PMGT5872 People and Communications
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · S2 2026PMGT5872 Overview
- University of Sydney
- S2 2026
- 11 chapters
- Project Management
PMGT5872 People and Communications is a University of Sydney postgraduate core unit in the Master of Project Management (Faculty of Engineering, School of Project Management), worth 6 credit points and delivered through interactive weekly workshops with pre-workshop mini-lecture videos rather than traditional lectures.
- Assessed by In-Class Group Presentation 15% · Attendance & Active Participation 10% · One-Minute Video 5% + 3 more
- Key terms Project Communications Management, Stakeholder, DISC, Hofstede's cultural dimensions
- Assessment move Treat PMGT5872 as a toolkit to apply, not a set of readings to memorise.
- Most asked Does PMGT5872 have a hurdle or attendance requirement?
How PMGT5872 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| In-Class Group Presentation | 15% | Group presentation (10 min) delivered across multiple weeks; presentation marks are individual |
| Attendance & Active Participation | 10% | Individual; attendance at workshops plus active contribution (including the discussion board), ongoing |
| One-Minute Video | 5% | Individual short reflective video, ~Week 4 |
| Critical Analysis of a Large-Scale Project | 20% | Individual written analysis, 1,500 words, ~Week 5 |
| Group Report and Presentation | 35% | Group; 2,000-word stakeholder communication & engagement report + 10-minute presentation (delivered ~Weeks 12-13), ~Week 9 |
| Individual Reflective Summary + One-Minute Video | 15% | Individual; 1,000-word reflective summary using reflective-practice frameworks + a one-minute video, ~Week 11 |
What PMGT5872 covers
PMGT5872 People and Communications is assessed by 100% coursework — there is no final exam. This eleven-chapter map follows the weekly teaching schedule from the communication process and models, through intercultural, interpersonal and emotional-intelligence skills, to negotiation, organisational culture, generational diversity, leadership, motivation and team development.
Use it to see which framework each assessment task — the critical analysis, the group stakeholder report and the individual reflective summary — expects you to apply.
The Importance of Communication in Projects
Communication management as a PM knowledge area · project success · reflective practice (Week 1)Week 1 of University of Sydney PMGT5872 People and Communications establishes why communication is a core project-management knowledge area — project managers spend a large share of their time communicating with the team and stakeholders — and links it to project success and the PMI "power skills".
- Project Communications Management as a PMBOK knowledge area (planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, control of information)
- Project managers spend a large proportion of their time communicating with team and stakeholders
- Stakeholders: anyone with an interest in, or affected by, the outcome (team, sponsor, clients, suppliers, community, media, government)
- PMI "power skills" (communication, problem-solving, collaborative leadership, strategic thinking) and the Talent Triangle
- Bloom's taxonomy and the postgraduate expectation to analyse, evaluate and create
- Reflective practice (Dewey): we learn from reflecting on experience, not from experience alone
Models of Communication
Interactive communication process · DISC preferences · barriers & bias · adapting to project type (Week 2)Week 2 treats communication as a two-way, interactive process — sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback and noise — and traces the classic models from Lasswell and Shannon-Weaver through Berlo, Foulger and Dwyer.
- Communication as an interactive process: encode, send, channel, receive, decode, feedback, noise
- Lasswell (1948) and Shannon-Weaver (1949): one-way models criticised for having no feedback
- Berlo's SMCR (1960): source, message, channel, receiver with sub-factors
- Foulger's ecological model (2004) and Dwyer's interactive process (2015): cyclic, roles exchange
- Taylor, Rosegrant & Meyer's four communication types: intrapersonal, interpersonal, public, mass
- Adapting to project type: waterfall (formal, plan-driven) vs agile (informal, facilitative) vs hybrid (shift gears)
Intercultural Communication
Culture & Hofstede's 6 dimensions · barriers · Diversity & Inclusion (Week 3)Week 3 examines how culture shapes project communication, using Hofstede's six cultural dimensions as the main analytic lens, alongside the barriers to intercultural communication and the concepts of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I).
- Culture as learned, shared, mostly-unconscious patterns; three levels (visible artefacts to invisible assumptions)
- Hofstede's six dimensions: power distance, individualism, motivation toward achievement, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, indulgence
- Reading dimension scores and translating them into project-communication tactics
- Cultural Intelligence (CQ): relational skills, tolerance of uncertainty, adaptability, empathy, perceptual acuity
- Enculturation, acculturation, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
- Barriers to intercultural communication: linguistic, emotional, cultural, perceptual, physical, experiential
Interpersonal Communication & Feedback
Assertiveness · non-verbal · active listening · feedback · comms channels/RACI (Week 4)Week 4 turns to the person-to-person skills of a project manager: assertiveness, non-verbal communication, active listening and questioning, and the giving and receiving of feedback.
