A

PROJECT REPORT
ON
“CHALLENGES AND CHANGES IN HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT BASED ORGANISATION”
Submitted to
University of Rajasthan
in the partial fulfilment of degree of MASTERS
IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
(MHRM)

MAHESHWARI COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND ARTS,

JAIPUR
SESSION 2021-2022

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

DR. SUMITA SHARDA Aditi Agrawal
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (BADM) MHRM PART 2
ENROLLMENT
 NO.:16/40562

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project entitle

CHALLNGES AND CHANGES IN HUMAN RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT BASED
ORGANISATION.

Submitted to Maheshwari College of Commerce and Arts, Jaipur of

University of Rajasthan in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
the Degree of Master of Human Resource Management is my
original work and the project has not formed the basis for the
award of any other Degree, Diploma, Associate ship, Fellowship or
similar other titles. It has not been submitted to any other university
or institution for the award of any degree or diploma.

Name: Aditi Agrawal

MHRM II

CERTIFICATE
ABSTRACT
 This project is concerned with human resource management, or HRM,
in project-based businesses. Over the last few decades, organizations have
increasingly relied on project-centered frameworks. This projectification
strategy provides a different work environment for modern business
workers. Project management and human resource management
researchers have revealed potential projectification effects on HRM. This
thesis delves into this topic through a series of single, multiple, and
comparative case studies involving project-based organizations. These
studies strive to identify and evaluate HRM's experiences in this particular
context in order to better prepare for these changes and challenges.
The conclusions of the study are published in four papers. The findings
indicate to numerous significant, empirically based difficulties in the areas
of competence, trust, transformation, and people. Furthermore, the
continually shifting expectations for line managers and HR departments
within the larger HR system are evaluated. The thesis proposes two "ideal
forms" of HR department organizational structures, as well as alternate
line manager roles that vary by business type.

Keywords: HRM, project-based organisations, projectification, HR

department, line manager, competence, trust, change.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This journey has been characterised by a lot of thinking, writing,
rewriting, discussions, sharing of ideas, creative moments as well as
moments of hopelessness. All the way, I have had persons around
me that have not only supported me, but that have actually taken
an active part in the process. Hence, this thesis is the result of
fruitful collaboration and creative time together with colleagues,
family and friends.
I want to thank my supervisor, good colleague and friend,
Associate Professor Mr. Ujjawal Sharma. Thank you for believing in
my potential from the beginning (when I did not yet realise myself
that I actually liked doing research).
Support and inspiration at work is important, but not enough. I
want to thank my family for their unconditional love and support;
my Parents.

1
 CONTENTS
Chapter 1: An unexplored dimension of the management of
project-based organisations

- INTRODUCTION
- PROJECTIFICATION AND PROJECT-BASED ORGANISATIONS
- CHALLENGES FOR HRM: IMPRESSIONS FROM THE PROJECT FIELD
- CHALLENGES FOR HRM: IMPRESSIONS FROM THE HRM FIELD
- THE AIM OF THE THESIS

Chapter 2: Research process and methodology

- INTRODUCTION
- RESEARCH PROCESS

Chapter 3: Applying the HRM field to understand project-

based organisations

- FROM MANAGING PERSONNEL TO MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES

- THE CONCEPT OF HRM
- 7 HRM: CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
- LINE MANAGERS: FROM SPECIALISTS TO HR MANAGERS
- THE DESIGN OF MODERN HR DEPARTMENT

Chapter 4: Challenges and changes for HRM in project-based

organisations

- FOUR PERSPECTIVES TO ILLUMINATE THE CHALLENGES FACING HRM IN - -

- PBOS CHANGES IN CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF HRM IN PBOS

REFERENCES

2
Figures and Tables
Figure 1: Projectification and project-based organisations...........................9
Figure 2: Research design and strategy .........................................................18
Figure 3: Integration domains for the Human Resource Agent ................84

Table 1: Case companies and focus for case studies ...................................21

Table 2: Interviews ...........................................................................................26
Table 3: Papers ..................................................................................................35
Table 4: Central areas of the HRM practice..................................................54
Table 5: Challenges for HRM in project-based organisations....................71
Table 6: Changes related to the content of HRM.........................................72
Table 7: Changes related to the structure of HRM......................................74
Table 8: Logics for HR specialists...................................................................76
Table 9: Alternative roles for line managers.................................................77
Table 10: HR-departmental structures, work organisation and HR
organisation................................................................................................89

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 Chapter 1

AN UNEXPLORED DIMENSION OF THE

MANAGEMENT OF PROJECT-BASED

ORGANISATIONS

This dissertation focuses on human resource management, or HRM, in

project-based businesses. Over the last few decades, organizations
have increasingly relied on project-centered frameworks. This
projectification strategy provides a different work environment for
modern business workers. The first chapter provides an overview of the
projectification trend and emphasizes the importance of project-based
enterprises improving their HRM skills in order to meet the demand for
such information.

INTRODUCTION

One of the most significant changes in modern organizations is that

more workers are consistently working in project-based, temporary
structures. "The actual operating unit becomes the project,
implemented by a network rather than by individual firms or formal
business partnerships," writes Manuel Castells. Manuel Castells
presented this idea in "The Practice of Organization."

Alternatively, many businesses are currently undertaking a

process known as "projectification." Businesses place a greater focus

4
on projects, project management, and related frameworks during this
prolonged development phase. This change has an impact on how we
think about management, organization, employee relations, and
contracts.
According to James March, the new organizational paradigm
causes firms to lose "fundamental components of permanence," which
may be cause for concern in project-based organizations as compared
to more traditional functional structures (Galbraith, 1973). In this
thesis, I will argue that one of these main challenges is related to HRM
because the projectification process drastically alters the relationship
between the business and its employees.
Despite March's concerns about laws that consider people as
disposable, modern businesses appear to cherish their employees'
abilities and experience more than ever. There is a saying that reads,
"Our people are our most valuable asset!" This is a typical credo in
modern businesses. In project-based businesses, research on
managing the connection between the firm and these "valued assets"
is frequently very relevant. This is true both philosophically and
practically for projectified businesses that try to successfully manage
their individual-organization links. The following portion of Engwall et
al. 2003:130) summarizes the core of my research: "The use of project-
based frameworks by businesses appears to have an impact on human
resource management, employee hiring, and competency
development." However, empirical research has just scratched the
surface of this mostly uncharted territory.
As part of the process of building this new corporate
environment, concerns concerning the quality of work life must be
evaluated. Individual worker motivation, commitment, empowerment,
job pleasure, time restrictions, and medical stress appear to have been
rethought in the projectified workplace. Project work as a new career
path and a way to connect individual objectives to project
organizations is one of the topics relevant to the workplace.

5
PROJECTIFICATION AND PROJECT-BASED ORGANISATIONS

The concept of flexible organizational structures becoming

more important is not new. Experts began observing how this pattern
evolved in the 1970s and 1980s. Rather than focusing on the
characteristics of project-based organizational structures, this study
focused on the design of more adaptable organizational structures,
such as matrix structures.
Many scholars who study the evolution of broad organizational
structures in modern businesses emphasize the need to deal with the
challenges brought on by greater globalization, uncertainty, and
complexity, as well as rapid technological innovation advances. These
changes are described in the relevant literature and in Mary Jo Hatch's
(1997) historical analysis of organizational evolution. It also covers the
organization's responses, which include increased employee
commitment, accountability, and adaptability. This trend, according to
Hatch, eventually leads to the formation of "postindustrial
organizations." Employees spend more time in temporary teams
where they are expected to represent a certain area of expertise
because organizational boundaries are blurred or nonexistent in these
organizations.
Workers with higher degrees and expertise appear to be
required to create project-based systems. As people and the abilities
they provide become the primary source of competitive advantage,
each employee's working conditions will become an important
component of critical strategic competitive considerations. According
to early research, project-based organizations, which are more
adaptable, have a slew of difficulties.
Defining project-based organisations

Although there are numerous definitions of "project-based

organizations," they always begin with a matrix structure, with projects

6
on one side and a functionally organized, hierarchical structure on the
other. Following that, an organizational structure is chosen based on
the matrix's equilibrium. A "project-based organization" is commonly
referred to as the organizational form at one end of the spectrum
when the project structure predominates and the functional structure
is either absent or minimal (PBO).

This definition needs to be expanded because it is inadequate. On

the one hand, it is restricted to the management of core activities,
which are those whose primary goal is the creation of critical products
or services that serve as the foundation of the firm. This, however,
demonstrates that project-based organizations can also have
functional coordination, such as when it comes to skill levels. When an
organization becomes more project-based, the question of how the
PBO will effect "permanent" activities and procedures that are not
directly tied to core operations arises. Among these methods and
actions are competency development, assessment, and salary
determination.

