Human Resources Development and Project Management

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AUTHORS NOTE: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lila Lenoria

Carden, Assistant Professor, Management, College of Business and Economics, Houston Baptist

University, 7502 Fondren Road, Houston, TX 77074-3298; e-mail: [email protected].

Human Resource Development Review Vol. 7, No. 3 September 2008 309-338DOI: 10.1177/1534484308320577 2008 SAGE Publications

Human Resource Developmentand Project Management: KeyConnections

LILA LENORIA CARDEN

Houston Baptist University

TOBY MARSHALL EGANTexas A&M University

As human resource development (HRD) efforts increase in scope, complex-

ity and link to increasing numbers of key stakeholders, so do demands forcareful and systematic execution of HRD implementation. Use of projectmanagement strategies and tools is an emerging solution for HRD imple-

mentation. Using a systematic literature search, intersections between project management and HRD literature are outlined. Key findings are

presented for both articles that explore project management and HRD-related issues explicitly as well as emerging HRD literature that may haveimport for HRD-related concerns. A summative figure, conceptual frame-

work, propositions for HRD project management, and implications forresearch, theory, and practice are discussed.

Keywords: project management; management; human resource development

For as long as humans have been undertaking complex tasks, project-oriented

approaches toward getting work done have been central to individual and col-lective success. Historical accounts regarding the origins of human resource

development (HRD) often involve recounting of apprenticeship relationships,

craft guilds, and networks of franchises whereby skilled individuals could

manage projects that coordinated the production of goods important for the

basic functioning of societies and (later on) industries (Werner & DeSimone,

2006). Such project-related practices date back hundreds, if not thousands of

years. These accounts, along with more narrow perspectives regarding the U.S.


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and European education for work efforts beginning in the mid-1800s, are asso-

ciated with industrialization and modernization, which strongly influenced the

manner in which work was completed. Other accounts have emphasized

the U.S. Training Within Industry Project(Dooley, 1945) in which the name

of the massive undertaking to train the World War II era industrial workforce

itself emphasized HRD-related efforts as projects. More recently, several HRD

scholars highlighted the importance of project management for HRD.

Whether developing a system-wide strategic plan, enacting an organization

development (OD) intervention, producing a new training curriculum, or sup-

porting individual on-the-job learning, HRD activities are most often orga-

nized into projects. Project work has become an increasingly prevalent in

organizations worldwide and is an important consideration for organizational

success (Packendorff, 1995). Project management has become an essential

organizational competency (Fuller, 1997). As project management research,

methodology, and theory development have increased so has organizational

and individual investment in project management knowledge and personnel

(Kerzner, 2001).

Although HRD project management connections are implicit in HRD prac-

tice and practice literature, and project management has been included in uni-

versity HRD curricula, research and theory linking project management and

HRD is limited. HRD approaches and processes have been examined in terms

of implementation of necessary steps to achieve a HRD-related outcome, but

the management of the HRD process itself has been rarely explored. We have

spent a lot of time talking about how to conceptualize and implement OD,

training and career development (CD), but little time examining the manage-

ment of implementation or the impact of efficient or inefficient execution of

HRD interventions themselves on desired outcomes. Although project man-

agement is a field with its own professional associations, journals, interna-

tional certification programs, and increasing number of professionals, the

direct examination of the important intersection between HRD and project

management has been uncommon. Contrary to the limited accessibility of

related literature, anecdotal evidence from HRD practice and support from

HRD scholars (Fuller, 1997; Gilley, Eggland, & Gilley, 2002; Henderson,

2005; Krempl & Pace, 2001; McLagan, 1989; McLean, 2006) suggest investi-

gation of project management in HRD to be of importance for HRD imple-

mentation, learning, and performance.

Problem Statement

This examination of HRD-project management connections emphasizes two

contextsliterature exploring HRD-related areas with explicit connections to

project management and an emerging nontraditional project management liter-

ature that has implications for HRD-project management. While practice

advanced well ahead of theory during the early to mid-1900s, the general project

310 Human Resource Development Review / September 2008


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management literature has also steadily progressed during the past few decades.

As the importance of project management has emerged, key terms such as learn-

ing, participation, renewal, and innovation have become associated with the pro-

ject management practices (Packendorff, 1995). Despite the importance of

project management for HRD success having been frequently highlighted (Fuller,

1997; Gilley et al., 2002; Henderson, 2005; Krempl & Pace, 2001; McLagan,

1989; McLean, 2006), there have been few theoretical or empirical investigations

conducted, examining the impact of effective project management for HRD.

Although project management has been proposed to support HRD practitioners

and organizations, the absence of research and theory associated with project

managementHRD connections means that we have little understanding regard-

ing project management practices in HRD contexts. This lack of research leaves

open questions as to how project management is and can be approached in HRD

contexts, the types of systematic approaches to project management that are actu-

ally used in HRD implementation, and what approaches are effective or ineffec-

tive.

Different from many other understudied HRD-related areas, there is an

established project management literature outside of the scope of HRD that,

similar to HRD literature overall, has been steadily growing and making con-

tributions to theory, research, and practice. This literature has formed to

improve understanding regarding project management outcomes and

processes (Jugdev & Mller, 2005). However, until recently, project manage-

ment literature focused almost exclusively on traditional project management

contexts (construction, engineering, manufacturing, utilities, and information

technology; Kloppenborg & Opfer, 2002). Although some theoretical perspec-

tives may overlap, the specific nature of literature in these traditional areas of

project management makes transfer to HRD contexts difficult in most cases.

Within recent years, as it became clear that a variety of industries beyond the

aforementioned traditional areas were benefiting from project management

approaches, project management literature has begun to expand into a wide

assortment of contexts, including HRD-related areas. Because of the newness

of this expansion, the literature in any one nontraditional area associated with

HRD or other industries and contexts is relatively thin. However, understand-

ing the foci and directions of these emerging studies, including those beyond

specific HRD emphases, will be beneficial to early efforts to frame theory and

research with HRDproject management connections (Kloppenborg & Opfer,

2002). Thus, despite established practical implications, little energy has been

dedicated to HRDproject management connections by HRD scholars, and no

efforts to frame future theory building have been published.

Purpose and Central Questions

Based upon the both practical and scholarly significance of project manage-

ment and HRD intersections. We formulated two central purposes for our

Carden, Egan / HRD PROJECT MANAGEMENT 311


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investigation. First, we wanted to better understand the landscape of literature

that overtly examined HRD-project management connections. Project manage-

ment has been identified as important to HRD in textbooks, is featured particu-

larly in OD and training and development, and is included in core or support

coursework in several HRD graduate and undergraduate curricula, but project

management HRD intersections are not frequently elaborated in the context of

scholarly inquiry. Second, because the project management field has begun to

explore emerging areas and programs beyond the relatively narrow project man-

agement literature that has, historically, focused on traditional areas such as

engineering and construction (Kerzner, 2001), we were interested in how emerg-

ing project management research and scholarship, beyond the limited literature

related to project managementHRD connections, had developed in recent years

and the potential associations with HRD-related interests. Our specific questions

were: (a) what scholarly literature integrating project management and HRD

exists currently? (b) what is contained in the current scholarly literature focused

on emerging (or nontraditional) project management topics? (c) what are the

themes that surface from the overall literature identified in #1 and #2 above? and

(d) what are the implications of the current state of the identified literature for

HRD and for future project managementHRD research?

