Managing complex programs: a review of major research findings

Managing large-scale research and development projects is without question a difficult task. Success is often dependent on the ability of the project manager to successfully cope with a myriad of unpredictable situations. To assist project managers, the authors review several of the most significant recent research studies to identify potentially useful insights for those charged with the administration of complex research and development projects. Specifically, five areas of research are examined, namely, (1) project manager leadership styles; (2) conflict management; (3) decision-making styles; (4) organizational design considerations and project authority; and (5) the relationships of the project team with the parent, client, and other external organizations.     

Introduction of a matrix structure into an R & D establishment

Matrix organization is increasingly being written about in terms which suggest that it is almost axiomatic that it is the best way of structuring an R & D lab. In this paper we wish to introduce a note of scepticism into the discussion, for the following reasons. Firstly, we suspect that not everyone has the same thing in mind when discussing matrix organizations. Secondly, we believe that there are many circumstances under which it clearly is not the best way of organizing, although there are plenty under which it is. Thirdly, we have seen in use many variants of the structure, suggesting to us that while there is an underlying, unifying concept at work, it needs to be much modified in most cases before it can successfully be applied. Finally, any reorganizing is a hazardous business, and a change to matrix involves particular difficulties of its own which need highlighting.     

A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONTEXT AND STRUCTURE OF A LARGE BRITISH FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

This study represents an analysis of the changes in the environment, context and structure of an organization, using the full Aston Interview Schedule.² The limitations of generalizing from a single case are acknowledged, but the longitudinal analysis provides support for the notion that organizations can and do develop self-evaluative capacities when threatened by external change. The results of the process of self-evaluation on the part of the organization are shown as changes in the organization's scores on the various scales of organizational context and structure developed by the Aston school, at two points in time. These changes provide support for a number of conjectures arising from previous analyses of the relationships among the structural dimensions of organizational form displayed by the Aston methodology; notably the relationship between size/standardization and centralization/standardization. The analysis also suggests that the centralization scale can be viewed as having two components – one related to policy decisions, the other to operational decisions.     

A growth model for cooperative services

A service is cooperative if its usefulness to a particular customer is a function of the other customers. The fundamental idea of the growth model for a cooperative service presented here, is to decompose the potential market into homogeneous groups and describe the penetration within each group as a function of time, taking into account the intergroup relationships and interconnections. The model is primarily intended to be a tool in the long-range planning ot telecommunication services. Given a set of homogeneous groups and a set of corresponding parameters, the model, if used in conjunction with an appropriate cost study, suggests how fast and in what areas the service should expand.