A study of the reasons, which fail's employees from making results in the projects of XYZ non – profit organization

A study of the reasons, which fail's
employees from making results in the
projects of XYZ non – profit organization
Report
A.N. Kaduruwana
PQHRM/52/24
ProfessionalQualificationin Human Resource Management
Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka

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Declaration
This research project is submitted as a partial fulfillment of the requirement Professional
Qualification in Human Resources Management conducted by the institute of personnel
management Sri Lanka.
I declare that this research project is my own account of research and contains as it a main
content work which has not been sub titled previously for a Professional Qualification
program at any tertiary education institutes.
When I have used conceptual & material or work of other, to the best of my knowledge I
have given the parties, acknowledgement for using or adapting such material or work.
…………………….. …...………………………
A.N. Kaduruwana Date

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Certification of supervisor
I hereby certify that this research project has been completed by A.N Kaduruwana
(PQHRM/52/24) titled “A study of the reasons, which fail's employees from making results
in the projects of XYZ non – profit organization” in partial fulfillment of the Professional
Qualification In Human Resources Management conducted by Institute of personnel
Management Sri Lanka under my guide lines & supervision.
……………………. ……………………
Priyanka Kumarage Date

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Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following persons
who have made the completion of this research possible:
Mr. Priyanka Kumarage our supervisor for the encouragement, support and assistance.
The staff members and the management of the XYZ organization for their support.
Mr. Shan Yahampath my Boss, for the understanding, consultant and much more
motivation.
All the IPM academic and non- academic staff, for remainders.
All the other contributors for, assisting in the collection of the data and information for
the chapters.
Most especially for my family and friends and all who made everything possible.
A.N. Kaduruwana

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Content
Pages
1. Title and introduction 6 -10
2. Statement of the problem 11-12
3. Importance of the subject 13-15
4. Objectives of the study 16-17
5. Scope of the research 18-19
6. Hypothesis 20-21
7. Conceptual frame work 22-24
8. Methodology 25-29
9. Limitations of the research 30
10. Theoretical foundation and literary survey 31 - 44
11. Findings through research and date collection 45 - 58
12. Data analysis 59- 61
13. Conclusion 62 - 63
14. Recommendations 64 - 65
15. Executive summary 66- 67
16. References 68- 69
17. Appendix 1 70
18. Appendix 2 71-76

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1. Introduction
This chapter is covering the back ground of this research and the organization. And
also this is focus on introducing research subjects, focusing on the development of the
research topic.
Introduction
A project can be defined as "a temporary organization that is created for the purpose of
delivering one or more business products according to an agreed Business Case “in
simple words. People have been undertaking projects since the earliest days of
organized human activity. The hunting parties of our prehistoric ancestors were
projects for example; they were temporary undertakings directed at the goal of
obtaining meat for the community.
Large complex projects have also been with us for a long time. The pyramids and the
Great Wall of China were in their day of roughly the same dimensions as the Apollo
Project to send man to the moon. We use the term project frequently in our daily
conversations.
A project has distinctive attributes, which distinguish it from ongoing work or business
operations. Projects are temporary in nature. They are not an everyday business
process and have definitive start dates and end dates.
This characteristic is important because a large part of the project effort is dedicated to
ensuring that the project is completed at the appointed time. To do this, schedules are
created showing when tasks should begin and end. Projects can last minutes, hours,
days, weeks, months or years.
Projects exist to bring about a product or service that hasn’t existedbefore. In this
sense, a project is unique. Unique means that this is new, this has never been done
before. Maybe it’s been done in a very similar fashion before but never exactly in this
way.
In contrast with projects, operations are ongoing and repetitive. They involve work that
is continuous without an ending date and you often repeat the same processes and
produce the same results. The purpose of operations is to keepthe organization
functioning while the purpose of a project is to meet its goals and to conclude.
Therefore, operations are ongoing while projects are unique and temporary.
The project is completed when its goals and objectives are accomplished. It is these
goals that drive the project and all the planning and implementation efforts are
undertaken to achieve them. Sometimes projects end when it’s determined that the
goals and objectives cannot be accomplished or when the product or service of the
project is no longer needed and the project is cancelled.
There are many wise definitions for the projects we can find out, but with all above
descriptions according to the Davidson Frame we can define projects as a temporary
endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. The temporary

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nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and end. The end is reached when the
project’s objectives have been achieved or when the project is terminated because its
objectives will not or cannot be met, or when the need for the project no longer exists. (J.
Davidson Frame, 1995. Managing Projects in Organizations, Wiley, New York.)
Usually project success is the delivery of the agreed project scope, to the agreed quality
measures, within the agreed timeframe and budget. Technically if you have met all
these criteria then you have delivered a successful project. The significant point here is
the emphasis on what has been agreed in respect to the scope, quality, timeframe and
budget outcomes. This may be organization or project specific, but it is critical that it is
always formally documented so that all parties are very clear as to the agreed outcomes
and the measures of success.
As there are many factors we should have to concentrate when we want to make the
project’s success. Time, Scope and cost can identify as the main three factors which
make all the other factors which are influencing the project and the success of it.
Today all the subject areas are working out in various kinds of projects according to
their needs. And those are different of each other with the objectives and the task of
them.
In this research study we are focusing on the projects works in the non- profit
organizations. A nonprofit organization or else NGO can describe as a voluntary
citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or international level. Task-
oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of
service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate
and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of
information. Some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights,
environment or health. They provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning
mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements.
Mostly these NGO’s are conducting their work as the projects which have to work out
for a making long term impact in the society. These organizations are mainly influence
their projects by innovation, diversity and lesson- learning related to the subject area.
Ngo’s are making their efforts frequently to build up the human conditions higher in
the developing countries. All these projects and the other work are conducting with the
vision of making more comfortable life in the whole part of the world.
The studies about NGO actions conclude that the vast majority of projects assesseddo
succeedin achieving their narrower and immediate objectives: in some studies, over
90% were recorded as successes, and in most the figure was well above 80%.
Most of the impact studies did not attempt to analyze the factors influencing these
project successes. However, one of the British studies did. Though it stressedthat
project performance was related to a number of different influences, none of which in
isolation was sufficient to determine success or failure, it suggestedthat three factors in
particular stood out: the participation of the beneficiaries in different cycles of the
project; strong and effective NGO management and institutional capability; and the
caliber of project staff, their commitment to overall project objectives, their skills and

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the degree of empathy with the intended beneficiaries. ( R. C. Riddell and M. Robinson
with J. de Coninck, A. Muir and S. White (1995) Non-Governmental Organizations and
Rural Poverty Alleviation. Oxford University Press and ODI)
This research is conducting in the Non-governmental organization which name as XYZ
which is operating in Sri Lanka. This organization was incorporated in 1992. After the
Companies Act No.7 of 2007, we reregistered, and our new number is GL 41. We are
also registered under the Ministry of Social Services NGO Registration Act (No.
L16806). XYZ has more than 700 Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim development workers in
22 of Sri Lanka's 25 districts.
Missionof the organization –
XYZ, enhances the capacity of rural communities to democratically identify and
address their own development needs and provides services that contribute to the
economically viable, socially just, and ecologically sustainable development of Sri
Lanka.
Objectives of the organization –
 Strengthen civil society by mobilizing disadvantaged communities, building institutional
capacities and linking community-based organizations with each other and with
external resources.
 Ensure the psychological, social and economic wellbeing of conflict and disaster affected
communities and facilitate the shift from relief aid to self-reliance and sustainable
development.
 Promote sustainable rural development by offering training, support and services based
on the interests and needs of community-based organizations.
XYZ is named as a national NGO ad bellow point makes reasons for it
Decentralized structure means that in most districts we function as a local district-level
organization, but being a national NGO gives us additional responsibilities and
opportunities.
 Coordinate national programs that bring people from all regions together to exchange
ideas, techniques and experiences
 Facilitate regional and national trade links and focus on activities that can stimulate
regional economic growth.
As a national organization they are doing evaluation to find out the success rate of their
work which conducting island widely. At the beginning of each project, a project
monitoring and evaluation plan is developed for progress and results monitoring. For
longer projects, a baseline study may be conducted.
They measure their overall impact through organizational development indicators and
CBO member surveys. Their Research and Learning Unit maintains a national-level
database for CBO monitoring, coordinates participatory monitoring and evaluation