Method

To enact the purpose identified, we conducted two systematic reviews of

literature. The first search of literature involving connections between HRD

and project management and a second search for emerging project manage-

ment literature (defined in the following sections). Articles identified in the

search of HRD-related journals were selected based on their connections to

OD, training and development, CD, HRD, or related areas.

Search for Articles Focusing on Project

Management and HRD Connections

Based on our purpose and focus questions, we reviewed refereed journal

articles only. The literature identification process for selection of articles that

focused on HRD and project management included a subject/keyword search

for project management in 29 HRD-related journals in August 2006. The first

search involved only those works published by Dooley (2002) and Sleezer and

Sleezer (1998).

Search for Nontraditional Project Management Literature

The second literature identification process included a keyword search for

project management (a) in Emerald database during February 2005 returning



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304 articles, (b)International Journal of Projectin EBSCO database on October

2005 returning 277 articles, (c) Project Management Journal in EBSCO data-

base returning 240 articles, (d) Project Management Journal in EBSCO in

March 2006 returning 24 articles, (e) International Journal of Project

Managementin March, 2006 returning 14 articles, and (f)Emeralddatabase in

March 2006 returning 21 articles. The 880 articles were distilled further based

on the following four criteria (a) date range from 1968 to 2004; (b) scholarly

publications defined as articles with seven or more pages, more than four schol-

arly references, and blind reviewed; and (c) data related to nontraditional con-

texts that (with support from Kloppenborg & Opfer, 2002) were defined as

research in industries other than engineering, electrical, utility, manufacturing,

and construction. The total number of journal articles identified from the 37 total

journals (listed in Table 1) from both searches outlined above was 103.

In addition, following thematic analysis of article topics, the remaining arti-

cles were categorized (a) as theory if a theory was identified as a focus or sup-

port in the framing of the article; (b) as a model if a model, cycle, or process

was emphasized in the article; (c) as tools if any word such as tool, technique,

software, schedule, financial, technology, network, or resource, was high-

lighted in the article; and (d) as research if data in the article were collected

from participants to the research/study. Summaries of literature identified in

both searches discussed above are below. Themes and summaries from the

search identified above (project management and HRD) are followed by a dis-

cussion of the emerging project management literature.

Project Management Overview

According to Packendorff (1995), a project can be defined as a given,

plannable and unique task, limited in time, complex in its implementation and

subject to evaluation (p. 320). Project management was originally focused in con-

struction and engineering industries and has expanded, over time, to other indus-

tries and contexts (Betts & Lansley, 1995). The utilization of project management

has grown into academic, industrial, service, and professional contexts. Based on

analysis of articles outlining historical perspectives of project management,

we developed four key periods in the general history of project management

emergence, refinement, human resource, and performance. In addition, an

overview regarding HRDproject management connections is discussed.

During the emergence period of the early 1900s, project management was

established as an orderly work-related framework and was provided as a tactical

and strategic approach to chart and implement projects. In 1910, Henry L. Gantt

established the Gantt chart and two decades later, Karol Adamiecki formed the

network-based harmonogram (Packendorff, 1995). According to Packendorff,

project management moved to a stage of refinement in the mid-1900s. During

the 1950s, project management became more theoretically and mathematically

oriented, adding refined algorithms and project-planning techniques. Program



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evaluation and review techniques (PERT) and critical path methods (CPM) and

other techniques were presented, utilized broadly and, in some cases, the tools

or approaches themselves were closely researched or evaluated (Pinto, 1998).

During the 1960s, project management scholarship grew and transformed to

human resource period. This period emphasized project management effective-

ness at the individual, team, and organizational levels (Packendorff, 1995). The


TABLE 1: Journals Featuring Project Management Articles

Academy of Management Journal

Academy of Management ReviewBenchmarking

College and Univ. Personnel Assoc. Journal

European Journal of Operational Research

Group and Organization Studies

Human Relations

Human Resource Development Quarterly

Industrial Management & Data Systems

International Journal of Project Management

International Journal of Public Administration

International Journal of Quality & Reliability ManagementInternational Journal of Technology Management

Journal of Applied Behavioral Science

Journal of Applied Psychology

Journal of Enterprise Information Management

Journal of European Industrial Training

Journal of Industrial Teacher Education

Journal of Knowledge Management

Journal of Management Development

Journal or Organizational Behavior

Journal for Vocational and Teacher EducationJournal of Workplace Learning

Logistics Information Management

Management Decision

Management Education and Development

New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education

Organization Development Journal

Performance Improvement Quarterly

Personnel Psychology

Personnel Review

Project Management Journal

Public Administration Quarterly

Public Personnel Management

R&D Management

Team Performance Management

The Learning Organization


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human resource period emphasized resources and managerial concerns in the

context of organizational projects. The human resource aspects of project man-

agement emphasized during this period included: (a) resource allocation

(Archibald, 1976; Butler, 1973; Kerzner, 2001; Wilemon & Ciero, 1970); (b)

project team issues (Butler, 1973; Hodgetts, 1968); (c) project manager compe-

tencies (Casey, 1978; Gullett, 1972; Kerzner, 2001); and (d) project management

alignment of human resources, authority, and leadership (Baker, Murphy, &

Fisher, 1983; Butler, 1973; Gullett, 1972; Hodgetts, 1968).

The performance periodis an emphasis for project management today.

During 1990s, project management success and failures were focused upon in

the literature. Key emphases were project quality, timeliness, and budgeting.

Performance and resource-based publications identified include: (a) organiza-

tional structures and project performance (PMI Global Standard, 2004;

Shenhar, 2001), (b) alignment and synergy across business units and senior

management (Cash & Fox, 1992; Jiang, Klein, & Means, 2000), (c) project-

related negotiation and communication (Archibald, 1992; Fabi & Pettersen,

1992; Zimmer & Yasin, 1998); and (d) project leadership competencies.

More recent years of project management have involved a focus on the

increasingly dynamic contexts that are often technology driven and involve

sophisticated support tools. More current literature also focuses on greater

emphases on performance improvement, demands for immediate results, and

a dramatic pace of change. Project management has evolved into complex,

global, and mutually dependent contexts whereby calls for systematic

approaches to project management research have paralleled recent claims

regarding the influence of some research on project management outcomes

(Kloppenborg & Opfer, 2002). The expanding appeal of project management

today is consistent with workplaces commonly focused on performance and

which rely on ongoing growth whereby project management is utilized as an

essential element for organizational success.

