Terry Gourvish
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199250059
- eISBN:
- 9780191719516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199250059.003.0009
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This chapter focuses on railway investments. Topics discussed include investment promotion, reduced investment spending in 1990, the need for project management and procurement, and investments on ...
More
This chapter focuses on railway investments. Topics discussed include investment promotion, reduced investment spending in 1990, the need for project management and procurement, and investments on Channel Tunnel services and the High-Speed Rail Link.Less
This chapter focuses on railway investments. Topics discussed include investment promotion, reduced investment spending in 1990, the need for project management and procurement, and investments on Channel Tunnel services and the High-Speed Rail Link.
Michael J. North and Charles M. Macal
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195172119
- eISBN:
- 9780199789894
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195172119.003.0014
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Strategy
This chapter discusses how to manage agent-based modeling and simulation projects. It considers factors such as goal setting, project structures, staffing, the stages of model development, and the ...
More
This chapter discusses how to manage agent-based modeling and simulation projects. It considers factors such as goal setting, project structures, staffing, the stages of model development, and the stages of model use.Less
This chapter discusses how to manage agent-based modeling and simulation projects. It considers factors such as goal setting, project structures, staffing, the stages of model development, and the stages of model use.
Robin Fincham, James Fleck, Rob Procter, Harry Scarbrough, Margaret Tierney, and Robin Williams
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198289043
- eISBN:
- 9780191684678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198289043.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology, Knowledge Management
This chapter presents case studies on project management in the banking, insurance, and credit card sectors, focusing on four main types of projects: large-scale branch automation systems, ...
More
This chapter presents case studies on project management in the banking, insurance, and credit card sectors, focusing on four main types of projects: large-scale branch automation systems, out-of-branch banking, bought-in processing packages, and management information systems. During the research, a potential shift in the type of project being developed was observed, from a kind of stand-alone medium-scale development (such as home banking) which seemed to be typical of the mid-1980s, towards much larger scale and extensive projects (like branch automation) more typical of the later 1980s. But both of these types of project development are covered in the case firms. At the end of the day, the case studies did seem to provide a good cross-section of the information technology activities in the sector current at the time of the research. The firms examined in this chapter are the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Mutual Life, Home and Auto, and Premier Financial Services.Less
This chapter presents case studies on project management in the banking, insurance, and credit card sectors, focusing on four main types of projects: large-scale branch automation systems, out-of-branch banking, bought-in processing packages, and management information systems. During the research, a potential shift in the type of project being developed was observed, from a kind of stand-alone medium-scale development (such as home banking) which seemed to be typical of the mid-1980s, towards much larger scale and extensive projects (like branch automation) more typical of the later 1980s. But both of these types of project development are covered in the case firms. At the end of the day, the case studies did seem to provide a good cross-section of the information technology activities in the sector current at the time of the research. The firms examined in this chapter are the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Mutual Life, Home and Auto, and Premier Financial Services.
Jonas Söderlund and Fredrik Tell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199693924
- eISBN:
- 9780191730580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199693924.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Knowledge Management
This chapter presents an analysis of knowledge integration in project-based organizations. It conceptualizes the organization of the firm as a function of its capability to solve complex problems ...
More
This chapter presents an analysis of knowledge integration in project-based organizations. It conceptualizes the organization of the firm as a function of its capability to solve complex problems through knowledge integration. It is argued that the project-based organizational form (P-form) represents a specific permanent organizational configuration conducive for knowledge integration in the so-called Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) industries. The chapter presents a longitudinal analysis of market complexity, technological complexity, and organizational design in the evolution of a P-form corporation, namely Asea/ABB, over a period of more than fifty years. The chapter distinguishes four distinct project epochs during the studied period. These project epochs are characterized by increasing market complexity and technological complexity. Finally, the chapter discusses the influence of complexity and organizational design on project generation and execution, and elaborates on a number of salient characteristics of the P-form corporation.Less
This chapter presents an analysis of knowledge integration in project-based organizations. It conceptualizes the organization of the firm as a function of its capability to solve complex problems through knowledge integration. It is argued that the project-based organizational form (P-form) represents a specific permanent organizational configuration conducive for knowledge integration in the so-called Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) industries. The chapter presents a longitudinal analysis of market complexity, technological complexity, and organizational design in the evolution of a P-form corporation, namely Asea/ABB, over a period of more than fifty years. The chapter distinguishes four distinct project epochs during the studied period. These project epochs are characterized by increasing market complexity and technological complexity. Finally, the chapter discusses the influence of complexity and organizational design on project generation and execution, and elaborates on a number of salient characteristics of the P-form corporation.
Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson, and Adrienne W. Kolb
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226294797
- eISBN:
- 9780226305837
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226305837.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Establishing the SSC Laboratory near Dallas, Texas, proved much more difficult than anticipated. As Central Design Group leaders did not participate in construction, SSC Director Roy Schwitters ...
More
Establishing the SSC Laboratory near Dallas, Texas, proved much more difficult than anticipated. As Central Design Group leaders did not participate in construction, SSC Director Roy Schwitters turned increasingly to engineers from the US military-industrial complex to fill key posts, leading to clashes with high-energy physicists. A major SSC redesign resulted in cost overruns greater than $2 billion, as the estimated cost grew from $5.9 billion to $8.25 billion. This major cost increase soured relations with DOE officials, especially Secretary James D. Watkins, who began installing trusted lieutenants into SSC leadership positions, such as Edward Siskin as General Manager; it abetted perceptions of an alien, military-industrial culture at the lab. This cost overrun provided ammunition for Congressional SSC opponents, who began accusing the DOE and physicists of project mismanagement. These claims were partly valid, for SSC managers had been laggard in establishing and validating the required computerized project-management control system.Less
Establishing the SSC Laboratory near Dallas, Texas, proved much more difficult than anticipated. As Central Design Group leaders did not participate in construction, SSC Director Roy Schwitters turned increasingly to engineers from the US military-industrial complex to fill key posts, leading to clashes with high-energy physicists. A major SSC redesign resulted in cost overruns greater than $2 billion, as the estimated cost grew from $5.9 billion to $8.25 billion. This major cost increase soured relations with DOE officials, especially Secretary James D. Watkins, who began installing trusted lieutenants into SSC leadership positions, such as Edward Siskin as General Manager; it abetted perceptions of an alien, military-industrial culture at the lab. This cost overrun provided ammunition for Congressional SSC opponents, who began accusing the DOE and physicists of project mismanagement. These claims were partly valid, for SSC managers had been laggard in establishing and validating the required computerized project-management control system.
Robin Fincham, James Fleck, Rob Procter, Harry Scarbrough, Margaret Tierney, and Robin Williams
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198289043
- eISBN:
- 9780191684678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198289043.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology, Knowledge Management
This chapter explores the main process of information technology (IT) innovation, namely, the area of knowledge that has become recognized as software engineering. Throughout its history, software ...
More
This chapter explores the main process of information technology (IT) innovation, namely, the area of knowledge that has become recognized as software engineering. Throughout its history, software has been beset by problems that have their roots in the difficulties of managing expertise. This chapter traces the emergence of software engineering, outlining its principles and procedures and providing a survey of the techniques (the methodological instrumentalities) employed in financial services. The limitations of these practices and the extent of their adoption are discussed, along with the ways in which organizations have tackled the problem of making software expertise more accountable and responsive to business needs. There was evidently a consensus that improved corporate involvement in IT decision-making, systems design, and project management was the key to making the IT function more responsive to business needs. The methodologies in use, however, typically attempted to address this issue by simply formalizing user involvement as a stage at the beginning of the traditional software life cycle.Less
This chapter explores the main process of information technology (IT) innovation, namely, the area of knowledge that has become recognized as software engineering. Throughout its history, software has been beset by problems that have their roots in the difficulties of managing expertise. This chapter traces the emergence of software engineering, outlining its principles and procedures and providing a survey of the techniques (the methodological instrumentalities) employed in financial services. The limitations of these practices and the extent of their adoption are discussed, along with the ways in which organizations have tackled the problem of making software expertise more accountable and responsive to business needs. There was evidently a consensus that improved corporate involvement in IT decision-making, systems design, and project management was the key to making the IT function more responsive to business needs. The methodologies in use, however, typically attempted to address this issue by simply formalizing user involvement as a stage at the beginning of the traditional software life cycle.