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support services and conducts impact assessments of specific interventions. All the
projects have a summary report and at the end of each project overview report also
make out. Each year end summary report of all projects combines together develops the
annual report of the year.
There is a large rural-urban divide in Sri Lanka. Opportunities, resources, services and
political decision makers tend to be concentrated in urban areas. XYZ focuses on
strengthening the capacity of organizations in disadvantaged rural communities so that
people in these areas are able to access information, resources and services, influence
decision making and catalyze regional change
Target areas of the XYZ organization is
 Remote villages with limited access to information, services and markets
 Villages that have natural resource or livelihood constraints and no support from other
organizations
 Areas directly affected by conflict and/or natural disaster; and
 Areas where people have been relocated or resettled
XYZ have approximately 250 core professional staff and 450 staff on project contracts
or training programs. And also there are volunteers in each area who contribute to
conduct activities. This 700 people are from all the districts of the country that are
conducting the work of the organization the head office of the XYZ, is located at
Colombo and all to gather there are 65 employees as total.
That includes
Executive committee - 07
Management Committee- 10
Project Development team – 16
Program coordinators – 32
Employees who are at the head office, responsible for all the strategic level activities of
the projects and other activities conduct by the organization. This research is only
confine with the program development team & program coordinators who are
responsible for planning & starting the implementation of the every project around the
country, which has 48 employees as total.
Introduction to the topic

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This research is conducting under the topic:
“A study of the reasons, which fail's employees from making results in the projects of
XYZ non – profit organization”
XYZ non- profit organization’s documented data (project summary reports, project
overview reports) of the last 2-3 years are making witness to show that there is a project
failing problem in the organization which has grown little by little.
Management was identified this but they has not concern seriously about it because,
according to their previous experience they have judge that period as a time which hard
to make success projects with the situation of country economy and social level.
But when the time comes up to the current with the problem, now it has grown so high
while showing , this is happen not because of the time period or the country situation.
The projects are not working out in the given time, tasks of them not achieving as they
were planned.
Growth of the problem now tries to affect all the new projects which taken and develop
to implement recently and also making down the current ongoing projects while leading
to make failures.
Major thing is this has become a reason to put down the organization overall
performance while influence employees and the other stake holder areas while making
conflicts among every one.
So the research topic also selectedmore focusing to find out the influence for the
employees from the project failures. As this is an organization which works to develop
people, the activities are more people oriented. So to make a project success is 75% is
depending of the employees who are handling it.
Human resource as the most important resource for an organization we have to make
sure weather it is functioning well or not in the organization because it is make all the
other resources utilization to make the organizational performance.
In XYZ organization also we have find out a problem which make the organizational
performance down while not achieving objectives of it. As the full work of the
organization depends with the employees participation results have to be made by them.
There may be hidden reasons which lead to appear this problem in the organization and
we should have to find out what makes this happen and how can we change this
unsuccessful situation to make achievements.
2. Statementof the problem

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What are the reasons that affect employees to fail in making results of the projects
which they conduct in XYZ non – profit organization?
XYZ is a non – profit organization which provide services to make effective primary
education and poverty decreasing in the rural areas of the country. And the
organization is conducting their activities island wide covering all 24 districts in the
country.
Main activities of the organization conduct as Projects Island widely. The operations of
these projects starting from the action plan are conducting by the program developers
and the program coordinators of the organization.
Program developers are responsible to develop the structure of the project and select
the objectives which they have to cover through that specific project. And they are
making the plan of the complete project including resources, time frame, output,
outcome and the indicators of them.
After deciding all above mention they are handing over the project to conduct the
operation part of it to the project coordinators. Project coordinators are responsible
coordinate operational activities of each project. When they get the project they have to
organize the workers and volunteers to conduct the project and all the supervision must
give by them to while processing with the project.
So these program developers and project coordinators are the main to parties who are
mainly responsible for work put on the projects of the organization.
Within the last four years, reports of the organization are showing that the projects
which handled by the program developers and coordinators were not able to make
results. Some of those projects are not in the time frame, some of them were over used
the resources. And also some projects were not in the fame which decided in the
planning process. Due to this unsuccessful matter employees were not able to make an
out comes as they expected.
So the rate of the program developers who involves conducting projects came down into
a considerable stage. Most of them were not willing to take up new projects with the
responsibility of them.
And also the program coordinators stop being responsible for the operation level of the
new coming projects while avoiding evento look at new once. All the time they were try
to hanging on the old once trying to make some outcome through them.
So the new coming projects were loaded without having a party to take responsible of it,
while the old projects also not working out in return of the effort which the employees
put on them.
So the employees were showing that they were fed-up with this situation and they were
not willing to take up new responsibilities as past days.

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Therefore my research study will be analyze the reasons influence employees which fails
making results in the projects of the XYZ non – profit organization, in order to have a
highly result oriented program developers and program coordinators to achieve success
in the projects of the organization.
3. Importance of the study
This chapter focuses about why this research topic and the research should be
conducted and what are the advantages we can get after having this. Other than that we

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have to describe except from all others why it is need to conduct this type of research
and why it will make value to the organization.
'Success' is corresponding to the effectiveness and the efficiency of the project.
According to Brudney, efficiency is broadly understood as the maximization of output
for a given level of input or resources while effectiveness is directed to the achievement
of goals or objectives. The most common theory to describe this is conception of the
"goals model which define effectiveness by the degree of achievement of their goals”
(Mullins, 1996.p.143)
As above mentioned the success plays a major role when we are conducting projects.
Project can be simplified as a mission whom we have to achieve in a given period of time
with limited resources.
XYZ organization, which we selectedfor the research is conducting 90% of their work
in project basis. Due to this reason organizational performance and the highlights are
total depend on these projects which they are conducting within the organization. So
this projects which are conducted by the organization should be climb up to the level of
success which can show the ranks about they have achieved the predetermined
objectives and the goals.
As we have mention at first a project has everything limitedly. Time and the all other
resources also included to this limits. So if we want to show that our projects become
success we have to done every single thing with in the all limitations and the boundaries
which we are getting for it.
According to Richard et al. (2009) Organizational performance comprises the actual
output or results of an organization as measured against its intended outputs (or goals
and objectives). (Sheryl, 2011)
As a comment according to the definition and the explanation if an organization
carrying out projects, the success of those has a direct relationship with the organization
performance. And also if the organization runs projects as their main function then the
totally organization performance and effectiveness controls by the success of the
projects.
According to the past documented data XYZ non-profit organization has a very good
history about handling and carrying out various kinds of projects under their themes to
make developments in the rural areas. Those are showing that the projects done by
them were well focused, clear and completed attending to the demands which they have
to be achieved.
But within last 3-2 years the documentation data is proving that the projects which are
conducting by the organization is making failures and does not achieve the objectives
which they have looked out. This has not happened just for a season; little by little this
has grown up with the time passes.
As the organization conduct all their important activities to achieve organizational
objectives through the projects, failures of the projects making a big impact in every
area. 80% of the employees of the organization are also working in the projects which
are conducted by the organization.

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If a one project make failures that shows more than 30 people has not achieved their
targets and responsibilities, because one projects has several parts which inter
connected to each other and the combination of all those are coming out as a goal
achieved successful project.
So when a project fails to achieve their targets that both in direct and indirect ways
show that the employees are failing to work out in their responsibilities. This develops
demotivation, conflicts, among employees and also this is rushing to the all-stake
holders who are affecting from the projects of the organization.
If we look at org. performance & excellence in a HR perspective, Ulrich (1998) has very
clearly stated, to meet the increased expectations of their organizations HR personals
must begin to act professionally, they must focus more on the deliverables of their work
and less on just getting their work done. They must articulate their role in the term of
the value they create. They must create mechanisms so that business results quick
follows.(Singha,2003,p.165)
Human resource is the most important resource for the organization. For a project that
works out same, so when we are working out in project people who work out as HR
personnel’s have a major role to play, everything is limited but have to achieve
everything with what we got, so have to identified pattern which mostly suitable to get
more from every resource to make success.
When this most valuable resource starts making conflicts, it will make difficulties to the
organizations from all the areas. The current situation of the organization, is coming
through to it way, while trying to develop a situation like above mention.
That is main point of the management which finds to have a research on this study area
of the organization with the problem statement of,
“What are the reasons that affect employees to fail in making results of the projects
which they conduct in XYZ non – profit organization?”
As organization totally depend their work through project basis, it is very important to
avoid failures in them because it directly hit the whole performance level of the
organization.
So according to the above mention points this study makes a big benefit for the
organization to find out the turning points about making failures in projects and also
the connection between those failures and the employees who are working in them.
Finally we can point out this point also to focus the importance of this.
According to the Taruge (1990) in long term run, sophisticated technology will not
work unless the proper allocation or balance is stack between human and machine

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systems (pg 177) as he mentioned this is very important when we want to want to
achieve the success .(Nora & Imda,1988,p.58)
Project includes a set of activities which has to done in specific time period to achieve
given objectives/goals. For a project everything is limited, so high utilization of
resources is important to make the success. Proper allocation of human and machine
systemplays a major role in this.
4. Objectives

