CONTENTS

Page

SUMMARY OF TABLES 1
ABSTRACT 5
DECLARATION 7
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 8
PREFACE 9

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION 10
1.1 Network Rail – the organisation 10
1.2 The Author – Subject of Reflection 12
1.3 The Role and Responsibilities of an NR Project Manager 14
1.4 Guide to Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) 16
1.5 The Vital FDM Project 19
1.5.1 Introduction 19
1.5.2 Why Commission the Project? 20
1.5.3 Project Objectives 21
1.5.4 Key Stakeholders 22
1.6 Reflective Practice Dissertation – Personal Learning
Objective and Structure 24

CHAPTER 2 – RELEVANT THEORY (CHANGE) 26

2.1 Introduction to Change Management 26
2.2 The Process of Change Management 28
2.2.1 The APM Change Process 28
2.2.2 The Network Rail Change Process 29
2.3 Change Management Concepts and Models 32
2.3.1 Formula for Change 33
2.3.2 ADKAR 34
2.3.3 Kotter’s Eight Steps 35
2.3.4 Six Change Approach 37
2.4 Personal skills, tools & techniques 39

ILGI KIM 1
CHAPTER 3 – RELEVANT THEORY (CONFLICT) 41
2.1 Introduction to Conflict Management 41
2.2 Conflict Management Concepts and Models 44
2.2.1 Theory of the Cause of Conflict 44
2.2.2 Levels of Conflict 45
2.2.3 Conflict Management the APM Way 47
2.2.4 3-Step Turnbull Process 51
2.3.5 McSwain & Treadwell 5 Styles of Conflict Management 52
2.4 Personal skills, tools & techniques 54

CHAPTER 4 – METHODOLOGY 55
4.1 Reflective Practice – A Quick Introduction 55
4.2 Reflective Practice Theory 56
4.2.1 Fish and Coles (1998) 58
4.2.2 Schon (1983) 61
4.2.3 Kolb (1984) 62
4.3 Key Principles of the Methodology 64

CHAPTER 5 – PRACTICE EXPERIENCE 67

5.1 GRIP Stage 1-3: Output Definition, Pre-Feasibility, Option
Selection 67
5.2 GRIP Stage 4 and 5: Single Option Development and
Detailed Design 69
5.3 GRIP Stage 6: Construction, Testing and Commissioning 73
5.4 Grip Stage 7-8: Scheme Handback and Project Close Out 77

CHAPTER 6 – RESULTS ACHIEVED AND NEXT STEPS 78

6.1 Summary of where the project has got to 78
6.2 Way Forward for the Project and its Management 79

CHAPTER 7 – CRITICAL REFLECTION 82

7.1 Project Management Theory into Practice 82
7.1.1 Change Management 82
7.1.2 Conflict Management 84
7.2 Personal skills, tools & techniques 89
7.2.1 Change Management 89
7.2.2 Conflict Management 91
7.3 The Process of Reflection and Learning 93
7.4 Concluding Reflections 96

ILGI KIM 2
CHAPTER 8 – BIBLIOGRAPHY 99

CHAPTER 9 - APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Network Rail Project Manager Job Description 102
Appendix 2 – Examples of GRIP Products 105
Appendix 3 – Network Rail Change Management Manual 109
Appendix 4 – Learning Log Template (Change) 153
Appendix 5 – Learning Log Template (Conflict) 154

Final Word Count: 20,521

ILGI KIM 3
SUMMARY OF TABLES

Page

Figure 1. Summary of Authors Experience to Date

Figure 2. Project Management Framework 14

Figure 3. GRIP 16

Figure 4. Plan-Do-Review 17

Figure 5. The Project Control Cycle 30

Figure 6. Formula for Change 33

Figure 7. Views on Conflict 41

Figure 8. Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument 50

Figure 9. Two Contrasting Views of Professional Practice 58

Figure 10. Improvised Change Management Model

ILGI KIM 4
ABSTRACT

A Project Manager to hone his skills must learn from and grow with each
experience in his daily duties. How is this learning to take place?

The Author is a Senior Commercial Manager in Network Rail undertaking

a complex and high risk new technology project. The responsibility
undertaken by the Author includes the commercial management of the
project for successful delivery as well as assisting the Project Manager as
‘right hand man’ undertaking his duties when required.

Change and conflict management is an essential technique in the Project

Management profession due to the ever increasing complex nature of
projects in an ever competitive market.

Therefore this dissertation will by means of reflective practice examine

change and conflict management practices within a new technology
project. Change and conflict management techniques are reflected upon
due to their intrinsic link to one another. This is a bold statement however
the Author seeks to establish whether any issues can arise from change
that does not in one way or another involve a form or level of conflict,
either constructive or destructive. There are various change and conflict
management processes and theoretical concepts and models available to
project managers but which one do you choose and would they be
effective?

Key change issues and resulting conflicts within a new technology project
are identified and the process is documented via the use of learning logs
throughout the project lifecycle for critical evaluation against theoretical
concepts and models that are reviewed and discussed.

ILGI KIM 5
Can any new effective and efficient improvements be made? If so how?

Conclusions and recommendations and a new improvised model for

change are made to support how more effective changes can be made.
Conclusions and recommendations are made from the reflective learning
outcomes and how.

ILGI KIM 6
DECLARATION

No portion of the work referred to in the dissertation has been submitted in

support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other
university of other institute of learning.

ILGI KIM 7
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

Copyright in text of this dissertation rests with the author. Copies (by any
process) either in full, or of extracts, may be made only in accordance with
instructions given by the author. Details may be obtained from the appropriate
Graduate Office. This page must form part of any such copies made. Further
copies (by any process) of copies made in accordance with such instructions may
not be made without the permission (in writing) of the author.

The ownership of any intellectual property rights which may be described in this
dissertation is vested in the University of Manchester, subject to any prior
agreement to the contrary, and may not be made available for use by third parties
without the written permission of the University, which will prescribe the terms
and conditions of any such agreement.

Further information on the conditions under which disclosures and exploitation

may take place is available from the Head of the School of Mechanical,
Aerospace and Civil Engineering.

ILGI KIM 8
PREFACE

The Author is currently working as a Senior Commercial Manger for Network Rail.
Having previously undertaken a BSc (Hons) degree with the submission of a
research project, this dissertation is the first reflective practice dissertation
completed.

ILGI KIM 9
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Network Rail – the organisation

Network Rail is a private engineering company formed to revitalise

Britain's railway. Network Rail was formed on 25 th March 2002 created
specifically to acquire Railtrack PLC to provide a safe, reliable and efficient
rail infrastructure.

Network Rail is a company limited by guarantee. It has no shareholders

but instead is accountable to members drawn from the rail industry and the
general public who do not have any financial or economic interest in the
company that means that they do not receive dividends, share capital or
any other form of payment from Network Rail.

It operates, maintains and improves every aspect of the railway

infrastructure including:

 90 Traincare depots, many of which are leased to train operators

 All signalling and electrical control equipment needed to operate the
track
 40,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts
 9,000 level crossings
 Over 1,100 signal boxes
 Connections to over 1,000 freight terminals
 Property including railway arches
 2,500 stations mainly leased to train operators
 20,000 miles of track

ILGI KIM 10
The author believes NR to be a ‘tall’ organisation that promotes matrix
project teams. It is an organisation with many hierarchical layers and
relatively small spans of control. Such an organisation has the advantage
of being able to closely monitor and control performance as long as
communication lines are well maintained. However such an organisation
also creates a dependency on managers who may fail to delegate
effectively, and decisions being slow and problematic due to the many
management levels.

NR’s organisation is also one of a strong existing role culture. All the
management teams have clear job descriptions, and co-ordination and
decisions are made at the top of the organisation. Performance above role
is not an active feature within the existing culture. The author believes NR
is in the very early stages of promoting a transition from a transactional
organisation to transformational organisation.

ILGI KIM 11
1.2 The Author – Subject of Reflection

The railway industry is an ‘old-fashioned’ industry that has existed under a

mindset that has changed little in the past 50 years. The history behind the
railways has been built from the Second World War where authorative
leadership came from military organisations that maintained and renewed
the railways.

The Author has worked in the railway industry since 2002 employed by
both AMEC SPIE Rail UK Ltd (ASRUK) and Network Rail Ltd (NR). He has
spent his professional career to date undertaking both Project and
Commercial Management on various track and signals maintenance and
renewal projects for the London Underground and mainline infrastructure
(refer to details in Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Summary of authors experience to date

Project Commercial Manager and Project Manager (PM) for various NR

framework and interlocking projects including:
2005-  National SICA Surveys (£2m)
Present  VITAL FDM Implementation (£8m)
NR  Sheerness signal system renewals (£26m)
 IECC Signal Software Upgrade (£2)
 Various Minor Signalling Projects (£10m per annum)

2004
Project Manager for District Line track circuit renewals (£1m)
ASRUK

2002-2005 Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager for Jubilee, East London and
ASRUK District Line Track Maintenance (£34)

2002-2005 Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager for Baker Street & Gloucester
ASRUK Road diamond crossing renewal (£2m)

ILGI KIM 12
The Author undertakes the project management of the full life cycle of
railway projects in accordance to the Guide for Railway Investment
Projects (GRIP) as detailed:

 Stage 1 – Output definition

 Stage 2 – Pre-feasibility
 Stage 3 – Option selection
 Stage 4 – Single option development
 Stage 5 – Detailed design
 Stage 6 – Construction, testing and commissioning
 Stage 7 – Scheme handback
 Stage 8 – Project close out

Whilst undertaking the above roles the Author has experienced on most
projects the implementation of both change control and conflict
management and its impact to the success of a project, so therefore has a
good understanding of the risks and opportunities faced by the Project
Manager during change, and the effects of conflict and its management to
deliver successful projects.

ILGI KIM 13
1.3 The Role and Responsibilities of an NR Project
Manager

The role of the Project Manager at Network Rail is to lead the safe delivery
of projects to achieve cost, time and quality objectives within corporate
guidelines and develop appropriate delivery and supply strategies and
plans for specific projects.

Specific corporate guidelines refers to the following:

 Guide to Railway Investment Projects

 Network Rail company and Railway Group Standards
 Network Rail Corporate Governance rules in a timely manner
 Specific legislation including construction design management
(CDM) Regulations

The key Project Manager deliverables can be broken down into Process,
Systems and People described as the Project Management Framework
(refer to Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Project Management Framework

GRIP
PROCESS
Project Control Cycle

SYSTEMS Investment Management Systems (IMS)

PEOPLE
Basic skills and systems training

Development of capability

ILGI KIM 14
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

An overview of key tasks delivered by the Project Manager are as follows:

 Participate in the development of supply strategies and framework

contracts.

 Manage change and risks within the project life cycle.

 Identify training needs in safety, technical and management areas

for the personnel reporting to the post holder and contribute to their
personal development.
 Support the Programme and project teams in monitoring for
breaches of corporate governance –compliance with Network Rail
Corporate Governance rules in a timely manner.
 Manage the production and maintenance of project plans.
 Establish and manage collaborative cross-functional virtual teams
to deliver change projects, where appropriate.
 Manage project budgets within agreed targets.
 Promote and monitor the use of efficiency improvement methods.

ILGI KIM 15
A full job description for a Project Manager in Network Rail can be found in
Appendix 1.

Of the above deliverables this dissertation will focus primarily on Change

Management. Project Managers are responsible, with the support of the,
to deliver and manage all change, both internal and external, in
accordance to Network Rail change control systems. This dissertation will
also examine the effects of conflict, and how this can be managed utilising
Project Management techniques.

For all projects delivered by Network Rail, the key corporate guideline that
must be abided by is the Guide to Railway Investment Projects that will be
described in the next section.

ILGI KIM 16
1.4 Guide to Railway Investment Projects (GRIP)

A Network Rail Project Manager must deliver all projects in accordance to

GRIP. GRIP was introduced in 2003 to describe how Network Rail should
manage projects that enhance or renew the national rail network. GRIP
covers the project lifecycle from inception through to the realisation of post
implementation benefits. It is designed and intended to minimise and
mitigate the risks associated with delivering investment projects on an
operational railway.

There are eight stages of a project life cycle as defined by Network Rail for
all projects that reflect how far a project has progressed towards
completion as shown in Figure 3 below.