Original PBOs and Projectified organisations

I previously investigated two unique macro-level projection shifts.
Depending on how they evolved, these two distinct types of change
patterns give rise to two distinct types of project-based organizations
(see Figure 1). The first group contains what I call "original PBOs." This
idea relates to organizations that have always been project-based and
have no history of categorizing their basic duties into functional
divisions. The second subset of project-based organizations is
projectified organizations. This subclass of project-based organizations
comprises of companies that have transitioned from functional to
project-based organizational structures or are in the process of doing
so. Within the confines of my thesis, I intend to focus mostly on
projectified organizations. My claim is that because projectified
organizations have traditionally used functional structures, they
should provide an analytical framework for investigating the

7
 challenges that project-based organizations face in comparison to
functional organizations. This is because projectified organizations
have a history of having functional structures. As a result, in my
empirical inquiry for this work, I will look at organizations that have
previously employed projectification rather than the projectification
method itself.

Macro level of projectification

Original
Creation of new organisations PBOs
Project-based

Functional Project-based
organisations Micro level of projectification organisations
Change of exisitingorganisations
Functional Project-based Projectified
organisations

Figure 1 Projectification and project-based organisations

CHALLENGES FOR HRM: IMPRESSIONS FROM THE

PROJECT FIELD
So, why should project-based businesses place such a premium on
human resource management? A component of the solution can be
found in the massive body of research on project-based organizations.
Despite the lack of HRM-specific research, current project research
underlines the importance of doing so for a variety of reasons. The
arguments can be divided into two categories: top-down and bottom-
up, which assert that the corporation must successfully manage its
strategic resources in order to maintain its competitive edge.

CHALLENGES FOR HRM: IMPRESSIONS FROM THE

HRM FIELD
Let's look through HRM research to see what researchers have to say
about project-based organizations. So, what exactly is HRM? In the
chapters that follow, I will go into greater detail on the concept of HRM, or

8
human resource management. According to one explanation, the term
"HRM" originated with "conventional people management," a phrase used
to describe the operations of the traditional personnel department.
Personnel administration is another word for traditional human resource
management. According to the new research, strategic human resource
management is a critical success component that is becoming increasingly
important. The transition from personnel administration to human
resource management necessitated the participation of managers at all
levels, particularly line managers. There is no agreement on the definition
of HRM in this technique, and the objective of this thesis is neither to
investigate "the concept" of HRM in depth nor to provide a more thorough
definition than those now in use. The primary purpose of human resource
management, in my opinion, should be to manage the relationship that
exists between individuals and the workplace environment.

Despite the fact that many of the obstacles and impediments to

HRM in modern businesses appear to have a strong connection to
organizational structure, the impact of the increasing usage of project-
based structures is not the focus of attention.

In a nutshell, my claim is that there is a problem that need

additional research in the fields of project research and human resource
management. The research on projectification and project-based
structures adds to the corpus of knowledge on management in such
businesses by investigating an increasingly common organizational setting.
However, this branch of study typically overlooks the managerial side of
business, which focuses on the relationships between people and the
corporation. This is true despite the fact that several researchers have
identified severe issues with the related management component. In
contrast, HRM literature reflects the changing roles of HR managers and
professionals. Numerous studies have shown that flexible organizational
structures can both promote change and make some HRM issues more
difficult to manage. This field of study, on the other hand, does not

9
primarily use projectification or project-based organizations to describe
these changes in how things are done.

THE AIM OF THE THESIS

The research on projectification and project-based organizations

appears to have little to offer regarding human resource management.
As previously stated, scholars in both domains have observed
projectification's possible effects on HRM. However, in order to begin
the process of building a deeper understanding of HRM in project-
based organizations, exploratory empirical research is important.
Projectified organizations are notable for having a history of having
functional structures. As a result, the atmosphere of projectified
companies is particularly exciting. It may be easier to identify
projectified organizations than original PBOs in order to detect the
issues generated by projectification.
As a result, the primary objective of this thesis' research is to
investigate HRM in project-based businesses. I will pinpoint and
examine the HRM challenges and developments that this organization
is facing in further depth.

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 Chapter 2

RESEARCH PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY .

INTRODUCTION
I will cover procedure beginning with the research strategy,
which is linked to the overall layout of the study and the explanation
for its invention. The research technique will be explored in greater
detail in the second part of this essay, which will be presented after
the break. To begin this discussion, I'd like to investigate the thesis's
purpose. Finally, the aim acts as the fundamental compass for my
methodological judgments.
The goal is exploratory, with the goal of expanding the corpus
of existing HRM information in PBOs. It also intends to bring a fresh
viewpoint to the field of project-related research. By donning "HRM
glasses," it will be possible to evaluate the component of management
that focuses on the interaction between employers and employees
when researching organizations that are moving toward more project-
based organizational structures. PBOs, project management, and
human resource management (HRM) studies are all pointing in the
same direction: this might significantly improve PBOs' knowledge base.

I decided to examine numerous PBOs in order to obtain

convincing and complete descriptions that may serve as a starting
point for further research to better comprehend this issue. I decided to
conduct qualitative case studies of several projectified firms, focusing
on interviews with senior managers, project managers, line managers,
HR directors, and other HR professionals. The investigation could not

11
proceed without these interviews. Consider each of these options in
turn and break this problem down into its constituent parts.

RESEARCH PROCESS
Because my research is exploratory and qualitative, I'd like to
provide you, the reader, the opportunity to follow along. This will
allow you to analyze the trustworthiness of the investigations'
conclusions and comprehend the driving forces behind them. When I
analyze the roads I took and the clearings I crossed, I can see that I had
no trouble navigating the thicket. The paths I've taken and those I've
avoided have brought me closer to my current location.

My research strategy is organized into four stages, beginning with

the major study goal and concluding with the findings of the thesis.
Each phase, which resulted in a paper, had an impact on the
subsequent phases' direction. In this section, I'll go over each of the
four sections to provide a basic overview of the work process as well as
an explanation of the "road map" I used to navigate through the
various brushwood and glades I encountered along the route. The
description of my technique also includes a brief synopsis of the
empirical results presented in each study, as well as an explanation of
how the conclusions of each study served as the foundation for future
evaluation. This should aid in the clarification of the thinking patterns
and conceptual frameworks that underpin each of the paper's
subjects. Table 3 summarizes the four articles, their objectives, the
case studies that served as the foundation for each study, and the total
number of interviews conducted for each piece.

Phase I: Analysing four projectified firms from different

perspectives
My decision to begin investigating HRM is discussed in greater
detail in earlier portions. This study looked at the HR department's role
and organizational structure inside the company, the redistribution of
HR duties, and the issues brought on by rising disconnects between

12
line managers and the workforce working on projects under their
supervision. To broaden the empirical base, we will continue to
investigate leads from the initial study as well as new ones. This case
increased my understanding of the company's overall culture as well
as the project environment.
Despite their differences, it is obvious that each of the four
organizations prioritizes project operations and support structure
changes. Due to the increased popularity of project-based structures in
this industry over the last ten years, the case study also focuses a
major emphasis on organizational and product development activities.
I spoke with the HR directors, HR managers, project managers,
line managers, and, if they were present, managers of the project
operations support units at each of the four firms. I also spoke
with the project operations support unit managers.
This is a flaw in the previous research; more interviews could
have resulted in more detailed, specific, and credible descriptions
of these two organizations.

The two-hour interviews felt more like unscripted dialogues than

questions with rehearsed answers. I prepared an interview outline to
ensure that all relevant topics were appropriately covered. However, I
allowed respondents to think and choose the part of the subject that
they found most intriguing within each theme. Each interview was
taped and transcribed, and the transcripts were then subjected to the
first round of analysis. This phase also involves adding company-
related data from both internal and external sources.
According to the findings of the investigation, human resource
management faces a number of general challenges. Some of these
problems include developing competencies, job structures, and
management duties, as well as identifying the needs for organizational
and competency improvements, career paths for project workers, and
matching people's skills to upcoming projects. But how does this affect

13
the normal tasks of human resource management, as well as the
organization of those activities and procedures? An intriguing path
awaiting exploration. The empirical evidence and analysis results given
in Paper I suggest that a higher operational level be employed to
explore how projectification affects HRM practice and HR
organizations.

