Muhammad Faisal (11637)

Sheikh Aleem Tahir (11469)

Arslan Akhtar (12104)
Kamran Abid (11834)
Hamayun Khan (11211)
Sohail Shabbir (11371)

Introduction
Cost & Budgets Impact from Turnover
Learning from Military Experiences
The Problems: Dealing with;
High Turnover while Managing Projects
Military Office Personnel
Combat Turnover:
Sharing knowledge and mental models
Problem # 1: Lack of common technology &
Mental model-keep it smile
Problem # 2: lack of common task mental model
Keep Procedures Familiar
Problem #2.1: general staff structure
Faisal
Aleem Tahir
Arsalan
Hamayu
Problem # 3: Lack of common team interaction
Keep meeting comprehensive
Problem # 4: Lack of common team member
Keep training down walls
Mental models and best practices overlap
Findings & Conclusion
Q & A
Kamran
Sohail

A measure of separations from an
employing organization separations consist
of resignations, retirements, discharges,
reductions-in-force, deaths, interagency
transfers.
Expressed as turnover rate Calculated
during a fiscal year or calendar year.
Turnover or staff turnover or labor
turnover is the rate at which
an employer loses employees.


Rebuilding Iraq:

Rebuilding Iraq is a U.S. national security and foreign policy
priority and constitutes the largest U.S. assistance program
since World War II. Billions of dollars in grants, loans, assets,
and revenues from various sources have been made
available or pledged to the reconstruction of Iraq.
The United States, along with its coalition partners and
various international organizations and donors, has get on a
significant effort to rebuild Iraq following multiple wars and
decades of neglect by the former regime.


The U.S. effort to restore Iraq's basic
infrastructure and essential services is
important to attaining U.S. military and
political objectives in Iraq and helping Iraq
achieve democracy and freedom.

Impact of Turnover
Decreased
Performance
Unfulfilled Daily
Functions
Costs
Lower
Knowledge Base
Learning from military experiences
The active military personnel is made up of contract military
personnel and regular military personnel, predominantly the former
(64.0%). The percentage of female personnel is 15.0%.

Military personnel must therefore be prepared at all times to be
deployed far from home, often at short notice, unexpectedly and for an
unknown length of time. They accomplish their duties in situations that
are liable to extreme changes from one operation to the next

The armed forces make specific and intense demands on their
personnel, male and female. Military operations are still the most
physically and mentally demanding of the challenges which they must
face.

The constraints imposed by the state and military service are, speaking
objectively, considerable. As a result, military personnel receive
various and specific forms of compensation depending on the severity
of the constraints actually supported and on the individual situation

The problem: dealing with high turnover while
managing projects
The Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) started in 2003 and
ended in 2010
According to august 2010 analysis the US deployed over
750,000 personnel in this operation and over $49 Billion.
US military took the responsibility of project management
in the war zone
The focus of this study is on those members that are serving
in construction project management offices.

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The problem: dealing with high turnover while managing
projects (continue)
These personnel were responsible for
Oversight of budget
Project schedule
Review of the contractors.

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The problem: dealing with high turnover while
managing projects (continue)
Reasons for high Turnover
First reason is Geographical remoteness and combat stress
Emotional stress
Because of separation from family and friends that impose significant
emotional stress (about 15 months)
Physical stress
o Because of workload
Personnel normally work 7 days a week at least 12 & often 14 hours per
day .Do not take down time for holidays.
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The problem: dealing with high turnover while
managing projects (Continue.)
Second reason is place like Iraq are active combat zone and
dangerous
Attack during this Operation
500 to 3000 per month
Steps taken by the US Govt. to mitigate the effect of turnover
Limits most deployment for fixed period of time
Tour for personnel last either 6

or 12 months on average
In a project office 20 personnel work
From which one third serve for 6 months and two
third serve for 12 months period.

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The problem: dealing with high turnover while
managing projects (continue.)

A typical project office turnover
Approximately 15% of its staff monthly in OIF
According to research surveys average turnover in US is 15% annually

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Military project office personnel
Project management office staff in Iraq comes from
Military, Navy, Air force
Detail of personnel


Below table showing prior knowledge of project management
of personnel in different fields.


