Understanding employee resourcing in construction organizations

In recent years the literature on employee resourcing has consistently advocated the importance of adopting a holistic, strategic approach to employee deployment decision making rather than adopting a reactive needs‐based approach. This is particularly problematic in construction where the multi‐project environment leads to constantly changing resource requirements and to changing demands over a project's life cycle. This can lead to inappropriate decisions, which fail to meet the longer‐term needs of both construction organizations and their employees. A structured and comprehensive understanding of the current project team deployment practices within large construction organizations was developed. Project deployment practices were examined within seven case study contracting firms. The emergent themes that shaped the decision‐making processes were grouped into five broad clusters comprising human resource planning, performance/career management, team deployment, employee involvement and training and development. The research confirms that a reactive and ad hoc approach to the function prevails within the firms investigated. This suggests a weak relationship between the deployment process and human resource planning, team deployment, performance management, employee involvement and training and development activities. It is suggested that strategic HR–business partnering could engender more transparent and productive relationships in this crucial area.     

ISO 9000 certification and construction project performance: The Malaysian experience

Purpose

This paper explores the relationship between an ISO 9000 certified quality management system (QMS) and elements of performance in construction project environments.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey based approach is used to collect data from project managers working in the Malaysian construction sector in both ISO 9000 certified and non-certified organisations. Three elements of performance are explored: project management (PM) practices, financial management (FM) practices and Project Success. The Project Management Performance Assessment model (PMPA) (Bryde, 2003) is used as the framework for assessing PM Practices. 336 completed questionnaires are analysed, with a group of 73 being from ISO 9000 certified companies (a response rate of 48.3%) and a group of 262 being from non-certified companies (response rate = 32.6%). MANOVA are used to explore differences in levels of performance between the two groups.

Findings

Overall there is significance difference in mean scores at the 5% level in respect of each of the PM and FM Practice elements of performance, indicating that ISO 9000 certified companies have enhanced levels of performance in their project environments compared to those in non-certified companies. The two exceptions are the PM Practice related to establishing partnerships and managing resources and the FM Practice related to allowing for inflation and price escalations. The results also indicate that ISO 9000 certification has a positive moderating effect on the casual relationship between PM Practices and Project Success. Based on the survey results a Project Management Performance Assessment for Construction (PMPAC) model is developed, which extends the PMPA to include performance enablers linked to financial management activities.

Research limitations/implications

The survey focuses on the construction sector in Malaysia and further work is required to see if the findings are applicable to other countries and also to other business sectors beyond the construction sector.

Originality/value

The research reported in this paper is original in that prior research into the link of ISO 9000 certification and dimensions of organizational performance has not explicitly focused on project environments. The research findings provide evidence that those seeking to enhance their project performance could gain benefits from developing a QMS and seeking ISO 9000 accreditation. However the finding also indicate that an approach to performance management based solely on establishing a certified QMS may have its limitations in terms of establishing processes for managing the relationships on a project through partnership approaches and in dealing with uncertainty in the external environment, such as price fluctuations. The PMPAC model presented in this paper provides a framework for those working in construction project environments to ensure their project management systems incorporate the key activities that enable better performance.     

Exploring the gender wage gap among project managers: A multi-national analysis of human capital and national policies

The purpose of this study was to apply human capital theory to the project management profession and associated gender wage gaps across the globe. We used salary survey data from the Project Management Institute and multi-national pay data to investigate the relationships among human capital variables, national policy, salaries, and gender wage gaps. The results showed the project management profession consistently has a narrower gender wage gap than the national gender wage gaps. Using ANOVA and mediation models, we showed that the project management gender wage gap can be reduced in the presence of national anti-discriminatory laws and national human capital development – both of which raise women's salaries to reduce the gender wage gap among project managers in Westernized countries. However, the human capital theory did not apply to the gender wage gap among project managers in Non-western contexts. Other recommendations to reduce gender wage gaps include national and organizational policies such as prohibiting discrimination against women in hiring practices, skills training, career development, and educational opportunities. We concluded there is still more work to be done to achieve equal pay between men and women, even in the project management profession and especially in Non-western contexts.     

