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Today's project manager faces multiple issues beyond juggling scope, schedule and cost Every area of project management is constrained with one or more human element. The project manager has to cope up with variety of conflicts every day. A good majority of project failures, if analyzed carefully, would lead into the failure to recognize, prevent and address one or more human issues. However, many of these would be superficially looking like other issues, and project managers try to address them without identifying the exact human issue behind it.
The question of whether project management is an art or science is quite old. The author feels, project management is basically an art which can be made efficient by scientific methods. When science is done correctly, it can advice us in all of our day to day decisions and actions. However, artistry in project management is neither exact nor precise. An artist interprets experiences and expresses it in forms that can be felt, understood and appreciated by others. Art allows for emotion, delicacy and ambiguity. Artist frames the world so that others can see new possibilities
When viewed as an art, project management is natural expression of human behavior. It is intuitive, creative and flexible. Project managers are leaders and artists who are able to develop unique alternatives and novel ideas about their organizations needs. They are attuned to people and events around them and learn to anticipate the turbulent twists and turns around them.
The artistic talents of the project manager can be enriched by the usage of scientific tools. However, "A fool with a tool is still a fool." The artist in the project manager definitely has an edge to use the scientific tools. His creativity and productivity can be magnified by using the correct scientific methods. Success of the project manager depends on how effectively he/she can use the scientific aid to enhance his artistic skills.
HUMAN ISSUES-GENERAL
Human Issues can be classified in many ways. Two of these are lateral and based on occurrence. A brief outline of these will facilitate the discussions in this paper.
Lateral classification
Laterally, Human issues could be categorized into four types, viz. expectation issues, behavioral issues, operational issues and personal issues.
Expectation issues- Expectation issues could...