24%
Percentage respondents feels that Reinventing the wheel and Loss of crucial
knowledge due to a key employee leaving the organization problems and 16%
Percentage respondents feels Information overload is the problems of IT
Companies.
ANALYSIS:
Most of the people believe that Lack of Information is the problems of IT
Companies.
97
7. What is the biggest hurdle in effective implementation of KM in IT

Companies?
TABLE 7
Criteria
Frequency
Percentage
Changing peoples behavior from

knowledge hoarding to knowledge
sharing
Lack of understanding of KM and its
benefits
Determining what kind of knowledge
to be managed & making it available
Justifying the use of scarce resources
for KM
12
24%
16%
14%
18%
Lack of top management commitment

to KM.
11
22%
Overcoming technological limitations
16%
Attracting & retaining talented people.
0%
98
FINDINGS:
24% Percentage respondents feels that Changing peoples behavior from
knowledge hoarding to knowledge is the biggest hurdle in effective
implementation of KM in IT Companies, where 22% Percentage respondents
feels that Lack of top management commitment to KM, 18% Percentage
respondents think that Justifying the use of scarce resources for KM is the
biggest hurdle in effective implementation of KM in IT Companies and 14%
Percentage respondents think Determining what kind of knowledge to be
managed & making it available is the biggest hurdle in effective implementation
of KM in IT Companies.
ANALYSIS:
Most of the people believe that changing peoples behavior from knowledge
hoarding to knowledge is the biggest hurdle in effective implementation of KM
in IT Companies.
99
8. The project manager's leadership style should be matched to the

corresponding developmental level of the project team and should
move through successive steps in the following order:
TABLE 8
No. of
Disciplining
Requirements
Staff
Team
Planning
Building
Coaching
50
12
28
Percentage
24
56
16
50
Disciplining
Staff Planning
Team Building
Coaching
FINDINGS:
56% Percentage respondents feels that project leadership comes from staff
planning Where 24% feels its term the Discipline, where only 16% believe its
Team building & 2% say Coaching.
100
ANALYSIS:
Most of the people believe the staff planning is the main thing for the project
success & then is the discipline which Contributes to it. Only same people
believe that Team building is also is also an important role of the HR.
9. Human resource administration is the primary responsibility of the.
TABLE 9
No. of
Project
Human
Respondents
Management resource
Executive Project
Line
manager
Manager
Manager
Team
Dept
50
10
34
Percentage
20
68
12
No. of
Respondents
Project
Management
Team
Human resource
Dept
Executive manager
Project Manager
Line Manager
101
FINDINGS:
68% respondents believe that Human resource Dept is Concerned with the
administration as primary responsibility wheres the 20% people believe in
project Management Team.
ANALYSIS:
Human resource is the main department which is mainly responsible for the
administrative work and other day to day admin Management issues.
10. A mandatory prerequisite for team building is:
TABLE 10
No. of
Respondents
50
Functioning
for Staff
Development
2
Percentage
Shared work
ether
32
Commitment
from top
Level
8
Removal of
Troubling
individuals
8
64
16
16
50
Functioning for
Staff Development
Shared work ether
Commitment from
top Level
Removal of
Troubling
individuals
102
FINDINGS:
64% respondents believes most shared work ethics is the mandatory perquisite
for team building whereas also 16% says the commitment from Top level
management in important.
ANALYSIS:
I t is found for the team to work smoothly it is the shared work ethics which
matter which is supported by management of the company.
103
11. The factor which is the not contributing to the process of project human
resource management is.
TABLE 11
No. of
Respondents
50
Functioning
for Staff
Development
40
Percentage
80
Shared work
ether
0
Commitment
from top
Level
8
Removal of
Troubling
individuals
2
16
164
Functioning for
Staff Development
Shared work ether
Commitment from
top Level
Removal of
Troubling
individuals
FINDINGS:
80% respondent believes that organization planning is least bothered area of the
HR where 16% respondents believe that information distribution is not the area
of HR.
ANALYSIS:
Organizational planning is the area which is out of the bowel of the HR
department. It is the management issue which is resolved at the higher levels.
104
12. The team building is most difficult in the following organizations.
TABLE 12
No of
Functional Projectized Matrix
respondents
Project
Project
Expediter coordinator
50
10
12
14
Percentage
20
16
24
12
28
50
Functional
Projectized
Matrix
Project Expediter
Project Co
ordinator
FINDINGS:
28% respondents feel that the team building is difficult in the project
coordinates environment & 6% for the project expediter & 24% beliefs that are
difficult in the matrix organization.
ANALYSIS:
Most of the respondents founds that project coordinates environment in the most
difficult to handle the situation.
105
13. Project Management is an effective & power strategy & should be

