Assigned Readings:
Chapter 8 – Managing Stakeholders in a Virtual World
Chapter 9 – Managing Difficult Stakeholders
Initial Postings: Read and reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Then post what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding in each assigned textbook chapter.Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion.
Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:
NovaHealth Solutions, a global healthcare technology firm, has embarked on a major virtual project called Project PulseLink the development and deployment of an AI-powered remote patient monitoring system. The project spans four continents and includes over 30 cross-functional stakeholders, including internal IT teams, product developers, regional compliance officers, vendor partners, and several high-profile clinicians who represent client health systems. Due to the global nature of the project and recent cost-cutting efforts, all meetings, updates, and deliverables must be managed virtually. The project manager, Aisha Khan, is a seasoned PMP with a strong background in healthcare IT but is facing new and unexpected hurdles in this virtual environment.
The Challenge
While the project is technically on schedule, Aisha is seeing cracks in stakeholder alignment, engagement, and trust. Key issues have emerged:
- Silent disengagement: Certain stakeholders attend virtual meetings but rarely speak or contribute. Their follow-ups are often delayed.
- Time zone tensions: With teams spread across 10 time zones, many stakeholders feel meetings are scheduled at their inconvenience, leading to resentment.
- Communication overload: Stakeholders report being overwhelmed by too many updates via email, Teams, and Slack leading to important messages being missed.
- Cultural misalignment: Some stakeholders feel ignored or undervalued due to communication styles that differ across regions (e.g., directness vs. indirectness, comfort with disagreement).
- Lack of visibility: Executive sponsors feel out of the loop because they no longer bump into team members in hallways or hear informal updates.
Aisha realizes that managing stakeholders virtually requires more than just sending status reports and setting Zoom meetings it requires a thoughtful, human-centered approach to virtual stakeholder engagement.
Your Task What You Must Do
Youve been brought in as part of a virtual collaboration advisory team to help Aisha re-design her stakeholder management approach for a virtual world. You must prepare a 23 page strategic action memo or presentation addressing the following:
1. Stakeholder Segmentation
- Identify at least three stakeholder groups in the case (e.g., clinicians, vendors, regional managers, executives).
- For each group, describe their:
- Influence level
- Communication preferences
- Engagement risks (e.g., silence, misalignment, misunderstanding)
2. Virtual Communication Strategy
- Propose specific actions Aisha can take to:
- Improve collaboration across time zones
- Reduce communication fatigue
- Ensure two-way engagement
- Personalize communication styles based on cultural/regional expectations
3. Visibility and Trust-Building
- Outline 23 tactics to increase transparency and trust with both senior stakeholders and remote team members.
4. Technology Use Assessment
- Recommend two digital tools or practices that would streamline communication and stakeholder tracking.
5. Prevention and Scalability
- Suggest practices to prevent stakeholder disengagement in future virtual projects.
- How can Aisha scale engagement in a way that doesnt overwhelm stakeholders?
[Your post must be substantive and demonstrate insight gained from the course material. Postings must be in the student’s own words – do not provide quotes!]
[Your initial post should be at least 450+ words and in APA format (including Times New Roman with font size 12 and double spaced). Post the actual body of your paper in the discussion thread then attach a Word version of the paper for APA review]
Chapter 8 – Managing Stakeholders in a Virtual World
Overview:
A variety of forces are leading to the increased use of virtual teams. Project managers leading virtual teams should use the continuum of robustness to ensure they are using the most robust method possible. The continuum of robustness work provides the project manager effective techniques for managing virtual teams. Virtual teams create risk. Technology risks, language differences, time zone differences, and a variety of other risks can derail the virtual team. As with any project risk management strategy, the successful project manager should proactively identify risks and develop plans to mitigate them. Virtual teams also create opportunities. The exciting development of new virtual technologies enables project teams to do things today they could not have done in the recent past. The project manager should embrace these opportunities and work with the project team to develop new and creative ways to take advantage of new opportunities.
Learning Objectives
- Understand why virtual teams create risk, as well as opportunities
- Describe risks associated when working with virtual teams
- Discuss areas of improvement project managers can use when working with virtual teams
- Discuss how communication with stakeholders differs from virtual to in-person, as well as is one more effective than another
Chapter 9 – Managing Difficult Stakeholders
Overview:
It is not unusual for project managers to run into difficult stakeholders who do not support their project. Projects create change, and change creates challenges. The project managers attitude in dealing with these challenges signal to the rest of the project team confidence and controlor frustration and even fear. The effective project manager displays confidence and control and ensures the project stays on track despite any adverse conditions that may come up. The project manager should determine if the difficult stakeholders support is required for the project to move forward. If the stakeholders support is not required, then then project manager can spend less time working on those issues. If the stakeholders support is required for project success, however, the project manager must find a path to agreement. The project manager should work diligently to understand the root cause(s) of the conflict and then see it from the perspective of the difficult stakeholder. The project manager should engage the executive sponsor, if possible, to develop a plan of action. Then the project manager should work with the executive sponsor to execute and monitor the plan of action.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the need for managing difficult stakeholders
- Discuss how a project manager should work with a difficult stakeholder
- Discuss if a project can proceed without an executive sponsor
Supplementary Readings:
Requirements: 450 + words
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