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According to the above descriptions this study is identified to achieve following
objectives.
General Objectives
• To fulfill the partial requirement of submitting the research under PQHRM
study program
A research or study in the area HRM should be conducted by a student at the
end of 3 stage of PQHRM I order to qualify him/her for obtaining PQHRM from
IPM Sri Lanka
Students are expectedto apply the knowledge gained throughout the course in
defining, designing and documenting a business research with suitable data
collection and analysis.
• To understand and apply the knowledge gained by referring the literature
review and by following this particular course into the practical scenario.
A literature review is an essential part of business research report. Each
research student needs to refer books and other reading material and find out
studies that have been done previously relating to the problem and present
summary of findings to show how relevant is the available literature to the
proposed study.
• To present the findings and recommendations to the management of the
organization.
Student has to study an actual problem which is happening in an organization.
The problem has to identify through the information of the organization. And at
the end of the all findings student should be able to find out solutions to solve the
problem, and have to present the recommendation to the management of the
organization to resolve the problem.
Specific Objectives

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• Identification of the reasons behind the failures of projects in the organization.
The problem has identified as the employees who are responsible for the projects
are not able to make the projects to achieve their goals and lead to the success.
So the student is conducting this research to find out the reasons for this matter
which make the organization performance down and unsuccessful.
• To find recommendations to avoid the current situation.
With the current organization’s whole work has gone under performance, while
making the employees and the other stake holders demotivate and frustration. If
this develops with the time the whole organization will face in many troubles.
Student has to identify the real situation correctly and make recommendations to
come out of the problem while solving the problem is ongoing in the
organization.
5. Scope ofthe study

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• Only the head office of the XYZ non – profit organization was selectedto study
the research
As XYZ works island widely they have branches in each district, but to this
research only select the employees at the head office and the back ground of
there to gather information need to complete the study.
• Researchis confined only with the program development team and program
coordinators.
There are all to gather 700 employees working under XYZ, from all of them only
the program development team and program coordinators were selectedto
conduct the research to find out the reasons for the problem which has arisen in
the organization.
• Aim to identify only main factors involve to the problem
There will many factors that works out to make a problem, those can be very
simple points or major factors. This study is carrying out identify only the main
factors involve to make this problem in the organization.
• Study only focus on selectednumber of employees
For this study we have only selecteda specific group of employees in the
organization. From that group also we are focusing on a selectednumber of
employees, because if the number of employees becomes high the research will
become too complicated.
• Study is conducting only through selectedvariables
There can be many variables which can make an affect for research study. But
this study is conducting through only selectedvariables, which involve in the
problem.
 The interviews conduct in Sinhala and needed to translate to English. Questioners
are in English.
The assessment of finding causes why certain projects fails will empirically be done
depending on the following
Factors;

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 Quality management
 Work force diversity
 Coping with innovation & change
 Level of skills & knowledge of employees
6. Hypothesis

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A hypothesis provisionally states a relationship between two concepts in such way the
consequences of statement being true can be testedthrough empirical investigation.
This also gives a tentative explanation to the research problem.
According to the research topic four variables has selectedto develop the hypothesis.
Those are selectedevaluating most affecting factors to the problem of this research.
Quality management is selectedas the first factor which is using to this. When we are
talking about conducting projects, it gets everything limitedly. So use age of everything
while utilizing must be followed. And also when succeeding the objectives, in this frame
we have to concern about the quality of the work which we are finishing. It is very
important to maintain the quality upon to the needed level while achieving the
objectives. Then only the project which we have completed makes a good impact as we
have planned.
So the quality management has selectedas a factor which has developed a relationship
according to the hypothesis
H0 Quality management has a negative relationship with project success/ failure.
H1Quality management has a positive relationship with project success/ failure.
And as the next factor, work force diversity was selectedand make out as a relationship.
When we are working with limited resources, we have to more concern on finishing the
all actions with in the given things.
So it is very important to have a very good knowledge and skills to play this to get the
best out of everything. It a must to concern on knowledge and the skills which will be
most suitable in the right time of the project to make out a good result at the ending
point.
H0 Work force diversity has a negative relationship with project success/ failure.
H2 Work force diversity has a positive relationship with project success/ failure.
As the third factor coping with innovations and changes has selectedaccording to the
research topic.
In the current environment, ever thing is changing and developing so faster. And also
the access to each and every thing has become very easier. So everybody and every place
are looking to make a change to get more highlighted. In this point we have to think
about innovation and change. Both of them are helping us to achieve the above mention
point easily. It is point out to make the best of our product we need form our project
with the uniqueness of it clearly.
So the coping with innovation& change has selectedto build a relationship under the
hypothesis.
H0 Coping with innovation & change has a negative relationship with project success/
failure.

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H3 Coping with innovation & change has a positive relationship with project success/
failure.
Final point which we select is Level of skill & knowledge of employees. These also use to
develop a relationship with two concepts. When we talking about skills and knowledge
that is changing from person to person. So as we have to work out on projects we do not
get resources to be wasted. So we need to get the right skill and knowledge to utilize the
resources which we have.
So that will help us to make our projects success while achieving their objectives and
make the outcomes and impacts through them
The relationship of level of skills & knowledge of employees are mention below.
H0Level of skills & knowledge of employees has a negative relationship with project
success/failure.
H4 Level of skills & knowledge of employees has a positive relationship with project
success/ failure.
According to the hypothesis all the concepts developed are mention below one by one.
H0 Quality management has a negative relationship with project success/ failure.
H1Quality management has a positive relationship with project success/ failure.
H0 Work force diversity has a negative relationship with project success/ failure.
H2 Work force diversity has a positive relationship with project success/ failure.
H0 Coping with innovation & change has a negative relationship with project success/
failure.
H3 Coping with innovation & change has a positive relationship with project success/
failure.
H0 Level of skills & knowledge of employees has a negative relationship with project
success/failure.
H4 Level of skills & knowledge of employees has a positive relationship with project
success/ failure.
7. Conceptualframe work

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The conceptual frame work of the study indicates what type of casual relationship the
researcher perceives between variables.
The frame designed for this particular research is illustrated below.
The relationship between dependent and independent variables answer the following
research question.
Quality management
(X1)
Work force diversity
(X2)
Coping with
innovation & change
(X3)
Level of skills &
knowledge of
employees (X4)
Organization overall
Performance
Project
success / failures (Y)
Independent variables (X) Dependent variables (Y)

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What are the reasons that affect employees to fail in making results of the projects
which they conduct in XYZ non – profit organization?
In this conceptual frame work we us two types of variables which are name as
independent and dependent variables.
Dependent variables are the variables which are moving according to the movements of
the independent variables. These are completely depending on the independent
variables. We use independent variables to find out the way this dependent variable
going on.
According to this research topic success / failure of the projects named as the dependent
variable.
Independent variables are variables which are used to check an experiment. These are
not depending on any other variable. We have to change the conditions around it to
check out the change in it. And according to the change of the independent variable,
dependent variables also make their own changes.
According to this research topic we have selectedfour independent variables to conduct
the research.
Quality management
Coping with innovations & change
Level of employee skills and knowledge
Quality management
This can be define as Management activities and functions involved in determination
of quality policy and its implementation through means such as quality
planning and quality assurance. (A.David, 1996.Quality-management.)
As we are talking about conducting projects, it is very important to maintain the quality
management through them. As we have to achieve objectives with in a given specific
time, the outcomes will be highlighted only if we assure the quality of them. So it is
important to take care of the quality management because with its movement success of
the projects and the performance level of the company depends.

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In simple terms work force diversity can be explain as Similarities and differences
among employees in terms of age, cultural background,
physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
As this is an organization which is Working Island widely, it is very important have a
balance diversity to make the success. All the activities done through projects can use
this factor to make the fullest out comes of them. So variations of this factor also can
directly affect the success of the projects and also the organization performance.
Coping with innovations and change
Innovations can be simply explained as new experiments or new developments, changes
can be a modification. With the time passing everything around us gets change. Today
with the competitive environment, speedof changing increase faster. So we all have to
cope with it to make a survival.
So as we are working out in a project base environment this matter so much, because
the projects are different form each other. And to make a big impact we have to enter
the correct change and innovation to each it. Then only we can make success in projects
at the final stage without any doubts.
Level of skills and knowledge of the employees
Employees are the once who are conducting all activities of the projects and all other
functions. So their level of skills and knowledge affect each of these actions which has to
be perform. Due to that the knowledge and the skills should be developed according to
the need which we have to fulfill. And also we have to compare the current situation to
update both the knowledge and skills.
This also can work out highly to make the project success or failure, which will affect
the organization performance.
8. Methodology

