Project Team Rewards
Results
53
5.3.5. Impact of Organisational Structure
As project management tools, the organisational structure is not
a real project
characteristic. However, the organisational structure seems to have a major impact on
rewarding project teams. Team members from projects performed in a matrix structure,
usually work parallel in the project team and in their normal job. In a functional structure,
employees even do not have contact with the project manager and other project members
but get all their instructions from the line manager. In those cases, employees’ first priority
usually is their normal job because the project outcome has little impact on their career
(Tinnirello 2001). It is in the interest of those who benefit from a successful project that
the team members see their project work at least as important as their line work. If line
work seems more attractive than project work, rewards could help to balance the
employees’ preferences. This is explained by expectancy theory. Without rewards, the line
work’s valance often is bigger than the valance provided by the project work. A reward
changes the valance.
In projects performed in a functional structure the project members do not really work
in a project team but individually. In those situations a group identity and trust, which are
the essential requirements for team rewards (Armstrong 2000), cannot be built.
Accordingly, a focus on individual rewards seems to be appropriate in a functional
structure. In contrast, in pure project structures team members should be used to team
work and probably have already worked together. In that case, group identity may build
quickly or already exists. In such a situation, group rewards are preferable towards
individual rewards. Projects in a matrix structure are ‘in-between’ the two extremes. In
that case,
a
general tendency about the influence on the reward answers could not be
found.
5.3.6. Impact of the Project’s Relevance
It might be argued that if a project has a high relevance, a reward system becomes even
more important to deliver this project as good as possible. However, every executed
project eventually must have at least some
relevance to the organisation. Otherwise, it
 |
 |
 |
| Please note: All rights of this webpage are reserved. No part of this webpage may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission by the author. This html version of the book Project Team Rewards: Rewarding and Motivating your Project Team is not suitable for referencing since page numbers and layout may differ from the original book. Layout flaws are due to converting difficulties from the original file format to html and are not present in the paper copy of the book. |