HRD and Project Management

Gilley et al. (2002) declared that, all too often, many HRD leaders do not rec-

ognize this as an essential responsibility and thus fail to provide a practical

approach and techniques to planning and managing projects (p. 231). HRD is

defined in a variety of ways including as the integrated use of training and devel-

opment, career development, and organization development to improve individ-

ual effectiveness (McLagan, 1989, p. 7). Findings from large-scale studies have

led to the identification of a number of HRD-related roles by McLagan (1996)

including HRD strategic advisor, HR systems designer and developer, organiza-

tion change consultant, organization design consultant, learning program special-

ist, instructor/facilitator, individual development and career consultant,

performance consultant, and researcher. Project management has been identified

as an important element for success in each of these roles (Gilley et al., 2002).



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The need to better understand and execute project undertakings led to the

development of the field of project management which, similar to HRD, often

engages at the point of intersection between scholars and practitioners. The

Project Management Institute (PMI) defines project management as the art of

directing and coordinating human and material resources throughout the life

of the project by using modern management techniques to achieve predeter-

mined objectives of scope, cost, time, quality, and participant satisfaction

(PMI Standards Committee, 1987, p. 4-1). Many definitions of HRD (see

Weinberger, 1998; Woodall, 2001) and even more HRD texts and articles

frame HRD interventions as projects or emphasize processes and outcomes in

a manner that aligns with project management (Swanson & Holton, 2001;

Werner & DeSimone, 2006).

There are numerous HRD activities and interventions requiring project man-

agers and appropriate project management approaches (Fuller, 1997). A project

management system is a key element to HRD and OD interventions (McLean,

2006). According to McLean (2006), establishing an effective approach to project

management is essential in the early stages of action research and OD and

throughout implementation of HRD-related interventions. Although HRD and

project management practice and literature have greatly expanded over recent

decades, the intersection of these two areas has not been comprehensively exam-

ined. Gilley et al. (2002) positioned project management as central for the suc-

cess of HRD implementation. Understanding the scope of literature exploring

project management and HRD connections is important for HRD and organiza-

tional success and project management itself is an essential frame through which

organizational action can be examined.

Summary of Literature

Researchers suggest that projects fail to deliver quality products because of

inadequate planning, lack of alignment with resources and deliverables, inad-

equate change management, and insufficient feedback processes (Cicmil,

2000). To that end, project management and HRD connections and emerging

project management are operationalized in organizational settings because of

the need to ensure that project planning and execution are aligned with strategic

goals to support resource requirements and to assist in successful change manage-

ment deliverables. The literature integrating project management and HRD

provides a means for planning, controlling, and executing project initiatives.

A thematic review of the literature noting project management and HRD connections

included articles divided into several sections, and particularly (a) failure statistics,

(b) OD, (c) CD, (d) leadership, and (e) organization theory. These sections

summarize each of the systematically selected articles for project management

and HRD literature connections.

A review of the emerging project management literature included research

that was related to broad areas of industries including banking, pharmaceutical,



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consulting, advertising, legal, healthcare, safety, and emerging manufacturing

and industrial sectors (Kerzner, 2001). Figure 1 includes the related articles

divided into several sections including: (a) project management related models,

(b) project managementrelated theories, (c) project management specific

research and findings, and (d) a discussion of related project management tools.

These sections summarize each of the systematically selected articles from

emerging project management literature.

HRD and Project Management

Five HRDproject management intersections were identified in the

reviewfailure statistics, OD, CD, leadership, and organization theory. Of the

aforementioned articles, those publications associated with intersections

between project management and HRD are reported as follows.


Human Resource

Management

Project Planning

and Controlling

Quality

Management

Project

Outcomes Organization

Development

Career

Development

Leadership

Human

Resources

Communication

and Technology

Performance

Scheduling

Human Resource

Management

Theories

Tools

Research

Models

Project

Managementand

HRD

Literature

Resource

Based

Knowledge

Flow

Queuing

Action

In Project

Neo-

Institutional

Temporary

Organization

Signaling

Detection

Theory

FIGURE 1: Project Management and HRD Literature: Key Themes


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Failure statistics. By analyzing project success data made available to the

15th International Project Management Association (IPMA) World Congress,

reasons for project failures and the results were assessed. In the early 1990s,

77% of U.K. projects failed and 83% of U.S. projects failed. The reasons for

project failure identified include: inadequate definition; poor or no planning;

wrong leader; scope not defined; inappropriate team; ineffective controls; poor

communication; unrealistic timescale (IPMA, 2001, p. 866). In addition, 80%

of the U.K. projects had no project management conceptual framework and

U.S. experts cited poor project scope definition and loss of control during the

design and implementation phases as the explanation for cost overruns (IPMA,

2001). There was an identified need to more clearly identify critical success

factors (CSFs) in the early stages of projects so that project success and fail-

ure could be better understood. Because the central reason for project failures

identified points to the potential impact of project management learning and

development on project management success, HRD-related efforts are identi-

fied as clear solutions to project management improvement.

Organization development. Henderson (2005) reported the findings of a sur-

vey of members within the OD and Change Division of the Academy of

Management. The survey findings reported that the top seven foundational skills

within OD include: project management, communication, collaborative work,

problem solving, use of new technology, conceptualizing, presentation and edu-cation, and coaching skills. According to Henderson, project professionals are

significantly trained to use logical and systematic methods to plan and control

projects (p. 14); therefore, based on the findings from this study, co-creating

strategic OD engagements with project managers who know its genesis can be a

boon for OD consultants in affecting significant change (p. 17).

Project management provides a framework in which to define OD engage-

ment requirements. More specifically, OD consultants work with project man-

agers to develop activities including visioning, reflecting, and safeguarding to

alleviate time constraint pressures. Project management and OD activities aregeared toward a systematic execution of activities with the end goal of suc-

cessful integration and participation from all work streams within an organi-

zation (Henderson, 2005).

Career development. Gutteridge (1986) reported career development rep-

resents the outcomes created by the integration of individual career-planning

activities with institutional career management processes (p. 54). The sub-

processes of career planning include job choice, organization choice, job

assignment, and self-development. In addition, career planning includes

the identification and selection of individuals to align job skills with job

assignments.

CD in the identified literature focused both on CD for those in project man-

agement roles and organizational decision making about individuals associ-

ated with project management initiatives. The latter has clear implications for



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the CD of employees selected for organizational projects as involvement in

successful project management initiatives are not only important individual

CD experiences but also often lead to new career opportunities. There is often

not a clear career path for moving from a management position to a temporary

project management position. For instance, as an increasing number of orga-

nizations expand their global operations, there is a need to identify and select

qualified managerial candidates for oversees projects. There is also a need to

implement a systematic method to organize identification and selection of

expatriates (Harvey & Novicevic, 2001). The systematic method identified

includes (a) identification of expatriate candidates, (b) analysis of candidate

competencies, (c) determining learning methods for candidates, and (d) iden-

tifying thinking styles of candidates.