Fig. 3. GRIP
GRIP TITLE DESCRIPTION
STAGE
1 Output Establishes the scope of the investment in terms of the
Definition incremental network capability required by the investment’s
“client”. This is described in terms such as journey time,
capacity, loading gauge etc. It may also require the scoping
of asset renewal.
2 Pre-feasibility Ensures that asset condition, safety or standards
requirements are identified and included in the scope of the
investment.
Ensures that investment is aligned with organisational
strategy and contributes to targets.
Identifies the constraints on the network that prevent the
delivery of the client’s outputs and defines the incremental
capability that must be delivered by the investment.
Provides confirmation that the outputs can be economically
delivered by addressing the identified constraints.
3 Option Develops options for addressing the identified constraints
Selection and delivering the required incremental network capability.
Assesses the options and selects the most appropriate one,
together with confirmation that the outputs can be
economically delivered.
4 Single Option Develops the selected single option to the point of
Development engineering scope freeze and in sufficient detail to allow
finalisation of the business case and scheduling of
implementation resources.

ILGI KIM 17
 5 Detailed Design Produces a complete and robust engineering design that
allows risks, costs, timescales, resources and benefits to be
fully understood prior to commitment to implementation.
6 Construction, Delivers the asset change / renewal to the appropriate
Test and specification and provides confirmation that the asset and
Commissioning system work in accordance with their design and that they
deliver the incremental network capability.
7 Scheme Introduces the asset into operational use and obtains
Handback acceptance of the Works. The key product from Scheme
Handback is acceptance of the Project Works.
8 Project Close Ensures that the project is closed out in an orderly manner
Out with updated asset management information, capitalised
assets, settled contractual accounts and any contingencies
and warranties are put in place. Logging up and other
funding arrangements finalised and assumed business
benefits are captured in the Business Plan.

At each stage of the project lifecycle, GRIP defines the outputs required. In
GRIP terminology an output is a ‘product’. An example of this can be found
in Appendix 2.

GRIP is a flexible tool allowing the Project Manager to determine which

products are necessary to deliver a project. For example, it would be
unnecessary to produce the same products for a 6 week £25k track project
as a 5 year £20million project.

Within each stage of the investment lifecycle a ‘plan–do–review’ approach

is adopted which is shown in Figure 4 below.

Fig. 4. Plan-Do-Review

ILGI KIM 18
At the end of each stage a Stage Gate Review (SGR) is held that is a
progress meeting between the Client and Project Manager whereupon the
health of a project is checked before progressing on to the next stage
within the project lifecycle or requesting additional investment
authorisation. Stage gate reviews are crucial to the progress of a project
and therefore must be planned at the project outset and included in the
project management plan and programme.

ILGI KIM 19
1.5 The Vital FDM Project

1.5.1 Introduction

The project to be reflected upon in this dissertation is a new technology

project titled BBC160 – The Vital FDM Project. The project value is
£10.1m starting October 2004 and due for completion July 2007.

Network Rail has a number of signalling installations that utilise remote

control and indication systems consisting of Type RR4000 Frequency
Division Multiplex (FDM) systems. These FDM systems date from
between the mid 1960s and the late 1980s. These types of FDM systems
are now obsolete and are no longer supported by the manufacturer
(Alstom Signalling Ltd) although National Railway Supplies provides
limited system support under licence.

The objective of the project is to replace safety critical Vital Reed FDM
systems with new frequency immune transmission equipment transmitting
data between the trackside units and the controlling interlocking. The
proposed system could also be used in other applications such a level
crossing control, where transmission rates with older style equipment is
poor.

The feasibility study on the project lead to Network rail adopting the
proposal for the introduction of 1421 SHDSL Modem and AA48 HD Link.
The replacement system is a new product to the Railway, and required
formal acceptance prior to the implementation works. A full Safety case
was developed as part of the project along with a Hazard log for this
particular application.

ILGI KIM 20
1.5.2 Why commission the Project?

Network Rail commissioned the project due to the following three reasons:

1. The introduction of trains with three phase traction drives raised

concerns over the safety integrity of existing FDM systems during
certain predicted failure modes of the traction and/or signalling
systems.

2. There exists a problem regarding the “Woodpecker” affect, where the

mechanical action of undoing terminal nuts on Line Amplifiers induces
electrical noise on the existing FDM transmission line which has
caused receivers to erroneously energise causing unprotected wrong-
side failures (e.g., false signal clearance or points moving under a
train).

3. The current FDM systems are life expired and spares are not readily
available. This contributes to poor reliability of the overall signalling
systems within the prescribed areas. The current systems are
considered to be in the top ten catastrophic signalling risks to Network
Rail nationally.

ILGI KIM 21
1.5.3 Project Objectives

The original objectives of this project were as follows:

 To place an RT24 Cost Reimbursable Design and Build Contract

 To gain Safety Case acceptance of the Westinghouse HD Link and

product approval of the HD Communicator modem equipment.

 To manage the detailed design process.

 To deliver the renewal of all the Vital Reed FDM systems in the
Wessex, Sussex and Kent Areas and recovery works to the agreed
cost and timescales

 Ensuring full compliance with Network Rail’s Health and Safety

Systems Manual requirements. This covers the arrangements for
production and endorsement of the project safety strategy.

 Ensuring that the novel technology to be introduced to the

operational railway infrastructure is approved by the Professional
Head of Signalling or Safety Review Panel.

 To close out the project on time to cost and provide a certificate of

completion to HSE(RI).

ILGI KIM 22
1.5.4 Key Stakeholders

There are 5 key stakeholder organisations identified as crucial to the

success of the project identified below:

 Network Rail Ltd – Commission and ensure delivery of the project.

Internal Client is the Head of Signal Engineering (asset owner) and
Principle Signal Engineer (product acceptance authority).

 Westinghouse Rail Systems Ltd (WRSL) – Primary contractor to

Network Rail to manage, design, install, test, and commission the
Vital FDM with HD Link and HD Communicator modem. WRSL
specialise in all aspects of railway control and signalling products
and systems, from research and design to manufacture, installation,
testing, commissioning, maintenance and full support and have
over 140 years experience in the UK, Europe and the Far East.
Part of Invensys PLC.

 Safetran Systems Ltd – subcontractor to Westinghouse Rail

Systems Ltd responsible for the manufacture of HD Link. Safetrans
Systems Ltd is an American railroad signalling company that have
been designing, manufacturing, installing railroad equipment and
systems for over 80 years. In addition to being the market leader in
the United States and Canada, Safetran has installations
worldwide, including Israel, Mexico, Thailand and Australia.

 Kenton Research Ltd – subcontractor to Westinghouse Rail

Systems Ltd responsible for the manufacturer of the HD
Communicator. Kenton Research Ltd is a British data
communications company that includes the production of
telecommunications equipment and systems for numerous clients
and are widely considered to lead their field.

ILGI KIM 23
  Train and Freight Operating Companies – customers to Network
Rail who lease the use of routes on the railway infrastructure and
require an efficient and reliable railway.

ILGI KIM 24
1.6 Reflective Practice Dissertation – Personal Learning
Objectives and Structure

Increasingly the rail industry operates in a competitive market in which

time, cost and quality are the principal drivers within the project
management environment. The management of change within these
drivers are critical to ensuring the success of the projects objectives.

The primary objective of this dissertation is to apply reflective practice to

the management of change within a specific new technology project as
described in Section 1.5. The principle of conflict management shall also
be examined, as it is widely recognised that conflict is associated as a by-
product of change.

For the Author to become a more effective Project Manager he must learn
from and grow with each experience in his daily duties. In order for this
learning to take place, the Author needs to create an environment of
critical openness and fairness in his reflection. It is particularly important
that fairness is built into the reflective practice and that less successful
application of core skills are recognised and analysed.

A review of the process and theoretical concepts and models will be

undertaken to identify the key issues that affect the successful
implementation of change and conflict management practices. These
issues will be critically examined against the current practice undertaken
by the Project Manager to identify if the current management of change
and conflict is best practice, and if any real fundamental improvements
could be made to ensure maximum value during the delivery of a project.

ILGI KIM 25
A review of the theoretical concept and application of reflective practice
will also be undertaken to effectively review and record the current
practices of the Project Manager.

This dissertation will critically reflect upon and focus on the different stages
of the change and conflict management process undertaken on the Vital
FDM project from the initial understanding of why the change and conflict
originated and how it has been managed and controlled, to how new
processes and methods of change control and conflict management can
be implemented.

The dissertation will conclude with conclusions and recommendations to

support how more effective change and conflict management techniques
can be applied by the Project Manager.

A summary of the objectives are as follows:

1. Review process and theoretical concepts and models in regards to

the management of change and conflict.
2. Review the theoretical principles and application of reflective
practice.
3. Critically review by means of reflective practice the current
application of change and conflict management process and
techniques to the Vital FDM Project.
4. Conclude and suggest recommendations to support how more
effective change and conflict techniques can be applied by the
Project Manger.

ILGI KIM 26
CHAPTER 2 RELEVANT THEORY (CHANGE)

2.1 Introduction to Change Management

“Change management is a structured approach to change in individuals,

teams, organizations and societies that enables the transition from a
current state to a desired future state”
Wilkopedia (2007)

Change to projects is inevitable and must be managed effectively. To

ensure that projects are delivered on time, to cost and specification, it is
vital that all changes are embodied in a controlled, documented and timely
manner. As a minimum change control must be applied whereby proposed
changes are logged, evaluated and approved.

The above steps should be undertaken through workflow processes.

Change arises through change of scope, contract variation, occurrence of
risk, identification of a cost-effective risk treatment or by the realisation of a
saving. The source of the change and its value will determine the change
management techniques applied.

The scope of any project is defined in terms of the outputs required to

deliver the required product. Change occurs throughout any project
lifecycle. Change control by means of application of change management
techniques ensures that decisions about changes are made in an informed
way. All the implications of a proposed change are required to be
understood before deciding to proceed with the change.

Changes to projects may often be considered to be a primary cause of delays

and additional costs. The control and management of these changes and their
initiators and deliverers are crucial to a projects successful outcome. There are

ILGI KIM 27
an infinite amount of resources available relating to the process, concepts and
models of change management.

This section on change management theory will be split into two sections. The
first will be the physical process of change management that will focus on
industry guidelines. The second is the project management techniques in the
form of concepts and models that could be applied to manage change from
educational resources.

ILGI KIM 28
2.2 The Process of Change Management

2.2.1 The APM Change Process

The Association for Project Managers (2006) describes change control as

“the process that ensures that all changes made to a project’s baselined
scope, time, cost and quality objectives or agreed benefits are identified,
evaluated, approved, rejected or deferred”.

The 5th Edition of the APM Body of Knowledge (APMBOK) prescribes that
a project must have an effective change control process in place and be
familiar with its operation and that it is the Project Managers responsibility
to ensure this is the case.

Their process recommends the following processes are in place:

1. Change Request. The identification of a change and its registration

into a change log.

2. Initial Evaluation. A review to determine whether the change is

required to be implemented or rectified on the concept that change
consumes resources which in itself is a change due to deviation
from the project plan.

3. Detailed Evaluation. A review to consider impact on the project.

4. Recommendation. A recommendation should be made as to

whether the change should be approved, rejected or deferred.

5. Update Plans. If a change is approved, project plans should be

changed to reflect the change.

ILGI KIM 29
 6. Implement. Action to implement change.

The APMBOK is used as the primary source for Project Management

techniques by the Author. Although the recommendations and process
described in the chapter regarding change management is informative it
does not cover in detail the effects of unidentified change and the process
to combat this in a real project environment differs from that or a pre-
identified change.

2.2.2 The Network Rail Change Process

As a process, Network Rail recommends the Project Manager to utilise the

‘Project Control Cycle’ (PCC). It defines how to plan measure and control
projects and describes the relationships between the various control
elements. The PCC is a cyclic process and structures the change process
around seven elements.

The first process is to ‘Establish Baselines’ and has three elements. The
first element is to ‘prepare and organise’ which is to determine what the
work is and who will do it. The second element is to ‘plan, schedule and
cost’ which is to determine when the work will be done and with what
resource. The third element is to actually ‘authorise’ the baseline work.
This element is designed to set a baseline to identify change.

