SPM Chapter11

(1)

Managing people and organizing teams

(2)

Managing people and organizing teams

CHAPTER

Objectives

• Identify some of the factors that influence people’s behavior in a

project environment;

• Select and induct new staff into a project;

• Increase staff motivation;

• Improve group working;

• Use the most appropriate leadership styles;

Slide# 2

Software Project Management

• Use the most appropriate leadership styles;

• Appreciate the characteristics of the various team structures;

• Take steps to reduce unnecessary stress and threats to health

(3)

Managing people and organizing teams

1. Introduction

• Organizational behavior (OB)

(4)

Managing people and organizing teams

1. Introduction

Select Project 0

Identify project

1 _{Identify project} 2 _{Identify project}

scope and objective

1 _{Identify project}

infrastructure

2

Identify the products and activities

4 Identify activity risks 6 Analyze project characteristics 3 Estimate effort for activity 5

For each activity Lower level detail

Review

Slide# 4

Review/publicize plan 8

Lower level planning 10

Execute plan 9

Allocate resources

7

(5)

Managing people and organizing teams

1. Introduction

• Some objectives can address health and safety during the project

– step 1; – step 1;

• Although the project leader may have little control over

organizational structure they need to be aware of its implications – step 2;

• The scope and nature of activities can be set in a way that will

enhance staff motivation – step 4;

• Many risk to project success relate to staffing – step 6;

• The qualities of individual members of staff should be taken into

(6)

Managing people and organizing teams

2. Understanding behavior

• People with practical experience of projects invariably identify

the handling of people as an important aspect of project the handling of people as an important aspect of project management.

• In the real world there will be a wide range of influences on a

situation, many invisible to the observer. It is therefore difficult to decide which set of research findings is relevant.

Slide# 6

(7)

Managing people and organizing teams

3. Organizational behavior: a background

Frederick Taylor attempted to analyse the most productive way of

doing manual tasks. The workers were then trained to do the work in doing manual tasks. The workers were then trained to do the work in that way. Taylor had three basic objectives:

• To select the best person for the job;

• To instruct them in the best methods;

• To give incentives in the form of higher wages to the

(8)

Managing people and organizing teams

The two attitudes were labelled theory X and theory Y by Donald McGregor.

Theory X holds that:

• The average human has an innate dislike of work;

• There is a need therefore for coercion, direction and

control;

• People tend to avoid responsibility.

Slide# 8

(9)

Managing people and organizing teams

Theory Y holds that: Theory Y holds that:

• Work is as natural as rest or play;

• External control and coercion are not the only ways of

bringing about effort directed towards the company’s ends;

• Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards

associated with their achievement; associated with their achievement;

• The average human can learn to accept and further

seek responsibility;

• The capacity to exercise imagination and other creative

(10)

Managing people and organizing teams

4. Selecting the right person for the job

The recruitment process

• Recruitment is often an organizational responsibility: the

person recruited might, over a period of time, work in many different parts of the organization;

• Meredith Belbin usefully distinguishes between eligible and

suitable candidates;

• Eligibal candidates have a curriculum vitae (CV);

• Suitable candidates can actually do the job well.

Slide# 10

(11)

Managing people and organizing teams

4. Selecting the right person for the job

The recruitment process

A general approach might be the following:

• Create a job specification

• Create a job holder profile

• Obtain applicants

• Examine CVs

• Interviews, etc.

A general approach might be the following:

• Interviews, etc.

(12)

Managing people and organizing teams

5. Instruction in the best methods

• When new members of the team are recruited, the team leader

will need to plan their induction into the team carefully. will need to plan their induction into the team carefully.

• The team leader should be aware of the need to assess

continually the training needs of their team members.

• Training need profile ought to be drawn up for each staff member

when considering specific courses.

• Where money is tight, alternative sources of training should be

considered, but training should not be abandoned.

Slide# 12

(13)

Managing people and organizing teams

6. Motivation

The Taylorist model

• Taylor’s viewpoint is reflected in the use of piece-rates in

manufacturing industries and sales bonuses amongst sales forces.

• Piece-rates can cause difficulties if a new system will change

work practices. If new technology improves

productivity, adjusting piece-rate to reflect this will be a sensitive issue.

• Even where work practices are stable and output can be easily

related to reward.

• Rewards based on piece-rates needs to relate directly to work

(14)

Managing people and organizing teams

6. Motivation

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

• Basic needs – money is a strong motivator.

• Self-actualization – feeling that you are completely fulfilling

your potential.

