In projects disputes are unavoidable; they need to be addressed in good time to minimize their adverse effect on the project.
In the case of Victorian Desalination Project the main disputes likely to occur is from the communities likely targeted by the project, developers, government, and those people who live within the location where the desalinating plant will be made (Lock, 2007). To resolve the problems, the following measures should be taken:
Adopt project Portfolio and Program management (PPM) plans
Portfolio and Program management (PPM) programs should be developed to ensure that activities go in line with the set condition; within the needs of the Victorian Desalination Project, there are micro projects that needs to be effectively managed to ensure they donor have conflicts that might hinder the attainment of the entire project.
The right method of preventing and handling such disputes is to ensure that there are correct documentations and the subcontract contracts are clear and precise that they can be relied upon. When adopting the PPM management approach, it acts as the blue print that will be consulted in the case there is some dispute and stand with the part that has acted within the frameworks of the blue print (Newbold, 1998).
In the event that the people where the project will be made have some conflicts, the management of the Victorian Desalination Project should explain to them the benefits whether direct or indirect they are going to get.
The management should understand the society and know the right people to approach to talk to the community; some people may include councilors, administrative bodies like county heads, or even religious leaders (Pons, 2008).
Arbitration
In the event there is some conflict that has occurred among the parties to Victorian Desalination Project there should be room for negotiation and solution to the problem observed seek; the arbitrators that can be adopted should be people who are not inclined to a particular side as this will improve the decisions and the guidelines they are to give to the conflicting parties.
When choosing the arbitrator, the person should be acceptable by both parties and neither should feel that the party has been chosen because he will side with the opposing side. Arbitration is a good method as its fast and can address the issues as other activities continues thus the period for the project completion remain.
Contract law and the courts
Victorian Desalination Project has number of contractors who have been mandated to perform certain duties with certain set levels of quality, quantity and time. For the success of the entire project, every contractor is expected to undertake his responsibility as required by the contract, thus there is need to have the laws enforced accordingly (Capital Projects Division, 2011).
In the event there is some dispute, the Australian legal dispute resolution mechanism can be of paramount use; it can offer guidelines on the right approach to an issue in hand and eventually the dispute will be solved.
Victorian Desalination Project managers should enact effective management strategies that can assist in determination of risky areas; when some risk has been established, they should work to avoid adverse effect on the project. In an event of dispute, the project managers should choose the most appropriate method to solve the dispute; the method chosen depends with the conflict encountered (Anantatmula, 2010).
References
Anantatmula, V., 2010. Project Manager Leadership Role in Improving Project Performance. Engineering Management Journal,( 22)1, PP.13-22.
Capital Projects Division., 2011. Partnerships Victoria Project Summary. Victorian Desalination Project. Victoria: CSR.
Lock, D. , 2007. Project management. New York: Gower Publishing.
Newbold, C. ,1998. Project Management in the Fast Lane; Applying the Theory of Constraints. New York: St. Lucie Publishers.
Pons, D.,2008. Project management for new product development.” Project Management Journal, (39)2 PP.82-97.