Project and Objectives Relationships

Every organisation must have a mission, goals, objectives and operations. These are necessary for every workplace organisation to survive. Without them, there would be no structure, no reason for its existence, and no means to achieve anything.

• Mission: The mission is the purpose of the organisation’s existence. It states the type of product or service it produces, the target customers, and the important values it holds.
• Goals: Goals are strategically set outcomes that outline expected results and what the organisation intends to achieve.
• Objectives: An objective is a specific milestone that you reach on the way to achieving your goal. They are specific actions and measurable steps that are needed to achieve a goal. For example, expanding your distribution network is an objective used to reach the goal of raising company revenue
• Operations: Operations are the organisation’s day-to-day activities that create unique value and achieve core objectives. All these are interconnected and interrelated.

One of your responsibilities as a project manager is to determine and confirm if the project is aligned with other projects and the organisation's mission, goals, objectives and operations. By doing so, you can be sure that the project you are planning to pursue is in line with the direction your organisation wants to take. If it is, you can count on the organisation for the support and provision of the resources that you will need for the implementation of the project.

Aside from consulting with relevant stakeholders, you can also use the following guide questions to help you clarify the project’s relationship to other projects and the organisation.

• Is the potential project in line with the organisation’s objectives and culture?
• Are all workplace processes in place?
• Are the processes aligned with the project needs?
• Are there enough resources for the project?

If you answered no to any or all of the questions, then you should focus on the problematic areas first.

To help you clarify the relationship of a project to other projects and to the objectives of the organisation, let us consider how an organisation’s mission, goals, objectives and operations work, let us look at excerpts from the Green Leaf Mission, Goals, Objectives, Operations and Strategy Statement.

Scenario

Green Leaf Café has a detailed Mission, Goals, Objectives, Operations and Strategy Statement. Some of the contents of the statement are shown here.

• Mission statement
  Green Leaf Café will serve the Wellington community with quality, comprehensive, unique, and distinctive vegetarian meals and products. To showcase indigenous vegetarian ingredients. To inspire people to choose a lifestyle that is healthier, sustainable and more compassionate through a plant-based diet.
• Organisational goals
  Organisational goals include:
  • To provide vegetarian and vegan food and beverages to customers for profit and create a positive eating experience.
  • To be the customers go-to-first provider of vegetarian and vegan meals and products in the city of Wellington and neighbouring suburbs.
• Organisational objectives
  Organisational objectives include:
  • Generate a 10% increase in sales through boosting online sales by the end of the fiscal year.
  • Increase market penetration by 15% through marketing strategies every quarter.
• Current business operations
  Current business operations include:
  • The Green Leaf Cafe is situated in inner Wellington and specialises in indigenous vegetarian ingredients.
  • Its café premises are in a standalone building and approximately 200m2. Its catering business is in a large warehouse approximately 500m2.
• Business strategies
  Business strategies include:
  • To launch a new vegetarian and vegan range of meals and products and expand their footprint to corporate events .
  • To expand product reach through city of Wellington and neighbouring suburbs through a range of technological advances and marketing strategies.

Identify availability and access of resources for undertaking the project

When you are beginning a new project, it is important that you identify the availability of your resources: what people, equipment, plant, money, and facilities you will need to achieve the goals of the project. If the resources you need are not going to be available at the time you need them, then it is time to take stock of the project and examine whether it is an appropriate time to undertake the work.

There are three types of project resources you must consider to execute and complete the project efficiently and effectively.

Physical resources

Physical resources are tangible items necessary for the implementation of the project. These are the items that take up space, have value and are used in undertaking the project. They include facilities, equipment, land and other assets. Physical resources vary from project to project depending on the industry and the nature of the project. It is important to keep in mind, however, that there may be statutory regulations and legal requirements that must be complied with. Statutory regulations refer to professions that must be registered with a professional regulatory body by law. Examples of statutory regulations relevant to physical resource are the following:

• employment and insurance laws
• building and accessibility regulations
• pest control
• hygiene
• pollution
• compliance
• licenses
• recording documentation.

Legal requirements

Legal requirements are the necessary conditions imposed by a law, statute, ordinance, decree, requirement, order, judgment, rule, regulation (or interpretation of any of the foregoing) of, and the terms of any license or permit issued by, any Governmental Authority (Legal Requirement Definition, n.d.)