25
Researchmethodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be
understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically.
In it we study the various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying
his research problem along with the logic behind them. It is necessary for the researcher
to know not only the research methods/techniques but also the methodology.
Researchers not only need to know how to develop certain indices or tests, how to
calculate the mean, the mode, the median or the standard deviation or chi-square, how
to apply particular research techniques, but they also need to know which of these
methods or techniques, are relevant and which are not, and what would they mean and
indicate and why.
Population
Traditionally, one's membership in a population is self-defined, influenced by concepts
such as race and ethnicity; gender, sex and sexual orientation; geographic location or
origin; socioeconomic and educational status; or language, culture, and religion.
For research purposes, the definition of a population depends on the context of the
study. For example, a worldwide study might refer to those individuals living within the
continental United States as one population (i.e., Americans), and to particular
racial/ethnic groups (i.e., African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans) as
subgroups.
A geneticist might define a population as "a local group of … organisms sharing a
common gene pool" (King & Satisfied, 2002), while an anthropologist might define a
population as a group of people who share a common language and can communicate
with each other (Jobling et al., 2004, p. 276).
To conduct this research study in XYZ non-profit organization we have selecteda part
form the total population of the organization.
As this is a company working island widely it has all together nearly 700 employees
work with in. But this research is only targeting the employees who are directly
reporting to the head office of the organization which is functioning from the Colombo.
XYZ non- profit organization head office has 65 employees as total number.
Executive committee- 07
Management- committee- 10
Project development team- 16
Program coordinators- 32
From all above 65 this research only confines with the project development team and
the program coordinators.
Project development team – 16
Program coordinators – 32

26
Total population - 48
Sampling is the process of selecting units (e.g., people, organizations) from a population
of interest so that by studying the sample we may fairly generalize our results back to
the population from which they were chosen. (Social research method, 2008)
Normally when we are conducting research we are not using the total population, we
are selecting part of population by using a sampling technique and use that part as the
sample to conduct the research and make findings.
Why should we not use the population as the focus of study? There are at least four
major reasons to sample. First, it is usually too costly to test the entire population. The
second reason to sample is that it may be impossible to test the entire population. The
third reason to sample is that testing the entire population often produces error. Thus,
sampling may be more accurate.
The final reason to sample is that testing may be destructive.
Within any of the types of frame identified above, a variety of sampling methods can be
employed, individually or in combination. Factors commonly influencing the choice
between these designs include:
 Nature and quality of the frame
 Availability of auxiliary information about units on the frame
 Accuracy requirements, and the need to measure accuracy
 Whether detailed analysis of the sample is expected
 Cost/operational concerns
According to this research researcher is using stratified random sample method to
identify the sample population.
This is a method of sampling that involves the division of a population into smaller
groups known as strata. In stratified random sampling, the strata are formed based
on members' shared attributes or characteristics. A random sample from each stratum
is taken in a number proportional to the stratum's size when compared to the
population. These subsets of the strata are then pooled to form a random sample.
The main advantage with stratified sampling is how it captures key population
characteristics in the sample. Similar to a weighted average, this method of sampling
produces characteristics in the sample that are proportional to the overall population.
Stratified sampling works well for populations with a variety of attributes, but is
otherwise ineffective, as subgroups cannot be formed.
In this research we are taking only 30% as sample from the total population.

27
SAMPLE = POPULATION * 30%
Total population = 48
Sample population= 30
As a percentage = 30/48*100
= 62.5
= 63
Projectdevelopment team
(total – 16) 63/100 * 16 = 10.08 10
Program coordinators =
(total – 32) 63/100* 32 = 20.16 20
Collection of data
Data collection describes a process of preparing and collecting data as a part of process
improvement or a project or a research.

28
The purpose of data collection is to obtain information to keeprecords, to make
decisions about important issues, and process information in order to get ideas and to
pass information to others.
There are two types of data which we collected in the researches. Those are primary
data and secondary data.
Primary data is information collected by the researcher directly through instruments
such as surveys, interviews, focus groups or observation. Tailored to his specific needs,
primary research provides the researcher with the most accurate and up-to-date data.
Secondary data, on the other hand, is basically primary data collected by someone else.
Researchers reuse and repurpose information as secondary data because it is easierand
less expensive to collect. However, it is seldom as useful and accurate as primary data.
When describing the expertise of data analysts, it is not uncommon to distinguish
between primary and secondary data analytics. Primary data analytics involves the
ability to analyze data for the purpose by which it has been collected. Secondary
data analytics involves identifying "secondary data sources" to solve a new problem and
then the ability to re-purpose that data.
Primary data is a data which is created for the first time and there is no previous source
available. Secondary data is a readily available data like data from trade directories,
statistics from websites etc. In Dissertation Literature review is done through secondary
data which includes the contents such as theories, models, compilation, research
findings by some other scholar etc.
Researcheris using two types of methods to gather primary data for the research.
-Structured questionnaires
-In- depth Interviews
Closed or Structured Questionnaires are a quantitative method of research, which was
advocated by Emile Durkheim(1858 - 1917). It is a positivist research method.
It includes the low level of involvement of the researcher and high number of
respondents.
In-depth interviewing is a method of qualitative research in which the researcher asks
open-ended questions orally and records the respondent's answers. Interviewing is
typically done face-to-face, but can also be done via telephone. In-depth interviews are
different from survey interviews in that they are less structured. In contrast to survey
interviews, where the questionnaires are rigidly structured, in-depth qualitative
interviews are flexible and continuous. They are not locked in stone and are often not
prepared in advance.
To gather secondary data the researcher is using
- Company profile & website
- Company project briefreport (2010)

29
- Project summary reports
- Project over viewreports
- Books, Newspaper articles, web sites
9. Limitations of the study

30
Limitations of the study describes about the boundaries which we have to face when we
are going to conduct this research topic in the XYZ non – profit organization. Due to
the limitation we have to be specific to a certain areas to conduct this research. IF not
because of the boundaries difficulties we have to face to completing this higher.
 The research is conducting in a non-profit organization which activates island widely.
And the selected employee group is who is in charge ofsupervisor level ofthe projects.
So these people are going to various areas in the country. Due to this reason it becomes
harder to gather them to fill questioner forms with in two three times.
 And most ofthe employees are not fluent in English language, all the work ofthe
organization also conducts in Sinhala. So the questioner forms should have to translate
in to Sinhala and all the interviews also should conduct by Sinhala and translations have
to be done.
 As most ofthe employeeshave not experienced research like these conducting
questioners,they were expressing various kinds ofideas regarding this. So it becomes
harder to explain them what is the need of conducting this and the value ofthe research.
 Time period was not enough to gather all the related data, as this organization work
covering the full country. Employees are spread out with their responsibilitiesand it
became harder to gather them with in a period of2 months.
 The participants who are selected for the research were include for different education
levels, so their views for the question which were ask has a huge gap and that may be
effect for the findings also at the end.
10. Theoreticalfoundation and literary survey

31
Project management is the defining factor of an organization’s success. It a meter that
gauges the potential risks and finds the solutions to overcome them. Project
management is essentially a plan that forms the firm footing for an organization to
climb the ladder of success. Every organization has to chalk out its own plan to
accomplish its predetermined goals and objectives. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all plan
that can be blindly followed. It is the difference in planning and execution of project
management that yields the desired results.
There are many important which we can count down if we are taking about handling
project management. Project management provides a roadmap for the journey of
success. It is the greatest resource that allows the manager to understand the available
resources and the methods to use them with the demands. Thus, with a plan in hand, it
is easy to utilize the resources in the optimum possible way. Project management, prior
to launching a project, identifies the irrelevant costs, reduces wastage of resources and
thus ensures cost-effectiveness in the longer run.
Trustworthy quality of products is a way of retaining the existing clientele and adding
to the same. Project management keeps the quality of products in constant check, thus
ensuring better productivity in terms of quality and quantity. This not only helps the
company in earning goodwill for a lifetime, but also promises customer satisfaction.
Several project management plans use tools such as six sigma to improve its processes
and eliminate the defects, to enhance their productivity.(H.J.Yazici,(2009),Industrial
Engineering)
Every business is faced with risks of loses due to various reasons. However, with a
strategy in place, gauging the risks is easier and making diversions from the same is
easier as well. This maintains stable work in progress. By planning and analyzing, a
project manager can mitigate risks and be a part of fair business competition. Project
management helps in identification of loopholes and potential threats. Once these are
singled out, the management can then take decisions to change strategies to erase risks
that can negatively affect the productivity and business interests at large.
Every organization sketches its goals and objectives, which is the basis of earning profits
and making a way towards growth. Project management is the key tool for achieving
predetermined targets in a structured way. It decides the strategies that will be used to
reach the goal in the fastest way. It is a structured way of getting to your objectives.
Project management goes through five stages which are; initiation, planning and design,
executing, monitoring and controlling, closing and project control systems. After the
allocation of the task, the project manager is responsible for drawing out a project
management plan in the aforementioned order. He must also hire a team for delegation
of work and to supervise the work thereafter. (Emerald, 1998)
Project management is a branch of management which uses various management tools
such as budgeting, allocating and optimization to fulfill a defined goal for a shorter
period of time. The importance of project management in organizations is seen through
quality of products, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction, efficiency in

