1. Project Management: Managing POLITICS
Al Maaref University
Seminar Series
Project Management: Managing POLITICS
Dr. Hussin J. Hejase
Spring 2017

2. Role of the Project Manager
Defines the organizational structure of the project
Directs and controls all work performed within the framework of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
Has the authority for WBS element's task assignment; control and assigns budgets; and master project schedules.
Makes final decisions on tradeoff studies, and task changes within the contract statement of work.
Is responsible for daily communications and formal project reviews with both the customer and his/her senior management.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

3. Project Vs Functional Managers
The project manager acts as the advocate for the project in each of the functional departments that do work on it.
Functional managers are most concerned about meeting their departmental goals.
The project manager is most concerned with the success of the project.
These two sets of goals may not necessarily coincide, thus resulting in a conflict of interests between project and functional managers.
Compromises and accommodations must be frequently made.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

4. Project Vs Functional Managers
The project manager measures his/her success by how well he/she can negotiate with both upper-level and functional management for the resources necessary to achieve the project objective.
The managerial skills he/she requires for successful performance may be drastically different from those of his/her functional management counterparts.
The difficult aspect of the project management environment is that the individuals at the project-functional interface must report to two bosses.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

5. Project Vs Functional Managers
Functional managers and project managers treat their people in different fashions depending upon their “management school” philosophies.
The project manager must motivate functional representatives toward project dedication on the horizontal line using management system theory and quantitative tools.
The functional manager, however, expresses more concern for the individual needs of the employee using the traditional or behavioral schools of management.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

6. Summary: Project Vs Functional Managers
Phenomena Project viewpoint Functional viewpoint
1- Line-Staff Vestiges of the hierarchal line functions have direct
Organizational model remain: the line responsibility for accomplishing
Dichotomy functions are placed in a the objectives; line commands,
support position and staff advices.
2- Superior Peer-to-peer, relationships important business is conducted
Subordinate are used to conduct much through a pyramiding structure of
Relationship of the salient business superiors and subordinates.
3- Parity of Considerable opportunity consistent with functional
Authority and exists for the project management; the integrity of the
Responsibility manager’s responsibility superior-subordinate relationship
to exceed his/her authority. is maintained through functional
authority and advisory staff services.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

7. Linear Responsibility Chart (LRC)
During the planning phase the project team develops a responsibility matrix that contains elements such as: general management responsibility, operations management responsibility, specialized responsibility…..
The responsibility matrix is often referred to as a linear responsibility chart (LRC).
LRCs identify the participants, and to what degree an activity will be performed or a decision will be made.
The LRC attempts to clarify the authority relationships that can exist when functional units share common work.
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8. Linear Responsibility Chart
HjHejase Project Management Politics

9. Project Manager’s Competencies
Project managers must get jobs done through the use of interpersonal influence.
There are five interpersonal influences:
Formal authority
Reward authority
Penalty power
Expert power
Referent power
HjHejase Project Management Politics

10. HjHejase Project Management Politics
Project Vs Functional Boundaries
Conflicts exist at the project/functional interface regardless of how hard we attempt to structure the work.
Authority and responsibility relationships can vary from project to project.
In general, however, there does exist a relatively definable boundary between the project and functional manager.
This interface can be defined by the following relationships:
Project manager:
What is to be done?
When will the task be done?
Why will the task be done?
How much money is available to do the task?
How well has the total project been done?
Functional manager:
Who will do the task?
Where will the task be done?
How will the task be done?
How well has the functional input been integrated into the project?
HjHejase Project Management Politics

11. Political behavior in organizations
One common influence on behavior is politics and political behavior.
Political behavior describes activities carried out for the specific purpose of acquiring, developing, and using power and other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes.
Political behavior may be undertaken by managers dealing with their subordinates, subordinates dealing with their managers, and managers and subordinates dealing with others at the same level. In other words, it may be directed upward, downward or laterally.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

12. HjHejase Project Management Politics
Political behavior in organizations
Individuals may engage in political behavior to further their own ends, to protect themselves from others, to further goals they sincerely believe to be in the organization’s best interest, or simply to acquire and exercise power.
Research has identified four basic forms of political behavior widely practiced in organizations:
Inducement: which occurs when a manager offers to give something to someone else in return for that individual’s support.
Persuasion :which relies on both emotion and logic.
The creation of an obligation
Coercion: which is the use of force to get one’s way.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

13. HjHejase Project Management Politics
Mangers can handle political behavior so that it does not do excessive damage.
First, managers should be aware that even if their actions are not politically motivated, others may assume that they are.
Second, by providing subordinates with autonomy, responsibility, challenge, and feedback, managers reduce the likelihood of political behavior by subordinates.
Third, managers should avoid using power if they want to avoid charges of political motivation.
Fourth, managers should get disagreements out in the open so that subordinates will have less opportunity for political behavior, using conflict for their own purposes.
Finally, managers should avoid covert activities
HjHejase Project Management Politics

