Conflict Exercise – Case 1
See Schedule for Due Date
You have just replaced a project manager (PM) on the Swanson Project that has been in the implementation phase longer than you care to discuss. The former PM style was that of allowing the workers to do their thing, while you follow an approach that considers all project facets plus the team members’ abilities and their suggestions for managing the project processes.
The project team composition consists of individuals from two different departments within your organization. One department performs many tasks with multiple projects while the other deals with one thing at a time and has little authority to act without involving upper management. These contrasting styles of managing people and processes are bound to cause conflicts within your team.
The Project Coordinators (PC) works on a salary basis, while the Project Expediters (PE) payment is as hourly workers. The PM salary is using a base pay plus an incentive for achieving the projected numbers for the project. Oh, by the way, you must accept the project’s goals that were set with the earlier PM. The project is behind schedule and grossly over budget, as is always the case in these situations. Everyone has been working lots of hours to make the agreed upon commitments.
At your first meeting with the Project Team, the following dialogue takes place:
PM – “First, I want you to know that my predecessor allowed the project to run its course without managing it and as a result, the project is behind schedule. If corrective action is not taken quickly, we’ll be way over budget and beyond recovery. We all have to dig in and determine what we can do as a team to overcome this predicament. I want to work with each of you to develop a plan for accomplishing the recovery within your departments and integrating those efforts into the total project recovery plan.”
PE – “Well, that’s just peachy! Maybe we can work after normal business hours to develop that plan. I just have too much to do during regular work hours to sit down with you and try to eliminate my job!”
PC – “Now wait a minute! That is not what the PM is trying to do. Do you not realize that without this meaningful discussion, your job may very well be in jeopardy? It is high time the people in your antiquated department start thinking more in terms of what you can do to make this project, and this company, a better place to work. That will improve your job and is more productive than worrying about getting enough overtime to buy that sports car I hear you talking about.”
PM – “Excuse me, but what does have to do with our over-budget and behind-schedule project?
PC – “Can’t you see that the functional department’s PE’s are sucking the life right out of this project? The PE’s do not care about making this a better place to work…it is the same old thing all the time with them. They are purposefully slowing down to make that extra overtime money. They do not care about schedules or budgets. The last PM could not deal with it, so he quit. What are you going to do?”
Questions:
1. What types of organizational units are these two departments and why do you classify them as such?
2. Analyze the conflict situation on the team and find the source of the conflict.
3. What motivations are clear in the individual project team members?
4. What approach(es) should you take to resolve the conflict?
5. What techniques should you use to motivate this team?