Project Team Building, Conflict, and Negotiation

Chapter 6
Copyright © Pearson
Education, Inc. Publishing as
Prentice Hall 6-1
1- Building the project team
1- Identify
necessary skills
sets.
2- Identify the
6- Assemble the
people who
team
match skills.
5- Builds in 3- Talk to
fallback potential team
positions. members
Copyright © Pearson 4- Negotiate with

Education, Inc. Publishing as functional heads
Prentice Hall 6-2
Building the team
1- Identify necessary skill 2- Identify people who

sets: match the skills.
• The 1st step is to conduct a • We have 2 options:

realistic assessment of all • 1- Hire new personnel for
needed types of skills, in order the project
to complement each other • 2- train current personnel to
and perform the project duties become proficient in the
needed skills.
Prentice Hall 6-3
Building the team
3- Talk to potential team 4- Negotiation with

members. functional heads.
• The 3rd step consists of • At the same time, we PM must

opening team communication begin to enter in negotiation with
with likely candidates for the the functional heads.
team to assess their level of • These conversations could be
interest in the project. complex and lengthy.
• Depriving a functional manager of
key personnel to serve on a project
team can be seen as threatening
the operating department. (next)
Prentice Hall 6-4
Building the team
4- Negotiation with 5- Build in Fallback
functional heads. Positions
• Negotiation is required to • If the negotiations are not

decide in some issues: fruitful, the PM is faced with 3
• How long are the team member’s basic alternatives:
services required? (full time, part • 1- Try to negotiate for partial
time, and the period) assistance.
• Who should choose the person to be • 2- Adjust project schedules and
assigned to the project? priorities accordingly.
• What happens when special • 3- Notify the management of the
circumstances arises? (the employee consequences.
may be recalled from his
department. How the PM will
replace him?)
Prentice Hall 6-5
2- Effective Project Teams
❖Clear Sense of Mission: the mission should be mutually
understood and accepted by all team members.
❖Productive Interdependency: it refers to the degree of

joint activity among team members required in order to
complete a project. The concept of differentiation suggests that
each individual brings preconceived notions to the team. The
interdependencies refers to the degree of knowledge of the team
interrelated
Copyright © Pearson efforts.
Prentice Hall 6-6
Effective Project Teams
❖Cohesiveness: refers to the degree of mutual
attraction that team members hold for one another and
their task.
❖Trust: for PM, trust refers to the team’s comfort level

with each individual member. Given the comfort level, trust
is manifested in the team’s ability and willingness to
squarely address differences of opinion, values and attitudes
and deal with them accordingly.
Prentice Hall 6-7
Effective Project Teams
❖Enthusiasm: it is the catalyst for directing positive, high
energy toward project. It creates energy that drive effective project
efforts. It creates an environment that is:
❖ Challenging: it offers the opportunity of personal growth, new
learning and the ability to stretch professionally.
❖ Supportive: PM members gain a sense of team spirit and group
identity : communication, problem solving…
❖ Personally rewarding: PM become more enthusiastic as they perceive
personal benefits arising from project completion.
❖Results Orientation: outcomes are related toward the same

Copyright © Pearson orientation.
Prentice Hall 6-8
3- Reasons why teams fail
2- Poorly defined
1- Poor developed project team roles 3- lack of project
or unclear goals and team motivation
interdependencies.
6- Turnover among
4- Poor
5- Poor leadership project team
communication
members.
7- Dysfunctional
behavior.
Prentice Hall 6-9
3- Reasons Why Teams Fail
1- Poorly developed or unclear goals
✓Unclear goals permit multiple interpretations.
✓Unclear goals impede the willingness of team members to
work together,
✓Unclear goals increase conflict.
2- Poorly defined project team roles &
interdependencies.
✓ Interdependencies: is a state where team members’ activities
coordinate with and complement other team members’ work.
✓ Unawareness of interdependencies leads to lose time.
Prentice Hall 6-10
3- Lack of project team motivation
✓The project is perceived as unnecessary.
✓The project may have low priority.
4- Poor communication
✓Could be caused by: different orientations or background, ,
uncertainty about the project structure and
interdependencies…
✓Resolving poor communication by: standard information
sharing, a frank atmosphere, and open exchanges.
Prentice Hall 6-11
5- Poor leadership
✓Refer to chapter 4.
6-Turnover among project team members
✓The higher the turnover among project team members, the more it
disrupts the project manager’s ability to create project team cohesion.
✓The continual act of adding and removing personnel to project teams

