Supporting early career project managers in construction: a multi-vocal study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Borg ◽  
Christina M. Scott-Young
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Resource Based View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Project Management Professional ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore the support that project managers receive from construction project-based organisations (PBOs) in their early careers.Design/methodology/approachFifty-seven semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with four key stakeholder groups including early career project managers (ECPMs) and employers from Australian construction PBOs, project management professional bodies, and university educators to ascertain (1) what organizations are currently doing and (2) what organizations can do better to support project managers in their early careers.FindingsThematic analysis revealed that construction PBOs' responsibilities to ECPMs entailed: (1) providing mentoring, (2) offering training, (3) collaborating with universities, (4) giving time and feedback and (5) assigning manageable workloads. However, the findings revealed inconsistencies in companies enacting these responsibilities.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to the context of the Australian construction industry, yet the findings shed valuable insights into the current practices of construction PBOs in supporting ECPMs. From a strategic resource-based view perspective, ECPMs have the potential to serve as long-term valuable organizational resources. Failure to invest in new professional entrants constitutes an area of untapped competitive advantage.Practical implicationsConstruction PBOs looking to better support their ECPMs may use the results of this research as a guide to tailor their early career professional development initiatives.Originality/valueThe study adopts a holistic, multi-vocal approach by interviewing four key stakeholder groups. The findings contribute new insights into the role of construction PBOs in supporting ECPMs and the implications this has on the sustainability of their project management talent pool.

scholarly journals Contributing barriers to corporate social and environmental responsibility practices in a developing country

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Moazzem Hossain ◽  
Manzurul Alam ◽  
Angela Hecimovic ◽  
Mohammad Alamgir Hossain ◽  
Aklema Choudhury Lema
Keyword(s):  
Developing Country ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Environmental Responsibility ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Union Leaders ◽  
The Media ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the contributing barriers to corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) practices. In particular, this study focuses on non-managerial stakeholders’ perceptions of the barriers to CSER practices in a developing country context. The study also investigates the current initiatives undertaken by the different stakeholders, such as government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and regulators. Design/methodology/approach The study takes a qualitative approach, undertaking semi-structured in-depth interviews with 26 participants from NGOs, the media, regulatory authorities, government departments, shareholders, trade union leaders and customers. Findings The views of stakeholder groups were analysed to identify the contributing barriers to CSER practices. The findings of the study reveal that corruption and politics, lack of coordination, lack of government initiatives and unsatisfactory implementation of laws are perceived as the major barriers that hinder CSER practices in Bangladesh. The study also found a lack of awareness amongst various stakeholder groups regarding the influential role CSER plays in promoting sustainable development. The current initiatives undertaken by various stakeholders to improve CSER practices were limited but growing. Research Limitations/implications The study utilises the stakeholder theory to examine the role of stakeholders, rather than managers, in relation to CSER practice in Bangladesh. The findings may provide impetus for mitigating CSER barriers in a developing country context. Originality/value This study is one of the few engagement-based studies to explore the non-managerial stakeholders’ views on CSER in a developing country context.

Rethinking researching project management

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 903-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Lloyd-Walker ◽  
Erica French ◽  
Lynn Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Organizational Success ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify issues in the long-term development of project workers, their career paths, their contribution to organizational success and their need for equity of opportunity. The long-term development of project workers, their career paths and their contribution to organizational success is explored. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews was employed to gain an understanding of social and human issues related to careers in project management (PM). By researching the lived experiences and feelings of those pursuing a career in PM the aim was to gain insight into the career journeys and experiences of practicing project managers. Findings Those who choose to pursue a career in PM have the personal characteristics and sufficiently high levels of self-efficacy to deal effectively with the uncertainty inherent in the nature of projects and of project-based employment. Research limitations/implications Participants were drawn from current project practitioners. As a result, the views of those who have worked on projects and chosen not to continue their career in the area have not been gathered. Practical implications Predictions are that there will be a continuing demand for project managers with the capabilities required to deliver successful projects. The challenge for organizations is to create an environment that will encourage greater numbers of people to embrace the uncertainty of project. The findings reported provide insight into how organizations might attract, develop and retain the project expertise they require for success. Originality/value This research provides further understanding into the lived experience of project managers, with a focus on those who have unexpectedly found themselves pursuing a career in PM.

Project manager roles in a public change project: the case of a municipal merger

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-171
Author(s):  
Jan Terje Karlsen ◽  
Parinaz Farid ◽  
Tim Torvatn
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Project Manager ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Public Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Roles ◽  
Management Roles ◽  
Change Projects ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThis paper investigates the emphasis placed on different managerial roles by the project manager in a public merger and change project.Design/methodology/approachA research model was designed based on six management roles: leader, resource allocator, spokesman, entrepreneur, liaison and monitor. Empirical data were collected using in-depth interviews. The studied case concerns a large public merger and change project between two municipalities in Norway.FindingsThe paper reveals that the project manager emphasized the externally oriented entrepreneur role mostly. The internally oriented resource allocator role that focuses on managing the project was least emphasized. The research identifies a gap between needed and actual competence in basic project management as a barrier to exercise the resource allocator role more thoroughly.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should investigate other public merger and change projects so that these findings may be generalized.Practical implicationsThis research concludes that project managers in public change projects should be more internally oriented towards the resource allocator role. Furthermore, public project managers need to make sure that they possess the necessary technical project management competence to practice the resource allocator role effectively.Originality/valueRather than stressing the importance of leadership in general to manage a project, this paper is original as it applies a set of management roles to empirically study what a public project manager practice.

