Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Assignment 2: Individual Report | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Assignment 1: Group Report & Presentation Group report accompanied by a presentation. The presentation will comprise 20% of the assignment total. Groups of 3 or 4 students. | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Written Report (individual) 3000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Written report (individual) 3000 Words | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Independently demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the human capital impacts of project/programme management process to engineering management functions for a range of different scenarios.
Critically compare various mechanisms, frameworks and concepts and the application of these to facilitate detailed delivery of objectives and the consideration and constraints inherent.
Provide a critical understanding of the soft skills/competences associated with effective delivery of large-scale projects and programmes and the mechanism by which these inter-relate with strategy and leadership theory and practice.
Effectively implement the above across various cases exploring different environmental impacts.
Brief description
Leading & Managing Projects addresses the more qualitative social aspects of project leadership. We will focus on the ‘softer’ personal, interpersonal, group dynamics and organisational aspects of successful project leadership. We will initially differentiate between project leadership and project management, then explore the organisational leadership dimension in more detail. Much of our attention will be on leading successful change. Change is implicit in all projects, and projects tend to be blueprint in nature, that is they have a defined timescale, allocation of resources, methodology and planned outcomes. However, so many projects fail by overshooting their planned resources (time and money) or simply not achieving their stated outcomes. This module focuses on the human factor. Why do so many projects fail? What critical success factors should be met to produce a successful project (in process and outcomes)? The module will nurture your critical and analytical capability by developing your diagnostic skills. You will be introduced to change management theories, concepts, models and tools designed to do this. The aim is for you to become a reflective and effective project leader who is more likely to question flawed assumptions, recognise weak signals of problems, manage uncertainty, reconcile ambiguities, and make better decisions. We hope you enjoy the module and engage with the learning experience.
Aims
• To engender and enhance change leadership skills and knowledge
• To develop an awareness and critical analysis of the qualitative critical success factors of successful projects
• To develop diagnostic skills and apply component and holistic organisational diagnostic models to different scenarios
Content
. A full exploration of the nature of cooperation is explored through the concepts of Motivation, Trust (as examples) investigating the softer but fundamental foundations of leading high performing teams to deliver short term projects, and longer term programmes.
. Identifying the importance of organizational learning and memory and exploring barriers to the effective delivery such as forms of learning and memory, necessary conditions, country and company culture, and improving cultural fit.
. Resource analysis is investigated and considers the impacts of resource availability, capacity, and competence to fully examine load capabilities and allocate sufficient resource based upon competitive environment.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | Discussion-based group seminars facilitate critical thinking and help to develop good presentation skills. Independent work on assessed essay helps to develop writing skills which will be of use when writing the assessment. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will improve their learning by undertaking directed but independent study and work. Time management will be crucial in preparation for the assessments. |
| Information Technology | The use of electronic journals and reports are highly relevant for the successful preparation of the report. In addition, although not required, students may choose to use electronic library databases. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | The module provides content which may prove highly valuable for students in their later careers. Students will be encouraged to be reflective and reflexive practitioners. |
| Problem solving | The module demands the participants to apply analytical skills to reason and understand the challenging nature of the subject. By introducing diagnostic change models and tools, the module enables students to develop creative thinking approaches to problem solving and to critically evaluate potential solutions to complex and challenging problems. These skills will have to be applied in seminar discussions, preparation of the written assessment. |
| Research skills | The module focuses on the qualitative aspects of Project Management and Leadership, so students will be introduced to the concepts of non-participant and participant observation and action research. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Application of of diagnostic change models to real life projects. |
| Team work | Team development and dynamics. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7