Thomas Magnusson and Nicolette Lakemond
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199693924
- eISBN:
- 9780191730580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199693924.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Knowledge Management
Emanating from the knowledge-based theory of the firm, this chapter elaborates on different processes for engineering knowledge integration in new product development (NPD). A theoretically derived ...
More
Emanating from the knowledge-based theory of the firm, this chapter elaborates on different processes for engineering knowledge integration in new product development (NPD). A theoretically derived analytical model, following the prerequisites given by deadlines and product architectures, outlines different processes for knowledge integration and longitudinal case studies at four manufacturing firms explore the dynamics of these processes. The case study results show that the emerging understanding of the task throughout the course of an NPD project may induce changes to managers' perceptions of knowledge integration processes and their applicability. Such changes may eventually overturn the way knowledge integration is managed within the project. These case study findings suggest that in NPD, contingency theory needs to allow for consistent adaptation of knowledge integration processes throughout NPD projects.Less
Emanating from the knowledge-based theory of the firm, this chapter elaborates on different processes for engineering knowledge integration in new product development (NPD). A theoretically derived analytical model, following the prerequisites given by deadlines and product architectures, outlines different processes for knowledge integration and longitudinal case studies at four manufacturing firms explore the dynamics of these processes. The case study results show that the emerging understanding of the task throughout the course of an NPD project may induce changes to managers' perceptions of knowledge integration processes and their applicability. Such changes may eventually overturn the way knowledge integration is managed within the project. These case study findings suggest that in NPD, contingency theory needs to allow for consistent adaptation of knowledge integration processes throughout NPD projects.
Timo J. Santalainen, Markus Nordberg, Ram B. Baliga, and Max Boisot
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199567928
- eISBN:
- 9780191728945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567928.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management, Organization Studies
This chapter sets the scene for the chapters that follow. It describes a series of workshops in which the ATLAS Collaboration was explored with the collaboration's project leaders from a managerial ...
More
This chapter sets the scene for the chapters that follow. It describes a series of workshops in which the ATLAS Collaboration was explored with the collaboration's project leaders from a managerial perspective. The idea of these workshops, sponsored by the ATLAS management, was to impart a more strategic orientation to the collaboration's efforts. It did not quite work out that way, and the reasons for this have much to teach about the nature of Big Science. It turns out that the managers of knowledge-intensive organizations may have more to learn from how Big Science projects such as ATLAS are developed and run than the other way round.Less
This chapter sets the scene for the chapters that follow. It describes a series of workshops in which the ATLAS Collaboration was explored with the collaboration's project leaders from a managerial perspective. The idea of these workshops, sponsored by the ATLAS management, was to impart a more strategic orientation to the collaboration's efforts. It did not quite work out that way, and the reasons for this have much to teach about the nature of Big Science. It turns out that the managers of knowledge-intensive organizations may have more to learn from how Big Science projects such as ATLAS are developed and run than the other way round.
Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson, and Adrienne W. Kolb
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226294797
- eISBN:
- 9780226305837
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226305837.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
The October 1993 termination of the Superconducting Super Collider by Congress was a stunning blow for the US high-energy physics community — and a watershed event in the history of Big Science. ...
