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Dissertation
The Effects of Conflicting Messages on Project Support Staff in Matrix Structured Organizations: A Phenomenological Study
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Jul 2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/v5t3-1d80
Abstract
Project management is a critical practice in vendor organizations, which sell the design and implementation of services or products to customer organizations. Project management scholarship identifies a range of organizational structures which may be used in vendor organizations, including strong, weak, and balanced project management structures. While strong project management structures give the project manager the most authority, balanced or weak matrix structures are often used for cost effectiveness. Within balanced and weak matrix structures, there is potential for conflict between functional and project managers over a variety of sources in the project management setting. For this phenomenological research, there was a criterion established to attract a wide audience of participants, with experience specific to the studies central question: How do front-line employees experience reporting to two managers in a matrix structure? Conflict can further be shaped by communication dynamics, where effective communication strategies should be used to set direction and resolve points of conflict. In matrix project management settings, for organizations to perform at their best, clear communication and agreement amongst organizational leaders is imperative. Unclear direction from an authority figure may weaken project management authority and coordination. In cases where communication practices do not lead to the resolution of conflict in the matrix setting, there can be a negative impact on project support staff. Project support staff may be caught in no-win situations, where the staff experience conflicting information from project managers and functional managers, but do not feel they can approach either manager to resolve the conflict. This qualitative phenomenological research is designed to study the lived experiences of project support staff in vendor organizations. Using a semi-structured interview approach to explore the experiences of project support staff, this study sought to answer the following three sub-questions: What are the contributing factors in a matrix structured organization that may cause situations that lead to performance inhibiting behaviors? How does communication between project managers and functional managers create or foster performance inhibiting situations for project support staff? How does project support staff respond to these performance inhibiting situations?
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Details
- Title
- The Effects of Conflicting Messages on Project Support Staff in Matrix Structured Organizations
- Creators
- Issac Azevedo - DU
- Contributors
- Kathleen Provinzano (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vi, 114 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 9338; 991014632419004721