General systems perspective on achieving continuous synergy in a project organisation

Studies of construction labour productivity have revealed that limited predictability and multi-agent social complexity make long-range planning of construction projects extremely inaccurate. Fire-fighting, a cultural feature of construction project management, social and structural diversity of involved permanent organizations, and structural temporality all contribute towards relational failures and frequent changes. The main purpose of this paper is therefore to demonstrate that appropriate construction planning may have a profound synergistic effect on structural integration of a project organization. Using the general systems theory perspective it is further a specific objective to investigate and evaluate organizational effects of changes in planning and potentials for achieving continuous project-organizational synergy. The newly developed methodology recognises that planning should also represent a continuous, improvement-leading driving force throughout a project. The synergistic effect of the process planning membership duality fostered project-wide integration, eliminated internal boundaries, and created a pool of constantly upgrading knowledge. It maintained a creative environment that resulted in a number of process-related improvements from all parts of the organization. As a result labour productivity has seen increases of more than 30%, profits have risen from an average of 12% to more than 18%, and project durations have been reduced by several days.

From project ontologies to communities of virtue

Projects, as an organizing principle, can provide exciting contexts for innovative work. Thus far, project management discourse has tended to privilege the vital need to deliver projects ‘on time, on budget, and to specification’. In common with the call for papers for this workshop we suggest that perhaps the “instrumental rationality” underpinning this language of characterising project activity may create more problems than it solves. In this paper we suggest that such questions (and language) frame project contexts in a partial way. We argue that such concerns stem from a particular worldview or ontology, which we identify as a ‘being’ ontology. Here we contrast being and becoming project ontologies, to explore the questions, methods and interventions that each foregrounds. In an attempt to move this dialogue further than simply another contrast of modern and postmodernist accounts of project organising, we go on to consider some possible ethical concomitants of valuing being and becoming ontologies in project contexts.

Organisaation asiakkuusosaamisen hallinta

Tutkielmassa tutkittiin organisaation asiakkuusosaamista suomalaisessa erikoistavarakaupassa. Tutkielman tärkeimpänä tavoitteena oli selvittää,mitä asiakkuusosaamisen hallinta on? Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli myös luoda tutkimuksen case organisaatiolle asiakkuusosaamisen hallinnan malli. Tutkimuksen teoreettisessa osassa yhdistettiin sekä asiakaslähtöisen organisaation (customer orientation) että osaamisen johtamisen (competence-based management) keskustelujen piirissä syntyneitä teorioita ja malleja. Tutkimuksen teoreettisen viitekehyksen perusteella asiakkuusosaaminen koostuu asiakasorientaatiosta, asiakaskonfiguraatiosta ja asiakasinformaatiosta.Asiakkuusosaamisen hallinta puolestaan muodostuu asiakkuusosaamisen hyödyntämisestä, mittaamisesta ja rakentamisesta. Empiirinen tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisella teemahaastattelumenetelmällä. Tutkimuksen empiirisen osan tavoitteena oli selvittää kohdeorganisaation asiakkuusosaamisen tilaa ja käytössä olevia asiakkuusosaamisen hallinnan menetelmiä. Näistä menetelmistä keskeisimmät olivat asiakkuusosaamisen rakentamisen osalta ihmisten jatkuva kouluttaminen ja työssäoppiminen ja asiakkuusosaamisen hyödyntämisen osalta esimiestyön kehittäminen ja projektiorganisaation käyttäminen. Empiirisen tutkimuksen ja teoreettisen viitekehyksen avulla tutkimuksen case-organisaatiolle luotiin asiakkuusosaamisen hallinnan malli, jonka lähtökohtana on yrityksen asiakkuusstrategiat. Tämä malli koostuu organisaation systeemisestä kehittämisestä, asiakkuusprosessin kehittämisestä ja asiakkuusosaamisen hyödyntämisestä, mittaamisesta ja rakentamisesta osana käytännön työtä.

Tulospalkkausjärjestelmän kehittäminen projektiorganisaatiossa: tapaustutkimus

Tutkielman päätavoitteena oli selvittää, miten kohdeyritykselle kehitetään uusi tulospalkkausjärjestelmä. Kohdeyritys on projektiorganisaatio, jonka toimialana on rakennusautomaatiourakointi. Alatutkimusongelmina oli selvittää, mitä erityispiirteitä projektiorganisaation henkilöstöjohtamiseen liittyy, mikä on palkitsemisjärjestelmien rooli henkilöstöjohtamisessa ja millainen on toimiva tulospalkkausjärjestelmä. Henkilöstöjohtaminen on eräs ydinprosesseista projektiorganisaatiossa. Erilaisten palkitsemisjärjestelmien tarkoituksena on tukea projektiorganisaatiota sen strategisten tavoitteiden saavuttamisessa henkilöstöresurssien avulla. Tulospalkkausjärjestelmän avulla on mahdollista lisätä henkilöstön työmotivaatiota ja kannustaa henkilöstöä kasvattamaan työpanostaan palkitsemalla heitä hyvistä työn tuloksista. Tästä syystä yhä useamman työntekijän peruspalkkaa täydentää tavoitteiden saavuttamisen ja/tai yrityksen taloudellisen menestymisen perusteella maksettavat tulospalkkiot.