More
The October 1993 termination of the Superconducting Super Collider by Congress was a stunning blow for the US high-energy physics community — and a watershed event in the history of Big Science. Tunnel Visions follows the evolution of this multibillion-dollar basic scientific project from its origins in the Reagan Administration’s military buildup of the early 1980s to its post-Cold War demise a decade later. Obtaining support for this expensive project required physicists to make uncomfortable compromises and enter unfamiliar alliances with Department of Energy officials, Texas politicians and businessmen, and partners from the military-industrial complex. The billions of taxpayer dollars needed to build the SSC came with a level of public scrutiny few physicists had anticipated. The combination of this attention, ever-mounting SSC cost overruns, perceptions of mismanagement of the project by the physicists and DOE, and the lack of major foreign contributions were prominent factors in its termination. The book analyzes these and many other factors that contributed to the SSC’s demise, which occurred against the political backdrop of rapidly changing scientific needs as the United States transitioned from a Cold War footing in the early 1990s. Its death raises difficult questions about maintaining public support for such a large and expensive project during its lengthy construction period. Another important question is whether (and how) academic scientists and their government backers can manage such an enormous undertaking on their own. Comparisons with the successful European experience in building the Large Hadron Collider help to address these issues.Less
The October 1993 termination of the Superconducting Super Collider by Congress was a stunning blow for the US high-energy physics community — and a watershed event in the history of Big Science. Tunnel Visions follows the evolution of this multibillion-dollar basic scientific project from its origins in the Reagan Administration’s military buildup of the early 1980s to its post-Cold War demise a decade later. Obtaining support for this expensive project required physicists to make uncomfortable compromises and enter unfamiliar alliances with Department of Energy officials, Texas politicians and businessmen, and partners from the military-industrial complex. The billions of taxpayer dollars needed to build the SSC came with a level of public scrutiny few physicists had anticipated. The combination of this attention, ever-mounting SSC cost overruns, perceptions of mismanagement of the project by the physicists and DOE, and the lack of major foreign contributions were prominent factors in its termination. The book analyzes these and many other factors that contributed to the SSC’s demise, which occurred against the political backdrop of rapidly changing scientific needs as the United States transitioned from a Cold War footing in the early 1990s. Its death raises difficult questions about maintaining public support for such a large and expensive project during its lengthy construction period. Another important question is whether (and how) academic scientists and their government backers can manage such an enormous undertaking on their own. Comparisons with the successful European experience in building the Large Hadron Collider help to address these issues.
Rikkie Yeung
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098824
- eISBN:
- 9789882207196
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098824.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
Part III of this book compares the experiences of the MTRC and the KCRC in new railway and property development. This chapter compares the strategies and experiences of new project governance of the ...
More
Part III of this book compares the experiences of the MTRC and the KCRC in new railway and property development. This chapter compares the strategies and experiences of new project governance of the MTRC and the KCRC. Differences in project management strategies and political situations account for the KCRC's public controversies in railway projects. Both corporations went through an internationally unique experience during the Sino-British row over new railways; and they did not deal with those challenges in the same way for different reasons. In particular, both the Airport Railways and West Rail cases were related to Sino-British diplomatic tensions over Hong Kong's political transition but handled very differently.Less
Part III of this book compares the experiences of the MTRC and the KCRC in new railway and property development. This chapter compares the strategies and experiences of new project governance of the MTRC and the KCRC. Differences in project management strategies and political situations account for the KCRC's public controversies in railway projects. Both corporations went through an internationally unique experience during the Sino-British row over new railways; and they did not deal with those challenges in the same way for different reasons. In particular, both the Airport Railways and West Rail cases were related to Sino-British diplomatic tensions over Hong Kong's political transition but handled very differently.
Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson, and Adrienne W. Kolb
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226294797
- eISBN:
- 9780226305837
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226305837.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
As Congressional opposition grew, SSC construction accelerated in 1992 after a successful superconducting magnet test. Tunnel boring began in January 1993. But William Clinton’s election as President ...