Phase II: Go deeper and learn more

In light of this, the second study, which was published in Paper II,
sought to investigate how HRM practices have evolved in project-
based organizations. This motivation prompted me to conduct
additional research on HRM at a more operational level, and as a
result, I decided to evaluate and broaden my analysis of the Volvo and
AstraZeneca case studies. As previously said, reducing the overall
number of cases would increase the possibilities of conducting more
thorough research and producing more complete case studies. This
was also an ideal opportunity to strengthen and extend the Paper I
examples in order to support the theory and compensate for the
rather flimsy empirical foundation. This was made feasible by a chance
that presented itself. Finally, there were a number of elements that
made these two companies intriguing.

At first, they appeared to be facing the same difficulties. Second,

it appears that they used very different techniques to deal with these
issues. Second, it appeared that the research and development teams
at Volvo and AstraZeneca focused the most on the development of
project frameworks. We genuinely utilize the phrase "project
intensification process" in this study. This trend is comprised of project
work compression owing to shorter lead times, which forces the
organization to restructure its project operations, and what I refer to
in this thesis as "projectification," which is the increased adoption of
project-based structures.

14
 In the spring of 2004, I read through the interview transcripts and
case studies for these two firms to obtain a deeper knowledge of each,
with a focus on the HRM practice. How was it put together? How were
the projects organized, and how much labor was assigned to each
line? Who were the important persons in charge of human resources?
What modifications were made in response to the issues posed by the
project's operational expansion?

Because the majority of these problems were addressed in earlier

interviews, my within-case research now focuses mostly on the
information gleaned from those interviews. I conducted follow-up
interviews at both organizations to delve deeper into these topics and
fill some of the gaps left by the case studies. I interviewed with a
manager from AstraZeneca's Research & Development section's
Project Management Support Office. My third and second Volvo
interviews were with managers from the Technical Project
Management Office and Human Resources, respectively. These
interviews were performed in the same manner as the first
component of the research, and they were also videotaped and
transcribed.

The organizational structure and functional arrangement of HR

departments must be structured to successfully support PBOs.

I'd arrived in the second glade, which had two large trails on the
other side. The first action I took was to change my line management
role..

Phase III: Focus and rich description

I had been contemplating whether it would be beneficial to
include a single case study in my thesis for quite some time. According
to the original idea, this would result in the development of a
methodological triangulation that would compensate for any potential
deficiencies in essential depth and richness. Both in class discussions
and during my literary studies. This position, like the others, is heavily

15
reliant on efforts to produce products and conduct R&D. The case
study also illustrated the need of HR taking responsibility for
competency networks by guaranteeing the development of relevant,
in-depth competencies. The third study will thus focus on the HRM
responsibilities of line managers in project-based businesses.

I was told that a recent reorganization occurred in one of the

departments that places the most importance on projects. Once line
units and the duties associated with them were dissolved, the post of
"competence coaches" was assumed. It felt like a perfect opportunity
to do a single case study in an interesting environment that would
both confirm the findings of previous research—namely, that
projectification encourages line managers to become more HR-
oriented—and broaden the concept of the HR-oriented manager in
PBOs. This strategy looks to be assisting the research.

The case study elucidates the significance of a PBO management

job that is entirely dedicated to HR and accounts for a sizable portion
of the contribution. On the other hand, the example illustrates
preliminary findings and constructions and serves as an exciting and
useful starting point for additional research on the topic.

Phase IV: Broadening to find patterns

Following the analysis of HRM procedures, a second line of inquiry
into the layout and organizational structure of the HR department was
uncovered. The structure and layout of the HR department were the
subject of this inquiry. Which of the many organizational structures seen in
the HR sector are some instances in each of the scenarios? Can patterns be
identified that provide a fair rationale for the HR department's
organizational decision about the project-based framework it is expected
to support? These queries have been following my work progress for quite
some time. In reality, preliminary research on this topic began before the
initial study was published.

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 The Tetra Pak case study, on the other hand, was available to me and
could be incorporated. I also had access to the data from the three PBO
case studies conducted by my co-author and the research assistants
working under his direction. After deciding to include these three cases, I
read the case materials thoroughly to gain a complete understanding of
each one. In two cases, I read the case study papers, and in the third, I
conducted a follow-up interview with a worker from one of the companies.
Each of these initiatives tried to bridge critical informational gaps within
the firm. In the third case, I spent the most of my research time reading
interview transcripts.
Because my inquiry included more examples, I adopted a more
extensive cross-case analysis methodology. Based on previous research on
the subject, I developed a set of criteria that can be used to compare the
samples. These were the three dimensions: 1) The task's organizational
structure; 2) The line managers, project managers, and HR department
tasks and responsibilities; and 3) The HR department's organizational
structure. This investigation resulted in the examples being classified based
on the organization of their HR departments. The next step is to evaluate
each category, looking for similarities and differences between them.

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 Chapter 3

APPLYING THE HRM FIELD TO UNDERSTAND

PROJECT-BASED ORGANISATIONS

The goal of this research is to look into HRM in project-based

businesses utilizing concepts from human resource management
(HRM). Because this field of study is not commonly used as the
foundation for more typical project research, I have decided to devote
this chapter to providing a more detailed introduction to it. I start by
going into the historical history of the move from "personnel
administration" to "HRM" after addressing the HRM idea. The sections
that follow provide a summary of the essential elements of human
resource management. These include the scope and framework of
human resource management, how line managers' tasks are growing,
and how HR departments are organized. The goals of this chapter
include setting the scene and providing a basic overview of the HRM
research area, as well as laying the theoretical groundwork and
presenting the argument for the paper's core subjects. Along with
meeting these objectives, this chapter will provide background
information and an overview of the HRM research field.

FROM MANAGING PERSONNEL TO MANAGING

HUMAN RESOURCES
HRM (human resource management) has made great progress. It was a
reaction to traditional personnel management, which focused on
personnel-related concerns like as hiring, job evaluation, salary,
training, and dealings with unions. This novel approach to human

18
management was diametrically opposed to the established approach.
Human resource management (HRM) advocates, on the other hand,
argued for a more strategic approach to resolving people issues in
businesses, as well as a perspective in which the firm is seen as
dependent on its employees and the skills they bring to the table,
rather than the other way around. In the 1980s, the Japanese industry,
known for its rapid expansion and high levels of efficiency, sparked
fierce competition that endangered the North American sector.
Japanese management traditions, which are based on close
relationships between employers and employees, lifelong employment
agreements, and working procedures focused on quality management
rather than cost management, are largely responsible for the country's
growing interest in human resource management (HRM).
Furthermore, this served as one of the primary grounds for the
adoption of the HRM concept at the time.
THE CONCEPT OF HRM
The reader is probably already aware that there is no complete or
accurate definition of "HRM" available. I'd like to think it's valuable
because it provides for a more thorough investigation of the topic at
hand than a single point of view does. In the HRM literature, I've found
three basic ways to summarize the various HRM approaches.

1. HRM as a ‘new label for personnel management’

2. HRM as a ‘management philosophy’
3. HRM as the ‘management of the relation between individuals and
their organisational context’.

A new label for traditional personnel management

activities
The first way to look at it is that traditional personnel
management and human resources management are essentially the
same thing done differently. This method is then explained by, who

19
analyzes the various HRM applications that have been used. The
language shift is more of a signal that human resource management
procedures must be changed to stay up with the times. Growing
internationalization, adaptive organizational structures, and a higher
emphasis on knowledge workers are examples of setting changes.

This approach is based on the idea that HRM refers to the

common tasks performed by managers and/or HR departments with
an emphasis on employee management. This concept is critical to the
plan.

The limitation of defining HRM as people activities carried out by

managers and/or the HR department is the element of this human
resource management system that irritates me the most. This
approach, I argue, is too limited to effectively define the structures,
methods, and obligations of human resource administration. Does the
absence of personnel-related obligations for managers imply that
HRM activities are not carried out within the organization?
Alternatively, if the organization lacks a human resources division.

A new management philosophy

The second strategy is to think of human resource management as
an alternative management philosophy. When personnel
management gave way to human resource management, this
perspective of view seems to have been particularly common among
academics. The 1987 study by Guest found that HRM and people
management are regularly compared, with the assumption being that
HRM is superior. But contextual variations are not taken into account.

According to this viewpoint, HRM "reflects a certain discipline or

ideology of how employees should be handled, being a unique version
of people management." In contrast to the first strategy, which sees
HRM as a contemporary kind of people management unto itself, In the
first perspective, HRM is viewed as a contemporary method of
personnel administration. The "HRM approach to management,"

20
according to Guest, differs from other management strategies in that
it emphasizes achieving the goals of integration, employee dedication,
flexibility/adaptability, quality, and so on. If these goals are attained,
Guest claims, "the company's strategic plans are likely to be
implemented with greater success."

