Articles' summary

Project Management

Information system and enterprise
HRM 6133
CRN 2235
Fall 2010
September 29, 2010

In general, projects are defined as work that happens one time only and has both a clear beginning and end. Projects differ from company to company depending on the size of the project, and the nature of the project. The project manager should be aware of the effort, time, and cost of the project and needs to compare them with the outcome of the project. In other word, the output of the project should justify the time and effort put on this project. Furthermore, the project manager should assign a project team that is qualified to complete the project using the giving resources. In order to get the anticipated outcome out of a project; certain characteristics commonly found on every successful project: agreement among the management, project team, and customers. Secondly, clear goal and well-studied plan. Finally, effective communication channel. Fourth, a controlled scope. Fifth, management support of the project. (Verzuh, 2008)
Choosing the right personnel First of all the project manager needs to work with the Human Resource professional in order to get the most qualified people to work on a specific project. There are some options available to choose from: the inside candidates, the outside candidates, or it could be a mix from both sides. In order to determine whom to choose; HRM manager should know current employees' skills set and their qualifications and compare them with the project manager demands. In fact, filling these positions with inside candidates has several advantages, such as their weaknesses and strengths are known, they are more committed to the company, their moral and loyalty will raise, and most importantly will need less training and orientation. On the other hand, hiring from outside the company will boost the company's experience, increase diversity; but at the same time it may takes longer time and costs more, current organization members may fight new ideas. (Dessler, 2008) In order to overcome this problem, managers increasingly supplement their workforce by hiring temporary (Temps) workers. They are less expensive as they are paid only for the time they are actually working. In order to make temp relationships as useful as possible, managers supervising temps should understand current employees' concerns. In a survey, some key concerns emerged, such as • Insecure about their employment and their future. • Lack of insurance and pension benefits. • Unemployment. • Angry toward the organization and its value. (Dessler, 2008) According to the latest research by the Interim Management Association, the number of interim assignments undertaken in 2007 represented a 55% increase on 2006 and it is continue to increase throughout the years (Appendix A, page 9). HR in particular is making good use of interims, especially when it comes to specific projects where they might not have the expertise in-house. Also flexibility that interims offer is a big plus for HR in terms of the working hours and overtime. On the other hand, it's harder to manage interims because they can be much brighter than other employees and they don't necessarily have the same motivations. You have to give them specific milestones and push them to reach them. (Fuller, 2008 )
Team Building In order to achieve project success the project planning and team development should occur as an integrated process while the project is being developed and initiated. In fact, an effective, committed project team and an effective, integrated project plan have long been assumed to be associated with project success. Project success, however, is a very difficult variable to define. On the other hand, Teamwork is crucial to project management; the project team should work together cooperatively to accomplish the work of the project. An effective team could be