When different types of people work together in an organization, conflicts are bound to happen. The pressure of meeting deadlines and delivering outcomes often leads to tense situations. However, some level of conflict is productive for a project. YES! Read on…
Different levels of disagreement have different consequences. A moderate level of disagreement shows that stakeholders provide input for the project and these discussions will lead to efficient designs and solutions. A high level of conflict, however, can derail the project.
The Project Manager’s power and use of
Barret, D.C, (2022), Understanding project management,
influence are important, as conflict management relies heavily on communication and interpersonal relationships.
2nd edition: A practical guide.
Now, let’s look at a model created by R.R. Blake and J.S. Mouton (1975, p.31) to manage conflict. Whenever, a conflicting situation arises, two important things need to be determined:
- The importance of the situation (rated from low to high): some situations causing conflict are fairly moderate, while others may be critical.
- The importance of the relationship (rated from low to high): in some situations, when people continue to work together during the ongoing and future projects, the importance of maintaining the relationship would likely be high. On the other hand, when future contact is unlikely or in urgent situations, the importance would likely be low.
Image Credit: Barrett, D. C. (2022). Understanding project management, second edition : A practical guide
Let’s look at a real life example where I used the conflict
model to resolve
issues and
differences.
Working as an Executive – Sourcing at Novozymes India was one of the most exciting and thrilling corporate experiences I ever had. With so many purchase requisitions from manufacturing, engineering and facility departments, disagreements in deadlines and conflicts were common.
Sandip Shah was the Head of the Engineering Department, and maintaining a positive relationship with him was very important.
A purchase requisition is an internal document indicating the desire to purchase goods or services for the business
Bichachi .R, (Jun 15, 2022), What is a purchase requisition, netsuite.com
The conflict occurred when Sandip felt that many Engineering items and components were remaining to be procured. He felt that procurement could be done in a week so the manufacturing team could produce before the client’s delivery date. I saw this as a risk because that could put undue pressure on vendors and suppliers. Moreover, the procurement budget would increase as more items are to be procured at the earliest. To address this issue, I booked a meeting with Sandip and my reporting manager to discuss various options and reliable solutions.
We decided: the original client’s delivery date would be maintained. I met with the manufacturing team to discuss what deliverables would be needed as first priority. So, production doesn’t get affected. By using the collaborative approach, the manufacturing team, Sandip and I were satisfied with the resolution.
In conclusion, if a conflict is not managed properly, it will affect projects and stakeholder relationships. Moreover, managing the conflict becomes easy when the relationship with stakeholders is strong and right interpersonal skills are used.
References:
- Barrett, D. C. (2022). Understanding project management, second edition: A practical guide
- Bichachi .R, (Jun 15, 2022), What is a purchase requisition, netsuite.com
- Mahnot .S, (March 2023), Conflict Resolution: The Top 10 Strategies and Styles Explained, The Blog Relay, https://theblogrelay.com/conflict-resolution-the-top-10-strategies-and-styles-explained/