implemented in every organization.
TABLE 13
No of respondents
Yes
No
50
41
Percentage
82
18
50
Yes
No
FINDINGS:
82% respondents feel that the project management is the important issue with
the success of the project where 18% is not.
ANALYSIS:
Monthly all respondents are agreeing with the feeling that the project
management is the important issue to be handled by the HR department.
106
107
CHAPTER- 6
CONCLUSION
108
CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION
Therefore, there is a need to:
1. Information and communications technologies are an important

ingredient of virtually every successful knowledge management program.
An ever wider range of highly effective solutions are coming to market,
including a new generation of artificial intelligence solutions, new flavors
of document management systems and various collaborative technologies
such as the Internet.
2. Successful implementation depends, as always, on giving appropriate
focus to the non-technical factors such as human factors, organizational
processes and culture, the multi-disciplinary skills of hybrid teams and
managers, and the already existing knowledge repository of prior.
3. To remain competitive, organizations must efficiently and effectively
create, locate, capture, and share their organizations knowledge and
expertise. This increasingly requires making the organization's knowledge
explicit and recording it for easier distribution and reuse. This article
provides a framework for configuring a firms organizational and
technical resources and capabilities to leverage its codified knowledge.
This knowledge management architecture is illustrated with examples of
two companies that are successfully competing based on their ability to
manage their explicit knowledge.
109
4. Elaborate on evaluation techniques in order to provide support for

effective solutions to resource-based problems, in particular, resource
allocation, people (knowledge/skill, learning) capability metrics, resource
compatibility metrics; analysis, comparison and management of resource
capabilities.
5. Develop new approaches to project management scheduling which
provide the means for analyzing human resource quality and its impact(s)
on project performance and output quality.
6. Integrate project management scheduling, which incorporates human,
managerial, and organizational aspects, into the process modeling
frameworks. The application of such an approach is very much concerned
with the improvement of project management quality via strategic
management of employee skill capabilities. In particular, this approach
provides the means for improving an organizations ability to plan,
forecast, manage, implement, and control its activities in projects where
capability and compatibility of resources are critical aspects.
7. The purpose of project management process is to define an effective
team structure for a project organizational unit. The team structure
defines the roles, responsibilities and relationships of the people
managing and working within a project organizational unit. An
appropriate team structure will help to optimize the efforts of the team
and the success of the project. An inappropriate one can undercut the
efforts of a hard working group of people and impede their success.
8. The main role of hr in project management is to determine the

appropriate team model for the unit by considering the broad objective(s)
110
of the unit and, if applicable, the work patterns that have been selected.
Note that several mod may apply if the project organizational unit has
several objectives. Plan the number of team(s) within the project
organizational unit and how the responsibilities of the organizational unit
will be split between the teams. Consider how the teams will be managed
within the organizational unit. Estimate the size of each team and
determine the skills that each team will require. The right number of
people in a team depends on factors such as the nature of the work.
9. To manage the project in the better way its the primary responsibility of
the HR to understand how the responsibilities for in this area are divided
between the project manager and any other manager(s) and then either
execute, or contribute to the execution of, the following steps. Review the
Human resource plan to understand the staffing requirements. Focus on
information such as human resource categories, numbers of staff needed,
when needed, special skills, and cost. Review the Agreement to
understand what staff the client has agreed to provide and to determine if
there are any constraints in the Agreement related to staffing.
10. It is the responsibility of project management to ensure that a balance is