By making HRM a "management philosophy," the strategic

component is strengthened. In fact, it may be argued that a different
management approach from the one covered here is HRM, or human
resource management. This most likely applied during the 1980s, a
time when the concepts were innovative and stood in sharp contrast
to conventional people management. But since then, this
"management philosophy" has become more well-known and is now
thought of as the accepted notion of how businesses should be
managed.

"Without actually interacting with the organization in traditional

people management operations, the perception of the organization as
an external, predetermined, and stable framework for these acts has
been developed. People believe these activities to be stable, which
explains why this has been the case. This viewpoint on personnel-
related activities has no longer any relevance or credibility since it
ignores the influence of context on personnel-related issues.
Contrarily, HRM is built on how individuals engage with their work
settings.

In my opinion, the concept of human resource management (HRM)

as a "new management philosophy" would have been successful in the
1980s, elevating people and their skills as strategic resources and
posing a threat to traditional personnel management approaches.
Personnel, or "human resources," have since come to be seen as one
of the most crucial elements of success. Because of this, concentrating
on how people interact with their workplace is no longer a distinct

21
 management philosophy but rather a crucial part of every
organization's processes and procedures.

HRM: CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

I've talked about my HRM strategy; now let's get to the meat and
potatoes of what HRM entails. This thesis focuses on human resource
management (HRM) in nonprofit organizations. Human resource
management (HRM) is a branch of management that focuses on the
structures, procedures, and activities that are designed to control
interactions between employees and the organizational setting in
which they work. This is a common misconception about human
resource management. But what methods, actions, and structures are
we talking about here? In the paragraphs that follow, I'll go over what I
feel the most recent HRM study is attempting to tell us about this
topic. For your convenience, the description has been divided into two
parts. This paragraph focuses on the "content" of human resource
management—the procedures and duties that comprise the first half
of the section. The "structure" of human resource management,
addressed in the second part of the section, focuses on how these
procedures and activities are organized. Each section is divided into
two subsections.

The content of HRM: the HRM practice

Examining HRM papers after 1984, on the other hand, shows a more
detailed picture of the most relevant behaviors. The great majority of
published papers on HRM practices discuss these issues in terms of the
responsibilities of the company's HR specialists. As previously said, I
approach human resource management from a much broader
viewpoint. Regardless, I continue to feel that HRM is reliant on the
aforementioned procedures. As a result, the primary focus of this
section will be on HRM practices themselves, with the following
section detailing how they are organized.
The structure of HRM: the HR organisation

22
 Finding studies that can help us develop a picture is significantly
more difficult when it comes to HRM practices, often known as the
HRM framework. One of the issues is related to what I've stated in
previous blogs: Despite the fact that the vast majority of HRM studies
appear to agree that general and line managers play a crucial role in
the adoption of HRM practices, their primary focus is on the roles of
HR experts and the HR department. The explanation for the change in
HRM appears to be that the organization's ability to compete
successfully in its industry is receiving increasing attention.

This thesis' human resource management (HRM) approach asserts

that other actors may be, and most likely are, essential HRM players.
This is due to the approach's assumption that HRM is a system
comprised of several interconnected components. As I previously
indicated, every person who contributes human resources actively
regulates their contact with their organizational environment.
Depending on the structure of the business, additional team members
may be required.

As a result, I feel it is critical to distinguish between "HR

organization" and "HR department." A company's "HR department" is
in charge of employing and managing HR professionals. The term "HR
organization" relates to how a company organizes its HRM procedures.
Although it is possible, it is not always the case that the HR department
is critical to the HR organization as a whole. The effectiveness of a
firm's HR department and entire HR organization are both required for
it to remain competitive (this distinction is discussed in greater detail
in Paper IV). This distinction is critical for the purposes of this thesis
because the PBO's characteristics as an organizational environment
may show advancements and difficulties for HRM that would not be
represented by a study that just included the HR department. To put it
another way, the PBO is a framework for organizational design that
may have a negative impact on HRM.

23
 LINE MANAGERS: FROM SPECIALISTS TO HR
MANAGERS
One of the most frequently discussed concerns in modern HRM
research is the delegation of HR tasks to line managers from HR
departments. Line managers were given responsibility for
responsibilities that were previously performed by personnel
departments during the administrative period of personnel. This new
trend is consistent with many who supported HRM at the time and
believed that general management should be in charge of HRM rather
than leaving it to people professionals. According to a recent study,
organizational reform may also be critical to the devolution process.

THE DESIGN OF MODERN HR DEPARTMENTS

The trend observed in the preceding section, that line managers'
duties are growing increasingly important in the vast majority of HR
firms, appears to be one of the most critical features. The majority of
these experts address certain "roles" that HR departments or HR
practitioners in modern organizations must play.

However, these role typologies fail to account for the fact that
the HR department is simply one of many actors in the HR
organization, and that different organizational situations may need the
HR department to perform different "roles" (or at least place various
emphasis on the roles). These two factors are not taken into account.
Furthermore, few of these academics describe how these
responsibilities are actually carried out.

24
 Chapter 4

CHALLENGES AND CHANGES FOR HRM IN

PROJECT-BASED ORGANISATIONS

This thesis examines human resource management (HRM) in project-

based businesses. To be more specific, it is to identify and assess the
challenges and developments that HRM faces within this particular
organization. In my lecture, I examine how operational HRM practices
affect the HR difficulties that PBOs encounter. Following that, the form
of HR departments and organizations, as well as the importance of HR-
oriented management in PBOs, are discussed further. Then I give a
presentation in which I go through the findings and highlight how this
endeavor benefited me.

FOUR PERSPECTIVES TO ILLUMINATE THE

CHALLENGES FACING HRM IN PBOS
These points of view are expanded upon and used as a framework for
understanding the difficulties confronting the businesses under
examination. In this final piece, I want to make it obvious how the
project-based framework and the issues raised by each perspective
relate to one another.

Competence: where to draw the line and how to

develop competencies
As discussed in Chapter 1, one of the most essential
differentiating characteristics for modern organizations is competency.
This isn't just for PBOs. The organizations in each of the four scenarios
examined in Paper I struggle to manage the process of developing

25
strategic talents, monitoring their competency, and acquiring new
abilities, among other related activities. This difficulty is exacerbated
by the shift toward a more project-based work environment. This is
mostly owing to the fact that project work frequently comprises more
knowledge-intensive activities, making it even more important to
develop relevant skills. Second, unlike more standard line assignments,
project assignments are more difficult to supervise and manage. In this
circumstance, competency management must take precedence.
Maintaining your employability is critical if you want to be
considered for unique and difficult tasks. This shift, however, has some
consequences. It also places additional obligations on the organization
to find innovative ways to promote the development of "core"
competencies in order to maintain their position as a competitive
market entity, which will be discussed more under the Individual
perspective.
Trust: integrating project teams and managing
temporary workforce
The attempt backs up the idea that projectification necessitates
changes to typical working procedures. The experiment also implies
that there are less significant labor divides in a project-based
workplace, as project management is more likely to engage
consultants and contract workers. As a result, the ephemeral nature of
the PBO has an impact on its ability to generate trust and confidence
among employees, coworkers, and the firm as a whole. From the
standpoint of trust, the issues with human resource management in
public benefit organizations can be summarized as follows.

The major hurdle to overcome in order to improve the project's

operational efficacy is the building of a level of trust among project
workers. The case studies enabled us to infer that, in recent years, HR
departments have spent a significant amount of time and effort on the
role hierarchies and project setup procedures. Internal mobility is
expected to increase in the PBO context. Employees and others
involved in project operations will work together on a single project,

26
but new team members will be added for subsequent projects.
Members of the project team also come from a variety of backgrounds
and skill sets as a result of the growing number of workers who work
on a contract or as consultants. They are forced to rely on their
knowledge of "who knows what," rather than having the opportunity
to "socialize" and create confidence and trust, which is possible in
organizations with a longer lifespan. This is because none of these
options are available to project team members.

The second issue to address is the development of trust between

the project worker and the organization. This problem is highly related
to the individual's contribution to the PBO's temporary features,
whereas the previous problem was largely related to the PBO's internal
working organization's temporary elements. As a result, project
workers may lose trust in the organization, making it more difficult for
the company to acquire and keep the talent it need for its projects.
This could also lead to a decrease in organizational commitment.

Change: driving change and providing stability

For a long time, academic literature on association hypothesis and
executives had expressed worry about how important it is for modern
firms to adequately manage organizational change. The inquiry yielded
information that might be used to address this. A number of HRM
studies have recently emphasized the growing role of HR professionals
in the management and promotion of organizational transformation.

