Sydney Opera House Project Management - Case Study Example

The paper "Sydney Opera House Project Management" is a perfect example of a case study on management. The premier of New South Wales, Joseph Cahill, provided the requirement for the construction of opera house in Sydney in 1956. However, the government did not feel the financial burden for the project as the funds originated entirely from a dedicated lottery. Through the lottery competition, Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect won the competition to design and construct the Sydney Opera House at a cost of AUD$3million in 1956. Later, the estimated budget went to AUD $7million and scheduled in four years, but eventually, the project cost AUD$ 102 million and took 14 years to complete in 1973.2

Sydney Opera House Overview

One of the most recognizable images of modern Australia is the Sydney Opera House designed by the Danish, John Utzon. Based on gull wings and sails of a ship, the architectural concepts were drawn from Ancient Chinese. However, Joe Cahill the then prime minister of New South Wales underestimated the project that eventually came 10 times the original estimate (Ziegler, 1973). After the project had begun, the new government became unsympathetic to the vision of Utzon and showed interest in controlling designs and costs. After Utzon resigned, the new management made a lot of modifications to the designs which caused astronomical soar in the project costs. Compared to the Millennium Dome and the Taurus, Sydney Opera House did not meet the three triple constraints of project management; time, scope, and cost (Bourne, 2007). The comparison is as shown below.20

Lewis and Goof (2008) argue that being a recent professional discipline, project management developed from the defense and construction industry which required complex planning, management, and control of a series of activities such as battleships, bridges, and hospitals. While soft skills facilitate the application of hard skills, it is the technique and not the skills that are important. Knowledge and techniques of relationship management are taught or documented or can be learned through experience and instinct (PMI, 2004). Being tacit knowledge, the project manager will build health cynicism and portfolio of ‘learning’ (Haughey, 2012). Some of the ways to hone project management know-how and skills involve continuous professional educations, apprenticeship schemes, and coaching and mentoring.23