Description
Previous research has established that tension and contradiction are inherent in organizational life. Project management organizations, in particular, encounter tensions due to the nature of projects involving multiple stakeholders. This thesis involved qualitative data collection from the observation and analysis of stakeholder experiences. These experiences pertained to tensions in a Project Management project, known as the Smart Room Project (SRP), at a higher education institution.. Data were collected over a one-year period at the institution and included organizational documents, transcripts from interviews with 16 participants, and transcripts from 4 meetings. Participants include individuals from Project Management as well as other organizational units involved on the SRP at the large public university. Data were analyzed using an iterative approach, grounded in constructs from structurating activity theory while staying close to the emergent meaning from the data. These codes produced answers to the research questions regarding the manifestation and navigation of tension, as well as the individual and organizational identity as it pertains to the tension. Findings reveal contradictions at multiple levels across multiple systems. Additionally, contradictions reveal the deep-seated tensions existing in higher education contexts. The results are used to improve processes in the future for multiple stakeholders. Keywords: conflict, contradiction, multiple-identity organization, project management, structurating activity theory, tension
