Week 5 Project

Page 1 of 1 MGT3035 Fundamentals of Project Management

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Conflict Resolution and Negotiation The best time to start managing a conflict is before it starts. This is the time when debates are likely to be least heated. As the project progresses, discipline and professional maturity will be required to make sure the rules for resolving conflict are obeyed. This is the perfect time for the manager to lead by example. This is done by showing more respect for procedure than the desire to get your own way. Sometimes, when you are part of a big project, you will find the most important conflicts are happening between the manager, who is overseeing the entire project, and the other managers who are responsible for smaller sections of the project. Conflicts also arise when the individual project managers vie for resources simultaneously and the functional managers may be unwilling to relinquish key resources. Sometimes, a situation exists in which the best way to handle a conflict is to just ignore it. Usually, however, this method of dealing with a conflict is the worst. Sometimes, the project manager must resolve a conflict in an authoritarian way by making the decision almost alone. Most conflicts can be managed through a better balance of authority and participation than these extremes. When team members participate in the resolution of a conflict, it results in commitment and a more permanent resolution. However, all stakeholders should be aware of psychological phenomena, such as groupthink and conflict avoidance. Sooner or later, an important conflict will “out” itself, even if it is only important to very few people.