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2012/2013  KAN-CBL_LMP  Leading and Managing Projects

English Title
Leading and Managing Projects

Course information
Language English
Exam ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Course period Spring
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board
Study Board for BSc og MSc in Business, Language and Culture, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Charles Tackney - Department of Intercultural Communication and Management
Secretary Birgitte Hertz, bhe.stu@cbs.dk
Main Category of the Course
  • Organization
Last updated on 22-01-2013
Learning objectives
At the end of the course students should be able to
  • Define the concept of a “project” and the practice of “project management” from multiple perspectives, and explain the differences between those perspectives for project management practice.
  • Define and describe the usefulness of key project management tools, techniques, and processes, including project charters, plans, work breakdown structures, Gantt charts, network charts, risk assessments, statistical process control and others.
  • Employ alternative and critical perspectives on project management to underscore the assumptions and potential shortcomings behind mainstream approaches to projects and project management.
Prerequisite
Bachelor degree. Knowledge of corporate strategy, management theory, and organizational behavior is an advantage, but not a precondition for participation.
Examination
Leading and Managing Projects:
Type of test Home Assignment
Marking scale 7-step scale
Second examiner Second internal examiner
Exam period May/June
Aids Please, see the detailed regulations below
Duration 48 Hours
Forty eight-hour, individual take-home exam graded by the course instructor and a second internal examiner. Students must display an understanding of the materials covered in the course, and an ability to apply that understanding directly to the analysis of cases from the syllabus chosen to exemplify themes and issues covered during the semester.
Course content
This course will prepare students to design, manage and evaluate projects by exploring both the conceptual foundations and the practical tools for successful project management. At the same time, the course will go beyond simple how-to or best practice approaches to the subject by taking a close look at the assumptions behind the conventional wisdom about project management, and by exploring what it means to organize work as a series of individuated tasks.

The course also will consider how to manage the uncertainty and risk associated with project work, and explore how the human elements of power, politics, and interrelationships play into the success and/or failure of projects. In this regard the course will explore how concepts and practices introduced in other areas of the CMI curriculum—such as strategy, stakeholders, diversity, culture, and sense making—play into the project management process. The analysis of several case studies in both successful and unsuccessful project management will provide students with practical examples of the themes and principles under discussion. The course will highlight in particular cases that explore the management of projects in transnational and intercultural contexts.
Teaching methods
This course will rely on a learning model that combines traditional deductive approaches (e.g., explanatory readings, lectures) with inductive approaches (e.g., case reading, in class discussion) with which you may be less familiar. Specifically, we will employ the Harvard Business School style “case method” extensively. This means some theoretical and framework material, and their synthesis into organized systems of knowledge—the course “take aways,” if you like—will be developed, refined, and extended during in class discussion.

For this reason, regular class attendance will likely lead to a more complete understanding of course content. In addition, in-class case discussions will be much more meaningful to you if you have read cases before coming to class.

The course will be taught in an interactive style that history suggests you will find engaging—but only if you read materials and come to class prepared to discuss them.
Expected literature
To be announced on Learn, but most likely:
Required texts.
Harvard Business School Press, Managing Projects Large and Small (HBS Press, 2003) 192 pgs.
Online case pack (see below).

Obtaining Other Course Materials
Several course reading assignments will be available via the CBS library or the internet.
Some of the readings in this course must be acquired online from Harvard Business School (HBS)
Publishing.
Last updated on 22-01-2013