PEOPLE & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

People and Project Management

People and Project Management

Introduction

In today's rapidly changing business environment, success of any project or organization lies in the ability of management to effectively communicate with their employees, lead all small and large teams, and manage fruitful negotiations as well as conflicts. It is a fact that, conflicts can be seen in any business unit, division or at organizational as well as individual levels. These conflicts occur due to various reasons including absence of common values and goals, difference in knowledge of employees, poor training and lacking in experience (Black, 2008, pp. 89).

In this paper, we will be discussing various tasks that relate to issues of managing people in organizations or projects. For this purpose, we have selected an article of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development that claims that conflict between people within the organization is the significant issue that must be catered for reducing the risk associated with people management in a project or organization.

Task 1: Identification of Problem

The selected article is “Leadership and the management of conflict at work” by Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The CIPD claims that conflict cannot be avoided in any organization because the nature of organizational itself is complex and interdependent (cipd.co.uk). There is no doubt about the fact that conflicts, whether large or small, affect organization in different ways.

Task 2: Description of the Problem

Employees working in an organization where conflicts have become norm face mental as well as psychological issues in terms of frustration and anger, which de-motivates them. In addition, conflicts also affect organization by decreasing its productivity and creativity of employees (Avruch, 2008, pp. 45). Conflicts in any organization or project are generally seen as a barrier to organizational development and, if prevail, may cause failure of the mission of that organization or project. The main ones include:

Limited Resources

Personality Clashes

Status or Power Difference

Incompatible Goals

Ineffective Communication

Task 3: Possible Solutions

There are various solutions that can be adopted by companies for managing conflicts among team members or employees. These solutions are also practiced by various companies including Apple, Tesco and Marks and Spencer. According to these companies, they consider conflict management as a significant solution for issues among employees; otherwise, their businesses are affected if they get worse.

Before discussing solutions, we must first understand the reasons behind conflict among employees. These reasons include difference in needs of employees as everyone wants to be nurtured, understood, and supported. However, the ways in which these needs are met vary widely. Moreover, management must understand that a conflict is more than just a disagreement and it continues to grow when it is ignored by upper management. In addition, management has been seen as responding to conflicts on the basis of their own perceptions.

The solutions that can be adopted for conflict management are listening for what is felt as well as said. Also, managing conflict must be considered as the priority rather than winning or being right. Employees must understand the fact that whether it's important ...