Managing and Working in Project Society

Reviews / Votes

'Project Society: a utopia or a dystopia? The authors of this book avoid such extremes, which, though attracting attention, do little to prepare people for actual changes in their working lives. Well-balanced, well-documented and rich in insights, this text analyzes systematically and creatively one of the central phenomena of our times. It should be read by practitioners and theoreticians alike; by students and professors. The transformation has already started.' Barbara Czarniawska, Torsten and Ragnar Soederberg Professor of Management Studies, Gothenburg Research Institute, University of Gothenburg 'Kudos for this masterful integration of project scholarship to make a persuasive case for the emergence of Project Society. The authors comprehensively employ three organizational archetypes for project organizing to explain how each is uniquely suited to specific project work contexts illustrated by rich cases of practice. Overall, this volume combines both a breadth and depth of scholarship that should appeal to the diverse scholarly communities whose work is skillfully integrated in each chapter.' Robert DeFillippi, Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University, Massachusetts 'This book uniquely draws together evidence and insights with regards to the apparent projectification of our societies. The book benefits from the extensive knowledge of projects and managing projects of the authors, conveyed here through an interdisciplinary perspective. The book is unashamedly polemical making the case for greater engagement with projectification in societies. I am certain this book will provoke further debate which will have significant implications for project theory and practice.' Mark Hughes, Reader in Organizational Change, CROME, Brighton Business School 'Projects are a critical part of daily life and support our constant need to expand infrastructure, improve living conditions, and thrive in an interconnected economy. Within myriad public and private sector companies, this movement toward the 'projectification' of operations promises benefits and concomitant challenges. Written by eminent scholars and leading-edge thinkers and coming at a particularly auspicious time, this book tackles, head-on, our necessary reorientation in thinking and behaving to gain benefit from a project environment.' Jeffrey K. Pinto, PhD, Andrew Morrow and Elizabeth Lee Black Chair in the Management of Technology, Black School of Business, Pennsylvania State University 'The authors of this informative book correctly emphasize that as more of our work is carried out in flexible projects rather than stable industrial frameworks, existing institutional supports - including labor laws, education, market relations and political systems - must be reimagined and reconfigured if the potential of the new forms is to be realized.' W. Richard Scott, Stanford University, California 'Many authors seem to be interested in telling others how project should be managed. Fewer are telling people how we should understand the challenges associated with the project society. This is focus of this book - to give us a new lens to understand our projects and the society in which we live. A group of international researchers have joined forces to write this book. I thank them for doing so. The book is much needed.' Jonas Soederlund, BI Norwegian Business School 'The use of projects in all areas of both work and play is now endemic, in business, culture, sport and family life. This creates a need for understanding how the new projectified world should be managed, but also how it impacts society in general and people's lives. This book is timely, giving a review of what those impacts are and how to deal with them in practice.' J. Rodney Turner, Editor of International Journal of Project Management 'We experience an increasing prevalence of projects in all sectors of society. Therefore, management of projects is highly relevant, for private organisations and for organisations in the public and not-for-profit sectors. This book provides great insights in the ongoing transformation together with causes, effects, opportunities and threats. It takes us on a journey to a new world called 'Project Society', where dynamic change is mainly performed through projects. Buckle up and let the journey start!' Reinhard Wagner, President of IPMA (International Project Management Association) '[The authors] synthesiz[e] a broad constellation of research streams and industry studies to offer readers an invaluable, comprehensive overview of how project-based organizing is transforming work and society. ... The authors focus attention on the collective nature of project-based work, and the networks of individuals and institutions that make viable a project society. This includes the professional societies that provide standardized accreditation and training processes, and in turn, drive the 'projectification' of society. The authors also provide a useful roadmap for future research.' Elizabeth Long Lingo, Organization Studies 'This is one of the best books about project management that I have read in years. It's also one of the most important ... this book belongs on the bookshelf of every leader in the project management profession worldwide, everyone researching some aspect of project management, every student of project management, every executive of a project-based organization, and every practicing project management professional who plans to stay in the field.' David L. Pells, Project Management World Journal