The Story Of Managing Projects: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Project management has been practiced for thousands of years, but only recently have organizations begun to apply systematic management tools and techniques to manage complex projects. Today’s approaches to project management can be traced directly to methodologies designed by the U.S. military and Department of Defense in the years after World War II. Subsequent advances in management information systems have helped to codify project management practices; most recently, the Internet has dramatically enhanced the ability of individuals, teams, and organizations to manage projects across continents and cultures in real time. The Story of Managing Projects showcases cutting-edge research conducted around the world on emerging practices in project management. Covering an enormous spectrum of subjects and industries--from an upgrade of the Greek railway system to infrastructure reconstruction in Kuwait--the authors explore the full range of inter-personal, technical, and organizational dynamics of project management, contributing new insights to its theory and application.

Elias G. Carayannis is Full Professor of Management Science in the School of Business and Public Management, director of Research on Science, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, European Union Research Center, and co-founder and co-director of the Global and Entrepreneurial Finance Research Institute (GEFRI) at the School of Business, GWU. He has published more than fourty refereed journal articles and two books, The Strategic Management of Technological Learning and Idea Makers and Idea Brokers (Greenwood, 2003).

Young Hoon Kwak is a faculty member of the Project Management Program in the Management Science Department at The George Washington University.

Frank T. Anbari is a faculty member of the Project Management Program, in the Management Science Department of The George Washington University. He has served in project leadership positions at the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), Day and Zimmerman, and the American Water Works Service Company, and as an examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.