Project controls are processes that elicit and analyze project data to provide more information concerning the cost as well as schedules on track. The function of project controls involves planning, controlling, monitoring, initiating, and communicating things that revolve around schedule and project costs. The main project controls affecting any project include risk management, project scope/change management, risk management, budget forecast, and value progressing control. Budget forecasting as a control affecting project activities involves budget management, significantly determining the project’s success or failure (Baban et al., 2020). In planning, developing a project budget is not enough; it requires monitoring and requires everyone to be involved in the budget forecast. The team members will help make the proper adjustment in case the budget falls off the expected range. When the project is reviewed regularly, the management can keep everything on track and manage to recover in case budget uncertainties arise.
Furthermore, Risk management control significantly helps in spotting the potential risks that can affect the project during the planning and ways of managing those risks as per the plan during the entire project. Any projects contain uncertainties, risks, and assumptions and are mostly depicted at the beginning of a project. Uncertainties and risks need to be identified before they affect the project since they adversely interfere with the budget as well as the scheduling of the project (LeFevre, 2019). During the planning process, risks, uncertainties, and assumptions should be prioritized if the project management wishes to have successful projects that do not interfere with the budget cost or project scheduling.
Main Factors in Negotiations
Often, people find themselves in a negotiation, particularly in business, whereby a client may get into a negotiation with the business owner concerning the product’s prize. In the process, both parties negotiate on what they give in and get as they transact business. Effective negotiation and its outcomes are affected by many factors/elements, including credibility, which deals with trust. In most cases, the negotiation begins with respect and openness, whereby both parties commit to reaching a result that both will appreciate (Brett & Thompson, 2016). In the negotiation process, the question in the minds of the negotiators is whether they can trust other parties’ statements or opinions. Both parties need to have people who can be trusted to succeed in the negotiation.
Apart from credibility, communication skills are a critical element affecting negotiation, including between an employee and business owner. The negotiator needs to have a good command of language as well as articulate facts effectively. When an employee is negotiating for a salary increment, appealing and persuasion skills are much needed to convince the employer why employees should be appreciated through salary increments (Helmold et al., 2020). On the other hand, the employer may also apply communication skills like the right tone and supplement with stories to showcase that the current salary is more than enough. The parties that effectively apply communication skills effectively have a high opportunity to convince the other party to consider its interests.
Emotional control is also another factor that greatly affects negotiation. Negative emotions can adversely affect and result in high costs during negotiation. Emotions play a role in negotiation despite people needing to make decisions based on their reasoning. Nevertheless, good negotiators use emotions positively to convince the other party by depicting an effective emotional state (Moroz & Rogachevskaya, 2016). Positive emotions can significantly lead to more favorable results, particularly if the negotiator channels emotions like nervousness to attain success. Therefore, depending on how one controls and applies emotions, negotiation can lead to either positive or negative results.
Apart from emotional control, negotiation is also greatly affected by time. The time in which the negotiation happens influences decisions during the negotiation period, particularly during the urgency period. When one party is in a hurry and wishes to accomplish something within deadline or as soon as possible, there is a high likelihood of concluding the negotiation without much consideration. When a client is purchasing a wedding gown for a wedding that will take place tomorrow, she may not dwell so much on the prize provided by the seller (Helmold et al., 2020). Her choices are limited since she has must have gown by tomorrow. If the client had more time, like a week, she has an opportunity to negotiate for the prize and products that meet her interests, and in case the seller does not meet her interests, she can seek the product from another store. Thus, time is a significant factor determining how parties are likely to get into a negotiation.
Location is another factor or element that significantly influences the negotiation process. Just like athletes who seek to play at their own home-field, the venue in which negotiation takes place gives the person who is negotiating in their own territory more advantage. One of them is familiarity with the environment and easier access to information influencing decisions. On the other hand, visiting the other party depicts the seriousness of the issues negotiated (Moroz & Rogachevskay, 2016). One can prove the desire to get into a partnership, and therefore it influences the other party to accept the deal or contract. If a client wishes to purchase a car and move from his location to the car dealer’s location, it showcases that the client is significantly interested in purchasing the product.
References
Baban, H., Seneviratne, K., & Nielsen, Y. (2020). Exploring the Potentials of Project Controls within the Construction Industry: Drivers and Challenges. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, Dubai, UAE, March 10-12, 2020 (pp. 625-636).
Brett, J., & Thompson, L. (2016). Negotiation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, 68-79.
Helmold, M., Dathe, T., Hummel, F., Terry, B., & Pieper, J. (2020). Successful international negotiations. Springer International Publishing.
LeFevre, M. (2019). Managing Design: Conversations, Project Controls, and Best Practices for Commercial Design and Construction Projects. John Wiley & Sons.
Moroz, N., & Rogachevskaya, A. (2016). Basic principles and elements of business negotiations.
write