32
business, mitigation of risks involved and a successful business in totality. The positive
nature of all these factors of an organization explains why project management is
important. Management of any kind always helps in painting a clear picture of what is
available, what is required and what is the way to get there, and a true leader will
always know it. As Stephen Covey rightly said, Management is efficiency in climbing
the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the
right wall.
One of the key features of anything that qualifies as a project is that it has a definite
start and a definite end. In ancient days, the Egyptians and Romans were the champions
of project management. Their projects primarily consisted of construction of
architectural structures that had no precedence to follow. And almost all of their
projects were long haul projects. But still they carried out those projects with acute
precision and accuracy.
It would have been simple for them to achieve all that probably because they divided a
whole project into many smaller projects and conducted on-going project reviews.
Project managers should allot some time in their project schedules for reviews where
they ask the following fundamental but important questions:
 What is the objective of the project?
 Have we allotted the best possible resources?
 Is this the best approach or does anyone have a better solution?
 Do we need to incorporate requirement change?
 Do we need to revise the project plan and schedule?
It is also recommended that the project managers get an “alligator” peer review done to
catch any hidden alligators lurking to pounce at the end of a project. To get an alligator
review done, it is advised that the project managers find a fellow project manager
(reviewer) who can spend a day or two to review the project and is not afraid of giving a
brutally honest feedback. It will then be up to the project manager to take a call on his
peer’s review feedback. (L. Jhon)
Getting a peer review done can be really helpful. A peer review is usually an unbiased
and a fresh perspective which can identify risks that you may have missed out and/or
provision for any event that has already occurred but the results of which have not yet
surfaced.
Experts advise that any project that is longer than a year should have more than one
on-going review.
Post project reviews are more common. It is important for project managers and team
members to take stock of things that went well and those that created bottlenecks at the
end of a project.
The project managers must make a list of ‘lessons learned’ and document it too.
Broadly, some of the typical elements of a post project review are:
 To prepare a feedback mechanism for gathering the team’s response

33
 To identify things that went well
 To identify things that struggled and created bottlenecks
 To identify things that met with failure
 To compare requirement specifications with the end result and measure the deviation
Just like the post project review, on-going project reviews are highly recommended so
that the same ‘lessons learned’ can be implemented within the same project to minimize
project issues pertaining to:
 Delivery schedule
 Budget
 Deviation from the requirements
 Overall impact on business
So much said and done for the projects which have a definite start and a definite end.
But not all projects may have a start and an end date. Many projects turn into long-
term maintenance projects after the development stage is over. Such projects also need
reviews at specific intervals so that the team members have a clear picture of what is
expected of them at different stages. Reviews will help team members to put in their
best performance.
Unless reviews are done often, and ‘lessons learned’ are documented and conveyed
properly, the complete process of doing a project review is a waste of efforts. Whereas
post project reviews are more common, on-going project reviews should be given high
priority too. As Winston Churchill said, “All men make mistakes, but only wise men
learn from their mistakes.” So, isn’t it better if the lessons learnt can be implemented
earlier for avoiding project issues in a current project? (Boot strap today, 2010.)
Project management is the art of managing the project and its deliverables with a view
to produce finished products or service. There are many ways in which a project can be
carried out and the way in which it is executed is project management.
Project management includes: identifying requirements, establishing clear and
achievable objectives, balancing the competing demands from the different stakeholders
and ensuring that a commonality of purpose is achieved. It is clear that unless there is a
structured and scientific approach to the practice of management, organizations would
find themselves adrift in the Ocean called organizational development and hence would
be unable to meet the myriad challenges that the modern era throws at them. Hence, the
importance of project management to organizations cannot be emphasized more and
the succeeding paragraphs provide some reasons why organizations must take the
practice of project management seriously. (Sheryl, 2011)
Without a scientific approach to the task of managing the projects and achieving
objectives, it would be very difficult for the organizations to successfully execute the
projects within the constraints of time, scope and quality and deliver the required

34
result. In other words, there has to be a framework and a defined way of doing things to
ensure that there is a structure to the art of project management.
Thus, project management is about creating structure and managing the project
commitments and the delivery of agreed upon results. By using the methods of project
management as described in the PMBOK and allied technical journals, organizations
can seek to achieve control over the project environment and ensure that the project
deliverables are being managed. Managers face what is known as the “triple
constraint”. This is the competing demands of time, scope and quality upon the project
manager’s list of things to do and how well the project manager manages these
constraints goes a long way in determining the success of the project. Without the use of
Project Management, managers and organizations would find themselves facing an
unpredictable and chaotic environment over which they have little control. Thus,
Project Management is both necessary and essential to the success of the project.
(Sheryl, 2011)
Project Management is too big an area to be covered in a few pages and the attempt is
to provide concise and lucid definitions of the various terms and terminologies
associatedwith a project. It is important to note that project management provides a
framework within which subsequent actions by the organization can be taken and in
this way, it is essential for organizations to adopt the framework provided by the
practice of project management.
There are several components of project management that encompass the spectrum of
project management. Right from the initial setting up of the project to the closure, each
phase brings a new set of challenges and components to the art of project management.
Specifically, the project manager has to manage the team and take bottom-line
responsibility for the deliverables along with managing the stakeholders of the project.
If we take each of these components individually, the initial setting up of the project
involves establishing procedures and processes for subsequent phases and defining the
roles of the team members. In organizations that lay emphasis on processes, this phase
is crucial to the success of the project. There are many organizations that subscribe to
the SEI-CMM guidelines on processes and these organizations take measures to ensure
that they are in tune with the guidelines. (Trevroberts, 20012)
There has been much debate about what Project Manager can or cannot do. And the
argument also centered around on whether to take a proactive or a subdued approach
towards the issues surrounding the management of the project. The proactive approach
favors an interventionist and hands on approach that includes intervening in day to day
affairs of the project.
Role of the Project Manager

35
This approach is manifested in many industries where the Project Manager is called
upon to involve themselves in the technical aspects of the project that would include
participating in design, coding and other activities. (Nero, 2010) This phenomenon
cannot be said to be restricted to the IT industry alone as there are several instances in
the other sectors where the Project Manager has to get their hands dirty, literally and
metaphorically.
There are organizations that define the role of the project manager clearly and
delineate the roles and responsibilities. This usually happens in Matrix organizations
where the structure of the organization is such that there is lot of emphasis on clarity of
the role. Thus, after a review of the literature, it would seemthat there is no single
answer to the question of whether the project manager has to be at the center of the
universe or like a conductor directing the symphony.
Stakeholder Management
In this section, we look at the specifics of managing the stakeholders for the project.
Any project has multiple stakeholders that need to be taken care. A stakeholder is
someone who has either invested in the project and derives value from the outcome or a
third party who contributes to the success and conversely to the failure of the project.
The first task before the Project Manager is to ensure that the stakeholders are clearly
identified and then their roles and responsibilities demarcated and delineated. The task
of identifying the stakeholders assumes importance as there should not be any confusion
over who is a stakeholder and who is not. For instance, an IT project would have the
stakeholders listed right from the systems and the network administrators to the client
and the project sponsor. But, there might be other stakeholders like the staffing team
who flit in and out of the project phases as and when they are required.
Thus, the need is to establish boundaries and identify the roles of the different
stakeholders appropriately. Apart from this, the project manager must make it a point
to ensure that stakeholders are categorized according to their importance and relevance
to the project and the start of each phase accordingly.
Stakeholder satisfaction should be the bottom-line goal towards which the project
managers must work to. Customer satisfaction and customer delight are some of the
phrases that are used as an adjunct to good project management and its practice.
Customer delight is achieved when one measures up to the needs of the customer and
takes appropriate steps to ensure that they are met. (Management study guide, 2010)
There are many methods we found about conducting successful projects. From all of
them THE PROJECT SUCCESS MENTHOD is taking a major place.

36
THE PROJECT SUCCESS METHOD consists of three integrated management
processes by which projects are clearly defined, thoroughly planned, and proactively
controlled during execution. This proven, proprietary project management
methodology employs a consensus-building approach that promotes: 1) team ownership
of the project, 2) the development of an actionable project plan, 3) team commitment to
the plan, 4) a disciplined and tenacious approach to project control, and 5) a sense of
mutual accountability and support within the team. (Pauli Alin&John E. Taylor, 2012
p.155)
As mentioned above this method own three phrases.
1) Project Success First Step Process (formation of the project team, appointment of the
project manager, and development of the project charter)
2) Planning Process
3) Control Process
As this is a well-developed and manageable method there are many methods which we
can identified regarding its actions,
 CLEAR ANALYSIS and documentation of project scope, objectives, stakeholders,
constraints, and risks
 A PARTICIPATIVE APPROACH to planning, which ensures a better plan, as well as
the team members' commitment to the plan
 A SUPERIOR APPROACH to developing the project schedule, evenwith very tight
deadlines
 CLEAR RESPONSIBILITIES and performance expectations for team members
 A PROACTIVE APPROACH to project control that identifies and solves problems as
early as possible
 STRONG TEAMWORK
 DISCIPLINE AND CONSISTENCY of approach across all projects in the organization
 REDUCED CHAOS, stress, frustration, and conflict

