Project Resource Management I (20)

You have been assigned as project manager on what could be a “bet the company” project. You realize that to be successful you need to exercise maximum control over project resources. You are both a manager and a leader in resource management. This means you must—

• Focus on emotional intelligence

• Model professional and ethical behavior

• Select the team resources with the needed competencies

• Recognize and promote diversity

As the project manager, it is your goal to build a high-performing team. On your project, four of your nine team members know one another, but five are new to you and the rest of the team. As you work in team building, your objective is to—

• Provide recognition and rewards

• Reach consensus on team issues

• Help team members work together effectively

• Try to solve team political problems

Assume you are managing a large construction project to use solar power for electricity in a different country in a location that lacks easy access to transportation facilities. You must make sure all the equipment and other needed materials are available when you need them. Given the geographical location, it is a difficult task. Much of the construction equipment also is leased. As a result you need to—

• Use a lean approach

• Use variance analysis

• Use agreements

• Emphasize marketplace conditions

You are leading a team to reorganize your IT department, so it is more customer oriented. Your team has 10 people. While your team members have competencies in IT, they are not in the department to promote objectivity. In your resource plan, you have a section on recognition to state when recognition and rewards will be given to members of your team. As you put this plan into practice, you should consider—

• Compatibility between the rewards you give and those in the team members’ functional group

• Whether the team charter is followed

• Team motivation

• Cultural differences

Which of the following factors contributes the most to team communication?

• External feedback

• Performance appraisals

• Smoothing over team conflicts by the project manager

• Colocation

You are managing a virtual team. The project has been under way for several months, and you believe your team members do not view themselves as a team or a unified group. To help rectify this situation, you should—

• Ensure that every member of the project team uses the same type of e-mail system

• Enhance the use of technology

• Enhance communications planning

• Establish discussion forums

Major difficulties arise when multiple projects need to be managed in the functional organizational structure because of—

• The level of authority of the project manager

• Conflicts over the relative priorities of different projects in competition for limited resources

• Project team members who are focused on their functional specialty rather than on the project

• The need for the project manager to use interpersonal skills to resolve conflicts informally

Leadership is embedded in the job of the project manager and really in the job of every team member. Assume you are project manager with a team of two people who will work full-time on the project, and six people who will support the project on a part-time basis. All team members know one another and have worked together in the past. Leadership on this team is especially important—

• In the planning phase

• At the beginning of the project

• During the execution phase

• When phase gate and performance reviews are held

Your organization is characterized by hierarchical organizational structures with rigid rules and policies and strict supervisory controls. Individual team members are not expected to engage in problem solving or use creative approaches to plan and execute work; management has these responsibilities. Your organization is characterized by which one of the following theories?

• Ouchi’s Theory

• McGregor’s Theory X

• Maslow’s self-esteem level

• Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

As you prepare your resource management plan, you need to provide guidance and determine the skills and capacity required to complete the activities in the project. This should be documented in the—

• Roles and responsibilities section

• Staffing management plan

• Staff acquisition section

• Competencies section