More
As Congressional opposition grew, SSC construction accelerated in 1992 after a successful superconducting magnet test. Tunnel boring began in January 1993. But William Clinton’s election as President brought a new administration less favorably disposed to the project. At an April 1993 summit with Japanese premier Kiichi Miyazawa, Clinton did not request Japan’s participation in the SSC Laboratory. In June the House voted resoundingly for an amendment to cancel the project, but after heated House and Senate committee hearings, the Senate voted strongly in favor of continuing it. In early October a joint House-Senate committee decided to award the project its full $640 million budget for fiscal 1994. But on October 19, the House dramatically rejected the entire Energy and Water Development bill by a 2-to-1 margin, and Senate support evaporated. The allocated funding was used during the ensuing year to terminate the project and compensate Texas for its investments.Less
As Congressional opposition grew, SSC construction accelerated in 1992 after a successful superconducting magnet test. Tunnel boring began in January 1993. But William Clinton’s election as President brought a new administration less favorably disposed to the project. At an April 1993 summit with Japanese premier Kiichi Miyazawa, Clinton did not request Japan’s participation in the SSC Laboratory. In June the House voted resoundingly for an amendment to cancel the project, but after heated House and Senate committee hearings, the Senate voted strongly in favor of continuing it. In early October a joint House-Senate committee decided to award the project its full $640 million budget for fiscal 1994. But on October 19, the House dramatically rejected the entire Energy and Water Development bill by a 2-to-1 margin, and Senate support evaporated. The allocated funding was used during the ensuing year to terminate the project and compensate Texas for its investments.
François Chiocchio
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199861378
- eISBN:
- 9780190298661
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199861378.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Definitions of project teams that are found in the project management and organizational literatures share some communality. However, as this chapter highlights, several conceptual problems can be ...
More
Definitions of project teams that are found in the project management and organizational literatures share some communality. However, as this chapter highlights, several conceptual problems can be found that hinder the advancement of an integrated stream of research on project teams. The review suggests that the confusion between temporary work and short- versus long-term projects, issues with definitions that rest on change in membership, or that focus on the temporariness of work processes must be clarified before research on project teams can advance. The chapter proposes a definition of a project team (as well as different types of project teams) that clearly distinguishes single- from multi-team systems and offers a solid conceptual footing for future research.Less
Definitions of project teams that are found in the project management and organizational literatures share some communality. However, as this chapter highlights, several conceptual problems can be found that hinder the advancement of an integrated stream of research on project teams. The review suggests that the confusion between temporary work and short- versus long-term projects, issues with definitions that rest on change in membership, or that focus on the temporariness of work processes must be clarified before research on project teams can advance. The chapter proposes a definition of a project team (as well as different types of project teams) that clearly distinguishes single- from multi-team systems and offers a solid conceptual footing for future research.
Alyson Byrne and Julian Barling
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199861378
- eISBN:
- 9780190298661
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199861378.003.0006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Research in organizational leadership and project management rarely overlap. Project management teams have specific characteristics that make them distinguishable from traditional work teams, thus ...
More
Research in organizational leadership and project management rarely overlap. Project management teams have specific characteristics that make them distinguishable from traditional work teams, thus providing unique opportunities for studying leadership in non-traditional settings. This chapter highlights the defining components of project management teams and suggest reasons that these contextual features stand to enhance the current knowledge of leadership in both fields. The chapter also reviews work on traditional leadership research and its incorporation into project management teams, suggesting ways in which this work could be further developed. Future research directions for scholars across both disciplines are suggested.Less
Research in organizational leadership and project management rarely overlap. Project management teams have specific characteristics that make them distinguishable from traditional work teams, thus providing unique opportunities for studying leadership in non-traditional settings. This chapter highlights the defining components of project management teams and suggest reasons that these contextual features stand to enhance the current knowledge of leadership in both fields. The chapter also reviews work on traditional leadership research and its incorporation into project management teams, suggesting ways in which this work could be further developed. Future research directions for scholars across both disciplines are suggested.
Brian Hobbs, François Chiocchio, and E. Kevin Kelloway
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199861378
- eISBN:
- 9780190298661
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199861378.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Researchers in both the fields of organizational psychology and project management would benefit from the development of a single stream of research focusing on project teams. This introductory ...
