Project communication management in Pakistan

Communication has been a problem for the firms whether large or small, service organizations or manufacturing company. In context of Pakistan, communication management, its dissemination, storage and retrieval becomes more important where data not available, information is not accessible and communication channels are not best chosen or even determined. First the problems are being analyzed in this article, which the project managers are facing in communicating information to the project team. Information is the essential part of workflow in the project, which is the step-by-step construction for constructing project deliverables thus managing project. Some solutions are being suggested in the context of Pakistan. Communication can be a barrier to your success in Project Management or can be a bridge for your success. Discussion- Analysis of Problems and Solutions Suggested Interpersonal communication skills both written and oral are necessary to communicate crucial information across the project team thus providing successful project management. The abilities to manage processes and lead people both require effective communication to the place between project manager and the team. Project Communication Management includes the important elements in its definition like ensuring timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, and storage and ultimate disposition of project information. The context this field Pakistan reveals to us that project managers have limited time and budget. Project mangers lack communication skills and managing new people, ideas and information with in the limited time and budget put them in the mental conflict. You don't have so much time and budget to do the experiments and at the end of day you have to produce the results wining the trust of stakeholders as well as team members. SAP management for implementation of this technology says that "Our project fails due to poor and improper communication of the time it happens the team is hearing not listening. As a project manager you need not to communicate effective merely but to keep the team cohesive and concentrate. Not only in our country it happens but also a natural desire of the people they listen what they want to listen. In the challenging economic conditions and uncertain economic situations where the stability and development is hardly finding its place, the project managers cannot afford the poor communication. Analysis of four dimensions of project communication management in Pakistan needs effective diagnosis as we look at them. Communication Planning: Plans are not measured by the pile of fancy looking files in the cabinets but when they are implemented. In Pakistan scheduling and planning is weak and usually plans are not made and when they made they are not implemented and when they are implemented the realistic time is absent in the implementation. Information Distribution: Relevant and timely information is not available and it weakens the communication among project manager and team members. Naturally you will be more confident and effective when you will have something relevant information to communicate. It is better to send information to too many people than to too few. By distributing the information that people need to know before they need to know it, you can spend more time proactively managing your projects. Performance Reporting: Status reporting, progress measurement and forecasting will be more effective at the place where above two dimensions are effectively being used. Where the project is standing, how the team is working and what are the predicted future project statuses and progress is vital to be included while project manager communicating to his/her team members. Administrative Closure: The termination of the phase also demands the effective project communication on the part of project managers. Project managers should communicate the learned lesson to the team and each phase of the project should be closed with proper and appropriate communication to ensure that useful information is not lost. As a project manager you have to deal with the team you cannot be more productive by merely working in your own 'silos'. Project team is the core of communication. When the team achieved goal all the team members must be appreciated. People involved are the heart, soul and sinew of project through communication they coordinate and focus their efforts. So as team do the work to get the work done instead of creating confusion. Poor communication is one of the prime causes of personal and business failure. Communications must be easy to understand, precise, clear, prepared, natural, vivid, simple and accurate. Every one in the project must be prepared to send and receive information and must understand how the communication in which they are involved as individuals. The hard truth in Pakistan and explicit reality is that no one else cares as much about what you want than you. In Pakistan, when you working on project as project manager you will see some people don't respond no matter what you do. One way to coax responses from people who do that is to tell them what you plan to do if you don't hear from them by a specific time or day. It's also the problem that project managers are arrogant, inattentive and oblivious to the feelings and needs of the project team. Good project manager not necessarily means you are good communicator. Recent business school graduates are viewed as lacking in communication skills by a sizable percentage of firing line managers. Not only in Pakistan, but worldwide in institutions and organizations, communications has become watchword and communication skills are very important to get work done. Project management and communication are inseparable. Every project manager must tell people what they need to know, when they need to know it, and most important in the helps they understand it. If you are trying to make a point or convince someone else to do something, the responsibility for communicating well is you're alone. Being project manager, when you communicate you have to observer what you are saying and what other persons are getting. The cooperation of the listener is very crucial. Since the communication and information are interdependent, so you have to have relevant and timely information then suggest communication pattern i.e. you can either choose to communicate by face to face email, memos, letters or make a Communication Plan and Communication Matrix. As we have analyzed profoundly that in country like Pakistan communication can play a role either as a barrier to stop the work or as a bridge to do the work. Communication requires not only whole function from Project manager but also from team, they should pay attention to manager, listen without interrupting him, keep an open mind.

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