Introduction:
Human Resource Management is a process that requires management of people in an organized and systematic way. The main motive of human resource management activities is to maximize the productivity of an organization by enhancing the efficiency standards of the employees in an organization. In the opinion of Armstrong, the employees in an organization work individually and collectively to fulfill the objectives of the organization. It is a challenging task and thus an efficient project manager is required for this management of human resource and various other interrelated activities with it. For an efficient project manager it is important to excel in planning, developing, managing, leadership qualities and other behavioral elements. The project manager also has to regularly evaluate the different activities that he conducts and this also involves the correct use of leadership for better results. Leadership is important as it is through this trait that the project manager manages his teammates and provides them with the correct direction.
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Role of a Project Manager in Human Resource Management Activities
The first and the most important duty for an effective human resource management is adequate planning as this forms the base for the entire project. Being a project manager, the first important step towards an effective planning is to recognize the roles and the responsibilities. The process of documentation of the reporting relationship and the plan for the staffing management are the main aspects of a perfect planning process (Aguinis and Lengnick-Hall, 2012). The project manager has to designate these duties according to the roles that are selected by the individuals or groups, according to the capabilities of each person. The process of staffing management plan helps in brainstorming strategies that can be utilized for attaining the team members. This plan also helps in identifying the various needs like the training needs, information releasing needs and the hiring needs. The other main components of the human resource management planning are current human resource supply, Demand forecast, and future demand of human resource. The project manager has to think of human resource strategies that will further help in sourcing and the implementation process (Beer, 2017). The project manager also has to find a correct balance between the demand and supply, this also a gap analysis that will help in narrowing down the supply of the current human resource available in an organization in context to the future demand for the human resource. The final stage of the human resource planning requires the integration process that helps in matching the plan objectives and worth with the organization’s objectives (Friede et al., 2008). For this, a project manager has to practically needs to keen observe various different activities, along with the budget that will be required for the perfect implementation of the human resource planning. The main goal of the human resource planning is to have the perfect volume of staff that works efficiently for making more profits for an organization. The process of human resource planning is a regular and a continuous process that is conducted after regular intervals (Gill et al., 2018).
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The other activity that is required by the project manager to perform is acquire the perfect team for the project. This acquisition is conducted on the basis of the amount of workforce required and the skills that are essential for executing the project with most ease (Guerrero and Herrbach, 2009). The skills are one of the main criteria for selecting the human resource for a project. The project manager has to acquire his team by first identifying the various skills that are needed for establishing a project (Guo, 2018). He has to observe and judge the individuals on the basis of the skills needed. The other criteria through which the individuals are selected are knowledge, experience, availability, interest level and personal qualifications. The process of acquiring the perfect team is conducted in a number of steps. First the project manager can attempt the pre-assignment method that involves selecting the team members way before the project starts (Hoch and Dulebohn, 2013). This method is mostly taken into consideration by the project manager when the execution of the project is determined by some experts who provide their special insight about the project. The second method that a project manager might opt is the method of building a virtual team. In this method the teammates of groups perform their roles and responsibilities without wasting any time on face to face communication or any type of collaboration (Liao, 2017). The communication in this type of method is conducted through the electronic means like email or video conferencing. It is the duty of the project manager to check that there is no confusion between the teammates and he should try to bring more transparency between the team members. The third method that a project manager ca opt for is the method of negotiation. This method requires the project manager to make staff assignments between the multiple projects. This is done to ensure that all the assignment has adequate human resources (McCarthy, Darcy and Grady, 2010).
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This is a very important role for a project manager. The developing and managing can only be conducted if the project manager successfully creates a perfect interactions between the internal and external factors of the team members (Perrewé, 2011). The project manager also have to optimize the entire team environment that is essential for enhancing the performance of the project. The management of the team members also requires a cross cultural management that the members from different cultures does not feel out of place and their methods to different approaches should be appreciated by the project manager (Richman, 2015). A project manager has to manage the team members with effective leadership skills that help with encouragement. Leadership should not be mistaken with the ruling. The process of development is related to an efficient teamwork management. Being the project manager, it is his duty to create an efficient team climate. Teamwork can only be made stronger if the project manager ensures that the communication between the various teammates is appropriate and there is a correct environment that continues through the entire work-cycle of the project (Sanders and Frenkel, 2009). The project manager can undertake a number of methods for developing the team. This can be conducted by opting for certain activities that help in the team developing. Some of the methods are training, co-location, rewards and recognition. It is also a duty of the project manager to regularly perform an assessment of the team performance and also employee assessment is necessary. These are undertaken through the team building and developing strategies of the project manager. The assessment provides with the correct information highlighting the strengths and the weakness of the group and also the individuals. The project manager has to also ensure that there are no conflicts between the team members and should use the correct behavior to resolve them as they may affect the project performance.
