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Abstract
This is a case study of a failed Department of Defense (DOD) project, even though it was fully justified and badly needed. Project management within the DOD is a complicated process. Projects are beset by the agenda of various stakeholders within the DOD organizational structure. When this occurs, strong project management leadership is necessary for success. This paper analyzes the potential causes of the project failure resulting from the three domains of organizational conflict, and identifies lessons learned from the failure via a conflict management perspective. Lessons learned are presented to facilitate the management of interpersonal-based, task-based, and process-based conflicts on the part of project managers and project sponsors, thus increasing the likelihood of successful project management outcomes. This case study fills a void in the project management literature by examining the relationship between the three dimensions of organization conflict and the increase in various project costs, and then offering a Project-Conflict Management Framework.
Introduction
Project management within the United States Department of Defense (DOD) has been aptly described as the one of the world's most complicated processes. Completion of projects may require several years, and they can be difficult to manage under the best of circumstances. If organizational conflict is superimposed upon the normal project management difficulties, successful project outcomes are rendered immensely more difficult. The complexity of DOD projects stems from the fact that various stakeholders from above and below are likely to besiege the project manager. From above, there are the senior financial executives whose jobs consist of constantly re-allocating resources. More specifically, they typically re-allocate funds that have been awarded to a project manager for his or her program. Within the DOD, the complexity also stems from the appearance or perception that there have been times when the re-allocation of funds has been done without any regard for national security or for those military missions that might be of strategic importance to the military.
From below, there are the departmental or organizational managers who are vested in protecting their own interests in the project, whether directly or indirectly. Often times, these managers consider the authority and latitude for independent action accorded by senior DOD management to the project manager to be an encroachment upon their authority. Along with...