Managing People and Projects in Museums

Strategies that Work

By (author) Martha Morris

Publication date:

25 July 2017

Length of book:

220 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442273658

In Managing People and Projects in Museums, readers will discover a practical guide to managing projects and important lessons about the critical role of individuals in the museum workplace. The chapters are illustrated with the experiences and observations of the author and other museum professionals as well as literature from the field. Specifically, the book covers organizational behavior theory, strategic planning, and staffing and human resource development, contemporary leadership challenges, and ethical decision-making. The book provides details on selecting projects, and creating policies that support sound decision systems. Additional topics covered include: the steps in planning a project including chartering, establishing timelines and assigning roles, and developing budgets. Several management issues that are common pitfalls in museum projects are highlighted, including means of resolving conflict. The text examines the formation of high performing teams with an emphasis on understanding individual differences and communications, and the important role of the project manager. The final chapters of the book include tips on evaluation of project success and a set of nine actual case studies from a variety of types and sizes of museums. The Appendix includes helpful project decision templates, charters, and other management tools used by museums today, along with hypothetical exercises.

1 Introduction

2 The Big Picture: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development

3 Managing People in Museums

4 Leadership in Museums

5 Project Management in Museums

6 Creating the Project Plan

7 Creating the Project Team

8 Successful Team Dynamics

9 Evaluating the Project

10 Project Teams in Action: Case Studies

Appendix A Exhibit Plan Template
Appendix B Exhibit Postmortem Results
Appendix C Committee Charter Template
Appendix D Accountability Chart
Appendix E Exhibit Project Charter
Appendix F Project Proposal Form
Appendix G Hypothetical Project Planning Exercise
Appendix H Hypothetical Team Planning Exercise

Managing People and Managing Projects in Museums: Strategies that Work is a book that every passionate museum professional should have in their personal library. Morris provides readers with the tools necessary to achieve optimal excellence, structure, and professionalism while ensuring the work measures up to the mission, vision and values of the museum.