37
 AND, THE BOTTOM LINE - projects completed successfully with respect to quality,
time, and cost
The methodology is proven in practice, based on its application in thousands of
strategic, complex projects in all types of business organizations. The Project Success
methodologies are essential when you cannot afford to fail on a mission critical project.
PSI's Project Success Method has proven successful in complex, business-critical
projects in a wide variety of industries over the last 25 years. PSI's clients include
manufacturers of heavy equipment, electronics, aircraft components, paper products,
beverages, and many other products. Also included are electric and gas utilities, hotel
and restaurant chains, and companies in the financial services, telecommunications, real
estate, entertainment, and transportation industries.
The Project Success Method has proven effective in a vast array of project applications,
including new product development and introduction, IT systems development and
implementation, process improvement initiatives, marketing programs, engineering and
architectural design, construction and renovation, facility relocations and startups,
mergers and acquisitions, major industrial maintenance, and special events.
Organizations that leverage The Project Success Method achieve benefits that fall
into three categories:
Project level benefits
Individual projects completed successfully - in accordance with scope and quality
specifications, on time, and within budget.
Organizational and personnel level benefits
 Documented plans and schedules
 Clear scope and objectives
 Clarified roles and performance expectations
 Mutual accountability and support among team members
 Improved communication
 Workload better matched to resource availability

38
 More effective problem prevention, detection, and solution
 Continuous improvement in project planning and execution
 Improved morale due to reduced frustration, stress and conflict
Strategic benefits
 Financial payoff, including reduced opportunity costs
 Improved quality
 Increased customer satisfaction and good will
 Uncovered weaknesses in organizational functions and processes, which can become
targets for improvement
 Strategic marketing advantage
THE THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PRESENT UNDERLYING THEORY
In prior literature, it has been generally seenthat there is no explicit theory of project
management. We argue that it is possible to precisely point out the underlying
theoretical foundation of project management as espousedin the PMBOK by PMI and
mostly applied in practice (2002b). This foundation can be divided into a theory of
project and a theory of management. The theory of project 3 is provided by the
transformation view on operations. In the transformation view, a project is
conceptualized as a transformation of inputs to outputs. There are a number of
principles, by means of which a project is managed. These principles suggest, for
example, decomposing the total transformation hierarchically into smaller
transformations, tasks, and minimizing the cost of each task independently.
We contend that understanding of management is based on three theories:
management-as-planning, the dispatching model and the thermostat model. In
management-as-planning, management at the operations level is seento consist of the
creation, revision and implementation of plans. This approach to management views a
strong causal connection between the actions of management and outcomes of the
organization. The dispatching model assumes that planned tasks can be executed by a
notification of the start of the task to the executor.
The thermostat model is the cybernetic model of management control that consists of
the following elements: there is a standard of performance; performance is measured at

39
the output; the possible variance between the standard and the measured value is used
for correcting the process so that the standard can be reached.
Table 1: The underlying theory of project management
Subject of theory Theory
Project Transformation.
Planning
Management Management-as-planning
Execution Classical communication theory
Control Thermostat model
This underlying theoretical foundation of project management (Table 1) has been
evaluated through four sources of evidence: (1) the plausibility and consistency of the
theory in itself; (2) empirical validity; (3) competing theories; and (4) alternative
methods based on competing theories (Koskela and Howell 2002b). The evidences from
these four sources turn out to be strikingly consonant, indicating that the underlying
theoretical foundation of project management is deficient.
Basedon the understanding provided by competing theories and on the empirical
evidence, the hidden assumptions of the underlying theory of project management can
be revealed. Unfortunately, many of these assumptions are valid only in exceptional
situations. These wrong assumptions lead directly to several kinds of problems in
practical project management. Those problems are thus self-inflicted, caused by the
very theories and methods we are relying on.
Basedon this evidence, it is argued that the present underlying foundation is obsolete
and has to be substituted by a wider and more powerful theoretical foundation: a
paradigmatic transformation of the discipline of project management is needed.
TOWARDS A NEW THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
What then would be the wider and more powerful theoretical foundation for project
management? Basedon analysis of the weaknesses of the present foundation and
consideration of competing theories and methods (Koskela and Howell 2002b), we
propose – as a starting point - to include the theories indicated in Table 3 into the new
foundation.
Table 2: Ingredients of a new theoretical foundation of project management

40
Subject of theory Relevant theories
Project Transformation Flow
Value generation
Management
Planning Management-as-planning
Management-as-organizing
Execution Classical communication theory
Language/action perspective
Control Thermostat model
Scientific experimentation model
Regarding the theory of project, the (partial) models of operations as flow and value
generation add the consideration of time, variability and customer to the
conceptualization provided by the transformation model (Koskela 2000). Similarly, the
theoretical foundation of management has to be extended. Regarding planning, the
approach of management-as-organizing adds the idea of human activity as inherently
situated (Johnston and Brennan 1996). Thus, planning should also focus on structuring
the environment to contribute to purposeful acting. Concerning managerial execution,
the language/action perspective, originated by Winograd and Flores (1986),
conceptualizes two-way communication and commitment, instead of the mere one-way
communication of the classical communication theory. The scientific experimentation
model of control of She whart (Shewhart and Deming 1939) focuses on finding causes of
deviations and acting on those causes, instead of only changing the performance level
for achieving a predetermined goal in case of a deviation. The scientific experimentation
model adds thus the aspect of learning to control. It is clear that what has been
presented does not yet provide a unified and complete theoretical foundation for project
management. However, this foundation shows manifestly that a better theoretical
foundation can be created for project management. Future research will extend and
unify the ingredients found until now.
In the following, we show that the ingredients of the new foundation are being used in
two novel project management methods, which radically deviate from the conventional
doctrine of project management: Last Planner and Scrum4. Both methods have
emerged since mid-nineties as practical responses to the failure of conventional project
management methods, Scrum in the field of software projects, Last Planner in the field
of construction projects.
Effects of human resource management on project effectiveness and success.
Project management strategy research has focused on the effects of structure and
planning operations (such as budgets, date completion and quality) on project
success. In the past, projects have been managed as technical systems instead of
behavioral systems. Relatively little attention has been paid to human resource
factor. However, the Project Management Institute in its official definition of
Project Management Body of Knowledge (P.M.B.K.) included human resource
management as one of the six fundamental basic functions of project
management. In this arena which lacks theoretical foundation, a relatively recent

41
study made the situation evenworse. Pinto and Prescott (1988) concluded that the
'Personnel factor' was the only factor in their research that was marginal for
project success.
Organizations are facing a dynamic environment where the survival conditions are
becoming draconian. Their success is tributary to their capacity to adapt their
structures and establish viable relations with their surroundings. In this climate,
administrators can no longer ignore such influences and are obligated to
understand the factors which influence their activities, objectives and effectiveness.
Many researchers agree that the human resource function is one of the most
crucial elements for an o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s success. Undoubtedly, today the
human resource management (HRM) is renewing itself in the organizations and
affirming gradually its strategic role.
However, in spite of this tendency, Pinto and Prescott found surprising results in
a relatively recent research. The authors conclude that the Personnel factor, even
if designated in theoretical literature as a crucial factor in project efficiency, is a
marginal variable for project success (at any of the four project life cycles).
These results contradict the stream of H R M research in this topic. This paper
reexamines Pinto and Prescott's findings in order to clarify their surprising
results. By doing so, we pay a particular attention to their theoretical framework
which still appear in a state of embryo. We debate the flaws of their models
which, we believe, led to their controversial findings. Methodological inconsistencies
are also discussed. (Pinto, 2011)
In the past, project management has gained increased attention among researchers
in the field of organization theory. According to some, project management is
today one of the most researched and theorized topics in management. Among
the main fields of interest, we can mention the training of the project managers,
the effectiveness of different project structures, the project life cycles, and the
identification of project critical success factor. Increased attention has been paid to
this last point in recent years. In line with this stream, Baker conducted empirical
studies to synthesize a set of factors critical to project success. They found seven
factors related to perception. Slevin and Pinto, in their efforts to build a
conceptual model, addressed the generality issue by developing a framework of
project implementation and a diagnostic instrument for the project manager.
Table 3
l-Project mission
2-Project schedule
3-Chent consultation
4 Technical tasks
5 Client acceptance
6-Momtoring and feed back
7-Communication
8-Trouble-shooting
9-Personnel (recruitment, selection and training).
10 Management support
This instrument, called Project Implementation Profile (P.I.P.), was developed through
field research. It measures 10 critical factors related to project success.

