Научная статья на тему 'Conflicts in a project team: peculiarities and resolution techniques'

Conflicts in a project team: peculiarities and resolution techniques Текст научной статьи по специальности «Экономика и бизнес»

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ПРОЕКТНАЯ КОМАНДА / PROJECT TEAM / КОНФЛИКТ / CONFLICT / КОНФЛИКТНОЕ ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЕ / CONFLICT INTERACTION / МЕТОДЫ УРЕГУЛИРОВАНИЯ КОНФЛИКТА / METHODS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Аннотация научной статьи по экономике и бизнесу, автор научной работы — Kurganov Maksim

This article is devoted to study the specifics of the conflict interaction in cross-functional project teams. The paper describes the main organizational sources of conflict within the framework of the project team and key tools, the use of which reduces the risk of conflict.

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Текст научной работы на тему «Conflicts in a project team: peculiarities and resolution techniques»

Следует отметить, что на исчисление финансового результата довольно сильно влияют правила формирования информации в системах бухгалтерского и налогового учета. Порой результаты, полученные в двух разных учетных системах, значительно отличаются друг от друга. Прежде всего, это связано с тем, что формирование информации и проведение расчетов в налоговом учете происходят по правилам налогового законодательства, содержащимся в Налоговом кодексе РФ и принятых на его основе нормативных актах. А накопление и обработка информации в системе бухгалтерского учета проводится по правилам бухгалтерского законодательства, основу которого составляет Федеральный закон от 06 декабря 2011 года № 402 - ФЗ «О бухгалтерском учете» и национальные бухгалтерские стандарты (ПБУ).

Такое совмещение позволяет обеспечить сравнимость информации, которая необходима для бухгалтерского учета и для целей налогообложения, оптимизировать работу бухгалтерской службы предприятия и избежать ошибок при формировании информации о финансовых результатах.

Литература

1. Дедова О. В. Принципы формирования и учета финансовых результатов, 2009. № 3.

2. Ковалева Н. Н. Признание дохода по российским и международным стандартам учета, 2010. № 3.

Conflicts in a project team: peculiarities and resolution techniques

Kurganov M. (Russian Federation) Конфликты в проектной команде: особенности и технологии

разрешения Курганов М. А. (Российская Федерация)

Курганов Максим Андреевич /Kurganov Maksim - студент магистратуры, факультет экономики, менеджмента и бизнес-информатики, Национальный исследовательский университет Высшая школа экономики, г. Пермь

Abstract: this article is devoted to study the specifics of the conflict interaction in cross-functional project teams. The paper describes the main organizational sources of conflict within the framework of the project team and key tools, the use of which reduces the risk of conflict. Аннотация: настоящая статья посвящена изучению специфики конфликтного взаимодействия в кросс-функциональных проектных командах. В работе описаны основные источники конфликтов в рамках деятельности проектной группы и проанализированы основные инструменты, использование которых позволяет снизить риск возникновения конфликта.

Keywords: project team, conflict, conflict interaction, methods of conflict resolution. Ключевые слова: проектная команда, конфликт, конфликтное взаимодействие, методы урегулирования конфликта.

Project management is becoming widespread among companies operating in various industries. Managers in organizations try to create cross-functional project teams in order to achieve the highest results of the project and improve the competitiveness of the organization as a whole. This is mostly because management team usually knows that the implementation of many projects in the company requires employees' cooperation among different departments to eliminate intra -organizational rivalry. At the same time, it is of high importance to understand that when they collaborate on a project, the team will inevitably face the divergence of interests, goals and points

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of view that with high probability may lead to a conflict situation[1, c.360]. The phenomenon of conflicts in a project team lacks the research and, consequently, brings up some questions: why do conflicts arise in a project team and what is their impact on the activities of its members? What techniques allow reducing the risk of conflicts?

