Student guide Facoltà di Economia A.A. 2010/11

Project management can be defined as a technique which ensures progress toward objectives and proper deployment of human and strategic resources. A project is an extraordinary activity, aiming to introduce innovation inside the organization. An organisation can learn new managerial tools for the business system from the projects. New sectors of the economy are learning the ways to improve their results (from project techniques).
The objective of the course is to introduce advanced methods of project and system management in a realistic context such that they can be taken back to the workplace to improve management of innovative and operative activities.

System and project management can be useful for:
· Change management;
· Developing integration between functions and business units;
· Team building;
· Introducing advanced tools for planning and budgeting.
The course aims to deploy system management not only regarding technical instruments, but also the managerial and organizational philosophy of the learning organisation.

 

Topic One:
Project organization, planning and control system Projects and Project Management: Definitions, Characteristics, History and actual scenarios. 
Building inter-functional teams is one of the most particular aspects of the project In this part the students will analyse the principles and objectives of project management. The first step is the work breakdown structure (WBS), a technique to understand the activities enclosed in a project. This desegregation of the job enables to evaluate the complexity of the project and helps the definition of the hierarchical structure of the projects (WBO). The introduction of the Milestones of the projects is a way to introduce the concept of the project checkpoints. Finally the time required (Gantt) and the resource evaluation (Project budget) complete the planning of a project.

Topic Two:
Dynamics of project and learning systems
The second part aims to understand the benefits of being able to develop a systemic view of complex systems. The students will appreciate how to develop the ability to map and to simulate complex systems in order to better understand the underlying structures that control growth or decline. Systems thinking is introduced as a way of thinking about and a language for describing and understanding the forces and interrelationship that shape the behaviour of systems.

Finally, it will be analysed how to improve the ability to learn and how to transform individual learning into organisational learning.

Topic Three:
Project and team organisation
Team building is another key point of Project management. The aim of this section is to introduce the leadership process, empowerment, communication, integration procedures and relations between the members of a group, in the context of project management and organisational learning. The Project Leader's competencies are considered. Conflicts management is a natural conclusion of this section.

Attending Students
Attending students are required to take a final written exam at the end of the course. In addition a small research done in team is required before the exam.
Student evaluation is structured as follows:
40% research;
20% team working;
40% final exam.

Non Attending Students
Non attending students are required to take a final oral exam.

Kerzner Harold, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling, 6th. Ed., 1998, Wiley & Sons, New York.

 

Documentation provided by teachers (slides, papers etc.)

Useful text book for attending students
Russell D. Archibald, Managing High-Technology Programs and Projects, 1997, Wiley & Sons, New York