Are knowledge management infrastructructures capable of managing knowledge?: Case study of a major construction firm in Taiwan

This paper addresses knowledge management (KM) in a project management organisation through a case study.

The case study organisation is a small-medium sized Taiwanese-owned construction company (staff size of approximately 50) with an annual turnover of approximately TWD50 (AUD$1.85) billion. Approximately one half of the company comprised project-related staff (e.g. construction project management, project documentation, estimation, procurement, and design), while the other comprised administrative and business-related staff (e.g. office administration and management, business development, and finance and accounting).

The researcher undertook a series of surveys and one-on-one interviews whilst ‘embedded’ for several months with the organisation. This study is part of an on-going international comparison involving major construction organisations in Singapore, Australia, and Taiwan.

This study examines the recognition, importance and commitment of organisational culture to KM, and the effects the knowledge management initiatives have on the organisation’s ability to manage knowledge across its projects and deliver the projects at various ‘levels’ of the organisation (individual, project, departmental, and corporate).

It concludes that a technologically and functionally sound KM infrastructure did not necessarily assure that an organisation had a capability to manage knowledge. Organisations need to ensure that their KM repository is made up of relevant and quality contents (not just quantity), and that corporate culture (especially the willingness of individuals to share what they know) is a critical determining factor to the organisation’s ability to share, apply and create knowledge (i.e. low sharing capability leads to low application and creation capabilities).

Design management in a design-construct organization

As clients have become more aware and demanding of the construction industry, they are also less tolerant of the management of its problems and the risks involved in the delivery of major projects. Identification and allocation of risk is one of the most critical processes in the early stages of project development. Often it is the deciding factor in the selection of the building process and of the type of procurement method adopted to manage the various project risks. The emergence of different forms of procurement, and in particular, design-construct and novation, requires the design construct contractor to not only accept the risks associated with the construction of the works, but also of the design management during the design development of the project. With the increasing requirement for design-construct contractors to balance the cost management issues and design development through the various stages, the role of the design manager as information manager has evolved and expanded in importance. This paper presents a case study of design management within a design-construct organization on a large residential apartment project. It identifies and analyses issues concerned with the organization, responsibilities, relationships and stages of development in a typical design-construct project.

A systematic approach to risk management for construction

Systematic risk management is expecting the unexpected – it is a tool which helps control risks in construction projects. Its objective is to introduce a simple, practical method of identifying, assessing, monitoring and managing risk in an informed and structured way. It provides guidance for implementing a risk control strategy that is appropriate to control construction projects at all levels. This paper will review systematic management approaches to risk. It discusses the allocation of risk and suggests that risk needs to be identified and managed early in the procurement process. In addition, a case study of a small project that was affected by difficult economic circumstances is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of systematic risk management.

Factor analysis of partners' commitment to risk management in public-private partnership projects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate and uncover key determinants that could explain partners' commitment to risk management in public-private partnership projects so that partners' risk management commitment is taken into the consideration of optimal risk allocation strategies.

Design/methodology/approach – Based on an extensive literature review and an examination of the purchasing power parity (PPP) market, an industry-wide questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the data for a confirmatory factor analysis. Necessary statistical tests are conducted to ensure the validity of the analysis results.

Findings – The factor analysis results show that the procedure of confirmatory factor analysis is statistically appropriate and satisfactory. As a result, partners' organizational commitment to risk management in public-private partnerships can now be determined by a set of components, namely general attitude to a risk, perceived one's own ability to manage a risk, and the perceived reward for bearing a risk.

Practical implications – It is recommended, based on the empirical results shown in this paper, that, in addition to partners' risk management capability, decision-makers, both from public and private sectors, should also seriously consider partners' risk management commitment. Both factors influence the formation of optimal risk allocation strategies, either by their individual or interacting effects. Future research may therefore explore how to form optimal risk allocation strategies by integrating organizational capability and commitment, the determinants and measurement of which have been established in this study.

Originality/value – This paper makes an original contribution to the general body of knowledge on risk allocation in large-scale infrastructure projects in Australia adopting the procurement method of public-private partnership. In particular, this paper has innovatively established a measurement model of organisational commitment to risk management, which is crucial to determining optimal risk allocation strategies and in turn achieving project success. The score coefficients of all obtained components can be used to construct components by linear combination so that commitment to risk management can be measured. Previous research has barely focused on this topic.

