Extreme Project Management: Enhancing HRM Practices and Processes - Research Proposal Example

PROPOSAL eXtreme Project Management: Enhancing HRM Practices and Processes 1. Introduction 1.1 Problem Statement In an organization, employees may find it difficult to balance their workload particularly during peak season when there are significant and unpredictable demands from customers. This difficulty often result to work-life imbalances and associated problems such as uncertainties, burn out, job satisfaction, and in extreme case physical, psychological, and behavioural withdrawal and voluntary turnover. For this reason, organizations need to adopt new HRM practices and processes that can deal with dynamic work environment. Extreme Project Management or XPM is known to unify the work environment as it encourages practices that facilitate communication, clarity of requirements, and business driven priorities. Its basic components include risk mitigation, scope management, HR management, and quality management (Coe et al, 2005, p.180) thus useful in improving HR practices and processes. However, personal management is valuable to XPM as some of its main practices (stakeholder participation, feedback, team work, and so on) and values can pose significant challenge for HRM (Information Resource Management, 2004 p.412). There is therefore a need to investigate the possibility of using XPM to enhance HRM practices and avoid work-life imbalances among employees. 1.2 Background 1.2.1 Rational There is a common consensus on the relationship between employee attitudes such as job satisfaction and commitment, and employee voluntary turnover (Ferris et al, p.616) which is clearly not good for an organization because it is a costly problem (Mathis & Jackson, 2011, p.54). Through HRM, organizations should therefore consider XPM’s ability to increase and maintain workers job satisfaction and commitment in a demanding and stressful working environment (Mathis & Jackson p.54). 1.2.2 Significance There is a strong link between life satisfaction and work effectiveness thus when employees experience work-life imbalances, life dissatisfaction decreases as well as work performance (Williams, 2007, p.28). According to Jensen et al. (2007), management-supported flexible work arrangements is part of the solution to work-life imbalance (p.70) while XPM promote good social and organization change by following specific set of rules and practices (Stellman & Greene, 2005 p.290). Investigating the potential of this relationship is therefore relevant and significant to counter the effect of employees’ work-life imbalances through XPM-modified HRM practices and processes. 1.2.3 Need for the study As mentioned earlier, there is a need to avoid the costly effect of employees’ job dissatisfaction, lost of commitment, and poor performance and this can be done by finding solution through HRM. However, traditional HRM practices and processes may not be enough to satisfy their needs for flexible working arrangements particularly in today’s stressful working environment. Therefore, a study focusing on alternative solution such as modification or insertion of XPM best practices in HRM is relevant and may be helpful in facilitating continuous employee job satisfaction. 1.2.4 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework Liking a job is a universal and essential aspect of employees’ development as it is the main contributor to job performance, emotional and physical well-being. In contrast, disliking a job contribute to stress and burnout (Haines, 2007, p.7). In the same vein that creating and maintaining an efficient and motivated workforce is highly dependent on job satisfaction and perceived attitudes of employees (Winfrey, 2009, p.9). This is the Herzberg two-factor theory where employees job satisfaction is associated with certain variables in their work such as achievement, recognition for achievement, interesting work, increased responsibility, growth and advancement (Mitchell, 2009, p. 18). Conceptually, the relationship between personal and professional characteristics, job factors and job satisfaction is direct (Dunaway, 2008, p.30). The human capital theory may serve as the basic framework’s structure and some of the key elements of this conceptual framework that often result to either job satisfaction or dissatisfaction include job related factors (salaries, working conditions, professional training, and so on), professional level of employees, and the type of organization and management. 1.3 Objectives The first objective of this study is to gather evidence about current HRM practices and processes designed to maintain job satisfaction and employee commitment. The second objective is to gather information about the potential of incorporating XPM best practices to HRM in terms of flexible working arrangements and maintaining equilibrium between work and personal lives. 1.4 Research Questions a. How effective are the current HRM practices and processes in enhancing and maintaining employees’ job satisfaction and commitment? b. What features of XPM can be implemented along with current HRM practices and processes to ensure high-level of employee satisfaction and work performance? c. Is combining XPM and tradition HRM practices a viable solution? d. Is there any real-life evidence that XPM modified HRM works? e. What are the implications of having an agile-based project management in HRM? f. Is the level of employee performance and retention actually increased by XPM? 1.5 Assumptions and Limitations This study assume that XPM practices can increase job satisfaction, retention rate, performance, and commitment among employees but the ability of this study to confirm this assumption is highly-dependent on relevant and credible sources and the result of field survey. This study therefore is limited by available literature and limitations of the method selected for data collection and analysis. 