The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Very often the executives of the companies are astonished when thejobs -notably complex IT projects -run into trouble. But complicated projects do not fail overnight; they fail typically, and one day at a time only after numerous warning signs. The writers are involved in 14 academic studies concerning the manners by which individuals report (and misreport) the status of IT jobs and how the receivers of those reports reply to the advice they receive. The authors' research indicates that understanding the underlying dynamics of job status reporting can help restrict the likelihood of nasty surprises. 1. Executives cannot rely on other workers and project staff to accurately report job status info and to speak up when they see difficulties. Many employees have the inclination to put a favorable spin on anything they report to senior management. Truthful reporting may be inhibited 2, when the organizational climate is not open to bad news.

A variant number of reasons can lead people to misrepresent information related to job status. Executives tend to credit misreporting to poor ethical conduct on the worker's part. For a variety of reasons, workers misreport actually; cultural standards all, work climate and individual traits can play a job. 3. An aggressive audit team cannot counter withholding of information and the effects of project status misreporting by project staff.

The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting Case Study Solution

4. Executives may reason the most effective way to deal with the issue of misreporting is to rely on auditors to make sure that job status reports are accurate. Nevertheless, after auditors are added to the combination, negative organizational dynamics can lead to some dysfunctional cycle that results in less openness. 5. Executives regularly discount bad news when it is received by them. Several the authors'studies found situations where workers went to share their concerns about a job with strong decision makers who had the capacity to change the course of the job (or stop it), but were unsuccessful. The authors propose answers to reduce the risk of being blindsided by some of these inconvenient truths. They include a self-diagnostic survey to assist you assess whether you might be in danger for an unpleasant project management surprise.

PUBLICATION DATE: April 01, 2014 PRODUCT #: SMR483-PDF-ENG