PM BOOK REVIEWS

Effective Communications for Project Management

Authors: Ralph L. Kliem
Publisher: Auerbach Publications, Taylor & Francis Group
List Price: US $73.95
Publication Date: 2008
ISBN: 1420062468 (ISBN13: 9781420062465)
Reviewer: Earl W. Crisp, D.P.A.
Review Date: March 2009

Introduction to the Book

This is a specialty book of approximately 217 pages comprised of 11 chapters that includes a list of book and article references, a list of charts and figures, glossary, and a topical index. The focus of the book centers on the challenges placed on a project manager to open and sustain the lines of communication throughout the life of a project. The author addresses the problem because of the high number of project failures due to or directly related to poor communication. In many cases the project manager failed to communicate to the appropriate personnel that something was wrong that resulted in negative consequences from one or more of the three perspectives involving cost, schedule or quality.

The author’s objective is to help project managers more fully understand the communication process elements of: sender and receiver, message, medium, feedback, variables, and setting. The author stresses that communication is more than just sending and receiving information in that the sent message must be understood and that feedback from the receiver is necessary to confirm receipt of the message. The author also emphasizes another important concept that the communication process is not always “clean” and can be affected by a number of variables such as “noise” and by the mode of delivery.

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About the Reviewer Earl W. Crisp Earl W. CrispD. P. A. teaches for the Management Department at the University of Texas at Arlington and for the College of Business at Dallas Baptist University. He is a former Navy C-130 pilot and he enjoyed collateral assignments in Administration, Training, Quality Assurance, and Human Resources. He also works for the U. S. Department of Education in the area of Post Secondary Education for Eligibility and Oversight. His Doctorate in Public Administration is from the University of La Verne, M. S. in Management is from Troy University and Bachelors is from Texas Christian University. He is a certified mediator, private pilot and radio announcer. He is completed his Project Management Professional training at the University of Texas at Dallas. Earl Crisp can be contacted at ecrisp@uta.edu.

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