Achieving IT Program Goals with Integrative Conflict Management

Author List: Jiang, James J; Chang, Jamie Y T; Chen, Houn-Gee; Wang, Eric T. G.; Klein, Gary;
Journal of Management Information Systems, 2014, Volume 31, Issue 1, Page 79-106.
Information technology (IT) programs are collections of projects structured to meet goals established by top management regarding the use of technology. Prior research has established the importance of commitment to the organizational goals set by top management and a shared understanding of the goals among the project teams. However, conflicts occur among project teams due to pursuit of their own goals, their unique approaches to completion of required tasks, and their individual need for limited resources. These conflicts need to be resolved in a fashion that leads to the pursuit of program goals, not the independent goals lodged in individual projects. We develop a model of an IT program environment to study the effects of goal interdependence among projects and shared understanding of organizational goals on promoting integrative conflict management (ICM). ICM techniques yield agreement on decisions in the face of conflicting ideas. In turn, ICM promotes arrival at an agreement about implementation means and commitment to the IT program goals, which are better achieved as a result. The model presents a new perspective for research on conflict that considers the specific resolution process to be a key component in the attainment of goals. Practitioners should instill integrative conflict resolution techniques into program and project processes as a fundamental means of achieving goals critical to the organization.
Keywords: conflict management;goal commitment;goal consensus;goal understanding;IT program;IT projects;means consensus project integration;project management
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#204 0.194 goals goal research setting achieve accounting behavior multiple meet make constraints differing ability particularly association set single conflicting promotes and/or
#227 0.172 commitment need practitioners studies potential role consider difficult models result importance influence researchers established conduct investigated establishing appear clearly determining
#66 0.150 conflict management resolution conflicts resolve interpersonal consensus robey strategies interdependence optimistic occur degree diversity resolving agreement 1993 1982 distributed issues
#139 0.103 project projects failure software commitment escalation cost factors study problem resources continue prior escalate overruns taken failing troubled sunk fail
#35 0.102 technology organizational information organizations organization new work perspective innovation processes used technological understanding technologies transformation consequences perspectives use administrative economic
#191 0.058 model models process analysis paper management support used environment decision provides based develop use using help literature mathematical presented formulation
#297 0.057 programming program programmers pair programs pairs software development problem time language application productivity best nominal languages programmer generators working reduces
#244 0.054 structure integration complex business enhancement effects access extent analyzing volatile capture requires occurs pattern enables independent integrative structured decision-making costs
#142 0.052 creativity ideas idea creative individual generation techniques individuals problem support cognitive ideation stimuli memory generate enhance generated solutions solving quality