8 research outputs found
"feelings are the motive power, reason is the rudder"
In this essay we will demonstrate that the role of project management in organisational change
processes is a mixture of rational and non-rational features. It is also colourful, difficult, interesting,
and messy.
We have named the paper "An Essay on". An essay means treating a topic freely from different
angles, although not forgetting the sources you used. The implication of this is that we are not able
or willing to make an encompassing study of the literature on project management3. We thus know
that many angles will not be covered. Furthermore we do not intend a make a negative delineation,
indicating what we are not dealing with. We prefer to make a positive delineation, emphasising
what we are going to take up in our essay.
Positively phrased we are inspired by 3 sources that will make the foundation for our different
angles:
1. Decision making theory (Enderud,1976)4. One of the authors has previously with success
applied decision-making theory as an approach for analysing organisation change processes
5. Both authors have followed the same line in analysing organisational changes in
the Danish public sector6. That success has inspired us to re-use the distinction between
rational, political and anarchic processes in this essay 7. Enderud (1976:21-22) excludes
explicitly the role of the actors’ participation in his presentation of decision models. We
find, however this aspect so important that we have decided to include it
2. Buchanan and Boddy´s analysis of the character of change8: The authors characterise the
change project in to dimensions. One pertains to the activities concerned: Are we dealing
with peripheral or core activities of the organisation. The second dimension deals with the
magnitude of the change. Buchanan and Boddy use the scale: incremental - radical9.
Furthermore Buchanan and Boddy makes a useful distinction between "public
performance" (on stage) of rationally considered and logically phased and visibly
participative change and "backstage activity" in the recruitment and maintenance of support
and in seeking and blocking resistance (ibid p.27)
3. We will apply data from our own case studies. We will use a format that we call an
illustration, thereby indicating that we "only" illustrate a point. We do not prove it10. Our
cases are almost all from the public sector or from trade unions. Most of them have been
published elsewhere
Deltagerorienteringen i undervisningen af MPA studerende – refleksioner og praksis
Praksisrelation er en vigtig bestanddel af pædagogikken på Copenhagen Business School (CBS).PÅ MPA uddannelsen er vi privilegerede i denne sammenhæng, fordi vore deltagere med en gennemsnitsalder på over 40 år selv møder op med megen erfaring. Vores opgave som undervisere og designere af uddannelsen er at skabe rammerne for, at deltagernes erfaringer kan bringes i spil ud fra mottoet »fra nærhed til distance – og tilbage igen«. Forfatteren gengiver både de mere overordnede overvejelser, man har gjort sig på uddannelsen, og en række af de mere praktiske tiltag, der har været sat i værk
Innovation, design and delivery of MPA programmes for public leaders and managers in Europe
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse three innovative Master's programmes designed for public and voluntary sector managers across three EU countries.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper compares similarities and differences between the programmes in order to shed light on the “innovation journey” which the authors took in establishing these programmes, and on the distinctive pedagogies which have been designed and developed to help address the complex dilemmas and challenges facing public and voluntary sector managers in the three countries.
Findings – The paper draws on theories of innovation and entrepreneurship to illustrate how these programmes were created, and how both new curriculum content and new approaches to pedagogy had to be developed.
Originality/value – The paper addresses the current and future learning needs of these public and voluntary service managers