The aim of this work is to identify the specifics of conflict management in a project team. To achieve the goal it is necessary to solve a number of problems:

1. To examine the sources of conflicts in the project team;

2. To assess the impact of the conflict on the activities of the project team;

3. To consider methods of conflict resolution within the project team.

First of all I want to emphasize that there are several types of projects, in particular: new product development, product modification, production and construction projects. Key features of each projects type are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Peculiarities of projects types

New Product Development Product Modification Production and construction projects

Innovative approach Functionality, quality or design change Evidence of results and enablers

Communication importance Experience importance Hierarchy and control importance

Project team competence Low labor costs Rigid structuring

Project team coordination Predominance of formal relations Low value of human relationships

Undoubtedly, the emergence of conflicts in cross-functional team is peculiar projects, the successful realization of which requires regular interaction between the team members, their cooperation and mutual assistance, i.e. projects of the first and second types.

Of course, like members of any group or association, members of the project team are different. In this regard, it seems clear that the contradictions can easily arise because of individual differences. Along with this, it has to be taken into account that the key distinctive feature between a project team and other organizational entities is cross-functional approaches application during the process of the team creation. Therefore, when working in the same group of employees of different functional departments, conflicts can often be caused by organizational factors. This fact was confirmed by Robert Keller, who studied the features of the communication process in cross-functional teams based on 41 cases. He found that in 53% of cases the reasons for conflicts, arising among the team members and further development of conflict situations, were organizational conditions and employees interaction within a certain company [2; p. 550]. Let me consider some of them in more detail.

Firstly, opportunistic behavior of the team members, in case when they want to protect the interests of their own department or when they are reluctant to cooperate, may trigger a conflict. A prime example of this fact is the case of «Ford Motor». The confrontation developers fundamentally new model cars and a representative of the administrative department, who does not want to trust the power of innovative ideas in their own beliefs, not only would not achieve the ultimate goals of the project, but also caused the innovators transition to the other car market player [3; p.78]. In addition, the organizational structure affects the communication process in the group. Of course, this structure determines the degree of subordination of one department to another within the entire organization. However, the interaction alignment in the project team, according to the organizational hierarchy principles, may cause dissatisfaction and organizational climate deterioration that may lead to a conflict [4, p. 327]. The consideration of the organizational culture phenomenon is also an important issue. Each functional unit, respecting the basic principles of the company's culture, tends to have unique attributes of their own corporate culture that distinguish it from other departments. The collision of several local cultures can be considered as another conflict trigger, and the risk of this collision may be present in the project team [5, p. 391].

We cannot disagree that organizational factors play a key role in the successful implementation of the conflict management process in the project team; they are the main motivators for the group members and have a significant impact on the degree of their cohesion and cooperation [2, p. 554]. Therefore, when considering the techniques for conflict prevention in project team, most attention should be paid to the organizational sources of conflict. However, before that you need to understand the impact they have on the team's activities and project results.

In order to analyze the issue in-depth, the study of V. I. Zhog and K. A. Bagrationi, devoted to the analysis of the project results success in case of conflicts in a project team, may be used. The researchers prove that the confrontation among group members is inevitable, and can provoke various effects. In particular, if interactions management is effective, the high level of negotiations productivity, employees' mobilization and performance can be reached [6, p. 116]. Otherwise, there is a threat of the work process destabilization, initiative reduction and the performance irrationality growth that may cause substantial damage to the entire organization due to the inability to achieve either qualitative or quantitative objectives of the project.

Taking into account the results of the analysis, I am inclined to think that to get the user the desired project results it is necessary to optimize conflicts within the project team using tools aimed at the prevention of conflict situations in the group and create an atmosphere of cooperation among all members of cross-functional teams.

The basis for a study of solving conflicts techniques in a project team can be a research conducted by M. Pinto, G. Pinto and G. Prescott, according to which the effective cooperation of all project team members and the reduction of conflicts depends on the following elements: higher purpose; rules and procedures of the project; physical proximity; availability [7, p. 1282]. Let me look at them in more detail.

Firstly, in practice, many common organizations' objectives are often broken into specific functional tasks that may conflict with each other and infringe upon the activities and interests of other business units. In order to avoid such a situation in a project team, the project manager has to put a higher level team goal, i.e. this goal has to be urgent and to compel to people of all departments in the team, however, its attainment requires the resources and efforts of more than one unit [7, p. 1284]. This study empirically proved that the pursuit of higher-level objectives contributes to the search for shared interests, positive change in the social behavior of team members and increase their social activity.

