COURSE NUMBER: MBA290P.1B
COURSE TITLE: Project Management:
Case Studies
UNITS OF CREDIT: 1
INSTRUCTOR: Omar Romero-Hernandez
E-MAIL ADDRESS: oromero@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: http://bcourses.berkeley.edu
MEETING DATES: Fall B, 10/17-11/28
PREREQUISITE(S): None.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: The course puts
weighting on (i) business cases and course
activities, (ii) class participation, and (iii) final project. The project is
meant to be a project planning document, which you get to prepare along the
course. The best way to quickly apply what you learn.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND
OBJECTIVES
We are revamping
this course. Business leaders constantly compete for executives’
attention, resources, and to deliver projects on time, within budget and with a
degree of quality that matches their reputation. Only one of every three
projects lands to successful completion. You will be taught what it takes to
plan and lead successful projects.
The primary objective
of this course is to develop critical skills and the knowledge needed to successfully
define, plan, implement and lead projects. Emphasis on this course is
positioned on Project Planning. The course may be particularly useful to
students who haven’t had previous formal training on Project management and who
may attend experiential learning courses at Haas (Haas@Work,
Clean Tech to Market, IBD), where students teams may need to define and plan
for a course projects along their semester. Course content includes
lecture notes on Project Management theory and tools, Business Cases, Project
Management software and a Simulation on Project Execution.
This one unit course
is particularly useful to those MBA students who have participated in projects
at their previous job, yet haven’t had any formal knowledge on frameworks and
tools required to plan and execute a project according to international
standards. The course delves into planning and scheduling techniques including:
project definition, project selection, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Resource
Estimation, Critical Path Method (CPM), Pert, Gantt Charts, Resource
Constrained Scheduling, Project Monitoring and Project Closing.
The course represents
a strong foundation for those interested in pursuing certification in the future
by the Project Management Institute (PMI). There are 90% chances that students
will be working in projects after graduating. This class will help you develop
strong foundations, tools and practical skills to help them navigate in this
path.
REQUIRED READINGS:
The course will use a packet
of readings and case materials available at study.net
Briefs with class material and
take-away points will be available.
Textbook: Meredith, J., Mantel, S.
J. Project Management, A Managerial Approach, 8th Edition,
Wiley and Sons.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Prof.
Romero-Hernandez was the recipient of the 2010 Franz Edelman Award, the world’s
most prestigious award on Operations Research and Management Science.
Omar has been an
academic and project practitioner for more than 15 years. Omar has worked for a
diverse range of public and private organizations. He is a Chemical Engineer
with graduate studies in Economic Policy and Government and a PhD in Process
Economics and Environmental Impact from Imperial College, London, UK.
Currently, he is a National Researcher, leading practitioner, and author of
various books including: Renewable Energy Technologies and Policies,
and Industry and the Environment and several international
publications on project management, business and sustainable development.
He has led various
internationally awarded projects in the field of sustainable business
strategies and implementation –– sponsors include the United Nations, Ministry
of the Environment, Industry consortiums, S&P 500 companies, the Stock
Exchange and NGOs.