Welcome to MPM418, Strategy in Project Organisations.

“Project management” is a generic area of study, where the principles and practices can be applied to projects of all types. These projects can range from, say, those of a domestic scale such as the renovation of a house, to those of national importance such as the redesign of the taxation system or construction of submarines.

We'll be discussing, evaluating and applying a range of strategic management concepts and processes and even adapting existing approaches to suit non-project organizations. The assessments will challenge you to research, compile, combine and even modify existing theories and frameworks for strategic and project management.

This is a 'thinking' subject and requires that you have a sound grasp of project management concepts. It requires that you learn to think strategically and it also delves into systems thinking as we explore how project management is used strategically in organisations.

This is also a level 9 unit which means that the learning and assessment expectation is higher and emphasizes your ability to research and synthesize information, critique and reflect on existing theories, explore relationships between apparently unrelated bodies of knowledge or fields of practice and even propose your own frameworks and models. 

I wish you success in your study of this fascinating area of project management.

Jacqueline Jepson
Unit Coordinator and Facilitator

Your Unit Coordinator for Strategy in Project Organisations is:

Jacqueline Jepson

jacqueline.jepson@unisa.edu.au 

UniSA Student Advisers
Tel: +61 8 8647 6145
Fax: +61 8 8647 6082
Tel: 1300 361 450 (local call cost - mobile and payphone extra)
Email: ouainfo@unisa.edu.au
Website: https://i.unisa.edu.au/Campus-Central/OUA/

Online resources for this unit can be accessed from your unit homepage via your UniSA student portal https://my.unisa.edu.au. 

Please also check the OUA @ UniSA website for frequently asked questions and information on administrative processes for OUA students studying with UniSA. https://i.unisa.edu.au/Campus-Central/OUA/

OUA students enrolled in UniSA units are eligible to use the Library to support their study. Regardless of where you live UniSA’s Off Campus Library Service can help you. Services include phone and online assistance, electronic document delivery to your desktop and postal delivery of loan items and documents. unisa.edu.au/library-ocls

The Co-op is UniSA’s preferred textbook supplier and textbooks can be purchased online at www.coop.com.au.

MPM 411 Principles of Project Management

MPM 417 Project Leadership and Teams

MPM 413 Project Risk Management

MPM 414 Project Control Methods

There are no corequisite Subjects to be completed in conjunction with this Subject.

On completion of this Subject, students should be able to:

CO1. Demonstrate a mastery of theoretical knowledge in respect to project management strategy within a variety of organisations.

CO2. Critically analyse and synthesise complex situations and apply strategic management concepts throughout typical project lifecycles.

CO3. Justify and interpret theoretical standpoints to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.

CO4. Apply creativity and initiative to various situations in professional project practice as a means to solve complex organisational problems.

CO5. Reflect critically on the planning and implementation of strategy in project organisations.

Upon completion of this Subject, students will have achieved the following combination of Graduate Qualities and Subject Objectives:

4.5 unit points

There are no additional assessment requirements identified for this course.

No special requirements

A table outlining the unit structure and study schedule is printed at the back of this guide. Please refer to it for important information regarding due dates for assignments.

There are no textbooks listed for this Subject.

All materials are online for this unit. Students should have access to the textbooks prescribed for the unit. The Schmidt textbook is the main book that will be used. The Burke textbook is used for some sections.

All other unit related materials can be accessed through your learnonline unit site which you will be able to access from the my Courses section in myUniSA.

All study related materials can be accessed through: https://my.unisa.edu.au

This unit will involve the production of audio and/or video recordings of UniSA students. To protect student privacy, you must not at any time disclose, reproduce or publish these recordings, or related material, in the public domain including online, unless the videoed students give consent for reproduction, disclosure or publication. This requirement is consistent with University statutes, by-laws, policies, rules and guidelines which you agreed to abide by when you signed the Student Enrolment Declaration.

The feedback proforma is available on your course site.

You will be required to complete 10 online assessments. These will consist of a variety of activity types requiring research and documentation of your findings.

This assignment involves the preparation of a Learning Journal 

 

All information provided by you will be kept in confidence by the lecturer  and will not be released or shared with any other individual unless a remark is required in which case the identity of the student will be removed.

 

Select an organisation (your own or one you know well) and look at how its strategy has evolved and how effective it has been in providing competitive advantage. Consider how projects are utilised in this process both at the corporate and business unit level. Reflect on the learning you have obtained in each week and apply it to your organisation.

You are required to prepare an essay contrasting two case studies provided  (chosen from the case studies provided in weeks 11 & 12): 

 

You are required to:

• Provide a context for two case studies chosen
• Provide a frame of reference
• Develop grounds for comparison and conceive a thesis
• Contrast and compare the case studies
• Identify critical differences
• Provide a conclusion
  
  

 

You must submit assignments on time for them to be considered for marking. Assignments submitted after the due date without having obtained an extension before the due date may not be considered for marking.

Supplementary assessment is not available for this course.

All students must adhere to the University of South Australia's policies about assessment:
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp.

Students with disabilities or medical conditions or students who are carers may be entitled to a variation or modification to standard assessment arrangements. See Section 7 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual (APPM) at:http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp

Information for students with disabilities is available at:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/Disability/Current-students/

If you indicated you have a disability when you enrolled through Open Universities Australia, you will be sent a letter about UniSA services for students with disabilities. UniSA encourages you to develop a Disability Access Plan with the UniSA Disability Service.

http://www.unisa.edu.au/Disability/Current-students/Open-University-Australia/ 

Variation to assessment methods, tasks and timelines can be provided in:

Unexpected or exceptional circumstances , for example bereavement, unexpected illness (details of unexpected or exceptional circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clauses 7.8 - 7.10 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variation to assessment in unexpected or exceptional circumstances should be discussed with your unit coordinator as soon as possible.

Special circumstances , for example religious observance grounds, or community services (details of special circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clause 7.11 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variations to assessment in expected circumstances must be requested within the first two weeks of the unit (or equivalent for accelerated or intensive teaching).

More information about variation to assessment may be found by consulting the relevant policy: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp (section 7).

UniSA is committed to fostering and preserving the scholarly values of curiosity, experimentation, critical appraisal and integrity. Students are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of academic integrity.

Academic integrity is a term used at university to describe honest behaviour as it relates to all academic work (for example papers written by staff, student assignments, conduct in exams, etc) and is the foundation of university life. One of the main principles is respecting other people's ideas and not claiming them as your own. Anyone found to have used another person's ideas without proper acknowledgement is deemed guilty of Academic Misconduct and the University considers this to be a serious matter.

The University of South Australia wants its students to display academic integrity so that its degrees are earned honestly and are trusted and valued by its students and their employers. To ensure this happens and that students adhere to high standards of academic integrity and honesty at all times, the University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct for all students. Work submitted electronically by students for assessment will be tested using the text comparison software Turnitin http://www.turnitin.com.

More information about academic integrity and what constitutes academic misconduct can be found in Section 9 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM) at: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/ or on the Academic Integrity Module website at: https://lo.unisa.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=252142

Evaluation will be by a survey conducted at the end of the teaching period.

Conceded and Terminating passes are not available in this Subject.

Full information on the assessments for MPM418 can be found in the Learn online site for this unit.

Please note that participation in the weekly discussion forums is recommended, but not required to pass this unit. The only discussion forum that is assessed is the graded forum found in week 8.