PPMP20011 Portfolio Week 3: Project Manager and Negotiation Dynamics

This portfolio assignment delves into the critical role of a project manager in commercial negotiation, exploring various aspects such as negotiator, mediator, and arbitrator. It examines how the project manager's responsibilities vary based on project type, industry, and organizational level. The analysis incorporates key concepts from the provided readings, including collaborative project procurement arrangements and relationship-based procurement (RBP). The assignment also explores the relationship between procurement and negotiation, and the different levels of project manager engagement. The student reflects on the provided materials, including the Channel Tunnel project, and considers insights from other units and relevant resources like Alfredson & Cungu (2008), Kerzner (2013), Morris & Geraldi (2011), Peña-Mora & Tamaki (2001), PMI (2013a), Shelley (2011), Walker & Lloyd-Walker (2015), Wikipedia (2017), and Ury & Fisher (2012). The portfolio highlights the importance of collaboration in project management and its impact on project success.

(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20011 Portfolio template for Week 3
PPMP20011 Portfolio template – Week 3
Description of
topics including
reading samples
Learning outcomes
of the unit
Learnings from your experience, this and prior unit reading,
assignments
Supporting
documentation
including your prior
learning
Week 3 Topic: The Role
of the Project Manager
in Commercial
Negotiation.
Collaborative Project
Procurement
Arrangements (2015)
by Derek H. T. Walker
and Beverly M. Lloyd
Walker;
1. Describe the
operation of diverse
and complex
government and non-
government project
contractual
arrangements
relevant to a range of
managed services,
ICT, and build
agreements.
The objective of this week’s topic is to make sure you have an appreciation of
the Role of the Project Manager in Commercial Negotiation.
Try to ask yourself the questions that were in the slides in this week’s lecture:
1. What role do you think the project manager has in commercial
negotiation?
In commercial negotiation, the project manager has three main roles:
Negotiator, arbitration, mediation. The first role of a project manager
involves negotiations over resource allocation and distribution.
Secondly, the project manager fulfils the role of mediator in dispute
resolution in case there is an impasse. The mediator ensures that the
two parties are communicating with each other with a view to coming
to an amicable resolution of the Impasse. In case the impasse persists,
the project manager makes a decision that most favourable to the
resolution of the issue in question, a role referred to as arbitration.
2. Does that role vary according to the type of project?
Yes it does. If the project is a simple project and originates from the
company higher level management, the project manager’s role will
mainly involve mediation and arbitration within the teams in case of
conflicting issues (Shelley, 2011). Negotiation roles will be minimal and
will be limited to negotiation for allocation of project resources to
various uses. On the other hand, a project that originates from the
project manager and his or her team, the major role will be negotiator
as he or she tries to get acceptance and funding for the project from
senior management.
3. Does that role vary according to the type of industry? The roles do not
change depending on industry as the processes of management are
similar across industries. However, project manager’s roles may differ
PPMP20011Unit Profile
PPMP20011 Moodle
Web site
Have you any insights
you can add from other
units you have studies or
readings you’ve made?
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20011 Portfolio template for Week 3
Description of
topics including
reading samples
Learning outcomes
of the unit
Learnings from your experience, this and prior unit reading,
assignments
Supporting
documentation
including your prior
learning
within an industry depending on the polies and procedure of different
organiations.
4. Does that role vary according to where the person is in the
organisationi.e. project manager, program manager, portfolio
manager? Yes. The higher the project manager, the easier it is to
negotiate for resources and, therefore, the role of the project manager
will involve housekeeping.
5. What does the material in this week have to do with the Channel
Tunnelproject? The material in this week revolved around project
management issues, and the Channel Tunnelproject happens to be a
complex project which involves high level collaborations in order to
procure resources from different stakeholders including the two
countries (Britain and France) involved in the project.
In the Executive Summary and Chapter 1 of Walker & Walker (2015)
Collaborative Project Procurement Arrangements, in reflection:
1. What is Relationship-Based Procurement (RBP)?
Relationship-Based Procurement (RBP) dealing with issues relating to
project development mechanism where Joint problem solving and
collaboration are taken as the most important aspects. Most huge
infrastructural projects require high levels of collaboration to procure
the necessary resources needed for their completion.
2. What does Procurement have to do with Negotiation?
Procurement is the department charged with the responsibility of
ensuring that there is clarity regarding the structure of the agreement
regarding obligations and roles of the parties to the contract. Also,
procurement ensures clarity of every detail of the purchases and
secures mutual agreement before the contracts can be signed.
3. In what way does the engagement of the Project Manager vary
according to the level (1, 2, & 3) given in Chapter 1 of Walker and
Walker book?
According Morris and Geraldi (2011), project management has three
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20011 Portfolio template for Week 3
Description of
topics including
reading samples
Learning outcomes
of the unit
Learnings from your experience, this and prior unit reading,
assignments
Supporting
documentation
including your prior
learning
levels: Activity level which involves the technical, instrumental and
operational aspects of management of projects; Strategic level; and
integration level. In all these three levels the role and engagement of
the project manager are different and thus involves different PM
engagements. In the level of activity, the project manager engagement
considers the various aspects of the project and provides the overall
collaboration point of contact. At the technical and instrumentation
level the project manager engagement concerns the specific
application of procedures and resources for the completion of the
project. The third level of Project manager engagement concerns
ensuring that there is a proper fit between the project and the
environments in which it will be operating.
Have you spent any more time with YouTube and do you have any more
reflections you wish to write about?
Project management collaborations is the most recent addition to the body of
knowledge in project management and increases the chances of success in large
infrastructural projects
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20011 Portfolio template for Week 3
References
Alfredson T., & Cungu A. 2008. Negotiation Theory and Practice http://www.fao.org/docs/up/easypol/550/4-5_negotiation_background_paper_179en.pdf;
Kerzner H. 2013. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Control, 11th Edition. Hoboken, USA: John Wiley & Sons.
Morris, P.W.G. and Geraldi, J. (2011). Managing the institutional context for projects. Project management Journal, 42(6), 20-32.
Peña-Mora F., and Tamaki T. 2001. "Effect of Delivery Systems on Collaborative Negotiations for Large -Scale Infrastructure Projects”. Journal of
Management in Engineering. Vol:April 2001 pp.105-121
PMI. 2013a. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) 5th Edition. USA: Project Management Institute.
Shelley, A. (2011). Creative metaphor as a tool for stakeholder influence. In Bourne, L. M. Advising Upwards- A framework for Understanding and Engaging
Senior Management Stakeholders (pp. 271-296). Farnham, Surrey, UK: Gower.
Walker D.H.T., & Lloyd-Walker B.M. 2015. Theory and Practice Collaborative Project Procurement Arrangements. PMI Published Research.
Wikipedia 2017 Channel Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel visited __/__/____.
Ury W., & Fisher R. 2012. Getting to YES: Negotiating an agreement without giving in. Penguin Random House Australia
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