Showing papers in "International Journal of Managing Projects in Business in 2010"
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196 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative research approach was undertaken by conducting semi-structured interviews with the primary focus on the aerospace industry, highlighting the factors contributing to project complexity as reported by the practitioners facing the "actuality" of projects.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to facilitate further understanding of project complexity by highlighting the factors contributing to project complexity as reported by the practitioners facing the “actuality” of projects.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach was undertaken by conducting semi‐structured interviews with the primary focus on the aerospace industry. Participants are involved in a variety of project settings, exhibiting different types and levels of complexity.Findings – Analysis of responses highlights “people” issues as the main factor contributing to project complexity and the importance of soft skills in managing complex projects.Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a limited number of respondents from the aerospace sector. This will be further refined and improved upon by compiling views of additional practitioners involved in multiple aerospace projects.Practical implications – The main research conclusions are that “hard” project ma...
158 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored and discussed corruption practices inherent in public procurement of infrastructural projects in Ghana with the aim of identifying corruption related challenges that must be addressed in order to actualize the expected economic gains of infrastructure projects.
Abstract: Purpose – While corruption has long been recognized as a destructive social problem, the subject has not yet been given much attention in the literature of the management of procurement of infrastructure projects in Ghana. The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss corruption practices inherent in public procurement of infrastructural projects in Ghana with the aim of identifying corruption related challenges that must be addressed in order to actualize the expected economic gains of infrastructural projects.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing extensively on existing literature and published data, the methodology adopted for the paper consisted of multi‐stage critical review of pertinent literature; review of 2007 Annual Report of the Public Procurement Authority and review of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663). The study assumes value‐laden axiological philosophy, where the values and experiences of the authors provided the basis for the discussion.Findings – Conflict of interest, brib...
139 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the empirical relationship between project management efforts (the extent to which national project coordinators (NPCs) make use of available PM tools), project success, and success criteria, and find that a significant correlation exists between the use of monitoring and evaluation tools and project profile, a success criterion which is an early pointer of project long-term impact.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the empirical relationship between project management (PM) efforts (the extent to which national project coordinators (NPCs) – the project managers in the aid industry sector – make use of available PM tools), project success, and success criteria.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by way of questionnaires delivered by mail to 600 recipients in 26 different countries in Africa.Findings – The research results suggest that project success is insensitive to the level of project planning efforts but a significant correlation does exist between the use of monitoring and evaluation tools and project “profile,” a success criterion which is an early pointer of project long‐term impact.Research limitations/implications – This paper contributes to PM research by exploring the relationship between the use of PM tools and project success in the non‐traditional PM – although project oriented – aid industry sector. The paper highlights self‐perceptions of...
137 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarise a recent doctoral thesis on the relationship between project portfolio management (PPM) and competitive advantage in service and manufacturing organizations, and adopt a "dynamic capabilities" perspective to explain the path-dependent nature of PPM capability development and how PPM capabilities work with the resource base to enhance competitive advantage.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarise a recent doctoral thesis on the relationship between project portfolio management (PPM) and competitive advantage in service and manufacturing organisations.Design/methodology/approach – This two‐phase mixed method study comprises a quantitative questionnaire‐based survey and a qualitative multiple‐case study to address the “what” and the “how” of the research questions.Findings – This paper adopts a “dynamic capabilities” perspective, drawing on organisational learning theory to explain the path‐dependent nature of PPM capability development and how PPM capabilities work with the resource base to enhance competitive advantage. Findings support prior PPM studies and suggest a positive relationship between structured PPM capabilities and improved outcomes. The research compares service and manufacturing environments; future challenges are likely to result from the increasing blurring of the boundaries between service and manufacturing industries.Practical...
