Confict resolution and confict management are common day-to-day

activities in most projects and ofce environments. As a group, let's

identify the Top 5 sources of confict in a !" agreement for project
management services. #et's identify one source at a time, and discuss
$hether or not each of you feels that it ran%s in the Top 5 sources of
confict. As & read your e'changes, & $ill ma%e a determination as to
$hether or not enough evidence has (een provided to justify its
inclusion into our Top 5 list.
There are many conficting situations or confict that arises in a BPO agreement
for project management services. One of the primary sources of confict arises
from the diferent understanding or mis-interpretation of the contracts terms or
clauses. For example there could !e situation "hen the parties decided to
implement a technology system to support the re#uirement as stated in the
contract. The !uyer "ants the vendor to purchase the technical system that he
recommends !ut the vendor disagrees or feels other"ise. The technology has
!ecome o!solete from the !uyer$s point of vie" !ut the vendor insists upon the
older technology as it has re#uired s%ills and expertise in the older technology
only. This can surely create a confict as !uyer "ouldn$t li%e to invest in o!solete
technology as it "ould ma%e them less competitive in the mar%et place.
& also thin% that scheduling is pro!a!ly one of the toughest o!ligations of most
project managers. 'e might thin% that it is easy to esta!lish a schedule for the
many appointments tas%s and other "or% !ut it is actually the other "ay
around. (ext in the list is project priorities )*cope+. Because managers need to
attend to the projects of the organi,ation sometimes confict arises "hen not all
projects are given attention and importance.
One of the ones & "ould li%e to !ring to the ta!le "ould !e misinterpretation of
terms listed in the contract.
The top conficts in a BPO agreement "ill !e -ustomer *atisfaction or -ost.
.fter all the entire project is a!out the satisfaction of the customer. & am sure
that too many projects ends up in a confict due to something that the customer
is not satisfy a!out and if it is not the *cope it is a!out the -ost.
*cope of services could !e one of the top / sources of confict !y each party
misunderstanding "hose responsi!ility of service is given to contractors or the
customer.
& thin% everyone response is valid in "hat can !e a top / confict. & "ith you
0onavan in !elieving the scope of services is at the top of the list "hen it comes
to a confict on a project. & thin% you should have a understanding "hen the
project start and "ho "ould !e responsi!le for each tas%. 1ach contractor should
%no" their assignment and should !e a!le to complete on time.
-ustomer *atisfaction and -ost are some of the top conficts in BPO agreements.
2ou must ma%e sure you satisfy the customer. 3emem!er customers are al"ays
right is "hat & "as taught "hen & "as younger. & agree -ustomer *atisfaction
should !e at the top "hen conficts arise in the BPO agreements. -ustomer
satisfaction "ith the BPO agreement comes to many changes to the BPO
agreement to satisfy !oth parties.
One of the top areas of confict is "ho has responsi!ility for correcting errors or
mista%es made in the execution of the terms of the contract. For example if the
net"or% administration is Outsourced and there is an outage internet issue then
there can !e a confict over "ho is responsi!le for correcting the pro!lem. &s it
the support team for the soft"are or the support team for the net"or% hard"are4
-ustomers may not %no" "ho to call exactly and if there is not a clearly
esta!lished protocol to !egin "ith this can lead to confict. .nother possi!le
point that should !e covered in the negotiation is "ho has 5nancial
responsi!ility for failure to hit the !enchmar%s for the contract and "here those
lines start and end. 6nless it is clearly spelled out ahead of time this can !e a
point of confict. .ny part of the contract that one side feels puts them at a
disadvantage can !e a potential point of confict even if the terms are clear and
o!eyed it may still cause friction
& thin% that another top source of confict in a BPO agreement for project
management services is time-sensitive issues. Theses issues could !e around
delivery - services or products that need to !e delivered !y a certain time forms
that need to !e completed out and su!mitted in a timely manner )reports or
taxes+. &f a company is depending on a vendor to su!mit a service or product on
time it can jeopardi,e the company if the vendor is late.
To !egin "ith you cannot resolve "hat is not expressly disputed. &f you are
feeling aggrieved then you must 5rst register your disagreement "ith the
opposing party. 'hat is the next step4 0o not go straight to your solicitor or
start contacting the ar!itrators named in the contract to see if they are availa!le.
