Executive Summary

The Association for Project Management defines conflict “as different objectives and attitudes between two or more parties. Conflict management is the process of identifying and addressing differences that, if left unresolved, could affect objectives (Bird, 2018).” Conflict management is a knowledge area that is not discussed extensively in PMBOK. Developing a conflict management strategy can prove to be instrumental, especially when it comes to the knowledge area of communication. Communication can often lead to conflict in most situations, which can hinder the success of the project. The purpose of this research paper is to provide an exploratory view on the role of conflict management in project management. Professional sources will be used to provide an overview of conflict management, as well as, assessing the different views of conflict management. Also, it will look at the various causes of conflict, and conflict handling styles for project management. Ultimately, the intent is to provide business professionals with an understanding of how conflict management can be utilized in a project.

INTRODUCTION

Conflict can be a part of everyday life whether it is experienced in a personal or professional capacity. According to Oxford Dictionary, conflict can be defined as:

  • “a situation in which people, groups or countries disagree or are involved in a serious argument (Oxford, n.d.).”
  • “a violent situation or period of fighting between two countries (Oxford, n.d.)”
  • “a situation in which there are ideas, opinions, feelings or wishes that are opposed to each other; a situation in which it is difficult to choose (Oxford, n.d.)”

It is safe to say that most people have been in a least one of the situations mentioned above with varying degrees of severity ranging from low intensity to high intensity conflict. Conflict needs to be managed because it can potentially have disastrous effects. Conflict management can prove to be an important aspect of a project. Conflict management should be incorporated into all projects as a key focus area. When project teams are formed, some members may or may not know each other; however, these people are brought together to share in a common goal of launching a successful project. It is inevitable because internal conflict will arise throughout the course of the project. The project manager is responsible for managing and monitoring the conflict. Therefore, they must develop a conflict management plan with methods and tools to resolve conflict.

Overview of Conflict Management

The Traditional View and Contemporary View of Conflict

Over time, views have been developed addressing conflict such as Traditional and Contemporary views. The Traditional view of conflict focuses on the negative aspects of conflict. It is concerned with moving towards solutions or moving towards situations in which conflict is not present. The traditional viewpoints include:

  • “Conflicts are considered to be bad (Guan, 2007)”
  • “Conflicts are caused by troublemakers (Guan, 2007)”
  • “Conflicts should be avoided (Guan, 2007) ”

 

The Contemporary view of conflicts focuses on the idea that conflict is inevitable and that is a necessary part in running an organization and project. Also, conflict should be seen as beneficial, in which members are able to come together and find a positive outcome. Some views take it a step further by emphasizing that not all conflicts are created equal. “Some types are destructive and dysfunctional, while others are important and healthy, bringing to light issues that need to be resolved through creative collaboration (Gartenstein, 2019).” Contemporary viewpoints include:

  • “Conflicts are inevitable (Guan, 2007)”
  • “Conflicts are often beneficial (Guan, 2007)”
  • “Conflicts should be managed (Guan, 2007)”

Regardless of the perspective, the key takeaway is that conflict must be managed within a project.

Conflict in a Project Environment

There are various concepts pertaining to conflicts that can take place in a project environment. The first concept is “Conflict: A Danger to Be Avoided” (Villax & Anantatmula, 2010). According to Thamhain, he believed that the project manager’s (PM) main goal was to focus on problem avoidance, and that conflict is disruptive (Villax & Anantatmula, 2010). Conflict should be identified in its early stages so that it can be managed before it gets out of control. PMs should make it their responsibility to create an environment that fosters a sense of collaboration to help mitigate potential conflict. The second concept is “People-Focused versus Task-Focused Conflict” (Villax & Anantatmula, 2010). “Verma labeled this type of conflict category as interpersonal conflict and defined it as the variations in people’s work ethics, styles, egos, and personalities (Villax & Anantatmula, 2010).” This type is not avoidable because a diverse team will have a mix of personalities and ideas so there will be potential room conflict. Task conflict can be beneficial to an extent because a challenging of opinions among group members can lead to better decision-making. Once again, it is the responsibility of the PM to create an environment based on diversity to allow for the safe flow of ideas. The last concept is “Conflict Associated With Poor Role Definition, Goals and Priorities” (Villax & Anantatmula, 2010). If roles are not clearly defined, it can cause potential conflict due to role ambiguity (Villax & Anantatmula, 2010). Role ambiguity can greatly impact the success and development of a project. It is pivotal that roles are defined early in the project.

 

Causes of Project Conflict

Many conflicts can arise throughout the different areas of a project. The most common sources of conflict in a project environment include schedules, prior unresolved conflicts, project priorities, resource competition, cultural differences, technical issues, team or clique, personal conflicts, organization structure, communication barriers, and poor planning (Guan, 2007). Even though there are multiple sources of conflict, this paper will focus on team environment and project priorities. In most cases, all projects require humans to carry out the project. These individuals form a team, which creates a team environment. Most teams use a matrix structure for projects to execute projects (Guan, 2007). This structure in combination with reporting to multiple bosses can lead to conflict. These people may be from diverse backgrounds and they may not even know each other. However, they are expected to come together to successfully complete the project. It is essential that the project manager gives the team members the opportunity to get to know each other and understand the commitment that is required of them.

