Project Management and the Consultant Role

Study Board of Market and Management Anthropology, Economics, Mathematics-Economics, Environmental and Resource Management

Teaching language: English
EKA: B560025102
Censorship: Second examiner: Internal
Grading: 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Autumn
Level: Master

Course ID: B560025101
ECTS value: 10

Date of Approval: 07-05-2018


Duration: 1 semester

Course ID

B560025101

Course Title

Project Management and the Consultant Role

Teaching language

English

ECTS value

10

Responsible study board

Study Board of Market and Management Anthropology, Economics, Mathematics-Economics, Environmental and Resource Management

Date of Approval

07-05-2018

Course Responsible

Name Email Department
Tove Brink tbr@sam.sdu.dk

Offered in

Odense

Level

Master

Offered in

Autumn

Duration

1 semester

Mandatory prerequisites

None.

Recommended prerequisites

Passed bachelor.

Aim and purpose

Project management and consultancy role is a business economics subject, and it interacts with other business economics disciplines, especially within organization and management. Project management competence can be categorized as a generic competence that can be used in all project types and in both the private and public sectors. The student will therefore in principle be able to contribute to the management of any type of project. Examples and cases will be taken from many different project types and project contexts. 

The purpose of this course is that the student develops knowledge of the most important concepts, theories, and methods within the project management discipline as well as skills in analyzing projects and project processes using these concepts, theories and methods. Furthermore, the course gives the student skills in presentation of analysis and solution and competences in participation and management of team work. This knowledge and these skills equip the student with competences that enables her/him to give valuable contributions to management and leadership. 

Moreover, the purpose is that the student develops knowledge about different types of consulting and various consultant roles, so that he/she can analyze the interaction between a consultant and the client and contribute to constructive interaction. 

The students build a solid methodological competence so that they through the use of appropriate methods and tools and suitable and ethical behavior (perhaps in a consultant´s role) are able to promote a good project implementation.

Content

  • The project concept and the project management discipline.
  • Project purpose(s) and objectives.
  • Sustainability in projects and project management.
  • Project mandate/charter and mission breakdown structure.
  • Structuring the project.
  • Milestone planning.
  • Stakeholders, stakeholder analysis and stakeholder management.
  • Uncertainty analysis.
  • Activity planning.
  • Project follow-up and monitoring.
  • Quality in the project work.
  • Organizing the project and staffing.
  • Project communication.
  • Teambuilding.
  • Day to day management of the project team.
  • Ethical behavior related to project work (e.g. when dealing with stakeholders).
  • Consultancy and advisory roles. Interaction between consultant and client.
  • Internal and external project management consultants in practice.
  • Group processes, group process consultation, task and maintenance processes and consulting interventions.
  • Planning and evaluation consulting efforts. 

Learning goals

The student must be able to use the taught methods and tools in a concrete case, including he must be able to: 
•Develop project purpose(s) and objectives. 
•Develop a project mandate incl. a mission breakdown structure. 
•Explain how sustainability issues and principles can be related to project and project management. 
•Structure the projects in focus areas and plan the project phases. 
•Develop a milestone plan. 
•Develop and implement a stakeholder analysis. 
•Implement an uncertainty analysis. 
•Develop detailed plans for the project. 
•Provide suggestions to management procedures and monitoring project progress (including work done, schedule and budget). 
•Develop a quality assurance plan for the project. 
•Give suggestions for organizing the project. 
•Propose criteria for staffing the project. 
•Develop a communication plan for the project. 
•Give suggestions for team building activities for the project. 
•Give suggestions for the ongoing management of the project team, including motivation of participants and conflict management. 
•Explain how a process where multiple people are involved in conducting the above activities can be organized. 
•Explain how a person's (ethical) behavior in relation to project management can inhibit or promote implementation of the project and could use this knowledge to (a) provide suggestions for proper and appropriate conduct in connection with work on a given project, and (b ) to analyze and suggest ways of interpreting the appropriateness of behavior in the project life cycle where others are involved. 
•Give suggestions for planning and consulting roles and interaction between consultant and client. 
•Give suggestions for planning and evaluation of specific consulting efforts. 
•Disseminate the results of all the above points in a clear, orderly and professional manner by a power-point supported oral presentation. 

Literature

Examples:
  • Andersen, E.S. (2008), Rethinking Project Management - An Organizational Perspective, Pearson Education, London. 
  • Eskerod, P. & Jepsen, A. L. (2013), Project Stakeholder Management, book in Dalcher, D. (ed.) Fundamentals of Project Management Series, Gower, United Kingdom. 
  • Selected articles and notes.