85 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an investigation into the effectiveness of a British Project Management Professional Development Programme (PMPDP) case study is reported, using as a benchmark, the core behavioural competencies outlined in the International Project Management Association (IPMA) International Competence Baseline version 3.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the importance of human skills in project management success and the apparent emphasis placed on this within the context of university education.Design/methodology/approach – An investigation into the effectiveness of a British Project Management Professional Development Programme (PMPDP) case study is reported. Using as a benchmark, the core behavioural competencies outlined in the International Project Management Association (IPMA) International Competence Baseline version 3, the paper investigates the extent to which the knowledge gained from the PMPDP effects the behaviours of delegates and graduates. The soft skills of a control group are also explored.Findings – The results deal with certain improvements in most of the behavioural competencies of delegates and graduates which the control group could not develop in the same way.Research limitations/implications – The sample is drawn from the PMPDP consortium comprising companies from the...
78 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reflect on some of the fundamental project management (PM) research issues facing PM as a discipline, and argue that researchers' efforts should be directed towards developing PM practices that help PM practitioners improve their ability to both efficiently deliver projects and effectively optimise benefits.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reflect on some of the fundamental project management (PM) research issues facing PM as a discipline. It aims to pose fundamental questions about where PM research has been heading over the last five decades and how it can remain relevant in supporting the delivery of sustainable value to its clients and key stakeholders.Design/methodology/approach – This is accomplished through reflection on over four decades of experience as a PM researcher and inquisitive observer of PM practice and research trends over that time.Findings – Key findings from this process of retrospection hinges on an argument for appreciating the relevance of theoretically based and empirically grounded PM research that is focused upon project outcomes. Researchers' efforts should be directed towards developing PM practices that help PM practitioners improve their ability to both efficiently deliver projects and effectively optimise benefits; this requires managing the project definition (front...
78 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how flexibility could be incorporated into contracting processes, by interviewing key personnel participating in contracting at eight Finnish firms and examining contract and other documents of those companies.
Abstract: Purpose – New business models, such as life‐cycle contracting, challenge the narrow and static understanding of contracts with hard and precise terms. The aim of this paper is to examine how flexibility could be incorporated into contracting processes.Design/methodology/approach – The data of the paper have been gathered applying the triangular method; first, by interviewing key personnel participating in contracting at eight Finnish firms; second, examining contract and other documents of those companies; and third, studying earlier research on contracting practices. Theoretically, the paper is based on relational contract and proactive approaches to law on the one hand and on organizational studies based on new institutional economics on the other.Findings – Flexibility is often introduced to contracts with relational methods, relying on good personal relationships between business partners or negotiation power and negotiation skills. Contract documents often do not contain mechanisms for dealing with c...
66 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employ an inter-organizational network perspective to the study of unexpected events in international projects, and reveal the different mechanisms through which the local stakeholder relationships affect the emergence and management of international projects.
Abstract: Purpose – While earlier literature has focused on the management tactics of unexpected events, this paper employs an inter‐organizational network perspective to the study of unexpected events in international projects. The paper aims to illustrate how a focal project's local stakeholder relationships are associated with the emergence and management of unexpected events in the context of international projects.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, multiple case study of three international projects conducted in challenging institutional environments.Findings – The findings of this paper reveal the different mechanisms through which the local stakeholder relationships affect the emergence and management of unexpected events in international projects. Owing to differences in the amount and quality of local stakeholder relationships, the management, nature and number of unexpected events that are encountered differ from project to project. The findings of this paper reveal a paradox – both the existenc...
52 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a phenomenological methodology is used for eliciting, through self-reporting and observation of gesture, the affective responses and consequential emotions experienced by PM practitioners as they interact or recount previous interactions with various artefacts of PM.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the variety of affective emotions that are evoked in extant project management (PM) practitioners by various PM artefacts.Design/methodology/approach – A phenomenological methodology is used for eliciting, through self‐reporting and observation of gesture, the affective responses and consequential emotions experienced by PM practitioners as they interact or recount previous interactions with various artefacts of PM.Findings – This paper suggests that PM is prevalent in the Western corporate environment because project managers obtain an emotional affect from aspects of the PM experience, and project managers utilise various PM artefacts to emotionally manipulate their environment to their own advantage.Practical implications – The paper argues for a PM environment which is founded on evidence‐based practices. It suggests that future research should explore the links between PM, social architecture and flow theory.Originality/value – This paper advances...