The second process is to ‘Manage and Control Work’ and has two
elements. The first element is ‘Work Management’ which is to determine
how work is being done. The second element is ‘Review and Control’
which is to determine whether the work is on time and how much it is
costing. This element is designed to mitigate change by continuous
evaluation of the project progress against the baseline.

ILGI KIM 30
The third process is to ‘Manage Change’ and has a single element which
is the actual change management itself. This element is to determine how
the change will be controlled.

The fourth and final process is to ‘Manage Risk’ and has a single element
also which is risk management. This element is to understand uncertainty
and how it will be provided for. This element is designed to mitigate
change by proactive project management.

The PCC process and how its elements interact are shown in Figure 5
below.

Fig. 5. The Project Control Cycle

The PCC is managed by the identification of two key factors; key roles and
responsibilities and the Change Management process.

ILGI KIM 31
Network Rail procedures dictate that to manage change effectively, the
first step is to determine the roles and responsibilities of the key players in
the change. It is the Project Managers responsibility to identity the roles
that have responsibilities for change management during the project
lifecycle and give an outline of what is expected of individuals appointed to
these roles. This is done by the use of a RACI Matrix which is an
organisational tool used to understand and define how individual job roles
are involved in, and contributes to the change process by labelling each
role as either Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform.

The Change Management process is the mechanism by which changes to

baselined deliverables are controlled, requiring requests for change to be
raised and assessed before the change is accepted and implemented.

The process follows the following steps in descending order:

1. Submission of Change Request. This is the first step and requires

the identification and submission of change.

2. Log and Distribute Change. The change must be logged into a

change control system and distributed to those individuals identified
as specialist/experts in the change area.

3. Evaluation/Recommendation. An evaluation of the change

request is undertaken by the Project Manager, experts/specialists
and other disciplines that may be affected by the proposed change
to assess the type of change being proposed, its impact on the
project and others and its priority.

ILGI KIM 32
 4. Approve/Reject Change. Following the evaluation the Project
Manager (or the appropriate delegated Authority) rejects, approves,
or requests re-evaluation.

5. Change Request Planning and Implementation. The Change

Request is passed back to the project who are responsible for
planning and implementing the change.

The Network Rail recommended change control process is highly

prescriptive and follows the same recommend process as the APMBOK. A
full copy of the Network Rail Change Management Manual can be found in
Appendix 3.

2.3 Change Management Concepts and Models

There are many well documented change management theories with their
respective applications, potential merits, and disadvantages. This section
will focus on 3 different theoretical models to change management:

 ADKAR
 Kotter’s Eight Steps
 Six Change Approach

This section will however proceed with a look at the ‘Formula for Change’
otherwise known as the ‘Gleicher’s Formula’.

ILGI KIM 33
2.3.1 Formula for Change

The formula was created by Richard Beckhard and David Gleicher. The
formula provides a model to assess the relative strengths affecting the
likely success or otherwise of change.

Fig. 6. Formula for Change

D x V x F > R

The formula is based on the principle that three factors must be present for
effective change to take place. The factors as shown in Figure 6 above
are:

 D = Dissatisfaction with how things are now.

 V = Vision of what is possible.
 F = First, concrete steps that can be taken towards the vision.

The theory states that if the product of the three factors is greater than R
(Resistance) then change is possible. Due to the multiplication of D, V and
F, if any one factor is absent or low then the end product will be low and
therefore may not be capable of overcoming the resistance.

This theory suggests that to ensure a successful change it is necessary to

firstly recognize and accept dissatisfaction that exists, use influence and
strategic thinking in order to create vision and identify early steps towards
it.

ILGI KIM 34
The formula suggests that it is designed more for reactive change as
dissatisfaction is the first factor of the formula. Whether this formula could
be applied to neutral change is debatable however this also raises the
question as to whether change can ever be neutral in the first instance.
The formula would be good to apply as a change management model
where circumstances require a change to facilitate recovery.

2.3.2 ADKAR

Hiatt (2006) describes the ADKAR model as being designed to focus

teams on specific activities that will impact results. The model focuses on
evaluating employee resistance, helping employees transition through the
process, creating employee specific action plans, and developing a
change management plan with employees.

The model is based on the principle that change occurs on two

dimensions: the business dimension and the people dimension, and that
successful change occurs when both dimensions occur at the same time.
It suggests that the business dimension will occur regardless and therefore
the dimension that can be influenced is the people dimension. Therefore it
can be concluded that employees are the processors of change and
therefore key to success. The ADKAR model therefore identifies five key
goals to the effective management of the people dimension:

 Awareness of the need to change

 Desire to participate and support the change
 Knowledge of how to change (and what the change looks like)
 Ability to implement the change on a day-to-day basis
 Reinforcement to keep the change in place

ILGI KIM 35
The five key goals defined by ADKAR are sequential and cumulative. The
process of change management must obtain each element in sequence in
order for a change to be implemented and managed successfully.

The ADKAR model suggests it can be very effective as it focuses on a

single sequential dependency to change, people, and therefore is task
specific which can be easier to measure, evaluate and manage. Therefore
when applying the model, the identification of gaps in the applied change
management process could be readily identified and remedial action put in
place.

A disadvantage of this model can be however that larger companies may

have difficulty implementing the model as such companies may not have
the sufficient structure, resources or time to focus on their employees that
such a model would require. This scenario has been clearly evident in the
past experience of the Author.  

2.3.3 Kotter’s Eight Steps

This model for change management is described by Kottor (1995) as

having eight stages to implement effective change management. Each
stage identifies a key principle relating to peoples response and approach
to change that Kottor (1995) describes as being when people ‘see’, ‘feel’
and then ‘change’.

The eight stages of the model are as follows:

1. Increase urgency - Inspire people to move, make objectives real

and relevant.
2. Build the guiding team - Get the right people in place with the
right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels.

ILGI KIM 36
 3. Get the vision right - get the team to establish a simple vision and
strategy, focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to
drive service and efficiency.
4. Communicate for buy-in - Involve as many people as possible,
communicate the essentials, simply, and to appeal and respond to
people's needs. De-clutter communications - make technology work
for you rather than against.
5. Empower action - Remove obstacles, enable constructive
feedback and lots of support from leaders - reward and recognise
progress and achievements.
6. Create short-term wins - Set aims that are easy to achieve - in
bite-size chunks. Manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current
stages before starting new ones.
7. Don't let up - Foster and encourage determination and persistence
- ongoing change - encourage ongoing progress reporting -
highlight achieved and future milestones.
8. Make change stick - Reinforce the value of successful change via
recruitment, promotion, new change leaders. Weave change into
culture.

The Author believes this model would be very effective if implemented. It is

clear and prescriptive in its recommendations to manage change with
clear differentiation in stages that appear manageable. However it appears
to assume that people will respond to each stage and that the drivers will
be effective for everybody.

ILGI KIM 37
2.3.4 Six Change Approach

The Six Change Approach was developed by Kotter and Schlesinger

(1979) designed to prevent or minimize employee resistance to change.
The six approaches react to four pre-identified people resistance factors
which are:

 Self-interest – The concept that some people are concerned with

the implication of the change for themselves and how it may effect
their own interests, rather than considering the effects for the
success of the project or business.
 Misunderstanding – The problem of communicating change with
adequate information.
 Low tolerance for change – The concept that some people are
very keen on security and stability.
 Employee disagreement with reasoning – The concept that
some employees may disagree on the reasons for the change and
on the advantages and disadvantages of the change process.

The six approaches therefore to counteract the pre-identified people

resistance factors above are:

1. Education and Communication – Implement up-front

communication and education to help people see the logic in the
change.
2. Participation and Involvement – The principle that when people
are involved in the change effort they are more likely to buy into
change rather than resist it.
3. Facilitation and Support – The principle that managerial support
helps people deal with fear and anxiety during a transition period.

ILGI KIM 38
 4. Negotiation and Agreement – Suggests that Managers can
combat resistance by offering incentives to employees to not resist
change.
5. Manipulation and Co-option – Co-option as a patronizing gesture
to bring a person into a change management group for the sake of
appearances rather than their substantive contribution.
6. Explicit and Implicit Coercion – The act of a Manager explicitly or
implicitly forcing people into accepting change by making clear that
resisting to change can lead to personal negative change.

This model tackles an issue that is not covered in the previous two models
which is the concept of employee resistance to change. The Author
believes this to be an important factor in the successful implementation of
change management. It addresses and classifies the resistance factors
found in people albeit it is a generalisation as it must be stressed that
there is, and should be, no textbook answers or solution to understand the
mentality of people as it would be dependent on each unique circumstance
and mentality of a person.

ILGI KIM 39
2.4 Personal skills, tools & technique

The change management process in regards to procedure is almost

identical for both the APM and Network Rail. It will be investigated later in
Chapter 6 whether the process identified is effective for throughout a
project life cycle of a new technology project.

The Formula for Change and each of the three models reviewed in Section
2.2 have their respective advantages and disadvantages. The principle of
the Formula for Change is evident in each of the three models however
they focus and theorise on different schools of thought in how to best
implement successful change management. This does not however
discount certain similarities between the theories, for instance the need to
focus on employees.

The Author in past experience has never sought to theorise his own
personal change management techniques. It is applied using the principle
of four main divisions to what is believed to be the most effective change
management practice available to be utilised in the lack of mainstream
theoretical knowledge. The four divisions are described below.

 Organisation/Organisation – the Author believes in clearly

defining roles and accountabilities to reduce conflict and provide
clear expectations of what is required. The involvement of both
internal and external stakeholders and project ‘players’ is strongly
promoted. The principle that if the project is successful then the
person will become successful is also promoted and enforced upon
people. In principle pragmatic formation of the change team is
desired however very rarely achievable.

ILGI KIM 40
  Processes – the Author believes that documentation of strategy
and plans for programme management is vital. This mitigates the
possible eventually of change. The management of change is kept
to a simple and stringent process that is implemented only when
definitely required. The philosophy of prevention not cure is heavily
promoted.

As described above, the current techniques utilised by the Author is vague

and unstructured. The application of change management is done in
practice with no inception of theoretical models. This will be expanded
upon in Chapter 6.

ILGI KIM 41
CHAPTER 3 RELEVANT THEORY (CONFLICT)

3.1 Introduction to Conflict Management

“Conflict management is the process of identifying and addressing

differences that if unmanaged would affect project objectives. Effective
conflict management prevents differences becoming destructive elements
in a project”

Association for Project Managers (2006)

Conflict in project management is inevitable. The cause of conflict in

projects can be related to many factors including differences in values,
attitudes, needs, expectations, perceptions, resources, and personalities.
With the correct skills it can be deemed that being able to deal with conflict
can assist project managers and other organisation members to handle
and effectively resolves conflicts which can lead to a more productive
organisation as a whole, and therefore assist the successful delivery of
projects. Figure 7 below shows both a traditional and contemporary view
of conflict.

Fig. 7. Views on conflict

Traditional View Contemporary View

 Caused by trouble makers  Inevitable between humans
 Bad  Often beneficial
 Should be avoided  Natural result of change
 Must be suppressed  Can and should be managed

ILGI KIM 42
Ohlendorf (2001) states that managers spend 42% of their time on
reaching agreement with others when conflict occurs. Conflict may arise
among many different parties both internal and external including:

 Individuals
 Teams
 Stakeholders
 Organisations

Therefore the ability of a project manager to solve problems, set goals,

compromise, settle personality differences, and resolve conflicts is key as
is the skill of being able to recognise when a conflict may have a critical
impact on a project.

Unmanaged conflict may often be considered to be a significant factor in the

case of delays and additional costs. The control and management of conflict
and their initiators and players are crucial to a projects successful outcome.
Problems that may arise from conflict include:

 Lower productivity
 Lower morale
 Causes more and continued conflicts
 Causes inappropriate behaviours

There are an infinite amount of resources available relating to the process,

concepts and models of conflict management. It must however be noted that
conflict is not always a negative factor, but can be used as a constructive tool.
Managed conflict brings concerns into the open, raises otherwise suppressed
viewpoints and can clear up misunderstandings and uncertainty all of which can
enable a positive working relationship to develop. Therefore it can be assumed

ILGI KIM 43
that conflict is almost a requirement in a successful project. Other benefits
include:

 Helps to raise and address problems

 Focuses work on the most appropriate issues
 Increases participation
 Allows workforce to learn how to recogniser and benefit fro their
difference

This dissertation will not touch on the topic of conflict prevention, but
management of conflict only. We shall assume that prevention of conflict will
occur with the appropriate application of all other project management
techniques to ensure an environment for conflict does not materialise.