Teaching Method

The course consists of a total of 45 confrontation hours, of which 30 hours are focused on project management and 15 hours on the consultant role. Teaching will consist of dialogue-based lectures, work with small tasks, and student presentations. 

Workload

Scheduled classes:
3 lectures weekly for 15 weeks.

Workload:
The students' workload is expected to be distributed as follows: 
Lectures - 45 hours 
Preparation for lectures – 188 hours
Exam work – 37 hours 
Total 270 hours.

Examination regulations

Examination

Name

Examination

Timing

Exam: January. (December for external guest students)
Reexam: February.

Tests

Exam

Name

Exam

Form of examination

Take-home assignment with oral defence

Censorship

Second examiner: Internal

Grading

7-point grading scale

Identification

Student Identification Card - Date of birth

Language

Danish, English

Duration

Home assignment: 72 hours

Oral examination: 20 minutes

Length

No limitations.

Examination aids

All exam aids allowed.

Assignment handover

Course page in Blackboard.

Assignment handin

Via SDUassignment in the course page in Blackboard.

ECTS value

10

Additional information

The student´s capabilities to meet course objectives are assessed using a 72-hour take-home group assignment (3-4 persons in a team), followed by an individual, oral examination. The 72 hours will typically include a weekend. 

The group assignment consists of a non-familiar case for which the team has to produce a project proposal for a fictive decision maker. In addition to the project proposal, the team has to reflect upon its team performance. The proposal and team reflection must be delivered as a power-point presentation. 

Each team produces one presentation. In the power point presentation, a number of sub parts (3 if the team consists of 3 persons, 4 if 4 persons) must be identifiable. Each sub part must correspond to an oral presentation lasting maximum 10 minutes. Additional written material may be submitted together with the power-point slides. It will be seen as background material for the assessment – and is of minor importance compared to the power-point slides and the oral presentation.

Immediately prior to the oral examination the examiners draw lots on who is to present which sub part. After the 10 minutes presentation the examiner examines the student in the subjects covered in the presentation and in the knowledge that the student has gained about the theories covered by the literature.

The student’s performance at the exam will be assessed based on his/her ability to (1) apply relevant methods, models, and theories to the case and team performance, (2) answer the questions posed in the oral examination, (3) make a professional power-point based oral presentation, and (4) reflect about team performance. 

The grade 12 is given when the student has demonstrated excellent insight into and knowledge of the module's purpose and complete fulfillment of the specific objectives with few or minor shortcomings.

The examination can be taken in Danish or English. If the teacher and/or the co-examiner is not Danish-speaking, the exam must be taken in English. In all other cases, Danish-speaking students are allowed to attend the exam in Danish (that is – to answer the questions in Danish) regardless that the language of instruction as well as the case assignment has been English. According to §6 in the executive order on examinations, the university is allowed to grant exemptions from the rule that an examination must be conducted in the same language as the language of instruction.

EKA

B560025102

External comment

NOTE - This course is identical with the former course Project Management and the Consultant Role, 9044201.
Used examination attempts in the former identical course will be transferred.
Courses that are identical with former courses that are passed according to applied rules cannot be retaken.

The student is automatically registered for the first examination attempt when the student is registered for a course or course element with which one or more examinations are associated. Withdrawal of registration is not possible, and students who fail to participate in an examination have used one examination attempt, unless the University has made an exemption due to special circumstances. 

The student is responsible for registering for 2nd and 3rd examination attempt. 

Evaluation at the re-exam may be changed. 

Courses offered

Offer period Offer type Profile Education Semester
Fall 2018 Optional Cand.scient.oecon (Statistik) MSc in Mathematics-Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematics-Economics | Odense
Fall 2018 Optional Cand.scient.oecon (Finansiering) MSc in Mathematics-Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematics-Economics | Odense
Fall 2018 Optional Cand.scient.oecon (Operationsanalyse) MSc in Mathematics-Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematics-Economics | Odense
Fall 2018 Optional Master of Science in Economics (with profile in Economics) MSc in Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Economics | Odense
Fall 2018 Optional Master of Science in Economics (with profile in Finance) MSc in Economics | Master of Science (MSc) in Economics | Odense

Teachers

Name Email Department City
Judith Parus parus@sam.sdu.dk Odense

URL for Skemaplan