Project management practice,generic or contextual: A reality check

The purpose of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of project management practice by investigating the use of project management tools and techniques and the levels of support provided by organizations for their use. The study examines both general levels of use and variations among project types and contexts. Many aspects of project management practice are common to most projects in most contexts, while others vary significantly among different types of projects and among projects in different contexts. The purpose of this paper is to present empirical results that show both the common elements and the significant variations. The paper is based on a survey of 750 project management practitioners. The use of tools and techniques is seen here as an indicator of the realities of practice. The study found some aspects of practice to be common across all types of projects and all contexts, but on this background of similar patterns of practice, several statistically significant differences have also been identified. The primary focus of this paper is on these variations in practice.     

Trust or bust: Growth effects of knowledge,human and social capital revisited

Social capital consists of trust, collective values, and shared norms. It helps society to work efficiently and, hence, promotes knowledge accumulation and growth. This paper identifies the contribution of social capital to differences in total factor productivity among European subnational regions, but, unlike other studies, it focuses on the effects of interregional differences in social capital. To do so, the paper employs a spatial Durbin model of a social-capital extended Cobb-Douglas production function. Our results suggest that transfers of knowledge might be secondary to the presence of collectivism and human capital in knowledge-generating regions. Although knowledge can cross boundaries, an absence of skills and trust limits local growth capacity. Our estimations also suggest the presence of gravity effects emanating from social and human capital in which some regions lose against others nearby that have more abundant social and human capital.     

中国传统仓储业如何突围

国外先进物流企业不仅带来了先进的物流运作模式和管理技术，还将其“跨国链条”上的“供应链网络体系”和商业模式整体移植到中国，未来的商业竞争将主要在外资（合资）企业与国内传统仓储业之间展开。生存问题始终是国内传统仓储业关注的首要问题。[编者按]     

走出“经济过热后遣症”——著名经济学家樊纲解析2006年宏观经济发展

记者:樊纲教授在2003年时提出:我国经济出现过热趋势,企业家投资决策需慎重.并指出过热经济会产生过剩生产能力,必然会导致通货紧缩.在经历了2004年、2005年的经济局部过热之后,2006年的中国经济是不是面临通货紧缩危机?主要表现在哪些方面?     

Project management: a methodology for success

Project management's ultimate measurement is the successful integration of new technology into the culture of the organization. The first and most crucial step in any implementation is the specification and subsequent selection of the equipment or technology. It is important to make the "right" choice--one where the technology provides value-added services to the users so it helps them do their jobs better now and in the future. Making a "wrong" choice can severely impact even the best-managed implementation (and project managers' careers). There is simply no margin for error--so getting it right the first time is not merely an option, it is a prerequisite for success.     

突破体制约束 走集约型城市化道路--兼论顺德市城市现代化中的农村体制改革

文章认为 ,制约中国城市化集约进程的主要因素是体制约束。因此 ,彻底突破旧体制的约束成为加快城市化集约进程的关键。作者结合广东顺德市的实践总结得出 ,尽快改革现行的户籍管理制度 ;对农村经济结构、运行机制和管理方式等方面进行战略性调整 ;加大投资体制改革力度 ,拓宽城建融资渠道 ;通过区域重组和调整行政区划等手段加大区域建制改革力度 ;建立与市场经济和城市化发展要求相适应的、覆盖面广的社会保障体系等是出路所在。     

Project leadership: why project management alone doesn't work

Projects often fall short of achieving their anticipated results, not due to a lack of project management, but rather from a lack of project leadership. Because project success is a direct reflection of the project manager, it is his or her responsibility not just to manage the details and report status of a project, but to go beyond and add value through providing leadership. Project managers can no longer update task lists and issue meeting minutes if they are to succeed. This article focuses on adapting proven leadership strategies to project environments, helping to increase the probability for project success. When properly applied, they will help turn today's project manager into tomorrow's project leader.     

Materiel management reengineering: value creation through innovation

By reengineering their department's core processes, materiel managers can expand their role in the health care setting while realizing significant cost savings. Using a team model, Inova Health System materiel management staff integrated their processes for vendor selection, purchasing, inventory reduction, and utilization across three hospitals and ancillary services. An integrated approach at all levels of the organization gained buy-in from administrators and staff systemwide.     

Project management systems: Moving project management from an operational to a strategic discipline

This article illustrates one aspect of the concept of “fit” between an organization's implementation of project management and its organizational context by exploring how the underlying drivers of an organization's strategy might influence not only the nature of the projects that it undertakes, but also the appropriateness of the arrangements that it makes to manage those projects. Using a model conceptualized from the literature on strategic management, an analysis of four organizations that have made significant investments in project management over the past 5 years supports the hypothesis that the degree of “fit” between an organization's strategic drivers of value and the configuration of its project management system influences the value it obtains from project management.     

