Project System Vulnerability to Political Risks in International Construction Projects: The Case of Chinese Contractors

This study aims to explore the variables affecting the project system vulnerability to political risks in international construction projects. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 138 responses were received from both academia and industry. The exploratory factor analysis was then adopted to uncover the relationships among these variables. The results showed that three exposure factors (i.e., attribute‐based exposure, strategy‐based exposure, and transaction‐based exposure) and three capacity factors (i.e., core competitive capacity, relative bargain capacity, and integrate adaptive capacity) were believed to be the significant underlying factors for the project system vulnerability to political risks. Also, case studies were conducted and the results indicated that the emergent framework was suitable and tractable for application in the future. This study provides a method for measuring the project system vulnerability to political risks; thus, international construction enterprises can decrease their risk exposure and enhance their capacity for dealing with political risks in international construction projects.     

冬奥会推动河北省冰雪产业发展研究

北京冬奥会是在北京奥运会之后的又一项重大的国际体育赛事,其对于推动我国河北省的冰雪产业的发展等方面都起着至关重要的现实意义。因此,我国河北省的各地政府应该积极抓住机遇,采取相关措施推动河北省冰雪产业发展。     

Exploring the Relationship Between Rework Projects and Risk Indicators

When projects fail to adequately meet requirements, organizations are forced to either abandon the project or to initiate a new project to address the original project requirements. Because the organization already has experience with and exposure to many project details, it is possible that the second attempt to address the original requirements (a rework project) will create different challenges for the project team. The purpose of this study was to examine risk indicators for rework projects and to determine whether or not risk indicators were the same or different for rework projects. A risk indicator is a factor that has predictive power about the likelihood of a risk occurring in the course of a project's life cycle. The projects studied for this research were undertaken by a large engineering design organization. The results show that there are some important differences in the types of risk indicators experienced by project managers and project teams in rework projects. Specifically, the risks associated with project urgency, quality, and technological changes were more common in rework projects. By understanding and attending to these differences in rework project risks, project managers will be better equipped to successfully guide rework projects to completion.     

结果控制和行为控制在信息系统项目成功因素中的作用和替代效应的研究

“控制”是指企业采取一定措施,使其雇员的行动与企业希望达成的目标相一致,从而增大达成企业目标的概率。项目的绩效需要从治理和控制两个方面进行保证,而控制又分为行为控制和结果控制。本研究通过收集39家公司的104个IT项目的样本数据,分析IT项目治理和控制机制怎样影响公司的IT项目绩效。我们进一步研究行为控制和结果控制这两类控制手段在IT项目中的交互作用,力图发现它们之间是协同还是替代关系。结果发现IT项目的治理控制对项目绩效有正面的影响。与此同时,发现了行为控制和结果控制对项目绩效的替代关系而非协同关系。     

Formal and Informal Practices of Knowledge Sharing Between Project Teams and Enacted Cultural Characteristics

This article investigates the process of knowledge sharing between project teams and uses a case study approach. This is especially relevant, as organizations face both the needs for separating work into projects and integrating knowledge created in projects into the organization. The results provided by the analysis technique of GABEK^® indicate that, although projects create boundaries, employees and project team leaders use formal mechanisms and develop informal practices for knowledge sharing between project teams. Furthermore, the article identifies organizational cultural characteristics enacted in these practices that can stimulate the discussion in “knowledge culture research” regarding the relationship of organizational cultural characteristics and (specific) knowledge processes.     

A theory of the temporary organization

The idea of the firm as an eternal entity possibly came in with the era of industrialism. In any case, the practical consequences of this idea contrast sharply with many ideas about projects and temporary organizations. Mainstream organization theory is based upon the assumption that organizations are or should be permanent; theories on temporary organizational settings (e.g., projects) are much less prevalent. In this article, we address the need for a theory of temporary organizations, thus seeking to supplement traditional project management wisdom. We also suggest some components of such a theory by elaborating on certain ideas about projects. “Action”, as opposed to “decision”, is one such component which is central to a theory of the temporary organization. In some respects we are thus dealing with antipoles, in other respects with concepts similar to those in established mainstream organizational theory. The role of “time” in the firm is different as compared to its role in the temporary organization. The differences have several important implications and we are able to suggest a coherent outline of a theory which we believe could be useful and which also covers several important aspects of temporary organizations.     