Risk accountability in the tender process of contractors in Ghana and UK

The process of how contractors take account of risk when calculating their bids for construction work is investigated based on preliminary investigations and case studies in Ghana and UK. Ghana and UK were chosen, more or less arbitrarily, for the purpose of case studies, and to test the idea that there are systematic differences between the approaches in different places. Clear differences were found in the risk pricing approaches of contractors in the two countries. The difference appeared to emanate from the professional knowledge and competence of the bid team members, company policy, corporate accountability and the business environments in which the contractors operate. Both groups of contractors take account of risk in estimates. However, risk accountability was found to be higher on the agenda in the tender process of UK contractors, documented more systematically, and assessed and managed more rigorously with input from the whole bid team. Risk accountability takes place at three levels of the tender process and is dictated strongly by market forces and company circumstances.

Lokal utveckling och företagssamverkan i träbranschen : Dokumentation och preliminär analys av ett 30-tal fall

Networks and cooperatives have become very common in the woodworking industry during the1990’s. As part of a research project on small enterprise development in the woodworking industry within the Target 6 area (in Sweden) of the European Community, this study follows the development of a dozen cooperative projects during the period 1997-2000. In order to broaden the knowledge base of the study, in 1998 we carried out a survey of cooperative ventures in the woodworking industry in the rest of the country, and collected information about their history, present situation and future strategy. Together with our own material we achieved a body of material consisting of some 30 cases which were subjected to exploratory analysis. We identified the following categories of projects and cooperative ventures; ”Local development projects”, ”Development networks”, ”Producer networks” and ”Development supporting networks”. Most of the producer networks were horizontally integrated but some of them were vertically integrated, along the processing chain from the forest to the customer. Nearly all the local development projects and the networks had been initiated within the last four years. It is, therefore, too early to make any conclusions about their success. Our main finding, so far, is that local development and the establishment of networks requires ”driving forces” in the form of committed individuals, time, money and project organisation. Most of the projects and networks were supported by public funds.

Process re-engineering for effective implementation of projects

Time, cost and quality are the prime objectives of any project. Unfortunately, today’s project management does not always ensure the realisation of these objectives. The main reasons of project non-achievement are changes in scope and design, changes in Government policies and regulations, unforeseen inflation, under-estimation and mis-estimation. An overall organisational approach with the application of appropriate management philosophies, tools and techniques can only solve the problem. The present study establishes a methodology for achieving success in implementing projects using a business process re-engineering (BPR) framework. Internal performance characteristics are introspected through condition diagnosis that identifies and prioritises areas of concern requiring attention. Process re-engineering emerges as a most critical area for immediate attention. Project process re-engineering is carried out by eliminating non-value added activities, taking up activities concurrently by applying information systems rigorously and applying risk management techniques throughout the project life cycle. The overall methodology is demonstrated through applications to cross country petroleum pipeline project organisation in an Indian scenario.

Forces of agglomeration and dispersal in rural business networks: a social network analysis