Human resource management must be viewed as dynamic,

flexible, and ever-changing when viewed through the lens of change.
We understand that change management is critical for all
organizations, not only PBOs, and that it is a routine operation in the
vast majority of modern businesses. One of the key reasons for doing
so, however, is the necessity to modify project-based frameworks.
Another necessity is for quick and efficient change reaction. As a result,
change management is critical in these firms. Furthermore, we

27
contend that PBO-specific efforts to effect change differ from those
made by other types of organizations. Second, the project-based
structure of the environment makes change management difficult. This
brings us to a significant challenge that non-profit organizations'
human resource management must address, but which Paper I did not
specifically address: striking a balance between promoting and
fostering change on the one hand, and providing consistency and
qualities that endure in a transient environment on the other. Human
resources, according to the findings of various HRM research, should
"help the business in building a new psychological contract, new career
routes, and strategies to offer employees a stake in both the changes
that are occurring and the organization's performance." To be effective
"change agents" and "developers," HR professionals must "work in
cross-functional or interdisciplinary teams." This role appears to be
more important in a PBO since, as previously stated, the project-based
architecture complicates change management procedures.

Human resource management (HRM) appears to need to be

structured in order to manage and facilitate change, and in certain
situations, to initiate and lead change projects. According to case
studies, HR departments, in particular, are more involved in this. On
the other hand, project-based human resource management must be
developed in order to build and sustain stability while mitigating the
negative implications of the organization's temporary nature. The
challenge for human resource management is to create procedures,
arrangements, and routines that facilitate change while maintaining
consistency.

Individuals: professional project workers or

overloaded individuals
The proposed human resource management (HRM) approach for
this project encourages employees to take an active part in their
businesses. As "human resources," humans are thought to have some
say over how these assets are managed. The employees of the

28
companies are the primary focus of each of the four case studies we
examined. This emphasis appears to have strengthened employees'
and other stakeholders' sense of autonomy and personal
responsibility. a state distinguished not only by increasing liberty but
also by higher expectations. Employees can refine their skills and take
on new challenges with project-based methods of operation. Their
education and prior job experience are also significant benefits to the
organization. They have influence because of their link to the
organization that requires their contributions.

Examining human resource management (HRM) from a

"individual perspective" appears to be particularly beneficial for PBOs.
From this vantage point, the group consists of individuals who are
driven to achieve their own desires and find ways to be happy. While
the PBO provides opportunities and a sense of stability to individuals,
the activities are designed to challenge, grow, and motivate them.
However, the framework's project-based structure presents
challenges from a personal aspect.

The first challenge is maintaining qualified project employees.

This challenge focuses on the PBO's responsibility to its members and
their contributions to the organization. As previously stated, long-term
and permanent employment, both in the relationship between an
employer and an employee and in the traditional sense of the term
"job," is becoming less common. People are no longer required to stay
for the same employer their whole careers, and project-based and
temporary employment arrangements are becoming increasingly
popular. Furthermore, as the use of project-based organizing
approaches has increased, the nature of long-term labor relationships
has changed. People who work for organizations based on projects,
whether on long-term contracts or not, may be referred to as
"professional project workers" in a variety of settings. The projects
they have worked on in the past and those they may work on in the
future have had a significant impact on their career and professional

29
development. PBO workers, on the other hand, must be adaptable,
innovative, knowledgeable, and ready to respond to any challenges or
impediments that may occur.

The difficulty is selecting the best technique for assisting these

knowledgeable project staff members in a PBO. How can a person
develop in their career while also ensuring that their competence,
reputation, and health are all improving? What processes, activities,
and institutions are needed? We noticed that the case studies had
paid close attention to new career paths, new support roles for the
project's operations, and new strategies for identifying and managing
stress among project workers. This could indicate that individuals are
beginning to recognize the problem, at least in part. However, many
questions remain unanswered, such as how to measure employee
performance and how much they should be paid. Line managers are
frequently in charge of staff evaluation and remuneration; yet, the
tasks are accomplished inside projects that are not immediately under
their direct authority. The case studies told us about the discontent of
project workers when faced with such uncertainty.

The individual's responsibility for their relationship to their

corporate context, personal growth, and "employability" all play a role
in this quandary; the second difficulty is to make specific HR
department functions more visible. The case studies show that the
individual takes on more responsibility for key HRM processes and
activities like competency development, career planning, and job
searching.

This signifies that the subject of the inquiry is heavily involved in

the HR organization of the PBOs, a function that must be
acknowledged and clarified for better comprehension. Because of the
chaotic assignment of work among the numerous HR organization
members, issues, particularly those relevant to the individual's
position, can diverge. Furthermore, the individual is ultimately

30
 responsible for conquering the problems given by being squished
between two stools.

CHANGES IN CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF HRM IN

PBOS
Paper II investigates how projectification affects HRM practice.
The empirical basis for this work is a comparative case study of the
research and development departments of Volvo and AstraZeneca.
The study classifies the key changes brought about by "project
intensification" into two categories: those that primarily influence
HRM's structure and content. The study's findings, which were also
presented in Paper II, will be presented in the sections that follow. I
will also go back and analyze previous exchanges to assess how the
changes relate to the challenges of HRM in PBOs.
The issue of preserving and increasing core competences can be
addressed by creating specialized career paths that allow people to
acquire and refine their expert competencies without taking on large
management or personnel responsibilities. The challenge of
maintaining and improving core competencies can thus be resolved.
High levels of technology proficiency were successfully retained in both
businesses by developing specialized career paths. Many managers
believe that working on projects with cross-functional teams fosters
broadening rather than deepening of competencies; as a result, many
managers are concerned about a lack of depth in critical competencies.
Finding the time and place for formal competency development
and training is difficult, but choosing a vocation in a specialized sector
does not make it any simpler. One of Volvo's managers indicated that
despite efforts to create intervals between projects so that people
working on them could "recharge," they were unsuccessful. The
project-based environment appears to have a considerable impact on
this area of HRM curriculum. As a result, both HRM practitioners and
academics face hurdles.

31
 The findings of the experiment show how isolating performance
from evaluation in a project-based setting irritates both project
workers and line managers, who struggle to complete their tasks. To
support skilled project employees and create confidence between the
business and the project worker, new assessment and remuneration
processes may be required. This serves as an example of how to
handle these difficulties. These two challenges are intertwined because
a project-based organization (PBO) that successfully provides enough
assistance to its individual project employees is more likely to gain the
workers' confidence and dedication.
Structural changes
The human resource management (HRM) organization is the
structure of human resource management and the organization of
HRM procedures. A number of stakeholders in the human resources
department are in charge of managing the interaction between
employees and their workplace. According to the second survey, the
four most significant members of the HR organization are line
managers, project managers, and HR support for projects. These are
the most significant employees in the HR department. I argue in
Chapter 3 and earlier in this chapter that the individual is critical to the
HR structure of PBOs and that this role must be recognized and
rewarded. The fact that the majority of the empirical investigations for
my master's thesis are centered on the organizational parties of the
interaction provides credibility to this argument earlier in the chapter. I
plan to look into this further in my future study, but for now, that is all
I can hope for. As a result, it is appropriate to regard Paper II
participants as representative samples of the HR organization's
organizations.

According to Larsen & Brewster, line management will have a new

function as a result of the devolution of HR functions (2003). However,
in light of the changing climate, the HR department will need to

32
evaluate its structure and role. In reality, because of the devolution
and modifications to HRM procedures that must be implemented, the
roles and interactions between the actors in a PBO's HR organization
should be unique from those in a functional organization. In Paper II,
we provide two alternative logics for adjusting the HR department's
role and organizational structure to the needs of the business for HR
professionals working in PBOs. The arguments are as follows. We
propose three unique positions for line managers because we feel the
role of line management in PBOs needs to be addressed. These jobs
establish the equilibrium between task emphasis and personnel
resources.

