Textbook Information
- ISBN: 978-0134730332, Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage by Jeffrey Pinto, 5th ed., 2019, Pearson-Prentice Hall. (Available from Barnes & Noble College.)
Published Remarks
- None
Hardware Requirements
- None
Software Requirements
- Students will need to use Microsoft Project, which is available for students at Penn State University (and World Campus). Detailed instruction will be provided by the instructor.
Proctored Exams
- None
Course Description
Project management has been labeled by Fortune magazine the number one career choice for the coming decade. Increasingly, organizations are adopting project management techniques and structures within their business framework. Project management offers the twin advantages of allowing organizations to create products and processes efficiently, through optimal use of resources, and rapidly, in order to respond to rapid time-to-market demands. The key "front-end" processes associated with successful project management consist of planning and resource management--in effect, the need to first plan the work, ensure necessary resources are available, and thoroughly understand the components of the project plan, including activities and their interrelationships. The role of the instructor in this course is to promote student learning of a wide variety of knowledge and skills required for successful project management. These include the ability to understand planning and resources as these terms apply to project management, to understand the nature of developing comprehensive plans and schedules, manage resources for their maximum effect, and learn how to respond to crises or unanticipated events in terms of adjustments to plans and resource requirements.
Course Information
Class Name: MANGT 520: Planning and Resource Management
Course Prerequisite or co-requisite: MANGT 510
This course is a problem-based, interdisciplinary course that addresses the basis for implementing projects, through providing key information on the up-front planning necessary to successfully run projects.
NOTE: Students who have completed a master’s degree (M.S., M.A., or M.B.A.) are not permitted to transfer credits from that degree into another master’s degree at Penn State.
Course Overview
This course will introduce you to the major techniques for planning the project development process. During your study, it is expected that you will draw on your own work experiences to further enhance your understanding of the subject matter. Therefore, many of the course assignments may be completed by using real situations and instances from your experience. We ask only that you maintain the integrity of private information in these assignments by changing any names such that individuals are not able to be identified.
- The course has an established start and end date and you will interact with other students throughout the course.
- You will need regular online access in order to interact with other students on the discussion forum.
MANGT 520 consists of 12 content lessons and a textbook. You may study this material at your own pace, meaning that you will be able to read and work through this information at a rate that works best for you. However, there is a suggested pace found in the following course schedule.
What will be expected of you?
As a student in this course, you are expected to read the textbook and complete any self-assessments, homework assignments, and online discussions. You may work through this course at your own pace, but at each stage, you should:
- Conscientiously read and reflect on the material
- Ask questions (via Canvas, e-mail, phone) of your instructor and fellow delegates on issues you don’t understand
- Complete and submit assignments per course schedule.
Objectives
This course will introduce you to the major techniques for planning the project development process. By the end of this course, you should be able to:
- articulate how planning of time and resource use is the center of the project management process,
- specify and apply appropriate techniques to plan, execute, monitor and control work packages, projects, and programs,
- predict how much guidance is needed in deciding how much to plan and control a project, and
- predict the consequences for managers of projects and advise accordingly
Course Requirements and Grading
The following are the major assignments for this course:
Midterm Assignment: 10%
- The midterm assignment is a hybrid of an online quiz (30 points) and a case study report (70 points).
- The online quiz consists of short essay questions, analysis problems, and 10 multiple-choice questions.
- For the case study report, please compile your answers in a Word document and limit your answer to a total of about three or four pages.
Final Exam: 30%
- In MANGT 520, the final exam is comprised of short essay questions, analysis problems, and 10 multiple-choice questions.
- The final exam is administered online and students should complete the exam individually.
- The students will have two hours and thirty minutes to complete the exam.
- The instructor will grade the final exam.
Homework Assignments: 40%
Homework assignments are listed below for each unit. Most of the homework assignments are based on certain concepts or case studies in the textbook, please compile your answer in Word document and limit your answer to a total of about one page per problem.
Online Discussions and Participation: 20%
In addition to the completion and submission of these homework assignments, you should also review the course discussion forums and participate in the online discussion for that unit. Students are expected to participate in online activities and discussions. Because of the importance of discussion to meeting the objectives of the course, students also will be evaluated on the frequency and quality of their participation. This evaluation will be based on the level of preparation for class discussion and student analysis and integration of the assigned materials. Students are expected to communicate their ideas clearly and persuasively.
A maximum of 40 points can be earned for participation for each interactive session on the discussion forum during the semester. These sessions will be initiated and facilitated by your instructor. In addition to the major assignments, you will be asked to complete other activities throughout the course. These homework assignments are posted to the course Discussion Forum. For an initial list of assignments prior to the midterm session, see the course schedule. Please see the following chart with GUIDELINES for your performance on the online participation assignments:
| Poor (20/40) | Acceptable (30/40) | Exemplary (40/40) |
|---|---|---|
|
Overall, posts show:
In addition, posts fit into one or more of the following categories:
|
Posts include the following:
Posts also include:
|
Overall, posts include:
Posts also include:
|
| NOTE: I am looking more for the value-added nature of your posts, not at the need to add sheer quantity to the board. After the due date, I will post my take or comments on the announcement page for each online participation set. | ||
Assignment Weights and Grading Scale
| Assignments | Weights toward the final grade |
|---|---|
| Homework Assignments | 40% (based on 340 points) |
| Midterm Assignment | 10% (based on 100 points) |
| Online Discussion & Participation | 20% (based on 280 points) |
| Final Exam | 30% (based on 100 points) |
| Total | 100% |
The Student’s final grade for the course will be based on the following overall percentage breakdown:
| Grade | Percentage Range |
|---|---|
| A | 93%-100% |
| A- | 89% – 92.9% |
| B+ | 85% – 88.9% |
| B | 80% – 84.9% |
| B- | 75% – 79.9% |
| C+ | 70% – 74.9% |
| C | 65% – 69.9% |
| D | 60% – 64.9% |
| F | <60% |
Grading Policy
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Graduate Courses (Links to an external site.) for additional information about University grading policies.
Deferred Grades
If, for reasons beyond the student’s control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student’s transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student’s associated Penn State campus.
For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade (Links to an external site.) page.