PMP Question #1273: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

Question

A company has decided to initiate a project to eliminate a sales channel that has been unprofitable for the past 3 years. Some members of the project team are pessimistic about the project. What should the project manager do in this situation?

Options

• ACommunicate the project's impact and plans to engage the project team throughout the project.
• BEngage the functional managers to describe the project's impact to the team members directly.
• CEscalate the team's concerns and ask the project sponsor to change the team's composition.
• DProvide team members with specific and clear instructions on the project objectives and tasks.

Explanation

To address team pessimism in a project that might seem negative, the project manager must communicate effectively about the project's purpose and how the team will be involved.

Common mistakes.

• B. Engaging functional managers to communicate on the project manager's behalf is delegating a core responsibility and could dilute the message or be less effective than direct communication from the project manager.
• C. Escalating team concerns to the sponsor and requesting a team change without first attempting to address the root cause of pessimism is an overreaction and could demotivate the existing team further.
• D. While clear instructions are important, simply providing objectives and tasks without addressing the underlying pessimism about the project's purpose will not resolve the motivational issue; it treats a symptom, not the cause.

Concept tested. Project team motivation and communication

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