&nstead stand !ac% ta%e a deep !reath perhaps s"allo" some pride and then
contact your opposite num!er. 0iscuss the pro!lem calmly and o!jectively. Often
one or !oth parties feel so !adly done !y that they cannot ta%e a dispassionate
vie" of the pro!lem. &f you 5nd yourself in this position do not stop trying 7 it is
far easier cheaper and #uic%er to resolve the dispute in this "ay. .s% your
commercial manager director or senior partner to contact his or her opposite
num!er. (ine times out of ten a resolution "ill come from such an action and a
8commercial9 settlement "ill often result.
&n a project management a top confict "ould !e scheduling. One tas% of the
project manager is to %eep the contractors on schedule. &f one group falls
!ehind that puts the others !ehind. .djusting the schedule on paper isnt that
di:cult !ut in a construction project adjusting deliveries and installations due to
the electricians not having the "iring complete on time can create a !igger
issue. The project manager has to resolve this #uic%ly to %eep the project from
!ecoming stymied and to %eep the contractors from standing around.
*cheduling is de5nitely a !ig ris% and can cause many conficts during a project.
*cheduling can also cause issues in a BPO agreement. The agreement has a
schedule of events thirteen to !e exact as per our text )see !elo" for the list+.
(o" all of these tas%s must !e performed "ithin the proposed timeline given to
management ranging from a fe" months to a couple of years. *cheduling these
tas%s can !e very di:cult and if one tas%s is holding up another for example if
the 3F&$s have not !een received on time then this "ill cause a confict "ith the
entire process.
*cheduling is one of the top conficts. &f you don$t plan ahead you "ill not !e
ontime and you "on$t meet the project schedule. (ot meeting the project
schedule "ill cause you to !egin to loose money on the jo!.
-ontract scope "ould pro!a!ly !e the !iggest confict along "ith the project
deadline. -onficts can arise over the deadline depending "hat conditions caused
the project to !e late. The vendor and the !uyer can have diferent vie"points on
"hat may have delayed the project and the costs associated "ith it !eing late.
On my jo! "e run into the scope of "or% !eing a pro!lem "ith our
su!contractors at times. *cheduling is very important on a jo!. 'e often 5nd
that our vendors or su!contractors leave something out of there pricing and "e
have a confict "ith them a!out that.
Can personality and cultural di)erences (e a source of confict*
&nterpersonal confict is the most apparent form of confict for "or%place
participants. &t is easy enough to o!serve the results of o:ce politics gossip and
rumours. .lso language and personality styles often clash creating a great deal
of confict in the "or%place. &n many "or%places there are strong ethno-cultural
and racial sources of confict as "ell as gender confict. This may lead to charges
of harassment and discrimination or at least the feeling that such things exist.
People often !ring their stresses from home into the o:ce leading to further
confict. .n additional source of "or%place confict can !e found in varying ideas
a!out personal success. The strong drive for "or% related achievement in some
participants can clash "ith participants "ho do not emphasi,e "or%-related
success in their lives.
Personality diferences and culture can surely !e a source for confict especially
in a glo!al contract "hen host country !usiness practices include !ri!ery
nepotism and other such practices prevalent in their culture. The !usiness
!ehaviour of paying !ri!es for favoura!le treatment may arise !ecause of
diferent moral values or principles. Terms such as child la!or and gender
discrimination may !e di:cult to de5ne "ithout considering the circumstances in
the host country. .sian or ;apanese culture is #uite diferent than .merican
culture. &n ;apanese culture team "or% is emphasi,ed a lot "here contract
dispute resulting out of contract$s scope<activities are tac%led diferently !y
ta%ing vie"<inputs of the entire team consisting of peers su!ordinates and
management.
Personality and cultural diferences can de5nitely !e a source of confict !ecause
"e can ofend someone "ithout %no"ing that "e ofended them. *ome customs
are accepta!le in our country doesn$t necessarily mean that they are accepta!le
"orld-"ide. -ultural diferences and personalities are a sensitive topic !ecause
everyone is so diferent in his<her perspectives and actions. 1xtract cultural
diferences from the e#uation--"e in the 6* are pro!a!ly some of the most
diverse and accepting nations around the glo!e and "e *T&== have personality
conficts. & thin% that most of us try to !e sensitive a!out our actions so that "e
do not hurt others !ut there are al"ays some people out there that cannot
accept "ill not and "on$t even try to accept others... &t may !e their personality
or their culture.
& can see personality de5nitely !eing a source of confict. &n my experiences it9s
!een the over aggressive pushy type "ho cause the most pro!lems. This type of
personality seems to ru! team mem!ers the "rong "ay and eventually the team
"ill turn on them in one "ay or another. &t is good to !e a strong person and get
your thoughts out !ut if you run over people none "ill do a good jo! for you or in
some cases actually refuse to "or% "ith you.