This chapter on conflict management theory will review concepts and models
that could be applied to manage conflict from educational resources.

ILGI KIM 44
3.2 Conflict Management Concepts and Models

The principle of conflict management covers a process that starts with a

cause, level and resolution of the conflict.

This chapter will focus on the concept and models of conflict resolution
however we shall firstly review the different causes and levels of conflict
that may arise.

3.2.1 Theory of the Cause of Conflict

There are numerous theories on the cause of conflict however in its basic
form, various studies refer back to a single theory, that of the Approach
Avoidance theory.

Dean & Eaton (1995) describes the two tendencies that causes conflict:

 Approach – a tendency to do something or to move in a direction

that will be pleasurable and satisfying.
 Avoidance – to resist doing something because it will perhaps not
be pleasurable or satisfying.

The above two tendencies cause’s three different types of conflict:

 Approach–Approach Conflict – Conflict that arises from a pursuit

of a desirable but incompatible goal.
 Approach–Avoidance Conflict – Conflict that arises from a desire
to both do something and not to do it.
 Avoidance–Avoidance Conflict – Conflict that arises from two
alternatives both of which may be unpleasant or undesirable.

ILGI KIM 45
This theory is a very simplistic view of the causes of conflict but it can be
viewed that due to the vast nature of the topic, such a simplistic view
provides the foundations for further studies. The basic principle is that an
approach is required for an end goal with avoidance being the determining
factor for conflict. The single anomaly is the conflict that is created from
not having a defined end goal, or at least being unsure of it, that is
apparent in the Approach-Approach conflict theory. This principle shall be
applied as a basis of discussion throughout this dissertation.

3.2.2 Levels of Conflict

The skill of evaluating the level of conflict will assist a project manager in
determining the appropriate selection of responses to conflict resolution. It
however must always be taken into consideration that conflict may involve
various different levels of conflict. This section will review two differing
theories on the levels of conflict.

The first theory on the levels of conflict is described by Duffy (2001) who
prescribes four levels of conflict:

Level 1: Facts or Data. A level of conflict that occurs when two parties

simply have different information. This is the easiest kind of conflict to
resolve. To resolve this conflict, leaders simply ensure that both parties
have the same information.

Level 2: Processes or Methods. This level of conflict occurs when there

is a difference of opinion over how things should be done. The issue
generally revolves around the issue of how to reach a goal rather than
what is the goal. In such a scenario compromise is usually the realistic
option.

ILGI KIM 46
Level 3: Goals or Purpose. This level of conflict is where parties cannot
agree on a common goal. Negotiations at this level requires patience and
skill.

Level 4: Values. The highest level of conflict whereby the conflict itself is

due to values whereby the disagreement is about basic meaning.

This theory appears to focus on the concept of the final goal with
communication and agreement of that goal key in the management of the
conflict.

The second theory on the levels of conflict is described by Leas (1985)

who prescribes five levels of conflict:

Level 1: Problem to Solve. Conflict that arises from disagreement of

goals, values and needs but problem orientated rather than person
orientated. This level requires the problem to be solves with a unanimous
agreement utilizing a collaborative style. This level of conflict that can have
a win-win outcome.

Level 2: Disagreement. This level of conflict arises from a problem that

cannot be clearly identified due to missed personalities and issues. This
level requires a collaborative solution via consensus.

Level 3: Contest. This level of conflict arises from a resistance to peace

and a focus on the ‘enemy’ that causes factions to arise. This level
requires mediation, compromise and the ability to make decisions by a
third party. This level of conflict is most likely to have a win/lose outcome.

Level 4: Fight/Flight. This level of conflict arises from parties moving from
a want to resolve a problem to removing the problem and its facilitators.

ILGI KIM 47
Level 5: Intractable. The highest level of conflict arises from when
personalities have become the issue with no clear understanding of the
problem itself. Conflict may now be seen as being unmanageable. This
level of conflict requires the removal of the facilitators of a problem with
intervention form higher authorities most likely. It is deemed that at this
level no reconciliation is possible and the management technique shifts
from resolution to damage limitation causing a lose/lose outcome.

This theory focuses on the problem as a source of conflict with the addition
of people orientated factors playing an ever more increasing role in the
escalation of a conflict. In terms of real life experience this theory can be
deemed more appropriate to defining differing levels of conflict.

We now move onto the different concepts and models of conflict

resolution.

3.2.3 Conflict Management the APM Way

The 5th Edition of the APM Body of Knowledge describes a model that
focuses on the tension between relationships and goals in conflict. A
project manager when becoming engaged in conflict must deal with two
major concerns that are to achieve his goals and preserve relationships
that may affect his project. These two major concerns will determine how a
project manager acts ion a conflict situation. Therefore the Association of
Project Managers (2006) describes five methods of conflict management:

1. Confronting. A technique whereby goals and relationships are key.

Conflict is viewed as a problem that requires to be solved and
therefore seek a solution that achieves both their own goals and the
goals of the other person in the conflict. It is believed this form of
management allows conflict to improve relationships by reducing

ILGI KIM 48
 tension between people. By seeking solutions that satisfy both
themselves and the other person they maintain the relationship.
The final outcome will be for a solution to be found that achieves
their own goals and the other person’s goals and they want all
tensions and negative feelings to be fully resolved.

It can be viewed that such a technique would require project

managers to gain such skills as active listening, being able to
quickly and effectively identify problems, and have the ability to
confront in a non-threatening manner.

2. Compromising. A technique whereby there is a moderate concern

with their own goals and about their relationships with other people.
A compromise therefore is sought. The compromise will generally
require part of their goals to be sacrificed in persuading the other
person in a conflict to give up part of their goals. The solution to the
conflict is where both sides gain something.

It can be viewed that such a technique would require project

managers to gain such skills as negotiation, finding acceptable
middle grounds based on value, and being able to make
concessions.

3. Accommodating. A technique whereby the relationship is of much

greater importance than their own goals. This is fuelled by a want of
being accepted and liked by other people; conflict avoided in favour
of harmony as the belief is that conflicts cannot be discussed
without damaging relationships. The fear that drives the resolution
of the conflict is that if a conflict continues someone will get hurt and
that would ruin the relationship which is done by sacrificing their
own goals to preserve the relationship. Therefore this technique

ILGI KIM 49
 requires one to smooth over conflict in fear of harming the
relationship.

It can be viewed that such a technique would require project

managers to have maturity in moving aside personal desires and
goals, ability to yield his own powers of authority, and having the
selflessness to obey orders from those around you including project
staff, stakeholders, clients etc.

4. Competing. A technique whereby one seeks to overpower

opponents by forcing them to accept their solution to the conflict.
The goals are highly important but the relationship is of minor
importance. Goals must be achieved at all costs with little or no
concern with the needs of other people. Conflicts are settled by one
person winning and the other losing. This technique is generally
practised by those who believe winning provides them a sense of
pride and achievement, losing giving them a sense of weakness,
inadequacy, and failure. Conflict is resolved by attacking,
overpowering, overwhelming, and intimidating other people.

It can be viewed that such a technique would require project

managers to have strong skills in debate, assertiveness, being able
to communicate clearly and if required appropriately apply rank and
influence.

5. Avoidance. A technique whereby conflict is avoided in fear of

engaging further conflict via low assertiveness and low cooperation.
It is assumed such technique will allow for the conflict to pass away.

It can be viewed that such a technique would require project

managers to have the ability to analyse when to withdraw, sidestep,

ILGI KIM 50
 and when issues can be left unresolved without effecting the goals
of the project. Of course such skills would also require to be
complemented with timing.

The Author believes that although all five techniques are valid, the
Avoidance/Withdrawal and Accommodating/Smoothing techniques would
require a period of time before the effects of the technique would become
apparent.

The model above is also reflected by the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode

Instrument as shown in Fig. 8 below.

Fig. 8. Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

Cooperation

Accommodating Collaborating

Compromising

Avoiding Competing

Assertiveness

As highlighted in the previous chapter regarding change, the APMBOK is

used as the primary source for Project Management techniques by the
Author. Although the recommendations and process described in the
chapter regarding conflict management is informative, it is very brief and
does not go into detail how to assess when such techniques should or can
be applied.

Leas (1998) adds a sixth method to the above which is Supporting. This
technique is whereby one provides support to the person who is

ILGI KIM 51
experiencing conflict. It involves strengthening, encouraging or
empowering one party so they can handle their difficulties. The Author
believes this is a crucial sixth factor as it views conflict in the 3 rd party that
the above perhaps does not. Conflict management does not need to be
resolved by a project manager, or a body of authority, and as such, a
softer approach to management such as supporting is a welcome and
important addition.

3.2.4 3-Step Turnbull Process

Turnbull (1967) suggests a three step process model for resolving conflict:

Step 1: Assess Potential Conflict. This step is broken down into four
factors. The first is to obtain as much information as possible as many
conflicts are the result of misinformation. The second factor is to buy as
much time as possible as delay means reducing the time for formulating a
strategy to act wisely. The third factor is to assess the individuals involved
in the conflict and identify their motives. The fourth and final factor is to
explore the emotional temperature of the conflict on the basis that humour
or distraction may lower anger levels.

Step 2: Diffuse Public Conflict. This step is broken down into four
factors. The first is to inform the whole group of the facts of the situation to
help with later decision making. The second factor is to find out and ask
about the history of the conflict from those concerned. The third factor is to
engage those in conflict with people who can help them reach a
constructive engagement. The fourth and final factor is to delay action until
there has been time to attempt to manage the conflict.

Step 3: Solve Conflict Problems. This step is broken down into five
factors. The first is to consider all the gathered facts, feelings and opinions
about the conflict. The second is to list options to the problem, considering

ILGI KIM 52
possible positive and negative consequences of each. The third is to list
the options in the order of priority. The fourth is to depersonalise the
options to avoid focus on the personalities of those involved. The fifth and
final step is to develop a consensus for the option that most resolves the
conflict, even if it involves compromise.

This model is very different to that of the previous model in that it

describes an actual process of activities to resolve conflict rather than
looking at the psychological aspects of a conflict. Although descriptive, it is
open to interpretation however whether such a model is suitable for
complex project conflict situations is open to debate.

3.2.5 McSwain & Treadwell 5 Styles of Conflict Management

Similar to the numerous resources on leadership styles, we review a

model of conflict management based on the style of approach given the
particular conflict situation. The model to be reviewed is based on five
different styles as presented by McSwain and Treadwell (1981).

Style 1: The Problem Solver. A style where one refuses to deny or flee
the conflict, presses for conversation and negotiation of the conflict until a
satisfactory conclusion is reached. The Author believes such a style would
be most effective with groups that share common goals and whose conflict
stems from miscommunication.

Style 2: The Super Helper. A style where one constantly works to help
others and give little thought to self. This is the ‘Messiah’ who is often
passive in their own conflicts but always assists others to solve their
conflicts. The Author believes such a style is similar to that of the
Accommodating/Smoothing technique discussed in the previous section.

ILGI KIM 53
Style 3: The Power Broker. A style whereby the solutions are more
important than relationships. Even if a person leaves the group or project,
as long as a solution was achieved, they are satisfied. It can be used when
substantive differences are so contradictory that mutually inclusive goals
are not possible.

Style 4: The Facilitator. A style employed to adapt to a variety of

situations in order to achieve a compromise between competing factions.
Such a style, the Author believes, would be effective for conflicts where
differences are attitudinal or emotional.

Style 5: The Fearful Loser. A style whereby one runs from conflict
probably because they are personally insecure. This tends to produce
hostility and a weakening of leadership. The Author believes such a style
is similar to that of the Avoidance/Withdraw technique discussed in the
previous section.

ILGI KIM 54
3.3 Personal skills, tools & technique

The different conflict management levels and techniques described in the

previous sections have their respective advantages and disadvantages.
The levels of conflict described by both Duffy (2001) and Leas (1985) are
both relevant however the Author believes there is no direct link between
the level of conflict and the technique or style to be adopted for resolution.
The 3-Step Turnbull process is too descriptive again to be guaranteed of
success although it lays good foundations for managing conflict. The
reason for this is that regardless of the level of conflict, the source and
environment that the conflict exists would be a culmination of infinite
different factors that would mean that different techniques would be
required at different levels based on the environment.