Compras públicas ambientalmente sustentáveis em um contexto de green supply chain management: um survey sobre o papel do treinamento ambiental, empowerment dos funcionários e fatores influenciadores externos

Pós-graduação em Engenharia de Produção - FEB

Theses, Projects, and Africana Materials Management in Nigerian Academic Libraries: The Case of Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library

This is a survey of the procurement, organization and use of unpublished projects, theses, and Africana mateials in Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The Africana section conserves knowledge, preserves cultural heritage, provides information, and supports education and research. This paper the location, mode of processing, circulation, and terms of availability of these materials. Recommendations are made on how to manage Africana materials in academic libraries where they constitute a vital component of collections.

Don't Worry, B-Buy: E-Procurement at Bucknell

Bucknell University is piloting a centralized e-procurement system for institutional purchasing that will streamline the procurement process.

Ansätze zum Management der Additive Manufacturing Supply Chain

Da sich Additive Manufacturing (AM) von traditionellen Produktionsverfahren unterscheidet, entstehen neue Möglichkeiten im Produktdesign und im Supply Chain Setup. Die Auswirkungen der Aufhebung traditionellen Restriktionen im Produktdesign werden unter dem Begriff „Design for Additive Manufacturing“ intensiv diskutiert. In gleicher Weise werden durch AM Restriktionen im traditionellen Supply Chain Setup aufgehoben. Insbesondere sind die folgenden Verbesserungen möglich: Reduktion von Losgrössen und Lieferzeiten, bedarfsgerechte Produktion auf Abruf, dezentrale Produktion, Customization auf Ebene Bauteil und kontinuierliche Weiterentwicklung von Bauteilen. Viele Firmen investieren nicht selbst in die AM Technologien, sondern kaufen Bauteile bei Lieferanten. Um das Potential der AM Supply Chain mit Lieferanten umzusetzen, entstehen die folgenden Anforderungen an AM Einkaufsprozesse. Erstens muss der Aufwand pro Bestellung reduziert werden. Zweitens brauchen AM Nutzer einen direkten Zugang zu den Lieferanten ohne Umweg über die Einkaufsabteilung. Drittens müssen geeignete AM Lieferanten einfach identifiziert werden können. Viertens muss der Wechsel von Lieferanten mit möglichst geringem Aufwand möglich sein. Ein mögliche Lösung sind AM spezifische E-Procurement System um diese Anforderungen zu erfüllen

Capacity building in the use of geospatial tools for natural resource management in Tajikistan: Inception report BNWPP project

The Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) has been contracted by the World Bank Group to conduct a program on capacity development in use of geospatial tools for natural resource management in Tajikistan. The program aimed to help improving natural resource management by fostering the use of geospatial tools among governmental and non-governmental institutions in Tajikistan. For this purpose a database including a Geographic Information System (GIS) has been prepared, which combines spatial data on various sectors for case study analysis related to the Community Agriculture and Watershed Management Project (CAWMP). The inception report is based on the findings resulting from the Swiss Consultant Trust Fund (CTF) financed project, specifically on the experiences from the awareness creation and training workshop conducted in Dushanbe in November 2007 and the analysis of historical land degradation trends carried out for the four CAWMP watersheds. Furthermore, also recommendations from the inception mission of CDE to Tajikistan (5-20 August 2007) and the inception report for the Swiss CTF support were considered. The inception report for the BNWPP project (The Bank-Netherlands Water Partnership Program) discusses the following project relevant issues: (1) Preliminary list of additional data layers, types of data analysis, and audiences to be covered by BNWPP grant (2) Assessing skills and equipment already available within Tajikistan, and implications for training program and specific equipment procurement plans (3) Updated detailed schedule and plans for all activities to be financed by BNWPP grant, and (4) Proposed list of contents for the final report and web-based presentations.

The business management strategy of Iran's large apparel firms : overview of results from a questionnaire survey and interviews 2009-2011

This paper is an overview of the results from a questionnaire survey and subsequent supplementary interviews of Iran's large apparel firms conducted by the author in 2009-2011. Most of the large apparel firms in Iran are based in Tehran and have been in business for some twenty years. They have a solid business with regular customers, but in general have hesitated to expand the size of their firms. Following the relaxation of restrictions on the procurement of raw materials that existed in the 1990s, the results of survey and interviews show that the firms have developed new channels of procurement although they depend to a considerable degree on imported raw materials and machinery. They have managed to maintain their level of output even with the rapid increase in imports since 2000, although the number of firms has decreased. Low-priced Chinese products have basically not been their rivals; instead, the inflow of foreign name-brand products have hit them heavily.