Also, a project kick-off meeting should be put in place, which will help mitigate some conflict. Some of the major barriers in a project team are lack of commitment, communication problems, and geographic scatter of team members (Guan, 2007).  It is the primary responsibility of the project manager to constantly motivate the team to ensure that they meet project goals.

 

Conflicts can arise from project priorities. Some of these conflicts can stem from stakeholder expectations, customer satisfaction, schedule and resource competition (Guan, 2007). Another key responsibility of the PM is managing stakeholder needs and expectations. Oftentimes, there are multiple stakeholders so it can be difficult to manage all the different expectations. Stakeholders want to change details throughout the project, and it can impact the execution of the project. Regarding customer satisfaction, this can be a potential source of conflict because many customers feel that they are right, and management should do everything they can to fix the issue. This can be difficult at times for project managers. In some cases, the customer is right; however, the customer may be wrong in other cases. Project managers must be professional and be able to explain to customers with the help of valid and thorough information as to why something may not work out as planned for the project. Lastly, all projects have deadlines usually set by the customers. It is the PM’s job to ensure that the project is completed on time, which can place constraints on other areas of the project. This can lead to conflicts in scheduling and battling for more resources or resources that have already been allocated to another area. The PM must be aware of all project constraints and be able to communicate them to all relevant parties.

 

Conflict-Handling Styles for Project Managers

 

There are five conflict handling styles project managers can use to deal with conflict, which are competing, accommodating, avoiding, compromising, and collaborating (Pinto & Kharbanda, 1994). In project management, the competing style may not be the best style to choose from when dealing with conflict. This type of behavior is basically assertive and uncooperative. This type of behavior can be seen as win-lose. The person displaying these behaviors does not care about satisfying the needs of the other party. It will be difficult for the PM to get things accomplished with this style because they must interact with stakeholders, the project team, and vendors. The accommodating style is the opposite of the competing style. Project managers adopting this style are team players. They are quick to diffuse the situation or give into the demands of the other party. This style can be beneficial to the progression of a project; however, it can also be quite harmful to a project. For instance, if the PM always gives into the demands of the stakeholder, this can hinder the progress of areas such as scheduling, costs, and resources. The next style is avoiding, in which it is unassertive and uncooperative behavior. The individual that uses this style does not have an interest in satisfying their own concerns or the other party’s concerns regarding conflict (Pinto & Kharbanda, 1994). Like the competing style, this may not be the best style to use in a project environment. One of the biggest responsibilities of a PM is to be able to make decisions. This style would hinder the successful completion of the project. The next style is compromising, which may be a better style for PMs to use when dealing with conflict. It falls between assertive and cooperative behavior. The compromiser understands that this is a win-lose situation; however, they understand that sometimes a trade-off needs to be made in order to come to the best decision. There is a possibility that trade-offs will need to happen in some projects in order to avoid conflict. The last style is cooperation, which is one the best styles for a PM to implement for the project. This is seen as a win-win situation for all parties involved. Both parties come together to find the best solution to satisfy both sides of the conflict. This will require flexibility, creativity, and communication between the two parties (Pinto & Kharbanda, 1994). No one style is appropriate for every situation, it is the responsibility of the PM to determine the approach that will work the best with the conflict situation.

Recommendation

I would recommend that the Project Manager have a conflict management plan in place. This plan should be developed in the beginning. It would require the manager to develop or seek strategies to help mitigate conflict. The plan should help managers identify, monitor, and control potential conflict. Also, the project manager can refer to Project Management Body of Knowledge Edition 6 (Chapter 9: Resource Management Section 9.5.2) to get idea of the tools and techniques that can be used to address conflict management.

Conclusion

In conclusion, conflict is inevitable throughout the course of a project. Conflict management should be incorporated into the design of the project management plan. It is important that Project Managers have conflict resolution strategies in place to help deal with conflict. Conflict should not be one of the reasons a project is not successfully completed.

Biography:

Eustacia King is a current graduate student at Montclair State University where she is completing the Master of Business Administration program. She is interested in pursuing a concentration in human resource management. From personal and professional experience, she learned the value of hard work, efficiency, and communication. She is expected to graduate in spring 2021.

Learn more about the author here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/eustacia-king-929790162

References

Bird, K. (2018, April 17). How to deal with conflict constructively on your team. Retrieved March 10, 2020, from https://www.apm.org.uk/blog/how-to-deal-with-conflict-constructively-on-your-team/

Guan, D. (2007). Conflicts in the project environment. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2007—Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Gartenstein, D. (2019, June 12). Traditional View of Organizational Conflict. Retrieved April 18, 2020, from https://bizfluent.com/facts-7192474-traditional-organizational-conflict.html

Oxford. (n.d.). conflict. Retrieved April 17, 2020, from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/conflict_1?q=conflict

Pinto, J. K. & Kharbanda, O. P. (1995). Project management and conflict resolution. Project Management Journal, 26(4), 45–54.

Villax, C. & Anantatmula, V. S. (2010). Understanding and managing conflict in a project environment. Paper presented at PMI® Research Conference: Defining the Future of Project Management, Washington, DC. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.