More
Researchers in both the fields of organizational psychology and project management would benefit from the development of a single stream of research focusing on project teams. This introductory chapter presents the rationale behind this statement and this book. It also presents a brief introduction to the field of project management and lays the ground for the rest of the book by identifying the definitional characteristics that differentiate project and non-project activities.Less
Researchers in both the fields of organizational psychology and project management would benefit from the development of a single stream of research focusing on project teams. This introductory chapter presents the rationale behind this statement and this book. It also presents a brief introduction to the field of project management and lays the ground for the rest of the book by identifying the definitional characteristics that differentiate project and non-project activities.
François Chiocchio, Kelloway, and Brian Hobbs (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199861378
- eISBN:
- 9780190298661
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199861378.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This book is the product of two trends that organizations are embracing. The first is that organizations increasingly rely on projects to grow, adapt, and change. The second is that organizations ...
More
This book is the product of two trends that organizations are embracing. The first is that organizations increasingly rely on projects to grow, adapt, and change. The second is that organizations depend on teams more and more to perform the tasks required to fulfill their raison d’être. Interestingly, the streams of knowledge that attempt to harness these two trends have not yet merged into a coherent body of knowledge. In other words, as organizations increasingly rely on project teams to accomplish their goals, there is a need to describe, understand and predict project teams’ processes, effectiveness, performance, and their determinants. This book is a call for interdisciplinary research focused specifically on project teams. Key project management scholars set the stage with an overview of the project-relevant contextual knowledge, followed by leading organizational behavior and industrial-organizational scholars, who focus on a wide range of important issues worthy of applied research on project teams. Collectively, chapters discuss individual-, team-, and organizational-level phenomena that pertain to a variety of issues, framed specifically to grasp and develop a research agenda explicitly devoted to project teams, such as motivation, leadership, identification, virtuality, development, learning, conflict, diversity, and communication. The result is an interdisciplinary vista of team factors affecting and affected by the project context.Less
This book is the product of two trends that organizations are embracing. The first is that organizations increasingly rely on projects to grow, adapt, and change. The second is that organizations depend on teams more and more to perform the tasks required to fulfill their raison d’être. Interestingly, the streams of knowledge that attempt to harness these two trends have not yet merged into a coherent body of knowledge. In other words, as organizations increasingly rely on project teams to accomplish their goals, there is a need to describe, understand and predict project teams’ processes, effectiveness, performance, and their determinants. This book is a call for interdisciplinary research focused specifically on project teams. Key project management scholars set the stage with an overview of the project-relevant contextual knowledge, followed by leading organizational behavior and industrial-organizational scholars, who focus on a wide range of important issues worthy of applied research on project teams. Collectively, chapters discuss individual-, team-, and organizational-level phenomena that pertain to a variety of issues, framed specifically to grasp and develop a research agenda explicitly devoted to project teams, such as motivation, leadership, identification, virtuality, development, learning, conflict, diversity, and communication. The result is an interdisciplinary vista of team factors affecting and affected by the project context.
Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson, and Adrienne W. Kolb
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226294797
- eISBN:
- 9780226305837
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226305837.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
After the United States and other nations joined the LHC project during the mid-1990s, CERN proceeded with construction of this multi-TeV proton-collider. Although a September 2008 disaster delayed ...
More
After the United States and other nations joined the LHC project during the mid-1990s, CERN proceeded with construction of this multi-TeV proton-collider. Although a September 2008 disaster delayed commissioning for over a year, experiments began in early 2010 at low energy and collision rates. As these increased in late 2011 and early 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments began to find evidence for a new particle at a mass-energy of about 125 GeV. Experiments on the Fermilab Tevatron also began to reveal evidence for a similar particle. On July 4, 2012, the two CERN experiments jointly announced discovery of a Higgs-like particle with this mass. Subsequent measurements showed that it behaved as expected for a spin-0 boson. Reasons are presented for the CERN success on the LHC and compared with the fatal US difficulties in building the SSC Laboratory.Less
After the United States and other nations joined the LHC project during the mid-1990s, CERN proceeded with construction of this multi-TeV proton-collider. Although a September 2008 disaster delayed commissioning for over a year, experiments began in early 2010 at low energy and collision rates. As these increased in late 2011 and early 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments began to find evidence for a new particle at a mass-energy of about 125 GeV. Experiments on the Fermilab Tevatron also began to reveal evidence for a similar particle. On July 4, 2012, the two CERN experiments jointly announced discovery of a Higgs-like particle with this mass. Subsequent measurements showed that it behaved as expected for a spin-0 boson. Reasons are presented for the CERN success on the LHC and compared with the fatal US difficulties in building the SSC Laboratory.
