Strategic Organisational Project Management PgDip/MSc

Facts about Strategic Organisational Project Management

Qualification	PgDip/MSc
Duration	Part time: two years minimum, four years maximum
Attendance	Five weekends per semester
Assessment	Individual coursework
Start date:	28 September 2012
Course structure
Please note: this course was previously called Strategic Project and Change Management MSc

Choose Kingston's Strategic Organisational Project Management PgDip/MSc

Why choose this course?

Do you want to become a leader who understands, inspires and develops organisational capability? Do you aim to deliver complex projects, programmes and portfolios successfully?

This masters is designed for individuals with leadership potential who:

aspire to reach board level positions;
want to develop and implement strategies that inspire and create significant value;
recognise that organisational environment is the key to successful projects and programmes; and
identify the critical importance of building trust to engage customers, individuals, teams and stakeholders.

This course is aimed at individuals who:

facilitate the right capability, capacity and culture to deliver strategy through projects and programmes;
manage or have managed high-risk change programmes and portfolios;
lead or have led project and programme delivery operations, groups or teams;and
make change happen.

What will I study?

Organisational Project Management (OPM) is an emerging sphere of management that looks at how organisations can perform projects, programmes and portfolios in order to achieve long term strategic value. OPM goes beyond the conventional paradigms of project, programme and portfolio management to identify the conditions for high and sustainable delivery performance. It engages a wider spectrum of disciplines, impacting on, for example, finance, HR, marketing, organisational development, organisational behaviour, strategy, psychology, product management, ethics and service management.

Course structure

PgDip students take five specialist modules. MSc students, in addition to the five modules, take a research methods module and a dissertation.

Available modules

Strategic Planning and Project Management
Strategic Planning and Project Management

In this module we look at strategy as the philosophy guiding the business activity and the basic set of principles ensuring sustainable high performance. The elements of strategy, such as external environment, competition, organisation's core competences and capabilities are seen here as the building blocks of what is subsequently implemented by organisations through a careful selection and adjustment of their product and project portfolios. The module also touches upon basic concepts of project management, to ensure that individual projects comprising the given portfolio fully support the chosen strategic direction and allow for optimal allocation of resources within the organisation.
Organisational Development and Planned Change
Organisational Development and Planned Change

Organisational Development (OD) is a process of planned change consisting of a cluster of approaches applied to organisational problems. This module focuses on theory and practice of developing of an understanding of the role and contribution made by OD. It will also help students develop their own role as change agents and understand the contemporary practice and experience of change management in organisations.
Leadership, Change and Consultancy
Leadership, Change and Consultancy

This module is focused on understanding the leadership, processes and practice of change in organisations and the essential building blocks for organisational development. It considers:
- organisational change from both proactive and reactive perspectives;
- the current strategies that are implemented to manage such change;
- a range of practitioner interventions focused on both development and change;
- implications of change on motivation and performance;
- theories of motivation, along with the evidence base for any relationship to performance;
- links between leadership, change and motivation, along with implications for employee relations; and
- the consultancy process and the importance of understanding the consultancy/contract cycle and ethical issues that may arise at each stage.
This module covers two of the BPS-prescribed key knowledge dimensions, namely (i) employee relations and motivation and (ii) organisational development and change.
Strategic Leadership and the Management of Change
Strategic Leadership and the Management of Change

You will focus on developing your individual leadership skills within your organisation at a practical level whilst also developing an understanding of a range of current leadership theories. The theoretical foundations will be illustrated with examples including from a project context and integrated with practical exercises, and you will apply these theories to your own organisation. You will assess your own leadership style within the strategic context of your organisation, including leadership through change and continuity.
Developing Skills for Business Leadership
Developing Skills for Business Leadership

A key purpose of this module is to encourage students to develop a strong sense of self-awareness and of their own strengths and weaknesses as managers and colleagues. The module is primarily concerned with the development of skills, and specifically seeks to develop and improve a range of definable skills that are pivotal to successful management practice and to effective leadership in a project context.
Research Methods and Dissertation
Research Methods and Dissertation

This module focuses on the skills and knowledge needed for a masters research dissertation. Students learn to critically evaluate the literature, assess and develop the design of the research and the dissertation, understand ethical conduct, professional issues and practical constraints, the collection and analysis of data, and presentation of results.