Analysis of Change and Conflict Management in Project Environment

This project management research proposal addresses the critical challenges of managing changes and conflicts within projects. It begins with an executive summary highlighting the importance of addressing these issues promptly to prevent project delays or failures. The paper outlines research objectives focused on understanding the role of managers in change and conflict resolution, employee perceptions, and expectations. A literature review examines existing research on integrative conflict management, the impact of change on project success, the relationship between emotional intelligence and conflict management, and the impact of change management plans. The research methodology employs a secondary qualitative method, using a questionnaire, and draws upon previous research. The research philosophy integrates positivist and interpretivist approaches, and the chosen approach is a remedial study approach. The research design utilizes a meta-analysis to synthesize findings from various studies, aiming to propose effective strategies for managing change and conflict in project settings.

Running head: MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Managing changes and conflicts in project management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary:
Change and conflict are a major concern for the project management because of the impact, it
can cite on the project. Hence, it is advisable to omit the deemed challenge as soon as
possible and in effective manner. The devised paper is a research proposal that shows
different measures and approaches that will be taken at the time of research work. The
deemed paper has even reflected over the research work that had been assessed in the past on
the topic relevant to the subject of research. The research method, objectives along has also
been discussed in the paper. The paper has opted for secondary qualitative data method for
the research while keeping the ethical considerations.

2MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Background:...............................................................................................................................3
Justification:...............................................................................................................................3
Research Objectives:..................................................................................................................3
Research Questions:...............................................................................................................4
Literature Review:......................................................................................................................4
Research Methodology:.............................................................................................................7
Data Collection Method:............................................................................................................9
Ethical Consideration:..............................................................................................................10
References:...............................................................................................................................11

3MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Topic: Managing changes and conflicts in project management
Background:
Project management is ensuring successful completion of the organisational projects.
The deemed management practice takes account of all the factors, processes and stage in the
account and devises a plan accordingly (Burke, 2013). It is done to ensure uninterrupted
progress of the project. However, the plan is incomplete if it does not consist plans to
encounter conflicts and the chaos that arrives with change. Changes and conflicts if not
managed appropriately may result in trouble, delay or even cancellation of the project
(Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). Hence, the deemed topic has garnered attention from different
researchers and scholars. The devised research paper will also attempt at contributing
additional details to managing change and conflict in project management.
Justification:
Conflict and changes if not maintained appropriately are the most prominent
challenges a project may face in its path to successful competition. Additionally, the talked
about challenges of project management should be resolved in minimum possible time
because the longer the resolution takes it will cite negative impact on the project (Too &
Weaver, 2014). The first significant impact may be an extension of project completion
deadline along with the loss of trust among the stakeholders and many others. Hence, it is
mandatory to take necessary measures to manage the deemed challenges with appropriate
caution and in minimum possible time.
Research Objectives:
The aim defined for the research to be conducted is to determine the problems
associated with the changes and conflicts and evaluate the managerial role in resolving the

4MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
conflicts and managing the change. Along with the above mentioned objective, the research
work will also attempt to fulfil the following sub-objectives:
 Role of manager in change management.
 Reason why employees fear change.
 Role of manager in conflict resolution.
 Expectations of the employee stakeholders from the manager in case of change and
conflict.
Research Questions:
 How to manage change and conflicts in project management?
 What is the role of the manager in managing the change?
 Why does employee fear the change?
 What is the role of the manager in managing the conflicts?
 What do employees expect from the manager in case of change or conflict?
Literature Review:
Integrative Conflict management:
Jiang et al., (2014) have attempted at devising an interactive conflict management
plan that is directed towards the completion of the project goal rather than the individual
goals of the project stakeholders. The authors in their paper have claimed that the conflicts
among the employee stakeholders are resulted when the project associates start pursuing their
individual goals rather than the team goal or project goal. The paper has designed “a model of
an IT program environment to study the effects of goal interdependence among projects and
shared understanding of organisational goals on promoting integrative conflict management
(ICM).”. The authors have claimed that the reason for them to opt for the integrative method
of conflict resolution is that a single project is completed in multiple parts and individual

5MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
teams take care of each part. The distribution of the teams distributes the goals which may
not be the goal of the project and additionally, the teams are dependent on other teams for the
completion of their part. This dependency and difference between the objectives of the teams
may give birth to conflicts, and hence it is recommended to devise conflict management plan
for each team individually or an integrative plan to take consideration of all the teams. The
authors have done excellent work in devising the model and even seems theoretically sound.
However, the reviewed paper’s reliability is in doubt as the assessment of the structured
model are not feasible enough. The real-life application of the structured model is also not
visible which raises the questions, apart from that the model can be of great significance if
implemented and has even paved the way for future researches.
Impact of change in project success rate:
Hornstein, (2015) in their journal article has derived the attention of the readers to the
organisational change and the impact it cites on the failure or success of the project. The
author has also attempted at showcasing the importance of training for the project managers
in managing the changes. The paper claims “change is an inevitable consequence of project
implementations” and the approach with which those changes are managed decides the future
of the project. Additionally, the equation between the project manager and the person
responsible for managing the change is claimed to counterproductive which offers challenge
to the success of the project. The author has recommended collaboration between the two
above mentioned persons to optimise the chances of project failure or delay of the project.
Importance of the human component and the ignorance they face in the project
implementation has also been discussed as a part of the paper. The author has recommended
to integrate the change management plan along with the project management and the human
resource management (HRM) as part of the solution. The reason for including the HRM with
project management and the change management as claimed by the author is that hand on

6MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
worker’s contribution to the project success is more significant than the leaders. The paper
lacks any feasible part and is entirely based on the theoretical works that had been assessed in
the past over the same topic. Though, it should be noted that the reviewed article has offered
some critical thinking on the topics discussed and provided some recommendations that seem
very efficient if implemented. Those recommendations can be analysed to further enhance
and can even be used as the base for different researches.
Relation between EI (Emotional Intelligence) and CCM (Constructive Conflict
Management):
Schlaerth, Ensari & Christian, (2013) in their devised article has attempted at
evaluating the relation between the emotional intelligence and managing conflicts
constructively. EI, as defined by the author, is “ability to motivate oneself and persist in the
face of frustrations; to control impulses and delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods and
keep distress from swamping the ability to think; to empathize and to hope”. The authors
have stated “EI enables leaders to regulate their emotions so as to cope effectively with stress
and adjust to organisational changes” as the reason behind evaluating two irrelevant subjects.
To prove the defined objective of the paper the authors have done a meta-analysis review.
However, the paper has clarified that the meta-analysis review has only considered the
constructive domain of the conflict management and not the destructive domain. Particular
focus has been cited to the pros that are offered by managing the human resources. It has
been evaluated from the review of the deemed article that the to manage conflicts
constructively the leaders should control their emotions and make decisions based upon the
knowledge as well as the perspectives of stakeholders in consideration. The authors after the
evaluation have also claimed that trained leaders are more efficient than the untrained leaders
in managing the conflicts more efficiently. The paper is a well-devised article and is true to
its objective. It is also evident after reviewing the article that the authors have done

7MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
appropriate research before claiming any of the facts and hence shows reliability. Overall, in
conclusion, it can be stated that the reviewed article is well established and understandable to
the readers while offering plenty of research scope for further evaluation.
Impact of Change Management Plan:
Huang & Low, (2012) in their paper have taken Singapore’s construction industry in
account to measure the impact and importance along with the status of the change
management plan on a project. The reviewed paper has achieved its objective through
quantitative primary data collection method and reviewing the work done in the past on the
same subject. The reason for the selection of the subject of the reviewed paper as quoted by
the authors is “Changes in construction projects are inevitable” and hence the selection.
Changes, as defined by the author “Any additions, deletions or modifications to the scope of
the project, are considered as changes”. One of the most significant claims made by the
authors for adopting change management plan as part of the project management in the
construction industry is that the sooner the change is managed; little negative impact it will
cite on the project. After the evaluation, the authors have claimed that the implementation
status of the change management plan of the relatively low in the Singapore construction
industry which the reason for such high rate of project failure in the country. The importance
of change management plan on reviewing the article is determined as very high because it
saves capital, time and enhances the quality of the project and the factors associated. The
reviewed paper has offered quite a scope for the future research and has fulfilled its objective,
however; it is not without flaws. The lack of proofs to cite as evidence to the claimed facts
and complexity in explaining the tables and stats involved in the paper.
Research Methodology:
Outline:

8MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The research will be based upon the secondary qualitative method in which a
questionnaire will be given to a group of people associated with a project. Assistance from
the research work done previously on the change, conflict and project management will also
be taken. The philosophy for the research will be epistemology. The research will take
consideration of both the materialistic and abstract data to increase the understanding of the
subject. The research approach adopted for the paper is the remedial approach and meta-
analysis design.
Research philosophy:
The philosophy adopted for the research paper is epistemology. It takes consideration
of two data aspects, the first being the collected data while the other is the abstract that what
the authors feel about the subject (Knobe & Nichols, 2013). The collected data aspect works
on positivist philosophy while the other works on interpretivism (Wahyuni, 2012). Hence, it
would be appropriate to state that the deemed philosophy is an integration of Interpretivism,
realism and positivist philosophy.
Research Approach:
The research approach for the paper will be remedial study approach. The selection of
this approach lays on the fact that the deemed approach is formulated to enhance or correct
undesirable situations (Barrie, 2012). The undesirable situations are analysed and based on
the data collected a remedial plan is formulated to tackle the situation (Sanon, evans-Agnew
& Boutain, 2014). Hence, it can be stated that the deemed approach is solution driven
approach which will be of assistance in proposing techniques to manage change and conflict
in the project.
Research Design:

9MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Meta-analysis design is proposed as the design of the research work to be conducted.
The selection of the design is based on the fact that the deemed design summarises the results
that are evaluated after assessing the data collected after assessing individual studies
(Schmidt & Hunter, 2014). It is also selected because the data collection method of the paper
is secondary qualitative data (Boulianne, 2015).
Data Collection Method:
The data collection method is categorised in two different categories namely; primary
method and secondary method. Further, each of the two categories are further divided in
qualitative and quantitative data collection method (Aluwihare-Samaranayake, 2012). Based
upon the objectives off the proposed research work the most suitable data collection method
is the secondary qualitative data. The selection is based on the fact that evaluating the
secondary qualitative data will enable the author to extent the size of the paper to a global
approach (Yu et al., 2013). The purpose of collecting the secondary qualitative data is mostly
to achieve an insight in the previous datasets and explain the historical or the contextual
characteristics involved in the managerial role of managing change and conflict (Marshall et
al., 2013). Collecting the secondary data will enable the author to add additional subsets to
the original data which will be gathered from relevant research subjects. Commonly, there are
two sources for collecting qualitative secondary data: traditional and non-traditional sources.
The proposed paper will equip traditional source of data such as the transcripts, interview sets
and others (Boateng, 2012). The reason for the selection is based on the fact that the paper
will consider both the scientific and the social approach of the individuals relevant to the
subject and interviewing papers and transcript will enable the author to even gather the social
facts along with the scientific. The outline for the proposed research includes the quantitative
data collection method. The primary reason to pursue the secondary method of analysing data
should take in consideration of the ethical interests while having a transparent view and

10MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
offering a detailed methodology which should be carried out in achieving the objective of the
proposed research work. Qualitative analysis of the secondary data collection will explain the
author and the readers the reasons behind the decisions that were related to the missing data
that will make the productive knowledge transparent.
Ethical Consideration:
Ethical consideration is of great vitality in the research work as the research works are
done to identity problems and enhance the capability of the subject (Markham, Buchanan &
AolR, 2012). Hence, ethical values should be taken in account before pursuing a research
work and the deemed paper has done the same. The data that will be collected from the
research works done in the past over the same topic will only be used for the academic
purpose and no other use of the gathered data will be made (Punch, 2013). Additionally, the
copyright protection of the data that will be used in the study will also be verified to avoid
any ethical issues.

11MANAGING CHANGES AND CONFLICTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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