Abstract

This article provides enlightenment and reaction to Project Management’s relationship with big tech. The team projects at big tech giants are not traditional like team projects in other businesses. Big tech projects are revolved around the idea of advanced AI controlling algorithms through marketing messages online. Coincidingly, these messages also happen to influence the masses. What is conflicting is how revolutionary our actions through screens are. This causes trouble in Project Management where employees are more distracted than ever. This is especially prevalent Gen Z and younger generations, who are the most prone to online distractions. This will be a discussion of how efficiency is affected in project teams, and the precautions that can be used to counter these conflicts.

The working from home mentality greatly affects how project teams operate, and gives the dilemma of project managers to keep their teams organized, and connected.

Big tech product management. Companies like Alphabet Inc and Bytedance are some of the most powerful and influential conglomerate companies in the world. You can imagine the level of project management that these companies operate on. Being the owners of Google, YouTube and Tiktok, the capabilities of these technology giants are much more than companies like Chipotle or Shell. Big tech controls the “meta” of mass cognitive behavior. It is an epidemic much more serious than many are willing to realize. This is because of how disassociated society is with operating their daily lives through socializing on their phones. Kids riding their bikes and skateboarding in peace are a thing of the past. It is being replaced by a society consumed by an infinite amount of online distractions. These distractions carry over into the business world. Working online from home has become a popular office alternative post pandemic. The working from home mentality greatly affects how project teams operate, and gives the dilemma of project managers to keep their teams organized, and connected. This topic is important because it connects project management with the real world. When masses of people are referred to, this includes project management because we are all effected by big tech. The goal of the research here is to point out distractions in the workplace and how inner conflict can be solved within project teams, resolution to project team conflict, the power of leadership and influence project managers have over their team, and an overview of how big tech’s product management strategies have influence over the masses. The reader is also to gain a little insight on the dangers of Tiktok and how it affects our cognitive behavior as humans.

A project manager spends around 90% of their time communicating with their team structuring schedules and daily goals. (Rajkumar, PMI).

Surprisingly, 53% of all projects are either late or overbudget (Henkin, PMI). Constantly going overbudget and being late will result to only one fate. Obviously, these constant results can cause businesses to go out quickly, but there is a key takeaway missing? What is the reason of failure? Why is there a lack of communication and effectiveness if the Project Manager’s job is almost entirely based on communicating? Why are more than half of all projects not meeting their standards? While there is a lot of elements of distraction, I believe this could be due to our lives being inhabited by our smartphones. They do everything so we can afford to be lazy. In our working and personal lives. The effectiveness of Alphabet and Bytedance subsidiaries are revolutionary. With Brytdance’s top stakeholder being Chinese Government, you can imagine how strict operations are within Brytedance. They are meeting their unrealistic demands constantly, and it is having a major effect on how all Project Management operates. Their goal is to control the masses, while Chipotle’s goal is to provide “Food with Integrity”. Chipotle’s project goals have no effect on the efficiency of Tiktok, but oddly enough Tiktok’s project goals have an effect that ranges way beyond burritos.

So how are these powerful conglomerate companies affecting team projects, communication, employee effectiveness, and other various project management elements? The short answer Tiktok is shortening our attention spans, and driving us away from our daily responsibilities. There is no app more addictive and a bigger waste of time. When I used the app, I would find myself wasting countless hours week after week scrolling endlessly on nonsense. I regained a lot of my consciousness after deleting the app and was able to come to my own conclusion to best understand how I was so caught up in the app. Through my experiences, I found it best to breakdown the Gen Z demographic. 60% of all Tiktok users are Gen Z (Wallroomedia, updated August 2022). They possess the largest demographic in the U.S., with over 74 million in the population. The problem is people are more concerned with their online presence, and becoming influential through dopamine hits than actually obtaining a skill through hard work. Everybody in this day and age believes they are marketers, but in reality are consumers. For years, more children dream of becoming a Youtuber than working in a traditional job. A lot of interest is gravitating towards where children are spending their time, which is on their smart devices.

A team project’s age demographic can absolutely contribute to their success. Yes, it is good to have older, experienced team members to manage the team. But having a young core is also a key factor in a project team’s success. It is how the best NBA teams are crafted. A couple of veteran leaders lead a talented but inexperienced young core. Enthusiasm and fresh ideas are simply more frequent from the younger guys. In Seth Godin’s Purple Cow (Page 41), he emphasizes the importance of being remarkable, not catering to the masses, and choosing your customers. These are keys to success in selling your products, and it is the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish as a Project Manager if you are advertising through algorithms. Project teams are more aligned with making a viral video to garner attention instead of making a product that actually caters to people’s needs which is why many businesses are failing. Although viral ability is a key ingredient in gaining success, it is not what is most important. The individuals that make up the team’s project are the key ingredient. The video can always be replaced, but the teamwork is what makes the dream work. When there is no team work and disassociation, you are going to get results that are to be expected by distracted teenagers.

In my experiences over the last few weeks, I’ve decided to be more conscious of my customer service when going out to eat. You will notice that Gen Z is filling up a lot of restaurant jobs, cashiers, and retail jobs. The next common theme is they are very distracted by their phones. Even in a simple 7/11 transaction for a bottle of water, my cashier was checking his phone between the transaction. These workers are behind the register, but are not mentally present. They are disassociated with their work. When a project team member is disassociated with their work, it can lead to personality conflict that can result in the entire project not being completed. Qualities of a successful project manager always start with leadership and effective communication. To lead by example is key. Hard work is supposed to be hard and I find that’s where the huge cultural difference comes in.

