Chosen Project Management Issues and Academic Theories

1. List clearly the two chosen project management issues / topics from the chosen
international speakers. Explain why you chose them:
The two chosen project management issues or topics are ‘Flexibility and Adaptation in
Megaprojects’ and ‘Project Risk Management’. These two projects would be used to conduct
the research.
The two projects chosen namely, ‘Flexibility and Adaptation in Megaprojects’ and
‘Project Risk Management’ have been chosen because they are interrelated. Sanchez-Cazorla,
Alfalla-Luque and Irimia-Dieguez (2016) opine that the mega projects are required to boost
economic development of nations. This is because the outcomes of mega projects are assets like
roads and bridges which enable movement of goods and human resources from one country to
another as well as within countries. Mega projects owing to the dynamic macroeconomic
influences like changes in government laws and technological advancements, face several
challenges or risks in smooth commencement. Thus, it can be pointed out from this discussion
that the companies undertaking mega projects have to be flexible in planning to adapt to these
macroeconomic changes. Flyvbjerg and Turner (2018) strengthen the argument by mentioning
that mega projects attract immense numbers of risks which have significant influences on these
projects.

2. For the first issue / topic, identify at least one academic theory to deepen your insights
into the issue. Briefly introduce [and reference] your chosen academic theory. Justify your
choice.
The chosen theory for the topic, ‘Flexibility and Adaptation in Megaprojects’ is project
management theory. The theory deals with undertaking and execution of projects within a
predetermined cost and within a predetermined cost.
Kerzner and Kerzner (2017) in their book titled ‘Project management: a systems
approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling.’ introduce the term project management
describing it as the ‘art of creating the illusion that any outcome is the result of a series of
predetermined, deliberate acts when, in fact, it was dumb luck.’ This introduction of the
theory of project management can interpreted in conjunction with the article named ‘Earned
value project management’ authored by Fleming and Koppelman (2016). The article mentions
that the main aim of project management is to execute projects so as to create value to the
stakeholders like the principle (usually government bodies) and the public in general. It can be
pointed out that project management consists of predetermined acts or steps which go into
execution of the projects which value for the stakeholders. Project management consists of
initiating, forming strategies or plans, execution, management and closing of the projects to
create value for the stakeholders as mentioned in the second articles. This introduction of the
project management theory is substantiated by Kerzner and Kerzner (2017). They mention on
page 3 on their aforementioned work that project management consists of five steps namely,
project initiation, project planning, project execution, project monitoring and control and project
closure.

The choice of the theory namely, project management can be justified on the grounds that
it is the basic theory which comes into play while undertakings and execution of projects.
Demirkesen and Ozorhon (2017) mention that efficient management and execution of projects
require integration of several steps. Thus, it can be pointed out that management of mega
projects require integration of several steps. In other words efficient project management plays a
key role in mega projects. This discussion justifies the selection of project management as the
theory to conduct research in the first article chosen.
Using your chosen theory to explain how this helps you to gain deeper insights into the first
issue.
The chosen namely, project management theory has helped in gaining deeper insight into
the first issue namely, ‘Flexibility and Adaptation in Megaprojects’. Brookes and Locatelli
(2015) opine that mega projects are projects which involve costs over $1 billion. These projects
are undertaken to derive developmental benefits of more than countries or huge areas in a single
countries. Mega projects take years to construct and span over large areas. Hu et al. (2018)
mention that the mega projects impact several stakeholders of different countries. The mega
projects are so huge that it is impossible for single project management companies to manage the
entire project efficiently. Thus, it is evident that efficient management of mega projects require
participation of a large number of project management companies. Mok, Shen and Yang (2015)
opine that mega projects involve several groups of stakeholders like several project management
companies and their respective stakeholder groups. Grabovy and Orlov (2016) strengthen the
argument by mentioning that mega projects traverse several countries and thus their key
stakeholders involve several national governments as well. Thus, it can be pointed out that
efficient management of the mega projects are important to ensure protection of interests of the

governments. The article considered from the issue mentions the One Belt One Road, the
ambitious project helmed by the Chinese government to build a network of roads, sea routes and
railway lines. The project traverses across several countries of Asia, Europe and Africa. This
means that successful execution of the project actually requires permission and involvement of
the large numbers of countries of the three continents. The Economic Times, one of the leading
business dailies circulated in India which is also a member to the project reports that several
African countries have been caught in debt due failure of paying back the immense amount of
money they borrowed to support the project. Moreover, in August 2018, the prime minister of
Malaysia withdrew the approval to build the East Coast Rail Link, which is an important part of
the project (Economictimes.indiatimes.com. 2019). This means that mega projects like OBOR
are subject to risks owing to change in the macroeconomic factors like political factors in this
case. This means that the companies participating in these projects have to adopt a more flexible
approach towards management of the projects. Thus, it can be pointed out that management of
mega projects attract high levels of risks which the project management companies have to
manage efficiently in order to ensure that the risks are mitigated or at least reduced. Fleming and
Koppelman (2016) can be reiterated here to mention that project management aims to execute
projects successfully so as to ensure value creation to the stakeholders. The article can be
reiterated to point out that changes in external market conditions can create risks before mega
projects thus, hindering the achievement of value creation role of the projects
(Economictimes.indiatimes.com. 2019). Kock, Heising and Gemünden (2016) opine that project
management companies in order to deal efficiently with the challenges have to maintain
contingent planning. This article can be discussed by drawing a leaf from the newspaper article
mentioned above (Economictimes.indiatimes.com. 2019). The Chinese Government in order to