According to Tsai, Moskowitz, and Lee (2003), resource selection is impor-

tant to project management because resources drive project completion, reduc-

ing project costs, project duration, and project risks. The authors suggest the use

of computational approaches applying their resource-based view of project

management. More specifically, an integrated, efficient computational method

based on design of experiments to solve the software resource selection prob-

lem, in which a critical resource diagram (CRD) is recommended as an early

part of the project design (Tsai et al., 2003, p. 167). The CRD provides a

framework for selecting appropriate human resources; decisions which tie

directly to the CD opportunities for managers and employees.

Leadership. Lee-Kelley (2002) reported on a survey of project manager

leadership styles and management of changing project boundaries and related

interfaces. Findings from the study included the following conclusions:

Project managers are not overly affected by internal market mechanisms or con-straints on face-to-face interactions. However, certain project variables such asproject objectives, team size, frequency of team changes and project durationplay significant roles in the relationship between the project leaders and his/herperception of project difficulties (p. 461).

These research findings suggest that (a) there is no relationship between

leadership styles and perceived influence on project time frames and delegated and

selected number of projects; and (b) the longer the project time frame the larger

the team size, and the greater the perception that the manager selected the project.

According to Manley (1975), project leader efforts are integrated within the

informal organizational structure overriding formal communication requirements.

The openness presented to managers of key projects allows them to access to

stakeholders. During the enactment of the project plan, even where the pro-

ject group is small and members have to draw upon the resources of support-

ing independent organizations, traditional chains of command tend to be

ignored (p. 180). The project manager directs the implementation of the ini-

tiative and as such must have a high tolerance for ambiguity, a good working



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understanding of basic management principles, consummate people skills, a

general understanding of the various technologies, and a strong desire to be

where the action is (p. 182).

Organization theory. Temporary organization has emerged as a theory

reifying modern-day experiences of organizational life as a collection of pro-

jects and activities rather than a monolithic deployment of a whole system

strategy (Packendorff, 1995). According to Manley (1975), projects are tem-

porary initiatives and can be viewed structurally as a company within a com-

pany. Projects can be conceptualized from a systematic perspective including

a system composed of multiple interdependent subsystems and its members

devote much of their initial effort toward gaining an understanding of the

nature of the interdependence as well as the impact of the environment(Manley, 1975, p. 180). One of the most important impacts of a project man-

agement structure is that it provides a framework for linking planning and

implementation functions (Manley, 1975).

Another key consideration associated with project management success is

structural support within the system or organization in which the project is being

undertaken. Because of the ways in which projects may span cross-functionally,

project management is ideally unbounded by organizational hierarchies, struc-

tures, processes, and line-of-authority. As a practice, project management is used

to accomplish non-recurring goals bound by time, place (or situation), resources,and particular scopes of work (Henderson, 2005, p. 11).

The balanced matrix approach to structuring an organization has been

championed as one of the organizational frameworks that produce more effi-

cient project work. In the balanced matrix approach, functional and project

managers have equal authority and as such creates opportunities for conflict

(de Laat, 1994). Therefore, there is a need for more empirical analysis to

determine which organizational structure is more conducive for the industry

or organization type. Associated with organization structure, risk manage-

ment has been couched as one of the functions that should be planned andmanaged in software development initiatives to ensure project success.

McGrew and Bilotta (2000) demonstrated that signal detection theory (SDT)

can be used to gather data in which to minimize the impacts of intervention

and response bias on risk management plan. More specifically, the unbiased

estimator enables comparisons across projects and facilitates the effective-

ness of risk management plans.

Each of the sections above summarized project management articles from

HRD-related journals. Although each contributed to the framing of HRD and

project management connections, the number of articles was limited. To iden-tify additional areas that may inform these connections, articles identified to

be undertaking in emerging areas of project management were also examined.

The summary of these articles and a figure encapsulating themes from all iden-

tified articles is featured below.



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Emerging Project Management Literature

For the most part, project management scholarship has been focused on tra-

ditional areas such as construction and engineering, but it has been broaden-ing to cover a larger number of industries and contexts. For the purposes of this

study, emerging project management literature is defined as articles identified

in a systematic search of literature (discussed earlier) that are situated in non-

traditional project management contexts/industries. Four key themes from the

literature are reviewed (models, tools, theories, and research) are explored.

Models. Models have typically been used as a process to control, track,

and implement a series of phases, steps, or patterns. For example, a model

provides a framework with which organizations can conduct a formal assess-

ment of their current project management capabilities and, thereby, determine

action plans (change initiatives) that need to be completed to improve project

performance (Kendra & Taplin, 2004, p. 43). In addition, models are used by

project managers and project team members as frameworks to increase the

efficiency of project activities and resources (Kerzner, 2001). More specifi-

cally, models provide structure and organization for scheduling, performance

tracking, communication, and management activities.

Based on thematic analysis, identified models were divided intoproject plan-

ning and control models and human resource management models. Project plan-

ning and control models focus on strategic goal execution using quality

improvement for planning, coordinating, and executing project tasks. More

specifically, project planning and control processes and cycles include schedul-

ing, updating tasks, data management, and reporting capabilities (Kerzner, 2001).

For example, project life cycle is a construct that has developed as a model for

organizational processes including decision priorities (Smith, Mitchell, &

Summer, 1985) and productivity criteria (Cameron & Whetton, 1981). Human

resource project management includes the processes that organize and manage

the project team (PMI Global Standard, 2004, p. 199) including processes that

are related to human resource planning, acquiring the project team, developing

the project team, and managing the project team. More specifically, human

resource management models are focused on developing teams as well as team

members with an emphasis on enhancing and supporting performance. The arti-

cles identified provided project management related models that examined

resource allocation, cost control, data management, project roles, reporting rela-

tionships, training, team-building activities, personality characteristics, conflict

management, and learning or knowledge development. The next section exam-

ines theoretical elements in identified literature.

Theories. Project management is considered an evolving field of study and

as such does not have a fully established theoretical background (Jugdev, 2004).

Project management often integrates theories from other well-established



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disciplines/fields including management, human behavior, psychology, and

operations. For example, some project management theories have been con-

structed using basic topics including the use of a common terminology and

frameworks, avoiding tautologies, and the merits of analogies (Jugdev, 2004,

p. 15). Several approaches to theory development or clarification take the form

of analogies, integrated relationships, facts, or systematic procedures.

As stated by Jugdev (2004), theories are important because they help

explain and predict events, patterns, and trends (p. 16). Seven theoretical per-

spectives associated with project management were gleaned from identified

literature including: neoinstitutional organization theory, action in project

theory, queuing theory, knowledge flow, temporary organization, a resource-

based view, and transformationaltransactional leadership.

Neoinstitutional organization theory defines projects as tasks to be accom-

plished and is based on the premise that projects are institutions that are repro-

duced based on actions implemented during previous experiences (Packendorff,

1995). More specifically, rather than viewing organizations holistically as linear

mechanistic systems, institutions are reduced to a set of projects that are consid-

ered as tasks to be accomplished. The theory was famous during the 1980s and

purports that the conceptions related to tasks are not unique and can be associated

with numerous entities.

