Case Study # $4$

This was the third time someone from the Information Technology $($IT$)$ department tried to work with Ben, the head of the F$-44$ radar upgrade project. The F$-44$ was one of five aircraft programs in the company. The company had program managers in charge of each aircraft program, with several project managers reporting to them. Workers supporting each project were part of a matrix organization, with people from engineering, IT$,$ manufacturing, sales, and other departments allocated as needed to each project.

Ben had been with the company for almost $30$ years, and was known for being $$rough around the edges$$ and very demanding. The company was losing money on the F$-44$ radar upgrade project because the upgrade kits were not being delivered on time. The Canadian government had written severe late$-$penalty fees into its contract, and other customers were threatening to take their business elsewhere. Ben blamed it all on the IT department for not letting his staff access the upgrade project$$s information system directly so they could work with their customers and suppliers more effectively. The information system was based on very old technology that only a couple of people in the company knew how to use. It often took days or even weeks for Ben$$s group to get the information they needed.

Ed Davidson, a senior programmer, attended a meeting with Sarah Ellis, an internal IT business consultant. Sarah was in her early thirties and had advanced quickly in her company, primarily due to her keen ability to work well with all types of people. Sarah$$s job was to uncover the real problems with IT support for the F$-44$ radar upgrade project, and then develop a solution with Ben and his team. If she found it necessary to invest in more IT hardware, software, or staff, Sarah would write a business case to justify these investments and then work with Ed$,$ Ben, and his group to implement the suggested solution as quickly as possible.

Ben and three of his project team members entered the conference room. Ben threw his books on the table and started yelling at Ed and Sarah. Ed could not believe his eyes or ears when Sarah stood nose to nose with Ben and started yelling right back at him.Why do think Sarah started yelling back at Ben? Do you think this is ever an effective strategy? If Ben had charged into your office and started yelling, what would you have done?

Do you think having a good understanding of psychology is necessary to be a good IT project manager? In what ways would you use psychology to make your teams more cohesive and efficient?

Conflict management is often one of the most challenging aspects of leadership. Assess your own conflict management skills. What do you think you could work on in order to be more effective at conflict management?