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Construction Project IT & Engineering System
Experience 75% 25 %
Active Duty Military Reservists Civilian Contractors
50% 40%

10%
Military project office personnel (continue)
The project office were composed of
Primarily of men 80%.

The personnel possessed
A significant amount of military services.50%
Had more than 15 year of service in army.
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Military project office personnel (continue)
With respect to deployment experience
Half of the personnel had completed more then 2 or 3
deployments.
10% of individuals had completed 3 year deployment in Iraq.
Most of the individual 90% did not want to tour or their deployment in Iraq
Because of separation from family and friends even all
understood the fact that deployment were considered mission
essential to support the national interest.
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COMBATING TURNOVER
Why is turnover Harmful?

Loss of organizational memory & Knowledge.

Remedy:
Knowledge must be shared.
No one individual should possess all the information
critical for sustaining operations.

Breakup of organizational knowledge:
Combination of information about organizational
items
Understanding of the significance of information.

Shared knowledge:
Facts and proportions that are understood
simultaneously by multiple agents
Shared mental models:
Knowledge structures that allow people to
interact with the environment.
Used to arrange information.
Increase in the degree to which knowledge
and mental models are shared improves
organizational performance.
Increasing the sharing of mental models
results in greater team performance.


Development of common mental models
begins with the training most organizations
provide to the newcomers.
This training focuses on management
procedures & company software used
throughout the firm, in order to minimize the
effects of transfers across the project team.
Orientation programs for familiarization.

Types of shared mental models:
Technology / equipment
Job / task
Team interaction
Knowledge of team members

The damaging effects of turnover can be
mitigated because these mental models can
be shared.
Problem 1: Lack of Common Technology &
Equipment Model (keeping IT Simple)
Organizational frameworks knowledge about
tools and technology employed by an
organization.
Lack of understanding leads to
Steep learning curves
Reduced efficiency among newcomers

US Military increases shared nature of this
mental model by simplifying and standardizing
key technologies associated with project
management, especially Databases
Unfamiliarity with technology & equipment is
problematic for newcomers and will require
more time towards learning how to interpret
and navigate organizational information
system.
Officers in OIF used the simplest electronic
Database available for sharing information i.e
Microsoft Excel.
The main reason behind this was most people
are familiar how to use and manipulate Excel.
The simplicity of the said program reduces the
amount of time required for a new project
manager to become proficient with
technology.

Experiment
Microsoft Excel
Simplest electronic Database
available for sharing
information
(After 6 Months &Employee T.O)
Experienced no disruption

Access
Customized Reports
(After 6 Months & Employee T.O)
This specialized D.B became
unusable, as in coming
personnel were not capable of
maintaining it.

Excel proved to sustain its viability
Excel proved to sustain its viability
All project information in a single D.B makes it easy for
supervisors and coworkers to find needed information
quickly.
Lessons learned are maintained by many organizations but
are not used due to lack of information about its existence
or not knowing how to retrieve it(Excel solves this issue).
Excel ensures that accurate information is delivered to the
new Project Manager and less efforts are wasted on
retracing steps.
In this way Technology / Equipment mental model
simultaneously survives the turn over of personnel and
facilitates more efficient project management.

Lack of common task mental model Keep procedures Familiar

Task mental models refer to organizational frame
works surrounding knowledge regarding work
procedures and information processing
strategies.
A lack of shared understanding concerning this
mental model manifests itself in problems such as
confusion, reduced self efficacy and frustration
among newcomers. The individuals dont know
how they perform in the organization
This structure provides military personnel a
reference point to understand what organization
whey work for and how that organization fits
within the large military network in OIF and how
to coordinate with other offices.
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General Staff Structure

This organizational structure resembles the
framework employed by any headquarters
branch of the military including those at
pentagon.
The advantage of this system is that it
immediately orients newcomers to where
their particular organization fits within the
larger framework of forces in OIF.
The newcomers quickly grasp the
boundaries of their work responsibilities and
the procedures for coordinating tasks
because the organization is structured in a
way that is familiar.