Microfoundations of project portfolio regulation in joint university-industry laboratories

Joint university-industry laboratories (joint U-I labs) consist of a new, yet little understood model of academic partnership with the firms, typically involving the establishment of a collaborative research unit to conduct research and development (R&D) projects. This type of collaboration faces an ongoing challenge in dealing with the tension between the development and deployment focus in the project portfolio. While several studies have investigated project portfolio management in a given firm, little is known about the interorganizational portfolio management and how the actors manage tensions in joint U-I labs. This study aims to investigate the microfoundations of project portfolio management in joint U-I labs. By combining the multiple-case study and at-home ethnography methods, we identified that the regulation approach explains how partners in joint U-I labs dynamically adjust and manage the project portfolio. Based on the empirical findings, we propose a new framework for project portfolio management in joint U-I labs: portfolio regulation. This framework consists of four processes: dual scouting, dual matchmaking, joint selection, and bridgemaking. These microfoundations enable actors to strategically regulate the portfolio by increasing/decreasing resources related to development or deployment. Our study explores how portfolio regulation evolves within a joint U-I lab through four stages: formation, learning, reconfiguration, and joint portfolio. The proposed framework contributes to interorganizational R&D portfolio management theory and joint U-I lab portfolio management practice.     

治理对公共项目管理绩效改善的实证研究——以企业型代建项目为例

通过文献综述可知,公共项目管理绩效改善有管理和治理两大途径,前者显而易见,已得到学术界和实务界的普遍认可,而后者一直以来都被默认为是成立的而没有得到任何证实。首先借鉴产业组织理论的SCP范式,提出关于公共项目治理、管理、管理绩效3个变量之间路径的基本假设,并构建实证研究模型。而后,运用结构方程模型方法对60个企业型代建项目的数据进行统计分析,研究结果表明,公共项目治理通过管理间接贡献于公共项目管理绩效。最后,通过对研究结果的分析得出公共项目管理绩效改善的一种基本思路,即GMP分析框架,从而证实了治理确为公共项目管理绩效改善的重要途径。     

“一带一路”沿线重大工程风险识别及评估研究

为了帮助中国企业在“一带一路”沿线重大工程投资过程中更好地掌控风险,构建风险评价体系。利用文献分析法初步识别“一带一路”沿线重大工程风险,借助因子分析法确定风险因素权重,从经济水平、社会文化、中国因素、国际政治、外交关系5个维度构建“一带一路”重大工程风险评估指标体系。并对“一带一路”沿线国家重大工程风险评估进行算例演示,绘制相关风险等级地图,形象直观地反映“一带一路”沿线各国关于重大工程建设的风险等级,为我国“一带一路”重大工程投资决策提供参考。     

The interplay between dynamic capabilities’ dimensions and their relationship to project portfolio agility and success

Recent literature emphasizes agility's importance for a project portfolio's success in a dynamic environment. Conceptually, dynamic capabilities should be relevant antecedents for portfolio agility since they help organizations cope with dynamic environments. Dynamic capabilities disaggregate into three dimensions: sensing market and technology opportunities, seizing opportunities through prioritizing and exploiting them, and continuously reconfiguring assets and structures. Although previous literature emphasizes the importance of dynamic capabilities for project portfolio management (PPM), former research rarely analyzed dynamic capabilities in PPM empirically. Further, dynamic capabilities can be conceptualized differently, and it remains unclear how different conceptualizations coexist and what effects they have on the results of a study. This paper quantitatively investigates the relationship between dynamic capabilities’ dimensions (sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring) and project portfolio agility and success using a multi-informant, cross-industry sample of 135 project portfolios. The findings show that dynamic capabilities positively relate to portfolio agility and that portfolio agility mediates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and portfolio success. Surprisingly, sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring do not have entirely complementary effects. Instead, at least two of the three dimensions must be strongly present to enhance portfolio agility positively. The study underscores the importance of dynamic capabilities for portfolio agility. It contributes to the literature on portfolio agility in PPM and a more differentiated view of dynamic capabilities' dimensions and their consequences.     

