Resource Demand Planning in Project Management

Oct 15

Speaking to, and serving as a reminder of, the necessity in properly engaging with resource demand planning is a case study titled "Now What Do I Do With Brad and Kerry?" written by Mento et al., and published to the Journal of Business Case Studies in 2012. The case study being analyzed is one with predominant emphasis upon project management leadership viewed through a human resource management (HRM) framework.

The case study explains that Jason is the Project Manager of NewBuild (NB), a general contracting company that’s recently hired two new engineers, Brad and Kerry, but hadn’t yet assigned them any projects. The great recession’s continuity has placed NB in an economic predicament in which Jason must determine which of the two engineers might be assigned to a project, while the other one may be terminated (Mento et al., 2012, p52). Striving for a systematic HRM decision making process, Project Manager, Jason, who has studied the influence leadership has upon employee motivation, consequently considers the employees’ values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations (VABEs), in addition to their recent performance appraisals, and training results (Mento et al., 2012, p52). However, a problem presents itself.

The presenting problem is having to determine which of the two employees might be assigned to a project, while the other might be terminated due to the company’s financial predicament. Ultimately, the root cause of the problem is one of human resource demand planning, in which NB onboarded two employees without the capacity to assign them projects (Mento et al., 2001).

A psychological contract within a workplace refers to a set of unwritten agreements and expectations shared between a company and its employees, especially as it pertains to commonalities of interests, motivations, and benefit (Enright, n.d.; Stevenson, 2018). Serving an integral role within the workplace, a psychological contract includes an agreed upon reciprocity, however, NB has not provided these two engineers any projects, meaning there’s been a breach of psychological contract that is of the potential to result in declining motivations and indicates a necessity for leadership to consider what aspect of the psychological contract the company isn’t delivering to the employees (Haagard & Turban, 2012, p1904; Towler, 2020). An additional problem exists.

Understanding the values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations of one’s team members is an excellent skill for a leader to have. However, possessing this understanding is not enough, nor is it a great starting point in making such a decision as the one Project Manager Jason is presented with (Cohen, 2011). Wishing to assign projects to the employee with the most potential for success and who can be managed upwards, Jason applies consideration to the VABEs and other psychological elements of the employees (Mento et al., 2012). While the Project Manager possesses knowledge that level 1 leadership considers overt behavior, level 2 leadership considers thought processes, and level 3 leadership addresses VABEs, he is preoccupied with this assessing this third level as it pertains to Brad and Kerry (Clawson, 2008; Mento et al., 2012). This presents a problem, as Jason should, in this HRM decision making process, be seeking to improve his leadership rather than identifying the employee most compatible with his own leadership style.

While there exist numerous alternative approaches for addressing the presenting problem and its root cause, it is critical a company assess each of the alternatives to determine which is best suited. The Mento et al. (2012) case study provides identification of some of these alternative approaches available, while also providing consideration of the advantages and disadvantages each of the engineers contribute to NB (Mento et al., 2012, p66). Jason developed a table which, among other considerations, assessed Brad and Kerry’s commitment to the workplace psychological contract, performance evaluation is considered, and VABES are being measured against one another (Mento et al., 2012). This approach does not consider the employee’s capacities as they specifically pertain to the duties of their position, and rely heavily upon Jason’s qualitative perspectives rather than upon quantitative data.

While the comparative table is limited to the Project Manager's perceptions of the two engineers, its alternatives will examined henceforth. According to the Jason’s comparative table exist two capable and qualified engineers who equally met the expectations measured within the performance evaluations; as it pertains to managing up, Jason perceives Brad as possessing a lessened capacity for viewing the big picture than Kerry, who presents as receptive and intuitive, is (Mento et al., 2012, p66). Jason’s comparative table indicates Kerry as having greater capacity for ‘thinking on her feet’ and possessing a broader vision, while Brad was indicated as passively refraining from taking initiative (Mento et al., 2012, p66). Furthermore, the comparative table indicates Jason’s perception of Kerry as more favorable than his perceptions of Brad are, stating Brad would require more coaching than Kerry would require (Mento et al., 2012, p66). These alternative approaches, accompanied by consideration of the advantages and disadvantages each employee presents with, will next be utilized to develop a recommended strategy.