&t depends on the project and the people "or%ing it. *ure it can !e a pro!lem if
the people "ho are "or%ing together are not open to diferences. & have "or%ed
a lot "ith non-1nglish spea%ing people !ut al"ays attempted to esta!lish some
form of communication. They had diferent "ays of doing things and "ere much
older than me !ut & al"ays %ept an open mind and respected any diferences. &t
is inevita!le to not "or% "ith people "ith a diference of personalities. 2ou can
choose not to ac%no"ledge them or treat them diferently !ut it "ill only
perpetuate the situation.
"or%ing in the technology 5eld & too have "or%ed "ith many >1nglish as a second
language> co"or%ers. Often these co"or%ers do have a diferent "ay of doing
things !ut in my 5eld they often run laps around the 1nglish spea%ing co"or%ers
"hen it comes to technology. This may !e completely stereotypical !ut "hen &
here my programmers name and it is not a standard 1nglish name & tend to ta%e
a sigh of relief. The majority of my code defects have come from 1nglish
spea%ing programmers "hich is very interesting to me as they do not have a
language !arrier to overcome "hen attempting to understand the re#uirements.
&t can !e a large source of confict. & "ill go !ac% to the previous example &
!rought up in the idea that in &taly !usiness often closes for the middle of the
afternoon and then re-opens in the evening. 'here here in the 6.*. the
accepted practice is to open in the morning and "or% straight through till
evening "ith a short lunch !rea% around noon time. The expectation for there to
either !e a long afernoon !rea% or not could cause confict.
.s to personality & am sure "e all have encountered people "ho are just
>annoying.> &t is not anything that one or the other person does purposely. For a
person "ho is naturally #uiet or introverted !eing paired "ith someone "ho is
very outgoing and e!ulant can !e a source of confict. 1ven if !oth .re "or%ing
to get along.
0e5nitely personality conficts happen in many diferent instances project
management is no exception. One personality confict that may cause an issue
is those that "ant it all there "ay or nothing. This "ill cause confict !ecause
there is no a!ility to !rainstorm or give other opinions.
& thin% it goes "ithout saying that culture can play a %ey role in !eing a source of
confict in a BPO agreement. For example many companies are no" trying to
tap into the tremendous resources that &ndia no" has. .nd in order to do so
these companies trying to enter into the &ndian mar%et often "ill partner "ith a
domestic company to help them garner the necessary regulatory approvals
necessary. &n doing so they might fail to reali,e that sometimes "hen a 'estern
client says that they need a solution in a couple days !ut the domestic 5rm
thin%s it "ill ta%e longer the domestic 5rm$s culture is to still commit to their
client9s expectations. They have a natural tendency to !e nice and not push
!ac%. .s a result they might not !e a!le to meet expected deadlines or they
might actually meet the deadline "ith su!standard results. The end result might
!e a strained relationship due to this lac% of understanding of one another$s
cultures.
& !elieve personality can !e a source of confict especially if the !uyer did not
chec% the seller9s reputation. The 3F? could have also !een used to o!tain
!ac%ground information "hich could have avoided the personality confict. .s far
as the cultural diferences in most cases it has not resulted as a source of
confict. & !elieve it is more of a source of misunderstanding the "ay of life
!elief tradition and la"s of another country. &f culture "as highly considered in
outsourcing at the end there "ill !e no misunderstanding !ecause !oth !uyer
and seller "ould have understood "hat they need to do to ma%e a successful
team. . culture confict to me is an individual personal confict "ho recogni,es
that he<she o"n uni#ue !elief has !ecome so far from others that he cannot
resist !ut to see another "ay of life in repulsion or confusion. @ost large
organi,ation "ould consider this a mere misunderstanding and not a confict.
Personality and cultural diferrences can !e a %ey factor and a source of confict.
'e are all human and are very opinianted our opinions may not !e the opinions
of others...so in situations such as this it is over"helimg trying to gear everyone
in a group to thin% li%e you and accept "hat you thin% is right. This is a tas% !ut
if the right group thin%ing methods are used then it surly can !e made a positive
in soon enough time.
-ultural diferences can !e a shoc% especially if the BPO is in another country &t
"ill !e hard to understand the "or% ethics in another country although in the 6*
the used of diversity in teams is highly recommended in team confict studes
sho" that there are !eter outcomes "ith these types of teams.
