Describe your intended audience and why the topic is important to this audience (suggested length of 2–5 sentences) .
The ideal audience for this paper is Project Managers. As per Kliem (2007) the decision making, hence communication of a project manager/project management team, heavily affects the success or failure of a project. Project Manager spends most of their time communicating because effective communication is the primary function that holds a project team together and ensures the overall success of a project. Research suggests that a Project Manager spends most of their time communicating because effective communication is the primary function that holds the team together and ensures the overall success of a project, and research has shown that a Project Manager spends 70-90% of her/his time communicating during the duration of a project.
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B. Key Points:
The point of origin of communication is any project team is the project manager, hence their ability to foster and facilitate effective communication in the project team, determines the success of the team.
The communication strategies and technologies employed in communication, define the team’s efficiency in decision making and even simple communication.
It is incumbent upon the project the project manager to initiate and implement effective project strategies that are quickly followed by the project members. A practical approach involves the shortest way of achieving the project success.
Any breakdown in communication within a project team, especially with regard to conflict resolution strategies, leads to a breakdown in team relations and hence the project’s undoing. The team leader should be the initiator of all the group’s resolutions, however, it should be noted that it is better to let the team members solve the conflict on their own without involving the project lead or any other official. This ensures the team has a life of its own, separate from that of its leadership (Philips, 2016).
Philips (2016), argues that efficient and effective communication can alter the outcome of a project even if there are considerable risks in the commencement of the project. A project manager can alleviate the risks involved by verifying that all the shareholders are well aware of the project’s situation in advance. In addition, he/she should ensure that information and ideas are free-flowing from team to team.
The mode of communication will commit to a large extent the success of the project and the effectiveness of eth implementation phase.
The personality and the prowess of the project manager to organize and communicate effectively with their team members is the surest of obtaining the best out of the project.
Point 1:
The project manager/leader is the initiator of almost all communication within a project team, he/she determines the direction of all efforts coordinated by the rest of the team.
He/she is responsible for bridging any information gaps within the team, so as to ensure the smooth and continuous flow of both information and work effort.
Communication breakdown in any phase of the project implementation is disastrous for the overall good of the project life. The manager, therefore, is the link between the entire team between financiers, risk evaluators and the various entities with interest in the whole project.
The project manager is the fixed point in a project team set-up. In the absence of a project manager, the assistant project manager serves as the fixed point (final decision maker). If there is no fixed point with regard to decision making, the whole project will slowly grind to a halt as decision making is communication/directive, which fathers all actions of the project team (Kliem, 2007.
Point 2:
The technologies used to enable communication in a project team determine the speed and efficiency of communication within a team. The use of instant messaging software, video conferencing and group sharing software are encouraged in a project team. This is because the project manager can reach the team regarding any information, in an instant.
The communication strategy employed by a project manager is also crucial to how effective his/her communication is (Philips, 2016). The strategy employed determines how the information will flow upward, downward, horizontally and diagonally within the project team.
Mishandling of information may bring the project to a sudden halt. As it is, the role of the project manager is to ensure that the
Point 3:
The conflict resolution within a project team heavily relies on the project manager. If it is arbitration, he/she is the arbitrator, if there is mediation, he/she is the mediator and if there is any litigation to be sought, he/she should be aware of the litigation being sought. The project manager is the last point of hopeful resolution of any arising issue in the project life.
The project manager sets the pace for conflict resolution within a project team. He/she informs the team of the available conflict resolution channels permissible in the team and the procedures to follow if a team member feels offended by another.
The manager, therefore, is not expected to engage in any confrontation that may tear the team apart. Conflicts and disagreements are prone to arise severally before the project comes to an end. The project manager must ensure that these disputes do not tear the team apart. This can be achieved by increasing the number of communication in the group.
References
Mark, P. (2016). Reinventing Communication: How to Design, Lead and Manage High Performing Project Teams, New York, Routledge Publishing.
Ralph, L. K. (2007) . Effective Communications for Project Management, Boca Raton, CRC Press.
William, D., & Bruce, T. (2010). Project Management Communications Bible, Indianapolis, Wiley Publishing.