Monika Krause
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226131221
- eISBN:
- 9780226131535
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226131535.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
This chapter analyses the management tools that have shaped service-delivery in development aid and humanitarian relief. The logframe made the project possible as the central unit of planning of ...
More
This chapter analyses the management tools that have shaped service-delivery in development aid and humanitarian relief. The logframe made the project possible as the central unit of planning of provision and as the central unit of exchange between funders and NGOs. A version of results-based management, the logframe has introduced an emphasis on clear goals and evidence for results but, in doing so, has separated evidence of results according to very specific project aims from broader questions of coverage of people's needs and broader consideration of possible effects. The logframe created the “beneficiary” as the specific part of a population in need that is selected to be served. Tools like the logframe enable an organization to produce results without a commitment to any specific part of a population. It has linked results to costs and it has thus made it possible, in principle, to compare projects for different groups of beneficiaries according to price.Less
This chapter analyses the management tools that have shaped service-delivery in development aid and humanitarian relief. The logframe made the project possible as the central unit of planning of provision and as the central unit of exchange between funders and NGOs. A version of results-based management, the logframe has introduced an emphasis on clear goals and evidence for results but, in doing so, has separated evidence of results according to very specific project aims from broader questions of coverage of people's needs and broader consideration of possible effects. The logframe created the “beneficiary” as the specific part of a population in need that is selected to be served. Tools like the logframe enable an organization to produce results without a commitment to any specific part of a population. It has linked results to costs and it has thus made it possible, in principle, to compare projects for different groups of beneficiaries according to price.
Shantha Liyanage and Max Boisot
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199567928
- eISBN:
- 9780191728945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199567928.003.0012
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management, Organization Studies
This chapter examines the ATLAS Collaboration from a leadership perspective. It first looks at how leadership in general may be conceptualized and then at how the concepts play out in the realm of ...
More
This chapter examines the ATLAS Collaboration from a leadership perspective. It first looks at how leadership in general may be conceptualized and then at how the concepts play out in the realm of science. Like other Big Science projects, the ATLAS Collaboration operates at the forefront of knowledge creation. The kind of leadership it requires is not vested in a single individual but is distributed throughout the collaboration. ATLAS's project management team has little formal control over the 3,000-plus members of the collaboration. These remain attached to national institutions and are accountable only to them. How, then, does a scientific collaboration as large as ATLAS generate and sustain creative and constructive interactions among several thousand scientists and engineers of diverse cultures, traditions, and habits? And, given the complexity of the tasks involved, how does it align such interactions with its experimental goals while keeping the project's stakeholders happy?Less
This chapter examines the ATLAS Collaboration from a leadership perspective. It first looks at how leadership in general may be conceptualized and then at how the concepts play out in the realm of science. Like other Big Science projects, the ATLAS Collaboration operates at the forefront of knowledge creation. The kind of leadership it requires is not vested in a single individual but is distributed throughout the collaboration. ATLAS's project management team has little formal control over the 3,000-plus members of the collaboration. These remain attached to national institutions and are accountable only to them. How, then, does a scientific collaboration as large as ATLAS generate and sustain creative and constructive interactions among several thousand scientists and engineers of diverse cultures, traditions, and habits? And, given the complexity of the tasks involved, how does it align such interactions with its experimental goals while keeping the project's stakeholders happy?
Lene Jørgensen and Silvia Jordan
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198753223
- eISBN:
- 9780191814877
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198753223.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Strategy
This chapter gives an account of risk mapping in action, highlighting the day-to-day issues and challenges that actors encounter when engaging in risk mapping, and the ways in which risk maps are ...