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Lack of Common Team Interaction Mental model
Keep Meeting Comprehensive
Team Interaction Mental Models Refers to Organizational
frameworks ,knowledge about individuals responsibilities,
role interdependencies and communication pattern.
New comers are caused by unfamiliarity with common
responsibilities and shared roles as a result irritation
situation appeared, don't know the roles of boundaries.
Models suggest to must learn the roles boundaries that
have been drawn and how it is differ from traditional lines
or roles and duties.
To mitigate this issue the Project office in(OIF)hold weekly
conference calls and arranged face to face meeting to
knowing the exact status of project , challenges and
solutions to involve all relevant person that have impact on
project

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By involving project office and project managers
in these meeting cross training fashions increase
the mental models in effective way.
As for as project manager is concern the project
manager learn the history of previous projects
and challenges and who the key players are that
manager crucial aspects of projects.
Here inefficiency of the comprehensive project is
traded off with greater efficiency in resolving
issues. New project manager donor has to dig
around the cold call exterior organization.
As a result the new comers of the organization
are able to grasp the communication pattern and
role responsibilities unique to their positions
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Lack of common Team Member mental
model Keep Tearing down Walls
Team member mental models refer to organizational
frame works surrounding knowledge regarding
individual teammate preference, skills and habits.
The US military attempts to increase the shared nature
of team members mental models by embracing open
office architectures. The open office refers to the
absence of walls and cubicles in work spaces.
OIF projects office having 8 to 10 individuals work with
their entire desk adjoined and pushed together so that
each person is either adjacent to or facing someone
else. The basic aim of open office is to facilitate the
sharing of mental models concerning knowledge about
ones co workers.


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It promotes eavesdropping as long no one feels offended this
can be extremely beneficial for co-workers. Co-workers learn
lots form colleagues that how they manage the project and deal
with effectively.
Colleagues interact with each other communication process
begins and they share valuable information through desk.
Now team members are able to quickly learn habits and traits of
other colleagues they know their strengths, their preferences,
new comers may easily ask question when dilemmas arise.
The open office architectures support this process by
encouraging interaction between incumbents and newcomers.
The results shows that the strategies employed by the US
military in OIF to help mitigate the effect of turnover.

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Turnover effect mitigation
recommendations

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Mental models and best practices
It was originally argued that mental model typology
was not necessarily exclusive, but it is rather
overlapping. But recent research claims that practices
outlined by the military work most effectively across
various avenues and it aid in sharing the multiple
mental models simultaneously.

As an example, open office architecture also facilitates
the development of task mental problems in addition
to team member mental models.
Mental models are concerned about knowledge
regarding work procedures and things are get done.

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Mental models and best practices (Cont)
This mental model is knowledge about various items
like organizational structures and communication
protocols.

This encouraged the open conversation among team
members. The conversations play important roles in
developing knowledge about effective methods of
communication and individual domain power.

Positively, even if somebody does not participate in
these conversations and only view and observe them,
the knowledge of this mental model is increased.

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Results
The study by external auditors as well as authors, both of
them confirm to their own general efficiency.

Authors observed that wide range of management practices
aimed at reducing the impact of turnover and also noted large
fluctuation in their efficiency. These practices show the great
reliability in reducing the impact of manpower.

Among many duties, SIGIR conducts random checks on
construction projects for verification of funds that they are
being consumed legally and efficiently or not.

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SIGIR during these random checks identified
that turnover of personnel is a major cause of
inefficient project management.

In other audits, where offices have employed
the techniques highlighted above, SIGIR
praised the efforts of personnel and the
offices. SIGIR identified that here projects are
managed in far superior way.

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Conclusion
Facing turnover is a fact, so we have to face it and
manage it efficiently to reduce its effects.

An amazing fact about turnover in military is that
it is considered to be a joyful and happy event.

The mission whom they left is so important that it
must be accomplished. So in military especially in
Iraq, they innovated and developed methods to
reduce the effect of turnover rather than
reducing the turnover.

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Questions & Answer
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