The five techniques as described by the Association of Project Managers

(2006) is very similar to that of McSwain & Treadwell (1981) five styles.
For example the Power Broker is similar to that of Competing/Forcing and
the Fearful Loser similar to that of Avoidance and Withdrawal. Of the
numerous other literature studied for this dissertation, the theme remains
the same whereby principally the five factors are presented but in different
forms or guises with sometimes an additional factor, technique or style
such as the Supporting technique described nu Leas (1998).

The Author in past experience has never sought to theorise his own
personal conflict management techniques. The current techniques utilised
by the Author is vague and unstructured. The principle always applied
through experience has been to identify a goal, review the conflict, and
resolve on an ad hoc basis if required with little thought of future project
consequences. The application of conflict management is done in practice
with no inception of theoretical models. This will be expanded upon later in
this dissertation.

ILGI KIM 55
CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY

4.1 Reflective Practice – A Quick Introduction

Reflective practice means looking at what you do, thinking about why you
do it, and thinking about if it works - a process of self-observation and self-
evaluation. The learning process in reflective practice begins with the
examination of an individual's own actions and contrasting the actions to
the ideal of the practice. The process is intended to result in behavioural
changes that improve professional performance.

ILGI KIM 56
4.2 Reflective Practice Theory

The principle of reflective practice is the process of looking back in a

critical way at what has occurred and using the results of this process,
together with professional knowledge (with technical and ethical aspects),
to tackle new situations.

Moon (1999) describes the principle of ‘being reflective’ as a reflection that

is applied particularly in literature of professional practice. It is an
orientation to practice reflection of ones own work to add value to their
work. No particular form of reflection could be suggested but that reflection
should be an action of habit, as a learning style.

Moon (1999) describes nine different purposes or outcomes of reflection

as described below.

1. Learning or the production of further material for reflection. This is

described later under the model of Kolb (1984).
2. Action or other expression of learning. This involves reflection in
initial learning. In essence it is the action of reflection with the intention
to reprocess or reorganise such information gathered from the
reflection to possibly improve future performance.
3. Reflection on the process of learning. This is the reflection on the
actual process of learning.
4. Building of theory. This involves reflection as a means of building
theory as the different stages of learning evolve. This implies that
sophisticated theory is a reflection of continuous learning. This is
described later under the model of Schon (1993).
5. Self development. This involves reflection forming a process of self
development whereby the lessons learnt from reflection are applied in

ILGI KIM 57
 practice to develop and improves one performance by both knowledge
and experience.
6. Decisions and resolutions of uncertainty. This implies that decision
making to reach resolutions is developed as the process and
application of reflective practice strengthens in one self.
7. Empowerment and emancipation. On the basis that emancipation is
a result of taking a critical overview of self, the principles of reflection is
no different. Therefore emancipation and empowerment cannot take
place without reflection.
8. Other outcomes that are unexpected. This involves the use of
reflective practice allowing the exploration of other outcomes to any
given situation become apparent if studied therefore assisting the
process of learning.
9. Emotion. This is an outcome whereby it can be considered that
reflection is due to the actual process of reflection. Could it be that we
are unable to reflect unless the principles of reflection are embedded in
ones personality. A question that may arise is to what level can
reflection be taught?

There are many theoretical models and concepts available ranging from
general to specific industries. This section will review three different
theoretical models.

ILGI KIM 58
4.2.1 Fish and Coles (1998)

Fish and Coles (1998) describe two contrasting images of professional

practice as shown below in Figure 9. The Author believes that the two
different views can be interpreted as two extremes of reflective practice.

Fig. 9. Two contrasting images of Professional Practice

The Technical Rational (TR) View The Professional Artistry (PA) View
Starts where rules fade, sees patterns,
1 Follows rules, laws, and prescriptions
frameworks
2 Uses diagnosis, analysis Uses interpretation/appreciation
3 Wants efficient systems Wants creativity and room to be wrong
Sees knowledge as graspable, Knowledge is temporary, dynamic,
4
permanent problematic
5 Theory is applied to practice Theory emerges from practice
6 Visible performance is central There is more to it than surface features
Setting out and testing for basic There is more to it than the sum of the
7
competency is vital parts
8 Technical expertise is all Professional judgement counts
Sees professional activities as Sees mystery at the heart of professional
9
masterable activities
10 Emphasizes the known Embraces uncertainty
Source: Fish and Coles (1998)

The Technical Rational (TR) view appears to be concerned with finding the
best way towards a predetermined end on the assumption that higher
quality processes lead to higher quality outputs – a scientific process. The
author believes that in terms of project change, the TR view represents the
key characteristics of a transactional organisation where practice is
structured and inflexible. The Author believes this view would be
inappropriate for conflict management as ‘soft’ management is more
appropriate, a management style that is not always scientific in nature.

Della and Coles (1998) explains that the TR approach is when

“professional activities are able to be pre-specified and susceptible to
being broken down into their component parts and that such parts are all
regarded as skills and are thus viewed as being able to be mastered”. This
view is a very simplistic approach to adopt in regards to project
management that the author believes, at its core, is a form of change

ILGI KIM 59
management. Currie & Golding (2002) states that “the nature of
management is complex, ambiguous, contradictory and uncertain; it is also
recognised as a social and political activity”. If this interpretation of
management is to be considered the author believes that the TR approach
can be deemed to be overoptimistic about the capabilities of an individual
to master the rules, laws, systems and skills due to the very inherent
nature of management. However the Author believes such interpretation
summarises the complexities of conflict and its underlying influence of
social and political activity.

The TR view states that theory is applied to practice, however, to imply

that problems can be solved by applying someone else’s knowledge to
ones own practice is simplistic and may devalue the art and skill of a
profession. It may be that there is no theory to apply, or applying theory to
practice does not solve a given problem. Theory in its direct interpretation
is a body of rules, idea, principles, and techniques that fundamentally is an
idea formed by speculation even though mostly it is supported by practical
evidence. Theory is applicable only in the context whereby the social,
political and environmental conditions that the theory is based upon and is
a guideline from a certain perspective.

Overall, the TR approach can be viewed as a negative approach to project

management as it does not promote professionals to question the rules
and values that underpin their practice and how it liberates and constrains
what they do.

However the TR view must not be immediately discounted. Ghaye and

Ghaye (1998) states that “some professionals argue that a certain set of
core values gives them their sense of identity, purpose and integrity. A
shared understanding and appreciations of a professions values and
ethical responsibilities are central to the profession”. Such personal drivers

ILGI KIM 60
and motivators to a professional are equally important to their practice, a
factor that cannot immediately be derived from the PA view.

The Professional Artistry (PA) view defines a perspective whereby

processes undertaken is critically and dynamically reassessed whilst
actually taking place and actual practice is the most important tool for
future professional advancement and maturity in being able to allow those
to deal with the unexpected aspects of real practice. Della and Coles
(1998) describes the PA view as “where only principles can be pre-
determined and practitioners may in practice, and for good reason, need to
choose to go beyond them”. The Author believes such a view underlines
the principles of conflict management. The models and concepts reviewed
in Chapter 3 are, although useful, very vague in that it does not provide
specific models to any given situation. Conflict is generally driven by
personal, social, and political factors of individuals that cannot be defined
in a scientific process. Due to the infinite possibilities that may effect
conflict, the Author believes that the PA view is the approach to be
adopted so that a project manager continuously draws on his own
experience, only supported by theoretical scientific knowledge, to reach
the required resolution.

A professional should be able to perform his function beyond merely doing

a particular job. A professional should reflect on the environment that
influenced their past performance and seek ways to not only understand
what they do and how they do it, but how they can improve their
performance. Therefore the TR and PA views should not be interpreted as
two poles in which to categorise professional practice. A good PM should
be able to learn, develop and apply positives from any professional
practice view to deliver a project within a structure that suits the
environment and one that will deliver the required deliverables.

ILGI KIM 61
4.2.2 Schon (1983)

Schon (1983) recommends reflective practice as a way for beginners in a

discipline to recognize consonance between their own individual practices
and those of successful practitioners. He suggests that reflective practice
involves thoughtfully considering one's own experiences in applying
knowledge to practice while being coached by professionals in the
discipline.

Schon (1983) describes three different types of reflective practice:

 KiA (Knowing in Action) – professional knowledge we use in our

daily practice. We improve our professional practice by reflecting on
what we actually do to generate a detailed knowledge base derived
from practice.

 RiA (Reflection in Action) – central to the art by which professionals

handle and resolve difficulties and concerns about practice by
reflecting on the adequacy of our KiA. A surprise usually triggers
this process when we realise that our existing stock of knowledge
that we are using is no longer adequate. It is based on the rapid
interpretation and action of a situation.

 RoA (Reflection on Action) – a deliberate and conscious reflection

after an event to improve our future actions.

The challenge of the three different types of reflective practice appears to

be based around reflective practitioners fundamentally reconsidering the
role of technical knowledge versus artistry. This is very similar to that of
the differences in the Technical Rational view and Professional Artistry
view as described by Fish and Coles (1998) and discussed in the previous

ILGI KIM 62
section. The Author believes that KiA is describing similar principles to that
of the TR view and RiA to that of the Pa view. As explained in the previous
chapter, the Author believes that both change and conflict management is
more suited to that of the PA, and therefore, RiA. Although the reasoning
behind this has been already explained, Schon (1983) introduces a
different perspective that is the RoA approach. This approach does not
question or differentiate KiA or RiA but provides an all encompassing
approach of reflecting upon an event regardless whether it was
undertaken using a technical, artistry, or a mixture of both. The simple
principle that whatever we do, however we do it, can always be reflected
upon to improve our future actions. The Author believes this is the
fundamental principle of reflective practice and can be applied to any
management technique as well as any other aspect of life.

4.2.3 Kolb (1984)

Kolb (1984) identifies four distinct learning styles (or preferences), which
are based on a four-stage learning cycle. This section will focus on the
learning styles rather than the interaction it has with the learning cycle.

The four learning styles are as follows:

 Diverging (feeling and watching) – The concept of being able to

view from different perspectives preferring to watch rather than do
tending to gather information and use imagination to solve
problems.
 Assimilating (watching and thinking) – The concept of a learning
preference for a concise, logical approach whereby ideas and
concepts are more important than people.

ILGI KIM 63
  Converging (doing and thinking) – The concept steered towards
solving problems utilising their prior learning of ideas and theories
preferring technical perspectives rather than people perspectives.
 Accommodating (doing and feeling) – The concept of being
hands on relying on intuition rather than logic. This style has a
preference to act on instinct rather than logical analysis.

As previously discussed the Author believes that both change and conflict
management is more akin to the PA and RiA view than the TR and KiA
view. The four learning styles described by Kolb (1984) immediately falls
into the two categories described before. The Diverging and
Accommodating styles describing the principles behind PA and RiA, and
Assimilating and Converging describing the principles behind the PA and
RiA.

These four styles like the model described by Fish and Coles (1998) does
not intimately specify the principles of RoA described by Schon (1983).

ILGI KIM 64
4.3 Key Principles of the Methodology

The basis of this dissertation will reflect the Professional Artistry (PA)
approach. This is due to the belief by the Author that in terms of change
and conflict management, the PA view represents the activities undertaken
where the Author is able to exercise innate creativity in solving problems.
Its view defines a perspective whereby processes undertaken is critically
and dynamically reassessed whilst actually taking place and actual
practice is the most important tool which is the methodology this
dissertation is based on.

This will support the learning style to be adopted from Kolb (1984) for this
dissertation which will be the Accommodating style. The Author believes
this is the best style as it allows for Schon’s view of reflective practice to
be utilised as the Author believes it is intended.

Schon’s RoA approach will be the underlying principle applied throughout

this dissertation.

Therefore a summary of the methodology will be as follows:

1. Observation and reflection of actual practice by the use of a

learning log for both change and conflict.
2. Review of theoretical process, concept and models in comparison
to the results of Stage 1.
3. Recommendation of improved processes, concepts and models
that could be applied.