Complex New Product Development Projects: How the Project Manager's Information Sharing With Core Actors Changes Over Time

A heavily burdened project manager must ensure effective information sharing with actors inside and outside the organization because this is a necessary condition for a new product development (NPD) project to achieve its objectives. Knowledge, however, on who actually assists a project manager with the information sharing during NPD projects is limited; therefore, this study of longitudinal objective email data (4658 emails) during a NPD project contributes to theory and practice by advancing our understanding of when and how the project manager establishes relationships with different core actors inside and outside the organization to promote the information sharing.     

以奥运为契机的物流发展

2008年北京奥运会使我国物流机遇与风险并存,我国物流在技术、标准、人才方面的欠缺也会给奥运物流带来很大的挑战。同时使我国物流与国际物流在同一平台竞技,是北京乃至我国物流业发展的一个具有历史意义的时期和机会。文章通过对北京奥运物流分析。指出奥运物流的特点,并以奥运为契机分析其可能给北京物流在奥运会之后带来的巨大促进作用。     

基于提高(工程)项目造价控制水平的管理

提高项目造价的控制水平的管理,有利于提高工程项目造价的合理性。随着我国的工程项目组织实施方案的不断改革,现代化项目管理模式越来越受到重视,工程造价管理与造价控制也相应发生相应变化。     

Managerial Complexity in Process Industrial R&D Projects: A Swedish Study

Process industries often have features that differ from other businesses, such as round‐the‐clock production and costly and specialized production processes—features that have not been dealt with in the project management literature. We highlight and identify the complexity of R&D projects in the Swedish process industry and its interrelated process development and product development activities based on results from interviews and a case study. The different competence areas in which a project manager must integrate and manage R&D projects is illustrated. We conclude that a project manager needs both production and product‐related competence, including customers' processes.     

施工组织设计对建设工程项目成本的影响

建设工程项目中通过合理的施工组织设计,可保证施工方案的科学性以及资源的优化配置,降低施工成本开支。因此,加强施工组织设计方面研究具有重要的现实意义。本文着重探讨施工组织设计对建设工程项目成本的影响,并提出优化组织设计的对策,以期为工程项目更好的发挥社会与经济效益提供参考。     

价值工程在工程项目规划设计中的应用——基于战略布局图的视角

在新的经济环境和市场需求条件下,工程项目的规划设计已经不能单纯考虑工程的工期、成本和质量,必须考虑工程的战略、功能和价值。价值工程通过技术与经济的结合实现研究对象的改进与创新,实现研究对象的"最低寿命周期成本"与"可靠实现必要功能"结合的价值优化思想,在这种条件下需要与现代的管理思想融合,才能更好地实现价值拓展与优化的目标,从而最终实现上述工程项目规划设计的最终的目标。文中探讨了基于战略布局图法的价值工程在工程项目规划设计中的应用逻辑和实例。     

奥运经济影响评价指标研究

从经济学角度研究奥运会的经济影响,无论是对奥运会举办城市的发展,还是对以后大型体育赛事的申办都有着重要意义。首先对国内外相关研究进行了回顾,认为这些研究过于重视短期经济影响研究,忽略中长期影响研究,缺少奥运会间的对比分析。为此,该文在总结以往研究成果的基础上,试图全面分析奥运经济影响,据此构建奥运经济影响的评价指标。该指标不仅可以全面评估特定奥运会的经济影响,还可用于各届奥运会间经济影响的对比分析。     

Understanding the value of project management from a stakeholder's perspective: Case study of mega‐project management

Project management can generate significant value for organizations (Thomas & Mullaly, 2007). However, the value of project management varies depending on the different size and complexity of projects managed. Focusing on mega‐projects, this study explores the value of project management from the stakeholders' perspective, thereby creating a value framework. In the case of SHRBC Company, it analyzes the company's project management practice and the value of project management, and consequently certifies the applicability of this value framework through empirical study.     