Logics for HR specialists and alternative roles for line

managers
According to the project, one approach for human resources (HR)
professionals to think about their position is to conceive of it as
primarily providing capabilities in specific competency areas of HR
management (such as staffing, training, union relations, legal issues,
etc.). This is compatible with the project's proposed reasoning. In
Paper II, this line of reasoning is referred to as "HR-based logic" by HR
specialists. One such way of thinking is that a human resources
professional's primary responsibility is to provide comprehensive
assistance to a certain department or division. In Paper II, we referred
to this way of thinking as task-based logic for HR professionals.
Despite the fact that the task-focused line manager cannot execute as
many HR duties as the HR-focused line manager, they are not required
to take on any HR responsibilities. This should have an impact on the
remaining responsibilities and interactions of the HR organization's
actors, including the critical support supplied by the HR department.
As a result, line management's emphasis on HR is inextricably linked
with the thinking of human resources experts. A task-oriented line
management job, for example, may support an HR professional's
growing involvement in each line unit and the HR department's

33
 increased prominence inside the HR organization. [Requires citation]
To deal with this situation, human resource professionals would most
likely require a task-based explanation. Line managers who have a
position in line management that focuses on human resources, on the
other hand, play an important role in the HR organization (HR). This is
likely to result in the HR-based justification for HR specialists, in which
line managers request assistance as needed.
This project component focused on modifications to the organizational
structure and HRM content. HRM material changes suggest that more
effort has been made into building new career paths and addressing
issues with competency management, evaluation, and remuneration.
The observation of these changes supports this. The fact that the
structure of HRM is changing adds credence to the idea that the
responsibilities and interactions of HR organization members have
changed. The human resources department's organization, purpose,
and responsibilities suffered the most significant alterations. I provide
two opposing schools of thought that HR practitioners should consider
when determining the shape and role of the HR department. These
modifications are inextricably related. In addition, based on the
company's HR and task orientation, I recommend three positions for
line managers in PBOs.
FROM LINE MANAGERS TO HUMAN RESOURCE
AGENTS
According to the findings of Paper II, line management is a
challenge that project-based organizations must address. As core tasks
are increasingly performed in projects rather than functional units, the
prior line management job of technical specialist managing and
developing technology appears to be diminishing. This is due to the
obvious increase in importance of managing the human resources
required to complete the project. As previously stated, HRM
researchers have extensively discussed the idea of delegating more
responsibility for human resources to line managers; nevertheless, the

34
majority of these discussions have focused on the effects that the
devolution will have on HR professionals rather than on line managers.

Our one-case study focuses on a project-based organization that

abolished line management posts and replaced "competence coaches"
in their place. Tetra Pak's business branch is known as Plant
Engineering and Automation (PE&A). This paper's main contribution is
a fascinating case study of a company that tried something new to
improve project management. The job descriptions for the new HR-
focused management position that replaced line management are also
presented in this case. As a result, the case will be presented briefly in
this section, with a focus on defining the new organization and the
primary functions of PE&A's so-called "competence coaches." In Paper
III, we will examine the role of "human resource agents" in the newly
constituted management HR position. These agents oversee "External
Integration" and "Internal Integration.

The human resource agent: managing inside and outside

integration
As a realistic solution, consider using competency coaches to
address some of Paper I's concerns in a variety of ways. The primary
focus of the function, which is largely concerned with assisting project
participants, is the challenge of creating trust between project
participants and the organization. The new position is less of a
"manager" and more of a "representative" for the project's employees.
Its primary goals also include encouraging and supporting skill
development.

The integrator is one of the most important notions to emerge

from traditional research on management roles and responsibilities.
The authors' discussion of the managerial function, on the other hand,
is more task-oriented and focuses on integrating the diverse
contributions made by specialists. Project managers at an organization
based around numerous projects are typically in charge of this job.

35
According to the PE&A case study, the newly established HR-focused
management role is concerned with a wide range of extra kinds of
integration. In Paper III, the HR agent is in charge of two integration
activities: inner integration and external integration. The inside
integration domain and the outside integration domain are two
distinct categories. In the sections that follow, I'll go over these two
domains and the activities that go with them.

Inside integration
Internal integration is the process of merging current employees'
resources with the firm's demands. This translates to "considering the
unique project worker's expectations for the organization." As
previously stated, one of the challenges that private sector
organizations (PBOs) face is achieving long-term extension of core
competencies. Another issue is that in order to retain the best project
workers, PBOs must help each project worker's personal development
goals. Connecting the company's core assets with the talents that
individuals are interested in obtaining has strategic significance from a
business standpoint. The human resources agent is critical in
integrating the many needs and requirements involved in contributing
to the success of the organization and the individual. The human
resource representative achieves the same result by balancing the
interests of the individual and the company while placing the right
people in the right jobs. Project teams must deliver outcomes for the
PBO to be effective, and employees must be given meaningful work in
order to pursue "project-based careers." Because it combines the
PBO's need for skilled individuals to take on critical duties with the
individual's desire for career advancement, it emphasizes the human
resource agent's role as a career counselor.

The complexity of the possibilities for determining project worker

pay and evaluating their performance may be related to the previously
outlined project-based framework. In the case of the PE&A, the new

36
management function that was more focused on HR was in charge of
gathering the information needed to conduct a complete assessment.
One of the most important roles of the new HR-oriented manager in
PBOs, where project managers have a defined task orientation and
line managers no longer lead and supervise core operations, would
appear to be acting as a sort of "assessment hub" for the project team.
This will be one of the new manager's responsibilities. Limiting an
individual's high objectives, which are strongly related to previous
acts, is an important stage in the inside integration process.

Outside integration
"Outside integration" refers to the act of reconciling an individual's
expectations within and outside of a company. PBOs, as previously
stated, frequently have fewer clearly defined organizational
boundaries than typical organizational structures. This is owing to the
less hierarchical structure of PBOs. This indicates that the human
resources representative must be concerned with considerably more
than just the internal operations of the company. Because employees
are turning into professional project workers and the firm's
competitiveness is dependent on them, HRM must be global and take
the individual's entire life circumstances into account. It is possible
that the individual will discover that quitting the organization and
finding other opportunities is their best career option instead. Is it
time to promote internal and external organizational mobility? Given
the labor market's increasing flexibility, the PBO is interested in
maintaining a positive employer reputation. This reputation may have
an impact on the subsequent job quality of a project worker. A crucial
job of the human resources agent is to combine the organization's aim
to retain the best staff with the individual's motivation to behave in
their own best interests. In this way, the human resource agent serves
as a professional mentor or advisor for the project worker. In addition,
the project worker is responsible for expanding their network of
contacts outside of the organization.

37
Furthermore, external integration entails supporting the ambitious
project worker's efforts to improve their own health. If the success of
the firm is dependent on the adaptability and independence of its
project workers, it must devise a strategy to assist them in striking a
healthy balance between their personal and professional lives. In my
opinion, one of the most crucial roles of a human resource agent is to
provide such assistance.
This section is dedicated to the position of human resource agent
management, which is an alternative to the usual line management
job in PBOs. Unlike traditional organizational structures, the project-
based work environment necessitates particular management
responsibilities and frameworks. In this setting, it appears especially
necessary that line managers place a greater emphasis on human
resources. As support for this argument, a human resource
management approach emphasizes the need of paying close attention
to the relationship between project personnel and the PBO. This
connection is prioritized in the human resource agent's research.
According to my thesis, the human resource agent in a PBO should
focus on integrating individual and organizational demands, both
inside and outside the firm.
Figure 3 depicts a breakdown and description of the most important
roles and obligations associated with the inside and outside
integration zones.

Inside integration Outside integration

• Competence leader
• Project resource
coordinator
• Career guide
• Assessment hub
• Speed limiter
• Professional mentor
• Network promotor
• Support in finding work
life balance

38
 Figure 3 Integration domains for the Human Resource Agent in a PBO

During the previous session, the function of line management was

recognized as one of the most significant developments in HRM in the
organizational structure of PBOs. Additional structure adjustments
were determined to be required to support the HR department's
function within a PBO's HR organization. The findings of the
investigation, which were addressed in Paper IV, will be presented and
discussed in the following part. This study investigates the
architecture of the HR organization, with a focus on the function and
structure of HR departments in PBOs.

DESIGN OF HR ORGANISATION AND HR-DEPARTMENTAL

STRUCTURES
The findings of previous investigations serve as the foundation for
the research conclusions in this thesis. Its goal is to acquire a better
understanding of the HR organizational structure and HR departmental
hierarchies in PBOs. As described in Paper IV, a number of case studies
were used in the research. Although each of the eight scenarios is
based on a project, there are major changes in the main duties and
organizational structures of work between organizations. The wide
empirical foundation, which provides a variety of opportunities for
different lines of research on the design of PBO HR organization, is the
main contribution of this article and the most significant portion of the
work at this time. The organization of the HR department, its
relationship to the type of work organization, and its design will be the
emphasis of this study. We will also go over the outcomes of these
discoveries.

One of the most important themes of Paper IV is the rather

decontextualized technique used in previous studies of HR department
organizational structures. HRM scholars haven't paid much attention
to the organizational structures of HR departments, and even when
they have, their work typically ignores the business structure, which is

39
required to understand the current status of the HR department.
Despite the fact that organizational structure is one of these critical
aspects, he never brings it up in the dialogue. According to the thesis
findings thus far, the organizational structure determines the design of
the HR department, the role of HR specialists, and the organizational
framework within which important functions are carried out. This
conclusion was obtained after examining data from multiple
investigations. The following is a review of the tendencies indicated by
the numerous case studies in work organization, HR department
structure, and other fields.