42 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look closely at the actuality of project formation to investigate the performance of project shaping, those acts performed by individuals to make that form of "sense" that constitutes a new project, and propose a framework for mapping the skills of those individuals who are directly involved in shaping projects.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to look closely at the actuality of project formation to investigate the performance of project shaping – those acts performed by individuals to make that form of “sense” that constitutes a new project, and to propose a framework for mapping the skills of those individuals who are directly involved in shaping projects.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a sensemaking approach from illustrative narratives in order to propose a model of how a project outcome is shaped. The analysis is based on thinking that emerged from the Rethinking Project Management Network and other academic communities.Findings – Significant factors in project formation are: the timing of the conversion of work into controlled project form (the control model of projects), the role of factional interests and power structures (tribal power), the alignment of project scope with a need for transformation (transformation and value), the fast production of tangibles such as project mandates that embody the...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the organizational support systems and mechanisms provided by firms to their virtual project teams and their impacts on the components of these teams and identify the structural factors and processes related to virtual teams that are affected by organizational support system and mechanisms.
Abstract: Purpose – Virtual project teams are teams whose members use technology to varying degrees in working across locational, temporal, and relational boundaries to accomplish an interdependent task. Work in virtual project teams is a challenge for many organizations. Having studied the issue for several years, the authors propose in this paper to delve deeper into the question from the point of view of organizational support. More specifically, this paper seeks to focus on the organizational support systems and mechanisms provided by firms to their virtual project teams and their impacts on the components of these teams. The objective is to identify the structural factors and processes related to virtual teams that are affected by organizational support systems and mechanisms.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports exploratory empirical case studies of two Canadian‐based international high‐tech companies. In‐depth interviews were conducted with managers with experience in virtual project team managemen...
TL;DR: A case study of groupthink in temporary organizations is presented in this paper, where three out of four groupthink features and symptoms are found and three of the four features are found in a case study based on accounts of several survivors of the Everest disaster.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of groupthink in temporary organizations Only anecdotally has the literature touched upon how the temporary organization's structure may foster groupthink Studies of faulty group processes are imperative since temporary organizations are becoming more common Design/methodology/approach – Following the design used by several authors who analyzed the Everest events, this paper is an historic in-depth case study based on accounts of several survivors Findings – Three out of four features of groupthink are found and analyzing the Everest events there are several symptoms to groupthink that may be present in any temporary organization Research limitations/implications – Groupthink as a theoretical idea is well developed but has received limited attention in a temporary organization (project) setting More attention should be given to group dynamics in general and groupthink in particular Practical implications – Some practices are suggested to avoid groupthink Furthermore, project managers find themselves in a balancing act between freedom, efficiency, and fast decisions The context should be allowed to decide which the correct approach is Finally, blowing the whistle should never be a problem and never be punished Originality/value – The setting of this paper is original although it is to the structure a common project When life is at stake, features and symptoms of groupthink become more evident The theoretical field is almost non-existent in a temporary organization setting hence there is a considerable value to the theoretical development of temporary organizations and groupthink
TL;DR: This book describes how to evaluate judgemental information and looks at how scant information can actually be a strength and can help establish a broad overall perspective.
Abstract: The choice of a concept on major projects is often decided early. This is the key decision of the project: more important to long-term success than implementation. But this decision is made when uncertainty is highest. This book describes how to study strategic needs and align the project’s objectives and the anticipated effect of alternative concepts. It discusses the use of qualitative assessments when information is limited. It describes the issues about evaluating judgmental information, and discusses how scant information can help establish a broad overall perspective. Accurate information rapidly becomes outdated, while carefully extracted qualitative information about a project concept can provide reliable decision-input. Techniques are discussed for making quantitative decisions. Finally, the impact on real-world project decisions is considered.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on a thesis completed in 2005 that had relevance to the project management community, which dealt with trust relations in the construction industry in respect of strategy formulation and provided a hierarchy model to explain the concept of general trust of the individual and the industry, situational trust, a value-based trust, interpersonal and inter-firm trust via quantitative and qualitative study.
