Project Management Methods Report - Management Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

Case Study on Leadership, Communication and Negotiation

The UK construction industry slipped further down in 2016 with construction project profitability decreasing from 2.8% to 2.5% (Glenigan, 2016). Therefore, construction companies need to stick to their plans and estimations as the profit margins are so low. Poor leadership, communication and negotiation skills can lead to disputes arising and misconceptions being created which can further decrease the profit margins. Therefore, methods and theories need to be incorporated within the project to decrease the chances of anything going wrong.

Topic 1 - Leadership 

Leadership is a complex, developing process that’s described in various ways, using different styles, theories and traits. One such description as per Kevin Kruse is ‘leadership is a process of social influence, which maximises the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal’ (Kruse, 2013). Therefore, having effective leadership on a construction project is vital for project success as it requires everyone to collaborate effectively to get the project finished on time, within budget and with the right quality. 

it is important for project managers to be leaders as their ability to lead people has a significant effect on the project. However, the construction industry and educational institutions now focus more on management rather than leadership, therefore, they are producing managers with no leadership skills (Toor and Ofori, 2008). This may be the reason why managers are more involved in the management of activities that achieve short term goals and are focused on the end goal. Whereas leaders would be focused on the means to achieve the end goals and leading their team to achieve long term objectives. 

To fix this, leadership should be taught in educational institutes and in the construction industry to produce more leaders. Once a project manager develops leadership skills, they can then develop the skills of the managers underneath them. Teaching leadership to site managers is also vital as they can affect the project cost by up to 10% (Herbert, Martvall and Wirdenius, 1969). 

Research conducted by the CIOB shows that the two greatest barriers to potential leaders becoming leaders are the lack of opportunities and the organizational culture (CIOB, 2008). Construction companies need to work with the government and other organizations to create opportunities for potential leaders to develop their skills and find a place in the industry. Also, construction companies need to review their organizational culture to help up and coming leaders to reach their full potential and to feel like they belong in the construction industry. The project manager is in the best position to make these changes if they take the leadership mantle, rather than being just a manager (CIOB, 2008). 

Some common challenges that project managers face in construction are listed below with how leadership could solve them (ProofHub, 2018): 

• Poorly defined goals or vision – A leader can bring people together to work towards a common goal or vision. Strong and united teams are the result of a leader communicating the vision clearly and effectively.
• Disagreements due to poor communication – A major part of leadership is to be prepared to communicate effectively with all the various stakeholders at their respective levels (2020 Project management, 2019).
• Repeated unsatisfactory execution – Good leaders advise their followers on how they are performing and what they can do to improve performance.
• Insufficient team skills – A leader can lead by example and show their team how to work as a team and how to improve their team work.

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