achieved between the often conflicting interests of the task, the
individual, and the team. The project manager and the functional
managers must cooperate if an acceptable balance is to be achieved. Set
performance expectations and measurements the purpose of this process
is to develop a set of objectives for the project team and then to assist the
team members and their functional managers in setting individual
objectives.
111
CHAPTER- 7
BIBLIOGRAPHY
112
CHAPTER 7
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. "Introduction to Knowledge Management". Unc.edu. Retrieved 15
January 2010.
2. http://www.crito.uci.edu/noah/HOIT/HOIT%20Papers/TeacherBridge.pdf
. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
3. http://www.ischool.washington.edu/mcdonald/ecscw03/papers/grothecscw03-ws.pdf. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
4. Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows Program; Observations in
Knowledge Management: Leveraging the Intellectual Capital of a Large,
Global Organization with Technology, Tools and Policies. IBM, Global
Business Services. 2002. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
5. "Information Architecture and Knowledge Management". Iakm.kent.edu.
Archived from the original on June 29, 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
6. Snowden, Dave (2002). "Complex Acts of Knowing - Paradox and
Descriptive Self Awareness". Journal of Knowledge Management,
Special Issue 6 (2): 100 - 111.
7. SSRN-Knowledge Ecosystems: A Theoretical Lens for Organizations
Confronting Hyperturbulent Environments by David Bray.
Papers.ssrn.com. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
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8. http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/wyssusek02sociopragmatic.html
9. "SSRN-Literature Review - Knowledge Management Research at the
Organizational Level by David Bray". Papers.ssrn.com. Retrieved 15
January 2010.
10. Hayes, M.; Walsham, G. (2003). Knowledge sharing and ICTs: A
relational perspective In M. Easterby- Smith & M. A. Lyles (Eds.), The
Blackwell
handbook
of
organizational
learning
and
knowledge
management. Malden, MA: Blackwell. pp. 5477. ISBN 978-0-63122672-7.
11. "SSRN-Exploration,
Exploitation,
and
Knowledge
Management
Strategies in Multi-Tier Hierarchical Organizations Experiencing

Environmental Turbulence by David Bray". Papers.ssrn.com. Retrieved
15 January 2010.
12. http://www.cs.fiu.edu/~chens/PDF/IRI00_Rathau.pdf.
Retrieved
January 2010.
13. http://tecom.cox.smu.edu/abasu/itom6032/kmlect.pdf
14. http://myweb.whitman.syr.edu/yogesh/papers/WhyKMSFail.pdf.
15. Retrieved 15 January 2010.[dead link]
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114
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17. Gupta, Jatinder; Sharma, Sushil (2004). Creating Knowledge Based

Organizations. Boston: Idea Group Publishing. ISBN 1591401631.
18. "Knowledge Management". www.systems-thinking.org. Retrieved 26

February 2009.
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link]
Aircraft Technology: Engineering & Maintenance, FebruaryMarch,

2005.
20. Basili, V.R. and Turner, A.J., Iterative Enhancement: a Practical
Technique for Software Development, IEEE Transactions on Software
Engineering, SE-1, (4),(1975) 390-396
21. Boehm, B.W., A Spiral Model of Software Development and
Enhancement, IEEE Computer, No. 21, (1988) 61-72
22. Conway, R.W., Maxwell, W.L., and Miller, L.W.: Theory of Scheduling,
Addison- Wesley Publishing Company, (1967)
23. Curtis, B., Hefley, W. and Miller, S., People Capability Maturity Model
(CMU/SEI- 95-MM-02), Pittsburgh, A: Software Engineering Institute,
Carnegie Mellon University, 1995.
24. Dowson, M., Software Process Themes and Issues, Proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference of the Software Process: Continuous Software
Process Improvement, Berlin, Germany, (1993) 54-62
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25. Kellner, M.I. and Hansen, G.A., Software Process Modeling: A Case
Study, Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Hawaii International Conference
on System Sciences, Vol. 2, (1989) 175-188
26. Meredith, J.R. and Mantel, JR, S.J., Project Management: A Managerial
Approach, John Wiley&Sons, Inc., (1995)
27. Royce, W.W., Managing the Development of Large Software Systems:

Concepts and Techniques, Proceedings of the 11th International
Conference on Software Engineering, Pittsburgh, (1989) 328-338
28. Sachs, P., Transforming Work: Collaboration, Learning and Design,