Two concepts in rural economic development policy have been the focus of much research and policy action: the identification and support of clusters or networks of firms and the availability and adoption by rural businesses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). From a theoretical viewpoint these policies are based on two contrasting models, with clustering seen as a process of economic agglomeration, and ICT-mediated communication as a means of facilitating economic dispersion. The study’s conceptual framework is based on four interrelated elements: location, interaction, knowledge, and advantage, together with the concept of networks which is employed as an operationally and theoretically unifying concept. The research questions are developed in four successive categories: Policy, Theory, Networks, and Method. The questions are approached using a study of two contrasting groups of rural small businesses in West Cork, Ireland: (a) Speciality Foods, and (b) firms in Digital Products and Services. The study combines Social Network Analysis (SNA) with Qualitative Thematic Analysis, using data collected from semi-structured interviews with 58 owners or managers of these businesses. Data comprise relational network data on the firms’ connections to suppliers, customers, allies and competitors, together with linked qualitative data on how the firms established connections, and how tacit and codified knowledge was sourced and utilised. The research finds that the key characteristics identified in the cluster literature are evident in the sample of Speciality Food businesses, in relation to flows of tacit knowledge, social embedding, and the development of forms of social capital. In particular the research identified the presence of two distinct forms of collective social capital in this network, termed “community” and “reputation”. By contrast the sample of Digital Products and Services businesses does not have the form of a cluster, but matches more closely to dispersive models, or “chain” structures. Much of the economic and social structure of this set of firms is best explained in terms of “project organisation”, and by the operation of an individual rather than collective form of “reputation”. The rural setting in which these firms are located has resulted in their being service-centric, and consequently they rely on ICT-mediated communication in order to exchange tacit knowledge “at a distance”. It is this factor, rather than inputs of codified knowledge, that most strongly influences their operation and their need for availability and adoption of high quality communication technologies. Thus the findings have applicability in relation to theory in Economic Geography and to policy and practice in Rural Development. In addition the research contributes to methodological questions in SNA, and to methodological questions about the combination or mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods.

From a project to an organisation: a Strategic Communication’s approach

Relatório de Estágio apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Comunicação, área de especialização em Comunicação Estratégica

The eMinerals project: developing the concept of the virtual organisation to support collaborative work on molecular-scale environmental simulations

The eMinerals project has established an integrated compute and data minigrid infrastructure together with a set of collaborative tools,. The infrastructure is designed to support molecular simulation scientists working together as a virtual organisation aiming to understand a number of strategic processes in environmental science. The eMinerals virtual organisation is now working towards applying this infrastructure to tackle a new generation of scientific problems. This paper describes the achievements of the eMinerals virtual organisation to date, and describes ongoing applications of the virtual organisation infrastructure.

The globalisation in the clothing sector and its implications for work organisation: a view from the Portuguese case

The clothing sector in Portugal is still seen, in many aspects as a traditional sector with some average characteristics, such as: low level of qualifications, less flexible labour legislation and stronger unionisation, very low salaries and low capability of investment in innovation and new technology. Is, nevertheless, a very important sector in terms of labour market, with increased weight in the exporting structure. Globalisation and delocalisation are having a strong impact in the organisation of work and in occupational careers in the sector. With the pressure of global competitiveness in what concerns time and prices, very few companies are able to keep a position in the market without changes in organisation of work and workers. And those that can perform good responses to such challenges are achieving a better economical stability. The companies have found different ways to face this reality according to size, capital and position. We could find two main paths: one where companies outsource a part or the entire production to another territory (for example, several manufacturing tasks), close and/or dismissal the workers. Other path, where companies up skilled their capacities investing, for example, in design, workers training, conception and introduction of new or original products. This paper will present some results from the European project WORKS – Work organisation and restructuring in the knowledge society (6th Framework Programme), focusing the Portuguese case studies in several clothing companies in what concern implications of global context for the companies in general and for the workers in particular, in a comparative analysis with some other European countries.

Work organisation and restructuring in the knowledge society

It is generally agreed that major changes in work are taking place in the organisation of work as corporate structures are transformed in the context of economic globalisation and rapid technological change. But how can these changes be understood? And what are the impacts on social institutions and on workers and their families? The WORKS project brought together 17 research institutes in 13 European countries to investigate these important issues through a comprehensive four year research programme.

The clothing industry as a globalized sector: implications for work organisation, quality of work and job content

The clothing sector in several countries is still seen, in many aspects as a traditional sector with some average characteristics, nevertheless is a very important sector in terms of labour market. Globalization and de-localization are having a strong impact in the organisation of work and in occupational careers. Very few companies are able to keep a position in the market without changes in organisation of work and workers, founding different ways to face this reality according to size, capital and position. We could find two main paths: one where companies outsource production to another territory, close and/ or dismissal the workers; other path, where companies up skilled their capacities. This paper will present some results from the European project WORKS – Work organisation and restructuring in the knowledge society (6th Framework Programme), focusing the Portuguese case studies in several clothing companies in a comparative analysis with some other European countrie

The New Growth Project

Free horticultural training in a private garden environment. A practical training course which combines horticultural techniques and the scientific principles. Course content is based on Royal Horticultural Society level 2 qualifications. Inspiring people to propagate plants, grow food for their own consumption and develop horticultural skills that will help in gaining employment. Funding: None at present- voluntary lead organisation Contact: Ciaran Burke Address: Egool, Kilmovee, Ballaghaderreen, Co.Mayo County: Mayo Phone number: 094 9649943 Email: newgrowth@thegardenschool.ie Website: www.thegardenschool.ie Partner organisation(s):