Abstract: Purpose – The paper aims to report on a thesis completed in 2005 that had relevance to the project management community. The thesis dealt with trust relations in the construction industry in respect of strategy formulation and to provide a hierarchy model to explain the concept of general trust of the individual and the industry, situational trust, a value‐based trust, inter‐personal and inter‐firm trust via quantitative and qualitative study.Design/methodology/approach – A pilot study with structured questionnaires and a case study approach are adopted to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from ten projects operating with partnering and non‐partnering approach.Findings – The findings help to explain trust relations with three issues: a group perspective of value‐based trust; the perception of trust by clients and contractors in the construction industry; and the hierarchy of a trust model based on the moral, social and work dimensions of trust.Research limitations/implications – The paper ind...
TL;DR: In a follow-up interview with 15 project managers who attended emotional intelligence training that provided in-depth, rich qualitative data that was collected making use of a critical incident technique, and analysed using a semi-emergent theme approach.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer insights into how emotions can influence project manager behaviours and decisions specifically within the context of undertaking their roles in relationship management in projects. It shows that the emotional awareness of project managers may be a factor that helps to explain how project managers may arrive at decisions that affect their inter‐personal relationships on projects.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is set within the context of follow‐up interviews conducted with 15 project managers who attended emotional intelligence training that provided in‐depth, rich qualitative data that was collected making use of a critical incident technique, and analysed using a semi‐emergent theme approach.Findings – The data suggest that project managers are consistently subject to emotion generating situations during project management and their emotional awareness plays a part in determining how they potentially respond to the emotional information generated. ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the communication of uncertainty information and knowledge between the project manager, owner and steering group in the process of uncertainty management in the building of new frigates in the Royal Norwegian Navy.
Abstract: Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the communication of uncertainty information and knowledge between the project manager, owner and steering group. The purpose of the project is to identify the effects of project owner and steering group involvement in the process of uncertainty management.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data are based on a qualitative case study with in‐depth interviews following a semi‐structured approach. The building of new frigates, a project in the Royal Norwegian Navy, is studied. This is a large public technology project, with a great deal of media and public attention from Norwegian society.Findings – The project owner and steering group involvement in the project's uncertainty management process were identified. The interviews revealed that uncertainty information and knowledge have frequently been communicated and shared. The results indicate that this has reduced the asymmetric information problem between the parties. This involvement has also contributed to ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the sensemaking processes leading to project managers' responses to an unexpected event in an international project setting and found that the sense-making processes are highly subjective, leading to the coexistence of multiple, and highly divergent responses.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the sensemaking processes leading to project managers' responses to an unexpected event in an international project setting. High uncertainty and unexpected events are prevalent in international projects conducted in challenging and complex environments. The paper analyzes how an unexpected event and the ways to cope with it were made sense of by a Finnish and a Chinese project manager in a system supplier's delivery project in China.Design/methodology/approach – This paper builds on a qualitative case study of the two project managers' sensemaking processes in the face of a single unexpected event. Narrative interviews were used as the method for data collection. The actantial framework by Greimas was used in analyzing the interview narratives.Findings – The paper shows how the project managers' sensemaking processes, even within the same project management team, are highly subjective, leading to the coexistence of multiple, and highly divergent responses...
TL;DR: The concept of collaborative project scorecard (CPS) is described and the results of its application to a project are summarized and discussed in this paper, where the authors aim to summarize the scope, methodology and main findings of a doctoral thesis about cross-company project management in the automotive industry.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to summarize the scope, methodology, and main findings of a doctoral thesis about cross‐company project management in the automotive industry. The concept of the collaborative project scorecard (CPS) is described and the results of its application to a project are summarized and discussed.Design/methodology/approach – The project adopted an action research approach which included a series of interviews, surveys, workshops, and a case study where the developed project management concept was tested and evaluated in a real project setting.Findings – The concept of the CPS supports the alignment of project goals with business strategies, improves transparency in networked project organizations with respect to roles, responsibilities, goal achievement, stakeholder identification, and performance assessment. Project goals is not only based on and measured by hard facts but also on soft facts such as trust and employee satisfaction. The balanced choice of common strategic project goals ...