Communications of the ACM, Vol. 38, No. 9, (1995) 36-44
29. Sommerville, I. and Rodden, T., Human, social and organizational
influences on the software processes. In A. Fuggetta and A. Wolf (ed.),
Software Process, Vol. 4 of Trends in Software., J. Wiley, Chapter 4,
(1996) 89-109
30. White, P., Process Modelling and Process Support, IOPENER, Vol. 1,
No. 3, (1992)7-8
31. Factors influencing project success: the impact of human resource
management Adnane Belout and Clothilde Gauvreau School of Industrial
Relations, University of Montreal, CP 6128, succursale Centre-Ville,
Montral, QC, Canada H3C 3J7.
32. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS David E. Guest.
116
33. Effects of human resource management on project effectiveness and

success: Toward a new conceptual framework Adnane Belout University
of Montreal, School of Industrial Relations, Montreal, Canada
33. The human aspects of project management: human resource skills for the
project manager, volume two Author: Vijay Verma
117
CHAPTER- 8
QUESTIONNAIRE
118
CHAPTER 8
QUESTIONNAIRE
DEAR RESPONDENTS:
I am a student doing MBA. I am underlying a project named ROLE OF
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN PROJECTMANAGEMENT OF
SOFTWARE COMPANY AT BALUJA LABS PVT. LTD.. So by filling this
questionnaire please help me in completing my research project.
NAME (optional): ------------------------------------------------------GENDER:
--------------------------------------------------------
AGE:
--------------------------------------------------------
YEARS AT CURRENT POSITION: ----------------------------------TOTAL NO. OF YEARS IN THIS ORGANIZATION: ------------1. Which of the following functional areas best describes your work
responsibilities?
Internal to an Enterprise
Information Technology
Human Resources
Organizational Development
Knowledge Management
Customer Relationship Management
Financial Management
Sales and/or Marketing
R&D
Manufacturing
Operational or senior management
119
2. What should the primary emphasis of a KM educational program be in

order to be as relevant and useful to you as possible? (check all that apply)
KM Strategies
KM Technologies
KM Tools and Methods
KM Metrics
Supply-side KM (approaches for enhancing knowledge sharing)
Demand-side KM (approaches for enhancing knowledge production, or
innovation)
KM Value Propositions and ROI Schemes
Theoretical foundations in KM
3. How would you rank your own level of experience and familiarity with
KM?
Introductory
Intermediate
Advanced
4. What is the current status of Knowledge Management in IT Companies?
a) Not in existence at all. [ ] b)
Nascent stage
[ ]
c) Introduction stage.
Growth stage
[ ]
[ ] d)
5.Do IT Companies recognise knowledge as a part of their asset base?

a) Yes
[ ]
b) No
[ ]
c) Cant say [ ]
6. What are the problems of IT Companies?

a) Lack of Information
[ ]
b) Information overload.
[ ]
c) Reinventing the wheel.
[ ]
d) Loss of crucial knowledge due to a key employee leaving the

organisation.
[ ]
e) Poor sharing of knowledge in the organisation.
120
[ ]
7. What is the biggest hurdle in effective implementation of KM in IT

Companies?
a) Changing peoples behaviour from knowledge hoarding to knowledge
sharing.
[ ]
b) Lack of understanding of KM and its benefits. [ ]
c) Determining what kind of knowledge to be managed & making it
available.
[ ]
d) Justifying the use of scarce resources for KM. [ ]
e) Lack of top management commitment to KM. [ ]
f) Overcoming technological limitations.
[ ]
g) Attracting & retaining talented people.
[ ]
8. Please rate the knowledge provided to IT Companies by government

/industry associations.
Excellent
Very Poor
Average
a) Relevant Knowledge
6 7
b) Latest Knowledge
6 7
c) Timely Knowledge
6 7
Your
Expert
Comments:
_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_____________
________________________________________________________________
_____________
9. The project manager's leadership style should be matched to the
corresponding developmental level of the project team and should move
through successive steps in the following order:
1. Disciplinary, autocratic, participative
2. Staff planning, team training, performance monitoring
3. Team building, team development, responsibility assignment
4. Directing, coaching, supporting, delegating
121
10. Human resource administration is the primary responsibility of the:

1. Project Management Team
2. Human Resources Department
3. Executive Manager
4. Project Manager
5. Line Managers
11. A mandatory prerequisite for team building is:
1. Funding for staff development activities
2. Shared work ethics among team members
3. Commitment from top level management
4. Removal of troublesome individuals
12. Which of the following is best for handling cross-functional project
needs for a large, complex project?
1. A strong matrix organization
2. A project coordinator
3. A project expeditor
4. Direct executive involvement
5. A functional organization
13. A key barrier to team development is:
1. A strong matrix management structure.
2. When major problems delay the project completion date or budget
targets.
3. When team members are accountable to both functional and project
managers.
4. When formal training plans cannot be implemented.
122
5. When members cannot be collocated.