More
This chapter gives an account of risk mapping in action, highlighting the day-to-day issues and challenges that actors encounter when engaging in risk mapping, and the ways in which risk maps are enacted to facilitate organizational action and to serve particular ends. Practices of constructing, revising, and drawing upon risk maps are analysed in an inter-organizational project in the Norwegian petroleum industry. In this context, a fair amount of ‘work’ concerns the definition and evaluation of the broadly defined ‘top ten’ risks. The observed risk mapping practices often depart from the calculative rationale espoused in general framework and internal governance documents, and can be related to rationales of providing mutual reassurance and testifying to project management efficiency. When producing risk maps, actors thus edited them in ways that made risk maps useful tools to move projects confidently ahead and to justify the way in which the project was organized.Less
This chapter gives an account of risk mapping in action, highlighting the day-to-day issues and challenges that actors encounter when engaging in risk mapping, and the ways in which risk maps are enacted to facilitate organizational action and to serve particular ends. Practices of constructing, revising, and drawing upon risk maps are analysed in an inter-organizational project in the Norwegian petroleum industry. In this context, a fair amount of ‘work’ concerns the definition and evaluation of the broadly defined ‘top ten’ risks. The observed risk mapping practices often depart from the calculative rationale espoused in general framework and internal governance documents, and can be related to rationales of providing mutual reassurance and testifying to project management efficiency. When producing risk maps, actors thus edited them in ways that made risk maps useful tools to move projects confidently ahead and to justify the way in which the project was organized.
Monika Krause
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226131221
- eISBN:
- 9780226131535
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226131535.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
Since the late 1980s humanitarianism – the immediate relief of suffering in the name of respect for human dignity – has come to dominate western responses to distant suffering. Whether it is a sudden ...
More
Since the late 1980s humanitarianism – the immediate relief of suffering in the name of respect for human dignity – has come to dominate western responses to distant suffering. Whether it is a sudden disaster or a long-running crisis, we look to NGOs like the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, CARE, and Save the Children to help. Based on interviews with managers in the headquarters of the largest Western relief NGOs, The Good Project describes the organizational routines and practical constraints that determine who gets aid and who does not. The book argues that humanitarian NGOs have come to inhabit a shared social space, the field of humanitarian relief NGOs. This field produces both the assumptions that are common across agencies and the debates agencies have with each other about what it means to be a humanitarian. Agencies share practices of project-management that are geared towards one primary output, the “project.” They produce projects for a quasi-market, in which donors are consumers. The pursuit of the good project develops a dynamic that is relatively independent of the values of humanitarian relief and relatively independent of the needs of the populations on the ground. This dynamic is also relatively independent of the interests of donors, including donor governments. In addition to the benefits for those in need emphasized by liberal observers and the forms of direct domination highlighted by critics, humanitarian relief also produces a form of indirect domination mediated by the market for projects.Less
Since the late 1980s humanitarianism – the immediate relief of suffering in the name of respect for human dignity – has come to dominate western responses to distant suffering. Whether it is a sudden disaster or a long-running crisis, we look to NGOs like the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, CARE, and Save the Children to help. Based on interviews with managers in the headquarters of the largest Western relief NGOs, The Good Project describes the organizational routines and practical constraints that determine who gets aid and who does not. The book argues that humanitarian NGOs have come to inhabit a shared social space, the field of humanitarian relief NGOs. This field produces both the assumptions that are common across agencies and the debates agencies have with each other about what it means to be a humanitarian. Agencies share practices of project-management that are geared towards one primary output, the “project.” They produce projects for a quasi-market, in which donors are consumers. The pursuit of the good project develops a dynamic that is relatively independent of the values of humanitarian relief and relatively independent of the needs of the populations on the ground. This dynamic is also relatively independent of the interests of donors, including donor governments. In addition to the benefits for those in need emphasized by liberal observers and the forms of direct domination highlighted by critics, humanitarian relief also produces a form of indirect domination mediated by the market for projects.