高质量关系对工程项目组织从安全事件中学习的影响:韧性安全文化的中介作用

随着工程项目安全事件不断增长、项目利益相关者关系冲突及其关系质量管理水平降低,从事件中学习、将知识嵌入到安全管理中成为项目组织间关系治理及安全绩效不断改善的有效措施。探讨高质量关系的3 个维度—共同愿景、信任和共享知识—如何促进组织的韧性安全文化,构建了高质量关系、韧性安全文化、从安全事件中学习的关系模型,基于171份有效问卷对该模型进行检验。研究结果表明,高质量关系对安全事件中学习及韧性安全文化有显著正效应;韧性安全文化在高质量关系和组织从安全事件中学习起部分中介作用,从而为工程组织从安全事件中学习的有效开展与创新实现提供理论依据。     

Toward a model of socializing project team members: An integrative approach

Project work is becoming more and more important in everyday business, as is staffing the right newcomers for the project. Recognizing that not all new project team workers possess equally important specific knowledge, skills and abilities for the success of projects, we draw on project management, human resource management, and organizational socialization literature to develop a framework on how new project team members might be socialized, depending on their strategic value for the project. We specifically draw on the socialization tactics literature and propose how four categories of new employees – Internal specialists, External specialists, External generalists and Internal generalists; based on two dimensions – work task complexity and employment mode, can be socialized more effectively. Implications for theory and practice are discussed as well.     

多尺度时空PM 2.5 分布特征、影响要素、方法演进的综述及 城市规划展望

精细化治理空气污染正成为改善城 市品质的重点方向,对城市多尺度PM 2.5 时 空格局与影响要素的梳理有助于从研究和 实践层面加强规划设计对公共健康的积极 影响。本文从全国、城市、社区层面较全面 地阐述了不同时空尺度下PM 2.5 的时空格局 特征,总结了土地格局、交通网络、建成环 境、蓝绿空间等不同影响因素与城市空气中 PM 2.5 的相互关联耦合作用。同时,本文分析了不同的研究方法在精细化污染治理中的应用,指出人工智能方法在高精度尺度下的时空复 杂特征融合分析中的优势。最后,结合现有的城市PM 2.5 治理经验,对精细化目标下分时分区 的城市规划提出展望：基于提升精确度的新技术方法,优化城市空间结构,构建精细化分时 分区管理策略。     

Exploring the value of project management: Linking Project Management Performance and Project Success

The literature on Project Management (PM) shows that, in spite of advancement in PM processes, tools and systems, project success has not significantly improved. This problem raises questions about the value and effectiveness of PM and PM systems. This paper reports a research study which tests the relationship between PM performance and project success drawing from empirical data on PM professionals working in UAE project-based organisations.     

项目管理服务与代建制模式的比较分析

随着我国经济建设的快速发展,大型建设项目越来越多,工程技术也越加复杂化,大型建设项目管理显得格外重要。各种各样的管理模式随之应用在建设项目管理中,给项目管理带来一些问题。针对实际工程建设过程中,项目管理从业人员对项目管理服务模式与代建制模式理解上的混淆情况,从两种模式的适用范围、管理本质与宗旨差异、合同关系以及两种合同中合约双方的权力、责任、风险等方面进行对比分析,比较两者之间的迥异之处,最终提出解决该问题的几点建议。     

Designing bridge maintenance on the network and project levels

If management is perceived as the execution of informed decisions, bridge management supplies the decision support. Ideally, its task should fall in the domain of optimisation; however, the constraints and objectives for such a treatment frequently diverge between the network and the project levels. Nevertheless, working models are in evidence. Over the last 15 years New York City appears to have maintained an equilibrium between the average bridge condition ratings of its 800 bridges and the related capital expenditures. Management must therefore inquire if these expenditures can be rendered more effective. The particular contribution of preventive maintenance (PM) to this ‘steady state’ is explored with several objectives. An attempt is made to compare the relative cost-effectiveness of different maintenance tasks. The information needed in order to verify such comparisons to a satisfactory degree is identified, as are the strengths and limitations of the network (top-down) and project (ground-up) management viewpoints. Recommendations about short- and long-term maintenance strategies are formulated.     

