Conflict Management Assignment PDF

Running head: CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the university:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Background of the case:...............................................................................................................2
Analysis:......................................................................................................................................3
Emergence of conflict:.................................................................................................................5
Assigning priorities to the identified issues:................................................................................6
Issues and their priorities between the project sponsor and SPCB:.............................................6
Justification of selection of issues:..............................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The relationship and the process of negotiation is important between the project sponsor
and the project manager. The improper communication between the project manager and the
project sponsor can lead to the misunderstandings and the failure of the project can be happened.
In this paper the failure of the project regarding the construction of the Scottish Parliament will
be discussed. The main cause of the failure of this project is indicated the improper
communication between the project sponsor and the former project manager. The analysis of the
whole situation and the communication between the different stakeholders in this project has
been discussed in this paper. This will help to identify the main problem during the negotiation
in this project. Apart from that this discussion would help to indicate the factors those are
needed to be avoided during the project negotiation between the project manager and project
sponsor.
Discussion
Background of the case:
In 1997 , the political situation needed to establish a parliament house. In order to do this
the initiative had been taken. Initially the client for this construction was the Secretary of State
for Scotland until 1999. In 1999, June the responsibility of the client had been transferred to the
Scottish parliament Corporate Body. This corporate body is assisted by Holyrood progress
group. The designing team are EMBT and RMJM. Apart from the cost consultant, construction
manager have been appointed for the compilation of the project. In both cases the appointment
has been done very carefully.

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The main problem regrading this project is associated with the communication problem
from the different aspects. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the significance of the
communication between the project sponsor and the project manager in the successful
compilation of the project. In this case the examples and the references can be drawn from the
project regarding the construction of the parliament building of the Scotland.
Analysis:
The case of the construction has identified some of the problems from the point of view
of the project communication. The analysis of these different aspects can be helpful to identify
the contradictions regarding the way of working along with the roles and responsibilities of the
project manager Mr. Armstron and the project sponsor Mrs.Doig.
Selection of the site:
The main responsibility of the project manager is to identify the place where the
construction of the building can be done in a proper way. However, in this case the client of this
project is the Scottish parliament Corporate Body. This body is controlled by the government of
the Scotland. However, the choosing of the Holyrood as the site for the construction was not
proper as for the environmental constraints. The project manager was aware of this fact.
However, the client has chosen the site despite of the natural constraints as the budget for buying
the site was reasonable. In this case the role of the project manager and the project sponsor has
contradicted. The project manager wants to choose the best site for the development of the
construction , however the project sponsor was concerned about the cost of the project.
Appointment for different posts of the project and tendering issue:

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The project manager agrees that the appointment for the project and the tendering for the
project are needed to be done accordingly. However, in this case the client of the project has
chosen a faster way for the selection, appointment and tendering. According to the project
manager the process used for the selection of the designing team is needed to be done
methodically which was not followed in this case.
Defining roles and responsibilities of the project:
At the initial stage the project had awell defined document which defines various roles
and responsibilities of the different stakeholders in the project. However, the project manager has
found out that the there were certain changes in the project has been done during different times
but no update has been recorded in the document. This leads to the mismanagement of defining
roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders.
Improper communication brief:
It has been observed that the sponsor or the client of the project has requested a certain
change in the requirement . However, those changes were not documented properly. Apart from
that the documentation of the requirement lacks proper estimation of the cost of the project. This
requirement document does not help the new project manager to understand the revised
requirement.
Project relationship:
RMJM is based at Barcelona. This company is doing the design for the Scottish
Parliament. In this case the cultural differences affect the working progress. The project manager
of the project points out that there was very little progress regarding the designing part. It can be

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said that this miscommunication happened for the improper flow of communication between the
offices at Edinburgh and Barcelona.
Emergence of conflict:
In order to judge the whole situation different types of conflict and their nature is needed
to be evaluated. This can be achieved through this review of literature regarding the conflict in
the development of the project.
There are different types of conflicts those can be present in the project development
environment. One of the main reason for the conflict is the lack of communication. The lack of
communication can be a constraint for the sharing of knowledge between the team members of
the project.
The lack of clarity in the different roles of the project can lead to the conflict in project.
This can also lead to the mismanagement in the leadership.
The difficulty in assigning the priority of the task is another issue for raising the conflict.
This factor is related to the improper leadership in the project. It is the responsibility of the
project manager to assign different roles in the management of the project to different
stakeholders.
Negotiation plan between Paul Curran and project sponsor:
A proper negotiation plan can be initiated between Paul Curran and the project sponsor
so that the repetition of the conflicts may not be happened.
The issues regarding this project have been identified earlier stage. It can be said that the
problems regarding the update of the requirement can be documented in a proper way. However,

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the responsibility of declaring the change in the requirements goes to the sponsor of the project.
Keeping and tracking the record of the change and its proper documentation is the responsibility
of the project manager.
Further appointment for any role in the project is needed to be followed by certain ru;es
and methods. These rules can be determined through a meeting between the project manager and
the project sponsor. The project sponsor should update the project manager to inform about the
new recruitment. The selection process can be joint venture in this case. Apart from that there
should be clarity in the rules for hiring and tendering in the context of the development of the
project.
There are certain problem regarding the selection of the site. However, this choice can
not be changed. In this case it is the responsibility of the project manager to carry on the
development of the project in such a way so that the constraints regarding the environment of the
site can be mitigated.
Assigning priorities to the identified issues:
The selection of the site can not be changed in this stage of the project. So, the choice of
the site can be neutral. Apart from that the documentation of the requirement and maintaining the
proper communication plan can be done through the negotiation between the project manager
and the project sponsor. Maintaining the proper communication plan and the documentation of
the requirement have the highest priority.
Selection process for the roles of the project and tendering process is needed to be
transparent along with that these processes need to follow certain rules and regulations. This
holds the medium priority in the process.

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Issues and their priorities between the project sponsor and SPCB:
There are some issues and conflicts between the project sponsor and SPCB. The major
issue is the lack of communication. In this context the improvement of the communication plan
has the highest priority. The proper communication plan will help to solve the problems
regarding the missing of the updates regarding the requirements in the project and can maintain
clarity.
Justification of selection of issues:
The issues have been selected and identified through the analysis of the different
problems regarding the development of the mentioned construction project. It has been found out
the main problem in the project development is the problem regarding the communication. In
this context the proposed plan will mitigate the conflict between the project manager and the
project sponsor. Moreover this will help to improve the overall communication plan of the
project. The modified process will help in the successful compilation of the project.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the above discussion that there is a lack of leadership and the
clarity in the responsibility present for the proper management of the construction project. The
project can deliver the right outcome meeting all the requirements if proper communication
between different stakeholders can be maintained in a proper way. Apart from there should be a
clarity in the responsibility for the each stakeholders in the project. Maintaining all these things
can lead to the compilation of the successful project.

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Bibliography
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