ABSTRACT
The changes that took place in science in the second half of the twentieth century affected management too. A yet bigger contribution came from the spreading perception of how inadequate traditional instruments are to the mutation of times and contexts. The top management’s prevailing role is checking the possible deviations from the plan with an executive orientation, dedicated to the absorption of the deviations, in order for the plan to be brought to conclusion as forecast and the strategy implemented. The fundamental difference stands in the basic assumption and in the goal the top management sets up to face complexity. The expression “self-organized project management” may be an oxymoron. Top management’s task is to create the conditions to learn and innovate with an exploring attitude, accepting the fact that the direction to choose will be defined only once the conditions arise.