Examples of legal requirements to be considered include:

• work, health and safety measures, e.g., risk assessment procedures, preventative measures
• environmental management
• regulations for storage of supplies, e.g. Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals Code of Practice
• local and regulatory authorities, e.g. Health and Safety Executive Inspectorate, environmental health officer, fire officer
• compliance, recording documentation
• housekeeping.

Human resources

A project team is composed of a group of people managed by a project manager. As the project manager, the responsibility of making sure that the project moves forward as scheduled is tied with the ability to handle the members of the team. Thus, identifying the people that will be part of the team must be done in advance to make sure that they are available and have the skills for the project.

To determine the human resources required, consider the following factors.

• The capabilities/skills and effort (time) required for the project
• The available people for the team and their availability (time)

Once you have a list of potential people/team members, you can assign the tasks. Typically, the project team will discuss the assigned tasks but if you know them well enough, you can designate the task/s yourself. If there are gaps for a required skill set, meaning there are no team members qualified for the task at hand, you might want to consider outsourcing the task.

The management of human resources goes hand in hand with the implementation of human resource policies. Select the headings to learn more about the following common policies and procedures in an organisation:

Employment Relations Act 2000

You are not a human resource management professional yet but you do need a basic understanding of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (Employment Relations Act 2000 No 24 (as at 13 June 2023), Public Act Contents – New Zealand Legislation, 2023) which provides for the terms and conditions of employment as well as the rights and responsibilities of both employees and employers. Taking care of and nurturing your human resources is critical because without them, your entire organisation, not just your project, would collapse.

Employment Relations Act (2000)

Right team members

It is not enough to just have people in your team. You must have the right people with the right skills.

Once you have completed your scope and project plans, you need to determine the skills that are required by each activity in your plan and use this to develop a skill requirement listing. You also need to ensure that you are aware of where your people will be sourced from – will you have access to the staff already present in your organisation? Or will you need to recruit new staff for the project? Once you have these factors under control, you should recruit staff who will allow you to meet your skill needs and accomplish the tasks required by your project.

When you are trying to select which people to have on your team, it is important that you look for people who:

• have technical competence in the project area
• are flexible
• have knowledge in working on projects
• are task oriented and able to work to a set of objectives and within a structure
• are able to effectively work within a team environment.

You will often find that you cannot meet all your team’s needs by using staff who are currently employed in your organisation. In such cases, you need to investigate employing staff on a temporary or contract basis to fill these skill gaps. You may be able to call on a pool of contractors that you regularly use, or if not appropriate, advertise for contract workers.

Human resources processes related to undertaking project work

• Acquisition: Acquisition involves either the recruiting or reassigning or transferring employees to fill open positions required for your project. Acquisition is the first phase of project management wherein human resource availability is confirmed and the team to complete your project is obtained.
• Development: Development involves ensuring that each employee can accomplish work tasks according to organisational standards or expectations. Development in project management is about identifying specific areas where a team member may be struggling. By doing this, said team member could be given assistance and opportunities to address the problematic areas.
• Management: Management involves overseeing all employees to ensure that work tasks are being completed on time and according to set standards. Management in project management is to check if project timelines are being met or not and to ensure that each work is being completed according to the standards set.

Select the following headings to learn the steps in these functions.

Technical resources

Technical resources are generally technologies or applications needed to complete the project like computer hardware, computer monitors, modems and routers. Also included are software licenses, hardware such as cabling or switches for IT equipment, and machinery. Keeping updated in New Zealand Consumer Laws (e.g. Consumer Guarantees Act and Fair Trading Act), particularly on warranties, will help you with the management of technical resources. Check other laws and policies to this effect to make sure you are compliant and to get yourself protected in the process as well.

KEY POINTS

• The managerial principle PLOC (plan, lead, organise and control) sums up what a good project manager sets out to do.
• At the initial stages of your project, you should develop a project scope document that outlines the scope of the project – that is what it will and will not involve.
• Every stakeholder of the project must have a set of clearly defined responsibilities so that there is no redundancy of tasks and the project is effectively managed.
• The scope document should also outline your stakeholders, your reporting requirements, and the limits of your responsibility.
• Roles, responsibilities and authority must be negotiated and understood by all stakeholders.
• It is important that you determine how your project is linked to others around you, especially since some parts of the project may impact the delivery of other projects.

Activity

Check how well you have progressed through the learning content in this section.

Now it’s your turn

Prior to moving on to the next topic, have a conversation with someone that is not in Human Resources or studying this qualification and in your own words:

• Describe your organisation’s
  • Mission
  • Goals
  • Objectives
  • Operations
• Explain the different legislations most relevant to your organisation’s processes