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The project manager is the head of the project activities and the members. He is a leader and he has to set examples for his teammates that inspire them to perform better. Project leadership is an important for every project manager. With the growing uncertainty in the environment and the complex nature of the different activities of human resource, project leadership is very important as it helps in dealing with such uncertainty and complex situations (Thacker, 2012). With the changing environment the approaches to traditional leadership is not helpful in completing the various activities. The project leaders have to perform a number of activities to display efficient leadership qualities. The project leader has to communicate a lot. Over communication has to be done, to know the project status inside and out along with the team players. This can be done only if the project manager address the important issues with an approach that does not demean anyone, in fact it should be handled positively. The other activity that is required for displaying good leadership and behavior is to be honest with your teammates. Admitting your mistakes is also a trait of good behavior and leadership. Be honest about the mistake conducted as this will increase the trust of the teammates on the project manager. Also being honest towards the promises that a project manager makes with his teammates. Project manager have to display high standards of commitment that will inspire the teammates to aim higher and achieve them. The leadership quality of a project manager also requires that he should step back in the situation he have less knowledge and let the other people lead. He should be afraid of doing this because providing freedom to the teammates is very essential for a project manager (Zafar, 2013).
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Conclusion:
For a project manager of a human resource management, the core attribute that helps, in each and every function is an effective leadership and the right behavior in various circumstances. The right behavior is essential for handling the different qualities and the different behaviors of the teammates. The human resource management involves a huge workforce and to motivate them in the current direction that is important for every organization, it is essential that the project manager displays strong leadership skills that helps in pushing the employees ahead that leads them to provide the organization with performance that is way above excellence.
References:
Aguinis, H. and Lengnick-Hall, M. (2012). Assessing the value of human resource certification: A call for evidence-based human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 22(4), pp.281-284.
Beer, M. (2017). Developing strategic human resource theory and making a difference: An action science perspective. Human Resource Management Review, 12(1), pp.75-95.
Friede, A., Kossek, E., Lee, M. and Macdermid, S. (2008). Human resource manager insights on creating and sustaining successful reduced-load work arrangements. Human Resource Management, 47(4), pp.707-727.
Gill, C., Gardner, W., Claeys, J. and Vangronsvelt, K. (2018). Using theory on authentic leadership to build a strong human resource management system. Human Resource Management Review, 28(3), pp.304-318.
Guerrero, S. and Herrbach, O. (2009). Manager organizational commitment: a question of support or image?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(7), pp.1536-1553.
Guo, Y. (2018). An Interview with Human Resource Manager. Research in Economics and Management, 3(2), p.142.
Hoch, J. and Dulebohn, J. (2013). Shared leadership in enterprise resource planning and human resource management system implementation. Human Resource Management Review, 23(1), pp.114-125.
Liao, C. (2017). Leadership in virtual teams: A multilevel perspective. Human Resource Management Review, 27(4), pp.648-659.
McCarthy, A., Darcy, C. and Grady, G. (2010). Work-life balance policy and practice: Understanding line manager attitudes and behaviors. Human Resource Management Review, 20(2), pp.158-167.
Perrewé, P. (2011). The role of personality in human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 21(4), p.257.
Richman, N. (2015). Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development: Evolution and Contributions. Creighton Journal of Interdisciplinary Leadership, 1(2), p.120.
Sanders, K. and Frenkel, S. (2009). Call for Papers. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(2), pp.501-503.
Thacker, R. (2012). Introduction to special issue on Human Resource Management certification. Human Resource Management Review, 22(4), p.245.
Zafar, H. (2013). Human resource information systems: Information security concerns for organizations. Human Resource Management Review, 23(1), pp.105-113.
Image References
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