Professors Arnoud De Meyer and Christoph Loch
INSEAD
Projects are becoming more prominent in all types of organizations. In recent management writings, you can read about a gradual change of traditional organizations to a "project based organization." What does that mean? What are the management challenges of projects, and the implications for careers and organizations? How does the "project based organization" touch a "normal" management career?
This mini-elective gives an overview of current issues in project management. We will spend one session overviewing the "traditional" project management techniques learned over the last 30 years. We will then discuss different management approaches for different kinds of projects, organizational issues, project tracking, the project manager and his/her carreer, and finally how an organization can learn from projects and apply the knowledge elsewhere.
The course is a mixture of cases, lectures, and discussions, using relevant job experiences of the students in the class.
There is no required textbook for the course. Copies of cases and reading materials are provided in the course pack. Additional material will be distributed in class.
Evaluation will be based on two elements:
1. Class participation will account for 25% of your grade.
2. An exam will account for 75% of your grade. The exam will be open book, and it will ask you to apply the knowledge that you have gained during the course to two or three open-ended questions. The exam is meant to be a part of the pedagogocal experience of this mini-elective, because it will allow you to integrate the different topics discussed during the course.
Session 1: Introduction: The Project-Based Organization
Lecture and Testimony.
Reading: Stewart, T. A. "Planning a Career in a World Without Managers," Fortune, March 20, 1995, 40 - 45.
Optional Reading: Labarre, P.: "This Organization is Dis-Organization," FastCompany, 1996.
Session 2: Project Management: The Traditional Paradigm
Case: Sabbagh, K.: "The Rudder Story," in: Twenty-First Century Jet, New York: Scribner 1996, 111 - 117, 172 - 174, 204 - 206. (the rudder story will be illustrated by a video in class)
Reading: Klimstra, P. D., and J. Potts. "Managing R&D Projects: What We've Learned," Research Technology Management, May-June 1988, 23 - 39.
Optional Reading: Randolph, W. A., and B. Z. Posner. "What Every Manager Needs to Know About Project Management," Sloan Management Review, Summer 1988, 65 - 73.
Session 3: Not All Projects Are Managed the Same
We will discuss the case of the Eurotunnel project based on the following readings:
Read:
Channel Tunnel Special Report, "Management Turmoil has Dogged the Project From the Start," ENR December 10, 1990, 56 - 59.
"Managing a Megaproject," Civil Engineering, June 1989, 44 - 47.
Palmer, J., "DeepTrouble: Financing is Sinking for Eurotunnel," Barron's September 10, 1990, 16-17 and 76-77.
"Under Water, Over Budget," Economist, October 7, 1989, 73 - 74.
Optional Reading (for those interested in the technical challenges of the project):
Channel Tunnel Special Report, "After a Slow Start Progress Hits Record Rates," ENR December 10, 1990, 32 - 42.
Session 4: Managing Complex Projects
Case: Microsoft Office
Reading: Cusumano, M. A., and R. W. Selby: "How Microsoft Competes," Research Technology Management, January-February 1996, 26 - 30.
Optional Readings:
Sabbagh, K.: "The Paperless Airplane," Chapter 3 in: Twenty-First Century Jet, New York: Scribner 1996, 56 - 67.
Iansiti, M., and J. West. "Learning, Experimentation and Technology Integration: The Evolution of R&D in the Semiconductor Industry," HBS Working Paper 96-032, 1996.
Session 5: Projects and Organizations
Lecture and discussion.
Reading: Fujimoto, T. "Capability Building and Over-Adaptation - A Case of 'Fat Design' in the Japanese Auto Industry," University of Tokyo Working Paper, 1996. Nonaka, I., and H. Takeuchi. "A New Organizational Structure," Chapter 6 in The Knowledge-Creating Company, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Session 6: Fast Track Project Management
Case: Lehrer McGovern Bovis (abridged)
Optional Readings:
Balachandra, R., and J. A. Raelin: "When to Kill That R&D Project," Research Management, July-August 1984, 30 - 33.
Staw, B. M., and J. Ross, "Knowing When to Pull the Plug," Harvard Business Review, March - April 1987, 68 - 74.
Session 7: The Project Manager
Guest Speaker from PRTM, an operations consultancy to technology-based companies
Reading: Tampoe, M., and L. Thurloway: "Project Management: The Use and Abuse of Techniques and Teams," International Journal of Project Management 11, 1993, 245 - 250. Optional Readings: Wheelwright, S.C, and K.B. Clark. "Organizing and Leading Project Teams", Chapter 8 in: Revolutionizing Product Development, New York: The Free Press 1992, 188 - 217.
Session 8: Learning Across Projects
Case: Knowledge Management at Arthur Andersen (Denmark)
Reading: Fujimoto, T. "An Evolutionary Process of Toyota's Final Assembly Operations: The Role of Ex-Post Dynamic Capabilities," University of Tokyo Working Paper, 1996.
Optional Reading: Leonard-Barton, D. "Core Capabilities and Core Rigidities: A Paradox in Managing New Product Development," Strategic Management Journal 13, 1992, 111 - 125.