Action in project theory focuses on the human interaction within the pro-

ject organization leading to the outcome of the project (Packendorff, 1995,

pp. 329-330). The premise of this theory is based on the enactment by indi-

viduals and emphasis is placed on investigating the expectations that form the

action base, and the learning that occurs as a result of the action (p. 330). The

studies, related to projects as action systems, target the actual individual

behavior rather than the expected behavior.

Levy and Shlomo (1997) suggested a queuing-theory approach to minimiz-

ing frequent delays and cost overruns. The interest in queuing theory is moti-

vated by the belief that the understanding of causes and interactions creating

congestion and delay is important to the effective design of congestion-control

algorithms. The authors introduce the queuing penalty to quantify the penalty

for delays and frequent cost overruns of parallel executed projects. In addition,

the authors reported that there is no practical way to totally avoid the penalty

but that the goal is to minimize the penalty. Approaches to reduce the queuing

penalty include minimizing cost by maintaining on schedule projects and to

minimize the idleness of high-capacity cost groups (Levy & Shlomo, 1997).

Snider and Nissen (2003) introduced a knowledge-flow approach to project

management. The theory is predicated on a dynamic perspective of knowledge as

a solution, as experience, and as socially created (Snider & Nissen, 2003). The

theory includes four dimensions that are focused on knowledge flow including

explicitness, reach, life cycle, and flow time (Snider & Nissen, 2003, p. 7).

Snider and Nissen further argued that knowledge-flow framework provides a

more enhanced approach to project management research and theory develop-

ment that provided by project management BOK [body of knowledge] (p. 11).



15/30

Turner and Mller (2003) framed a discussion about the project viewed

through the lens of organization theory. The authors contended that within

existing organization theory a project can be defined as a temporary organi-

zation to which resources are assigned to undertake a unique, novel and tran-

sient endeavor managing the inherent uncertainty and need for integration in

order to deliver beneficial objectives of change (Turner & Mller, 2003, p. 7).

In addition, the role of the project manager is flexible and includes identifying

and communicating project tasks, encouraging project team members to com-

plete project tasks, and aligning project strategies and goals with internal and

external objectives.

Jugdev (2004) created a resource-based theory of project management

based on Arnoults (1972) classification of theories including metaphors,

analogies, reductionist (simpler) concepts, and abstract (mathematical) rela-

tionships. She compared the genomes of humans to an organizations tangible

resources entitled strategic asset genome (p. 22). Furthermore, Jugdev

(2004) focused on project management as a strategic asset that must be main-

tained and extended by using business processes, methodologies, and frame-

works to implement strategic initiatives.

Barber and Warn (2005) discussed the leadership requirements for project

managers by reviewing the literature and developing a framework to link trans-

action and transformation leadership styles. The findings report that proactive

leadership is more success driven than reactive decisions, including monitor-

ing project plans and budgets. In addition, project managers need to pay more

attention to the progress of their project and forestall any problems rather than

just being reactive problem solvers (Barber & Warn, 2005, p. 1032).

McGrew and Bilotta (2000) demonstrated that signal detection theory can

be used to gather data in which to minimize the impacts of intervention and

response bias on risk management plans. Furthermore, signaling theory can be

used effectively to describe success in software development initiatives. More

specifically, the unbiased estimator (or true approximations for the project

being assessed) enables comparisons across project and facilitates the effec-

tiveness of risk management plans. As outlined in Figure 1, these theories pro-

vide interesting frameworks by which to examine project management and

point to future opportunities for theory development and research. The section

that follows explores project management research as identified by the afore-

mentioned search process.

Research. Research builds on the literature, models, and theories and thus

is useful in identifying practices and applications that are useful for project ini-

tiatives. More specifically, project management uses generally acceptedknowledge and priorities to execute projects and as such there is interest in the

patterns, trends, and future directions in which to frame project planning and

execution. The literature further provides suggestions for researchers, as it

relates to advancing the maturity of the project management profession.



16/30

Project management research has focused on (a) human resource issues

including competencies, leadership, responsibilities, and incompatibility and

misalignment of authority; (b) leadership; (c) CD; (d) OD; (e) project out-

comes; and (f) quality management. These six areas have been included in

Figure 1 as research categories. Packendorff (1995) posited that research needs

to focus more on action in projects to study human resource issues. The basis

of this idea is that the combination of action and knowledge can improve the

quality of projects by focusing on integration, human resource management,

and communication. More specifically, since 1992, research has focused more

on human resource issues, teamwork and relationships, leadership, and CD.

Pinto (1998) posited that project management and politics are linked and that

the project managers job is not only to handle technical issues but to also

manage project team and stakeholder behaviors, including conflict resolution.

According to Kerzner (2001), The project manager is responsible for coor-

dinating and integrating activities across multiple, functional lines. In order to

do this, the project manager needs strong communication and interpersonal

skills (p. 9) and leadership and technical skills in which to lead the project

team and organization to implementation. The research that has focused on

leadership and CD suggest that certain leadership styles and skills are needed

to successfully drive projects to completion and that those skills can either be

learned and developed through activities.

Project management research has primarily focused on the factors that

determine project outcomes including a projects success or failure. The

assessment of the project implementation has been evaluated from a variety of

positions and based on multiple criteria including quadruple constraint (Pinto

& Prescott, 1990). Pinto and Prescott (1990) have expanded the measures to

include criteria related to quadruple constraints and include project mission,

top management support, schedule/plans, client consultation, personnel, tech-

nical tasks, client acceptance, monitoring and feedback, communication, and

trouble-shooting (p. 315). Pinto and Prescott conducted a field study includ-

ing survey data from project managers from manufacturing and service indus-

tries. The findings from the study revealed that project success should be

regarded as a multiple-factor construct rather than a single construct. Pinto and

Prescott reported that project planning was the thrust for project success and

should be monitored throughout the project. Additional findings revealed that

tactics were important as CSFs only during the execution phase of the project

life cycle (Pinto & Prescott, 1990).

Project management methodology is used to strategically frame the activities

of the project manager and project team to reduce project failures and to ulti-

mately achieve quality based on continuously improving processes. The phases

of a project include task and quality activities that sequentially guide the project

from initiation to close out. Furthermore, project managers utilize tools and tech-

niques along with people to ensure quality deliverables are on time, within scope,

and within budget. Therefore, there is a connection of knowledge and action that

can be used to frame behaviors from a practical view based on a quality-control



17/30

leader actively engaging in transactions to plan, organize, monitor, and report

findings to maintain a dynamic balance with the organization, resources, tools,

and the external environment.