In search of relevance: Project management in drifting environments

It can be assumed that projects are designed to produce relevant outcomes. However, it cannot be assumed that originally intended outcomes will necessarily remain relevant over time. This article explores the challenges to project management that stem from the possibility of relevance becoming eroded in the course of implementation. Relevance can become eroded when the environment of a project starts drifting. This may happen if, for example, customers change their preferences, competitors their strategies or corporate management their commitments. Alternative strategies for coping with drifting environments are discussed.     

Project management infrastructure: The key to operational performance improvement

Process improvement programs such as Six Sigma, Lean, and Lean Sigma are very important and deserve serious academic research attention. However, definition problems make it difficult to study any specific type of process improvement program. Therefore, this study defines two organizational level program management factors, Strategic Project Selection (SPS) and Project Management Infrastructure (PMI), that are independent of any specific process improvement program. Drawing upon current literature, this study develops and tests theoretical models that relate SPS and PMI to operational performance improvement and to each other. Using empirical data collected from 53 supplier plants of one large high-tech firm, this study finds that at the plant level, SPS mediates the relationship between PMI and operational performance improvement. This insight contributes to both theory development and practice, suggesting that a viable strategy for a process improvement program’s success is to focus on PMI in order to enhance SPS and ultimately improve performance. Not to be reproduced or quoted without written permission from the authors.     

From boom to bust: the challenges of managing people in Thailand

This article critically analyses the theory and practice of human resource management (HRM) in Thailand. Thailand emerged against all expectations as the most impressive of the 'tiger economies' with unprecedented growth rates of 8 per cent and above in the 1980s and early 1990s. This paper examines the human resource challenges associated with the industrial expansion during the period of transition from the boom era to the subsequent economic downturn that saw the collapse of the economy in 1997. Based on in-depth interviews with managers across eleven major industrial sectors, observations of office and factory practice, this paper attempts to characterize the diversity of approaches available and how they reflect the social-cultural and economic realities in Thailand today. Three generic HR models are identified: traditional , transitional and progressive . We assess the key definitive features of these models, identify some major thematic differences, and examine the relative importance of these models in the commitment to develop a competent and innovative workforce. Finally, we identify some possible avenues for further research, and set out a number of managerial and policy implications.     

Project management for new product development

This article examines the intersection of the project management body of knowledge with new product development (NPD). The area under examination is the development of consumer products that have a significant engineering production content. It is concluded that the project management method, with its structured task definition and software tools, is generally useful for managing NPD projects. However, in some areas, project management incompletely meets the needs of NPD. Specifically, NPD is characterized by complex interrelated activities and large uncertainties about precisely which solution path will be taken, such that the full scope of the project can often not be anticipated beforehand. The article identifies that more research is required to validate the stage‐gate and lean project management methods. Whereas cost is the primary focus in project management, with NPD there is a need to consider both cost and income (from product sales) in making strategic decisions. Communication and human resource management are important factors in NPD success, but existing project management perspectives have little to say about the social and behavioral aspects, such as organizational culture, team dynamics, and leadership styles, especially not for NPD. Current project management practices are very much based on “output control” (targets, appraisal, rewards, management by objectives), which the human resource management literature identifies as inhibiting innovation. There is also likely to exist an intersection, as yet poorly understood, between project management and knowledge management, particularly for innovation processes such as NPD. For practitioners, the main message is that the project management method provides a basic, but imperfect, tool for managing NPD. The relevance for researchers is that gaps have been identified in the project management method as it is currently applied to NPD. Several places are identified where further research is required to (a) better understand the causality between factors (e.g., human resource management) and project success and (b) adapt project management methods to better serve the NPD process.     

Project management models as value creators

Based on findings from five case studies, we discuss benefits obtained by using a common project management model. The case studies are part of an international research project aimed at determining the value of project management. All five companies applied a customized project management model. The five models are presented, and their characteristics, similarities, and differences are discussed. Based on interviews and comparisons with literature, the values obtained are identified. The values relate to efficiency, legitimacy, power and control, and stakeholder satisfaction. Further, the article points to necessary preconditions (both technical and human factors) in order to harvest the values.     

Project management priorities and the link with performance management systems

This paper reports the results of a project management practices study in the U.K. social housing sector. A five‐factor model of project priorities is established, comprising traditional measures of project cost, time, and quality, in combination with a need to focus on stakeholders and to develop a customer and project team orientation. This model supports and integrates previously fragmented notions of project performance measurement. The relationship between these five project management criteria and the effectiveness and use of a performance management system (PMS) is then explored, with some limited evidence found that PMS effectiveness is an antecedent to practices that focus on the customer, the project team members, and other stakeholders     

Project management and management of innovation in small industrial firms

In innovation projects, three sub-processes have to evolue concurrently. These are problem solving, to bring about a new product or process; internal innovation diffusion, to disseminate information and engender a positive attitude towards new developments; and change in the organization so that it may function successfully with new products or processes. The characteristics of these sub-processes and a need for special roles relating to them were suggested by a study of the innovation processes in small companies. A case history shows the possible use of the processes and roles indicated above to manage innovation projects.