Managing Projects : A Very Brief Introduction

Stefan Kühl

ISBN 10: 303200859X / ISBN 13: 9783032008596

Published by Springer-Verlag Gmbh Aug 2025, 2025

About this Item

Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - The linear, goal-oriented approach to projects that is so popular in management literature is only appropriate if you are dealing with well-defined problems. For projects that address poorly defined problems, however, the principles of classic project management don t work; project managers attempt in vain to maintain a linear approach, even if targets, people affected and framework conditions cannot be determined precisely. We propose a fundamentally different approach based on current organizational theory: to start out with experiments, without predetermined conclusions. Projects are not evaluated by comparing the current status to the target, but rather by assessing whether stagnation has been overcome, conflicts put aside, and shared understanding about new opportunities has been created. Project groups and steering committees are not set up at all. Power games are harnessed and put to use, rather than prohibited.

Seller Inventory # 9783032008596

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Managing Projects : A Very Brief Introduction
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Gmbh Aug 2025
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 303200859X
• ISBN 13: 9783032008596
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 203W x 127H x 5D millimeters 203 millimeters width by 127 millimeters height by 5 millimeters depth
• Weight: 89 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The linear, goal-oriented approach to projects that is so popular in management literature is only appropriate if you are dealing with well-defined problems. For projects that address poorly defined problems, however, the principles of classic project management don’t work; project managers attempt in vain to maintain a linear approach, even if targets, people affected and framework conditions cannot be determined precisely. We propose a fundamentally different approach based on current organizational theory: to start out with experiments, without predetermined conclusions. Projects are not evaluated by comparing the current status to the target, but rather by assessing whether stagnation has been overcome, conflicts put aside, and shared understanding about new opportunities has been created. Project groups and steering committees are not set up at all. Power “games” are harnessed and put to use, rather than prohibited.

About the Author

Stefan Kühl is professor of sociology at the University of Bielefeld in Germany and works as a consultant for Metaplan, a consulting firm based in Princeton, Hamburg, Shanghai, Singapore, Versailles and Zurich.