TL;DR: In this article, a series of causal models are developed from the literature to demonstrate the complexity associated with dispute causation, and it is revealed that project management, organization and people are the main sources of disputes.
Abstract: Purpose – A considerable amount of research has been undertaken with regard to the dispute causation within construction project management. Research has eschewed identifying the interrelatedness of variables, which has blurred researchers understanding of dispute causation and lead to latent work practices being embedded within the contracting environment within which projects are procured. With this in mind, this paper attempts to identify the underlying dynamics influencing disputes through the use of causal modeling.Design/methodology/approach – Using the concept of system dynamics a series of causal models are developed from the literature to demonstrate the complexity associated with dispute causation.Findings – It is revealed that project management, organization and people are the main sources of disputes. Causal models are constructed for each of these constructs and a series of strategies for avoiding disputations identified.Originality/value – The research has demonstrated the inherent complexi...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an overview of a completed doctoral action research thesis that moved beyond focussing on the instrumentality of project actuality to explore project praxis as social process.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of a completed doctoral action research thesis that moved beyond focussing on the instrumentality of project actuality to explore project praxis as social process.Design/methodology/approach – Soft systems methodology is selected as the process of enquiry for the thesis, to explore a perceived complex problematic situation. A conceptual framework is designed to guide thinking to explore the social nature of projects, through acknowledging the interconnected nature of human realities, the pragmatism of knowledge and the emergent nature of cognition.Findings – The paper reveals the reality of project complexity as being socially derived, necessitating an emergent project management response to the inherent differences created from human plurality. Organisational resilience emerged as dependent upon recognising and successfully managing the evolving cognition that arises from a multiplicity of human and project environmental interconnections.Pract...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of how multimedia technology was used to help a government health department develop a risk management strategy to respond to climate change risk to its infrastructure is presented.
Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this paper is to discuss how multimedia technology can be used to effectively engage stakeholders in the management of risk in projects and in business.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on research in stakeholder management and multimedia this paper presents a case study of how multimedia technology was used to help a government health department develop a risk management strategy to respond to climate change risk to its infrastructure.Findings – Multimedia is a highly effective, engaging, and innovative way to capture and harness stakeholders' collective knowledge in managing risks and opportunities.Research limitations/implications – This research has revealed the practical advantages of using multimedia to engage stakeholders in the risk management process. Future research needs to explore the pedagogical advantages of multimedia in helping organisations develop a risk management culture.Practical implications – In the increasingly emotional and regulated business environment, ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore critical success factors in knowledge-intensive creative project work, using product development as an example field, and find that most challenges are embedded in the context of the product development projects.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore critical success factors in knowledge‐intensive creative project work, using product development as an example field.Design/methodology/approach – Critical‐incident based in‐depth interviews of 11 product development experts (chosen based on their recommendations and length of experience) were carried out. The results were categorized into thematic classes of critical factors.Findings – Most challenges are embedded in the context of the product development projects. Collaboration and cognitive‐motivational factors such as trust, attitude, and intrinsic motivation‐related issues formed the most common classes of discovered critical factors behind product development project success, along with the mediating categories of goal and autonomy‐related factors. Furthermore, product development specific skills or knowledge accounted only for a small minority of the identified factors.Practical implications – The most pressing learning objective becomes not updatin...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demonstrate how the practice of program management can be used to manage strategically oriented initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions (M&As) such as small-scale acquisitions.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the practice of program management can be used to manage strategically‐oriented initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions (M&As).Design/methodology/approach – The methodology applied is high‐level reflective retrospective qualitative field research conducted by a practitioner‐scholar in response to the research question: How does the program management approach applied to a small‐scale acquisition compare to the current joint bodies of program management and M&A theory and practice?Findings – The practice of program management provides a means for managing strategically oriented initiatives such as small‐scale acquisitions.Research limitations/implications – This paper is constrained by a high‐level literature review of English language publications only, and high‐level reflective retrospective qualitative field research conducted by a single practitioner‐scholar upon a single relatively small‐scale acquisition, which cannot necessarily be scale...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the role and potential of strategic trust development and management to improve operations in the project business and enhance client satisfaction, analysing trust as social capital.