Personality and cultural diferences can a!solutely !e a source of confict one
"hich & have experienced 5rst hand over the last t"o years since moving into a
ne" role. .s & have !een part of the same division of my organi,ation for the last
AB years )gro"ing into diferent roles+ & have earned a lot of respect from my
peers and management. 'hen & accepted a ne" role an .sian man "as hired to
5ll my old role- %no"ing that the old role too% a lot of !ac%ground %no"ledge &
ofered to continue "or%ing "ith him for some time to ensure he "as getting up
to speed. 6nfortunately my ne" manager had to put an end to that "hen the
associate )let$s call him 1d+ started !ad-mouthing me to vendors & have "or%ed
"ith for a!out C years. They "ere contacting mine and >1d$s> !oss to alert them
of the issues they "ere experiencing "ith >1d>. >1d> "ould spea% over me "hen
& spo%e "ould not ever ma%e eye contact "ith me and refused to ta%e any
direction from me- even though our roles re#uire "e "or% together.
&s unclear roles and responsi(ilities one of the top +ve sources of
confict in a project or contract*
& cant 5nd the exact ans"er !ut & "ould say it is. Dno"ing your part "ithin a
project or team is very important. *ome goals cannot !e completed "ithout
!eing divvyed up and having multiple people assigned to the divvyed up tas%s.
By %no"ing your tas% and concentrating on that you are moving the porject
fo"ard and helping the team to"ards success.
Though if you are not completing the ta%s assigned to you or "orse "or%ing on
a tas% assigned to someone else it "ill cause a slo"do"n in the entire proccess.
& "ould have to say so "hen a person is not sure of their role or position they
tend to ma%e their o"n role and or position and that could lead to confict.
another reason it could !e cause confict is !ecause "hen a person isnt sure
a!out their role they might just do enough to get !y and leave everyone out to
dry.
That's true, ,nclear roles and responsi(ilities can lead to chaos and
should (e listed among the top +ve resources of confict. ,nde+ned
roles and responsi(ilities ma%e it difcult to determine $ho is
responsi(le for $hat. Too many leaders and not enough follo$ers can
lead to a lac% of productivity and lost of control. A ship $ithout a
captain is (ound to go o) course. -e+ning roles and responsi(ilities
allo$s for e)ective communication, and hence (etter management.


.greed "ithout any roles<responsi!ilities numerous issues arise "ithin projects
"hich is "hy it is %ey that they are declared !y the project manager. 'hen &
"or%ed as a defense contract & "itnessed a !rea% do"n "ithin the
roles<responsi!ilities "ithin our contract this !rea% do"n caused monumental
pro!lems amongst many of the technicians "or%ing on the project. @any of the
issues stemmed from simple communications issues there "ere also issues
"ithin the tic%et trac%ing system "e utili,ed. But from that experience & learned
that communication is %ey to a projects success as "ell as a prede5ned chain of
command that sho"s "ho is doing "hat.
& am a 5rm !eliever in the chain of command style of management. &t ma%es a
project run a lot smoother "hen everyone %no"s "ho is responsi!le for exactly
"hat and "ho to go directly to "hen a situation arises. & have "or%ed on
projects "ith a chain of command and some "ithout. The projects "ithout
clearly de5ned roles for the "or%ers "ere some"hat disastrous. 1very time
there "as an issue "e could only rely on calling the o"ner of the company to let
him decide on "hat to do. Those situations "ould eat a"ay at time spent
"aiting to 5gure out "hat to do. 1ventually & gained enough experience to
5gure out roles and responsi!ilities the 5rst day on the jo!.
&s lac% of leadership one of the top +ve sources of confict* .hat do
you thin%*
& feel in some "ays lac% of leadership can !e a source to some conficts. &n any
project ususally the leader is the one directed "hat the project is and passing all
necessary inormation to the team. &magine if there is a lac% of leadership and the
team is left "ith uncertaintity is can de5natley create and stir up confict
amongst a confused team. This "ouldnt !e num!er souce of confict !ut it can
!e up there in importance.
=ac% of leadership can de5netly !e a source of confict. & do not thin% it$s a top /.
&f the project manager or contract manager do not have control of their team this
can certainly cause issues. ho"ever the project manager is in charge and the
project should refect "hat$s !est for the company and put egos aside.
For any organ,iation or project there needs to !e a leader that sets the direction
for the company and esta!lishes the goals and o!jectives. Poor leadership "ould
de5nitly impact the success of the project and play a factor in many situations of
confict.