Presented with such a problem as having to determine which of two employees might be assigned a project, and which might face termination due to economic constraints, a company’s leadership must utilize an alternative strategy for decision making and implementation that is most suited to mitigating loss, and adhering to industry standards. Developing and utilizing a scorecard of each employee’s performance would best inform Project Manager Jason’s ultimate decision making and would ensure he engages in these HRM responsibilities in a manner that excludes potential consideration of his own bias, and is therefore recommended (Gowan, 1955; Mento et al., 2012). Actionable steps for this recommendation might include Jason performing the following strategic approaches:

discarding the heightened emphasis he has placed upon the psychological contracts,
replacing the aforementioned emphasis on VABE with greater consideration of the engineers’ capacity to fulfill the specific duties of the role,
developing and utilizing a scorecard measuring quantitative data rather than the qualitative data he is presently reliant upon (Becker et al., 2001; Dessler, 2005),
including others in the decision-making process, to invite additional perspectives, so his potentially biased perceptions alone do not determine the ultimate outcome (Han et al., 2011).

As the case study presents the available alternatives merely through the Project Manager’s perspective of the two engineers, the ultimate strategic recommendation is based upon limited quantitative data. However, the recommended strategy is for Kerry to be assigned to the next project. While this recommended strategy is founded upon the limiting perceptions of Project Manager Jason’s comparative table, it has been asserted Kerry possesses greater capacity for accepting responsibility, more inclined to be upwards managed, and better able to maintain a broader vision, qualities aligning with both Jason’s leadership style and the requirements of the position (Mento et al., 2012, p66). Despite a recommendation having been made as it pertains to which engineer will be assigned to a project, there too exists great value in the company performing the aforementioned action steps prior to coming to this decision.

As aforementioned, the relevance this case study has to the study of business is multifold. The case study speaks to, and serves as a reminder of, the necessity of Project Managers and other organizational leaders properly engaging with resource demand planning, so as to mitigate the necessity in experiencing the HRM problems presented within this case study. Because psychological contracts exist within all workplaces across all industries, in which employees and employers both have unwritten expectations of one another, the case study demonstrates the value of leaders possessing cognizance of these contracts, but also to the limitations of measuring an employee’s values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations. Furthermore, this case study serves to represent the potential pitfalls of there being merely one leader’s perspective utilized in HRM decision making processes, and therefore encourages broader input.

To Cite this article in APA7:

Drost, A.R. (2022). Resource demand planning in project management. The Braided Strategist. https://braidedstrategist.com/articles/resource-demand-planning-in-project-management

References

Becker, B. E., Huselid, M. A., Huselid, M. A., & Ulrich, D. (2001). The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance. Harvard Business Press

Clawson, J. G. (2008). Levels of Leadership. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1281839

Cohen, A. (2011). Values and psychological contracts in their relationship to commitment in the workplace. Career Development International, 16(7), 646-667.

Desser, G. (2005). Strategic human resource management and the HR scorecard. The University of West Alabama. https://images.template.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/28141756/HR-Scorecard-Template2.pdf

Enright, J. (n.d.). What is the psychological contract? The Workspace. https://www.charliehr.com/blog/what-is-the-psychological-contract/

Gowan, J. C. (1955). Relationship between Leadership and Personality Measures. The Journal of Educational Research, 48(8), 623–628.

Haggard, D. L., & Turban, D. B. (2012). The mentoring relationship as a context for psychological contract development. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42(8), 1904–1931.

Han, T-S., Chiang, H.H., Chang, A. (2011). Employee participation in decision making, psychological ownership and knowledge sharing: mediating role of organizational commitment in Taiwanese high-tech organizations. Confucian HRM in Greater China. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21:12, 2218-2233, DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2010.509625

Mento, A.J., Cougnet, J.E., & De Vader, C.L. (2012). Now what do I do with Brad and Kerry? Journal of Business Case Studies, 8(1), 51-66.

Stevenson, M. (2018). The importance of the psychological contract. HR Exchange Network. https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/employee-engagement/articles/the-importance-of-the-psychological-contract

Towler, A. (2020). Psychological contracts: Effectiveness, implementation and consequences of breaching them. CQ Net. https://www.ckju.net/en/dossier/psychological-contracts-effectiveness-implementation-consequences-breaching-them