Project management learning: Key dimensions and saliency from student experiences

Drawing upon literature, this study seeks to understand what the key dimensions of student experiences of project management learning are and what saliences students attach to such dimensions. Data is obtained from a sample of management and engineering students studying project management across four universities in the United Kingdom. We employ multidimensional scaling to extract the salience placed by students on the key dimensions. The results of the data analysis suggest that there are six dimensions of student experiences of project management. We also find that students attach markedly different levels of salience to these dimensions based on a number of demographic factors. More specifically, in terms of salience, we found that gender had the strongest relationship while prior experience of project management had the weakest. The implications of our findings are discussed from the perspective of andragogical congruence (compatibility) in teaching and learning.     

Complex project management as complex problem solving: A distributed knowledge management perspective

Traditional project management (PM) privileges planning and downplays the role of learning even in more complex projects. In contrast, this paper draws inspiration from two organisations that were found to have developed complex PM expertise as a form of complex problem solving (CPS), a practice with implicit learning because complex projects are unable to be completely specified in advance ( Hayek, 1945). Central to this view of complex project management as a form of complex problem solving is the governance challenge of knowledge management under uncertainty. This paper proposes that the distributed coordination mechanism which both organisations evolved for this contingency can best be characterised as a ‘common will of mutual interest’, a self-organising process that was fostered around project goals and paced by the project life cycle ( Kogut and Zander, 1992). The implications for theory, research, and practice in complex PM knowledge management are examined.     

Do project managers practice what they preach,and does it matter to project success?

Organizations increasingly use projects to achieve business objectives but report that results often fall short of goals. A number of formal standards for managing projects have been developed intending to improve such project outcomes. However, research examining this assumption is scarce and has yielded mixed results. This paper presents the development and use of a set of metrics for assessing the use of project management (PM) practices in an empirical assessment of the relative use of different practices, and the link between the use of those practices and project success. Our analysis shows widely varying usage of different PM practices and differences in use depending on the context of the project. Further, our study indicates that the level of use of PM practices is indeed related to project success. Finally, the results suggest that the PM practices that make a difference may not be the most frequently used.     

Pedestrians' perception of environmental stimuli through field surveys: focus on particulate pollution

The between perception of individual exposure to different environmental stimuli; microclimate, noise and especially particulate matter (PM) was examined. Microclimate, noise and PM were monitored during field surveys with 260 questionnaire-guided interviews at a road construction site and a traffic site on the UC San Diego campus. The overall comfort was determined primarily by the thermal environment. The air quality was considered to be poor by 42% of the interviewees at the construction site, which was burdened with higher PM counts and sound levels. Overall, higher PM concentrations were correlated with perception of poor air quality. Similarity between the overall air quality and how dusty it feels suggests that visual clues of PM, such as dust, affect the perception of air quality and pollution. The effect of medical or smoking history on the perceived air quality was also examined. People with a medical history of hay fever voted more frequently for poor air quality conditions than those without, whereas current smokers were the least sensitive to ambient air quality conditions. Through the exposure-response relationships between the various perception votes and PM, it was possible to predict perceived air cleanness using the PM count. Understanding the human assessment of environmental stimuli could inform the design and development of urban spaces, in relation to the allocation of uses and activities, along with air quality management schemes.     

工程管理组织内部知识共享影响因素的实证研究

通过文献研究和理论假设,从主体因素、客体因素和环境因素3 个维度,构建了工程管理组织内部知识共享效果的影响因素模型。通过开发测量量表,编制调研问卷,开展广泛调研,并利用SPSS 统计分析软件对调研数据进行了描述性统计分析、信度和效度分析、相关分析以及回归分析,并对研究假设进行了实证检验。研究结果表明:成员间信任、组织文化和领导支持等对工程管理组织内部知识共享效果具有显著的正向影响,而知识内隐性、成员间差距和组织单元独立性等对工程管理组织内部知识共享效果具有显著的负向影响。