Rolf A. Lundin

Temporary organizations and end states : A theory is a child of its time and in need of reconsideration and reconstruction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to respond to the research note on the article “A theory on temporary organizations” by reminding readers about the lack of timelessness in the social sciences and alluding to some alternative theory formulations.Design/methodology/approach – By describing/analyzing the context within which “A theory” was developed, the notion that any theory is a child of its time is explicated. Thus, an understanding for the need for reconsideration and reconstruction in social science theory is created.Findings – A necessary step in the work is to come up with ideas as to how crucial elements get transformed and is related to social development. The argument is that when it comes to the use of the word project is under change which creates a tension as to the appropriate realm for a theory of temporary organizations. A theory building on the notion of end state appears to be useful.Practical implications – A theory incorporating the notion of end state opens up for new ideas on how to manage projects. The traditional project management guidelines might inhibit good solutions to focused behavior. An end state approach is more open for changes in the environment and in ambitions.Originality/value – The theme opens up for less rigid approaches in relation to traditional project management. The crucial role that planning beforehand is considered to have will be transformed to other mechanisms, triggering planning and rethink.

Projectification in the public sector – the case of the European Union

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish an understanding of what projectification means, how projectification is driven forward, as well as what the consequences of projectification are in ...

Researching Projects and Theorizing Families of Temporary Organizations

Following contemporary development in which most temporary, focused, and organized endeavors can be regarded as a project and studied as a temporary organization, here we ask: How can these phenomena be defined without hindering pluralism in understanding, development, and theorizing? Based on the notions of family resemblance—the idea that it is not a specific trait, but a variety of traits that are shared by some, but not all, members of a family—we propose a new dynamic framework we believe is useful in advancing the studies of projects and temporary organizations toward more opportunities for rigorous theorizing.

Projects – real, virtual or what?

Purpose – At the heart of this paper is the question of how to describe the ongoing changes of project management (PM) and how to cultivate the understating of projects. In line with the theme of t ...

Managing projects in the TV production industry : The case of Sweden

Abstract Empirical evidence from some representative companies ofthe Swedish TV production industry shows the existence of conceptuallydifferent projects. Judging from the data, there are three types of projectswhich are indirectly but inherently related to each other, though they are essentially handled and managed in separation. The analysis suggests that the idea of a generic approach to run TV production projects is unfeasible. There is a need to take into account the nature of the tasks at hand, e. g. exploration or exploitation, and the contextual factors essential for successful project management. The factors are related tothe industrial wisdom in TV production and to different competencies. The paper introduces a tentative synthesis regarding different TV production industry competencies.

Ethical considerations in doing and disseminating project management research

Purpose – The purpose of this research note is to provide some guidance on the ethical issues surrounding submitting academic papers for publication.Design/methodology/approach – This is a reflective paper based upon the authors experience as an author, reviewer, journal editor and chair of research tracks in conference proceedings.Findings – The contention is that there are many temptations and potential pitfalls for researchers in action as well as in publishing. At the same time there are many written and unwritten rules for such instances and the boundaries of the acceptable are not always clear.Research limitations/implications – The publish or perish ideology is at the root of many temptations. Without good research results and without publishing there is no way for a researcher to survive in academia and as a researcher. The concerns in project research do not appear too different from any kind of management research, however. Hence, the attempt here is to cover management research in general and ...

Frustration in Decision Processes: A Tentative Frame of Reference

Many decisions made by individuals and groups inside and outside organizations have the common characteristic of being initiated by some type of crisis situation. The people involved often act under a condition of frustration. This applies as much to decisions with long-range effects (e.g., policy changes) as to decisions concerning short-range adaptations to environmental changes. There is an abundance of examples of difficult decision situations in private enterprises and in public organizations, e.g., created by the energy crisis, by shortage of other raw materials, by changing commercial trade patterns, by unexpected dysfunctional effects of measures taken by state and local authorities, etc. This paper is a part of our research effort into this problem area. Our ultimate purpose is to try to describe and explain processes and mechanisms involved in various crisis situations.

Projectification in the Media Industries

Since the death of the Hollywood studio system, projects have been the established way of producing content in a large part of the media industries. This includes sectors such as film and TV, advertising, electronic gaming, the recording industry, and book publishing. There seems to be an increasing trend of ‘projectification’ also in other parts of the media industries, for example, news media, which traditionally have not been organised according to a project logic. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the notion of projectification as it relates to the media industries and consider the implications this may have for media management. The chapter starts with an introduction to the general project management literature, describing its origins and development including the more recent discussion of projectification. It then turns to the media setting and discusses how content production is increasingly organised in projects and how this gives rise to what has been described as ‘project networks’ that evolve over time. Here the authors discuss what a project mode of organising means for the people set to manage media production, as well as for the individual media professional. The chapter ends with a discussion of what the trend of projectification in the media industries implies for the management of media—not only for the production of content but also for other, more strategic, endeavours.

Project Society: Paths and Challenges

In Project Society, organizing by projects plays a prominent role. This type of society is already here, but projectification continues to lead developments and transformations along a set of paths and trajectories. One way to describe this trend is to say that there is societal organizing in which various types of projects are becoming even more prevalent and diverse. The projectification trend seems to be the result of a variety of mechanisms at work, where a wide set of traditional institutions—ranging from laws to mindsets—is constantly challenged and reformed. Managing, along with the nature of work, are changing and adapting.

The beauty and the beast : on the creativity/project management encounter

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the creativity/project management (PM) encounter in TV production.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is prompted by several questions. Does the project work form constitute a threat to creativity, inventiveness or innovation in problem solving? Is it also indirectly a threat to development? Is PM the beast killing off much of the creativity, the beauty that exists in the world? Is it the other way around? Or what is the character of the encounter? Is there even an encounter? An ongoing study of TV production companies provides empirical illustrations to our reasoning.Findings – First, the PM focus on time performance in TV production can trigger innovative and creative responses to challenging targets because deadlines are good inspirations for creativity when time has to be compressed. Second, developing formats for TV production programs and series requires different PM creativity skills. Third, strategic development might be helped by a more stric...