& !elieve lac% of leadership in itself may not create confict. Eo"ever the lac% of
leadership "ould certainly create a lot of opportunity for confict. 'hen the
oversight on a project is lac%ing then mista%es "ill !e made in the contract terms
and the execution of the contract. This "ill lead to an unfavora!le outcome "hen
confict does arise.


&f there is no leadership the project "ill not !e completed. The "or%ers "ill not
have any direction and no one to guide them "hen #uestions arise. There "ill
al"ays !e #uestions and !umps. 'ithout good leadership a small !ump "ill
derail the "hole project.
& "ill thin% that leadership is one of the top 5ve sources of confict. =eadership
and management are closely related !ut diferent in so many "ays. . person can
!e a good leader !ut a !ad manager. &t is al"ays a plus to possess !oth
characteristics. . good leader must !e a!le to motivate empo"er and
encourage participation amongst the people he<she leads. Eis responsi!ilities are
to infuence and shape the goals of his project "hile also de5ning the culture of
his organi,ation. &f any of these characteristics are missing then there is an
invitation for confict. Eere is a #uote that & al"ays remem!er !y (elson
@andela a former president of *outh .frica F&t is "ise to persuade people to do
things and ma%e them thin% it "as their o"n ideaG. . leader must !e a!le to do
such a thing.
& agree that lac% of leadership should !e one of the Top / sources of confict. .n
example of such "ould !e a project manager or leader "ho lac%ed good
interpersonal s%ills or people s%ills. These leaders are typically una!le to deal
"ith their team and as such any issues that may arise "ithin their group. They
lac% the a!ility to relate to the people also lac% sensitivity and tact in dealing
"ith them. Thus they may use a poor choice of "ords have poor listening s%ills
and often have inappropriate expression of facial and !ody gestures or !ody
language. =eaders "ith these characteristics often lead projects in "hich their
people are resentful and conficts are more li%ely to generate.
=ac% of leadership is a source of confict in a contract situation as
contract<project "or% "ill al"ays have conficting situation and it is al"ays
important as ho" those conficts are handled and conficts are resolved. =ot of
times it re#uires escalations and top management<leaders of the organi,ation
have to pitch in to resolve those situations. &n addition to that leadership shares
the vision of the organi,ation<project and sends out the communication to all the
project sta%eholders. &f the leadership is not strong they might send out
conficting and misaligned communication "hich adds to confusion and may
hamper the progress of the project.
=ac% of leadership may not !e as !ig to categori,e as top 5ve !ut it is an
important source of confict in projects. 1go and self-esteem of team mem!ers
!ring unnecessary complications and extra "or% for the project managers to deal
"ith it. . good leader "ould ta%e "hatever action necessary to smooth out the
confict even !efore it surfaces.
& have also experienced 5rsthand on conficting over deadline. One department
set a schedule<due date for a phase of a project "ithout chec%ing "ith my
department to see if the goal "as realistic or feasi!le. 'e ended up having to
change the deadline !ecause it "as not feasi!le at all for my department. This
"as pure evidence of a lac% of communication. *o scheduling conficts are
de5nitely some"here at the top of the list.

-oes unclear o(jective fall under poor communications, "/ does it
stand on its o$n t$o feet*
& !elieve that an unclear o!jective stands on its o"n t"o feet. &f the o!jective is
not clear from the !eginning !efore the process starts then it "ill !e carried
through the entire BPO contracting process creating a sno"!all efect of
pro!lems. &t "ould have an impact on selecting a vendor choosing a contract
setting !enchmar%s etc. &t is very important to have a clear o!jective right from
the start.
& "ill say !oth !ecause most often poor communication does lead to unclear
o!jectives. Eo"ever at times the failed o!jective could !e independent of poor
communication. .n example is "here the scope of a project has a deadline in
plain !lac% and "hite "ith dates time !ut ideas that only ma%e sense to
management. They have explained in full details ho" this deadline "ill !e met
!ut !ecause of the lac% of logistics to achieve this goal the deadline stands on
its o"n and the o!jective is not met. & must note that this does not happen too
often. Eo"ever poor communication has led to not only unclear o!jectives
"ithin a project !ut also unsuccessful planning leading organi,ing and
controlling. 1mployees get 5red and E3 is una!le to explain in sensi!le terms the
legitimate reason !ehind the 5ring.
