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Papers by Jan Saint-Macary
Revue Organisations & territoires, 2020
Les parties prenantes constituent un élément clé pour la réussite ou l'échec d’un projet. Pou... more Les parties prenantes constituent un élément clé pour la réussite ou l'échec d’un projet. Pour en assurer une gestion plus efficace, cet article propose une approche qui tient compte des aspects politiques du projet. S'appuyant sur un cadre théorique et deux cas réels, il pose quatre questions clés pour mieux identifier, évaluer, mobiliser et gérer les parties prenantes, sur une base continue. Cette approche instrumentale se concentre sur les profils des parties prenantes et sur la distinction entre leurs positions déclarées et leurs intérêts réels. Ainsi, elle permet de mieux gérer les parties prenantes existantes, d’en inclure de nouvelles au besoin, et de modifier le contexte politique du projet. En ralliant les parties prenantes et en se concentrant sur la satisfaction de leurs intérêts réels - mais souvent voilés - le projet peut être coproduit, ce qui se traduit par une situation « gagnant-gagnant » pour tous.
International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2015
In the main, project management subscribes to an objective view of the organisation, relatively f... more In the main, project management subscribes to an objective view of the organisation, relatively free of political and psychosocial tensions. But, this may be misleading in the context of projects where the stakes are numerous and complex. The article views the project from three perspectives: the conventional rational perspective, with the prism of the mandate; the atypical political perspective, with the prism of the principals; and the atypical psychosocial perspective, with the prism of the agents. It emerges that the rational perspective may be sufficient to assess and manage a project when efficiency prevails in both the parent and the client organisations. However, the project manager would be better served to use an integrative approach that also includes the political perspective when the organisations involved have differing expectations regarding the project, as well as the psychosocial perspective when project team members have a great deal of autonomy.
Dans l'ensemble, la gestion de projet souscrit à une perspective rationnelle et objective sel... more Dans l'ensemble, la gestion de projet souscrit à une perspective rationnelle et objective selon laquelle l’organisation est relativement libre de tensions politiques, psychosociales, et culturelles. Si ces hypothèses semblent être adéquates dans le cadre de la gestion quotidienne et routinière de l'organisation, elles peuvent être irréalistes et mêmes trompeuses dans le contexte de projets où les enjeux sont multiples et
Organization Science, 1995
Set on its current course thirty years ago by Herbert Simon’s notions of bounded rationality and ... more Set on its current course thirty years ago by Herbert Simon’s notions of bounded rationality and sequential stages, the research literature of organizational decision making is claimed in this paper to have suffered from three major limitations labeled reification, dehumanization, and isolation. In particular, it has been stuck along a continuum between the cerebral rationality of the stage theories at one end and the apparent irrationality of the theory of organized anarchies at the other. This paper seeks to open up decision making in three respects. First, the concept of “decision” is opened up to the ambiguities that surround the relationship between commitment and action. Second, the decision maker is opened up to history and experience, to affect and inspiration, and especially to the critical role of insight in transcending the bounds of cerebral rationality. Third, the process of decision making is opened up to a host of dynamic linkages, so that isolated traces of single de...
International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2012
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to improve understanding and practice of project management b... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to improve understanding and practice of project management by assessing whether two of its core myths also prevail in international development (ID): first, that project managers (PMs) plan fully for project success, including implementation success and end‐user satisfaction; and second, that they can focus on “getting things done”, free of concern for strategic issues.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of a high‐profile World Bank project and of the policies and rules under which their PMs operate serves as a means to carry out the research. The authors uncover certain “facts” that challenge the myths that prevail in standard project management. Furthermore, they examine how these facts and the corollaries they produce guide the behaviours of PMs differently in the ID field.FindingsIn the ID field, and contrary to the standard practice in project management, it is found that: PMs are not involved in overall planning, and are limited to impl...
Journal of African Business, 2014
The question of “Why do projects fail?” is complex and is likely to provoke debate. But if you as... more The question of “Why do projects fail?” is complex and is likely to provoke debate. But if you ask “Why do projects fail in Africa,” the question may trigger passionate responses that can also be t...
