Pro-Ject Andersen, Erling Rethinking Project Management (027371547X)

In practice, we see that projects often fail: people disagree, they change their minds, they learn as a work progresses. The project develops into an important and influential organisation with its own opinions, needs and challenges. Researchers have, for a long time, pointed out the need for new approaches to project management, to take into account the specific demands of individual projects.

Erling S. Andersen’s new book examines project management from an organisational perspective. A project is a temporary organisation, established by its base organisation to carry out an assignment on its behalf. From this perspective, project management focusses on the relationship between the permanent and the temporary organisation. Inherent in this perspective is an understanding of the project’s most important purpose, to facilitate another organisation’s progress. The assignment is about change, often within a certain time limit. Rethinking Project Management discusses the foundation of the project, the planning, essential organising, control and leadership, all within an organisational perspective. There is no ‘right way’ to tackle projects – this book invites readers to rethink traditional methods and theories and offers new perspectives on every aspect of the project management process.

A key title for any student of project management, Rethinking Project Management provides a unique grounding in the essentials of the subject, as well as a base for further study of contemporary issues in the field.

Erling S. Andersen is Professor of Project Management and Information Systems,
BI Norwegian School of Management, Oslo.