Textbook Information
ISBN: 978-0470183885, Milosevic, Patanakul, Srivannaboon, Case Studies in Project, Program, and Organizational Project Management, 2010, John Wiley & Sons.
The text for this course is readily available through the Penn State Libraries E-Book program at no cost to the student. Students do not need to purchase a physical copy of the book. Instructions for accessing the E-Book will be provided in the course.
Published Remarks
Strongly Recommended Prerequisite: MANGT 510; may be taken concurrently.
Hardware Requirements
- None
Software Requirements
Proctored Exams
- None
Course Description
An examination of organizational issues: theories and behavior in project management.
Organizations, providing the “stage” for operating projects, embrace many interesting issues meaningful for management. What are these issues? How do we describe them and understand them? What knowledge and skills does an individual need to act as a successful agent in an organization? Also, what are the important issues involved in attempting to change or transform organizations?
Within the context of project management, MANGT 531 allows us to examine, describe, and understand the knowledge of organizations, such as structures, processes, and issues that play a role in organizations or influence the management of projects such as organizational culture, power, and politics, which can influence the management of projects.
On the other hand, a second objective is for you to be able to internalize the course materials in a practical manner, as it pertains to modern project management. What does it take to implement new strategies and projects in organizations? What are the possible ramifications across the organization resulting from such efforts? Therefore, the course has a pragmatic emphasis as well as focusing on the individual's ability to maximize his or her performance in a variety of administrative settings.
To achieve these objectives, this course contains such topics as:
- Organization and system concepts
- Organization types and levels
- Organization structures and forms
- Power, politics, and cultural issues
Contents
MANGT 531 consists of 12 Lessons or topics of study. There are also Readings on Penn State’s Electronic Reserve system which you are expected to read along with Lessons.
Each week, one Lesson and several readings are given. You will read and reflect on the Lesson and all articles in the Reading, and post reflections by answering questions on discussion forums. A course schedule (referenced later in this syllabus) is provided to help keep you organized over the course of the semester.
This Canvas course was designed to help facilitate your understanding of the content. It contains a link to discussion forums that you can use to ask questions or discuss content issues with your professor and fellow students, e-mail access, and other materials to aid you in your study.
Additionally, you will be placed on a team that will prepare midterm and final reports.
Because organizations involve lively issues occurring in our everyday lives and careers, we will learn by reading, reflecting, and sharing interesting experiences based on concepts and theories in course materials. This way, we learn very differently from a traditional classroom setting where knowledge is disseminated and transmitted between the instructor and students, such as in lectures. Instead, this course emphasizes active learning from peer discussion while the instructor mainly serves as the facilitator and collaborator for active learning.
During your study, it is expected that you will draw on your own work or academic experiences to further enhance your understanding of the course materials. Therefore, many of the course assignments may be completed by using real situations and instances from your career experiences. 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.
Course Requirements and Grading
What will be expected of you?
As a student in this course, you are expected to read the materials each week and share your reflections online, and any other acitivity, assignment, or exam given.
At the beginning of each week, check any Announcements for the expected activity of that week, and follow instructions. In general, you should:
- Consistently read and reflect on Lessons and Reserved Readings, and participate and contribute to online discussions.
- Complete activity or assignment, while readily absorbing and reflecting on materials
- Prepare and complete the final exam
The following are the major assignments for this course:
|
Assignment |
Value |
|---|---|
|
Discussion Board Participation (weekly) |
50% |
|
Case Study Assignment* |
20% |
|
Final Case Report** |
30% |
|
Total |
100% |
*See instructions in the Lesson 8 Module. The cases are in Case Studies in Project, Program, and Organizational Project Management, by Dragan Z. Milosevic, Peerasit Patanakul, and Sabin Srivannaboon, Wiley, ISBN: 978-0-470-18388-5
** See instruction in Final Case Study Module
The following cut-off percentages (of total points possible) will be used to determine letter grades:
| A | 93.0%+ |
|---|---|
| A- | 90.0 – 92.99% |
| B+ | 87.0 – 89.99% |
| B | 83.0 – 86.99% |
| B- | 80.0 – 82.99% |
| C+ | 77.0 – 79.99% |
| C | 70.0 – 76.99% |
| D | 60.0 – 69.99% |
Class Interaction
In order to facilitate timely responses to any questions students may direct at the instructor, the following policies will be employed in this course:
- The instructor will log on to the Canvas site to answer questions or comments around Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. For questions posted passing noon Friday, they would be responded to on Monday.
- Due to the university’s enforcement of information systems security policy, your email may be filtered out and may not reach my email box if a non-PSU email account is used. Please be advised of this risk, and use your PSU official account instead.
- While the instructor serves as a mediator and facilitator for this course, the instructor may occasionally contribute comments or ask questions as a part of the students’ message strings. So, it is natural that you may wonder “Is the instructor there?” because the instructor does not intend to be a discussion arbiter stifling student participation and contribution. From this regard, any postings/opinions from the instructor should not be construed as definitive.
- Student contribution to the discussions will be evaluated based on the value-adding process of learning. Thus, postings that simply repeat/repackage others’ opinions may not be counted, such as “I agree with Jane,” or “Joe’s points are good.” The instructor will monitor the number of postings to the board. However, the quality of the posts will be evaluated not the quantity. The instructor will regularly give feedback on the level of student contribution.
Guidelines for your performance on the Discussion Forums:
| Criteria | 5 Points | 3 Points | 0 Points |
| Theoretical Understanding |
Demonstrate the correct understanding of concepts and theories |
Demonstrate the understanding of concepts and theories to a certain extent |
Does not understand concepts and theories |
| Application |
Correctly and sufficiently apply concepts or theories to address the problem or situation |
Certain mistakes are found when applying or insufficiently apply concepts or theories to address the problem or situation |
Wrongly apply or not utilize concepts or theories to address the problem or situation |
| Knowledge Gained |
Provide meaningful recommendation or lessons learned or demonstrate the implications of concepts or theories in the workplace |
Provide partial recommendation or lessons learned or implication |
No recommendation or lessons learned or implication |
Course Schedule
The course schedule provides a week-by-week schedule of topics and assignments. Please visit the course schedule regularly to determine what is expected of you each week.
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year from the day the course began (with the exception of library reserves).
Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor as early as possible. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.
Technical Specifications
Please visit the Canvas Technical Requirements site to make sure your system meets the minimum specifications required.