Functional HR departments or HR-centres of expertise

In Paper IV, we examine the HR departments of eight different
firms and determine that there are two main groups, each of which
represents a particular "ideal type": 1) Human resource functional
departments set up in line with the organizational chart. 2) HR centers
of competence, whose organizational design is focused on HRM
competency areas like hiring, training, contracting, and
compensation/benefits, with the aim of ensuring that staff members
are content and perform their jobs more effectively. The case studies
include examples of both centralized and decentralized companies,
however functional HR departments are often more decentralized
than competence-based HR centers.

In addition to these two groups, we also distinguish what we call

"Emergent HR departments." In two of the eight scenarios, there were
no human resources departments or they did not exist in their
entirety. This group gives a clear indicator that an HR organization is
unlikely to have a player in the HR department. However, I will focus
on the two perfect HR departments that already exist, as well as the
HR organization and work organization patterns that are related to
these two perfect HR departments, in this debate. The traits and logic
of such an HR organization would make an interesting topic for further
study.

40
 It is crucial to stress that the ideal forms are essentially
condensed copies of the existing HR department forms. Sometimes HR
departments create a new model by combining elements of all the
models that came before it. In some cases, HR specialists were
assigned to particular line units, with HR-centres of competence acting
as the fundamental framework for HR departments. This was likewise
the case in a number of other cases. This case also contains a small HR
support unit with HR specialists who consult with the line, as well as a
functioning HR department as its primary structure. Nevertheless, the
case study clearly illustrates the key categories, so it makes sense to
contrast them to see if there are any trends in how work is structured
and the responsibilities of the various HR organization players that
might be connected to the HR departmental structure selected.

As a result, in Paper IV, we perform a cross-case study that

focuses on both the work organization and the various HR
organization participants' roles and duties. The purpose of this study
was to compare and contrast the cases with separate types and the
examples with shared HR departmental structure. I'll examine the
patterns that have been noticed and then put out three theories on
how HR departments and organizations are set up in PBOs.

Characters of functional coordination and project

work
When assessing how the job is organized, we focus on the
following elements: 4) Co-location of project teams There aren't
always "line departments" in the traditional sense; instead, there are a
variety of ways for projects to connect, including "competence
centers." As a result, I've decided to coin the phrase "functional
coordination" to characterize how projects are coordinated in terms of
project staff and skill levels.

When numerous HR-department structures were evaluated with

the purpose of detecting cross-case tendencies linked to work

41
organization, the most significant pattern discovered addressed
irregularities in staff functional coordination. Most firms with a
functional HR department also have traditional HRM and technology
line departments. In scenarios involving HR-expertise centers,
functional coordination is frequently more focused on the supply of
"competence networks" and "project work pools" from which project
managers select employees for projects. Human resource
management, not technological progress, is the primary purpose of
these networks. Work organizations in the cases of "Emergent HR
departments" were strikingly comparable to those in the cases of HR
centers of excellence.

Despite the fact that the patterns in the analysis of the nature of
project activity and the colocalization or non-colocalization of project
teams were not as clear as we had hoped, we were able to uncover a
few major themes. When functional HR departments are engaged,
project workers typically work on multiple projects at once, and as a
result, they are not physically present with a single project team. The
term "fragmented project involvement" is used to describe and
possibly symbolize this scenario. Project workers are typically assigned
to only one project at a time in scenarios involving HR-centers of
competence, and project team members are physically stationed in the
same location throughout the project. The phrase "targeted project
involvement" could be used to describe this. Because the patterns
discovered in this study are not particularly robust, additional research
is required to increase the validity of this recommendation.

The PBOs studied most likely did not construct the HR department
with the nature of project work in mind, instead focusing on the nature
of functional coordination. This could have contributed to the haziness
of the patterns. One may think that fragmented project participation,
in which highly trained project workers work on multiple projects at
the same time, improves loyalty to the line, but it also creates a
"scattered" working environment that can be difficult to manage,

42
appraise, and support. As a result of targeted project involvement, the
"gap" between project people and their line organization may expand,
encouraging a stronger attachment to the project. As previously
stated, this means that HRM procedures will face difficulties when
carried out. As a result, I propose that the design and organization of
the HR organization, as well as the HR departmental organization, take
the nature of project work into consideration.

The players in the HR organisation

We paid specific attention to project managers, line managers, and the
HR department as we examined the HR organization's structure. The
many players in charge of managing the relationship between
individuals and their organizational surroundings are described below,
along with their roles and duties. This was done to control individuals'
interactions with their organizational environment. Based on past
research demonstrating the importance of specific HR department
activities, the decision was made to focus on these specific actors.
HRM in PBOs requires the same players, with the same main player
serving in both scenarios. Despite the fact that it is increasingly
acknowledged as a crucial component of the HR structure of PBOs,
this study does not address the individual's function. This is accurate
even if it is not mentioned in the paper. However, as previously
indicated, the primary subject of this licentiate thesis is the
organization's engagement in relationship management.
When compared to other members of the HR organization, the
positions of line managers and the HR department had the most
recurring trends. When it came to the function that project managers
execute within the HR department, there were no noticeable changes
between the two situations. Project managers, whether informally or
formally, are an integral component of every company's human
resources department. The primary focus of this position is daily
interactions with project employees and line manager discussion
about employee performance and working environment.

43
 When viewed in light of the workplace's cross-case patterns, the cross-
case patterns pertaining to the roles of line managers and the HR
department appear to make a lot of sense. Regardless of the format,
the HR department has a strategic and administrative role within the
HR company it supports. The patterns of the two types, on the other
hand, differ in regard to the line. Line managers at businesses with
functional HR departments often hold what is known as a "balanced"
line manager job, according to Paper II. This implies that they are in
control of both human resources and technology at the same time. As
a result, the HR department will collaborate closely with the line
managers of each department to assist them in carrying out their HR-
related obligations.
When competency centers exist, line managers, on the other hand,
play a more significant role in HR. In such cases, the HR center of
expertise can provide the essential assistance to line managers.
In HR companies, functional coordination, project work, and line
manager and HR department roles appear to follow a constant
pattern. The organizational structure of the human resources
department appears to be highly linked to these trends.
The cross-case study of the two types of HR department layouts
reveals a few interesting traits that warrant further investigation.
These patterns were discovered by comparing two different HR
department systems. Table 10 summarizes the most notable
organizational trends in the HR department across all cases. These
patterns govern the distinctions between the examples.

Work Functional HR HR-centres of expertise

organisation departments
Functional “Line department “Project work pool
coordination Technological Competence network
development
Base for developing and
Ensuring that the assessing co-workers

44
 projects have To some extent
competent resources safeguard the
maintainance and
Base for developing
development of deep
and assessing co-
specialist competence.
workers
Might be ‘virtual’, not
Basic affiliation and
necessarily the
geographical home-
geographical home-base
base of coworkers”
of coworkers”
Character of “Tendency towards “Tendency towards
Project work fragmented project focused project
participation participation
Project teams not co- Co-located project
located” teams”
HR organisation
Line manager “Engineer/specialist :Engineer/specialist with
Responsible for talent for personnel
technology delivered issues, or generalist
to the projects Responsible for
Supervising and performing HRM-
coordinating line practices: resource
activities allocation, competence
development and
Responsible for planning, performance
performing HRM- reviews, waging,”
practices: resource recruitment, work
allocation””, environment
competence
development,
performance reviews,
waging, recruitment,
work environment

45
HR :Representing a “Representing a
department/HR strategic HRM strategic HRM
specialists perspective in the top perspective in the top
management team management team and
and developing central developing central HR
HR policies policies
Handling of traditional Handling of traditional
personnel personnel
administration issus administration issus
(legal issues, pensions, (legal issues, pensions,
administration of administration of
salaries) salaries)

Supporting line Offering specialist HR

management in their services within certain
HR responsibilities and HRM competence
administration of the areas”
personnel”
Table 10 HR-departmental structures, work organisation and
HR organisation

HRM AS INTEGRATING THE REQUIREMENTS OF

THE PBO AND THE INDIVIDUALS: CHANGES IN
THE ROLES OF LINE MANAGERS AND HR
SPECIALISTS
This dissertation's four articles are all on human resource
management (HRM) in nonprofit organizations. However, these
components are interconnected in such a way that, when regarded as
a whole, they provide a fundamental understanding of the issues that
HRM presents in the context of project-based work. The outcomes of
the study also point to the necessity to change the structure and

46
 content of HRM practice. In this section, I will discuss the significant
contributions of our work utilizing the findings of four distinct studies.

