STUDENT PAPER

Sustainability in Virtual Project Management
A case study in Social Platforms

By Kristian F. Munksgaard and Anders V. Tinning
University of Southern Denmark

Denmark

Editor’s note: This paper won 2ndPlace in the International Student Paper Award ’10 at the happy projects ’10 conference in Vienna, Austria in May 2010. We are happy to publish this paper in PM World Today and congratulate the authors on their award winning paper.

Abstract

During the last decades the view on project management has turned from a narrowed national focus to a highly international focus. Globalization has led to a pressure on companies, regarding higher travel cost, different time zones and environmental stress. An answer to these challenges has been found with the implementation of virtual project management. This has caused new challenges in how project managers build and lead their teams without a personal face-to-face contact. This paper examines challenges regarding social relations in project teams using virtual project management, and how these social relations can be made through virtual platforms. The paper is based on two critical cases, identified within Danish project oriented organizations. A combined theoretical perspective of Niklas Luhmann and Hubert Dreyfus will be used to explore the relationship between virtual project management and the construction of social relations.

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About the Author Kritian F. Munksgaard Co - Author Kristian F. Munksgaard holds a Bachelor of Science in Sports Science and Health and is currently a student at the Master of Science in Public Health Program at the University of Southern Denmark. Since fall 2007 He has been working as an instructor in project management at the department of environmental and business economics. Furthermore he is employed as Project Manager at the University College of Northern Denmark. His area of engagement is educational development within health care.

Anders V. Tinning Co - Author Anders V. Tinning holds a Bachelor of Science in Sports Science and Health and is currently a student at the Master of Sports and Health Program at the University of Southern Denmark. Since fall 2007 He has been working as an instructor in project management at the department of environmental and business economics. Complimentary to his studies, he is working as Project Manager in wonderful Copenhagen, at the department of sports management. Latest he has been part of the organization in The World Championships of Taekwondo and the International Olympic Congress, both held in Copenhagen in 2009.