4. Understand communication within project management Flashcards
State four sources of conflict within a project
- Personality clashes where two members in a team have different views on life and clash because of this.
- Resource availability (or lack of) where the project manager needs resources, but they are busy on functional work.
- Pricing the cost of changes on a fixed price contract where the contractor says it will cost a certain amount, but the client disagrees.
- Agreeing on requirements at the outset as some stakeholders view some requirements as mandatory, but others just view them as ‘nice to have.’
Using an appropriate model or approach, explain three ways in which conflict can
be addressed.
The Thomas-Killman method of addressing conflict used different approaches based on the level of assertion or co-operation that the specific situation required.
The following are 3 of the 5 methods from
the Thomas-Killman model:
- Accommodate – can be used when low assertion and high co-operation are required.
This approach is akin to a “kill them with kindness” situation. An accommodating approach should be used when the individual you are in conflict with has strong views on their solution and you have no issues with
bowing down to their views. This can be useful when the individual is a subject matter expert in the relevant field. For example a junior project manager may come into a team comprised of experienced individuals. The project team may have a view on the processes that should be used to achieve the
outcome and the project manager may take an accommodating approach and utilise the project team’s experience and implement this approach.
- Compete – a competing approach is useful when you need to get instant acceptance to your approach. This is an assertive approach where cooperation is not required. A competing approach can be useful in a military scenario where a leader requires instant acceptance of their approach from
their team and cannot compromise or co-operate to establish the right way ahead. - Collaborate – a collaborative approach is useful when you and team members both have a strong vision of what should happen. Collaboration requires strong assertion but also strong co-operation from the project manager. By collaborating you can create an environment where the best techniques from both parties suggestions are taken forward and the collaborative approach is agreed
and accepted by all involved. An example of using a collaborative approach would be where two interior designers disagree over the configuration of a hotel room. Collaboration would allow the best of both scenarios taken forward.
Learning Outcome Understand communication within project management.
Question part (a) State four sources of conflict within a project.
Marks 20 marks (5 marks each)
Question part (b) Explain three benefits of a communication plan to a project.
Marks 30 marks (10 marks each)
Question part (a)
Four sources of conflict that can occur during a project due to a difference in desired objectives and attitudes include:
1) During the concept phase – the project manager and sponsor may have conflict over the cost and time needed for the project. The sponsor will look to go with the lower time and cost in order to maximise the benefits post-project however, the project manager may not agree and may want to have a higher budget and more time in order to be able to produce higher quality deliverables or even just to ensure they have enough resources to deliver the project on time. They may wish to take on a collaboration approach to compromise in terms of resolving the conflict.
2) During the definition phase – conflict may arise around the creation of the project management plan – for example there may be conflict around the project requirements, if a subject matter expert is stating that the estimate will be higher than the project manager envisions, it may cause conflict. However, the project manager may want to go with an ‘acceptance’ approach as the SME has more detailed knowledge of the technical work than the project manager does.
3) During the deployment phase, there may be conflict around the plans, processes and methods by which the team are undertaking the work. For example, a producer of the product may go by the view “it works most of the time, we’ll fix It later” whereas the tester may wish to ‘compete’ as the product has failed the test or does not pass all of the tests.
4) During the transition phase – there may be conflict if the project deliverables are not accepted as part of business-as-usual activities. The sponsor may want to ‘collaborate’ with the organisation to understand how best to integrate the project deliverables into the wider organisation in order to maximise benefit realisation.
Question part (b)
Three benefits to having a strong communication plan in a project are:
1) The communication plan states the exact types of information needed and when it needs to be issued. This ensures that key stakeholders are not swamped by unnecessary details. The project manager knows who to speak to about specific areas of the project and can then ensure that the correct documentation is drawn up (possibly by the PMO if there is one in the project) to report the necessary information back to the key stakeholders. This also ensures that the producers of the work maximise their time by only producing the reports when needed, so that they can focus on areas that need attention.
2) The communication plan states any barriers in communication and how the team can overcome aforementioned barriers to ensure there is minimal difficulty in communication. For example: if the team are working across different time zones, it will enable the team to alter the working day to host virtual meetings which accommodate team members around the world as this would be stated in the communication plan. This also ensures that the communication plan is drawn up to comply with the ethics and diversification policy from a legal standpoint.
3) The communication plan may include a “glossary of terms” which is beneficial to all those involved in the project particularly if the project taking place is one with a highly complex and technical background, where it may be the norm to write and/or talk in acronyms. Having a simple glossary will increase the team spirit and bond as it enables individuals to increase their understanding in private rather than feeling embarrassed to ask questions particularly if everyone else in the team is familiar with the specialist language.
Learning Outcome Understand communication within project management.
Question part (a) Explain how understanding BATNA and ZOPA can help plan and conduct
negotiations.
Marks 20 marks (10 marks each)
Question part (b) Explain three ways in which conflicts can be addressed.
Marks 30 marks (10 marks each)
Question part (a)
In negotiations it is important to consider maintaining relationships and trust within a project.
1) BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement) will allow both parties of the negotiation to have certain parameters that they would be happy to walk away with if they did not receive their most wanted outcome. This can assist with negotiation planning as it allows each party to think about an alternative that they can aim for if their initial desire is not met. For example, I may not wish to sell my house for less that £450k as this is my bottom line.
2) Understanding BATNA can help negotiation planning as it helps to define the ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement) which is a ‘zone’ that sits within the BATNA’s for both parties, provides a ‘happy medium’ for both people and acts as a compromise. With this in mind it can help control the emotions of parties within the negotiation being conducted as they will not feel cheated out of their desired proposals. For example, if I want to sell something for £30 and I am willing to accept £25 (my BATNA) and the buyer wants to pay between £20 and £27 (their BATNA), then the ZOPA would be between £25 and £27. It is also important to consider that if no ZOPA has been identified then it may be a waste of time to start a negotiation as neither party will be willing to come to a compromise.
Question part (b)
Conflict is unavoidable but there are different ways to combat and address conflict that arise:
1) Collaboration – this is an approach that involves both parties working together to come to a conclusion/decision that allows both parties to feel satisfied. It is the opposite approach of avoiding the conflict and it is seen as the true win-win scenario when dealing with conflict. It works as both parties put their views on the table, each arty actively listens to the others’ views (vice versa) and then both parties come to a solution that they are both fully supportive of.
2) Compete – this is an approach where one party is assertive in their views and does not consider the other party’s feelings or opinions. The competing party will look to force their views on the other party and is power oriented. For example, this could be used in a health and safety process which an employee must conform to whether they like it or not.
3) Accommodate – this approach for conflict resolution is where one party may step down in their argument to allow the other party to ‘win’. An example of this would be if there was a subject matter expert who suggested that the cost of an activity would be more than the project manager envisions and after bringing this to light, the project manager may choose to accept the view of the subject matter experts as they are the professionals in that field and the project manager may feel that the subject matter experts know best. It also helps the winning party to trust the other party and this can help build team relationships for the future.