42
Specific requirements for HRM in the project-oriented company
According to Gareis suggests that project-oriented companies areones in which the
people of the organization:
1. define ‘‘management by projects’’ as their organizational strategy;
2. apply projects and programs for the performance of complex processes;
3. manage a project portfolio of different internal and external project types;
4. have specific permanent organizations like a project portfolio group, or a PM office to
provide integrative functions;
5. view the organization as being project-oriented.
The ideal project-oriented company is often described as a flat organization with a
strong project management culture. In essence, what defines a company as project-
oriented is that these companies perceive themselves as being project-oriented and
shape their policies and practices for working, for organizational culture and for
strategy towards the challenge presented by managing projects.
Project-oriented companies may be found in many different industries including the
public sector. Organizations can vary in the degree of their project-orientation,
depending for example on the size, the number and the types of projects they carry out.
These impact the relation between the stable line organization and the temporary
organizations, carried out in the project-oriented company. Thus the project-oriented
company is a construct. An organization may choose that project-orientation is the
adequate working form for them as a whole (as in a construction company) or only for
some of their organizational units
(As in the product development department of a manufacturing company, or the
organizational development unit of a municipality).
Some writers have identified some specifics of HRM in companies that carry out
projects [7,10]. These studies support the assumption that the project-oriented company
has specific features that in turn produce special requirements in terms of HRM policies
and practices. Some specific features of project-oriented companies which we see
relevant for HRM are
‘‘Managing by projects’’ as the strategy of the project oriented company.
Temporary nature of projects.
Dynamism.
Project-portfolio resource and multi role demands.
Specific management paradigm.
‘‘Managing by projects’’ as the strategy of the project oriented company
Within the mainstream HRM literature, there is a long tradition of research arguing
that in order to make an optimal contribution to firm performance, HRM policies and
practices should be integrated both with firm strategy, so-called vertical strategic
integration and with each other, so-called horizontal integration. The orientation of the
HRM function, its goals and aims, need to be aligned with the strategy of the
organization. If we consider ‘‘managing by projects’’ as the strategy of the project-
oriented company this would imply that the HRM policies, processes, and practices in
the project-oriented company are in some way supportive of project-oriented working
and are different from more traditional HRM processes and practices which are
designed for the classically-managed organization where the emphasis is not on projects

43
but instead on routine products and services and where the job requirements are well
defined and stable.
Temporary nature of projects
Projects and programs are temporary organizations. Thus every time a new project or
program is started, the human resource configuration of the organization must change.
This might create pressure. It certainly impacts the work organization, and creates the
need for new processes like assigning personnel onto projects, dispersement from
projects, and processes for linking project assignments to careers.( M. Huemann et al. /
International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 315–3232.3.) Dynamism
Project-oriented companies have dynamic boundariesand contexts. The number and the
sizes of the projectsperformed are constantly changing, permanent and temporary
resources are employed, and cooperations with clients, partners and suppliers are
organized in teams, someof them are virtual. Projects have been described astemporary
organizations to bring about change.
Thus projects and programs entail greater uncertainty, creating a more dynamic
environment with more discontinuity. The degree of dynamism may also depend on the
size of the projects; industries like construction and engineering with long project
durations will be less dynamic than IT or product development with short project
durations, where the projects create evenmore dynamic. In this dynamic environment
in which the HR configuration is constantly changing, the challenges of ensuring
employee well-being and ethical treatment of workers is important. Project-portfolio
resource and role demandsAt any time a project-oriented company holds a project
portfolio of different internal and external project types. That means at any time more
or less projects and programs are carried out. A person has multiple roles. A person can
work in different projects at the same time, maybe evenin different project roles. In one
project he or she is a project manager, in another a project team member or sponsor.
Or a person can carry a role in a project and at the same time carry another role in the
permanent organization, for example in the PM Office. Challenges arise from this in
many areas, including multi resource allocation and role conflict at an individual level.
Specific management paradigmThe ideal project-oriented company has a specific
management culture expressedin the empowerment of employees, process orientation
and teamwork, continuous and discontinuous organizational change, customer
orientation, and networking with clients and suppliers [9]. Therefore specific
competences and skills are needed by the project personnel to successfully work
together in projects.
These may be formally supported by the company or informally demanded by the
nature of the project business. Summarizing, HRM policies, practices and processes
need to be designed to meet the specific needs of the project-oriented company .Shift
from technical to more human project management in the project management
literature; a limited amount of research has considered HRM. Conceptualizing HRM in
the project context is still rudimentary. If HRM is considered, it is mainly at the project
level, or from a multi-project resource allocation perspective. Langford and Loose more
consider HRM in construction, a typical project-oriented industry. But both take
standard HRM and ask how it applies to the construction industry, rather than ask if
the construction industry needs something extra or different. Further we find literature
on specific issues like competence development or project leadership [34] but broad
theorizing on HRM in project-oriented companies is lacking in the current literature,
with some exceptions.

44
Along with the broader recognition of projects as temporary organizations, there has
lately been a shift from technical to more human project management with particular
attention to team aspects (for an over view Further a critical mass of organizational
and project management research has rapidly evolved regarding the management of
projects , the project based company, or the project-oriented company. Aspects of
knowledge management and governance are being researched. However, so far, specific
research on HRM in project-oriented companies is rare. While there is increasing
interest in the maturity of project-oriented companies and specific maturity models
have been developed, only one considers personnel management as a specific dimension
of the project-oriented company. This is all the more problematic when we consider
issues of employee wellbeing. In the dynamic environment that characterizes project-
oriented companies, the HR configuration is constantly changing, as is the relationship
between company and groups of employees. The challenges of ensuring employee well-
being and their ethical treatment in rapidly changing organizational settings in which
the transience of work-projects and the configuration of work-teams and evenentire
organizations is paramount is both important and overlooked. Recent case studies have
indicated evidence that companies have problems in grasping the work and emotional
situation of the individual and multirole assignments that may lead to burn out for
younger employees that are not able to achieve an appropriate work-life balance or to
manage the damaging consequences of role overload and role conflict. Furthermore,
from an organizational and managerial perspective, failure to address the role conflict
facets of project work may damage efforts to retain workers as both have been shown to
cause job dissatisfaction and in extreme cases physical, psychological and behavioural
job withdrawal and voluntary turnover. Failure to consider the specific requirements of
HRM in project-oriented companies may mean theorists overlook these issues, fail to
consider the effects, positive and negative, of project-oriented work practices in
individuals. (M. Huemann et al. / International Journal of Project Management 25)
HRM practices and processes in the project-oriented company
Basedon previous research as well as our review of the project management, general
management and HRM literatures as they deal specifically with project-oriented
companies, we have developed a simple model of HRM processes in the project-oriented
company, illustrates the processes familiar from mainstream HRM literature such as
recruitment, employment and release.( Andrews,2012)
In addition, there are additional HRM processes in project-oriented companies:
assignment to projects, engagement on projects, and dispersion after projects have
finished. What we understand by employment by the organization and engagement on
projects can be expanded by adapting the Michigan model of HRM. This shows
appraisal, reward and development on the project contributing to appraisal,
development and reward in the organization. Consistent with our commitment to
studying the implications of HRM in the project-oriented company from non-
managerial as well as managerial perspectives, all these processes can and should be
researched from both an individual and an organizational perspective, something which
is only recently an explicit focus in the mainstream HRM literature.

45
11. Findings through researchand date collection
Descriptive and numeric data are presented under this findings section.
Basic Information
According to the information which has gathered as a percentage 77% is male
employees participated for this research and 23% of females were participated.
We have selected 3 age group categories, and according to them 47% of
employees are in 18 -25 group, 33% in 25 -35 group and 20% included to the
group 0f 35- 50
Male, 23,
77%
Female, 7,
23%
Male
Female
18-25,14,
47%
25-35,10,
33%
35-50,6,
20%
18-25
25-35
35-50
Gender No of Responded
Male 23
Female 7
Total
Responded 30
Age Group No of Responded
18-25 14
25-35 10
35-50 6
Total
Responded 30

46
According to the educational level we have identified 3 main categories of it,
under them 63% is qualified in A/L , 24% qualified in a Degree and 10% rates
qualification higher than a degree.
There are 3 groups under the working experience of the employees, less than 02
years 23%, 2-5 years 50%, 5- 10 years 17% and over than 10 years 10%.
24%
63%
10%
Degree A/L Higher thane degree
Less than 2
years,7,
23%
2 – 5 years,
15, 50%
5 - 10
years,5,
17%
Over than
10, 3, 10%
Less than 2 years
2 – 5 years
5 - 10 years
Over than 10
Education level
No of
Responded
Degree 8
A/L 19
Higher thane
degree 3
Total Responded
30
Experience(years
& category)
No of
Responded
Less than 2 years 7
2 – 5 years 15
5 - 10 years 5
Over than 10 3
Total Responded
30

47
Under the job titles 20.67% participated and respond was program coordinators
and 10.33% are project /program developers.
Under the company rating 60% rate Company in an average position, 23% count
down in a good position, 10% rate as a weak position and 7% rate as an excellent
position.
program
developers,
10, 33%
Program
coordinator
s, 20,67%
program developers
Program
coordinators
Workingout
in an
excellent
position,2,
7%
Workingout
in a good
position,7,
23%
Workingout
in an
average
position,18,
60%
Workingout
in a weak
position,3,
10%
Working out in an
excellent position
Working out in a
good position
Working out in an
average position
Working out in a
weak position
Job title
No of
Responded
program
developers 10
Program
coordinators 20
Total Responded
30
Company
rating
No of
Responded
Working out in
an excellent
position 2
Working out in
a good position 7
Working out in
an average
position 18
Working out in
a weak
position 3
Total
Responded
30