Meeting the dual challenges facing HRM

In this project, I highlight a variety of human resource
management difficulties that project-based businesses encounter.
People, competence, trust, transformation, change, and change
management are the primary concerns. The planned and implemented
HRM strategy pervades the study, allowing readers to understand the
ambiguity of present challenges. On the one hand, they are discussing
the requirements for a PBO, such as having self-motivated employees,
defining the core and peripheral workforce, maintaining and
enhancing critical competencies, maintaining flexibility, putting
together effective and efficient project teams, and defining the
workforce. One of the problems in a project-based setting is balancing
independence and responsibility while pursuing personal development
goals. Another barrier is having a "project-based profession" and
accepting onerous project assignments that impair one's reputation.
In order to properly manage the relationship that exists between
employees and the workplace, it is vital to take into account the
requirements and expectations of both sides. The research reported in
this thesis reveals that both the content and structure of human
resource management (HRM) must be updated for it to be successfully
incorporated into a project-based framework. According to the PBOs,
the majority of attempts to change HRM content have concentrated on
building effective HRM processes for managing performance,
competence management, and career promotion. This is due to the
PBOs' considerable emphasis on developing HRM procedures that are
appropriate for performance management. Because of the difficulties
of a project-based workplace, HRM approaches for managing human
resource flows, transformation, and, perhaps most significantly,
employee engagement and communication must be reevaluated.
Developing relationships with consultants and temporary staff appears

47
to be one of the most significant roles of a PBO. Another requirement
for boosting project teamwork efficiency is to facilitate the rapid
building of trust. Personal accountability for one's own progress, as
well as "employability," must be acknowledged and exercised by PBOs.
Management structures, HR department structures, and HR
organization design were the most in need of improvement. Every
company need a functioning HR department; however, this is not the
case with the PBO. Because this thesis distinguishes between "HR
department" and "HR organization," the HRM organizational structure
in PBOs, including the organization of HR professionals and the
increased engagement of line managers, has been examined. This new
development will have a significant impact on the subject of human
resource management. Furthermore, the findings highlight two
fascinating research topics: the increased responsibilities of workers
and project managers. Based on the available data, I believe that
outsourcing HRM tasks in a project-based workplace helps line
managers become more HR-focused. The traditional duties and
responsibilities of line management and the HR department will be
transformed as a result of this devolution.
agents in charge of managing employees and arranging initiatives
The distinction between "cross-project coordination" and "line
departments" is the thesis' principal discovery. The findings in Chapter
1 reveal that project-based organization definitions usually weaken,
abolish, or at the very least limit functional coordination. However, if
HRM is considered, it may be more plausible to say that project
coordination better fits HRM needs. Despite the absence of the
traditional structure of line departments acting as the foundation for
core activities, project coordination appears to be critical in a PBO.
Because core processes and activities are increasingly coordinated
across functional boundaries, and HRM processes and activities are
increasingly linked across projects, projectification can be considered
as a redistribution of responsibility.

48
 As a result, HR division personnel in charge of project-by-project
HRM coordination will be an important part of the PBO. According to
the research into the HR-focused management role at PE&A, striving
to balance the needs of project-oriented staff and PBO people
presents a number of obstacles. After considering the role and the
relevant elements, this conclusion was made. The majority of study on
PBO operations and management has been on cross-functional factors
such as how to build productive project teams and integrate
information across functional boundaries. Despite the fact that
scholars have investigated this subject from a variety of perspectives,
the term "cross-project coordination" has not been used. However,
few programs have paid much attention to HRM teamwork. Numerous
research have been conducted on project manager roles and
responsibilities, the development of project management
competencies, and other topics. However, the study's findings show
that more research is needed to properly understand HRM's function
in cross-project coordination.
For example, the study that serves as the foundation for this
article shows that depending on the limits placed on business
operations, cross-project collaboration can have a distinct HR
orientation. It is obvious that this has an impact on the HR-focused
component of the management function. I advocate focusing primarily
on human resources or balancing tasks and human resources for the
post of cross-project coordination manager.
Because present nomenclature is based on traditional
organizational structures, which may not necessarily apply in a project-
based setting, it is likely that the terminology for managerial duties in a
PBO will also need to be adjusted. Based on the case studies, I believe
that the HR-focused job in charge of cross-project coordination
functions as a "agent" rather than a "manager" for project staff. This is
because, in my perspective, this job more closely resembles a
traditional manager. An artist's agent is an example of a similar person.
Agents help artists locate work, promote them, and provide additional

49
support. They also help artists choose the "right" engagements and
decide whether to take time off to create new work or return to the
studio.
Suggestions for the structure of HR departments in
PBOs
According to the findings of this thesis, task reassignment will
most likely modify the role of the HR department and how it interacts
with the rest of the HR organization. More research is required to
comprehend the organization of the HR department, the
responsibilities of HR specialists, and the interactions between the HR
department and the HR-focused management role in PBOs. Contrary
to this, I believe that the increased HR orientation of cross-project
coordination should encourage HR-based explanations for HR
professionals' connections with "human resource agents" based on the
facts and patterns I have discovered in my research thus far. This is my
theory, which is supported by the facts and trends discovered thus far.
Because human resource representatives at such a company are
primarily concerned with HRM rather than core operations or
technology, HR professionals' direct involvement in operational HRM is
limited. As a result, the human resources department must establish
itself as a "HR center of expertise."
There are, however, multiple strong reasons for high-tech PBOs to
build cross-project coordination that prioritizes both human resources
and technology advancement. This type of coordination is known as
HR-oriented coordination. In high-tech PBOs, when project personnel's
physical home base is cross-project coordination, a "fragmented"
approach to project participation is also popular. Because of the
greater relationship with the line departments, the line manager must
create a balance between focusing on tasks and human resources in
such situations. Because of the current climate, I believe that each line
department's operational HRM need additional HR specialists. The HR
department would require a functional framework as well as a "task-
based reasoning for HR professionals" to do this.

50
 Concluding remarks and suggestions for future
research
I was able to establish certain crucial principles while investigating
HRM in project-based organizations. Several intriguing clues surfaced
during my investigation, but I was unable to follow them all. On the
one hand, this means that crucial conversational concerns were most
likely overlooked. However, it also opens up other avenues for further
investigation. I'll go over some intriguing options for continuing in the
lines that come after this one.
To begin, more research is needed to have a better understanding
of the many critical aspects of cross-project coordination and the
project-based character of PBOs. Human resource management (HRM)
must, in my opinion, be integrated across projects, especially in light of
the interaction with people who are growing more independent and
looking for methods to create "project careers." The topic of people's
increased involvement as active participants in PBOs' HR organizations
has come up several times throughout this thesis, and more research is
needed. The main focus of this thesis will be the growing number of
persons working in PBO HR departments. What factors determine a
person's level of education and employability, and what kind of
assistance does she require? What are the benefits and drawbacks of
this new development?
Second, because line managers' responsibilities are changing, this
argument has consequences for PBO management structures. These
are the most crucial outcomes of all. More research is required to have
a deeper understanding of this new function and the linkages that exist
among the many HR organization players, including project managers
and project workers. Surprisingly, it appears that projectification is
dividing the traditional line management job into a range of roles with
varying levels of skill. There are positions for technical management,
human resources, and project management. Employees are usually
expected to increase the range of their previous expertise when

51
working on projects in order to effectively contribute to cross-
functional teams. Is there a chance that projectification will result in
the formation of generalist and specialist management positions? Is it
feasible to build a managerial role that is solely focused on human
resources in the long run?
Third, there are multiple opportunities to conduct additional
study on the various sorts of human resources departments that can
be found in a variety of business environments. If the organizational
environment is used as a starting point and the HR department is
viewed as one of many HR organization members, additional
implications for outsourcing may emerge. The type of HR department
that I have chosen to refer to as "Emergent HR departments" in this
thesis allows me to do research on HR businesses that do not have
their own HR department. What kinds of businesses will profit from
utilizing this solution?
Before we go, one last thing: Many of the problems outlined in
the findings of this dissertation were demonstrated to have a
significant organizational border issue with public benefit organizations
(PBOs). Human resource management (HRM) must be viewed as a
cross-border concept rather than being limited to interactions within a
company. Integration, both inside and outside the organization, is one
aspect of human resource management (HRM). Despite the fact that
permanent employment contracts are expected to remain important
in the labor market, the relationship between an employee and their
employer must be reviewed. This is true even as the definition of an
employee evolves. In the vast majority of cases, "engaged" is a more
accurate term than "workers." A reexamination of organizational
boundaries in terms of how they define the "field of play" for human
resource management is part of the project-based organizational
structure.

52
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53
 Literary sources
Human Resource Development By G.S. SUDHA
Human Resource Management By K Aswathappa

54