Sociocultural Issues in Project Management

The coursework for this module involved a range of presentations that covered various sociocultural issues of project management. We learnt about the factors that influence projects and how it is essential to manage these factors to ensure a successful project delivery. As a part of the coursework, we have to identify the issues based on methodologies like body of knowledge which contribute effectiveness to productivity of project management. Lastly, we were given the individual assignment to analyse the project management challenges and approaches.

1.1 Project Management Overview: The aim of project management methodology is to give common standards to make sure that projects are conducted in a regimented, well-managed, and constant manner. The eventual objective of this methodology is to promote the deliverance of eminence products that effect in projects, which are completed on time, within financial plan and achieve the known business objectives.

1.2 The importance of Project Management methodology: A methodology is a set of principles that can be modified and applied to a definite situation. In a project environment, these principles might be a record of things to do. It could also be a definite approach, templates, figures, and even checklists used over the project life cycle. Defining and executing a superior methodology is necessary for advanced organisations who would like a project management approach for performing project activities in a logical, consistent, answerable and repeatable way.

1.3 Sociocultural factors play an increasingly significant role in the development project management. This aspect produces a provisional social system within a well-built organizational environment that unites the talents of a different set of professionals working to entire the project. Project managers should build a supportive social network among a different set of collaborators with diverse standards, obligations, and views. Since People are the essential part of project, the essential factors narrating people in project management are teamwork, communication, leadership, negotiation, problem solving, behavioural characteristics and conflict management.

Project’s success greatly depends upon the commitment of all the team members to achieve the common goal. To select the right members and ensure good team work within the project team is a challenge for the project manager. Effective communication is essential; the main objective of communication in project management is to perceive that there is a general understanding of the project.

Leadership involves identifying and articulating the need to considerably change the direction and function of the project, aligning people to the latest direction, and motivating them to work collectively to conquer hurdles produced by the change and to understand innovative objectives. Negotiation is the process of planning, discussing, suggest, trade-offs, bargaining and agreeing. The factors like resources, assignments, scope, cost and schedule of objectives are negotiated by the project staff in a project.

The project manger should be capable of identifying and analysing problems related to technical and managerial aspects in a project. By constructing problem-solving in a project and problem collaboration in project team then these problems are dealt swiftly. Problem definition and decision making are involved in problem solving.

Behavioural characteristics are the factors that divide and depict a person’s favoured way of acting, interacting, and responding in a variety of circumstances. The behavioural characteristics which are essential for project management are thoughts, common sense, progressiveness, adaptability, creativity, prudent risk taker, equality and commitment.

In several organizations, conflicts occur between employees as a normal result of employee relations. The project manager needs to identify the objects and behavioural components of conflict. In any organisation conflicts can be managed by collaborating, compromising, smoothing, avoidance and competing.

2. Teamwork and communication:

2.1 Teamwork in project management: A project team consists of various people working together towards a common objective. Project manager is responsible for the victorious result of the project. Each member of the team has own task, which symbolizes a part of the entire project.

2.2 Importance of teamwork: The notion of teamwork is very important to the success of any team. Teamwork and generosity create the stamina of a great team, without them a team cannot practically compete. The team working as one unified unit is going to be the key in project’s success. In any organisation teamwork has immense significance for more than one cause. Organisations who have embrace the concept, have reported augmented recital in work production, problem solving and has encouraged new-fangled growth. In any field teamwork is an answer for managing work and communication. The solution to teamwork is placing the needs of the project over one’s own little desires and cares.

2.3 Team selection factors: The three most common techniques used for hiring an individual in a team are structured interview, situational judgement test and personality test. The other factors which play a crucial role for selecting individuals in teams are as follows:-

a. Social skills: In team settings social skills are predominantly important, since working in team enhances the interdependence among employees, characteristically producing better divergence, workload sharing, and coordination. Social skills included things such as social perceptiveness, persuasion, inculcating, and helping others. These enhance the importance of social tasks, which reflects actions focused on maintaining and controlling team’s existence.

b. Personality characteristics: The personality attributes are mirrored in individuals elevated in Conscientiousness where their contributions are essential to overall team success who are reliable and hardworking. Initially the positive relationship was given between conscientiousness and recital across all works. Secondly the conscientious individuals are worried with their behaviours and achieving the team’s objectives. Finally cooperative behaviour is required for success in team settings.

c. Teamwork knowledge: This sight advises that there is a set of basic individual-level abilities that help performance in team settings. These abilities become significant in teamwork settings because of improved social and interpersonal needs. The teamwork knowledge in linked to contextual performance.

2.4 Guidelines for successful teamwork: The first decisive factor of a teamwork achievement is that all the team efforts are focussed towards the same apparent goals, the team goals. The other main aspect is the diversity of abilities and personalities. Furthermore, to develop the team’s strength the individual potencies and abilities are united together. Here are some tips for effective work team.

There should be an innermost focus that the team progressing towards and it must also incorporate a tough task direction that converts into each person knowing how to shift towards that target. potency

Trust should be build among team members by spending one-on-one time in an ambience of frankness and integrity.

