HR Managers

1
HR Managers trust relations and the development
of HR Enterprise-wide systems projects

• Carole Tansley
• Nottingham Business School
• The Nottingham Trent University

2
HRIS DEVELOPMENT A FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS(see
Tansley, Newell and Williams, 1999)
AUTOMATE INFORMATE
TRANSFORMATE (Tech functionality
(Tech (Tech data)
information) knowledge mgt)
HRIS availability
HR resources
Strategic alliances
Finance
HRIS
Adding value?
Org. restructuring
Legacy systems
EWIS strategies
Senior mgt (not HR) push
Politics
3
Challenges of EWIS development for HR project
managers

• Big concept wholesale company systems
  integration but only managing HR pillar
• Unknown territory e.g. cross-organisational/discip
  linary working
• Managing multi-disciplinary/temporary team
  members
• Lack of knowledge about IS project processes

4
The study

• Cross-case comparison of HRIS project management
  in two transnational organisations implementing
  EWIS
• Focus on knowledge-development trust relations
  in the project manager/team member relationship
• Two conceptual frameworks
• Newell and Swans (2000) trust typology
• Raubs (2000) knowledge-based framework of
  competency development
• Raises questions about the knowledge-based
  competence necessary for an HR EWIS project
  manager

5
Different ways of construing trust

• As an ontological resource to draw upon to guard
  the self in dealings with everyday reality
  (Dibben, 2000)
• As a personality trait (Rotter, 1967 1971 1980)
• As rational choice or transaction cost
  (Williamson, 1975)
• Sociologically as the expectation that arises
  within a community of regular, honest and
  cooperative behavior, based on commonly shared
  norms, on the part of other members of that
  community (Fukuyama, 1995, p26).

6
Trust in teams is said to be enhanced when
project managers

• provide team members with feedback
• give sufficient explanations for their actions
  (e.g. Konovsky and Cropanzano, 1991 Sapienzo and
  Korsgaard, 1996)
• discuss their ideas (e.g. Butler, 1991 Hart et
  al., 1986).
• do not engage in politics or use hostile and
  demanding tactics

7
A three-fold typology of trust (Newell and Swan,
2000)

• Commitment trust
• Companion trust
• Competence trust

8
Research Methods

• Ethnography incorporating
• Participant observation
• Interviews
• Document analysis

9
QEL and Epicurea similarities

• Both transnational organisations new to EWIS
  development
• Many legacy systems
• Poor image of HR departments
• Poor HRIS development history
• Lead HR managers with no HRIS development
  experience
• Project teams temporary workers

10
Project manager competence development and
knowledge related processes (Raub, 2001)
Imagination Implementation Integration
Know-what Diagnosing identifying relevant strategic issues and outlining a new strategic logic Defining Evaluating and selecting new initiatives defining the new strategic logic Deploying aligning organizational and knowledge structures
Know-why Innovating translating the strategic logic exploring innovative theories Implementing defining standards and procedures establishing an appropriate knowledge architecture Integrating knowledge between projects
Know-how Identifying localizing individual and functional know-how identifying external knowledge sources Interrelating building and maintaining links to other know-how carriers. Improving Adopting new standards and procedures codifying know-how
11
Project management competence development and
knowledge related processes in QEL Epicurea
Imagination Implementation Integration
Know-what Diagnosing Nick late in joining ERP project, no vision no success in gaining funding. Shauna developed HRIS vision linked to business strategy, networked with other EWIS mgt. gained funding for HR project. Defining Process eng Nicks messy processes with many consultants. Ineffective expensive workshops. Knowledge redundancy of functional mapping teams not taken into account. Shauna Macro mapping with HR directors only worldwide then HRIS team develop methodology. Social events. Deploying Nick still no project funding because business case still not proven. Team sidetracked by providing proof of concept. HR director still not actively involving himself so little aligning of organizational and knowledge structures. Shauna Linking new initiatives priority maintenance of project.
Know-why Innovating Nick separate from current HR developments and sending negative messages to senior mgt about IS impact on HR. Shauna working with HR managers team on synchronous development of HR strategy and policy. Implementing Nick keeps team focused on procedure writing. Process owners not kept up to date nor checked that they understood jargon. Shaunas team required to analyze stakeholders needs report back to IS project leader for project changes. Integrating Nick focused on technical developments. IS contractor takes over meetings. Still no bringing together of the process owners in spite of requests nor part of general ERP team. Shauna working with US teams on wholescale HRIS project.
Know-how Identifying Nick standard recruitment ads s staff HR without IS skills alienated contract IS staff (ft). Shauna staff from network early mix of IS HR (pt). IS to lead at project level and report to Shauna. Interrelating Poor communication processes at QEL. Few understood what was going on as each stage progressed. Nick not regarded as a leader, though respected for his knowledge. Shauna required continual team reflection processes for team learning and socialization. Improving Nicks stop/start of project meant piecemeal adoption of new standards and procedures codifying know-how had been difficult because of garbage can of intranet. Shaunaa project complete and new standards procedures known.
12
Trust relations, PM competence development and
knowledge related processes
Imagination Implementation Integration
Nick low team companion trust e.g. induction missing Shauna early development of individual companion trust Swift trust (Meyerson et al., 1996) an aspect of competence trust in both projects. Because no risk or uncertainty to careers, no formal commitment trust needed to be generated. Nick little socialisation encouraged on the section, treated lurkers, shirkers and workers the same, team fear for livelihoods so negative social capital generated Low companion and competence trust. Team ref to commitment trust. Shauna clear focus on strategy, continuous social capital generation reflection on practice encouraged high companion and competence trust. No reference to commitment trust Nick Loss of team members, hold on project. Team focus on commitment trust. Reduced self trust. Shauna consideration of integrating mechanisms including alliance with emerging strategies in HR and IS, priority maintenance of her project, expansion of project to US, development of exchange tactics with team members. maintenance of high levels of competence companion trust.
13
Conclusions

• Ethnographic research at project level can
  enhance understanding at organisational level
• Knowledge development processes in HR EWIS
  projects are inherently linked to trust relations
  between project manager and team
• Types of trust are useful heuristic devices and
  can be seen to be linked.
• In developing competence trust, project managers
  can usefully develop knowledge-based competence
  in
• project priority maintenance with all
  stakeholders
• positive social capital in own and teams
  networks
• an understanding of the mutual benefits of
  strategic exchange with management of reciprocal
  relations and
• a high level of self trust/emotional intelligence

14
Possible areas for future research

• Relations between project management leadership
  and self trust/emotional intelligence
• Ways in which strategic use of HRIS can inform HR
  power relations
• The difficulties inherent in taking a content
  theory approach to knowledge
• The challenges of taking a relational perspective
  (i.e. knowledge development in the social
  relations inherent in project work).

15
Strategic Exchange (Watson, 2002)
Non-work social economic exchanges
Corporate social economic exchanges
Institutional Context Customers Suppliers State M
edia etc
Culture Discourse Narratives
Implicit contract
Organisation
Employee
Life strategy
Organisation strategy