- Interpersonal communication: exchanging information and emotion, influencing, building rapport
- Assertive vs aggressive vs submissive styles; "I" statements and treating others as equals
- Non-verbal channels: body movement, paralanguage, proximity, touch, artefacts, environment
- Active listening: attending, encouraging, reflecting; the five-stage listening process
- Question types: open, closed, probing, reflective, challenge, hypothetical
- Effective feedback: behaviour-focused, specific, non-judgemental, constructive, invites clarification
Multiple Intelligences & Emotional Intelligence
Self/social/relational awareness · EQ · Johari Window (Week 5)Week 5 develops self-awareness as the foundation of project leadership: multiple intelligences, the four components of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management), and the Johari Window as a tool for growing self-knowledge through feedback and self-disclosure.
- Self-awareness: seeing yourself objectively and understanding your impact on others
- Self-regulation and self-motivation as emotional-intelligence competencies
- Social awareness and relational awareness: empathy, organisational awareness, building relationships
- The four EQ components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management
- Self-concept, self-esteem and self-disclosure
- The Johari Window: open, hidden, blind and unknown quadrants
Negotiation & Conflict Management
Conflict styles · Relationship Awareness · Drama Triangle · BATNA/WATNA (Week 6)Week 6 covers stress and pressure, the sources and levels of conflict, the five conflict-resolution styles (the Thomas-Kilmann family), Relationship Awareness Theory, the Drama Triangle, mediation, and principled negotiation with BATNA and WATNA.
- Stress vs pressure (Roger & Petrie): pressure motivates, stress is chosen rumination; the stress-performance curve
- Conflict hooks and hot buttons; causes of conflict (data, value, structural, interest, relationship)
- Levels of conflict: discomfort, incidents, misunderstanding, tension, crisis
- Functional vs dysfunctional conflict
- The five conflict-resolution styles: avoid, accommodate, compromise, force/compete, collaborate
- Relationship Awareness Theory (SDI colours) and the Drama Triangle (rescuer, persecutor, victim)
Organisational Communication & Culture
Purpose of org comms · Schein 3 levels of culture · org structures (Week 7)Week 7 zooms out from the individual to the organisation: the purposes of organisational communication, organisational culture through Schein's three levels, the difference between supportive and dysfunctional cultures, and organisational structures — mechanistic versus organic, and functional, matrix and projectised — with their communication and project-manager-authority implications.
- Purpose of organisational communication: inform on roles/tasks and create community
- Four purposes (Dwyer): control, motivate, balance needs and goals, manage knowledge
- Balancing organisational goals (efficiency, profit, control) with individual goals (development, security)
- Schein's three levels of culture: artefacts, espoused values, basic underlying assumptions
- Supportive vs dysfunctional culture; three steps to build culture (identify, promote, facilitate standards)
- Mechanistic vs organic structures and when each fits
Communication Across Generations
Generational diversity · multi-gen teams · GENgagement / Gentelligence (Week 8)Week 8 addresses generational diversity — from Baby Boomers to Gen Z and Gen Alpha — and its implications for communication in project teams that now span four or five generations.
- Generational cohorts and broad traits (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha)
- Why it matters: four to five generations coexist; diversity drives innovation but risks miscommunication
- Understanding differences without stereotyping individuals
- Five multi-generational team challenges and how to address them
- GENgagement (Haserot): harmony, trust, empathy, structured interaction
- Generational Diversity Cycle (Focardi): Recognise, Understand, Embrace, Celebrate
Project Leadership, Delegation & Motivation
Leadership models · Covey's 7 Habits · Herzberg/McClelland/Maslow · ability x commitment (Week 9)Week 9 covers how project managers lead: four leadership models (transformational, transactional, situational, servant), Covey's 7 Habits, effective delegation, and the major motivation theories (Herzberg, McClelland, Maslow).
- Project leadership as influencing others toward successful completion; leading by example and vision
- Four leadership models: transformational, transactional, situational, servant
- Situational leadership: matching style to follower competence and commitment
- Covey's 7 Habits of highly effective people
- Effective delegation: entrust the task, retain accountability, match to strengths
- PERFORMANCE = ABILITY x COMMITMENT (the unit's one conceptual identity, in plain terms)
Groups, Teams & Team Roles
Groups vs teams · Katzenbach & Smith · Tuckman stages · Belbin's 9 roles (Week 10)Week 10 distinguishes groups from teams (Katzenbach & Smith), traces how teams develop through Tuckman's stages (forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning), and introduces Belbin's nine team roles for building a balanced team.
