V rámci projektu nabízíme studentům a pedagogům VUT v Brně a JAMU v Brně možnost přihlásit se na workshopy zahraničního lektora Eddie Fishera. Workshopy se uskuteční 3. dubna dopoledne a odpoledne v učebně ACSA na Údolní 53. Zájemci prosím napište na e-mail bilek@lli.vutbr.cz, uveďte zda jste student nebo pedagog a zda se chcete zúčastnit dopoledního nebo odpoledního workshopu.

Dopolední workshop

8.00-12.00

The Pre-Project Phases, Reporting during Project Implementation and Project Performance Measures (Balanced Scorecard and Key Performance Indicators)

This half day workshop will help students to gain an in depth understanding of the activities that need to be completed prior to the start of any project, including defining and agreeing the project goals and how to manage this important phase of the project. We will focus our attention on how to report progress during the Implementation Phase of projects. And finally, we will take a closer look at what metrics can be used practically within projects. This includes Key Performance Indicators and Balanced Scorecards.  

The market place world-wide has become complex. Many organisations operate globally and competition is fierce. Global trends in the way businesses now operate and work have had major impacts on organisations. Projects help companies to improve their ‘bottom line’ and therefore make major contributions to achieve strategic intents and strategy. Projects must be aligned to companies’ visions and missions and deliver goals.

For projects to be successful, it is imperative that project managers take sufficient time up front to clearly define what is required by the business to be done and then make an informed decision whether this work is actually a project or not and whether it is a viable project that is aligned to the strategy and one that will deliver an intended objective or benefit. This pre-start work will reduce the likelihood of abortive work later and is therefore worthwhile doing.

Progress reporting during the Implementation Phase of any project is vital. It is essential that all involved parties, whether internal or external to the organisation, understand what is going on in the project. This should include ‘negative reporting’, for example, when things are not going smoothly. It is better to be honest and seek support and help and then not tell key stakeholders and they find out later.

More and more companies insist on key performance indicators. They apply a simple philosophy-if something cannot be measured, do not engage in doing it. Balances Scorecards, although these have been around for many years, have become more popular in recent years. It is a means of expressing performance not just in the financial area but also in other areas of the business such as People, Organisational Capacity and Learning and Development.

The main objectives of this course are to provide students with new insights into what is good business practice to manage the pre-start phases of a project, how to report progress effectively to all involved parties during the Implementation Phase of a project and how to prove to key stakeholders and customers that the project is doing and going well. Students will learn both the theory and practice behind each of these concepts so they will be better equipped and prepared to manage new projects in future.

The course will involve lectures, whole audience and some interactive small group work to bring out some of the key messages. All practical examples are drawn from real work experiences from the Telecommunications, Construction and Defence industries.   

Participants will:

• gain a better understanding of how to define a project during the early phases
• understand how to manage key stakeholders better
• understand how align project goals with strategy better
• understand how to prepare and present progress reports to intended audiences
• gain new insights into what makes effective project metrics
• understand and apply the concept of Balances Scorecard practically
• be encouraged to try what they have learned in a safe environment

Odpolední workshop

13.00-17.00

Managing Change at Work, Managing People Risks and Managing Virtual Teams

This half day workshop will help students to gain an in depth understanding of how to manage  the inevitable changes at work that seem to happen all the time in today’s working environments, how to manage risks associated with people at work and the increasingly topical subject of managing people in different geographies and time zones.

The pressures businesses are faced with today, stemming from increasingly demanding customers and fierce competition in the market place generate the need to do things differently or do different things. This demands changes to workflow processes or production and certainly the way people work. Change is inevitable and it is important for managers to gain a better understanding of how changes can be implemented effectively and efficiently, with the work force fully behind and supportive of the changes.

Businesses manage risks associated with how the business is run and managed quite well in general. This includes projects and programmes companies are managing. However, people risks are often overlooked and not considered. And yet many businesses fail to continue to operate or lose lots of money because people risks are often very costly. It is necessary for managers to gain a better understanding what typical people risks are and how these need to be managed to avoid these shortfalls.

With the advent of the global economy, many businesses now operate at a truly global level. This means that managers often have to manage so-called virtual teams. This requires different approaches how to manage people not only from diverse cultural backgrounds but also across different time zones and geographies. Standard managerial practices and ways of managing people are not adequate to manage people in these environments.

This course will introduce students to the main concepts of managing change at work and the processes that are considered effective to achieve the desired changes smoothly and effectively. Practical tips are provided how to identify and then manage people risks at work. And finally, some answers are provided to the question of how virtual teams should be managed and how this can be achieved successfully.
 

The course will involve lectures, whole audience and some interactive small group work to bring out some of the key messages. Participants will:

• gain an understanding of what is meant by managing change at work, managing the people risks at work and building and managing virtual teams
• understand what the processes are for managing change, how to identify and manage people risks and how to put together virtual teams and manage these
• understand what the key managerial skills are for all three concepts
• understand how to approach each concept from start to finish
• feel confident at the end of the course to manage each concept with self-confidence

This course is presented by Prof Eddie Fisher (Ph.D., M.Sc., Hon Fellow of the APM) who has been managing people as both line and project manager over the last 30 years. Eddie has been working in the Telecommunications, Construction and Defence industries for companies such as British Telecom, O2, Vodafone and General Dynamics, in countries such as the UK, Ireland, Germany and Saudi Arabia. 

Eddie is a subject matter expert on the people side of management (attitude, behaviour and competence). He publishes widely in publications such as the International Journal of Project Management and the APM’s in-house magazine Project. He is the author of two books on project management and regularly presents his own material at events in the UK, Czech Republic and Cuba.. Eddie is on the editorial board of five international journals.