SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATION

PROGRAMME
Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management

MODULE Project Communication and Risk Management

INTAKE July 2017

DATE 11 January 2018

TIME 14h00 – 17h00

DURATION 3 hours

TOTAL MARKS 100

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CANDIDATE

1. Questions must be attempted in the answer book provided.

2. All queries should be directed to the invigilator; do not communicate or attempt to communicate with any
other candidate.
3. You have THREE HOURS to complete this paper. You are not allowed to leave the examination room within
the first hour and in the last 15 minutes of this examination.
4. This is a CLOSED BOOK examination.
5. Read ALL instructions carefully.

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SECTION A [40 MARKS]
Read the case study below and answer ALL the questions that follow.

EFFECTIVE REMOTE COMMUNICATION - KENNETH DARTER

Communicating is never easy. Even if you are in the same room with someone, there can be misunderstandings and
inconclusive body language. When you remove the face-to-face element and are dealing with a worker who is remote,
these communication miscues can be magnified tremendously.

In order for communication to be effective with remote workers, the manager needs to take the initiative in ensuring that
communication is correct and effective. At the end of the day, they are responsible for making sure the message is
articulated clearly and correctly whether the employee is remote or in the office.

Phone Interviews
Phone interviews are unavoidable. These interviews might be with potential employees or they might be simple one-on-
one meetings with current employees or team members. It is important to make the interview as easy as possible for
both participants. Schedule the time correctly and block out any distractions, including the phone and the computer.
The temptation to “multi task” only leads to one or both parties not hearing something (or assuming something that is
not true). If you are distracted, simply say that you need a minute, or schedule a new time when you can be focused on
the meeting. Treat the person on the phone the same way you would treat someone in the room with you.

Documentation
Documenting everything you want the remote worker to know is a great way to cut through the ambiguity that occurs on
the phone or in large meetings with dozens of people on the phone. It is a way of double-checking that everyone heard
the same thing and that there are no misunderstandings. While it can be time consuming to document what happened
after a meeting or discussion, it is less time consuming than having to correct what people are working on a week or
month down the road.

This documentation is also a great way to reinforce the message that you wanted everyone to understand. Sometimes,
people need to hear something more than once before they can understand and respond to it correctly. It never hurts to
over-communicate; it only hurts to miscommunicate.

Email Strings
Email can be a great thing if it used correctly. Unfortunately, when email strings get too long, they can become very
burdensome and difficult to decipher. Perhaps you were not included on the original email and now you are trying to dig
through 15 back-and-forth responses to understand what the issue really is. Or perhaps you have completely lost the
intent of the original email and now you are trying to track down not only the answer to the original question, but also
two new topics that came about from the “reply alls” that were sent all over the place. Email can be a wonderful tool, but
when the string gets too long to follow home, you might just need to pick up the phone and have a discussion.

Constant Communication
One aspect of working in an office together is the constant communication that happens when you are physically in the
same location. Whether you are speaking over the cubicle walls about the problems you are having or planning projects
over lunch, this can be very helpful to the overall work being done. On the other hand, it can also prevent you from
focusing on certain tasks; while you seem to be busy all day discussing things that need to be done, you never actually
get them done.

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The remote worker needs to find the right level of communication that will help them get their job done and benefit the
rest of the team as well. This may take the form of regular “catch-up” calls, or it might even be a few days in the office
once a month if that can be arranged.

Completing the Circle

Whenever you communicate, you need to learn to complete the circle. It is not enough for a message to be delivered;
that message also has to be understood. If you do not do the work to ensure that the message is understood, then you
have not communicated effectively yet. This becomes vitally important when dealing with workers who are remote. You
do not want them to be spinning their wheels on something that they do not fully understand. Complete the circle and
you will be an effective communicator, even with remote workers.
Source: https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/369209/Effective-Remote-Communication

QUESTION 1 (40 Marks)

1.1 With reference to the case study, describe what is meant by the term collaborative communication tools and
highlight how these tools can help improve remote project communications (20 marks)

1.2 “Email can be a great thing if it used correctly. Unfortunately, when email strings get too long, they can become
very burdensome and difficult to decipher”. How would you advise an amateur project manager to utilise best
practices for electronic communication etiquette in a business environment? (10 marks)

1.3 Discuss the critical success factors for effective remote project communication. (10 marks)

SECTION B [60 MARKS]

Answer ANY THREE (3) questions in this section.

QUESTION 2 (20 Marks)

“Risk assessment is the identification, quantification and evaluation of the probability of the occurrence of risk events
and the impact of the risk events on a project. Risk assessment addresses issues such as: What can go wrong? How
likely is this to happen? If it does happen, what are the consequences? In essence, risk assessment is both proactive
and reactive measures to project risk management.”

Discuss this statement with reference to the risk management plan process and cite examples to demonstrate your
understanding of the theory.

QUESTION 3 (20 Marks)

List the different conflict management styles and provide an outline of the situational appropriateness and
inappropriateness for the use of each conflict management style.

QUESTION 4 (20 Marks)

Any project organisation is subject to risks. One which finds itself in a state of perpetual crisis is failing to manage risks
properly. Using appropriate examples, discuss the strategies for responding to negative risks.

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QUESTION 5 (20 Marks)

Both internal and external project stakeholder communication needs to be carefully planned for it to be effective. A
mistake in the message being delivered, or the methods for delivering it, can result in stakeholders not getting the
information or misinterpretation.

Critically discuss the key components of an effective project communication management plan.

END OF PAPER

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