CEM201: An Introduction to Project Management
Assignment Details
Module Convener: Professor Stuart Green
Marker: Stuart Green
Title: Images of project management
Weight: 100% of module mark
Word Limit: 4,000
Due Date:
10:00 am 26/11/2018 Full-time
10:00 am 17/12/2018 Flexible Modular
Assessment and Feedback date:
17/12/2018 Full-time
16/01/2019 Flexible Modular
Assignment should be submitted via blackboard. If Blackboard is not accessible, please e-mail an electronic copy to sbe-postgrad@reading.ac.uk using the module code as subject and resubmit via blackboard when it is available.
Penalty for late submission: University Code of Practice on the Assessment of Taught Programmes, section 6 URL: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/exams/CPATP.pdf
Assignment Brief:
The purpose of this assignment is to appraise critically the commonly accepted codifications of project management. The adopted approach should follow the interpretation of organizational metaphors as originally offered by Morgan (2006), summarized in the attached paper by Green (1996). The task is to examine the discipline of project management from five different metaphorical perspectives. The assignment is essentially literature-based. Each perspective should be illustrated by sources from within the project management literature which exemplify the relevant metaphor. For example, the first perspective might usefully be that of the machine, making suitable use of literature sources to illustrate examples of machine-type thinking amongst the advocates of project management. The task here would be to search out sources which equate successful project management to efficient project delivery in terms of time, cost and quality. Literature sources could include selected journal papers, but might also usefully include book chapters and more popular articles in the professional press. As a further example, the second perspective might view project management through the lens of the organic metaphor, suitably illustrated with literature sources which emphasise the way in which projects are subject to external influences. When viewed from this perspective, project management is more about responsiveness to external change than the delivery of narrowly-construed efficiency. It is worth re-emphasising that for the purposes of this assignment you are only required to select five metaphorical perspectives from the eight described by Green (1996). A maximum of 600 words should be devoted to each perspective, leaving perhaps 800 words for a summarising discussion. The assignment should be concluded by a brief statement outlining the advantages of viewing project management from different perspectives for the practising professional. The assignment is designed to encourage a more critical orientation towards the discipline.
References
Green, S. D. (1996) A metaphorical analysis of client organisations and the briefing process, Construction Management and Economics, 14(2), 155-164 (attached).
Morgan, G. (2006) Images of Organization, Sage, London. ISBN 1-4129-3979-8.
Please note that the second reference is included primarily for completeness rather than as an essential source.
Formatting Criteria
The paper should be structured in the form of a literature-based research paper, which appropriate use of an abstract, introduction, and clear conclusions. The assignment must be correctly referenced using the Harvard system, e.g. Green (2011)
Assessment Criteria
Assessment criteria
Weight
(% of assignment mark)
Knowledge
40
Reasoning
30
Communication
20
Presentation
10
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–
Further details are provided in appendix A.
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Total
100
