Course - Management and organisation of project work - IØ6205
Management and organisation of project work
About
About the course
Course content
The course focuses on the management and organisation of project work within single or multiple organisations and in an international context. The course covers the following areas.
- The context for project organising. Here we will be working with the different organisational settings within which projects occur: The demand side, supply side and the inter-organisational project network that brings the participants into a temporary organisation with the aim to deliver on a common outcome.
- Broader organisational (e.g., strategic and operational) considerations in project organising. Examples include organisational and project capabilities, value and benefits, which are a part of designing and implementing projects within and across organisations.
- Project stakeholder engagement and management. Engagement and management of stakeholders internally and externally to projects is a key factor of effectiveness and realisation of benefits. The course will cover and the key approaches and frameworks to deal with the potential, impact and influence of stakeholder groups.
- Project leadership. We will tackle some of the key leadership challenges and opportunities in project organising and discuss how project practitioners can engage with the strategy and policy-level actors on these broader organisational and institutional agendas.
Sessions will be based on theory lectures and in-depth discussions of selected teaching cases covering international examples of project organising. The course covers different sectors, such as urban infrastructure, technology development, and organisational change.
Learning outcome
Knowledge:
- Students will gain an understanding of and familiarity with a selection of concepts, theories and models of project organisation and management and learn to apply those in real-life organisation settings and challenges on projects.
- Through in-depth small group and class discussions of examples and case studies from organisational practices, students will be able to learn about common patterns of issues and ways to tackle them in several industry contexts.
Skills:
- Using the frameworks, theories and ideas discussed in the course, students will be able to assess the unique challenges associated with projects their organisation is involved and design the appropriate approach to manage them successfully.
- The course also aims to facilitate the development of skills necessary to operate in internationally diverse working environments.
Learning methods and activities
The course will be carried out in the format of four full-day sessions, with individual and group work taking place at the same time. Dates of the sessions will be announced separately and will take place either on the NTNU campus in Trondheim or in NTNU facilities in Sandvika out of Oslo. Learning materials will comprise teaching cases and literature that students will be asked to engage with in advance of the sessions. Classroom sessions will include theory lectures, small-group case study discussions, and class discussions to maximise the learning experience of the group. In between and after two full-day blocks, students will engage with the material through self-study and group work, with guidance and development of their individual assignments. There will be two virtual ‘office hours’ sessions between the live session blocks to support students in developing their assignments. To meet learning objective 4, the teaching cases and class discussions will have an international scope, and the primary working language of the course will be English. However, some sessions, small group work discussions and student assignments will be in Norwegian.
Compulsory activities: Pre-session reading and learning activities, class attendance (with a maximum of one-day absence), and development of individual assignments.
Compulsory assignments
- Pre-session activities, class attendance, development of individual assignments
Further on evaluation
Assessment will be based on the brief to develop an approach to tackle challenges in managing a project in an organisation. To maximize the learning value of the course for students, the final paper will involve students choosing the organizational setting that they will address in their report (in the initial submission) and then applying insights, concepts and ideas from the course to tackle the challenges identified in their organizational (or project) setting in the final submission. The course will be assessed based on two assignments:
- Initial submission that defines the brief that the student will address later in the course final assignment. This will be a description of the setting (organization or project) and the issues that will be the focus of the final course report. The initial submission is 500-600 words not including figures, tables and references and represents 20% of the final mark.
- Final report, which is based on the initial submission brief. The final report should demonstrate the understanding of the concepts and examples discussed in class, applied to the setting of choice (as defined in the initial submission). The final submission should be 1800-2000 words not including figures, tables and references and comprise 80% of the final mark
Information about the submission and its deadlines will be announced at the start of the course.
All parts must be re-taken if the student wishes to improve the grade in the subject.
Specific conditions
Admission to a programme of study is required:
Continuing courses in Management (MORGEMNER)
Management (MORG)
Recommended previous knowledge
SOS6502 Organization and Change or equivalent. Participants are expected to have experience from project work.
Course materials
Will be stated at the start of the course
Subject areas
- Organization and Leadership
- Project Quality Management
- Technological subjects
Contact information
Course coordinator
Lecturers
Department with academic responsibility
Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management