Stage 1 will be conducted with the use of a learning log. The learning log
is to be used to conduct focused, concise and analytical reviews of current

ILGI KIM 65
practices and processes for specific activities based, in this dissertation,
around the concept of change and conflict management.

The learning log for change designed and utilised for this dissertation has
the following headings (a template can be found in Appendix 4):

 What – What is the change.

 Why – Why has the change occurred?
 Goals – What are the goals in regards to the change?
 Issues – What are the key issues surrounding the change
 Reaction – How was the change managed?
 Learned – What has been learned?

The learning log for conflict designed and utilised for this dissertation has
the following headings (a template can be found in Appendix 5):

 Who – Who are in conflict.

 Why – Why has the conflict occurred?
 Goals – What are the goals in regards to the conflict?
 Issues – What are the key issues surrounding the conflict
 Reaction – How was the conflict managed?
 Learned – What has been learned?

The results of Stage 1 will be elaborated in Chapter 4.

Stages 2 and 3 will be elaborated in Chapters 5 and 6 whereby the

theoretical models reviewed earlier will be compared against the results of
stage 1 resulting in conclusions of current practice in relation to theoretical
processes and models and recommendations made to improve current
practice. It must be remembered that the aim of reflective practice is that

ILGI KIM 66
the result of the reflection may provide an option to decide to do something
in a different way, or just reinforce that what is being done is the best way.
The Author believes this is what professional development by reflective
practice is all about.

ILGI KIM 67
CHAPTER 5 PRACTICE EXPERIENCE

5.1 GRIP Stage 1-3: Output Definition,

Pre-Feasibility, Option Selection

GRIP stages 1 to 3 is designed to establish the scope of the project

required by an internal client. It ensures that the project product can be
economically delivered by addressing the identified constraints and
develops options for addressing the identified constraints and delivering
the required capability. It concludes in Stage 3 where options are
assessed and the most appropriate selected.

The Vital FDM project was implemented as an emergency project to

introduce a new technology FDM system as it was identified that the
current systems were in the top ten catastrophic signalling risks nationally.
The Westinghouse HD Link and Communicator FDM system, already
implemented in North America and in successful operation, was identified
by the Client with no option selection taking place. This therefore
bypassed GRIP Stages 1 to 3 which set the project off immediately on a
bad footing. The core stage products required as the building blocks to a
successful project were bypassed.

On reflection the two key issues to arise during this stage was that no
option selection of technology took place, and that an assumption was
made that the technology utilised in North America would be immediately
compatible in the UK.

The consequence of no option selection taking place was that this caused
immediate conflict between the Client and Train and Freight operating
companies. This was due to the apprehension by the train and freight
operating companies of the new untested technology being utilised to

ILGI KIM 68
resolve an issue without any other option being reviewed. This can be
deemed as being a level 2 conflict as described by Duffy (2001) whereby
conflict has occurred due to a difference of opinion over how things should
be done. However the ultimate decision was to be made by the Network
Rail client and it was deemed that the project would continue under their
terms, therefore no selection of technology. This can be viewed as using
the forcing technique described by the Association of Project Managers
(2006). Such a position to resolve the conflict was taken by Network Rail
due to their position of authority and power of decision as the asset
owners of the railways.

The decision to utilise the technology could also be reviewed. It was

understood that the technology was successful in North America however
the change in environment for the technology was not considered to
perhaps the extent it should or could have. If such a change in
environment for the new technology was to be considered applying the
formula of change, all the elements of the formula are present excluding a
strong concrete step towards the vision (F). This may result in the
resistance of change being greater than the change required.

ILGI KIM 69
5.2 GRIP Stage 4 and 5: Single Option Development and
Detailed Design

GRIP Stage 4 is designed to develop a single option to point of scope

freeze. Stage 5 is designed to produce a complete and robust engineering
design that allows risks, costs, timescales, resources and benefits to be
fully understood prior to commitment to implement.

The Vital FDM project was always considered high risk and complex due
to the new technology being introduced to the national railway
infrastructure. The timescales required to undertake the works due to its
emergency nature and its dependency on gaining a safety case and
product approval for the new technology meant that the principle of quality
management through all aspects of the project was a priority issue.

However the safety and product approval processes had a major impact
on the delivery of the project because:

 Due to its complexity it used resource originally allocated to other

project delivery tasks.
 Stakeholders were not able to cope with the resource requirements
of the onerous approval process.
 Scheme plans and designs were always changing due to
requirements from the safety approvals.
 There were adversarial relationships between stakeholders that
lead to minimal cooperation in the approval management process,
and preparation for the approval process.
 The client approval standards and method of approval proved to be
a greater challenge than WRSL team had anticipated.

ILGI KIM 70
  WRSL had been assured during their early meetings with the client
that a pragmatic approach would be taken during the approval
process that did not happen.

It is clear from the above that there was no ‘hands on’ ownership of the
safety and product approval process. Such a ‘champion’ identified with an
ability to RiA would have assisted in smoothing the quality management
and approval process, a process that in this particular situation was of an
extremely high priority and political nature. The ‘champion; mentioned
would on reflection be lead by the project manager, however also
practised by the project members, especially those considered to be the
‘mature’ experienced and senior members of the team.

Due to the lack of any other guide on managing relationships, the client
project team also used the contract to manage relationships that may have
affected the efficiency of the process. This was not conducive to an
effective project delivery environment as Johnson & Scholes (2002) states
that “a key aspect of an organisation’s configuration is the ability to
integrate the knowledge and activities of different parts of an organisation
and with other organisations”. It would have been expected for both
respective PM’s KiA to have been applied at this stage of the project yet it
was not evident. The change itself from the pragmatic approach assured
to the WRSL by Network Rail to a contractual approach would have been
a major contributor to the conflict that occurred – a clear example of an
approach-avoidance conflict.

Upon reflection a collaborative approach would have also assisted in

resolving the problems and ultimately conflict encountered in the approval
process. Morris & Pinto (2004) states that “problem solving becomes more
feasible as the perception of common ground increases as greater
common ground makes the likelihood of finding alternatives that satisfy the

ILGI KIM 71
interest of both parties seem more promising”. The common ground in any
project would be the requirement to deliver the project for a particular gain
amongst all stakeholders – and in this case would have been the
acceleration of the safety and product approval process to deliver the
project to programme. This form of conflict appears to have stemmed from
parties not understanding the common ground was ultimately the project
goals, a level of conflict that could be considered a Level 3 by Duffy
(2001).

Although not always technically feasible or expected, the contract should

outline the collaborative behaviours, the requirement for an integrated
project team and a support and education programme to focus on the
development of productive relationships. A question that could be raised,
but that will not be explored within this dissertation, is whether a contract is
capable of being able to contain clauses that could outline collaborative
behaviours – can soft management skills such as collaboration be
expressed in writing in a systematical manner?

The reaction to the requirement for a change was clearly identified by the
delays. The following actions were applied and recorded for future
learning:

 Ensure management and approval issues are resolved from the

offset to mitigate continual impact on project programme.
Management and approval issues to be tackled collaboratively. This
was done with full cooperation as the need for Network Rail to
deliver the project and for WRSL to be paid as being on an activity
milestone payment contract facilitated the eventual collaboration.
 In the event of quality or approval process issues a champion to
challenge such processes was nominated from the senior

ILGI KIM 72
 management team, project team and support teams from both
Network Rail and WRSL.
 Emergency meetings were set up with those responsible for
approvals and a joint presentation with senior management enabled
the concerns to be tabled, agreed in a positive manner, and
actioned. Regular meetings to take place to support more effective
communication and promote common understanding. This level of
conflict is at Level 3 as described by Leas (1985) whereby a third
party is being brought in to mediate the situation. The techniques
used by senior management were of a compromising and
accommodating nature.
 Network Rail, at a senior corporate level, needs to communicate the
corporate strategy for the investment and ensure there is an
alignment between all stakeholders.
 Roles to be defined clearly in terms of the Approval process. This is
the simplest of conflict management and, if applied early enough in
the project, prevention that should have been communicated.

ILGI KIM 73
5.3 GRIP Stage 6: Construction, Testing &
Commissioning

GRIP Stage 6 delivers the product in accordance to the design and

specification with assurance it will deliver the incremental network
capability.

A fundamental issue was apparent at the start of GRIP Stage 6. As

preparatory works were beginning to commence onsite a weekly
committee meeting was held from the start of the phase and set up by
both respective project managers of Network Rail and WRSL. The
Network Rail Project Manager chaired the meeting and invited members of
the project team and other personnel where appropriate. The purpose of
the meetings was to cover the status of the project to ensure that everyone
knew what had been done and what was being planned, and a forum to
raise any project issues and instigate solutions.

However the weekly management committee was the only formal forum
available and enforced within the contract. This was maintained even
when the project programme slipped considerably and therefore costs
escalated. Also due to the political nature and complexity of the project,
the Network Rail Project Manager did not share his true feelings with the
project team and WRSL until he was in a very public forum. Upon
reflection this must have made it extremely difficult for the principle
contractor to manage the project. What was clearly missing was
communication at different levels and especially with the respective project
teams. Communication planning had not been taking place and
administrative processes were insufficient.

It can be argued that time should have been invested early in the project to
develop strong personal relationships at project level to reduce the impact
of any project problems and therefore potential conflict. Such productive

ILGI KIM 74
relationships would have encouraged key players to support each other
and work together for solutions. It was only after the project went into crisis
mode and senior players got involved did all the parties work closely
together with the sole aim of delivering the project. It can be considered
that perhaps the past working relationships between all stakeholders prior
to this project were not fully investigated to ensure that no inherent
conflicts were being imported to such a critical project.

Other issues that arose from the management of relationships and

supporting communication were:

 After the first team development workshop early in the phase the
other proposed workshops were not implemented that would have
improved team building. This was changed immediately. Clear need
of the meeting was communicated to all relevant people although
attendance was enforced. This was enforced by the use of the
Network Rail change control process. This initially lead to
resistance however was negated once the benefits of the change
became apparent.
 Plans to co-locate were not implemented early on and became a
source of tension later as to where the co-located venue should be.
 The focus shifted totally to business activities and relationship
activities were not part of any Project Management strategy. The
issue was changed with the use of empowering project members so
therefore take responsibility and initiative to communicate.
 It is thought that Network Rail undertook too much of a contractual
stance in terms of the meetings and communicating in contractual
tones. Again this was ended by change by explaining the effect it
was having on the delivery of the project to all members. This
relaxation of commercial relationship was agreed with senior
management. Such a accommodating and therefore cooperative

ILGI KIM 75
 approach provides the opportunity for a facilitator approach to be
taken to manage conflict and allows also for conflicts to be at a level
whereby the Problem solver style as described by McSwain and
Treadwell (1981) to be practised.

It is clear that due to the nature of the project, the Project Manager did not
practice a PA approach but practised a TR view following rules as set out
in the contract for communication. It was felt that such a new technology
project required efficient systems, with the best technical expertise with
performance that was visible to the sponsors. Yet upon reflection, such a
large project should have given the freedom to the Project Manager to
apply creative thinking and allow the project members to exert more
sapient authority and increase communication amongst them.

To apply RoA and the lessons that can be learnt and applied in future
include:

 Relationships impact on performance as positive or negative

relationships will determine to what extent conflict is allowed to
manifest and to what level. Therefore attention has to be given to
developing productive relationships at senior, middle and
operational levels between contractor and client. Change needs to
be implemented and maintained.
 The contract and style of relationships need to compliment each
other. A change to relationship styling by education is required.
Conflict management approach also needs to be considered.
Network Rail has a history of applying a Competing/Forcing
technique to its contractors that may create further conflicts. Such a
complex and critical project should have been allocated a project
manager with the experience and skill to apply compromising and

ILGI KIM 76
 accommodating conflict resolution techniques without ever losing
sight of the key goals of the project.
 A good communication plan is essential. Communication is a key
skill that applies to both change and conflict management. The
Author believes from experience that good communication is the
basic foundation of any successful project.
 Involve and promote active participation of key stakeholders in the
project during all stages. Such participation should hopefully not
allow any conflicts to progress beyond level 1 for both theories
described by Leas (1985) and Duffy (2001).
 Pay attention to and address cultural differences be they corporate
or national. In regards to conflict management this is a critical
factor. Cultural differences are a strong factor in the manifestation in
levels of conflict. When cultural ideals, and therefore values and
personalities become involved, you immediately provide an
environment for the highest levels of conflict. Such levels of conflict
would require very strong conflict resolution skills.
 Ensure sound project processes are in place and utilised. This also
applies to both change and contract management. Processes such
a the 3-Step Turnbull process for conflict management, and both
the Network Rail and Association of project manager processes for
change management could be briefed, or documented as a
template for promoting success.
 Clarify expectations, roles and responsibilities at outset of project.
 Promote Team Development opportunities.

