Project Communications and HR Management

1
Project Communications andHR Management

• Unit 7
• Conflict Management and Performance Management

2
Agenda

• Introduction
• Sources of conflict
• Conflict good or bad?
• Resolving conflict
• Conflict in projects
• Performance management

3
Introduction

• Conflict is inevitable.
• Caused by many factors including the
  interpersonal differences, power struggles,
  unexpected problems, etc.
• According to one study, 20 of project managers
  time spent on conflict.
• Therefore, project managers must be good conflict
  managers.

Source J. Pinto, 1998
4
Sources of Conflict

• Organizational
• Resources (or lack thereof)
• Scheduling priorities
• Interpersonal
• Personal work styles

PMBOK 3RD Ed p 217
5
Conflict Good or Bad?

• Previously
• conflict was undesirable
• needed to be either eliminated or actively
  managed
• Current view
• Some conflict is necessary
• Peaceful and totally harmonious organizations
  will become static and stagnant
• Creativity / innovation wont happen if staff
  content with status quo

Some conflict Encouraged / Stimulated
Source V. Verma, 1996
6
Conflict Good or Bad?

• Current theory some conflict needed
• to create high performance

Source V. Verma, 1996
7
Conflict in projects - Causes
High

• Schedules
• Priorities
• Manpower
• Technical
• Procedures
• Personality
• Costs

Relative Conflict Intensity
Low
Source Kerzner p 296 7-1
8
Conflict in projects SourcesConflicts occurred
mostly with
High

• Functional Managers
• Functional Personnel
• Between Project Personnel
• Superiors
• Subordinates

Relative Conflict Intensity
Low
Source Kerzner p 296 7-1
9
Class Exercise

• Divide into groups
• Discuss conflicts that youve experienced in
  the workplace
• What was the result of the conflict?
• Was the conflict resolved? If so, how?
• Given what discussed tonight, would there be a
  more effective way to resolve?

10
Managing Conflict - Process

• Understand Conflict
• Study problem
• Collect all available information
• Develop a situational approach or methodology
• Set appropriate atmosphere or climate

Kerzner p 297
11
Managing Conflict - Process

• Project team members resolve
• Project manager facilitate satisfactory
  resolution

• Address early
• Usually in private
• Direct, collaborative approach

PMBOK 3rd Ed p 217
12
Managing Conflict - Resolution

• Stimulate
• Bring in new individuals to team
• Play devils advocate
• Restructure the project team organization
• Create some level of competition within the team
• Resolve through structural means
• Procedure changes
• Personnel changes
• Authority changes
• Physical layout/team location changes
• Resource changes

Source V. Verma, 1996
13
Managing Conflict - Resolution

• Stimulate
• Bring in new individuals to team
• Play devils advocate
• Restructure the project team organization
• Create some level of competition within the team
• Structural
• Procedure changes
• Personnel changes
• Authority changes
• Physical layout/team location changes
• Resource changes

Source V. Verma, 1996
14
Managing Conflict - Resolution

• Interpersonal
• Confronting or collaborating
• Compromising
• Smoothing or accommodating
• Forcing
• Avoiding or withdrawing

Kerzner p 298-300
15
Managing Conflict
High

• Collaborating
• Both get at least what
• you want
• To reduce cost
• To create power base
• There is time trust
• Skills compliment

• Forcing
• Sure you are right
• Do or die situations
• Stakes are high
• When you are stronger
• When relationship is
• unimportant

• Compromising
• Both parties need to
• be winners
• When you cant win
• Others are equal
• strength
• Maintain relationship
• Not sure if youre
• right
• Nothing if you dont

Concern For Self

• Use Accommodating
• Reach overarching
• goal
• Stakes low
• Liability limited
• Maintain harmony
• Trade-off later

• Avoiding
• When you cant win
• The stakes are low
• Stakes are high but
• youre not ready
• To gain time
• You think the problem will go away

Low
High
Low
Concern for Others
16
Class Exercise

• Problem 7-10, page 303

17
Performance Management

• Project Manager normally not responsible for
  performance evaluations
• Provides input to the performance management
  process
• Input may be confidential or open, written or
  oral, depends on company policy
• In some cases, PM may provide the performance
  evaluation if the employee worked 100 for the
  project
• Provided at regular intervals or following
  completion of the project

18
Performance Management

• Degree of employee involvement depends on the
  company policy
• 360 degree feedback is used in some companies. It
  is very effective but time consuming.

Supervisor
You
Peers
Peers
Subordinates
19
STAR Model for Effective Feedback

• STAR model provides an easy method for
  structuring feedback.
• ST Situation or Task, provides a specific
  context, to avoid a general opinion or judgment
• A Action, what did the person do
• R Result, what was the consequence, positive or
  negative, of the action

20
STAR Model for Effective Feedback

• Example of a STAR feedback for a team member
  (Jean) from the Project Manager
• ST Jean was required to conduct a requirements
  gathering session with the Engineering Department
  for the next phase of the project.
• A Action Jean prepared the session in advance.
  She reviewed all the existing documentation and
  identified areas of potential requirements. Based
  on these areas, she structured the session.
• R Result The session was very effective and
  gathered the information requirement in a
  relative short time of 2 hours. This will provide
  the project with an early and solid understanding
  of requirements for planning.

21
STAR Model for Effective Feedback - Exercise

• Think of a recent situation at work where someone
  did something that had a significant effect,
  either positive or negative, in the results of
  your project or area of work.
• Write down a STAR feedback for that person. No
  names are required.
• Some of you may share with the class.
• 5 minutes

22
Performance Management

• Many different styles and formats
• Numerical rating systems
• Essay style
• Forced-Ranking review
• etc.
• Leading organizations measure performance in
  terms of both
• What achieved
• How achieved

23
Project Manager Dimensions of Competency
Project Performance
PM Performance Competence
Enables the development of
PM Personal Competence
Provides the human performance skills for
Personal Attributes
PMCDF
Organizational Project Management Maturity
OPM3
Source PMCDF from PMI
24
PM Dimensions of Competency

• Knowledge competency what you know
• Performance competency what you can do
• Knowledge and Performance Competencies
• Units of Competence Nine Knowledge Areas
• Clusters Five Processes (IPECC)
• for each Knowledge Area

Source PMCDF from PMI
25
PM Dimensions of Competency

• Personal Units of Competence
• Achievement and Action
• Helping and Human Services
• Impact and Influence
• Managerial
• Cognitive
• Personal Effectiveness

Source PMCDF from PMI
26
Next Week

• Quiz 3 Units 6 and 7
• Multiple choice
• From handouts, class discussion/presentations
• Kerzner PMI quiz p 301
• Unit 8 Communications Planning
• Reading
• Text Chapter 5.13
• PMBOK Chapter 10.1