Project Management
Topic 9
Communication and Relationships
© NCC Education Limited
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
- 9.2
Learning Objectives
By the end of this topic you will be able to
• Critically evaluate theories and models of communication.
• Understand the principles of negotiation.
• Resolve conflicts that might affect projects.
• Critically discuss relationships and how they are managed.
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
- 9.3
Communication
Introduction to communication
• Communication means either …
• … the process by which information is exchanged or …
• … the information that is sent e.g. a message.
• Without communication, it is not possible to have teams of
people, communities or human society.
• Communication in project management is a soft skill.
• A coffee-time chat with a co-worker is communication.
• Emailing a contract to a project client is communication.
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
A model of communications
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Network theory comes from three sources
• Scientific and mathematical theories and descriptions.
– Networks are everywhere: e.g. the brain is a network of neurons.
– The web is a network, connected with web links (URLs).
• Social networks and social network analysis (SNA).
– The theory and practice of people in networks.
– The building blocks are actors, ties, relations and networks.
• Actor-network theory (ANT).
– Puts the focus on the actors in networks and their relationships.
– A set of practices for approaching the complexity of the world.
SNA and ANT emphasise the human aspect of networks
(Jones, 2015)
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
What is a network?
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Common assumptions for modelling
networks (1)
• All networks consist of nodes and links.
• A node with no links is not part of any network.
• A link without a node at each end is not allowed.
• The links are used to send information between nodes.
• Information can be streamed (sent continuously) or packetised (sent in pieces).
• Links can be simplex (one way), half-duplex (one way at a time) or full-duplex
(both ways at the same time).
• Messages can be transmitted across the links using hand-shaking (receipt is
fully verified) …
• … or fire-and-forget (the sender makes no direct attempt to verify receipt of the
message). (Stallings, 2013)
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Common assumptions for modelling
networks (2)
• Messages can be broadcast (sent to all nodes) or narrowcast (sent to a
nominated subset of nodes).
• 1-to-many links are modelled as multiple instances of 1-to-1 links.
• Some information is routed, meaning it must pass through one or more
intermediary nodes to reach the intended end recipient node.
• A link (or the absence of a link) between nodes may be temporary or permanent.
• Links (ties) may be strong or weak.
• The data transmitted may be payload data (information with useful meaning to
the recipient) …
• … or control data (information concerned with the correct operation of the
network). (Stallings, 2013)
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Strong and weak ties
• A feature of human society is connections.
• People are linked to other people.
• You have a link with someone if you know them or if you exchange
information with them.
• When people are linked or tied together, they are a network.
• A tie is strong if you feel close to the other person and communicate
regularly.
• A tie is weak if you don’t know them well and don’t talk much.
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Verbal and non-verbal communications
(1)
• Verbal communication.
– Language, speech and writing.
– Symbol, referent (the thing the symbol refers to) and meaning.
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Verbal and non-verbal communications
(2)
• Non-verbal communication.
– A type of communication that doesn’t involve language.
– Uses signals between the communicating parties.
– Non-verbal communication is ambiguous.
– It is impossible to avoid non-verbal communication.
– Examples: eye contact, gestures, style of dress.
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Communication
Barriers to effective communication:
examples
• Linguistic capability.
– When one person has more developed language skills than the other.
• Environmental conditions.
– Physical barriers such as a weak mobile phone signal.
• Ambiguity.
– When what a person says can have two or more meanings and it’s not clear which is meant.
• Theoretical context.
– When the meaning of a word you use is clear and unambiguous to you, but the other person
has a totally different clear and unambiguous understanding of the meaning of the same word.
• Organisational design.
– E.g. when you feel you cannot communicate directly with your manager’s manager, because
your manager would not like it.
Can you think of others?
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
The type of project team will affect
communication (1)
• Large or small?
• Standalone project, or part of a programme?
• Traditional or agile?
• Co-located or distributed?
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Communication
The type of project team will affect
communication (2)
• Mono-cultural or multi-cultural?
• Single organisation, or a collaboration?
• Specific to a single industry/sector?
• Consumer product, or business infrastructure?
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Communication
Which styles and methods of communication
are best?
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Questions to ask about communication:
examples
• What media are available for communication?