& agree that & thin% unclear o!jectives does stand on its o"n feet and also may
fall under the guise of poor communications. &t is the jo! of the project manager
to provide clear direction to the team. Eo"ever "ithout clear o!jectives it "ould
!e hard for the P@ to provide clear direction. Thus the P@ might !e a little
am!iguous in his direction to the team. That am!iguity could !e seen as poor
communications !y those receiving the directions. Eo"ever it is most li%ely due
to the fact that there aren$t clear o!jectives to"ards "hich the P@ is trying to
reach "ith the project. &n a good project "ith clear o!jectives the P@ provides
direction at every step of the project so each team leader %no"s "hat$s
expected. .nd in those projects efective communication to everyone involved in
the project is crucial to its successful completion.
6nclear o!jective and goal can !e very pro!lematic for the project as it "ould
cause the decision ma%ing to go "rong "hich can create a "hole set of pro!lems
for the project. &t stands on its o"n !ut it also imply that unclear o!jective "ould
lead to misleading and conficting communication do"n the line and "ould
create a "hole lot of issues in the project. 6nclear o!jective often lead to
schedule lapses and unnecessary delays in the project and can impact the
overall project schedule.
6nclear o!jectives fall under poor communications. Projects sometimes fail due
to improper communication. This happens fre#uently "ith &T projects. @y ex-
employer "as going through a system change one year. Because complex &T
projects often involve large amount of analysis and "or% the project teams "ere
so !usy. *ome &T project managers did not communicate progress regularly "ith
their supervisor !ecause they !elieved that every thing "as in progress and not
much to report. *ix months later "hen they found out the course of the project
deviated from the o!jective too much it "as too late.
There are numerous methods for resolving a dispute. 0ome methods
are formal, $hile others are informal and are tailored to the needs of
the dispute. .hat are the Contract -ispute /esolution methods that
you can thin% of*
To %eep things running smoothly it is !est to resolve #uic%ly. For our !ig
projects "e meet every t"o "ee%s and go over the schedule in an open forum
type meeting. The contractors can tal% "ith each other and resolve any issues
right there.
=itigation is the traditional "ay of formally resolving a dispute that parties are
una!le to resolve on their o"n. =itigation is the process of resolving a dispute
through the court system "hich commences "hen one party the Plaintif 5les a
-omplaint against another party the 0efendant.
The most common forms of .lternative 0ispute 3esolution are .r!itration or
@ediation. .r!itration involves the resolution of a dispute through the issuance
of an a"ard !y a single ar!itrator or an ar!itration panel. .r!itration is similar to
litigation in that all parties "ill present their factual and legal arguments to a
decision ma%er "ho "ill issue an a"ard "hich is intended to !e a 5nal
resolution of the dispute. @ediation is a non-!inding strictly voluntary entirely
con5dential process "hich uses the assistance of a third party neutral a
mediator to achieve a settlement of the dispute. @ediation is fexi!le process
that can !e tailored to the needs of the parties and the dispute. @ediation
involves the mutual agreement of all parties to enter into the mediation and the
mutual selection of the mediator. The mediator has no authority to !ind the
parties and merely facilitates resolution of disputes through the exchange of
information and settlement negotiations.
The parties to a dispute can agree to any method of resolution and often
contracts spell out a resolution process. 'hen agreeing to a dispute resolution
process "hether it is in the contract negotiation stage or after the dispute has
arisen each party must "eigh the !ene5ts and limitations of each availa!le
dispute resolution techni#ue. .ll alternative methods of dispute resolution are
voluntary and must !e agreed to !y all parties. Therefore they are often more
successful methods of resolving a dispute in a timely and cost efective manner.
=itigation is a formal "ay to resolve disputes that often has to !e used !y the
contractor and !uyer. Eo"ever litigation causes many pro!lems !et"een the
t"o and can lead to lost time and money on the project. &t "ould !e !est to use
informal methods to resolve disputes as long as they can !e agreed upon !y
!oth parties involved. =itigation can also lead to !itter rivalries and hurt feelings
!et"een the contractor and !uyer. This "ould potentially %ill any "or% for the
contractor in the future from the !uyer. &t "ould !e in the !est interest to resolve
any contractual issues "ithout litigation. @ediation and ar!itration are great
alternatives to help avoid any negative efects from contract disputes.
& thin% that as a group "e have done a pretty good jo! at de5ning some primary
sources of conficts in projects or procurement contracts. The four confict
sources "e mutually agreed "ith are as follo"sH
)I+ Poor -ommunications
)J+ =ac% of =eadership
)K+ 3esource availa!ility<=ac% of 3esources
)L+ 6nclear 3oles and 3esponsi!ilities
The 5fth one could !e any of these others "e have identi5edH unclear goals and
priorities schedules<milestones lac% of change management is also another one
to consider.