causes problems with team learning and functionning.
✓New team members need time to get caught up with the project.
Prentice Hall 6-12
7-Dysfunctional behavior
✓It refers to disruptive acts of some project team members due
to: personality issues, hidden agendas or interpersonal
problems.
✓The solution calls for recognizing the members involved and

taking corrective steps.
✓A serious case may require to remove the concerned team

member.
Prentice Hall 6-13
4- Stages in Group Development
 The process of group development is a dynamic one.
 Groups go through several maturation stages that are
identifiable.
 The stages are: forming, storming, norming, performing
and adjourning.
Prentice Hall 6-14
1. Forming – members become acquainted
1. Members get to know one another to mold into a coherent
project team.
2. They lay the basis for project and ground rules: standards of
behavior, communication channel…
2. Storming – conflict begins

1. Conflict begins because team members begin to resist
authority.
2. Some hidden agendas, attempt to rewrite team rules.
Prentice Hall 6-15
3. Norming – members reach agreement
1. Norm is an unwritten rule of behavior.
2. Members agree on operating procedures and seek to
work together and develop closer relationships.
3. Members will commit to the project development
process.
4. Performing – members work together to accomplish their tasks.
Prentice Hall 6-16
5. Adjourning – group disbands
1. Teams do not last forever.
2. At the completion of the project, team members will disband
to return to their functional duties in the organization.
3. Members will commit to the project development process.
Prentice Hall 6-17
Ponctuated Equilibrium– Connie Gersick developed a model for
project team development. She suggests that:
1. Most teams develop a set of operating norms very quickly.
2. These norms tend to guide group behavior and performance
for the project’s life.
3. Group will operate as a result of these norms until some
trigger event occurs, almost precisely at the halfway point
between the initial meeting and the project deadline.
4. The trigger may be: dissatisfaction with the project progress,
interpersonal antagonisms or other external force
Prentice Hall 6-18
Ponctuated Equilibrium–
Prentice Hall 6-19
Team Development Stages
Adjourn Convene
4. Performing
1. Forming
Trust Quiet
Flexible Polite
Supportive Guarded
Confident Impersonal
Efficient Business-like
High Morale High Morale
Productive Testing
Organized Infighting
Establish procedures Conflict over
Develop team skills control
Confront issues Confrontational
Rebuild morale Alienation
Personal agendas
Low morale
3. Norming 2. Storming
Prentice Hall 6-20
5- Achieving Cross-Functional Cooperation
Superordinate Goals Task
Outcomes
Rules & Procedures

Cross-functional
cooperation
Physical Proximity Psycho-
Social
Outcomes
Accessibility
Prentice Hall 6-21
5- Achieving cross-functional coordination
1. Superordinate goals –
1. It can be “ to develop a high-quality, user friendly, and
generally useful system that will enhance the operations of
various departments and functions.
2. It provides a central objective and an overriding goal.
2. Rules and procedures

1. They are essential because they offer a means for
coordinating or integrating activities that involve several
units.
2. Project-specific rules and procedures facilitate its operations.
Prentice Hall 6-22
3. Physical proximity
1. Team members should be located within a physical spatial
distances that make it convenient to them to interact.
2. The more the team members are close, the more is their
cooperation and coordination.
4. Accessibility
1. It is the perception that a person is approachable for
communicating and interacting with problems for project
success.
2. Inaccessibility occurs because of different work schedules, varied
duties and priorities, and commitment to other agendas.
Prentice Hall 6-23
5. Outcomes of cooperation
1. Tasks outcomes: refer to the factors involved in the the

actual implementation of the project: time, schedule and
project functionality.
2. Psychosocial outcomes: represent the team member’s

assessment that the project experience was worthwhile,
satisfying and productive.
Prentice Hall 6-24
Building High-Performing Teams:
3 practical steps PM can take to build high-performing teams:
1st step: Make the project team tangible
 Publicity
 Terminology & language
2nd step: Reward good behavior
 Flexibility
 Creativity
 Pragmatism
3rd step: Develop a personal touch
 Lead by example
 Positive feedback for good performance
 Accessibility & consistency
Prentice Hall 6-25
6- Virtual Project Teams
use electronic media to link members of a geographically
dispersed project team
How Can Virtual Teams Be Improved?