Slide# 14

(15)

Managing people and organizing teams

6. Motivation

Herzberg’s two-factor theory

• Research into job satisfaction by Herzberg and his associates

found two sets of factors about a job:

− Hygiene or maintenance factors

(16)

Managing people and organizing teams

6. Motivation

The expectancy theory of motivation

A model of motivation developed by Vroom and his colleagues

• Expectancy

• Instrumentality

• Perceived value

A model of motivation developed by Vroom and his colleagues illustrates this, it identifies three influences on motivation:

Slide# 16

(17)

Managing people and organizing teams

7. Oldham-Hackman job characteristics model

Oldham and Hackman suggest that the satisfaction that a job gives is based on five factors, the first three factors make the job

• Skill variety

• Task identity

• Task significance

gives is based on five factors, the first three factors make the job meaningful to the person who is doing it are:

• Task significance

• Autonomy

(18)

Managing people and organizing teams

To improve motivation the manager might therefore do the

Methods of improving motivation

• Set specific goals

• Provide feedback

• Consider job design

To improve motivation the manager might therefore do the following:

Slide# 18

(19)

Managing people and organizing teams

Two measures are often used to enhance job design:

Methods of improving motivation

• Job enlargement

• Job enrichment

(20)

Managing people and organizing teams

8. Working in groups

• A problem with major software projects is that they always

involve working in groups, and many people attracted to involve working in groups, and many people attracted to software development find this difficult.

• Departmental grouping seen on organization hierarchy

diagrams reflecting the formal management structure;

• Task group which carry out specific tasks, task group might

call on people from different departments and would usually be disbanded once the task was completed.

Slide# 20

(21)

Managing people and organizing teams

9. Becoming a team

It is suggested that teams go through five basic stages of development:

• Forming

• Storming

• Norming

(22)

Managing people and organizing teams

Belbin came to the conclusion that team needed a balance of different types of people:

• The chair

• The plant

• The monitor-evaluator

• The shaper

• The team worker

Slide# 22

• The team worker

• The resource investigator

• The completer-finisher

(23)

Managing people and organizing teams

To be the good team member you must be able to:

• Time your interventions

• Be flexible

• Be restrained

• Keep the common goals of the team in mind

(24)

Managing people and organizing teams

In many projects, judgments need to be made about which

Group performance

• Additive tasks;

• Compensatory tasks;

In many projects, judgments need to be made about which the tasks are best carried out collectively and which are best delegated to individuals. One way of categorizing group tasks is into:

Slide# 24

• Disjunctive tasks;

(25)

Managing people and organizing teams

10. Decision making

Decisions can be categorized as being:

• Structured

(26)

Managing people and organizing teams

Some mental obstacles to good decision making

• Faulty heuristics

− Based on information that is to hand which

might be misleading;

− Based on stereotypes.

• Escalation of commitment

Slide# 26

(27)

Managing people and organizing teams

• Group decision making

(28)

Managing people and organizing teams

− The co-operation of a number of experts is enlisted;

Measures to reduce the disadvantages of group decision making

− The co-operation of a number of experts is enlisted;

− The problem is presented to the experts;

− The experts record their recommendations;

− These recommendations are collated and reproduced;

− The collected responses are recirculated;

− The experts comment on the ideas of others and modify

Slide# 28

− The experts comment on the ideas of others and modify

their recommendations if so moved;

− If the leader detects a consensus then the process is

(29)

Managing people and organizing teams

11. Leadership

Leadership is based on the idea of authority or power although leaders do not necessarily have much formal authority. Power may either come from person position or position power.

either come from person position or position power.

Position power has been further analyzed into:

• Coercive power

• Connection power

• Legitimate power

(30)

Managing people and organizing teams

11. Leadership

Personal power has been further analyzed into:

• Expert power

• Information power

• Referent power

Slide# 30

(31)

Managing people and organizing teams

11. Leadership

Leadership styles

are measured on two axes: directive vs. permissive and autocratic vs. democratic:

permissive and autocratic vs. democratic:

• Directive autocrat

• Permissive autocrat

• Directive democrat

(32)

Managing people and organizing teams

12. Organizational structures

• Formal versus informal structures

• Hierarchical approach

• Staff versus line

• Departmentalization

• Egoless programming

• Chief programmer teams

Slide# 32

(33)

Managing people and organizing teams

13. Stress

• It is sometimes necessary to put in extra effort to overcome

some temporary obstacle or to deal with an emergency, but if some temporary obstacle or to deal with an emergency, but if overtime working becomes a way of life then there will be

longer term problems.

• Good project management can reduce the reliance on overtime

by the more realistic assessment of effort and elapsed time needed, based on careful recording and analysis of the

performance of pervious projects.

• Good planning and control will also help to reduce ‘unexpected’

(34)

Managing people and organizing teams

13. Stress

• Stress can be caused by role ambiguity when staff do not have

a clear idea of the objectives that their work is supposed to be a clear idea of the objectives that their work is supposed to be fulfilling, what is expected of them by others and the precise scope of their responsibilities.

• Role conflict can also heighten stress.

Slide# 34

(35)

Managing people and organizing teams

14. Health and safety

Some points that will need to be considered include:

• Top management must be committed to the safety policy;

• The delegation of responsibilities for safety must be clear;

• Job descriptions should include definitions of duties related to

safety;

• Those to whom responsibilities are delegated must understand

the responsibilities and agree to them;

• There should be deployment of a safety officer and the support

of experts in particular technical areas;

• There should be consultation on safety;