Temporality in Organization Studies: Implications for Strategic Project Management

Biesenthal, C.; Sankaran, S.; Pitsis, T.S.; Clegg, S.

Abstract

Project managers require temporal skills and the ability to improvise when linear assumptions confront the complexities of managing projects within a context of strategic calculation. While the management and organization (MOS) literature emphasizes the importance of temporal skills for managing uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity, a dearth of project management literature contributes to this discussion. By reviewing literature on time in MOS and linking it to the field of project management we seek to make an initial bridge of this gap and argue that in order to improvise project managers need temporal skills. Project management practitioners and researchers work with assumptions of what constitutes normal time and linearity in projects, despite the variety of situations and events faced in projects. Practitioners, students and researchers in project management need to develop more sophisticated temporal skills to deal with a variety of projects, situations and events strategically.

Citation

Biesenthal, C., Sankaran, S., Pitsis, T., & Clegg, S. (2015). Temporality in Organization Studies: Implications for Strategic Project Management. Open economics and management journal, 2(Suppl 1: M7), 42-52. https://doi.org/10.2174/2352630001502010045

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 24, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Mar 31, 2015
• Publication Date: Mar 31, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jun 14, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 20, 2018
• Journal: Open Economics and Management Journal
• Publisher: Bentham Open
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2
• Issue: Suppl 1: M7
• Pages: 42-52
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/2352630001502010045
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1357178