- Groups vs teams (Katzenbach & Smith): shared vs interdependent work, single vs shared leadership
- Why organisations use teams: complementary skills, synergy, brainstorming, problem-solving
- Tuckman's stages: forming, storming, norming, performing (plus adjourning)
- The performance dip in storming and the recovery through norming and performing
- Functional role (the job skill) vs team role (behavioural tendency)
- Belbin's nine roles in three groups: action, thought and people oriented
High-Performance & Virtual Teams
Why teams fail · psychological safety · groupthink · leading virtual teams (Week 11)Week 11 brings the unit together around building high-performing teams: what makes teams succeed or fail, psychological safety, groupthink (Janis) and how to counter it, empowerment, and the specific challenges of leading virtual and dispersed teams.
- Characteristics of high-performing teams: open communication, mutual trust, shared goals, flexible leadership
- Why teams fail (Burke & Barron): unclear purpose, poor problem-solving, lack of trust and recognition
- Factors affecting team performance: structure, size, cohesiveness, climate, psychological safety
- Psychological safety (Edmondson): trust and openness that reduce fear of failure
- Groupthink (Janis): causes (high cohesion, isolation, directive leadership) and prevention
- Empowerment's five keys: share information, create autonomy, allow self-direction, set objectives, communicate accountabilities
It is a qualitative, framework-heavy unit: the syllabus works through the communication process and its models, intercultural and interpersonal communication, emotional intelligence, negotiation and conflict, organisational culture and structure, generational diversity, leadership and motivation, and team development — the toolkit a project manager uses to influence people and build high-performing teams.
Assessment is 100% coursework with no final exam: an in-class group presentation (15%), attendance and active participation (10%), a one-minute reflective video (5%), an individual 1,500-word critical analysis of a large-scale project (20%), a group stakeholder communication and engagement report plus presentation (35%), and an individual 1,000-word reflective summary with a one-minute video (15%).
The marks live in applying the right framework to a real project scenario and reflecting on your own practice, so the unit rewards steady weekly engagement over a last-minute push. The real gate is attendance — students are expected to attend a minimum of 85% of timetabled activities, and falling below may result in a fail grade — and the PMGT5872 result feeds the Weighted Average Mark (WAM).
All weights and dates here mirror the published University of Sydney unit outline; confirm the current split for your session on Canvas, as component weights are periodically adjusted.
Worked example · free
Applied: designing a stakeholder communication approach for a cross-cultural hybrid project
- +2(a) Approach by project type (Week 2). A hybrid project mixes plan-driven and iterative work, so "shift gears": use formal, scheduled channels (status reports, milestone reviews) for the stable waterfall scope, and informal, facilitative, trust-based channels (stand-ups, boards) for the uncertain agile scope. Name the contingency logic rather than defaulting to one style.
- +2(b) Adapt to style and culture (Weeks 2-3). Read the sponsor as likely D/C on DISC — fast/decisive and detail-conscious — so lead with the decision and a short evidence summary. For the vendor, apply Hofstede: high power distance means routing decisions through their senior contact and not expecting junior staff to challenge upward; high uncertainty avoidance means giving clear written scope, agendas and defined process. Avoid ethnocentrism — adapt your norms, don't impose them.
- +2(c) Channels and responsibility (Week 4). Build a lightweight communication plan: for each audience state scope, timing, method and format, then attach a RACI matrix so every message and deliverable has a clear Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed party. This removes the "who was supposed to tell whom" ambiguity that causes rework.
- +2(d) Feedback loop (Week 4). Close the loop: set and agree expectations, monitor progress, and give behaviour-focused, specific, constructive feedback (SBI-style), inviting clarification. Treat feedback as a two-way performance tool, not a one-off report, so the plan self-corrects as the project runs.
Key terms
- Project Communications Management
- The PM knowledge area covering timely, appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, control and monitoring of project information. Project managers spend a large share of their time communicating with the team and stakeholders.
- Stakeholder
- Anyone with an interest in, or affected by, the project outcome — team, sponsor, clients, suppliers and contractors, the wider community, media and government. Mapping and engaging them is the core of the critical analysis and the group report.
- DISC
- A communication-style model along two axes (pace fast/slow, focus task/people): Dominant (fast/task), Influencer (fast/people), Steady (slow/people) and Compliant (slow/process). Used to adapt how you frame a message to the receiver.