Sistema de e-procurement entre un almacén y sus tiendas asociadas con mensajería SOAP

El propósito de este proyecto es el desarrollo de un sistema de aprovisionamiento electrónico para gestionar los pedidos de las tiendas al almacén mediante mensajería SOAP. El sistema consiste en dos aplicaciones Web, la primera instalada en el almacén y otra instalada en las tiendas asociadas a dicho almacén. Ambas aplicaciones se desarrollarán en Java y JSP utilizando el Framework Spring e Hibernate para la persistencia en base de datos. La mensajería entre las aplicaciones se realizará con mensajes SOAP enviados a servicios Web publicados en ambas aplicaciones. En la primera parte del trabajo se realizará una explicación del Framework de Spring e Hibernate focalizando sobre todo en los módulos utilizados en el trabajo. También se realizará una explicación acerca de la mensajería SOAP y los servicios Web. En la segunda parte se realizarán las dos aplicaciones del sistema. La aplicación de gestión de la tienda permitirá a los usuarios realizar pedidos al almacén, recibir las mercancías y consultar el histórico de pedidos realizados. Además tendrá publicados dos servicios web para recibir las expediciones de los pedidos y los productos nuevos o modificados en el almacén. La aplicación de gestión del almacén permitirá a los usuarios crear / modificar productos, expedir los pedidos recibidos de las tiendas y consultar el histórico de pedidos recibidos. Además tendrá publicados dos servicios web para recibir los pedidos y las recepciones de mercancías desde las tiendas. En esta aplicación también se implementará una tarea programada que se ejecutará cada tres minutos y que sincronizará con las tiendas los productos nuevos o modificados en el almacén mediante mensajes SOAP. SUMMARY The aim of this project is the development of an e-procurement system to manage orders from shops to the storehouse using SOAP messaging. The system consists of two Web applications, the first one is installed in the storehouse and the other is installed in the shops associated to that storehouse. Both applications will be developed in Java and JSP using the Spring Framework and Hibernate for database persistence. The messaging between applications is performed with SOAP messages sent to Web services published in both applications. In the first part of the project an explanation of the Spring Framework and Hibernate will be performed, especially focusing on modules used in the project. An explanation about SOAP messaging and Web services will be carried out too. In the second part of the project the two system applications will be performed. The store management application will allow the users to make purchase orders to the storehouse, receive items and consult the order history carried out. In addition it will have two Web Services published in order to receive the shipping orders and the new or modified products in the storehouse. The management application of the storehouse will allow the users to create and modify products, send the orders received from stores and consult the orders history received. Besides, it will have two Web Services published to receive the orders and receipts from stores. A scheduled task run every three minutes will also be performed in this application. It will synchronize the new or modified products with stores using SOAP messaging.

L'implementazione delle piattaforme di E-Procurement: il caso FAAC Group

Questa tesi concerne quella che è una generalizzata tendenza verso la trasformazione digitale dei processi di business. Questa evoluzione, che implica l’utilizzo delle moderne tecnologie informatiche tra cui il Cloud Computing, le Big Data Analytics e gli strumenti Mobile, non è priva di insidie che vanno di volta in volta individuate ed affrontate opportunamente. In particolare si farà riferimento ad un caso aziendale, quello della nota azienda bolognese FAAC spa, ed alla funzione acquisti. Nell'ambito degli approvvigionamenti l'azienda sente la necessità di ristrutturare e digitalizzare il processo di richiesta di offerta (RdO) ai propri fornitori, al fine di consentire alla funzione di acquisti di concentrarsi sull'implementazione della strategia aziendale più che sull'operatività quotidiana. Si procede quindi in questo elaborato all'implementazione di un progetto di implementazione di una piattaforma specifica di e-procurement per la gestione delle RdO. Preliminarmente vengono analizzati alcuni esempi di project management presenti in letteratura e quindi viene definito un modello per la gestione del progetto specifico. Lo svolgimento comprende quindi: una fase di definizione degli obiettivi di continuità dell'azienda, un'analisi As-Is dei processi, la definizione degli obiettivi specifici di progetto e dei KPI di valutazione delle performance, la progettazione della piattaforma software ed infine alcune valutazioni relative ai rischi ed alle alternative dell'implementazione.

Mass transit grants: UMTA needs to improve procurement monitoring at local transit authority.

Mode of access: Internet.

Procurement and production control activities in the War Department.

"Parts II and III available only from the National Archives and Records Service, Washington 25, D.C."