ILGI KIM 77
5.4 GRIP Stage 7-8: Scheme Handback and Project Close
Out

This GRIP Stage is intended to introduce the asset into operational use
obtain acceptance of the Works and then ensure that the project is closed
out in an orderly manner with updated asset management information,
capitalised assets, settled contractual accounts and any contingencies and
warranties.

However due to the changes and consequential impact to time that

occurred during GRIP Stages 4 to 6 this project is yet to reach Stage 7 or
8.

ILGI KIM 78
CHAPTER 6 RESULTS ACHIEVED AND
NEXT STEPS

6.1 Summary of where the project has got to

The key original objectives of the project were as follows:

 To place an RT24 Cost Reimbursable Design and Build Contract

 To gain Safety Case acceptance of the Westinghouse HD Link
and product approval of the HD Communicator modem
equipment.
 To deliver the renewal of all the Vital Reed FDM systems in the
Wessex, Sussex and Kent Areas and recovery works to the
agreed cost and timescales
 To close out the project on time to cost and provide a certificate
of completion to HSE(RI).

The RT24 Cost Reimbursable design and build contract was not
awarded. Instead an RT24 Lump sum design and build contract was
awarded. This was due to GRIP Stages 1-3 not being completed in full
which led to uncertainty of anticipated final price.

The safety case acceptance of the Westinghouse HD Link and product

approval of the HD Communicator modem equipment still remains
outstanding. The challenge to Network Rail Standards and passage
through the approval process has proved to be a greater obstacle than
either WRSL or Network Rail expected. Various undertakings to
Safetrans Systems Ltd and Kenton Research Ltd about a practical
approach to Safety Approval did not materialise. Another key factor is
that the stakeholders expectation that the technology’s history in North
America would speed approval was over optimistic.

The project still remains to be completed.

ILGI KIM 79
6.2 Way forward for the Project and its Management

At the time of writing, this project, via methods of formal change control,
has had the completion date extended by a further year from July 2007
to July 2008. The outstanding objectives still remain applicable
however additional support for both the project team and senior
management team have now been drafted to ensure completion to the
revised project completion date.

It has been concluded by external parties that the key factor for the
project not being completed on time was due to the poor management
of relationships. Due to the high risk nature of the project and it’s
change in contracting strategy to a lump sum contract, the Network Rail
team focused on protecting their contractual position rather than
focusing on resolving problems through collaboration.

This can be explained in part by the railway industry being ‘old-

fashioned’. An industry that has existed under a mindset that has
changed little in the past 50 years. Procedures and work methods have
always been firmly established within the industry and, in particular to
engineers, an unofficial working code of practice has always been
evident.

The problem identified was further compounded by the following

indirect factors:

 Network Rail and WRSL organisation changes that included

redundancies in other core business areas.
 Relocation of workplace of Network Rail project team.
 Blame culture – a trait very common in the rail industry. Internal
squabbling and conflict became apparent with an increase in
requirements due to acceleration of project programme to meet
original project completion date, yet member’s eager to blame

ILGI KIM 80
 each other for non-delivery. This resulted in members avoiding
taking responsibility for objectives that deteriorated the situation.
 Personality clashes between stakeholders.
 Destructive communication patterns strongly associated with
conflict.

All these factors affected the performance and became subject to

increasing criticism from the client leading to a further deterioration of
relationships between stakeholders.

To combat the problems identified, three main approaches have now

been implemented:

The first is to educate, by means of internal training, all stakeholders

excluding the TOC/FOC’s to become effective leaders. The training
identified focuses on the following skills; conceptual, diplomacy skills,
communicational, organization and administration skills. This change is
also designed for the project teams to go from being self-motivated
projects to team-motivated. It is deemed that everyone can be inspired
to achieve in a team-motivated environment. A common goal requires
to be continuously presented with the request for team members to
support each other until success is achieved. The exchange of ideas
and information is being more actively encouraged to add to the
motivating force.

The second approach is by the senior management team who have

increased communication with all stakeholders to explore possible new
objectives.

The third approach to be implemented is the creation of a quality

management committee based around ISO 9004. The committee is
comprised of key stakeholders at project level. The committee has
been designed to promote quality, identification of problems, modern

ILGI KIM 81
methods, pride & loyalty, philosophy & culture, team build, education &
retraining.

To achieve the above the following goals have been set to be

discussed and implemented:

 New Strategic Thinking, Know your Customers

 Set True Customer Requirements
 Concentrate on Prevention, Not Correction
 Reduce Chronic Waste
 Pursue a Continuous Improvement Strategy
 Use Structured Methodology for Process Improvement
 Reduce Variation
 Use a Balanced Approach
 Apply to All Functions

ILGI KIM 82
CHAPTER 7 CRITICAL REFLECTION

7.1 Project Management Theory into Practice

7.1.1 Change Management

The Formula for Change does identify what seems are key principles
for managing change. Dissatisfaction is a common reason for change
regardless of the issue in question. Vision of what is possible is the
definition of the end product of change and the First steps is a process
that any change must go through at implementation. The effective
application of this theory however rests on whether the products of the
three principles are greater than Resistance.

The application of this formula solely depends on how the products are
measured along with the resistance. As a principle this formula states a
common sense approach to change management and should only be
used as a high level formula for those new to the technique of change
management. Therefore this formula will be used as a basis to
challenge change management concepts and models.

The ADKAR model applies the principles of awareness, desire,

knowledge, ability and reinforcement. The process as a model does
appear not prescriptive enough as although it does focus on activities
that are people dependent, it does not factor in the resistance that may
be encountered.

As a process, desire and reinforcement may not fit in to all types of

change. Change may be driven by need not desire and reinforcement
may not be required if the change is temporary or can be in turn
change to reflect the true needs of a project.

ILGI KIM 83
Kottor’s eight steps focus again on people management. Of the
available models the Author believes this to be the most effective. This
model would be effective if implemented as it is clear and prescriptive
in its recommendations to manage change with clear differentiation in
stages that appear manageable. However it appears to assume that
people will respond to each stage and that the drivers will be effective
for everybody. As a process there are doubts about the suitability of
increasing urgency and applying continual pressure by persistence.
The resistance of people may be affected dependent on the principle
that urgency, pressure and persistence may induce a negative
response to change and consolidate or worsen existing resistance.

The Six Change Approach takes a different concept in pre-identifying

types of resistance. It addresses and classifies the resistance factors
found in people albeit it is a generalisation as it must be stressed that
there is, and should be, no textbook answers or solution to understand
the mentality of people as it would be dependent on each unique
circumstance and mentality of a person. It does however provide what
appears to be 3 positives and 3 negative principles. Again, having
principles that may force people in to change is unique amongst the
models reviewed and mist be treated with caution. From reflective
practice, and in specific case to the change in contract strategy, tactics
such as coercion are negative to long tern relationships with which
further exasperation of change may depend. The principle of
negotiation and manipulation must also be treated with caution
although at first such practices may have benefits, if people become
aware of such practices it may again worsen the existing resistance.

In specific regard to a new technology project, more dynamic

processes may be required addressing actual processes, people,
systems and culture.

ILGI KIM 84
Specific concepts the Author believes needs to be applied to new
technology projects are as follows:

 Plan long-term broadly focusing on strategy rather than plan

 Establish sophisticated communication channels with complete
buy in from all stakeholders who understand the process.
 Empower by delegation. Change cannot be micromanaged to
conform to a single path and so like a living organism should be
allowed to grow but within a controlled environment.
 Remove as much red tape as possible and those who
invite/promote it.
 Encourage, enable and develop capable people to be active in
other areas of the organization via 'virtual teams' and 'matrix
management'.
 Scrutinise and optimise administrative support systems.
 Hold regular reviews to check and inform of progress.
 Adjust recruitment, training and development to accelerate the
development of people who contribute positively to a culture of
empowered dynamism.

7.1.2. Conflict Management

The two tendencies described by Dean & Eaton (1995) appears top be
the definitive approach upon further reading to the three different
generic types of conflict. The two basic tendencies of Approach and
Avoidance describes the two basic principles of moving towards a
given goal; the tendency to want out of pleasure or satisfaction and the
tendency to not want due to not wanting the end goal. The Author
believes that this principles to all aspects of every day life, not just that
of conflict management. Everyday people make choices and decisions
based on an individual’s needs and wants. The three generic types of
conflict are base don two extremes, that being the pursuit of a goal
despite it being incompatible (potentially win-win), and the conflict that

ILGI KIM 85
arises due to the end goal not being desirable to either conflicting
parties (potentially lose-lose). The third type is a conflict that arises
from a desire to both do and not do something. This conflict describes a
potential win-lose situation.

In the case of the Vital FDM project it is noted that the end goal is both
beneficial to Network Rail and WRSL as Network Rail has a contractor
who can install the new technology system and WRSL being the
contractor who can install at profit. The conflict arises from the
contractual approach adopted by Network Rail in contradiction of earlier
promises to ensure a pragmatic approach to the management of the
project.

The project evolves first to a Approach-Approach conflict whereby

although the end goal was always clear the path to completion was
blurred due to the continuous changes to project factors such as the
approval standards and methodology and the designs of the scheme
plans.

The project then moved to a Approach-Avoidance conflict scenario

whereby the continuous change in terms of the project such as the co-
location, contractual stance and strategy, and ambiguity of project
strategy meant that Network Rail were in a position whereby its own
Approach was clear however WRSL were becoming increasingly
frustrated and sceptical of the end goal and whether the consequences
of the changes would in fact lead to a loss of reputation and possible
loss of profit.

The project is yet to reach the Avoidance-Avoidance conflict scenario

as measures have now been put in place as described in Chapters 5
and 6.

The two theories on levels of conflict by Duffy (2001) and Leas (1985)
are similar in principle although Leas goes on to suggest that the final

ILGI KIM 86
additional step is whereby no reconciliation is possible and damage
limitation is the way forward. However the Author believes that both
theories are not static or conclusive in its categorisation of a conflict.
The Author believes that when levels are used to categorise conflict,
certain levels may merge with one another whereby overlaps of
characteristics of each level occurs. It also fails to describe the effect of
intensity of the conflict at each level and whether this would thus
change the order of levels. On reflection the general problems in whole
never went beyond that of Level 3 referring to the Leas (1985) theory
and Level 2 of the Duffy (2001) theory. This is demonstrated whereby
the pragmatic approach promised by Network Rail that never
materialised is in the Authors opinion a Level 2 conflict according to
Duffy (2001), and when the project was at GRIP stage 4 the existing
adversarial relationships between the stakeholders would be
categorised as a Level 3 conflict by Leas (1985).

The theories of the Association for Project Managers (2006) and

McSwain and Treadwell (1981) are again very similar in concept and
characterisation, as well as both having 5 different categorisations,
however one focuses on the techniques and other of styles, however
this differentiation in focus is unambiguous. The 5 different
categorisations of each theory can be matched as following:

 Competing technique similar to that of the Power Broker style.

 Confronting technique similar to that of the Problem Solver style.
 Compromising technique similar to that of the Super Helper
style.
 Avoiding technique similar to that of the Fearful Loser style.
 Accommodating technique similar to that of the Facilitator style.

The Author believes the addition of a sixth category of Supporting by

Leas (1998) provides a name to a technique that can be considered to
be in its basic form ‘soft’ management.

ILGI KIM 87
Upon reflection the project has moved from a Competing and Power
Broker technique and style of conflict management portrayed by
Network rail to what is now a Confronting and Problem Solving
technique and style. This Competing technique is most apparent when
the project strategy dictated that the project delivery focus would shift
totally to business activities ignoring relationship activities. The original
basis of the Competing style is upon reflection due to the immaturity of
the Network Rail project team whereby experience and skill sets were
lacking to manage conflict in any other way. In future such issues need
to be resolved by the allocation of an experienced project manager and
extensive targeted training to provide the knowledge to project team
members and also other stakeholders of the consequence of poor
conflict management.