For effective teamwork one should be a model. Since, leading the act of persuading others to act and this would be difficult if an individual has distinct set of principles for themselves and another for everybody else.

Each individual needs to recognize what he or she is going to put in and also what they add fits into the large picture. Individual competition should be dejected for the goodwill of the team’s agenda and principles.

Team members should have technical skills plus problem solving skills which are evenly important to the team’s success. In order to achieve the objectives proper training must be provided.

For the purpose of knowing the team tasks, unity should be build among the team and individual strengths must be pooled.

The results of the task should be reviewed and strengthened with suggestions for additional improvement. Besides, the completed task must be recorded properly.

2.5 Strategies of teamwork: The important strategies to be followed for the effective teamwork are:-

All partners should develop collective vision with excellent foundation to accommodate individual and organisational outlines that team up to attain a common goal.

Member roles and errands should be defined that demonstrates collaboration would be cautiously planned and can contribute achievement to the problem solving initiative.

All the partners should be involved in project activities, meetings and discussions and mechanisms must be developed to inform partners about conference minutes and discussions. Open communication and share decision making through consensus should be maintained.

Team leaders should look for commitment from partners to partake vigorously as a team in the teamwork. Core partners must lead the team with reliability and integrity to gain and continue the commitment.

Team members should be recognized and rewarded for their contribution to the team’s endeavour all partners should be repeatedly encouraged to share their involvements with the whole team.

2.6 Challenges of teamwork: Everyone in the team should be able to generate a culture of faith and affirmative energy. Moreover, the different teams should desire to keep operations running efficiently. There are challenges in maintaining the team as one and these include keeping assurance, trust, communication lines, superior leadership and accountable membership at towering levels. The three main challenges of people in teams are discussed below:-

a. The People who create the Team: For any team to attain its goal, its members should, mainly set aside their individual variations and interests. There is also a feeling of possession and responsibility over the task that they are to carry out. The team should have a skilled leader who has complete empowerment from the top executives.

b. The People behind Any successful Team: Any team who desire to be successful should persuade members to be energetic in the planning phase and be open to thoughts and constructive feedback.

c. Keeping Team recital finest: Training, communication skills and team spirit bustles are other implements important in creating a successful team. The achievement of team goals is highly dependent on the level of appreciation of members concerning their duties to the team. 

2.7 Communication in Project management: Communication is imperative on a project as it affects understanding and feelings. In communication there are two units’ receiver and sender. Receiver is very important. The project manager should use effective methods to establish good communication in the project team as well as with the parties related to the project.

2.8 Importance of communication: Communication is one of the fundamental principles of management in any company and its significance can barely be exaggerated. It is a method of broadcasting information, ideas, opinions, and strategies between diverse parts of an organisation. In an organisation for superior performance people are required to act together and respond, that is to communicate, this not only admirable for victorious business but it also improves excellent human relations. In any project about ninety percent of time is spent communicating through email, individually, fax or by conventions. Effective communication in a company amongst department and individual contemporaries is necessary for an industrious functioning environment. Communication allows the manager to safe information for judgment making, to analyse the problems in the project. It also helps in instructing to the assistants the meaning and importance of the enterprise plans and goals, and also giving directions, conveying duties etc. The major facet of the communication management structure in an organization is to increase communication approaches which would be helpful in making all the employees to stimulate so the intensification of the organization will be a stable one which would be benefited by both administration and the employees.

2.9 Methods of communication: Communication is swapping of information from one end of the task to the other end in a competent way. The techniques implemented to communicate vital information mainly rely upon the size of the definite project. Classic methods may include oral, written and fixed flow. There might also be other realistic factors to be considered, such as records protection, openness, language etc.  The accomplishment of a task depends upon the effectiveness of its communication system. The most common methods to be considered are explained below.

a. Face to face informal communication: Face-to-face interpersonal communication is common communication method most people apply at work. Informal communication constructs dealings with team members and volunteers, and face-to-face communication is the main way people communicate easily.

b. Meetings: The meeting follows a plan and employees listen to each other. Each thought is given a consideration. People are not frightened to share innovative thoughts even if they seem tremendous. Brainstorming is promoted when appropriate. Meeting achievement involves having the correct group composition as well as using an efficient process.

c. Email: Electronic mail is a fast and simple way to forward a communication. It is the most effectual method for communication. It is cheap and convenient; each individual can reach many people at the same time and at diverse places.

d. Intranet web pages: It is the well-organized method for provision of comprehensive information in the form of web page and it can be viewed anywhere by all the team members.

e. Newsletters: A newsletter includes information targeted at a crowd of readers who share general interests. The newsletter system is used to converse information to co employees, to other businesses, to members of an association and to clients.

f. Notices: Notices are techniques used to keep the employees as a together with what is happening in the organisation. There are distant means of communication i.e. the similar communication is sent to all the employees. Notices might narrate to vacant posts, union affairs and are expected to be exhibited on a notice board.

2.10 Guidelines for effective communication at organization: Project managers believe communication as a major part that must be improved frequently. Managers handling decisive tasks experience need of competent communication system. Better communication capabilities are necessary for successful results of the project.