Strategic management tools in projects case construction project

Abstract The important role of using mission, vision and strategy has been acknowledged in most organizations today. Mission is the reason why the organization exists. Vision is the ideal state of the organization in the future. Strategy defines the way of how to get towards the ideal state introduced in the vision. These tools are considered to be very useful in guiding the whole organization into the same direction. Different ways of producing mission, vision and strategy have been developed. In projects, using these tools are still quite rare even though it is acknowledged that projects in an organization should support the overall strategy of the organization. In addition, every project should have a clear direction where to go and this direction should be stated to every stakeholder of the project. In this paper we will discuss the possibilities of using strategic management tools in project environment. A case study is used to illustrate the use of strategic management tools in a construction project. The construction project is still going on, but already now it can be seen that vision building really helped getting the end user organization committed, and they have been very active in all steps of the design process, e.g. given their opinions in different matters. The vision has also been used when prioritizing different choices.

[1]  Henry Mintzberg.  Patterns in Strategy Formation , 1978, International Studies of Management & Organization.

[2]  Frans van den Bosch,et al.  Innovative forms of organizing : international perspectives , 2003 .

[3]  Derek H.T. Walker,et al.  A Balanced Scorecard Approach to Project Management Leadership , 2004 .

[4]  R. Müller,et al.  Practices, Roles, and Responsibilities of Middle Managers in Program and Portfolio Management , 2006 .

[5]  David K. Anderson,et al.  Project Management Strategy—project management represented as a process based set of management domains and the consequences for project management strategy , 2003 .

[6]  H. Igor Ansoff,et al.  Implanting Strategic Management , 1984 .

[7]  Karlos Artto,et al.  What is project business , 2005 .

[8]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  The Structure of "Unstructured" Decision Processes , 1976 .

[9]  D. Mills.  Introduction to Action Research: Social Research for Social Change , 2000 .

[10]  Mark Lycett,et al.  Programme management: a critical review , 2004 .

[11]  Karlos Artto,et al.  Problems in managing internal development projects in multi-project environments , 2003 .

[12]  Kaj U. Koskinen.  Knowledge Management to Improve Project Communication and Implementation , 2004 .

[13]  A. Sánchez,et al.  Early Warning Signals for R&D Projects: An Empirical Study , 2004 .

[14]  Taru Pokki.  Muutospaineet julkisella sektorilla - roolit ja jännitteet Kuntaliiton Palvelutuotannon uudistaminen -ohjelmassa , 2005 .

[15]  Peter W. G. Morris,et al.  The Wiley Guide to Managing Projects , 2004 .

[16]  D. Christenson,et al.  Understanding the Role of “Vision” in Project Success , 2004, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[17]  W. Duncan.  A GUIDE TO THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE , 1996 .

[18]  Jonas Söderlund,et al.  On the broadening scope of the research on projects: A review and a model for analysis , 2004 .

[19]  Susan Boser,et al.  Ethics and power in community-campus partnerships for research , 2006 .

[20]  R. Gareis,et al.  ‘Management by projects’: the management approach for the future , 1989 .

[21]  John Crocker.  Project Management: Methods and Studies , 1986 .

[22]  S. A. Buckler.  The Spiritual Nature of Innovation , 1997 .

[23]  Heimo Malinen.  Project management by results , 1984 .

[24]  Cornelius Herstatt,et al.  The Fuzzy Front End of Innovation , 2001 .

[25]  John Kenny,et al.  Effective Project Management for Strategic Innovation and Change in an Organizational Context , 2003 .

[26]  K. Artto,et al.  Strategic Business Management through Multiple Projects , 2007 .

[27]  Jeffrey Davidson,et al.  Providing Clarity and A Common Language to the “Fuzzy Front End” , 2001 .

[28]  Karlos Artto,et al.  Managing projects front-end: incorporating a strategic early view to project management with simulation , 2001 .

[29]  J. Rodney Turner,et al.  THE HANDBOOK OF PROJECT-BASED MANAGEMENT , 2008 .

[30]  Pwg Morris,et al.  Moving from Corporate Strategy to Project Strategy , 2005 .

[31]  Edward Toomer,et al.  Qualitative Methods in Management Research , 1989 .

[32]  Karlos Artto,et al.  Project Management by Results , 1998 .