The 3-Step model described by Turnbull (1967) is interesting in that it

suggests a step process rather than trying to categorise and formulate
a technique or style for resolution. This provides a simplistic but easy to
use template for conflict identification and resolution, and therefore
management.

The principles of this theory is effective communication, timing,

prioritisation and people management, all key skills that should already
exist in a project managers skill base. Therefore the theory looks to
manage conflict utilising basic project management skills rather than
look at conflict management as a separate skill in its own right. The
three steps can be applied to the information contained in Chapter 5.

This model will be used later in Chapter 7.2.2 as a basis for an

improvised model for conflict management designed by the Author.

Specific concepts the Author believe needs to be applied to new

technology projects are as follows:

ILGI KIM 88
  Define potentials for conflict prior to project start.
 Leaders who are able to effectively communicate the negative
connotations associated with clearly identified conflict situations
to the ‘owners’ of the conflict.
 Define the levels of conflict and ascertain the sources of conflict
as soon as possible so that manifestation of the conflict is
mitigated.
 Predetermine and agree options for tackling conflict with project
stakeholders and communicate clearly.
 Ensure help is available to all stakeholders to ascertain their
priorities and alternatives, and keep them on track – always
know and communicate the end goal.
 Keep the process of conflict management in continuous
implementation. Conflict management should be an ongoing
process.
 Avoid dealing with the central conflict point; instead tackle the
issues around it which will have the effect of chipping away at
the problem until it gradually erodes.

ILGI KIM 89
7.2 Personal skills, tools & techniques

7.2.1 Change Management

From the application of the methodology and reflective practice

identified, the Author is able to suggest an improvised change
management model. It focuses on 8 factors split into three principles as
shown in Figure 10 below.

Fig. 10. Improvised Change Management Model

MANAGEMENTSENIOR

SUPPORT SERVICES
PRESSURE FOR CHANGE

PROJECT TEAM
RESISTANCE

CLEAR VISION

CAPACITY FOR CHANGE

ACTION

The model has 7 interdependent factors that must all have the same
levels of commitment to successfully manage change.

The factors are described below:

 Pressure, or a driving force, for change must exist on the basis
there exist a valid and justifiable requirement. Firstly there must,
of course, be pressure for change – a driving force. If the need
for change has been identified, and the decision to proceed has
been taken, this needs to be communicated to those affected by
the change.
 Clear vision is key. The views must be concise and shared with
no conflict. What is our goal? Change is a means to an end.
Vision should be a strategy not a plan. This must also be
communicated effectively.

ILGI KIM 90
  Capacity for change is crucial. Change can only be implemented
successfully of all the tools and resources are available. A
readiness assessment should be undertaken by all groups.

 Action. The Implementation of the Change Management Plan.

Change can never be left and so action is a compulsory
requisite.
 For change to be effective, it needs to be implemented at all
levels; embedded in the culture of those affected by the change.
This includes senior management, the project team, and support
services. Without the commitment from all three groups the
implementation of the change may have an imbalance which
causes the change to evolve into a further unexpected change.
 Resistance management is also a factor the Author believes
must remain. The concept of management is not the exclusion
but the retention of positive resistance to promote the
development of diverse solutions. If resistance is inevitable it
seems to be a waste of energy flow that could be used as a
positively.

Personal skills and techniques do not also have to be limited to

reflective practice and theoretical application. A third technique must
also be the utilisation of just talking and asking. Such a simple activity
provides a different spectrum for reflective learning as actual practices,
understandings and beliefs may be communicated that may expand
your current applicable skills by opening new doors.

ILGI KIM 91
7.2.2 Change Management

From the application of the methodology and reflective practice

identified, the Author is able to suggest an improvised conflict
management model. The model is a thought and behaviour process
one can follow when in conflict based on Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Realistic, and Time (SMART) objectives. It focuses on 4
steps that are to be applied in a cyclical process as described below:

Step 1: Problem focus, not people focus. This step is whereby all
project stakeholders treat one another with respect, avoiding conflict
instigators by giving attention instead to the issues itself. Each side
should be encouraged and helped to understand the other’s fears,
perceptions, insecurities and desires. Parties should think of
themselves as partners in a side-by-side search for a fair agreement
which is advantageous to each side. This is in the belief that such a
method would not allow conflict to ever increase beyond that of level 2.

Step 2: Problem focus, not position focus. This step is to ensure

that after the previous step whereby the human element is removed
from potential conflict, the environment or position that individuals or
groups hold in terms of status, authority, power or influence are again
removed or negated to remove any cause for rigid defence of a
possible positions. This would remove a secondary factor after step
one that may cause conflict and allow it to manifest.

Step 3: Options to solve problem, not conflict. This step is not to

evaluate the options or to arrive at a single solution but for conflicting
sides to make suggestions. After a number of creative and perhaps
new alternatives have been proposed, each option can be evaluated.
Key options for ultimate agreement would be those that meet one or
more of the shared needs resulting from the focus on the problem itself
that caused the conflict. This step is based on the principle that once

ILGI KIM 92
you remove a further factor that may manifest conflict, which is the
principle of conflict itself, a common goal will always appear which are
the common goals that persuaded conflicting parties to engage in a
project.

Step 4: Insist on objective criteria. This step focuses on the principle

that conflict is less likely to occur if both sides agree beforehand on an
objective way to reach a single option to a solution. If both sides agree
to abide by the objective criteria’s, the solution may not be equally
satisfying to both parties but everybody agrees on the solution because
it was determined by objective, fair and mutually accepted methods.
Following step 4, step 1 is practised again to be reinforced and thus a
cyclic 4 step process is to continue until project completion or conflict
resolution.

This four step process does not prescribe an exact process to resolve a
conflict by means of finding a single resolution that must be agreed but
provides the stepping stones to action so that there is the best chance
of success in allowing a project to be successfully delivered despite
conflict. It must be noted however that this model is based on the
capable implementation of other key project management skills such as
maturity, communication and listening.

ILGI KIM 93
7.3 The Process of Reflection and Learning

In Section 4.3 it was advised that the basis of this dissertation would
reflect the Professional Artistry (PA) view as described by Fish and
Coles (1998) as that in terms of change and conflict management, the
PA view represents the activities undertaken where the Author is able
to exercise innate creativity in solving problems. On reflection, taking
such a singular approach to artistry has lead to many problems arising.
The view to be adopted for a new technology project should be based
on both the PA and TR view depending on the circumstances of a
given change or conflict. Broadly, the TR view would have been
appropriate when managing the early GRIP stages whereby the lack of
rules, scope and definition requires the PM to control and apply greater
technical expertise. The Author believes that such a view would have
ultimately led to less change and potentially less conflict.

The PA view was appropriate however for the later GRIP stages
whereby the problems and issues in being able to deliver the project
are more regular and therefore the use of creativity, trust in sapiential
authority, and ability to embrace uncertainty are key attributes.

The Author believes there to be a process in the different types of

reflective practice described by Schon (1983), a sequential process
from KiA, RiA and RoA. As a principle of reflective practice, the Author
believes that this is the best model for reflective practice. It allows a
personal style to be developed by professionals that should promote
individuality and a greater diversity in the application of professional
skills that may be lost if focus is towards theoretical learning.

Kolb (1984) suggested four different types of learning styles of which

Accommodating was utilised for this dissertation. For the purposes of
change and conflict management the Author does not believe Diverging
and Assimilating would be conducive as a reflective practice technique.

ILGI KIM 94
Both change and conflict are dynamic and without action, the primary
initiative to mitigate the extent of the change or conflict would be lost.

In Chapter 7.2.1 the Author offers an improvised change model as a

different way of thinking about change management. In contrast to the
models reviewed in this dissertation the improvised model recognizes
that change is typically an ongoing process made up of opportunities
and challenges which are not necessarily predictable at the start.
Crucially the Author believes the improvised model offers a holistic
approach with which to understand and therefore better manage the
changing impacts to the project and its people that a new technology
project exerts due to its unpredictable and fast changing nature.

In Chapter 7.2.2 the Author offers an improvised process model for

conflict management as a simpler but clear way of thinking about
conflict management. In contrast to the models reviewed in this
dissertation the improvised model seeks to encompass the different
levels, techniques and styles of conflict management. The improvised
model is also a cyclical process as so to prevent conflict as well as
manage.

Change management like any other crucial activity requires for

reflection and learning to promote better planning and execution. If
such a process does not occur, there is unlikely to be any improvement
in design or implementation of the management activity that would lead
to the increased need to do something and increases the chances of
failure and unplanned consequences. This in terms of change
management would most likely fuel further negative change.

This principle also applies to the management of conflict. Conflict

management as a required skill is no less important than that of change
management and therefore requires reflection and learning to promote
better understanding and therefore application of appropriate recourse.

ILGI KIM 95
Without such reflection the process of expanding and improving upon
ones experience would be affected in terms of speed and level.

ILGI KIM 96
7.4 Concluding Reflections

The aim of this dissertation was to evaluate existing change and

conflict management concepts and models to reflect against current
practice and suggest recommendations for improvement.

Objectives:

 Review process and theoretical concepts and models in regards

to the management of change and conflict.
 Review the theoretical principles and application of reflective
practice.
 Critically review by means of reflective practice the current
application of change and conflict management process and
techniques to the Vital FDM Project.
 Conclude and suggest recommendations to support how more
effective change and conflict techniques can be applied by the
Project Manger.

Having undertaken a reflective discussion above of the author’s

professional experience the key outcome identified was that no single
change or conflict management concept, model or process can be
adopted to combat universal change or conflict. Although the
requirement for change and conflict may follow trends, the
management of such change or conflict is complex with infinite factors
dependent including size, nature, political, social, emotional,
organisation etc etc.

An improvised model for a new change management model offered

previously recommends that there are four key factors for success
when implementing change within an organisation that takes into
account the reflective learning from the models reviewed in this
dissertation and lessons learnt from the reflective practice. It is not

ILGI KIM 97
designed to be descriptive but applies what were deduced as key
factors that are not required in any sequential order but require equal
commitment to ensure success.

Actual requirement for change, a shared vision, capacity, and action

are the four key factors of the improvised model that are targeted at
three separate groups: Senior Management, Project team, and support
services.

Strong resistance and therefore conflict to change will most likely

always exist as they are often rooted in deeply conditioned or
historically reinforced feelings. Patience and tolerance is required to
help people in these situations to see things differently. However partial
resistance and conflict may be beneficial to change as it offers different
perspectives for a solution to a problem.

Ultimately change in itself should be treated as a project in its own

right. All the rigours of project management should be applied to
change management to form the basis of a successful future. Badly
managed change will spawn further change.

An improvised model for a new conflict management model offered

previously recommends that there are four key steps in managing
conflict. It aims to encompass the theoretical models and concepts
discussed in Chapter 3 as well as the learning gained from the process
of reflective practice. The very nature of conflict management is too big
a concept to identify a ‘one model fits all’ due to the infinite personal,
social, or environmental combinations surrounding any given conflict
scenario. Therefore the proposed model is not designed to be
descriptive but applies what were deduced as key factors which in this
case is the removal of the very idea of conflict via means of focus on
common end goals. This is not however to discount or remove the very
notion of conflict from conflicting parties as the potential positives of
conflict must not be forgotten.

ILGI KIM 98
Conflict will always occur in every kind of relationships. Conflict arise
when interests or values are challenged and when needs are not being
met. It is therefore essential to provide the right conditions to ensure
conflict management never ‘snowballs’ and that conflicting parties are
allowed to seek win-win solutions, common goals, so that conflict can
be turned into opportunities to grow. In the case of this dissertation, the
successful delivery of the Vital FDM project.

In regards to project management it is crucial that a professional

understands what they are doing as they do it whilst noticing what is
habit and pattern and what is novel and accordingly adjusting his
practice to fit the situation drawing on experience. This is due to
personal principles and ethics being a crucial factor in evaluating and
developing a project during uncertainty such as a process of change or
period of conflict. Reflective practice should be the most important tool
for a successful project manager.

ILGI KIM 99
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