2. Projects and reactions
A project is A project
an endeavor tends to
undertaken breakdown an
to create a established set
unique of rules of how
product, work has been
service, or executed in
result past
These expressions A project
interfere in the generates
transmission and among parties
understanding •Commentaries
of messages •Opinions
•Rumors
•Gossips
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3. Project manager communication model
(Max Wideman www.maxwideman.com)
Clients and sponsors
provide direction and
financial support
Direction and Progress
clarification reports
Organization Project
policies direction
Managers, other project
Top managers provide
organizational support Project managers, and personnel
Manager require coordination and
and stimulus
support in negotiations
Status and Status
prevision reports reports
Project Progress and
guidelines prevision reports
Project team and providers
Formal require leading, planning Informal
communication and coordination communication
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4. Noise in Project Management
Noise is produced
As a result of parties expressions
When certain parties do not receive the corresponding
project messages they expect from other parties
When messages received do not correspond to project
facts
NOISE compromises the original meaning of
messages
Encode Message Encode
Medium Noise
Sender Receiver
Decode Decode
Feedback - Message
Noise 4
5. Some literature
1. Brenner, R (2002). Responding to Rumors.
www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/020424.shtml
2. Brenner, R (2003). There is no Rumor Mill.
www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/030326.shtml
3. Burgess, H. and M. Maiese. Rumor Control.
www.beyondintractability.org/m/rumor_control.jsp
4. Clements, J. and C. Drake. Dealing with Rumors.
www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/stepicom/sld-1681.html.
5. Daniel, M. Rumor Management Strategy.
http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/mgm/danielm/Rumor%20Management%2
0Strategy.htm.
6. DiFonzo, N. and P. Bordia. How Top PR Professionals Handle Hot Air:
Types of Corporate Rumors, Their Effects, and Strategies to Manage
Them: A study to the Institute for Public Relations.
www.instituteforpr.com/pdf/1999_rumor-study.pdf
7. PD Webapge. Rumors/Urban Legends.
http://home.att.net/~eccentricstar/cs_rumors.html
8. Yang, S. The Human Communication Process.
www.wam.umd.edu/~suyang/Ch%201_Spring05.ppt
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6. Noise effects in project progress trend
Project (a) Temporary disruption Project (b) Change of rate or direction
progress progress
threshold Time threshold Time
(c) Displacement (d) Disruption
Project Project
progress progress
threshold Time threshold Time
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7. Bandwagon effect produced by noise
About bandwagon effect
People often do (or believe) Project
things because many other progress
people do (or believe) the
same planned trend
It does not represent the
way parties behave
individually, but as a group overshoots
having a random behavior
Consequences on noise noise
It becomes stronger and
more difficult to stop over
time Time
threshold
It is random and persistent
obscuring or reducing the
message's clarity
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8. Noise categorization according to noise
sources
Type of Noise Source
Environmental Outside interference that prevents project manager from gaining
noise project messages
Physiological- Interference caused by parties’ physical problems that can block
impairment noise his/her effective sending or receiving of project messages
Syntactical noise Interference caused by parties’ incorrect use of communication
language rules (e.g., grammar)
Psychological Interference produced by parties’ stress, frustration, irritation, etc.
noise
Intellectual noise Interference caused by parties’ great amount of opinions and
points of view about project messages
Cultural noise Interference produced by parties’ preconceived, unyielding
(influence) attitudes due to cultural group belonging. Being “closed-minded”
Organizational Interference caused by the way messages are arranged in order
noise (confusion)
Semantic noise Interference caused by words meaning, such as project
management or project technical jargon, dialect, etc.
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9. Noise categorization according to rumor
intentions
Type of Noise Intension
Intentional It is generated to achieve a purpose
noise
Premature It is an early version of what will eventually become the truth
noise
Malicious It is generated to damage project manager, some
noise stakeholders, or to tend relations among them
Outrageous It is composed of stories so unbelievable that most parties
noise think they cannot have been made up
Nearly true It is built around a kernel of truth
noise
“Birthday” It comes around as regularly as birthdays
noise
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10. Project manager attention to noise over
time
Project manager
attention to noise
High
Low
Project time
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11. What to do: Preventive actions
Strive to increase and
Anticipate noise
maintain trust and credibility
Keep
Tailor each communication
stakeholders informed
Set up a “hotline” Be judicious about
communication channel communication openness
Fill voids by complementing and
Anticipate parties’ anxiety
repeating information given
Monitor possible effects of noise with respect to
external events, stakeholder attitudes, and parties´ behavior
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12. What to do: Corrective actions –
Questions to be answered
What type of noise is this?
Are there credible third Is this any truth to it?
parties who might help Does it point to a problem
dispel noise? I need to fix?
What is the state of my
relationship with parties Is the issue important
influenced by noise? to stakeholders?
Could/should I do anything to Which ones?
improve that relationship? Why?
What is the underlying Are stakeholders paying
concern or anxiety attention to noise?
expressed by noise? What is their response to it?
Can I do anything constructive Do they want to hear something
to address it? from me about it?
Can I provide information
that might dispel noise?
Do I need to be more open with
information in general?
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14. Challenges
Expect to encounter harmful noise during all of the project
management phases
Take into account that noise often starts from the very first
conception of project
Be alert to the possible negative effects of noise within
Consequences to project and project management
Stakeholder attitudes
Third party behaviors
Formulate a plan to prevent and correct noise
Inhibit noise activity and its associated effects by
Reducing and/or placing bounds upon uncertainty
Reducing belief in noise through effective formal communications
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15. Constraints
Resources for rapid response to noise are rarely
budgeted
This is always certain if project is managed with limit
resources
Stakeholders and sponsors pay insufficient
attention to communication versus attention to
“technical priorities”
Rapid respond to noise is not always possible if
project is decentralized
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