Beach, Y. and Coule, T. (2016) Transforming the boundaries of project management: A critique of disciplinary assumptions and mental traps. In: BAM2016 Proceedings : Thriving in Turbulent Times. 30th Annual Conference ot the British Academy of Management - BAM2016, 06-08 Sep 2016, Newcastle, UK. British Academy of Management ISBN 9780954960896
Abstract
Through critical engagement with the literature on projects we elucidate the disciplinary assumptions of project management scholarship and practice, arguing that the current orthodoxy likely creates mental traps that render the application of traditional project management assumptions and techniques to organizational change projects problematic. The human element in such projects presents a major source of uncertainty to project managers trained and conditioned to achieve control and predictability and calls for a shift away from assumptions of a bounded rationality where decision makers have full knowledge of all alternatives towards projects as a negotiated and contested space. Accepting such an assertion holds significant implications for the fundamental role boundaries of the discipline and the role of practitioners as it involves the acknowledgement that project management involves much more than organising tasks in a neutral and apolitical way; to be involved in project work is inevitably to be involved in power and politics. In this paper, we take the preinitiation phase of change projects as our focus and suggest a series of research questions that remain as yet unanswered by current scholarship.
Metadata
Item Type: | Proceedings Paper |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 The Authors. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 Jul 2016 09:28 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jun 2020 09:49 |
Published Version: | https://conference.bam.ac.uk/BAM2016/htdocs/confer... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | British Academy of Management |
Refereed: | Yes |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:102634 |