Project Management C6 -project_team_building_conflict_and_negotiation

1- Building the project team

1- Identify necessary skills

sets.

2- Identify the people who match

skills.

3- Talk to potential team members

4- Negotiate with functional heads

5- Builds in fallback positions.

6- Assemble the team

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

6-2

Building the team

1- Identify necessary skill sets:

• The 1st step is to conduct a realistic assessment of all needed types of skills, in order to complement each other and perform the project duties

2- Identify people who match the skills.

• We have 2 options:

• 1- Hire new personnel for the project

• 2- train current personnel to become proficient in the needed skills.


6-3

Building the team

3- Talk to potential team members.

• The 3rd step consists of opening team communication with likely candidates for the team to assess their level of interest in the project.

4- Negotiation with functional heads.

• At the same time, we PM must begin to enter in negotiation with the functional heads.

• These conversations could be complex and lengthy.

• Depriving a functional manager of key personnel to serve on a project team can be seen as threatening the operating department. (next)


6-4

Building the team

4- Negotiation with functional heads.

• Negotiation is required to decide in some issues:

• How long are the team member’s services required? (full time, part time, and the period)

• Who should choose the person to be assigned to the project?

• What happens when special circumstances arises? (the employee may be recalled from his department. How the PM will replace him?)

5- Build in Fallback Positions

• If the negotiations are not fruitful, the PM is faced with 3 basic alternatives:

• 1- Try to negotiate for partial assistance.

• 2- Adjust project schedules and priorities accordingly.

• 3- Notify the management of the consequences.


6-5


6-6

2- Effective Project Teams

Clear Sense of Mission: the mission should be mutually

understood and accepted by all team members.

Productive Interdependency: it refers to the degree of

joint activity among team members required in order to complete a

project. The concept of differentiation suggests that each individual

brings preconceived notions to the team. The interdependencies

refers to the degree of knowledge of the team interrelated efforts.


6-7

Effective Project Teams

Cohesiveness: refers to the degree of mutual attraction

that team members hold for one another and their task.

Trust: for PM, trust refers to the team’s comfort level with

each individual member. Given the comfort level, trust is

manifested in the team’s ability and willingness to squarely

address differences of opinion, values and attitudes and deal

with them accordingly.


6-8

Effective Project Teams Enthusiasm: it is the catalyst for directing positive, high energy

toward project. It creates energy that drive effective project efforts. It

creates an environment that is:

Challenging: it offers the opportunity of personal growth, new

learning and the ability to stretch professionally.

Supportive: PM members gain a sense of team spirit and

group identity : communication, problem solving…

Personally rewarding: PM become more enthusiastic as they

perceive personal benefits arising from project completion.

Results Orientation: outcomes are related toward the same

orientation.

3- Reasons why teams fail

1- Poor developed or unclear goals

2- Poorly defined project team roles

and interdependencies.

3- lack of project team motivation

4- Poor communication

5- Poor leadership 6- Turnover among

project team members.

7- Dysfunctional behavior.


6-9


6-10

3- Reasons Why Teams Fail

1- Poorly developed or unclear goals Unclear goals permit multiple interpretations.

Unclear goals impede the willingness of team members to work together,

Unclear goals increase conflict.

2- Poorly defined project team roles & interdependencies.

Interdependencies: is a state where team members’ activities coordinate with and complement other team members’ work.

Unawareness of interdependencies leads to lose time.


6-11


3- Lack of project team motivation The project is perceived as unnecessary.

The project may have low priority.

4- Poor communication Could be caused by: different orientations or

background, , uncertainty about the project structure and interdependencies…

Resolving poor communication by: standard information sharing, a frank atmosphere, and open exchanges.


6-12

3- Reasons Why Teams Fail 5- Poor leadership

Refer to chapter 4.

6-Turnover among project team members

The higher the turnover among project team members, the

more it disrupts the project manager’s ability to create project

team cohesion.

The continual act of adding and removing personnel to project

teams causes problems with team learning and functionning.


6-13


7-Dysfunctional behavior

It refers to disruptive acts of some project team

members due to: personality issues, hidden agendas or

interpersonal problems.

The solution calls for recognizing the members

involved and taking corrective steps.

A serious case may require to remove the concerned

team member.


6-14

4- Stages in Group Development

• The process of group development is a dynamic

one.

• Groups go through several maturation stages that

are identifiable.

• The stages are: forming, storming, norming,

performing and adjourning.


6-15


1. Forming – members become acquainted

1. Members get to know one another to mold into a coherent

project team.

2. They lay the basis for project and ground rules: standards of

behavior, communication channel…

2. Storming – conflict begins

1. Conflict begins because team members begin to resist

authority.

2. Some hidden agendas, attempt to rewrite team rules.


6-16


3. Norming – members reach agreement

1. Norm is an unwritten rule of behavior.

2. Members agree on operating procedures and seek to work

together and develop closer relationships.

3. Members will commit to the project development process.

4. Performing – members work together to accomplish their tasks.


6-17


5. Adjourning – group disbands

1. Teams do not last forever.

2. At the completion of the project, team members will disband to

return to their functional duties in the organization.

