The t t es i s explores the structure and process of proje c t manage ment in two Passenger Transport Executives(G .M. P . T. E . and S. Y . ~ . T.E ) In view of thedearth of practical advice on· proj ect management , the research i s con c erned n ot only wi th the wider i mp li cat io~s of pro j ec t management but a l s o to provide valid counsel to practisi ng managers . Issues raised in the litera ture sugg es t ed that successful project management was a com plex, shifting amal gam of four " id eE l~ ty pes , whose boundarie s were delineated by two structural d i mens ion s (Un structured- Structur ed and Proj ect orienta ti on- Functional orientation) . Al th ough the concept of power was c ommon to both dim ens i ons , each wa~ felt to constitute a sepa r ate ~~ pect of proj ect ma ~ agement and it was h ypothes i sed that successful pr oj ect management came about from the management of a II dynamic balance " a cross b ot h dime ns i ons - maintaining a crude trade off which at any poi n t in time would be gov erned by the characteristics of the task , environment and the culture of the incumbent or gani sati on . Exhaustive analysis of 6 pro j ect g r oups added to the working ~ypo theses suggested by the literature . In the empirica l melting pot , observations, analysis and working hypotheses were coalesc ed to g i ve a normative three- dimensional contingency model of proj e c t nan6gement and retros pe ctively , the relative success or fa ilure of proj ect ma nagement i n both organisa tions is explained with reference t o this model. The results underline the i mportance of training and of past experience in group problem- solving te chn i ques . But the experience of project manage~e nt in G. K. T. and S . Y. T. sug gests that admini s trators contemnlating project ma" ageme n~ shoul d consi der the culture of their organi sa ti on and pay due re ga rd to the likely strength of cult ural and historice.l opposi ti on . The research a lso pOi nts to the need fo r careful "hand s-on" manage ment to ensure the mai ntenance of a dynami c balan c e over the life of the proje ct- exe rcising a crude trade~~ff between t he vertical and l ateral dimensions of proj e ct management . In a wider philosophical and theoretical s ense the research shows the folly of exercising simple structural expedients to solve complex problems of organisation and concludes t hat there are no simple solutions to the problem of incre asi ng organisational s i ze and complexity , and no short c uts to organi sational f l exibility .
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:233990 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Creators | Partington, K. D. |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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