http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5616 Sat, 25 May 2013 16:02:46 GMT 2013-05-25T16:02:46Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8780 Project Management Trilogy Challenges in Africa – where to from here? Challenges in the Era of Globalization Rwelamila, P.D.; Purushottam, Neha In Africa like in other continents, projects are becoming a way in which organizations (public and private) fulfill their business plans. Project management still remains a Cinderella field across the continent. On average 8 out 10 projects managers are accidental or have inadequate PM knowledge base; PM training is characterized by curricula falling short of some fundamental knowledge areas of PM; and organizations (within public and private sectors) which are fundamentally supposed to be centered on programs and portfolios are in practice project oriented organizations (POO) by default characterized by archaic and fragmented systems. These challenges, which are referred to in this paper as „PM trilogy challenges‟ have significantly contributed to a confusing environment if not corrected could take away the potential of PM in business success and public sector development. Results of five research projects are used in this paper to identify the issues which have led to „PM trilogy challenges‟. Finally recommendations are advanced towards addressing these challenges. Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8780 2011-05-20T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8779 The Challenge of Managing Democratic Elections in Africa – Making Election Management Bodies (EMBs) Work as Project Oriented Organizations (POOs). Rwelamila, P.D.; Purushottam, Neha Many African Election Management Bodies (EMBs) are finding it necessary to implement better election management practices. This realization often comes as a result of frustrations in managing successful elections. Recent electoral challenges in Nigeria are a clear testimony to electoral establishments needs to embrace project management best practices. Political turbulent in Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Egypt and others are partly due to challenges of managing election activities – managing these as programmes and projects. This paper raises issues of project management best practices which are relevant in electoral processes. It provides help to those who are involved in managing African Election Management Bodies (EMBs) to learn how to create an environment that can help avoid these challenges/or failures. When electoral activities/programmes challenges create a focus on the need to change the way election programmes are managed, people soon learn that this change profoundly affects the entire electoral establishment. Successful elections require participation from many parts of the EMB; the development of successful election management practices cannot be accomplished in one or two departments alone. Skills in practices require a coordinated effort involving all departments in an electoral establishment. The change must be systematic and system wide. This paper explores best practices in political election management through the domain of strategic project management best practices. The paper examines the need for project management in electoral organizations and the development of new, project-based EMBs; it also examines one of the components of successful environment: linking electoral projects to organizational strategy; it examines upper-management practices of EMBs that thwart the successful development of managing electoral projects; it further addresses the problem of organizing the electoral project management effort; it covers the importance of information in the successful electoral project management environment; furthermore, the paper discusses electoral project managers selection and development; the basic principles of the EMB as the learning organization are also addressed; and finally examples of how to implement the needed changes in managing EMBs are given. Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8779 2012-05-19T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8671 Exploring possibilities for management education in Africa: The case of South Africa Purushottam, Neha; Rwelamila, P.D Literature indicates that the role of education in driving an economy and in social welfare is beyond any doubts. Across the world, in most of the countries, education is always in the priority of government budgets. Education is a resource in fighting with developmental issues and therefore International organizations like UNESCO, has included educational equity in its agenda for capacity building. Contemporary research highlights a growing need for responsible leadership, sustainable development and social entrepreneurship. Literature also indicates that these issues become more relevant in the context of Africa. South Africa faces some unique challenges which are associated with the country’s history. Economic development, equality, addressing skill shortages and unemployment are priorities of government. In such scenario, responsibilities of education institutions include ensuring quality, relevancy, affordability and accessibility of education with inculcating knowledge. Various readings on these issues and observations have contributed to the development of this paper. This paper is based on the review of related literature, on indications emerging from the review and on the experiences of authors. This paper attempts to explore the possibilities for management education to contribute to the development of a county. While exploring these possibilities, the uniqueness of the African context and changing multi-polar business environment is also considered. Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8671 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8670 Blended Learning Environment in Management Education: Opportunities, Challenges and a Way Forward Purushottam, Neha This paper is purely based on the review of related literature which was categorised under (a) drivers of change in learning environments, (b) opportunities and issues in blended learning and (c)strategies to overcome these issues. It was noted that new learning environments like ‘online only’ and ‘blended learning’ are rapidly becoming integral parts of globalizing management education. Better reach and flexibility were identified major advantages of these new environments. However, on the issues of quality control and development of soft skills like interpersonal and communication skills blended learning environments were identified better than ‘online-only’. Scholars in this area identified that blending emerged as a middle way between modern ‘online’ and traditional ‘face-to-face’ learning. Later, some studies also indicated that hybrid learning environments were not free from challenges. These challenges were mainly categorised under environmental, institutional, instructor and learner personality related issues. It was interesting to note that considering the strengths of blended learning environments, studies done so far seem to be optimistic about the growth of blended-learning environments. Therefore, from the review it can be inferred that proactive approaches and consistent efforts in managing challenges in blended learning ensures its effectiveness and bright future prospects. Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8670 2012-11-01T00:00:00Z