- Hofstede's cultural dimensions
- Six dimensions describing national-culture differences: power distance, individualism vs collectivism, motivation toward achievement, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and indulgence. Used to anticipate intercultural communication needs.
- RACI matrix
- A responsibility-assignment tool naming who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed for each activity or communication. A staple of the communication plan built for the group report.
- Reflective practice (5Rs)
- Learning from experience by structured reflection — Reporting, Responding, Relating, Reasoning, Reconstructing (Bain et al., 2002), alongside Kolb's cycle and Argyris & Schon. The backbone of the individual reflective summary.
PMGT5872 FAQ
Is PMGT5872 hard?
It is challenging in a different way from a numbers unit: there is almost no calculation, but a lot of frameworks (communication models, DISC, Hofstede, Johari, Tuckman, Belbin, motivation theories) that you must apply, not just recall.
The difficulty is breadth plus the postgraduate expectation to analyse and evaluate rather than describe, and the fact that a big share of the mark is group work and reflection assessed against rubrics. Students who engage weekly, keep reflective notes as they go, and practise applying each framework to real project scenarios tend to find it very manageable.
Can AI help me with PMGT5872?
Yes, as a study aid. Sia is an AI tutor that understands how PMGT5872 is actually taught and assessed: it can explain a framework like Hofstede's dimensions or the Johari Window step by step, help you plan the structure of your critical analysis or reflective summary, and check whether your reasoning applies the right model to a scenario.
It explains the method and checks your thinking; it does not complete graded assessment for you, and University of Sydney academic-integrity rules apply (generative AI is only permitted where the coordinator explicitly allows it for a task, and any use must be acknowledged).
How is PMGT5872 assessed?
By 100% coursework — there is no final exam. The six components are an in-class group presentation (15%), attendance and active participation (10%), a one-minute reflective video (5%), an individual 1,500-word critical analysis of a large-scale project (20%), a group stakeholder communication and engagement report plus presentation (35%), and an individual 1,000-word reflective summary with a one-minute video (15%).
Weights mirror the published University of Sydney unit outline; because the outline notes that assessment types and weighting are periodically adjusted, confirm the exact split for your session on Canvas.
Does PMGT5872 have a hurdle or attendance requirement?
The main gate is attendance: students are expected to attend a minimum of 85% of timetabled activities, and failing to meet that may result in a fail grade.
The unit outline also carries the standard note that a unit may include hurdle tasks (a failed hurdle caps the final mark at 48, which still counts toward your WAM), but no individual assessment is flagged as a must-pass hurdle in the official table — confirm the current rules on Canvas and the unit outline.
How does the group work and peer evaluation work in PMGT5872?
Group work is a large part of the mark — the 35% group report and presentation, plus the weekly in-class group presentation whose marks are recorded individually. Groups are typically around six students in the same workshop, assigned early and locked by about the end of Week 2. Group marks can be adjusted for individual contribution via peer evaluation (a SparkPlus-style process), so pulling your weight matters.
Set group norms early, keep a shared record of contributions, and raise problems (the classic "ghoster" or last-minute contributor) promptly rather than at the deadline.
Questions students ask in each PMGT5872 chapter
- Why does communication get its own knowledge area in project management?
- Because a project manager spends a large share of their time communicating with the team and stakeholders, and most project failures trace back to communication rather than technical problems. Treating it as a managed process — planning who needs what information, when and how — is what turns ad-hoc messaging into reliable project delivery, which is why PMBOK lists it as a knowledge area and PMI ranks communication first among its power skills. Chapter 01 · The Importance of Communication in Projects
- What is the main criticism of the early communication models?
- Lasswell (1948) and Shannon-Weaver (1949) treat communication as a one-way transmission from a sender to a receiver, with no feedback. Later models — Berlo's SMCR, Foulger's ecological model and Dwyer's interactive process — add the receiver's response and treat communication as cyclic, where roles exchange and understanding is confirmed. For a project manager, the practical lesson is that sending a message is not the same as communicating. Chapter 02 · Models of Communication
- What are Hofstede's six cultural dimensions?
- Power distance, individualism versus collectivism, motivation toward achievement (formerly masculinity/femininity), uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence versus restraint. Each is a spectrum on which national cultures score differently, and the project-management use is to anticipate how audiences from different cultures prefer to receive information, make decisions and handle hierarchy and ambiguity. Chapter 03 · Intercultural Communication
- What makes feedback effective in this unit's model?
