1 You are project manager in a global project with a team consisting of people from various countries. What can you try to prevent misunderstandings due to cross-cultural differences?
a Use all communication methods available that are suitable for the team and follow up in writing when communicating verbally. Remember that cultural and individual diversity may help project teams solving unforeseen problems during the course of the project.
b When you are about to form a team for your project, keep in mind that some cultures are developed, others are more primitive. Some have values, some not. You should consequently avoid choosing members from countries with cultures that are not similar to your own.
c Cultural dilemmas can prevent any project from being successful. They should therefore be smoothed or suppressed so as to make sure that they cannot disrupt project work. Your effort should concentrate on communication that can help reach that goal.
d As norms regarding communication habits differ significantly across various cultures, communicating between people from different countries should only be done using language. The nonverbal dimension simply bears too many risks.
2 Which statement on conflicts is true?
a Conflict resolution should focus on people, not issues.
b Conflict is natural and forces a search for alternatives.
c Conflict should always be handled in private and not in the team.
d Too much openness is a common cause of conflict.
3 A change request in a project has been rejected some weeks ago. Yesterday, the project manager found out that it nevertheless has been implemented by the team members, who knew of the change request, but not of the rejection. In order to avoid such a situation, rejected change requests should be consistently communicated to stakeholders through which process?
a report performance
b verify scope
c perform integrated change control
d monitor and control risks
4 What is a trigger in project risk management?
a An expected situation causing an unidentified risk to occur
b A warning sign that a previously identified risk might be occurring or has occurred
c An unexpected situation causing an identified risk to occur
d An unexpected situation causing an unidentified risk to occur
1. a) Use all communication methods available that are suitable for the team and follow up in writing when communicating verbally. Remember that cultural and individual diversity may help project teams solving unforeseen problems during the course of the project.
This question is related to importance of communication methods, which is an integral part of a project that has an impact on the success or failure of project delivery. Different communication methods in case of diverse culture is really critical so to avoid any conflict.
2. b) Conflict is natural and forces a search for alternatives.
Conflict is a situation
which arises when a person or a team is not in agreement with other
person or team.
Conflicts are beneficial
and unavoidable but can be minimized by communicating role and
responsibilities to all the team members.
People work together as per
assigned priorities, but the lack of communication between them
related to continuous changes or facts in environment, forms the
basis of conflict
3. c) perform integrated change control
All change requests
should be consistently communicated to all the stakeholders in a
timely manner.
Whenever a change request
is received or suggested or identified, it needs to be logged in
the Change log of the project. Project manager alone cannot do the
impact analysis, inputs from the project team and if required, from
stakeholders are needed. If Change request gets Rejected or
Postponed, the communication is sent to request or / stakeholder
with the reasons of rejection or postponed.
4. b) A warning sign that a previously identified risk might be occurring or has occurred
Trigger condition is a
warning that indicates that the risk is about to
occur.
There are few more terms
like Risk appetite, risk tolerance and risk threshold.
Risk Appetite is the degree
of uncertainty an entity is willing to take on in anticipation of a
reward.
Risk Tolerance is he
degree, amount, or volume of risk that an organization or
individual will withstand.
Risk Threshold is measures
along the level of uncertainty or the level of impact at which a
stakeholder may have a specific interest. Below that risk
threshold, the organization will accept the risk. Above that risk
threshold, the organization will not tolerate the risk.
1 You are project manager in a global project with a team consisting of people from...
In memo format. Scenario: You have been appointed by your manager to be team leader for an important new project. The team involves people from the following countries: China, Germany, India, Italy, and the United States. Your first assignment is to come up with a communication plan. You decide that given the time differences, the team should use email as its primary means of communication. But you know that when people write using email, there can be misunderstandings due to...
10. Bill Zimmer was recently appointed manager of a new project team consisting of professionals from different functional areas of the company. Some of the members have worked with each other before, but several others have not. Help Bill become an effective manager and build a cohesive team. Enlighten him about the self-oriented member concerns and behaviors that might get in the way of team development. Tell him what specific task- and relationship-oriented leadership roles he is likely to need...
In this scenario, you are a manager of a work team in the U.S. Your team is visiting a client in another country where they treat women in the workplace differently. The purpose of your visit is to deliver a presentation of findings (results) from a research project that your team performed, for a fee, for the client. Your team is composed of three employees—two men and one woman. Each team member worked on the research project. When your team...
(TCO 8) Which of these is more characteristic of a manager? Develop new processes Originate State a position Focus on people (TCO 7) Which of these behaviors is best for managing an intercultural project team? Learn alternative means of exchanging information. Classify members of the project team in accordance with popular stereotypes. Foster an atmosphere of inclusivity by ignoring cultural differences. Enter the situation with no knowledge of the local culture and customs to avoid any appearance of bias. (TCO...
(Use the case of “Global Treps”) You have been selected as the project manager for the Global Treps project. You helped to run a local shark tank like event at your college last year as part of a class project, so you have a general idea of what is involved. The schedule goal is six months, and the budget is $120,000. Your favorite professor, Dr. K., and a few of her associates have agreed to fund the project. Your strengths...
As widespread as diverse and dispersed teaming is these days, leading a virtual team can be a challenge. This case study offers ideas on making the best of diverse and dispersed team structures. Virtual teaming, that is, working on teams whose members are not present in the same location, is a fact of our modern, globalized business world. Virtual (or diverse and dispersed) teams are prevalent not only in multinational companies with offices in different countries, but also in academic...
5. Chapter 2 Summary Read the following scenario and then answer the questions about team and intercultural communication in the workplace. Noreen is a creative manager overseeing a project with a team of six members. Noreen’s team is located in Tokyo, and most of the members have worked together before; however, they have a new addition to the team for this project. The new team member is from the company’s Atlanta offices. What is the first step that Noreen should...
Miles Wilder, project manager for the Cybersonic project, considers himself a “project manager’s project manager.” He claims to use the principles of good project management, starting with having a plan and using it to carefully track the project. He announces to his team leaders that status meetings will be held on alternate Mondays throughout the expected year-long project. All 18 project team leaders must attend and give rundowns of the tasks they are currently working on.All the team leaders show...
1 You are the project manager in an engineering project and have recently signed a contract with a software vendor for the development of a complicated control solution. The software will be used to control machinery equipment which your project team is currently developing. The contract is a lump-sum contract. The contractor has target cost estimated which seem rather low to you. Which of the following statements is not true for this situation? a It is the contractor's risk in...
You have been selected as the project manager for the Global Treps project. You helped to run a local shark tank like event at your college last year as part of a class project, so you have a general idea of what is involved. The schedule goal is six months, and the budget is $120,000. Your favorite professor, Dr. K., and a few of her associates have agreed to fund the project. Your strengths are your organizational and leadership skills....