浅议不同项目组织结构在电网设计项目中的应用

随着社会经济的发展,为了适应不断变化的内外部环境,项目管理在各行各业得到了广泛的研究和应用。文章以项目团队的组织结构为研究对象,理论结合实践,对常见的三类项目组织结构类型进行了分析和比较,同时结合当前电网设计项目管理中的问题,提出了如何根据电网项目的实际情况来选择和优化组织结构,为电网设计中如何选择项目团队的组织结构提供了一般性建议。     

论在大型体育赛事中物流运作的策略

大型体育赛事都将伴随着大量的物流活动,2010年在广州举行的亚运会对广州的物流系统、物流设施、物流技术及物流组织管理带来了重大挑战。通过查阅大型体育赛事物流方面相关的研究文献及结合广州市物流系统本身的特点．剖析了2010年广州亚运物流可能存在的不足与缺陷．结合2008年北京奥运成功的体育物流经验．对即将举行的广州亚运所面临的物流问题提出了一些解决策略。     

How Does Project Termination Impact Project Team Members? Rapid Termination, ‘Creeping Death’, and Learning from Failure

Although extant studies have increased our understanding of the decision of when to terminate a project and its organizational implications, they do not explore the contextual mechanisms underlying the link between the speed at which a project is terminated and the learning of those directly working on the project. This is surprising because perceptions of project failure likely differ between those who own the option (i.e., the decision maker) and those who are the option (i.e., project team members). In this multiple case study, we explored research and development (R&D) subsidiaries within a large multinational parent organization and generated several new insights: (1) rather than alleviate negative emotions, delayed termination was perceived as creeping death, thwarting new career opportunities and generating negative emotions; (2) rather than obstructing learning from project experience, negative emotions motivated sensemaking efforts; and (3) rather than emphasizing learning after project termination, in the context of rapid redeployment of team members after project termination, delayed termination provided employees the time to reflect on, articulate, and codify lessons learned. We discuss the implications of these findings.     

Evaluating an agile method for planning and controlling innovative projects

This article presents an extensive investigation carried out in two technology‐based companies of the São Carlos technological pole in Brazil. Based on this multiple case study and literature review, a method, entitled hereafter IVPM2, applying agile project management (APM) principles was developed. After the method implementation, a qualitative evaluation was carried out by a document analysis and questionnaire application. This article shows that the application of this method at the companies under investigation evidenced the benefits of using simple, iterative, visual, and agile techniques to plan and control innovative product projects combined with traditional project management best practices, such as standardization.     

What project strategy really is: The fundamental building block in strategic project management

Strategic project management is gradually becoming a popular and growing trend within the discipline of project management. The general idea is that project management teams must learn how to deal with the business aspects of their projects, as well as better support their company's business strategy and sustainability, rather than just focus on meeting traditional time, budget, and performance goals. Although this approach has been gaining popularity, strategic project management has not yet become an explicit and widely used approach in the practice of project implementation. One of the concepts mentioned as an important element is project strategy; however, no universal framework or even a clear definition of what project strategy is has so far emerged. The goal of this article is to fill in this gap and provide a useful definition and a framework for the further study and implementation of the project strategy concept. Specifically, to achieve this goal, we first look at the origins of strategy in military and business research to discuss the question of what, exactly, project strategy is; we follow this discussion with an explicit definition of a project strategy. We then outline a framework for building a dedicated project strategy document for an individual project, and show how this framework can guide the project planning and execution processes. Using a case study approach, which included an action research phase, we demonstrate how project teams can adopt the strategy concept in a natural way that would lead their project to better business results.     

知识管理导向的工程项目管理个案研究

本案例以中海油旗下的海洋石油工程股份有限公司为研究对象,对比分析了五个相似工程项目的异同,并以项目管理理论和知识管理理论为依托,分析了该企业工程项目建设中的成功经验、不足以及应用知识管理的必要性。在此基础上,结合工程项目实际,提出了以知识管理为导向的三维工程项目管理体系,并进行了说明。