A model of success factors for Global Project Management

This study explores the project management literature and produces a novel model of success fac­tors for global project management. Most academic papers provide partial recommendations on how to increase the success of global projects. However, to be effective, these suggestions should be applied in a holistic manner. This is a fundamental characteristic of the model presented in this article. The model is also modular, allowing an independent implementation of success factors, and scalable, able to accommodate newly discovered factors to be tested by future exploratory research studies.

Communication and Trust in Distributed Project Teams

Virtual teams are a part of modern globalized business environment. They have their own unique problems for managers when members meet rarely and communicate through computer mediated forums, across space, time, and many different cultures. This paper addresses communication and trust in virtual teams. A survey was done amongst the members of the social networking site of the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM). Approximately 300 people from over 50 different countries participated in this survey.

Early childhood experience – the foundation of sustainable wealth creation

I looked around the room. nearly every head was nodding in agreement.The audience was a meeting of the Council of the South african Institution of Civil engineering to whom I was delivering a presentation titled, “South Africa – Engineering to Thrive”.

Formal and informal risk management actions in projects

This paper presents the current risk management activities in projects. The findings are based on a 3-year GPSII research project that was conducted in co-operation with VTT, Helsinki University of Technology and Helsinki School of Economics. The purpose of the GPSII research project was to identify and analyse interactions between cultural processes, network connections and risk man­agement practices in global delivery projects. This paper discusses the project risk management activities from two perspectives: Firstly, the current risk management procedures in projects are briefly summarized. Secondly, the view is broadened to include more informal risk management actions outside the formal risk management process.

Knowledge Management and Stories

Knowledge Management (KM) is how organizations make best use of their intellectual assets. Using their technology, processes and people they dredge for knowledge (sometimes very subjective, tacit and hard to articulate) and spread insights and experience to where it counts and can be applied to improve performance. For example, customer-facing employees can access expert systems containing technical solutions, or they can look up a base of non-technical knowledge in order to answer the customer immediately - without having to escalate the interaction to a higher, more knowledgeable authority.

Project Complexity under Carbon Regulation and Trading

An increasing level of regulation on carbon emissions is taking place within the building and in­frastructure construction industry. Although the US federal climate and energy policy is still in the early stage, it is becoming clear that both regulatory and market- based methods would be likely implemented to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the construction and operation of facilities. The emerging carbon regulation and market will significantly increase project complexity and profoundly impact project design, planning, construction, and operation. This paper introduces the internal and external complexity caused by carbon regulation. Several dimensions of project complexity under carbon regulation are also discussed, including interaction between carbon emissions and objectives, organization and technological complexity, contracting, and risks.

Project Management - Offices in Transition

This paper presents empirical results from a research on Project Management Offices (PMO) in transition. This research adopted a process view of PMOs in transition. Descrip­tive data from 17 case studies was primarily obtained through interviews and analyzed using qualitative text analysis methods. Thirty-five factors of change have been grouped in ix categories forming a typology of drivers of PMO change. The major contribution of this research is to gain a better understanding of the dynamic evolution of PMOs. For researchers, these findings contribute to the project management theoretical development within the field of organizational change. For practitioners, it challenges the paradigm of considering the PMO change as a sign of failure.

The Essence of Sustainable Wealth Creation

The “REDISTRIBUTION of WEALTH” has been a major focus in south africa in recent decades. There is an unstated assumption that wealth creates itself and is unjustly appropriated by certain individuals at the expense of those who justly deserve to participate in that wealth.

The Gap Between Project Managers and Executives

Researchers and practitioners have drawn attention to the differences in thinking and acting between the project manag­ers and executives in project management. These differences - also called the gap in this paper - may negatively impact project results. However, knowledge about this gap is lacking in current research. This study aims to investigate this gap and quantifies the different perceptions that project managers and executives have. The research consisted of a literature study followed by a survey among project managers and executives to gather the experiences, and to identify the size and the impact of this gap. The result made clear that the gap is caused by the differences in perspectives, in strategic insight and in understanding of each other’s behavior. If the gap is present, it was perceived by both project managers and executives that it had a negative impact on the project results.