3. Members will commit to the project development process.


6-18


Ponctuated Equilibrium– Connie Gersick developed a model for

project team development. She suggests that:

1. Most teams develop a set of operating norms very quickly.

2. These norms tend to guide group behavior and performance for

the project’s life.

3. Group will operate as a result of these norms until some trigger

event occurs, almost precisely at the halfway point between the

initial meeting and the project deadline.

4. The trigger may be: dissatisfaction with the project progress,

interpersonal antagonisms or other external force

Ponctuated Equilibrium–


6-19


6-20

Team Development Stages

1. Forming

2. Storming 3. Norming

4. Performing Convene Adjourn

Productive

Organized Infighting

Testing

Quiet Polite Guarded Impersonal Business-like High Morale

Establish procedures Develop team skills Confront issues Rebuild morale

Conflict over control Confrontational Alienation Personal agendas Low morale

Trust Flexible Supportive Confident Efficient High Morale


6-21

5- Achieving Cross-Functional Cooperation

Cross-functional cooperation

Task Outcomes

Psycho-Social Outcomes

Rules & Procedures

Physical Proximity

Accessibility

Superordinate Goals


6-22

5- Achieving cross-functional coordination

1. Superordinate goals –

1. It can be “ to develop a high-quality, user friendly, and generally

useful system that will enhance the operations of various

departments and functions.

2. It provides a central objective and an overriding goal.

2. Rules and procedures

1. They are essential because they offer a means for coordinating

or integrating activities that involve several units.

2. Project-specific rules and procedures facilitate its operations.


6-23


3. Physical proximity

1. Team members should be located within a physical spatial distances

that make it convenient to them to interact.

2. The more the team members are close, the more is their

cooperation and coordination.

4. Accessibility

1. It is the perception that a person is approachable for communicating

and interacting with problems for project success.

2. Inaccessibility occurs because of different work schedules, varied

duties and priorities, and commitment to other agendas.


6-24


5. Outcomes of cooperation

1. Tasks outcomes: refer to the factors involved in the the actual

implementation of the project: time, schedule and project

functionality.

2. Psychosocial outcomes: represent the team member’s

assessment that the project experience was worthwhile,

satisfying and productive.


6-25

Building High-Performing Teams: 3 practical steps PM can take to build high-performing teams:

1st step: Make the project team tangible – Publicity

– Terminology & language

2nd step: Reward good behavior – Flexibility

– Creativity

– Pragmatism

3rd step: Develop a personal touch – Lead by example

– Positive feedback for good performance

– Accessibility & consistency


6-26

6- Virtual Project Teams

use electronic media to link members of a geographically dispersed project team

How Can Virtual Teams Be Improved? Use face-to-face communication when possible

Don’t let team members disappear (get together via videoconferencing, e-mail and internet connections)

Establish a code of conduct: get an agreement on types of information that need to be shared.

Keep everyone in the communication loop: awareness to keep the communication channels open.

Create a process for addressing conflict: PM should create a set of guidelines for allowing free expression or disagreement among team members.


6-27

7- Conflict Management

Conflict is a process that begins when you perceive that someone has frustrated or is about to frustrate a major concern of yours.

Categories • Goal-oriented

• Administrative

• Interpersonal

Views • Traditional

• Behavioral

• Interactionist


6-28

7- Conflict Management

Conflict is a process that begins when you perceive that someone has

frustrated or is about to frustrate a major concern of yours.

Most types of conflict fit within 3 categories:

• Goal-oriented conflict:

• associated with disagreements regarding results, scope outcomes, performance specifications,…

• It result from a poor or vague or incomplete perception of the goals that may allow the team members to make their own interpretations.

• Administrative conflict:

• Arises through management hierarchy, organizational structure or philosophy (authority and decisions).

• Interpersonal conflict:

• Arises from personality differences.

• It includes work ethics, behavioral styles, egos….


6-29

Sources of Conflict

Organizational

• Reward systems

• Scarce resources

• Uncertainty

• Differentiation

Interpersonal • Faulty attributions

• Faulty communication

• Personal grudges & prejudices


6-30

Conflict Resolution

Mediate – PM uses defusion or confrontation to find a solution.

Defusion: PM is less concerned with the source of

conflict than with a mutually accepted solution.

Confrontation: involves working with both parties to

get at the root causes of the conflict.

Arbitrate – PM must be willing to impose a judgment on the warring

parties. After listening to both parties, the PM renders his decision which focuses

on the judgment itself. Ex: wrong, right….


6-31

Conflict Resolution

Control – Not all problems can be resolved. In some cases, pragmatic response to

conflict might give a cool down period. It is not a cowardly response, but a selective way

to choose the best manner PM should intervene .

Accept – some conflicts are unmanageable . We just live the conflict as it is.

Eliminate – Sometimes the guilty member(s) should be transfer red to stop the

reason while of the conflict.

Conflict is often evidence of progress!


6-32

8- Negotiation

a process that is predicated on a manager’s ability to use influence productively

Questions to Ask Prior to Entering a Negotiation

1. How much power do I have?

2. What sort of time pressures are there?

3. Do I trust my opponent?


6-33

Principled Negotiation

1. Separate the people from the problem

2. Focus on interests, not positions

3. Invent options for mutual gain

4. Insist on using objective criteria

Getting to Yes – Fisher & Ury


6-34