1) How do we create a partnership between the project manager and line managers when the project manager focuses only on the best interest of his or her project and the line manager is expected to make impartial company decisions?

2. Who should have more of a say during negotiations for resources: the project manager or the line manager?
3. How should irresolvable conflicts over staffing between project and line managers be handled?

4. Should an external customer have a say in project staffing?

5. How do we remove an employee who is not performing as expected?

6. Should project managers negotiate for people or deliverables?

Answer:

1. How do we create a partnership between the project manager and line managers when project manager focus only on the best interest of his or her project and the line manager is expected to make impartial company decisions?

A partnership can not be established when the desires of one party are self-serving. The project manager needs to understand that their money come from organizations on site. The line managers must realize that the project's progress would offer the line managers new tools and resources to use during daily functions. There is reciprocal interdependence between the two. The project manager must develop a good relationship with the management of the unit. A good understanding of the functions of one another will help develop the relationship. Sadly the line managers would have an uphill struggle when a project manager is unable to see the wider picture. Active listening and good communication aid in this battle.

2. Who should have more of a say during negotiations for resources: the project manager or the line manager?

Ideally the project manager should have authority in the assembly of his/her project team and resources; however this is not always possible. Line managers control key staff members and must meet company commitments. Line managers will have more of a say because it is their resources that they are loaning out. The project requirement will be to give a staff member who is capable of performing the assigned tasks. The requirement is not for a specifically named staff member. High level executives will expect that personality conflicts be resolved/forgotten in lieu of company goals. Line mangers and project managers must collaborate to determine resource utilization.

3. How should irresolvable conflicts over staffing between the project and line managers be handled?

The primary focus of the project manager should be the deliverables; however sometimes staffing issues must be resolved. Staffing conflicts should be resolved by a hirer authority, usually the project sponsor. This assumes that all measures to resolve the issue have been unsuccessful. Project managers should have authority over the project and line managers should have authority over line functions. The project sponsor should have authority over both.

4. Should an external customer have a say in project staffing?

External customers deem the project a success or failure thus they should have a say when it comes to project staffing. Not all customers will voice a particular interest; they may just want their requirements to be met. Perhaps the customer has worked with a particular staff member before and is confident that they can accurately relay the customer’s requirements. In the end is the external customer who funds the project, if they want a particular staff member and they are paying for it, they should get it.

5. How do we remove an employee who is not performing as expected?

First, we need find a more suitable employee to take over the ongoing project and notify all team members. The line manager or the supervisor of this employee should have meetings with this employee to figure out the reason why he/she did not perform well and help the employee to resolve any difficulties. In addition, the line manager or the supervisor should appease the employee’s emotions and make sure he/she still feel motivated to work for the company. Then the manager should try to find a suitable position he/she can work on next.

6. Should project managers negotiate for people or deliverables?

I think project manager should negotiate for the deliverables rather than for people. Project managers are responsible for the success of projects. Even though they need to understand the strengths of each members in project team and work with people, they need to focus on deliverables since every other member would focus on their own interests more than the interest of project and there need to be one role making sure the project team is heading to right direction. Also usually project managers are not in charge of managing and promoting team members so negotiating for people may intervene the job of line managers or other supervisors.