Section 7: Human Resources Management

QUESTION 130
A project manager had a complex problem to solve and made a decision about what needed to be done. A few months later, the problem resurfaced. What did the project manager most likely NOT do?
A. Neglect to do proper risk analysis
B. Confirm that the decision solved the problem
C. Have the project sponsor validate the decision
D. Use an Ishikawa diagram
Answer: B

Explanation:
Notice the phrasing of this question, "most likely NOT do." Expect to see questions worded on the exam in ways that can cause you to misinterpret them. You will also see questions about things we forget to do in the real world. "Who has time," you might say, "to determine if each problem is really solved?" One could respond with, "Who has time not to do this? Who has time to deal with the same problem twice?" The final steps of problem solving include: implement a decision, review it and confirm that the decision solved the problem.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 331

QUESTION 131
All of the following are parts of effective problem solving EXCEPT:
A. Waiting to make decisions.
B. Reviewing the decision.
C. Confirming that the decision solved the problem.
D. Analyzing the problem.
Answer: A
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
The longer one waits to make a decision, the greater the impact on the project constraints.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 331

QUESTION 132
A company asks one of the project managers to lead a project to create a substantially improved version of one of the company’s best-selling products. The project manager is given total freedom of decision and resources, including whether to utilize contractor services and/or the company’s resource pool. Under these circumstances, which of the following would be the BEST way for the project manager to build the team?
A. She should choose her team from the top developers and fabrication workers in the company.
B. She should create a team of company line workers and contract the development services under a cost reimbursable contract with provisions to protect confidentiality.
C. She should contract the entire team utilizing a cost plus incentive fee type of contract.
D. She should contract selected team members on an ad hoc and as needed basis utilizing a time and material contract.
Answer: A
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
This question deals with a make-or-buy decision. Since this project involves an important project for the company, key aspects of it should be retained in-house. Therefore, an ad hoc basis (choice D) is not appropriate, nor is completely using outside services (choice C). In this case the development work (choice B) would be done in-house as the company has expertise. Only choice A is viable.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 320

QUESTION 133
Work on a project is ongoing when the project manager overhears two workers arguing over what a set of instructions means. The project manager investigates and discovers that the instructions for the construction of the concrete footings currently being poured were poorly translated between the different languages in use on the project. Which of the following is the BEST thing for the project manager to do FIRST?
A. Get the instructions translated by a more experienced party.
B. Look for quality impacts of the poor translation of the instructions for the footings.
C. Bring the issue to the attention of the team, and ask them to look for other translation problems.
D. Inform the sponsor of the problem in the next project report.
Answer: B
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
Though all of these choices are correct things to do, the question asks what to do first. What is the most immediate problem? Isn’t it most urgent to find out whether the concrete footings meet your project requirements? Choice A could be done, but it does not address the immediate concern. Choice C is excellent, and is something many project managers might never think of doing. However, it does not address the immediate problem. Choice D is also not taking action to solve the problem. Are the concrete footings adequate? Only choice B will help you answer that.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 331

QUESTION 134
A project is in the middle of the executing processes when a stakeholder suggests a major new change. This change will cause the third major overhaul of the project. At the same time, the project manager discovers that a major work package was not completed because a team member’s boss moved him to another project that had a higher priority. Which of the following is the BEST person for the project manager to address these issues with?
A. The team
B. Senior management
C. The customer
D. The sponsor
Answer: D
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
It is the sponsor’s role to prevent unnecessary changes and to set priorities between projects. The situation described in this question implies that such work is not being done and the project manager must therefore go to the root of the problem; the sponsor.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 306

QUESTION 135
There have been many work packages completed successfully on the project, and the sponsor has made some recommendations for improvements. The project is on schedule to meet an aggressive deadline when the successor activity to a critical path activity suffers a major setback. The activity has 14 days of float and is being completed by four people. There are two other team members with the skill set to assist the troubled activity, if needed.
The project manager receives a call that three other team members are attempting to be removed from the project because they do not feel the project can be successful. When the project manager pursues this, he discovers that those team members have issues that have not been addressed. Which of the following is the BEST thing to do to improve the project?
A. Have the team members immediately assist the troubled activity.
B. Investigate why the project schedule is aggressive.
C. See who can replace the three team members.
D. Create an issue log.
Answer: D
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
Sometimes complex problems are caused by not doing simple things. The data in the first paragraph, once you read the choices, is completely extraneous. The troubled activity has float and so does not need immediate attention. Choice A may not be necessary if the amount of float will not be exceeded by the delay.
None of the choices suggest investigating if the amount of float is enough to cover any delay caused by the trouble, whatever it is. Rather, the choices take one in different directions.
Choice B should have already been done before the project began. Choice C cannot be best, as replacing team members does not solve the root cause of the problem. Could there be something that the project manager is doing wrong, or could be doing that she is not, that would solve the problem without losing resources? Wouldn’t it be more effective to discover the root cause of those team members’ concerns so that the problem does not surface again later? The creation of an issue log will let the troubled team members know that their concerns have been heard, are noted, and will be resolved. This might be enough to stop them from leaving and avoid project delays and confusion if new team members must be added. This makes choice D the best answer.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 325