Tools. Tools have been developed as some mechanisms to ensure that even

the smallest activity moves towards the ultimate goal: successful project com-

pletion (Lai, 1997, p. 174). Therefore, some proponents of project manage-

ment methodology suggest that disciplined management processes

(Kerzner, 2001, p. 741) based on past experiences and internal and external

factors need to be considered as a part of the framework for project imple-

mentation (Chatzoglou & Macaulay, 1997). Tools are used throughout various

phases of the project and include planning and monitoring, scheduling, per-

formance, and communication and technology.Planning and monitoring tools assist project teams in coping with complex

management and organizational decisions, managing masses of data, and meeting

project deliverables on time and within budget (Kerzner, 2001). Project-schedul-

ing tools are used to manage the activities, performance, and time associated with

project completion. Project-scheduling tools include: (a) program evaluation and

review techniques, (b) critical path method, (c) GANTT chart, and (d) milestone

chart (Lai, 1997). Each of the tools uses a different technique for tracing time con-

trol. Performance tools are used to assist in increasing project performance. The

tools facilitate identification of stakeholders with an emphasis on their roles andinfluences. Performance tools entitled quality assurance have been developed to

control the outcomes based on limits including speed, costs, and quality.

Communication and technology tools are used to communicate the processes and

procedures to human resources and to transfer knowledge. In addition, technology

tools are used as a means to visualize, reduce, and manage project risks.

In terms of HRD-project management connections, our review points to a

number of opportunities to enhance the literature examining project manage-

ment utilization in the context of HRD. Figure 1 encapsulates 4 major themes

and 19 subthemes from our systematic review of literature. The review con-firmed that, although limited, both HRD and project management connections

are featured in HRD literature and that emerging literature in project manage-

ment also has relevance for HRD. It is also clear that the literature reflects a

few types of interaction between project management and HRD. There are

clear examples in the literature highlighting not only the relevance of project

management in specific HRD contexts but also a need for conceptual and the-

oretical development regarding project management and project management

lifecycles in HRD.

Limitations and Implications for HRD

Several limitations regarding available studies were determined in the litera-

ture reviewed along with some clear opportunities for future HRD-related



18/30

research. In several cases, a common method to collect participant data in many

studies increased possibilities for overstated relationship between constructs. In

addition, several studies used small, nonrandom, or unclearly described sampling

techniques. Many of the studies reported used cross-sectional designs exploring

project management from a fixed point in time. The results from this systematic

search of the literature point to a clear need for longitudinal designs and more

advanced statistics such as multivariate analysis, structural equation modeling

path analysis that compliment a more complex examination of the multiple fac-

tors that may contribute to project management in HRD generally and project

success at the leadership, team member, and environmental characteristics levels

along with more specifically defined project management processes and out-

comes. Although several related theories were identified, the theory-based stud-

ies utilized needed to be repeated in many cases for utilizing the aforementioned

sampling and methodological improvements. It should also be noted that

although important to this line of investigation, there was a void of qualitative

inquiry presented. Studies using other than quantitative approaches are warranted.

From the practice perspective, there is much more that can be done to con-

tribute to the elaboration of project management in human resource contexts,

available literature is simply falling short regarding project management in HRD.

Despite the limited amount of this kind of literature, project management litera-

ture, including a large amount of project management theories, research, models

and tools, appears to be transferable to HRD contexts; however, it is important

that these transferable concepts are elaborated in the context of HRD. In addition,

there is much room for the development of project management overall and there

is an absence of conceptual or theoretical model that examines key elements asso-

ciated with HRD project management success.

A Conceptual Framework for HRDProject Management

Although a handful of articles identified featured some elements of

HRDproject management connections and the nontraditional project man-

agement literature also provided some relevant insights, there is a need for

more narrowly organized research and theory building associated with project

management in HRD contexts. Joo (2005) and Wanberg, Welsh, and Hezlett

(2003) undertook HRD-related literature reviews and, based on their analyses,

proposed conceptual frameworks in support of future research in their respec-

tive areas of investigation. Similarly, we have concluded that the development

of a HRD project management conceptual framework would be beneficial.

Our approach was influenced by the aforementioned authors.

As Torraco (2004) expounded, opportunities for theory building in HRD are

numerous. Accordingly, the three overarching aspects needing to be addressed

in the development are: (a) the absence of a common framework and explicit

assumptions in support of HRD theory building, (b) the lack of well-tested



19/30

HRD theory-building approaches, and (c) a need for shared understanding

regarding core concepts of HRD theory and theory building (Lynham, 2000).

As examined above, although theories associated with project management

have been identified, theoretical and conceptual development regarding project

management in HRD has relevance for the field and is in need of explication.

Although there is an ongoing possibility that project management knowledge

from the general project management literature and practice can inform project

management in HRD, the unique elements associated with HRD efforts and the

interdependence between HRD intervention success and related project man-

agement are important considerationsparticularly as project management

knowledge relates to HRD outcomes.

Van de Ven (2007) advanced a systematic process for engaging theoretically

based research studies: (a) analyze the situation or problem as it occurs naturalis-

tically, (b) decide upon a research question and conceptual model to address the

situation or problem, (c) utilize an appropriate theory or theory-building approach

and design a study to examine the research question, and (d) execute a research

study and analyze findings toward development of a solution. As with the afore-

mentioned examples we address the first two steps in the Van de Ven process.

The conceptual framework (Figure 2) is organized for the purposes of

focusing on key steps or issues associated with project management of HRD.

For the purposes of focus, HRD is conceptualized in terms of an intervention

which is consistent with HRD and related action research literature (McLean,

2006; Swanson & Holton, 2001; Werner & DeSimone, 2006)HRD inter-

vention development, HRD intervention deployment, HRD intervention

implementation, and HRD intervention evaluation. The overarching factors

examined in the conceptual framework address these process steps through

consideration of relevant antecedents, process issues, outcomes proximal to

the HRD intervention project, and distal outcomes associated with the scope

of the project at the individual, group, or organizational level. Based on the

conceptual model, propositions and related rationale are presented in Table 2.

Overall, the conceptual framework and related propositions were an intro-

ductory attempt to illustrate some of the key factors associated with HRD

project management. There is more work that can be done by considering the

potential impact of general project management literature for some of the

variables and propositions outlined; however, it was important to first consider

key elements in the conceptualization of project management in HRD.

Conclusion

We reported key findings related to exploring HRD-related areas with explicit

connections to project management and an emerging nontraditional project man-

agement literature that has implications for HRDproject management connec-

tions. HRDproject management explicit connections included findings related

to failure statistics, OD, CD, leadership, and organization theory. In addition, the


(text continued on p. 335)


20/30

FIGURE2:

A

ConceptualFrameworkforS

uccessfulHRDProjectManagement

328


21/30

TABLE

2:

PropositionsforaConceptualFrameworkforSuccessfulHRDProjectManagement

ModelCategory

Variable

Propositions

RationaleandSupport

Antecedents

Projectmanager

characteristics

Projectteamcha

racteristics

P1:Thegreateraproject

manager'sknowledge,

abilitiesskills,

proactivity,res

ponsive-

ness,andexpe

rience,

themorepositiveimpact

onHRDproject

outcomes.

