Research Objectives

1) INTRODUCTION

"The principal influences promoting a growing project orientation in international business over the past decade derive largely from the growing impact of the ‘Information Society' phenomenon and its effects on organisations and their management." (Adapted from Laudon & Laudon, 2009)

This report analyses the ‘Information Society' phenomenon and it impact on modern organisations and management. In particular, the report will attempt to identify whether the principal influences driving a growing project orientation, has been the emergence of this ‘Information society' and the new developments that are intrinsic to this era.

First, this report will describe the Information Society phenomenon, by reviewing the evolution of Information Technology, and the impact on modern society. Following this, the trends and environmental pressures shaping the international business environment are explored. The use of Project Management as a solution to the challenged posed by the Information Society will then be analyzed, first by presenting an overview of project management, then by looking at the forces promoting a project management orientation within International Business.

Finally, the report will bring together the discussion to determine whether the principal influence driving a growing project orientation is the complex business environment borne out of the Information Society.

2) AN OVERVIEW OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

"Knowledge is power", the words of a philosopher 500 years ago, now simply a truism. The concept of information is not a new one, but for the first time we find ourselves in the Information Age. The Information Age is characterized by an unprecedented rapid development in knowledge, integration of far-flung economies and the huge development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).