Conducting the Knowledge Transfer
The Six Sigma project is not complete until the concerned personnel who have to operate the process have the know-how to do so. Many Six Sigma projects have failed because the project team was overjoyed at achieving success. However, one must not forget that improvements are only on paper until they are implemented. And there […]
Lessons for the Indian BPO Sector from the Standard Chartered and HSBC Scandals
The regulatory scandals involving HSBC and Standard Chartered (2013) have brought into focus the issue of how the outsourcing of business processes including oversight and compliance has meant that standards have been relaxed. Since both the scandals involved Indian back office operations looking the other way when they should have raised red flags, there are […]
Privatization of Water
The world is facing a scarcity of water. Each year about 3.4 million people die due to the scarcity of water! Several million more fall sick due to the poor sanitary conditions of the water supplied. The current situation is proof of the fact that the global water supply is not being managed properly. Many […]
Six Sigma – Outputs in the Measure Phase
A large amount of work needs to be done in the measure phase. This work also has a large impact on the performance of the subsequent phases, hence it is essential that the tollgate deliverables be understood and applied. The activities done in this module set the tone for how the rest of the process […]
How Individuals and Companies can Protect Themselves from Systemic Risks
Systemic Risks and their Impacts Business continuity planning and management is an approach that companies adopt to protect themselves from unforeseen and high impact events. In recent years, Black Swan events or low probability high impact events that no one can foresee with accuracy have become common. For instance, the collapse of the American Investment […]
Team member selection is a process that involves mapping of skills and strengths of each individual member with that of the role and the job description for which they are being hired or taken into the team. The process should take into account the perceptions of the team member regarding the role for him or her and ensure that it is in line with the expectations from them. Only this would ensure a right “fit” between the individual members and the role for which they are being taken.
Team selection should not be an ad hoc process and should involve commitment and patience from the project team. The manager has to give enough thought to the selection criterion and how they must be applied to the selection of team members.
Team building is a never ending process though more attention must be given to the task early on in the project lifecycle. The effective team building strategies call for increased co-operation and understanding between the team members. The objective must to be foster a spirit of mutual reinforcement in the tasks that they perform and that which they accomplish.
The verbal as well as the non-verbal communication must be encouraged and built up with a view to get the team to bond together. Effective team building also requires the team members to trust each other implicitly and explicitly. This involves a process of building rapport and cueing from each other with regards to doing the tasks together and achieve greater co-operation and build good will among the team.
The following can be taken as potential sources of conflict within a diverse team:
Groups working on the project may have different goals and expectations. In this case the bottom line expectations for the project must be laid down and the project manager must ensure that the team members stick to the expectations of the project and learn to subordinate individual goals and aspirations to that of the team goals. Some conflicts reflect the fact that the day-to-day work on projects is usually carried out by many different units of the organization, units that often differ in their objectives and technical judgments. The result is that these units have different expectations about the project, its costs and rewards, its relative importance, and its timing.
There is considerable uncertainty about who has the authority to make decisions. There is nothing like a vacuum to create conflict and hence the project manager must be empowered to take decisions and he or she must be the deciding authority for the project. Uncertainty about who has the authority to make decisions on resource allocation, on administrative procedures, on communication, on technological choices, and on all the other matters affecting the project produces conflict between the PM and the other parties. Conflicts about schedules, intra and inter-project priorities, cost estimates, and staff time tend to fall into this category.
There are interpersonal conflicts between people who are parties-at-interest in the project. This is the most common cause of conflict and effective steps must be taken to ensure that team spirit remains intact and the morale of the team members remains high. The minimum requirement is that team members learn to work with each other and for the common project objectives.
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Costs in Project Management – Costs associated with the Projects
February 12, 2025