P2:Thegreaterthe

projectteamm

embers

knowledge,ab

ilities,

skills,proactiv

ity,

responsiveness,andexpe-

rience,themorepositive

impactonHRDproject

outcomes.

P1:Althoughth

ereislimitedresearch,andno

HRD-relatedstudieswereidentified,Wang,

Chou,andJiang(2005)foundthatprojectm

anager

experiencespositivelyimpactprojectoutcomes.

Inaddition,projectmanagerqualificationsand

attitudeslikelyinfluenceprojectoutcomes(Casey,

1978;Gullett,

1972;Kerzner,2001).Animportant

elementneedi

ngfurtherexaminationistheextentto

whichsuccess

fulHRDimplementationisactuallya

mixtureofHR

Dpractitioner'sprofessional

judgmentand

projectmanagement-relateds

killsthat

extendHRD-sponsoredprograms/effortsto

reality.

Itislikelythatbetterprojectmanagementm

akesfor

betterHRDprofessionals,asprojectmanagement

andimplemen

tationareoftencloselyrelated.

P2:Giventhescopeandcomplexityofmany

HRD-

relatedprojects,includinglarge-scaleHRD-related

research,itis

logicalthatteammanagementisa

centralelementforsuccess.AlthoughHRD-related

studiesassociatedwithteamHRDproject

management,

KendraandTaplin(2004)reportedthe

experiencesandknowledgeofprojectteam

membersposi

tivelyimpactprojectoutcome

s.There

ismuchroom

forexplorationregardingteamsand

HRDprojectsuccess.

(continued)

329


22/30

TABLE

2:

(continued)

ModelCategory

Variable

Propositions

RationaleandSupport

Organizationstakeholder

characteristics

P3a:Thegreaterthe

organizational

stake-holderre

adiness,

buy-in,suppor

t,

proactivity,

responsiveness,and

experience,themore

positiveimpac

tonHRD

projectoutcom

es.

P3b:Themorealignedthe

organizationstructure

andenvironme

ntin

supportofthe

HRD

project,thebetterthe

outcome.

P3a:AlthoughtheHRD-relatedliteraturehas

suggestedthatreadinessisessentialtoHRD

interventions(Miller,Madsen,&John,2006),most

readiness-relatedcommentaryhasbeenanecdotal,

andreadiness

fromtheHRDprojectperspectivehas

yettobethoroughlyconsidered.Althoughn

ot

directlyassociatedwithHRDprojects,Pintoand

Prescott(1990

)andJugdevandMller(200

5)

reportedthatprojectsuccessisbasedonstakeholder

involvementincludingstakeholdersupport,

stakeholderco

nsultation,andstakeholder

acceptancede

monstratedthroughreadiness,

proactivity,an

dresponsiveness.

P3b:According

toSemler(1997),organizatio

nal

alignmentisa

keyelementforHRDsuccess.

Althoughthealignmentperspectivemayoftenbe

usedtodescribeconceptualbuy-in,itisalso

importantfor

sharedparticipationincomplex

projectsinvolvingmultiplestakeholders.Av

ailable

researchsuggeststhatalignmentofstructureand

environment,includingauthority,leadership

,and

responsibility,yieldsbetterprojectoutcome

s(Baker

etal.,1983;B

utler,1973;Gullett,1972;Ho

dgetts,

1968).Thereisaneedtoexaminealignmen

twith

HRDprojectcontexts.

(continued)

330


23/30

TABLE

2:

(continued)

ModelCategory

Variable

Propositions

RationaleandSupport

Process

Projectmanagem

ent

approachand/o

rPractice

modelsutilized

Projectmanagem

enttools

Leadershipandproject

teamdynamics

P4:Utilizationo

f

structuredproject

managementa

pproaches

orpracticemo

delsand

earlydetermin

ationof

criticalsuccessfactors

(CSFs)willpo

sitively

influenceHRD

project

outcomes.

P5:Utilizationo

frelevant

projectmanagementtools

willpositively

influence

HRDprojects

uccess.

P6:Proactivityandlow

avoidancebehaviors

amongteamle

adership

andmemberswillposi-

tivelyinfluenceHRD

projectoutcom

es.

P4:Althoughnumerousmodelshavebeenusedto

explicatekeyHRDconceptsandpractices(

McLean,

2006;Swanso

n&Holton,2001)understand

ingthe

utilizationofspecificmodelstowardeffectiveHRD

implementatio

nhasbeenunderstudied.Utilization

ofprojectmanagementapproaches,including

processesusedtoplan,control,andexecute

con-

tracts,positivelyinfluenceprojectoutcomes(Jiang,

Klein,&Means,2000;Kendra&Taplin,20

04)and

haveledtoinitialunderstandingregardinga

ppropri-

ateapproachestogeneralprojectmanagement.

Comparingan

dcontrastingcurrentHRDpractice

modelsandth

eprojectmanagementcomponents

associatedwiththem,ordevelopmentandtestingof

integratedHR

Dprojectmanagementmodels,will

clearlybenefitthefield.

P5:AccordingtoKendraandTaplin(2004)tools,

includingperf

ormancemeasurementsystem

s,posi-

tivelyinfluenceprojectsuccess.Theextent

towhich

projectmanag

ementtoolsoutlinedinthereviewof

literatureassistinthemaximizationofHRD

project

performancea

ndHRDimplementationhaveyetto

besystematicallyexplored.

P6:Althoughth

ereissomeevidencethatlead

ership

behaviorandprojectteambehaviorspositively

influenceproj

ectoutcomes(Jiangetal.,2000;

Zimmer&Yasin,1998),thereislittlebeyon

danec-

dotalandpres

criptivesupportintermsofth

eroleof

leadershipfor

HRDandHRD-relatedprojects.

(continued)

331


24/30

TABLE

2:

(continued)

ModelCategory

Variable

Propositions

RationaleandSupport

Proximaloutcom

es

Projectteamresponsive-

nesstoenviron

mental

change

Projecttimelines

s

Projectalignmen

twith

objectives

P7:Ongoinguseof

environmental

scanning

andadaptation

tochanges

intheproject

environment,including

stakeholderexpectations

andofcritical

success

factors,willpo

sitively

influenceHRD

project

outcomes.

P8:On-timeexe

cution

and/orappropriatetime

adjustmentsfo

rproject

executionwill

positively

influenceHRD

project

outcomes.

P9:Alignmentb

etween

HRDinterventionobjec-

tivesandproje

ctmanage-

mentexecutionoverall

willinfluenceperceptions

ofHRDprojec

tsuccess.

P7:Availableprojectmanagementliteratures

uggests

projecttechniquesandtoolsappropriatelyappliedto

projectactivitiesreinforceongoingenvironmental

scanningandadaptationtoprojectenvironm

entsto

ensureprojectsuccess(Kendra&Taplin,20

04;PMI

GlobalStanda

rd,2004).

