Communication Skills and Project Management

An essential element of management is the ability to effectively communicate with people. The capacity to successfully communicate in today's global economy is a pivotal element to the success of any organization. Managers need to be aware of emerging technologies and how these affect international communication. To meet an improvement project's specified goals and objectives, a manager must also effectively plan, estimate, and monitor the progress of the project and know what tools to apply. This course explores how communication takes place, and presents techniques and strategies for enhancing communication. It also examines how various project management tools can be used to analyze project risk, feasibility, and priority. The course is aligned with the Quality Management division of the American Society for Quality's Certification Handbook, and is designed to assist learners as part of their preparation for the ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence certification exam.

• recognize interpersonal skills and techniques that the effective communicator may use
• identify the types of nonverbal communication that help you win the trust of others
• identify barriers to effective communication
• recognize how to overcome barriers to communication in a global environment
• recognize appropriate communication technology formats used to deliver different kinds of messages
• prioritize a project using benefit-cost analysis formulas
• identify why the work breakdown structure (WBS) is the most important element of project planning
• identify the advantages and disadvantages of using Gantt charts
• distinguish between the critical path method (CPM) and the program evaluation and review technique (PERT)
• recognize examples of critical performance measures of an ongoing project
• sequence examples of the steps involved in the management of risk
• match the major project management documents with descriptions