Abstract: Purpose – Organisational trust is analysed through observation of operations or strategic prescription. The management and project management literature is largely prescriptive. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role and potential of strategic trust development and management to improve operations in the project business and enhance client satisfaction, analysing trust as social capital.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is supported by the method of and data gathered through CROL®: a process for managing business relationships and interfaces. The case in question focuses on over 30,000 customer relationships covering five years of global operations by companies in the project business.Findings – The analysis focuses on the connection between self‐awareness, performance, improvement and the impact upon both relationships and financial performance – social capital in the “balance sheet”. The objective is to identify the extent to which trust management can help bridge the gap between pres...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the social forces that shape perceptions of risk and sustain community-based protest against controversial construction projects and show how collective action against projects is maintained by a high degree of interconnectivity and relational multiplexity between participating individuals and groups.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the social forces that shape perceptions of risk and sustain community‐based protest against controversial construction projects.Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a thematic story‐telling approach which draws on ethnographic method and theories relating to social contagion, group dynamics and collective action.Findings – The paper shows how collective action against projects is maintained by a high degree of interconnectivity and relational multiplexity between participating individuals and groups. Other determinants of movement continuity include the protective role of hidden social networks, overlapping protest group memberships, the plurality of protest issues faced and the quality and nature of social ties, experiences and emotions that link activists in collective action over the protest movement's lifetime.Research limitations/implications – This research extends existing research in protest mobalisation in the social and political do...
TL;DR: In this article, the development of a regional ontology for information systems (IS) project management has been investigated in the context of existentialism and social construction, with a focus on the need to understand as-lived project experiences.
Abstract: Purpose – The paper aims to paper an overview of a completed doctoral thesis which pursued the development of underlying theory (ontology) to give coherence to research in the information systems (IS) project management space.Design/methodology/approach – As a result of the considerable concern about a lack of underlying theory in project management the author has chosen to investigate the development of underlying theory to serve as a regional ontology to give debates undertaken to improve IS project management coherence. The thesis is a critical interpretive a priori effort. In the pursuit of the goal of developing a regional ontology, the notions, concepts and theories related to existentialism and social construction were investigated. These were investigated because the research literature places considerable emphasis on the need to understand as‐lived project experiences.Findings – One of the significant outcomes that results from this research is the development of a proposed regional ontology. Thi...
TL;DR: A methodology aiming to improve the process of prioritizing among projects, focusing on the strategic impacts, is developed, which is expected to have a particular relevance for companies operating in a distributed organizational environment.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology aiming to improve the process of prioritizing among projects, focusing on the strategic impacts. The methodology is expected to have a particular relevance for companies operating in a distributed organizational environment.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology has been developed within the PROMISE project, where ten applications and eight corresponding companies (application owners) represent the cases where the methodology has been developed and tested.Findings – The paper has documented a need for a methodology that links projects and initiatives to overall the overall company strategies. Through the PROMISE project such a method business effect evaluation methodology (BEEM) is developed. The structure of the method and the process of using it are described.Originality/value – This paper presents a methodology, BEEM, proven relevant in different contexts when projects and units need to be evaluated, compared, prioritized and coordi...
TL;DR: In this paper, the success of a work-place intervention designed to improve work-life balance (WLB) in an alliance project in the construction industry, and the role the project manager plays in this success was investigated.
Abstract: Purpose – The construction industry in Australia is characterised by a long work-hours culture, with conditions that make it difficult for staff to balance their work and non-work lives. The objective of this paper is to measure the success of a work-place intervention designed to improve work-life balance (WLB) in an alliance project in the construction industry, and the role the project manager plays in this success. Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on an alliance case study. Interviews were conducted at two points in time, several months apart, after the interventions were implemented. Findings – Results showed that staff on the whole were more satisfied with their work experience after the interventions, and indicated the important role that managers' attitudes and behaviours played. Originality/value – Managerial support for work-life initiatives is a critical element in achieving WLB and satisfaction with working arrangements. The fact that the manager “talked the talk and walked the walk” was a major contributing success factor, which has not previously been demonstrated.