P8:Therehave

beenfewresearchersorpractitioners

whohavesystematicallyexploredtheroleo

f

timelinessand

on-timedeliveryforHRDpr

ojects.

Inrelatedprojectmanagementliterature,Kendra

andTaplin(20

04)suggestedthatpositivepr

oject

outcomesarepredicatedonon-timeexecutionof

initiatives;however,noidentifiedstudiesex

amined

theelements/b

arrierscontributingtoHRDp

roject

timelinessand

thespecificimpactsuchtimelinessor

lackoftimelinessmayhaveonHRDsuccess.

P9:Pinto(1998

)andPMIGlobalStandard(2

004)

maintainedtheimportanceofalignmentbetween

projectandprojectmanagementexecutiont

ech-

niquestoinflu

enceprojectoutcomes.Becau

seof

theabsenceofexplorationregardingHRDa

ndpro-

jectmanagementintersections,thereiscurrently

littletoinform

HRDprofessionalsregardingthese

importantpracticeintersections.

(c

ontinued)

332


25/30

TABLE

2:

(continued)

ModelCategory

Variable

Propositions

RationaleandSupport

Distaloutcomes

Qualityofproject

execution

Projectteamlearning

Interventionsuccess

P10:Projectmanagement

effortsthatled

toHRD

interventionim

plementa-

tionwillhaveapositive

impactonproximal

stakeholderpe

rceptions

andgeneralintervention

outcomes.

P11:Projectteamlearning

throughoutthe

HRD

projectwillhavea

positiveimpac

ton

perceivedoutc

omesof

theprojectand

on

futureprojectteam

performance.

P12:Objectiveandsubjec-

tiveHRDprojectsuccess

willhaveapositive

impactonHRDinterven-

tionsuccess.

P10:Well-executedHRDprocessessupportedby

appropriatepr

ojectmanagementlogicallycreatea

betterlikelihoodforprojectexecutionwhich

stakeholderse

mbrace.ChristensonandWalker

(2004)empha

sizedtheimportanceofusing

project

managementtechniquestopositivelyinfluence

stakeholderperceptionsandinterventionoutcomes.

Theabsenceo

fsystematicstudiesexploring

the

impactofprojectmanagementimplementationon

interventionoutcomespointstotheneedforfurther

studyofthisp

henomenon.

P11:HRDliteraturehaslongemphasizedteamand

organizationallearningandtheimportanceofthese

elementsforo

rganizationalperformance.Although

notexamined

inthecontextofHRD,results

reportedbyThiry(2001)pointedtoarelationship

betweenlearn

ingandperformanceoutcome

s.Thiry

introducedam

odelthatintegratedteamlearning

withperforma

ncewithintheprojectmanagement

framework.M

orestudyisneeded.

P12:WhenanH

RDprojectisperceivedtobewell

executedinwaysthatleadtoafocusedHRDinter-

vention,itisp

roposedthattheintervention

itselfis

likelytobeviewedassuccessful.KendraandTaplin

(2004)empha

sizedthatprojectsuccesswill

havea

positiveinflue

nceontheorganizationand

perceptionsoforganizationalefforts.HRD-related

exampleshaveyettobeexaminedintheliterature.

(continued)

333


26/30

TABLE

2:

(continued)

ModelCategory

Variable

Propositions

RationaleandSupport

Intervention-related

learning

Intervention-related

performance

improvement

Resultingorganizational

success

P13:AsuccessfulHRD

intervention,aidedby

effectiveHRD

project

management,w

ill

positivelyimpact

organizational/group/

individuallearning.

P14:AsuccessfulHRD

intervention,aidedby

effectiveHRD

project

management,w

illposi-

tivelyimpacto

rganiza-

tional/group/in

dividual

performance.

P15:Objectivea

nd

subjectiveHRD

interventionsu

ccess

willpositively

impact

organizational

success.

P13:SchindlerandEppler(2003)researched

theuse

oflessonslear

nedsessionsafterprojectimp

lemen-

tationstopositivelyimpactorganization,tea

m,and

individuallearning.Organizationalpractices

embracingaction-reflectionlearningcyclescreate

opportunitiesforlearningaboutHRDproject

implementatio

nandhavethepotentialtocontribute

tofutureHRD

projectimplementationstrate

gies

andoutcomes.

P14:KendraandTaplin(2004)andPMIGlob

al

Standard(2004)positedthatprojectmanage

ment

canbeusedas

aframeworktoimpactinterv

entions

includingteam

andorganizationalperformance.

Assumingthe

HRDapproachalignswellwithorga-

nizationalneeds,effectiveprojectmanagement

associatedwiththedeploymentofHRDeffortsis

likelytoresultpositiveperformanceoutcom

es.

P15:Pinto(1998)suggestedthatfutureorganizational

successispredicatedontheuseofprojectm

anage-

menttechniqu

estoimplementsuccessfulorganiza-

tionalinterven

tions.Well-implementedHRD

-related

effortswithan

emphasisonthekeyelementsidenti-

fiedinFigure

2abovecreateagreaterlikelihoodfor

relatedorganizationalsuccess.

334


27/30

findings from the emerging nontraditional project management literature were

reported as four key themes: models, tools, theories, and research.

Project initiatives have become increasingly prevalent in organizations and

are important considerations for organizational success. Projects are temporary

initiatives and can be viewed structurally as a company within a company and

project management is a methodology that provides a framework to success-

fully define and execute temporary initiatives including OD engagements.

More specifically, project management helps to define CSFs in the early stages

of projects and project management defines the infrastructure for supporting the

CD and leadership styles of project mangers as well as project team members.

Researchers suggest that project success is predicated on delivering quality

products, adequate planning, alignment of resources and deliverables, ade-

quate change management processes, and sufficient feedback processes

(Cicmil, 2000). In addition, researchers suggest that project managers and pro-

ject team members utilize tools and techniques along with people to ensure

quality deliverables are on time, within scope, and efficiently managed in a

broad area of industries, including banking, pharmaceutical, consulting, adver-

tising, legal, health care, safety, and emerging manufacturing and industrial

sectors (Kerzner, 2001). Thus, an understanding of project management within

the context of HRD and the use of project management models, theories, tools,

and research, ensures project-failure statistics are minimized by emphasizing

the importance of resources and their use in supporting and implementing

organizational strategies and goals.

Finally, there is additional work that should be done to clarify the use of pro-

ject management approaches in support of HRD professionals and the use of

project management by HRD as a business practice in multiple industries and

contexts. The additional work includes the use of resources to implement orga-

nizational strategies. There is also a need to explore the converse including the

use of HRD to develop project managers. There are many opportunities to

examine HRDproject management connections, and we hope that this exami-

nation of literature and key concepts is beneficial for future research, practice

applications, and theory building.

References

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Lila Lenoria Carden is assistant professor and director of MS-HRM at Houston

Baptist University. She conducts research in human resource development, pro-

ject management, and leadership. Prior to becoming a university faculty member,

Carden was a program/project manager for software development programs.

Documents

Human Resources Development and Project Management