“STAKEPARTNER MANAGEMENT" IN PROJECTS. A turn-of-the-century TURNAROUND AT ALCAN

Abstract

The ideas behind project management have changed significantly since the 1980s. Traditionally based around engineering principles, project management is now primarily focused on creating value for various groups of stakeholders (SH). In turn, an integral part of stakeholder management moved from a basically contractual approach to a communication focused, or public relations, approach before recently evolving yet again to a partnership approach. The aim of this article is to illustrate the move towards partnership management of stakeholders and to use a case study to discuss the consequences of such a move on management and leadership. The case study in question involved the implementation of a new project management philosophy at Alcan, a multinational companyin the aluminum sector, during the construction of an aluminum smelting plant at Alma in Quebec in the early 2000s. This large project involved an investment of over two billion CAD and had the potential to cause significant environmental and socio-economic impacts. Alcan’s new project management philosophy and new stakeholder approach directly influenced every stage of the process and were translated into specific and innovative actions that allowed the company to complete the project in the best conditions while obtaining a very high level of social acceptability.