Modification of the Existing Bachelors Degree Programme in Project Management - Coursework Example

Modification of the Existing Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Project Management Introduction This presents essay focuses on a scenario whereby a university gets a request to change its curriculum from three key stakeholders that include the students, the faculty, and industry leaders. Considering the scenario, the study will first explore the problem areas within the current curriculum and then review the curriculum along the principles of total quality management. The case scenario The case scenario revolves around the school of engineering at the University of Greenwich, whereby the students, the engineering faculty, and industry leaders have requested the programme leader, Dr. Arami to modify the existing bachelor’s degree programme in project management. After conducting, a research that showed that were was excellent job prospects for project managers, increase in demand for project management education across multiple industries and a deficiency in the number of institutions that offer project management courses, the management of the University of Greenwich was convinced to set up an undergraduate education programme in project management. However, the project management programme did not record any success because the number of students applying for enrollment in the programme was gradually decreasing and a majority of those who had applied for the course ended up changing the programme after only one year. This prompted a series of modification to the programme, which included moving the project management lecture to only one year, redesigning of three courses under the programme, making the university an APM and PMI registered education provider in order for the students to earn professional development units. The other significant modification was the inclusion of project management certificates for project management lecturers. Despite of all these modifications, the bachelor’s degree programme in project management again failed to be successful, and even some students have opted out of the programme. Because of this, a new project has been set-up to modify the existing project management bachelor’s degree. Modification of the existing Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Project Management Because of the fact that three key stakeholders have requested for the modification of the programme, it therefore, essentially means that the programme has deficiency that does not make it excellent. Consequently, the modification of the current bachelor’s degree programme in project management should be done using the framework of total quality management, which Goetsch and Davis (2010) described as a search for excellence. Zaire (1991, p 7) gave a formal definition of TQM that, “it is a combination of socio-technical processes towards doing the right things (externally), everything right (internally), first time and all the time, with economic viability considered at each stage of each process.” Using the total quality management (TQM) framework will be essential in ensuring all the stakeholders have a positive attitude towards the programme and it will introduce control measures to identify and resolve problems within the programme. Goetsch and Davis (2010) further stated that TQM increases efficiency and effectiveness of a programme thus creating satisfaction amongst the stakeholders. In modifying the existing bachelor’s degree in project management, it is necessary for the programme leader Dr. Arami to review and modify the existing programme using the European Foundation for Quality Management framework that is based upon eight fundamental principles or concepts of excellence (EFQM, 2003). Achieving balanced results As part of the modification of the programme, Dr. Arami should ensure that the curriculum of bachelor’s degree in project management reflects the mission and vision of the institution, and that it reflects the needs and expectations of the industry leaders as well as the students. Mohanty and Lakhe (2002) noted that the organisations that have adopted TQM are able to achieve balanced results thus ensuring all the stakeholders are satisfied. Adding value for the stakeholders According to Mehra and Ranganathan, (2008) adding value for customers is fundamental to TQM and is expressed by the organisation’s attempt to design and deliver products and services that fulfill the customer’s needs. The initial modifications on the programme were aimed at adding value for the students and the organization. The values that were added to the programme for the stakeholders included granting students with professional development units, as for the institution, the programme enabled it to be granted an APM and PMI registration, and for the industry leaders, the programme it intends to start training project management lecturers. However, as part of the modification, the programme leader should add other values that have a direct impact on the bottom line of the stakeholders. Leading with vision and inspiration According to Carson and King, (2005) excellent organisations have leaders who shape the future and make it happen, acting as role models for its values and ethics. Furthermore, quality is viewed as ultimately and inescapably the responsibility of the top management, since they create systems and procedures that determines the offering of an organisation. Therefore, quality improvement of the programme must begin with the programme leader’s commitment to TQM. Secondly, the inclusion of project management consultants will be able to give the programme a leading vision and inspiration from people who have experience in the field of project management and are well conversant with the practical side of the course. Managing the programme through processes According to Davenport and Short (1990) excellent organisations are usually managed through structured and strategically aligned processes using fact-based decision making to create balanced and sustained results. Therefore, as part of the modification of the undergraduate project management curriculum, the programme leader should ensure the decision adopted concerning the curriculum cover the views and opinion of the students, faculty members, as well as the industry leaders. Nurturing creativity and innovation The programme leader should ensure that through the capstone project that undergraduate students undertake, they are able to nurture their own creativity and innovation skills. Therefore, the programme leader should devise the capstone project in a manner that brings out the creativity and innovation amongst the students, thereby making the more viable and competitive in the labour market. Building partnerships In reference to the writings by Jorgensen et al. (2003), they advocated for partnerships because the use of teams to solve problems and achieve consensus, takes advantage of partnership synergy, gets partners involved and promotes a spirit of cooperation and shared values among the partners. Therefore, the programme leader should create partnership with strategic industry leaders who will then assist her in modifying the undergraduate project management curriculum. This partnership will be aimed at exchanging ideas and acquisition/adoption of best practices in undergraduate project management programme. Creating a sustainable future According to Evans and Lindsey (2008), institutions that have implemented TQM have inscribed within their culture an ethical mindset, clear values and the highest standards for organisation behavior. All of these are aimed at ensuring that the organisations survive economically, socially, and ecologically. Therefore, the programme leader should ensure that the undergraduate project management curriculum is sustainable for future needs of the students, the faculty as well as industry leaders. This is to say that the trainings under the curriculum should reflect on what will be relevant and beneficial in the future for the stakeholders. Conclusion This present essay focused on exploring what happens when a university gets a request for changing the curriculum from three stakeholders who include the students, the faculty and industry leaders. Such a request confirms that the current curriculum is not perfect or excellent and it has numerous problematic areas. Therefore, to modify the curriculum in order to suit the best interest of all the three key stakeholders it is of essence for the programme leader to countercheck the curriculum using the total quality management models, which is built on concepts or principles of excellence. References Carson, C. M., & King, J. E. (2005) ‘Leaving Leadership: Solving Leadership Problems through Empowerment [Electronic version]’. Management Decision, 43(7/8): 1049-1053 Davenport, T.H. & Short, J. (1990) The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Design. Cambridge, MA: Sloan Management Review. EFQM. (2003) The Fundamental Concepts of Excellence. Brussels: The European Foundation for Quality Management. Evans, R. J. & Lindsey, W.M. (2008) The Management and Control of Quality (7th edition). Wesly, USA: Thompson South-Western Goetsch,D.L., & Davis, S.B. (2010). Quality Management for Organisational Excellence (6th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Jorgensen, F., Boer, H., and Gertsen, F. (2003). Jump-starting continuous improvement through self-assessment; International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 23(10), 1260-1278 Mehra, S., & Ranganathan, S. (2008) ‘Implementing Total Quality Management with a Focus on Enhancing Customer Satisfaction’. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 25(9): 913-927. Mohanty R.P. & Lakhe, R. R. (2002) TQM in the Service Sector: New Delhi, India: Jaico Publishing House. Zaire, M. (1991) TQM for Engineers; Cambridge, UK: Woodhead Publishing Ltd. Read More