14. Which of the following is not a process of project human resource
management?
1. Organizational Planning
2. Staff Acquisition
3. Information Distribution
4. Team Development
15. Which of the following is not an input into organizational planning?
1. Recruitment practices
2. Project interfaces
3. Staffing requirements
4. Constraints
16. Forcing, as a means to manage conflict:
1. Exerts one's view at the potential expense of another party.
2. Emphasizes areas of agreement while avoiding points of disagreement.
3. Establishes a lose-lose situation.
4. at and c
17. When should the project expeditor form of organization be used?
1. When the project is extremely important to the organization.
2. When a project's cost and importance are relatively low.
3. When the project manager has a lot of responsibility and accountability.
4. When the organization's primary source of revenue is derived from
projects.
123
18. Which of the following statements concerning compromise as a conflict

resolution is false?
1. Neither party wins but both parties get some degree of satisfaction.
2. Important aspects of the project may be hindered in order to achieve
personal objectives.
3. Compromise is generally considered a lose-lose situation.
4. A Definitive resolution is seldom achieved.
19. In which type of organization is team building likely to be most
difficult?
1. Functional
2. Projectized
3. Matrix
4. Project expediter
5. Project coordinator
20. A tool which links the project roles and responsibilities to the project
scope definition is called:
1. Scope Definition Matrix
2. Responsibility Assignment Matrix
3. Roles Assignment Matrix
4. Project Scope and Roles Matrix
21. Formal reporting and reviews violate the basic principles of project
management because they
A. are customer based and not project based
B. do not appear on the project schedule
C. do not occur frequently enough to avoid surprises
124
D. must be reviewed by a central project authority before being forwarded to

the customer and top management
E. none of the above
22. Project management is an effective and powerful strategy and should be
implemented in every organization
A. True
B. False
125

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PROJECT REPORT ON

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT

UNDER SUPERVISION OF:

STUDY CENTER CODE :

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT

Study Centre Code

I hereby declare that the project KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN

submitted as a partial fulfillment of MBA programme is my original work and it

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT

distinguishes between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge

represents internalized knowledge that an individual may not be consciously

The Knowledge Spiral as described by Nonaka & Takeuchi.

(SECI for Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization) which

Managing an organizations knowledge more effectively and exploiting it in the

The range of knowledge management activities is broad, and touches many

What is new, and therefore makes knowledge management more fundamental

readily lend themselves to the application of information and communications

videoconferencing, document management, online information sources and

The First Generation - What Went Wrong?

Whereas explicit knowledge is that which can be codified into documents,

Figure 1. Two Types of Knowledge

Representative information systems solutions mapped against the

knowledge processes they augment.

A MIND: Assimilation and Interpretation

C CONTENT: Gathering and Retrieval

Booz Allen & Hamiltons Knowledge Online is an Intranet that provides a

Groupware - Lotus Notes

Adding contextual information to data - where was this information used?

Knowledge Collaboration Architecture

CRITICAL PROJECT MANAGER SKILLS

the products development but none have a full knowledge of product

Matrix Organization Structure. Many corporations today have moved toward

While employees still report administratively to their functional managers, they

be assigned to another project. Project managers extract employees from the

The tendency to spread employees over too many projects is precipitated by

Initiating Process Group. Those processes performed to define a new project or

Executing Process Group. Those processes performed to complete the work

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS

Your project plan should include the following elements:

responsibilities, timeframes or resource management.

The project charter should be distributed widely - to anyone with an interest in

Provides a detailed view of the projects scope;

Allows you assign responsibility for specific tasks to team members;

Create interview guide (1/2 day)

Interview learners (2 days)

Collate responses (1/2 day)

Write report (1 day)

Discuss report at weekly meeting (1/2 day)

Revise learning material content (4 days)

Approve evaluation (1/2 day)

When you've finished your Calendar of Activities, look at it objectively. Does

Hours per week

Conduct learner evaluation of skills development content

Discuss report at weekly meeting

Revise learning material content

Managing the Time Schedule

No project manager is assigned. Most project resources are focused on

A perception that project management is "administration" or overhead. In

Lack of awareness of project management techniques.

The following hints may help to keep your project on schedule:

Allot time in the schedule for project management activities - 10% of

4 - The Responsibility Matrix