The $2,000 hour

how managers influence project performance through the rework cycle

Article Quality Management, Teams, Resource Management March 1994

Project Management Journal

Cooper, Kenneth G.

How to cite this article:

Cooper, K. G. (1994). The $2,000 hour: how managers influence project performance through the rework cycle. Project Management Journal, 25(1), 11–24.
Most development projects fail to meet their time and cost targets. Traditional managerial responses to time delays and cost overruns have been to increase overtime, pressure individuals to produce more, and rapidly hire new employees. These responses may have the appearance of helping, but may actually cause further project delay, as well as increase project costs. Studies have shown that when employees work overtime, their productivity decreases increasingly with each hour of overtime worked, resulting in less output, decreased quality work, and increased rework. Rapid hiring also causes a cycle of rehiring and training that not only exhausts managers, but increases with each person hired. Squeezing production out of employees is seldom conducive to quality work. The best option may be to focus on producing quality work the first time, limit rework, refrain from immediately adding full time equivalent (FTE) people, either in overtime or rapid hiring, and producing work according to a project schedule.
member content locked

Become a PMI member to gain access

or Join

Advertisement

Advertisement

Related Content

  • Article PM in Academia, Resource Management, Power Skills 1 June 2022

    Project Management Journal

    People as Our Most Important Asset member content locked

    By Dupret, Katia | Pultz, Sabrina In this article, we examine how employees experience different types of work commitment at an IT consultancy company using agility to give staff greater autonomy and decision-making latitude.

  • White Paper Teams, Organizational Culture May 2022

    PMI Sponsored Research

    Equality, Diversity, and Inclusiveness in the Field of Project Management member content open

    By Gardiner, Paul | Alkhudary, Rami | Druon, Marie This report presents the results of an SLR conducted to collect and synthesize the extant literature on EDI in the field of project management.

  • Article Teams, PM in Academia, Power Skills 1 April 2022

    Project Management Journal

    Knowledge-Oriented Leadership, Team Cohesion, and Project Success member content locked

    By Mariam, Shahida | Khawaja, Kausar Fiaz | Qaisar, Muhammad Nawaz | Ahmad, Farooq We examined the impact of knowledge-oriented leadership on project success via team cohesion and the moderating role of valuing people and project complexity on this relationship.

  • Report Talent Management, Resource Management 9 February 2022

    Thought Leadership Series

    Sainō no gyappu o sebameru member content open

    PMI to PwC no saishin no sekai-tekina chōsa ni yoru to, purojekutobēsu no soshiki no ma de, zento ni yokotawaru risuku, oyobi jinzai kiki ga purojekuto to senryaku o mitasu nōryoku ni oyobosu…

  • Report Resource Management 9 February 2022

    Thought Leadership Series

    tadyiq fajwat almawahibi member content open

    tushir 'ahdath al'abhath alealamiat alati 'ajraha maehad 'iidarat almasharie (PMI) washarikat brays wawtirhawis kubarz (PwC) 'iilaa wujud naqs fi alwaey , 'aw rubama baed altarakhi , bayn…

Advertisement