- Effective feedback focuses on observable behaviour rather than the person, is specific rather than vague, is delivered without judgement and with clear constructive intent, allows the receiver to clarify and respond, and avoids overloading them. It also works best inside a loop — set and agree expectations, monitor, give feedback, agree corrections — rather than as a one-off verdict. The classic error is making it personal or general ("you're unreliable") instead of behavioural and specific. Chapter 04 · Interpersonal Communication & Feedback
- What are the four components of emotional intelligence?
- Self-awareness (understanding your own emotions and impact), self-management or self-regulation (controlling your emotional reactions and staying rational), social awareness (empathy and reading a room or organisation), and relationship management (using influence, developing others and managing conflict to build and maintain relationships). Project leadership in this unit is framed as applying all four, starting from self-awareness. Chapter 05 · Multiple Intelligences & Emotional Intelligence
- How do I choose among the five conflict-resolution styles?
- There is no universally best style; you choose by how important the issue is, how important the relationship is, and how much time you have. Collaborating suits important issues where the relationship matters and there is time to find a solution meeting both interests. Compromising is a faster middle ground. Accommodating preserves the relationship over the issue, competing forces your position when speed or principle demands it, and avoiding is for trivial or cooling-off situations. Chapter 06 · Negotiation & Conflict Management
- How does organisational structure affect a project manager's authority?
- Authority rises across a spectrum: in a functional structure the project manager has little authority, no budget control and poor access to resources, because staff answer to functional managers. It increases through weak, balanced and strong matrix forms (which add dual reporting) to a projectised structure, where the project manager has full authority, budget control and resource loyalty. Diagnosing the structure tells you immediately how much leverage the project manager really has. Chapter 07 · Organisational Communication & Culture
- How do I discuss generational differences without stereotyping?
- Frame generational traits as broad tendencies shaped by shared formative experiences, not as fixed rules about any individual. In practice that means using the patterns to anticipate possible communication or technology preferences, then checking them against the actual person, and focusing on the fix (shared norms, reverse mentoring) rather than the label. The unit is explicit that the goal is understanding differences without stereotyping. Chapter 08 · Communication Across Generations
- What does PERFORMANCE = ABILITY x COMMITMENT mean in practice?
- It is the unit's single conceptual identity: performance is ability multiplied by commitment, not added. Because it is a product, a highly able person who is not committed still performs poorly, and a committed person without the ability does too. The practical value is diagnostic — when performance is low, work out whether the missing factor is ability (a skills or resourcing problem) or commitment (a motivation problem), because the fixes are completely different. Chapter 09 · Project Leadership, Delegation & Motivation
- What is the difference between a group and a team?
- A group shares a purpose but members work largely independently, with loose roles, informal communication and typically a single strong leader who holds individual members accountable for individual outputs. A team (Katzenbach & Smith) shares specific goals, works interdependently, has defined and complementary roles, shares leadership and mutual accountability, and produces collective outputs. Much of this unit is about turning an assigned group into a genuine team. Chapter 10 · Groups, Teams & Team Roles
- What causes groupthink and how do I prevent it?
- Janis identifies three main causes: high group cohesion, isolation from outside information, and strong directive leadership. Together they let the desire for agreement override critical evaluation, so the team converges too quickly on a flawed decision. Prevention means building in structured dissent: assign a critical-evaluator or rotating devil's advocate, have the leader withhold their view until others speak, split into independent sub-groups, examine alternatives seriously, and bring in outside experts. Chapter 11 · High-Performance & Virtual Teams
How to prepare for the assessments
Treat PMGT5872 as a toolkit to apply, not a set of readings to memorise. Each week, watch the mini-lecture before the workshop, then take one framework and apply it to a real project you know — write two lines on what DISC style your last sponsor was, or which Hofstede dimensions shaped a cross-cultural team you were on.
Keep a running reflective log from Week 1 using the 5Rs (Reporting, Responding, Relating, Reasoning, Reconstructing): it feeds directly into the one-minute video and the 1,000-word reflective summary and saves you reconstructing your experiences from memory at the end.
For the 20% critical analysis, practise the structure attributes then strengths then gaps then evidence-based recommendations, and support claims with academic literature and the project's own channels. Because a big share of the mark is group work assessed with peer evaluation, invest early in group norms and shared records.
Aim to attend at least the required 85% of workshops, contribute on the discussion board for the participation mark, and confirm every weight, word count and due date for your session on Canvas and the University of Sydney unit outline.
When a framework won't click, ask Sia to re-explain that single model a different way and to quiz you on applying it — it teaches the method and checks your reasoning, and never substitutes for your own graded work.
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