Secondly, it has to be understood that any project is not the company's routine operation and the company does not have an established set of rules and procedures governing the activities of the project team [7, p. 1285]. Therefore, the creation of work regulations for the project team will ensure the mechanism of functioning of this team. In particular, we can speak about the development of principles for project teams' formation, integration and coordination of related departments, and reducing levels of the organizational hierarchy within the conflict. In my opinion, this technique will lead to a weakening of intra-group favoritism and eliminating conflict behavior in the team.

Thirdly, ensuring the physical proximity of all team members helps to reduce the likelihood of conflict in a project team. So, creating conditions for frequent and visual contact, and also for discussion among all team members ensures not only interpersonal attraction, but also opportunities for collaborative solutions to complex problems, constructive dialogue, and familiarity with the local cultures of related departments [4, p. 332].

While physical intimacy creates the conditions for communication, another factor - availability - defines the type and frequency of the occurring interactions. Due to the fact that every employee of the project team can have an individual timetable or extra-curricular commitments, the project manager has to ensure interaction among all the team members [7, p. 1286]. In my opinion, this will reduce the information deficit, the likelihood of social relations violations, and, as a result, prevent the conflict development.

In conclusion, for a successful conflict management in cross-functional project team a number of features that were identified during the course of the reasoning have to be considered. Firstly, the emergence of conflicts is largely peculiar to the teams that implement projects in the field of research and development, or projects for a new product creation. Secondly, the organizational

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factors directly influencing the emergence of conflict situations in the project team are important for the organizational strategy and deserve attention of project management. Thirdly, the need for conflict relations optimization in the framework of the project is high because there is no opportunity to avoid an open confrontation of the parties in the joint activities. On the base of these characteristics a set of techniques for conflict management in project team has been developed. This can ensure the creation of favorable cooperation conditions and reduce the possibility of conflict in the group. Thus, the purpose of the essay can be regarded as achieved.

References

1. Somech A., Desivilya H. S., Lidogoster H. Team conflict management and team effectiveness: The effects of task interdependence and team identification // Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2009. № 3. P. 359-378.

2. Keller R. T. Cross-functional project groups in research and new product development: Diversity, communications, job stress, and outcomes // Academy Of Management Journal, 2001. № 3. P. 547-555.

3. Sethi R., Smith D. C., Park C. W. Cross-Functional Product Development Teams, Creativity, and the Innovativeness of New Consumer Products // Journal of Marketing Research, 2001. № 1. P. 73-85.

4. Lichtenstein R., Alexander J. A., Mccarthy J. F., Wells R. Status Differences in Cross-Functional Teams: Effects on Individual Member Participation, Job Satisfaction, and Intent to Quit // Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2014. № 3. P. 322-335.

5. Gevers J. M., Peeters M. A. A pleasure working together? The effects of dissimilarity in team member conscientiousness on team temporal process and individual satisfaction identification // Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2009. № 3. P. 379-400.

6. Zhog V. I., Bagrationi K. A. Optimization of business cooperation within the project team: the conflicts and effectiveness // Bulletin of Moscow State Regional University, 2012. № 2. P. 113-119.

7. Pinto M. B., Pinto J. K., Prescott J. E. Antecedents and consequences of project team cross-functional cooperation // Management Science, 1993. № 10. P. 1281-1297.

Prospects for Russian cooperation at the international market:

national aspect Malahova K. (Russian Federation) Перспективы взаимодействия России на международном рынке:

национальный аспект Малахова К. А. (Российская Федерация)

Малахова Кристина Александровна /Malahova Kristina - студент бакалавриата, кафедра мировой литературы и культуры, факультет современных иностранных языков и литератур, Пермский государственный национальный исследовательский университет, г. Пермь

Аннотация: в статье анализируется влияние ментальности народа на экономическое развитие России. Особое внимание уделяется взаимодействию России на международных рынках, рассматриваются её потенциал и характерные проблемы. Предпринимается попытка выделения основных черт ментальности и прогнозирования на основе этих признаков дальнейшего развития экономики страны. Предлагаются варианты решения сложившейся проблемной ситуации посредством влияния на ментальность, формирования нового типа граждан, в том числе и через реформирование образования и тех ценностей, которые оно формирует.

Abstract: the article analyzes the impact of the mentality of the people in the economic development of Russia. Particular attention is paid to the interaction of Russia in the international

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