48
 Howdo yourate the developmentoftheprojectsofthe organizationwithinlast5
years?
About last 5 years 40% mention it is same level as current, 9% says it’s under
developed, 27% says averagely developed and 3% says it’s highly developed.
Highly
developed,
1, 3%
Averagely
developed,
8, 27%
Same level
as the
current, 12,
40%
Under
develop
than current
, 9, 30%
Highly developed
Averagely
developed
Same level as the
current
Under develop than
current
Development of
the projects
No of
Responded
Highly
developed 1
Averagely
developed 8
Same level as
the current 12
Under develop
than current 9
Total
Responded
30

49
Quality Management
 Organization isfollowinga well-developedqualitymanagementprocessfortheir projects
About the quality management process of the organization 57% Disagreed
 Eachand everyprojecthaswell definedpointsto evaluatethe qualityofthem
Strongly
agree, 2, 7% Agree, 7,
23%
Disagree,17,
57%
Strongly
disagree,4,
13%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 2, 7%
Agree, 5,
17%
Disagree,
11, 36%
Strongly
disagree,
12, 40%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Quality
management
process
No off
Responded
Strongly
agree 2
Agree 7
Disagree 17
Strongly
disagree 4
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 2
Agree 5
Disagree 11
Strongly
disagree 12
Total
Responded
30

50
 The successof a projectcan be affectedfrom the managementof the qualityof it.
 Comparisonto the pervioussuccessful projectscurrently on-goingprojectshas dropped
theirquality than the expectedlevel.
Strongly
agree, 13,
43%
Agree, 8,
27%
Disagree,7,
23%
Strongly
disagree,2,
7%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 10,
34%
Agree, 13,
43%
Disagree,6,
20%
Strongly
disagree,1,
3%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 13
Agree 8
Disagree 7
Strongly
disagree 2
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 10
Agree 13
Disagree 6
Strongly
disagree 1
Total
Responded
30

51
 Each and everyemployee whoworks on the projects are highlyknowledgeable aboutthe
level ofquality managementthey needto be assured
 Currentlyorganization is maintaininga well diverse work force for conducting projects.
Strongly
agree, 2, 7%
Agree, 7,
23%
Disagree,
13, 43%
Strongly
disagree,8,
27%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 5,
17%
Agree, 12,
40%
Disagree,11,
36%
Strongly
disagree,2,
7%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 2
Agree 7
Disagree 13
Strongly
disagree 8
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 5
Agree 12
Disagree 11
Strongly
disagree 2
Total
Responded
30

52
 Work force diversityis helpingto make the success of the projects through coping each
and every talentneeded.
 Well balancedwork force diversitymakesthe organization easyto identifythe weak
pointswhich will make the successrates down.
Strongly
agree, 5,
17%
Agree, 17,
57%
Disagree,4,
13%
Strongly
disagree,4,
13%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 7,
23%
Agree, 12,
40%
Disagree,
6, 20%
Strongly
disagree,
5, 17%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 5
Agree 17
Disagree 4
Strongly
disagree 4
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 7
Agree 12
Disagree 6
Strongly
disagree 5
Total
Responded
30

53
 Work force diversitymakes a competitionamongthe employeeswhowork out togetherin
the projectsand that makes the path to minimize the mistakesand leadto the success.
 Capacity of the work force diversitybecomesa turning pointof completingsuccessful
projects because it helpsto gather the spiritto conduct the projects achievingits high
demands
Strongly
agree, 12,
40%
Agree, 9,
30%
Disagree,6,
20%
Strongly
disagree,3,
10%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 6,
20%
Agree, 17,
57%
Disagree,6,
20%
Strongly
disagree,1,
3%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 12
Agree 9
Disagree 6
Strongly
disagree 3
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 6
Agree 17
Disagree 6
Strongly
disagree 1
Total
Responded
30

54
Coping with innovation & change
 Today the world growing faster,as like all other things projectmanagement shouldalso be
updated withnew arrivals and move to them for make success
 Current situationof the organizationhas a valuable place to coping innovation& change
to face with the competitive environmentandmake the successof the projects
Strongly
agree, 20,
67%
Agree, 7, 23%
Disagree,3,
10%
Strongly
disagree,0,
0%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 3, 10%
Agree, 12,
40%
Disagree,12,
40%
Strongly
disagree,3,
10%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 20
Agree 7
Disagree 3
Strongly
disagree 0
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 3
Agree 12
Disagree 12
Strongly
disagree 3
Total
Responded
30

55
 The organizationand all itsemployeeshavinga very good understandingabout the
importance ofthe innovationand change to make the success of the organizational
projects
 Innovation and change playsa major role in the current situation to work out to make a
successin everysingle action which has to proceed.
Strongly
agree, 15,
37%
Agree, 11,
28%
Disagree,12,
30%
Strongly
disagree,2,
5%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 14,
47%
Agree, 9, 30%
Disagree,4,
13%
Strongly
disagree,3,
10%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 15
Agree 11
Disagree 12
Strongly
disagree 2
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 14
Agree 9
Disagree 4
Strongly
disagree 3
Total
Responded
30

56
 Avoidance of coping innovation& changesis making a high impact to make failuresin
projects,currently it poweredto play a major role compared to olddays.
Level of skills & knowledge of employees
 Organizationhasa veryclearpictureof the skills&knowledgelevel ofemployees
who are workingontheprojects
Strongly
agree, 15,
50%
Agree, 9,
30%
Disagree,5,
17%
Strongly
disagree,1,
3%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 3,
10%
Agree, 4,
13%
Disagree,17,
57%
Strongly
disagree,6,
20%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 15
Agree 9
Disagree 5
Strongly
disagree 1
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 3
Agree 4
Disagree 17
Strongly
disagree 6
Total
Responded
30

57
 Organizationisworkingoutall the time to developtheskills&knowledgelevel of
the employeeswho areworkingintheprojectsto fill therequirementsofthem
 Employeesoftheorganizationwho areworkingontheprojectsarewillingto
developtheirskills&knowledgelevelswhichneedformakeprojectssuccess
Strongly
agree, 4,
13%
Agree, 11,
37%
Disagree,12,
40%
Strongly
disagree,3,
10%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 7, 23%
Agree, 9,
30%Disagree,10,
34%
Strongly
disagree,4,
13%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 4
Agree 11
Disagree 12
Strongly
disagree 3
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 7
Agree 9
Disagree 10
Strongly
disagree 4
Total
Responded
30

58
 Therelationshipbetweentheprojectsvs. The skills&knowledgeofthe
employeeswerewell identifiedbytheorganizationandtheemployeesbefore
they moveto start workon projects
 Whilethe projectsarecarryingongapsof the skillsandknowledgeariseswere
fillingatthat momentwithout havinganyaffect to the ongoingwork ofthe
project,whichcan makea failureofthe projects
Strongly
agree, 5, 17%
Agree, 10,
33%
Disagree,13,
43%
Strongly
disagree,2,
7%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Strongly
agree, 7,
23%
Agree, 9,
30%
Disagree,10,
34%
Strongly
disagree,4,
13%
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 5
Agree 10
Disagree 13
Strongly
disagree 2
Total
Responded
30
No of
Responded
Strongly
agree 7
Agree 9
Disagree 10
Strongly
disagree 4
Total
Responded
30

59
12. Data Analysis
After the data was collected it was organized and analyzed. Frequency tables are drawn
and from these the data was presented in pie diagrams and tables.
Quantitative analysis
Technique used -
Co- relation Liked scale questions
(To test the relationship between the independent and dependent variables to validate
hypothesis using questioner)
Quantitative analysis
Technique used-
Narrative analysis (In-depth interview reports)
(For clearly identify the real picture of the problem, the employee’s individual wise.
This method will help to broadly writing the answer the narrator directly communicates
the whole story)
Analysis of the data
Basic information
According to the gathered information the more male employees are working in the
groups which we are selectedfor the research. As average more than 60% male
employees are working out in the projects.
As mentioned in the collected data younger people are working with the projects which
are conducted by the organization. Age group between 18 – 25 owned 47% from the
total population.
Education level of the employees who are attaching to the projects can be describes as
qualified In Advanced level examination. Most of them have not decided to continue the
high studies or they have no idea about the field which they have to move for the high
studies.
If we talk about the experience most of the employees who are working in the projects
have 2 – 5 years’ experience in the organization. So we can prefer that the employees
mostly do not have a very senior experience in this field of working with projects.
The collected data shows that the employees of the organization mostly done the rating
of the company as it work out in an average position, as a percentage that is 60%. And
also about the project development within the company compared to the past, most of
data prove that there is no growth or failure for a long time.

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