Some thoughts on project groups

The article, New Trends in Management, written by John Wellens (this journal December, 1975) made some interesting points concerning the use of project groups. His hypothesis was that positive participation was encouraged by the use of project groups. This integrated closely with views I have been expressing for some years, so I was prompted to write this article. I believe that there must be interdependence between the bureaucratic and the entrepreneurial. The successful project group depends heavily on the procedures, services and relationships that should exist within the functional structure. The bureaucracy can exist without an entrepreneurial dimension, but not for long. It is almost sure to wither and die in a changing world. The entrepreneurial can exist without being part of a bureaucracy, but at considerable risk of conflict and competition for resources. Each dimension is dependent on the other.