Sample

PhD – Research Proposal

A new dimension to the discipline of Project Management –

The Project Culture 

Abstract

This research proposal will present a justification for study into an area of project management which has been paid relatively too little attention, namely utilising approaches which encompass stakeholders and the unique culture of each company.

The Research Objectives

The research objectives of this proposal can be relatively easily stated, but this is not to say that they may be easily achieved. Fundamentally, we live in a world of change, and a world of global change, which is often encapsulated in the term ‘globalisation.’ However, it is important to define this term because, by our understanding, it implies the ‘categorisation’ of the world into areas of specialisation. The developed nations thus attempt to maintain their economic status and therefore the living standards of their populations by retaining advantages in terms of superior knowledge and technology. These advantages come increasingly from human capital and human resources. Thus, the days when employees were seen in terms of easily replaced factors of production, have by and large gone, and there is a far greater understanding that success comes through the retention of human capital and, indeed, investment in it.

This suggests that a stakeholder approach to the management of companies and, equally if not more importantly, to the management of projects, is the acknowledged way forward by companies in the United Kingdom and further afield, and within this the obvious acknowledgement and inclusion of the individual culture of each company which must, by definition, be unique. However, whilst this acknowledgement can be exemplified, in practise companies are either unwilling or unable to instigate such policies and approaches. For example, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the United Kingdom (CIPD), which describes itself as “Europe's largest HR and development professional body” (CIPD 2012), produces regular and comprehensive reports within the area of Human Resources Management. One finding from the CIPD Survey (2009, p. 32) was that on the one hand 72 per cent of companies and organisations surveyed stated that improving line management skills was the most effective way of addressing staff retention but, on the other, only 39 per cent actually used it. Similarly, “74% of respondents rated revising the way staff are rewarded so their efforts are better recognised as being very effective, but only 19% adopted this strategy” (CIPD Annual Survey 2009, p. 32). It is relevant to further note that, according to a 2004 survey by Price Waterhouse Cooper of over 10,000 projects valued at over 7 billion dollars, only 2.5% of global businesses achieved 100% project success and over 50% projects failed (Barrows and Neely 2002, p. 12).

Thus, we can identify the problem and specify the research objectives. These are to gain a better understanding of the relative benefits of stakeholder approaches to project management which embrace the individual company cultures within which firms and organisations operate and to better understand which approaches are more effective. The proposed researcher contends that this is a topical, relevant and important area of research which has the potential not only to fill gaps in existing knowledge, but may have practical and relevant implications for many companies and organisations. Further justifications for this research are within a brief literature review (see below).

Proposed Research Methods

It is not possible to be precise about the exact methods because the nature of research is investigative and therefore may reveal further areas that warrant consideration and thus an amended method. With this caveat, it is proposed that inasmuch as human values and judgements will very much be central to the work, a normative and post-positivist approach will predominate. However, the proposer acknowledges the value of positivism and will therefore introduce quantification using the SPSS statistical software package where applicable.

Summary Literature Review

The importance of project management is emphasized by Chin and Spowage (2010), who note on the one hand that it is a critical factor in the successful completion of projects and, on the other, that researchers “widely agree” that the employment of a suitable project management methodology (PMM) will enhance the potential for success (Chin and Spowage 2010, p. 1). Alongside this, Thomas and Tilke (2007) draw our attention to a widely used publication that gives specific guidelines for project management methodologies, the project management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK), and tell us that this publication is a widely used “best practices standard for project management” (Thomas and Tilke 2007, p. 2). But there are no references to people other than as a part of the process of selecting a team and a rather vague suggestion that the relationships with all stakeholders should be ‘managed.’ Further, within the general approach of these and many other literatures, scant if any attention is paid to the importance and value (or potentially negative value) of stakeholders generally, nor to the importance of unique company cultures.

Workplan

References

Barrows E. & Neely A. (2012), Managing Projects in Turbulent Times, Balanced Scorecard Report, Vol. 14, No. 1

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), About Us,

http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/about-us/

CIPD Annual Survey Report for 2009, Recruitment, Retention and Turnover

Chin C.M.M. & Spowage A. C. (2011), Defining & Classifying Project Management Methodologies, PM World Today, Vol. XII, Issue V

Thomas H. & Tilke J. (2007), Best Practice Methodologies for the Project Management Office (PMO), White Paper PMO, No. 3 of 4