The project manager’s job is challenging. He or she must
coordinate technically specialized professionals who often have limited
experience working together- to help them achieve a common goal (Portny,
Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, & Sutton, 2008).The key to successful project
management is effective communication.
Communicating Effectively
We were given three examples of communication and asked
to interpret each one, address factors that influenced how we perceived
the message and which one we thought best conveyed the true intent of the
message. Each message had the same basic meaning. Mark has a report that Jane needs and she is
trying to get in contact with him. If Jane does not receive the report in a
certain time frame she may miss her deadline. In the meantime, Mark is
busy with meetings and his own reports.
The three examples of communication included:
- Email: is different from hard-copy memos and letters in many ways. The primary difference is that people read online text differently than they read hard-copy text (Gerson & Gerson, 2008)
- Phone: a clear voice and correct tone of voice is essential for effective phone communication.
- Face to Face: In-person
and scheduled meetings are always the best for any discussion requiring
true dialogue and consensus (Martin, 2007).
When
Jane delivered the message via email the content was clear and concise and her
tone was polite. I interpreted the email was that Jane needed help.
Jane’s
delivery of the message by phone seemed more anxious. I interpreted her voice
to Mark as he needed to get it together and do his job.
Jane’s
face to face message was polite and friendly.
My interpretation of the message was that she was stating help me so I can help
you.
The
ability to communicate well in writing, orally, and face to face is a critical
skill for project managers. Of
the three forms of communication, I believe the face to face message conveyed
appropriate intent of effective communication. Dr. Stolovitch stated the
following key points, be diplomatic, communication in not just words, avoid
ambiguity, be precise and to the point making sure that everyone understands
what is meant. In my opinion if you want
to connect with someone in the most effective way, you should meet face to face. No other form of communication really takes
the place of face to face interaction; it involves a three of our five senses,
sight, hearing, and touch. Body language
and facial expression play a huge part in communication and can be a big
plus when trying to get your point across.
Email and phone communication are best way to
share material and document informal meetings. It is difficult to solve glitches
in projects through asynchronous forms of communication, such as email and voice-mail. Face-to-Face meetings tend to be a more effective form of
communication when there are project issues or team member conflicts. Formal and informal discussions
with one or two other people about project issues are particularly useful for
interactively exploring and clarifying special issues of interest to a small
number of people ( Portny, et al., 2008).
It
is important to understand how people perceive the message that you are trying
to portray. Regular face to face
meetings can be valuable, if planned and managed effectively. Face to face
meetings can help project manages learn about other team members backgrounds,
experience, and styles; stimulate brainstorming, problem analysis, and decision
making; and provide a forum for people to explore the reasons for and
interpretations of a message (Portny, et al., 2008).
Gerson, S., & Gerson, S. (2008). Technical
communication. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice
Hall.
Martin, C. (2007). The importance of face-to-face
communication at work. Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/article/29898/The_Importance_of_Face_to_Face_Communication_at_Work?page=2&taxonomyId=3154
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S.
M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning,
scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Jarice,
ReplyDeleteI too felt that the face-to-face communication was the best for this type of interaction. Jane was simply giving him a friendly reminder that she needed him to finish his part of the project. I thought the email seemed a bit harsh because of the absence of visual cues like body language, voice tone, etc. Things can be misconstrued very easily when communicating primarily by asynchronous means. My current job involves a lot of asynchronous communication via Skype. My boss told me to use the emoticons freely because many people have gotten their feelings hurt due to misunderstandings. I like to be as clear as possible when communicating so as to avoid unnecessary problems. This is why project teams should communicate face-to-face as much as possible, "project teams should have the opportunity to meet, periodically to reaffirm the project’s focus and keep abreast of activities within and outside the project that affect their work and the project’s ultimate success” (Portny, et al., 2008, p. 365). The meetings can serve as a way to motivate workers, to create unity on a project, or just to discuss issues that teammates may be having.
References
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.