14. HjHejase Project Management Politics
Criticism at its best
There are five simple rules for delivering "criticism at its best":
1.  Think it through before you say something. Don't just shoot from the lip.
2.  Criticize in private (and praise in public).
3.  Respond to problems in a timely fashion (otherwise known as "nip the problem in the bud") and take only one point at a time.
4.  Criticize without comparison.
5.  Criticize with specificity, not labels.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

15. HjHejase Project Management Politics
Sources of Conflict
The seven potential sources of conflict are:
Conflict over Project Priorities
Conflict over Administrative Procedures
Conflict over Technical Opinions and Performance Trade-offs
Conflict over Manpower Resources
Conflict over Cost
Conflict over Schedules
Personality Conflict
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16. Relative Intensity Of Conflict Over the Life Cycle Of Projects
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17. five conflict resolution modes:
A number of research studies indicate that managers’ approach conflicts by utilizing
five conflict resolution modes:
Withdrawal: retreating or withdrawing from an actual or potential disagreement.
Smoothing: de-emphasizing or avoiding areas of difference and emphasizing areas of agreement.
Compromising: bargaining and searching for solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to the parties in a dispute. Characterized by a “give-and-take” attitude.
Forcing: exerting one’s viewpoint at the potential expense of another. Often characterized by competitiveness and a win/lose situation.
Confrontation: facing the conflict directly which involves a problem-solving approach whereby affected parties work through their disadvantages.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

18. Understanding superior, subordinate, and functional conflicts
Project managers seek effectiveness. Then an understanding of how to work with the various employees who must interface with the project is necessary.
Employees include upper-level management, subordinate project team members, and functional personnel.
The project manager must demonstrate ability for continuous adaptability by creating a different working environment with each group of employees.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

19. Understanding The type and Intensity of Conflicts
Vary with the type of employee whom the project manager must interface with.
Both conflict causes and sources are rated according to relative conflict intensity.
Any conflict that the project manager has with a functional manager can also occur with the functional employee, and vice versa.
Therefore, for the project manager to be truly effective, he or she should understand not only what types of conflicts are possible in the various stages of the life cycle, but with whom these conflicts can occur and how to deal with them effectively.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

20. Recommendations from a Lebanese Project Manager
If you are not given the authority to manage project resources, then you need to arrange a meeting with those stakeholders who do have the authority to "make things happen.“
One secret to help hold people accountable for project tasks is to ensure that they clearly understand that you will be providing feedback into their yearly performance reviews.
Once project members understand they are being held accountable, you’ll have to ensure that your team members will be able to complete these responsibilities.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

21. HjHejase Project Management Politics
Recommendations from a Lebanese Project Manager to enable a project’s success
Provide leadership and interpersonal skills: On any project, it’s people and not plans that make successful projects. It’s crucial that project managers are responsible for providing the leadership and effective interpersonal skills between all project stakeholders.
Provide good communication: Clearly effective project communication is critical for relaying expectations and feedback among stakeholders throughout the entire project life cycle entire project life cycle.
Manage the entire project plan: Project managers must track and monitor the overall project schedule as planned. Daily issues and risks should be documented and resolved expeditiously. Don’t think of quick wins and manage the plan only once in a while. That won’t work. Instead, manage on a daily basis and your job will be more rewarding.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

22. HjHejase Project Management Politics
Recommendations from a Lebanese Project Manager to enable a project’s success
Assess project performance: As project manager, you should be able to identify and collect daily assessments and metrics of your project performance on a regular basis. This should allow you to measure whether you are ahead or on track with the planned schedule, budget, and specification. Any indication of a deviation for each deliverable must be immediately corrected.
Manage project scope: Ensure that you are able to track and manage all changes on the project, in order to deliver what was originally scoped out in the first place.
Exceeding your project management authority can be very easy if you are not provided with a clear “delegation of duties” from your project sponsor. This should clearly describe exactly what authority you’d have as a project manager.
If company executives want improved project delivery results, the only way to achieve this is to provide project managers the authority they need and hold them accountable for the results.
HjHejase Project Management Politics

23. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION
HjHejase Project Management Politics

24. HjHejase Project Management Politics
Readings
Gianniris, Demetrios (2010, August 24). Learning to Navigate Project Management Politics: Part 1. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
Gianniris, Demetrios (2010, August 26). Learning to Navigate Project Management Politics: Part 2. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
Myers, Dale (2012, July 9). Corporate Politics for Project Managers 101. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from
Symonds, Michelle (2013, February 19). Dealing with the Politics in Project Management. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
Wood, Michael (2012, April 30). When Projects and Politics Collide. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from
HjHejase Project Management Politics