2. Review of the literature 2.1 Literature supporting the theoretical and conceptual framework The leadership and integrated process model of job turnover can support the theoretical and conceptual framework of this study as it is linking leadership behaviour, employee job satisfaction, and turnover intentions (Westlund, 2007, p.13; Carley, 2008, p.13). The conceptual framework highlighting the causal relationship employees’ personal characteristics, career motivations, polychronicity, and work outcomes (Jang, 2008, p.36; Turner, 2007 p.20; Slugoski, 2008, p.19) is also considered and some hypotheses may be developed during the study. According to Satterlee (2008), it is important to understand the satisfaction level of workers since dissatisfaction can lead to negative impact on the physical and emotional existence of employees (p.10). The correlation between ambiguity and job satisfaction (Lazo, 2008, p.8) is another source of support to establish the notion that participative problem solving in an organization result to better understanding of the work to be done and positive effect on the satisfaction and motivation of employees (Pennings 1986, p.31). Support for the use of XPM in HRM is encouraged by industrial process control theory, principles of complex adaptive system, and complexity theory as explained by the “Agile Manifesto” promoting sustainable development through face-to-face communication, continuous attention to excellence, simplicity, and flexibility (White, 2007, p.135). XPM and other Agile practices is greatly influenced innovation factors (relative advantage and compatibility) that were mainly adapted from innovation diffusion literature while sociological factors (experience level, knowledge or expertise) is mainly from XPM’s evaluation framework (Sillitti et al, 2011, p.134). This evaluation framework consist of various dimensions such developmental, sociological, technological, geographical, and adherence metrics (Remenyi, 2008, p.82). Agile methods like XPM value people and their interactions over process and tools, distribution of work across multiple teams, workforce-related problems, systematic use of human dynamics, personalities and temperaments, and participative decision-making (Stamelos & Sfetsos, 2007, p.155). 2.2 Analysis of Research Studies Associated with the proposed dissertation The “Mutual gains model” of HRM is largely supported by the notion that job satisfaction is an intervening variable between work enhancement and performance (Wood, 2009, p.72). However, this should not be taken as requiring greater management involvement since some research suggests that it entails labour intensification and anxieties through implied pressure to improve their overall contribution to the organization (ibid). It is by addressing employees’ motivational needs by redesigning their work that job satisfaction and productivity is increased. Since XPM is based on the industrial process control framework, it generally modifies, combines, rearranged, and reduces the time needed to complete the work. Primarily, this include job design that focuses on restructuring jobs in order to maximize employees expertise, increase job satisfaction, and enhance organizational performance (Snell & Bohlander, 2012, p.157). By analysis, combining HRM’s mutual gains model with XPM practices based on the same industrial process control framework can greatly improve job satisfaction and commitment considering the impact of motivation and job design. 3. Methodology 3.1 Overview Establishing the effectiveness of the current HRM practices and processes in ensuring job satisfaction and commitment entails a lot of hard work particularly when such practices is to be linked with some relevant features of XPM, results of real-life studies, and employee performance and retention. For this reason, this study intends to use the most appropriate research design, method of data collection, procedures, and data analysis technique to ensure reliability and validity of outcomes. 3.2 Design This study decided to use a descriptive research approach as such type of research is known as an effective information gathering method and ideal for devising hypotheses and identifying associations (Monsen & Van Horn, 2007, p.5). It allows minimal interpretation of information thus generally perceived as an accurate representation of what is gathered and observed from surveys, interviews, observation, and so on (Powers & Knapp, 2010, p.45). As this study’s research questions generally require accurate information about HRM and XPM practices and the possibility of incorporation to ensure job satisfaction and commitment, descriptive research can greatly improve reliability and validity through combination of interview and observation data gathering technique and bias-less interpretation of information. 3.3 Methods of data collection This study selected two descriptive methods of data collection- interview and observation. Collecting data and participating in interview is generally voluntary and confidential in nature thus this study will only rely on participants’ willingness to respond, sharing their perceptions of the issues involved, and honesty. There will be a number of strategic questions derived from the main research questions and included in the questionnaires and will be asked systematically during the interview. Through observation, expressions and attitude of participants will be noted for later behavioural analysis. Ten to twelve participants is being considered for interview and they will be randomly selected from the target organization. 3.4 Outline of Procedures a. Acquire approval from target organization b. Preparation of questionnaires c. Random selection of participants d. Distribution of questionnaires e. Conduct Interview and Observation f. Organize data and observation notes g. Data analysis h. Generalization 3.5 Data Analysis Descriptive data often require descriptive statistics or procedures requiring organization, graphing, summarization, and describing qualitative and quantitative information (Smith, 2008, p.68). For better understanding and easy identification of variations in data, result of data analysis will presented in a bar or pie graph while summary and description will be presented in tabular form. 4. Plan for Completing the Dissertation Task Description Duration in Weeks W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 1 Proposal creation and submission 2 Literature review 3 Approval and participants selection 4 Questionnaire distribution/conduct interview 5 Data organizing and analysis 6 Generalization and finalization of documents 7 Writing the dissertation 8 Draft submission/Approval 9 Finalization of dissertation/submission 5. 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