A clear distinction between how different our culture was prior to the pandemic to the current age.

Younger generations do not know society the same as the older generations. Through this, another underlying issue arises: the difference in how current day businesses operate. People are more disinterested than ever because they are working from home. The communications between teams are less about teamwork, and more about how much work a person can do. Working online truly limits our human capabilities to struggle through adversity. Companies fail because they are not prepared to fail from distracted employees. This is not to say failing is a bad thing, but failing because your employees do not care about the work is a red flag. Failing at a non-costly rate, as frequently as possible, would eventually give the project team enough perspective to generate something marvelous if they are learning from their mistakes. As proven by Silicone Valley, trial and error at a sustainable scale just might work. It is about the mission statement. Google’s mission statement is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. I can assure you that to work at such a driven company, project managers like Larry Page had nothing but extraordinary communication and an unfiltered leadership style that allowed Google to accomplish their goal at such a grand scale.

Team project success is heavily reliant on behavioral Project Management effectiveness. Personality conflict can be the difference between a project being completed or the team being in completely disarray. We must point out and breakdown why these team members are so irritable in the first place, and why they cannot work together. There are plenty of studies showing the dangers of excessive social media use causing depression, anxiety, and other unresolved conflicts. A person’s effectiveness is based on their happiness and their passion for their gratification. If these employees are not happy, they are going to be frequently seen with a phone in hand. In addition they may be disinterested in their work and more interested in the dopamine hits from outlets like Tiktok.

Usually, inspiration and motivation comes in the form of real life circumstances. Steve Jobs found motivation in his biggest life decisions from the fact he knew he would soon run out of time (Barker 2017 p79). What struck me about this odd motivation theory was the name for it: “Terror Management Theory”, which is essentially fearmongering motivation into your own work with the fear of not being successful. Most people are scared and anxious nowadays. They are either not sure why, or are just comfortable enough to not make any changes. Can you see how this could arouse issues in a project management team? People are so unique and different from each other that we are blind to the fact that our perspectives are so alternate and different. Employees  who lack this basic understanding do not fare well on teams when their goals are completely different. Motivated team players want to work hard towards a collective goal, and disassociated players bring the team down with them. People are so irritable because they simply cannot see where the other is coming from based on their life experiences. I don’t think these ineffective workers are a lost cause.

I think they need to be groomed. Bad behavior is strong in the short term, but good behavior always wins in the long term – Barker, 2017: p59

Everybody could benefit from a little guidance. It is important to find areas and ways that these ineffective workers can contribute without being a hinderance. Communication is what solves nearly all team project conflicts. The best way to become a more effective communicator has everything to do with how you spend your time away from work. Socializing with family and friends away from work are methods to happiness which improves efficiency at work.  Aligning a team of people with similar interests can take team projects to new heights by allowing team chemistry to exist.

A group full of team players who are allowed to hold each other accountable without conflict, share the same goal and dreams. It is important to reiterate that 53% of all projects are either late, or overbudget, so accountability and being active and present in group meetings is crucial to a team’s success. If big tech distractions can be avoided, productivity and engagement will be increased. Not only this, but relatability to consumers will also be fruitful. This will build a trust between product and consumer which increases the likelihood that your product will reach “sneezers” (Godin 2003 p31). Sneezers are essentially early adapters who are looking to find the newest products so they can brag about them to their friends. Team projects should revolved around completing the task at hand, and locating these important consumers so they spread the word for you.

To conclude, there is clear distinction and correlation between the grasp that big tech has on our society as a whole. Their product management schemes have total control over the effect of the masses, and it is so subtle and subconscious that many don’t even understand the effects of their situations. In team project success, efficiency and hard work is key. Team leaders must be prepared for members that are not totally focused into their work. If this begins a personality conflict, the best case scenario is to remove the disassociated member from the group and realign their attention to the task at hand by configuring how they spend their time out of office. If they are not focused at work, they are likely not to be focused anywhere, and coming to that conclusion is necessary in order to progress the individual.

About the Author:

Joseph Ingrassia is a Montclair State graduate who studied Business Administration with a concentration in Management. He has goals and dreams of using his unfiltered leadership style to challenge the integration of technology in business by proclaiming that excessive usage can lead to limitless and unforeseen dangers. He is also passionate in Philanthropy, Humanitarianism, and Environmentalism.

To find out more, he can be found on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/joeingrassia88

References:

Henkin, Sid. “The Behavioral Side of Project Team Effectiveness – PMI.” The Behavioral Side of Team Project Effectiveness, 2006, https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/behavioral-side-project-team-effectiveness-8109.

Rajkumar, Sivasankari. “Art of Communication in Project Management.” Project Management Institute, 2010, https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effective-communication-better-project-management-6480. 

Blog, Proggio. “Generation Z and Project Management: Trends and Changes.” Proggio, 11 Nov. 2021, https://www.proggio.com/blog/generation-z-and-project-management-trends-and-changes/. 

Barker, Eric. “Do Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit?” Barking up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science behind Why Everything You Know about Success Is (Mostly) Wrong, HarperOne, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, New York, 2019, pp. 59–79. 

Godin, Seth. “Ideas That Win, Spread.” Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Penguin Books, London, England 2003, pp. 31–41. 

Doyle, Brandon. “Tiktok Statistics – Everything You Need to Know [Aug 2022 Update].” Wallaroo Media, 13 Aug. 2022, https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/.