✓ Use face-to-face communication when possible
✓ Don’t let team members disappear (get together via videoconferencing, e-
mail and internet connections)
✓ Establish a code of conduct: get an agreement on types of information that
need to be shared.
✓ Keep everyone in the communication loop: awareness to keep the
communication channels open.
✓ Create a process for addressing conflict: PM should create a set of guidelines
for allowing free expression or disagreement among team members.
Prentice Hall 6-26
7- Conflict Management
Conflict is a process that begins when you perceive
that someone has frustrated or is about to frustrate a
major concern of yours.
Categories Views
• Goal-oriented • Traditional
• Administrative • Behavioral
• Interpersonal • Interactionist
Prentice Hall 6-27
7- Conflict Management
Conflict is a process that begins when you perceive that someone has
frustrated or is about to frustrate a major concern of yours.
Most types of conflict fit within 3 categories:
• Goal-oriented conflict:
• associated with disagreements regarding results, scope outcomes,
performance specifications,…
• It result from a poor or vague or incomplete perception of the goals that may
allow the team members to make their own interpretations.
• Administrative conflict:
• Arises through management hierarchy, organizational structure or
philosophy (authority and decisions).
• Interpersonal conflict:
• Arises from personality differences.
• It includes work ethics, behavioral styles, egos….
Prentice Hall 6-28
Sources of Conflict
Organizational
 Reward systems
 Scarce resources
 Uncertainty Interpersonal
 Differentiation • Faulty attributions
• Faulty communication
• Personal grudges &
prejudices
Prentice Hall 6-29
Conflict Resolution
➢ Mediate – PM uses defusion or confrontation to find a solution.
➢ Defusion: PM is less concerned with the source of conflict
than with a mutually accepted solution.
➢ Confrontation: involves working with both parties to get at

the root causes of the conflict.
➢ Arbitrate – PM must be willing to impose a judgment on the warring

parties. After listening to both parties, the PM renders his decision which
focuses on the judgment itself. Ex: wrong, right….
Prentice Hall 6-30
Conflict Resolution
➢ Control – Not all problems can be resolved. In some cases, pragmatic response to
conflict might give a cool down period. It is not a cowardly response, but a selective
way to choose the best manner PM should intervene .
➢ Accept – some conflicts are unmanageable . We just live the conflict as it is.
➢ Eliminate – Sometimes the guilty member(s) should be transfer red to stop the
reason while of the conflict.
Conflict is often evidence of progress!
Prentice Hall 6-31
8- Negotiation
a process that is predicated on a manager’s ability to
use influence productively
Questions to Ask Prior to Entering a Negotiation

1. How much power do I have?
2. What sort of time pressures are there?
3. Do I trust my opponent?
Prentice Hall 6-32
Principled Negotiation
1. Separate the people from the problem
2. Focus on interests, not positions
3. Invent options for mutual gain
4. Insist on using objective criteria
Getting to Yes – Fisher & Ury
Prentice Hall 6-33
Prentice Hall 6-39

Project Team Building, Conflict, and Negotiation

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Chapter 6

Copyright © Pearson 4- Negotiate with

1- Identify necessary skill 2- Identify people who

• The 1st step is to conduct a • We have 2 options:

3- Talk to potential team 4- Negotiation with

• The 3rd step consists of • At the same time, we PM must

• Negotiation is required to • If the negotiations are not

❖Productive Interdependency: it refers to the degree of

❖Trust: for PM, trust refers to the team’s comfort level

❖Results Orientation: outcomes are related toward the same

✓The continual act of adding and removing personnel to project teams

✓The solution calls for recognizing the members involved and

✓A serious case may require to remove the concerned team

2. Storming – conflict begins

4. Performing – members work together to accomplish their tasks.

Rules & Procedures

2. Rules and procedures

1. Tasks outcomes: refer to the factors involved in the the

2. Psychosocial outcomes: represent the team member’s

How Can Virtual Teams Be Improved?

➢ Confrontation: involves working with both parties to get at

➢ Arbitrate – PM must be willing to impose a judgment on the warring

Conflict is often evidence of progress!

Questions to Ask Prior to Entering a Negotiation

2. Focus on interests, not positions

3. Invent options for mutual gain

4. Insist on using objective criteria

Getting to Yes – Fisher & Ury

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