Evaluate various conflict resolution modes

5–9 Manpower requirements indicate that a specific functional pool will increase sharply from eight to seventeen people over the next two weeks and then drop back to eight people. Should you question this?

5–10 Below are several sources from which legal authority can be derived. State whether each source provides the project manager with sufficient authority from which he can effectively manage the project.

The project or organizational charter

The project manager’s position in the organization

The job description and specifications for project managers

Policy documents

The project manager’s “executive” rank

Dollar value of the contract

Control of funds

6–1 Is it possible for functional employees to have performed a job so long or so often that they no longer listen to the instructions given by the project or functional managers?

7–4 Would you agree or disagree with the statement that “Conflict resolution through collaboration needs trust; people must rely on one another”?

7–5 Determine the best conflict resolution mode for each of the following situations:

Two of your functional team members appear to have personality clashes and almost always assume opposite points of view during decision making.

R&D quality control and manufacturing operations quality control continually argue as to who should perform testing on an R&D project. R&D postulates that it’s their project, and manufacturing argues that it will eventually go into production and that they wish to be involved as early as possible.

Two functional department managers continually argue as to who should perform a certain test. You know that this situation exists, and that the department managers are trying to work it out themselves, often with great pain. However, you are not sure that they will be able to resolve the problem themselves.