9.4.2.3 Conict Management

Conict is inevitable in a project environment. Sources of conict include scarce resources, scheduling priorities, and personal work styles. Team ground rules, group norms, and solid project management practices, like communication planning and role definition, reduce the amount of conict.

Successful conict management results in greater productivity and positive working relationships. When managed properly, differences of opinion can lead to increased creativity and better decision making. If the differences become a negative factor, project team members are initially responsible for their resolution. If conict escalates, the project manager should help facilitate a satisfactory resolution. Conict should be addressed early and usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach. If disruptive conict continues, formal procedures may be used, including disciplinary actions.

The success of project managers in managing their project teams often depends a great deal on their ability to resolve conict. Different project managers may utilize different conict resolution methods. Factors that inuence conict resolution methods include:

• Relative importance and intensity of the conict,

• Time pressure for resolving the conict,

• Position taken by persons involved, and

• Motivation to resolve conict on a long-term or a short-term basis.

There are five general techniques for resolving conict. As each one has its place and use, theseare not given in any particular order:

Withdraw/Avoid. Retreating from an actual or potential conict situation; postponing the issue tobe better prepared or to be resolved by others.

Smooth/Accommodate. Emphasizing areas of agreement rather than areas of difference;conceding one’s position to the needs of others to maintain harmony and relationships.

Compromise/Reconcile. Searching for solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to all parties in order to temporarily or partially resolve the conict.

Force/Direct. Pushing one’s viewpoint at the expense of others; offering only win-lose solutions, usually enforced through a power position to resolve an emergency.

Collaborate/Problem Solve. Incorporating multiple viewpoints and insights from differing perspectives; requires a cooperative attitude and open dialogue that typically leads to consensus and commitment.

Process: 9.4 Manage Project Team

Definition: The process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing changes to optimize project performance.

Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it influences team behavior, manages conflict, resolves issues, and appraises team member performance.

Inputs

Tools & Techniques

Outputs

One of the tools and techniques of the Manage Project Team process is:

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