Revue Organisations & territoires, 2020
Les parties prenantes constituent un élément clé pour la réussite ou l'échec d’un projet. Pou... more Les parties prenantes constituent un élément clé pour la réussite ou l'échec d’un projet. Pour en assurer une gestion plus efficace, cet article propose une approche qui tient compte des aspects politiques du projet. S'appuyant sur un cadre théorique et deux cas réels, il pose quatre questions clés pour mieux identifier, évaluer, mobiliser et gérer les parties prenantes, sur une base continue. Cette approche instrumentale se concentre sur les profils des parties prenantes et sur la distinction entre leurs positions déclarées et leurs intérêts réels. Ainsi, elle permet de mieux gérer les parties prenantes existantes, d’en inclure de nouvelles au besoin, et de modifier le contexte politique du projet. En ralliant les parties prenantes et en se concentrant sur la satisfaction de leurs intérêts réels - mais souvent voilés - le projet peut être coproduit, ce qui se traduit par une situation « gagnant-gagnant » pour tous.
International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2015
In the main, project management subscribes to an objective view of the organisation, relatively f... more In the main, project management subscribes to an objective view of the organisation, relatively free of political and psychosocial tensions. But, this may be misleading in the context of projects where the stakes are numerous and complex. The article views the project from three perspectives: the conventional rational perspective, with the prism of the mandate; the atypical political perspective, with the prism of the principals; and the atypical psychosocial perspective, with the prism of the agents. It emerges that the rational perspective may be sufficient to assess and manage a project when efficiency prevails in both the parent and the client organisations. However, the project manager would be better served to use an integrative approach that also includes the political perspective when the organisations involved have differing expectations regarding the project, as well as the psychosocial perspective when project team members have a great deal of autonomy.
Dans l'ensemble, la gestion de projet souscrit à une perspective rationnelle et objective sel... more Dans l'ensemble, la gestion de projet souscrit à une perspective rationnelle et objective selon laquelle l’organisation est relativement libre de tensions politiques, psychosociales, et culturelles. Si ces hypothèses semblent être adéquates dans le cadre de la gestion quotidienne et routinière de l'organisation, elles peuvent être irréalistes et mêmes trompeuses dans le contexte de projets où les enjeux sont multiples et
Organization Science, 1995
Set on its current course thirty years ago by Herbert Simon’s notions of bounded rationality and ... more Set on its current course thirty years ago by Herbert Simon’s notions of bounded rationality and sequential stages, the research literature of organizational decision making is claimed in this paper to have suffered from three major limitations labeled reification, dehumanization, and isolation. In particular, it has been stuck along a continuum between the cerebral rationality of the stage theories at one end and the apparent irrationality of the theory of organized anarchies at the other. This paper seeks to open up decision making in three respects. First, the concept of “decision” is opened up to the ambiguities that surround the relationship between commitment and action. Second, the decision maker is opened up to history and experience, to affect and inspiration, and especially to the critical role of insight in transcending the bounds of cerebral rationality. Third, the process of decision making is opened up to a host of dynamic linkages, so that isolated traces of single de...
International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 2012
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to improve understanding and practice of project management b... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to improve understanding and practice of project management by assessing whether two of its core myths also prevail in international development (ID): first, that project managers (PMs) plan fully for project success, including implementation success and end‐user satisfaction; and second, that they can focus on “getting things done”, free of concern for strategic issues.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of a high‐profile World Bank project and of the policies and rules under which their PMs operate serves as a means to carry out the research. The authors uncover certain “facts” that challenge the myths that prevail in standard project management. Furthermore, they examine how these facts and the corollaries they produce guide the behaviours of PMs differently in the ID field.FindingsIn the ID field, and contrary to the standard practice in project management, it is found that: PMs are not involved in overall planning, and are limited to impl...
Journal of African Business, 2014
The question of “Why do projects fail?” is complex and is likely to provoke debate. But if you as... more The question of “Why do projects fail?” is complex and is likely to provoke debate. But if you ask “Why do projects fail in Africa,” the question may trigger passionate responses that can also be t...