• What channels are available within media?
• What is your preference as project manager?
• What are the preferences of other stakeholders?
• How often should the project manager hold a team
meeting?
• How can a project manager encourage a good information
culture?
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Types of media for project communications:
examples
• Local - talking in the same room or same physical space.
• Audio (remote) e.g. telephone.
• Video (remote) e.g. Skype.
• Store-and-forward messaging e.g. email.
• Branded networking apps e.g. Facebook, Slack, WhatsApp.
• Text (SMS).
• Podcast.
• The project website.
• Paper distribution including
Can you traditional postal services.
think of more?
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Framework for communicating with project
stakeholders
• Who are the project stakeholders?
• What do they need to know about the project?
• How should their needs be met?
(Wysocki, 2017)
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
Strategy for communicating with the project
team
• Timing.
– Get information to team members at the right time.
• Content.
– Give team members what they need to succeed.
• Media and channel.
– There are several to choose among e.g. messaging or face-to-face.
– The project manager must make the choice.
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
The impact of the internet on project
communications (1)
• Project teams are commonly distributed (also known as
virtual teams or networked teams).
• Less often, project teams are all in the same room or
building.
• Distributed work is made possible by the internet, an
inexpensive, reliable, high capacity medium for advanced
communication services.
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Communication
The impact of the internet on project
communications (2)
• Project communication now assumes a distributed team,
using services platformed on the internet.
• Local communications – such as showing a message on a
piece of paper to a colleague at the next desk - is now a
special case (exception).
• So, for example, it is quite normal to send an instant
message to a project team colleague, and you don’t care if
they are in the room with you or in a different country or on
a plane between two countries. It’s all the same.
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Conflict and Negotiation
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Conflict and Negotiation
Conflict: frames of reference
• Unitarist.
– We are all one big happy family and problems come from outside.
• Pluralist.
– Any organisation has lots of different groups with different goals and
conflict is unavoidable and legitimate.
• Interactionist.
– Conflict is necessary and positive and helps us innovate and grow.
• Radical.
– Conflict between workers and owners is an inevitable consequence of
capitalism.
(Buchanan & Huczynski, 2016)
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Conflict and Negotiation
Assertiveness and cooperativeness
competing collaborating
compromising
assertiveness
avoiding accommodating
cooperativeness
(Ruble & Thomas, 1976)
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Conflict and Negotiation
Conflict resolution
1. Negotiation. informal control,
more control by you
2. Mediation.
more structure
3. Conciliation. more adversarial
4. Expert appraisal. more expensive
5. Neutral evaluation.
formal control,
6. Arbitration. more control by
somebody else
7. Litigation (legal action).
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Relationships
Managing project working relationships
• This is a key role for a project manager.
• Working relationships can be within the team, and between team
members and external stakeholders.
• Relationship management with external stakeholders is also called
interface management.
• The focus is on maintaining productive working relationships through
the lifetime of the project …
• … and beyond, because project team members will likely work with the
same collaborators on a stream of projects.
• Relationship management is necessary because project team members
are human beings, not machines.
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Relationships
The Tuckman model of team development
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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Relationships
Some characteristics of good working
relationships
• Trust.
– Being sure the other person will do what they said they would do.
• Openness.
– Be honest, and share information.
• Mutual respect.
– Value the other person as you value yourself.
• Mindfulness.
– Reflect on your own words and actions in the present moment.
Can you think of others?
Communication and Relationships Topic 9
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References
• Buchanan, D. and Huczynski, A. (2016) Organizational Behaviour. Pearson.
• Jones, C., (2015) Theories of Learning in a Digital Age, in: Networked Learning, Research
in Networked Learning. Springer
• Project Management Institute (2017) A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge. (PMBOK® Guide). 6th ed. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
• Ruble, T. L. and Thomas, K. W. (1976) Support for A Two-dimensional Model of Conflict
Behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(1), pp.143-155.
• Stallings, W., (2013) Data and Computer Communications, International Edition, 10
edition. ed. Pearson Education, Boston, Mass.
• Wysocki, R. (2017) Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme. New York:
Wiley.
Topic 9 – Communication and Relationships
Any Questions?