MBA 2426 Project and Change Management
MBA 2426 Project and Change Management
Change is a constant in corporate reality. It is needed, for example, to remain competitive, profitable, attractive, or to adapt to new market situations. Implementation of change occurs through projects. The World Bank expects about 25 to 30% of all the money spend in this World to be spend on projects. One of the reasons for the popularity of “doing work by projects” is its versatility as a mechanisms in turning ideas into reality. It is a way of combining new efforts, new knowledge and new capital in ways that make us better able to change our world and ourselves in directions we believe in and want to pursue. What are projects then, and what are the ways to manage these projects? How are projects embedded in organizations and how is the management of these projects governed? This will be addressed in the course on Project and Change Management.
This module takes an organization wide perspective. For that, the student will learn what projects are, how they are embedded in their wider organization, and governed for the achievement of diverse organizational objectives.
After this module, the student will know:
- The different approaches to change and how they relate to projects
- The role of project management methodologies and the difference between traditional and contemporary methodological approaches
- How projects are planned and controlled
- The role of the project manager’s personality in leading projects
- The concepts and processes for program and portfolio management
- The concepts and theories for governance of projects, such as Transaction Costs Economics, Agency Theory, and Stakeholder Theory
The student will take away a number of practiced skills, such as:
- Planning, estimating, and follow-up techniques in project management
- Prioritizing and selecting the most appropriate projects for an organization using portfolio optimization techniques
- Designing project management support organizations, such as project management offices, using design processes, tools and techniques
After the module the student has practiced to:
- Reflect on the appropriateness of different project management methodologies, planning and control techniques in different circumstances
- Reflect on the effectiveness and efficiency of the project, program, portfolio and governance approaches in the student’s home organization
- Reflect on the match of project manager personality and type of project
- Match research results and their publications to real life project situations
Day 1: Change, projects for change, and project management
Day 2: Leadership in projects. Program and portfolio management
Day 3: Governance and governmentality fo rprojects
Day 4: Project Management Offices (PMOs), guest lectures, and exam
The course is conducted as a teaching module, where students have classes all day for four subsequent days, a total of 32 hours.
This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component will be graded using points on a scale 0 -100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course. Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam components will get a lower grade or may fail the course. Candidates may be called in for an oral hearing as a verification/control of written assignments.
Specific information regarding the points system and the mapping scale beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.
Specific Information regarding any aspect of student evaluation will be provided in class. It is the student's responsibility to obtain this information. Please note that whilst attendance is not compulsory, it is the student's responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/it's learning or text book. Homepages and/or it's learning are not designed for the purpose of students who choose not to attend class.
The course is a part of a full MBA and examination in all courses in the MBA programme must be passed in order to obtain a certificate for the MBA degree.
The course assignment aims for a practical application of the theories and models addressed during the Project and Change Management module.
For that, the student groups shall assess one of its members' organization for the level of “projectification”. That is, the extent the organization is organized through projects, and thinking in projects pervades the organization and its daily work. This is done through a reflective document, which shows the student’s assessment of projectification at different layers in the organization, and conclusion as to the overall projectification of the organization. The degree of projectification has no impact on the grade of the assignment. The grade is based on the scope and depth of the assessment of the organization.
The assessment should address:
• Project governance paradigm
• Governance type (multi-project, program, hybrid etc)
• How project portfolio management is done
• The presence, scope and roles of supporting governance institutions, like PMOs etc?
• The way program management is done
• The way projects are governed and managed
o The methodology used
o The planning process and approach
o Project staffing practices
o Progress control approaches
o Project governance
Not all of these items can be assessed in all organizations. It is important to outline which of these items are found in the organization and how they were assessed.
A max. 2500 word document in form of a report to management shall be produced. That means, it should start with a half page Executive Summary, followed by the detailed report, and finish (if required) with a reference list in Harvard style. The text shall be in 12 font, single space, with captions for tables and figures.
The passing mark is 50%.
Granted admission to the BI-Fudan MBA programme. Please consult our student regulations.
Bachelor degree or equivalent, 4 years work experience, managerial experience and good written and oral knowledge of the English language.
| Assessments |
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Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 60 Grouping: Individual Duration: 2 Hour(s) Comment: Individual multiple choice test, counting for 60% of the final grade. Exam code: MBA 24261 Grading scale: China Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 40 Grouping: Group (3 - 5) Duration: 1 Semester(s) Comment: The students are evaluated through a group assignment, counting for 40% of the final grade. Exam code: MBA 24261 Grading scale: China Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 4 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 110 hours.