QUESTION 136
The installation project has a CPI of 1.03 and an SPI of 1.0. There are 14 team members and each team member had input into the final project management plan. The customer has accepted the three deliverables completed so far without complaint and the responsibility assignment matrix has not changed since the project began. The project is being completed in a matrix environment and there are no contracts needed for the project.
Though the sponsor is happy with the status of the project, one of the team members is always complaining about how much time his project work is taking. Which of the following would be the BEST thing for the project manager to do?
A. Review the reward system for the project.
B. Try to improve schedule performance of the project.
C. Meet with the customer to try to extend the schedule.
D. Gain formal acceptance in writing from the customer.
Answer: A
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
Improving schedule performance (choice B) relates to getting the project completed sooner. Though it would seem to always be a good idea to improve schedule performance, this project’s performance is fine. The schedule has been approved as it is. It would be better for the project manager to spend more time controlling the project to make sure it finishes according to plan than to improve schedule performance.
If you chose C, ask yourself why. There is nothing wrong with the schedule performance of the project that would require an extension. Did you think that the best way to deal with the complaining stakeholder was to give him more time? How do you know the team member’s activities are on the critical path?
It is always important to gain formal acceptance from the customer, as it provides an opportunity for the team to check if everything is going well. It is a good idea to get such acceptance in writing. Choice D could be done, but there is a more important problem that takes precedence here. Read on. The only thing glaringly wrong in this situation is that the team member is complaining. If you read the situation completely, you will notice that the team member was involved and approved the project management plan, including his own involvement in the project. Since the responsibility assignment matrix has not changed, the team member has not even been assigned different duties since the project began.
There must be something else causing the team member to complain. The project manager should investigate and find out what part of the reward system is ineffective.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 318

QUESTION 137
The project has been challenging to manage. Everyone has been on edge due to pressure to complete the project on time. Unfortunately, the tension has grown to the point where team meetings have become shouting matches and little work is accomplished during the meetings. One team member asks to be excused from future team meetings, as all the shouting upsets him. Meanwhile, the sponsor has asked to attend team meetings in order to better understand how the project is going and the issues involved in completing the project, and the customer has started discussions about adding scope to the project. In this situation, it would be BEST for the project manager to:
A. Ask the sponsor if the information needed could be send in a report rather than have him attend the meeting.
B. Inform the team member who asked to be excused from the meetings of the value of communication in such meetings.
C. Create new ground rules for the meetings and introduce them to the team.
D. Hold a team building exercise that involves all the team members.
Answer: C
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
Here is a situation where all four choices could be done. Choice A does not solve the root cause of the problem described. Choice B merely dismisses the concerns of the team member and might cause anger. A team building exercise (choice D) would take planning and so could not be done right away. Remember, the sponsor might be attending the next meeting and at least one team member might not attend because of past problems. The best thing to do would be to set up new ground rules for the team governing behavior (choice C) and then plan a team building exercise (choice D).
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 323

QUESTION 138
Project performance appraisals are different from team performance assessments in that project performance appraisals focus on:
A. How an individual team member is performing on the project.
B. An evaluation of the project team’s effectiveness.
C. A team building effort.
D. Reducing the staff turnover rate.
Answer: A
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
Questions like this can drive one crazy on the exam because it is easy to get confused. The best thing to do is to look at the two terms used here (project performance appraisals and team performance assessment) and review in your mind what each means BEFORE looking at the choices. Choices B, C, and D list aspects of team performance assessments. Only choice A is correct. Project performance appraisals deal with how each team member is performing work, rather than how well the team is working together.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 325

QUESTION 139
A project manager had a complex problem to solve and made a decision about what needed to be done. A few months later, the problem resurfaced. What did the project manager MOST likely not do?
A. Proper risk analysis
B. Confirm that the decision solved the problem
C. Have the project sponsor validate the decision
D. Use an Ishikawa diagram
Answer: B
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
Notice the phrasing of this question, "most likely NOT do." Expect to see questions worded on the exam in ways that can cause you to misinterpret them. You will also see questions about things we forget to do in the real world. "Who has time," you might say, "to determine if each problem is really solved?" One could respond with, "Who has time not to do this? Who has time to deal with the same problem twice?" The final steps of problem solving include: implement a decision, review it, and confirm that the decision solved the problem.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 331

QUESTION 140
The project CPI is 1.02, the benefit cost ratio is 1.7 and the latest round of performance reviews identified few needed adjustments. The project team was co-located into a new building when the project started. Everyone commented on how excited they were to have all new facilities. The sponsor is providing adequate support for the project and few unidentified risks have occurred.
In an attempt to improve performance, the project manager spends part of the project budget on new chairs for the team members and adds the term "senior" to each team member’s job title. Which of the following is the MOST correct thing that can be said of this project or the project manager?
A. The project manager has misunderstood Herzberg’s theory.
B. The project is slowly spending more money than it should. The project manager should begin to watch cost more carefully.
C. The performance review should be handled better to find more adjustments.
D. The project manager should use good judgment to determine which variances are important.
Answer: A
Section: 7 Human Resources Management
Explanation:
Choice B includes the concept of cost to trick you into selecting it if you are unsure of the real answer. There is no indication that the costs are trending in any particular direction. There is no reason to think that performance reviews should turn up more adjustments (choice C). The project manager should always use good judgment (choice D) and nothing in this question talks about judgment regarding variances, so this cannot be the best choice. In this situation, the project manager is making great working conditions better.
According to Herzberg’s theory, fixing bad working conditions will help you to motivate, but making good ones better will not improve motivation. You need to focus on the motivating agents and not the hygiene factors.
Source: PMP Exam Prep Page: 334