Moving toward settlement: tourism as acculturation practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 772-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Gracia B. Cruz ◽  
Margo Buchanan-Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Economic Capital ◽  
Cultural Authenticity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Liquid Modernity ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Migration Experiences ◽  
Consumer Culture Theory ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the capital-based benefits which arise when acculturating immigrants perform touristic practices, and how these shape their tourism and migration experiences. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in consumer culture theory, this paper draws on theories of capital consumption to inform a hermeneutic analysis of multi-modal depth interviews with Southeast Asian skilled migrants in New Zealand. Findings Domestic touristic practices offer three types of capital-based benefits, enabling consumers to index economic capital, accrue social capital and index cultural capital. Additionally, the quest for capital emphasises iconic forms of tourism and supersedes concerns about commodification. Research limitations/implications This paper demonstrates the important role of touristic practices not only in short-term mobility, but also for long-term migrants. Further research should investigate how capital shapes the touristic practices of other types of mobile consumers. Practical implications Understanding the capital-based benefits of touristic practices in acculturation informs the design of migrant settlement policy and the managerial staging of touristic experiences. Originality/value While theorists of liquid modernity have largely treated tourism as a discrete type of mobility, this paper reframes tourism as a key acculturation practice. In contrast to dominant conceptualisations of tourism as a quest for cultural authenticity, this paper reconceptualises tourism as a quest for capital. Finally, while previous studies have focused on how capital constrains acculturation outcomes, this paper explores how a consumption practice enables the expression and accumulation of capital.

Effective multicultural project management: the role of human interdependence

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Mesly ◽  
Jean-Pierre Lévy-Mangin ◽  
Normand Bourgault ◽  
Veronique Nabelsi
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Human Power ◽  
Power Game ◽  
Future Project

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at human interdependence and its significance in project management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses solely on human interaction in the context of a short-term project consisting of preparing a small “international” fair in Gatineau, Québec (Canada). For this purpose, an established questionnaire was used which aimed to evaluate the predator-prey dynamic between team members (as described by Mesly in a recent paper). Findings – Human interdependence indeed plays a key role in the functioning of short-lived projects (and, this paper assumes, of long-term projects as well). Originality/value – The paper places emphasis on considering the human power-game factor (predator-prey) more strongly in future project endeavors.

Long-term management of patients with multiple brain metastases after shaped beam radiosurgery

2004 ◽  
pp. 406-412
Author(s):  
Paul Okunieff ◽  
Michael C. Schell ◽  
Russell Ruo ◽  
E. Ronald Hale ◽  
Walter G. O'Dell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Metastases ◽  
Tumor Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Multiple Metastases ◽  
Extracranial Disease ◽  
Successful Control ◽  
The Brain

✓ The role of radiosurgery in the treatment of patients with advanced-stage metastatic disease is currently under debate. Previous randomized studies have not consistently supported the use of radiosurgery to treat patients with numbers of brain metastases. In negative-results studies, however, intracranial tumor control was high but extracranial disease progressed; thus, patient survival was not greatly affected, although neurocognitive function was generally maintained until death. Because the future promises improved systemic (extracranial) therapy, the successful control of brain disease is that much more crucial. Thus, for selected patients with multiple metastases to the brain who remain in good neurological condition, aggressive lesion-targeting radiosurgery should be very useful. Although a major limitation to success of this therapy is the lack of control of extracranial disease in most patients, it is clear that well-designed, aggressive treatment substantially decreases the progression of brain metastases and also improves neurocognitive survival. The authors present the management and a methodology for rational treatment of a patient with breast cancer who has harbored 24 brain metastases during a 3-year period.

scholarly journals Sinabung volcano: how culture shapes community resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-303
Author(s):  
Marta Mori ◽  
Ronan McDermott ◽  
Saut Sagala ◽  
Yasmina Wulandari
Keyword(s):  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aid Dependency ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Cultural Experts ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how culture, including traditions and social structures, can influence resilience and how culturally sensitive relief operations can put affected people and their context at the core of any interventions. Design/methodology/approach A case study of the Mt Sinabung volcano area in Indonesia was undertaken. As part of the case study, an analysis of interventions was conducted, which was complemented by semi-structured interviews with Karo cultural experts and humanitarian organisations. Findings Culture influences the manner in which the Karo people react to volcano eruptions with varying implications for recovery. In addition, relief organisations which understand people’s actions through a cultural lens have better managed to tailor programs with long-term impact, thereby avoiding aid dependency. Practical implications Practical examples of disaster management activities that adequately account for the beneficiaries’ way of living prior to the eruptions are provided. Aid actors are provided with guidance concerning how to better tailor their activities in line with a cultural lens. Originality/value The study provides empirical grounding for claims concerning the role of culture in planning interventions in Indonesia and other similar contexts.

Managing multichannel coordination in retail banking: the influence of customer participation

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 327-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Plé
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Design ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Retail Banks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the combining of marketing and organizational literature. This paper seeks to evaluate the relationships between multichannel coordination and customer participation, as seen through the lens of potential customer opportunism. It aims at showing the impact of this opportunism on the organizational design of multiple channels structures.Design/methodology/approachThe research reports on an exploratory case study in a French retail bank. A total of 25 in‐depth interviews were conducted, and the use of other sources enabled data triangulation.FindingsThe results show first that an increase in the number of distribution channels is liable to favor customer opportunistic behavior. To counter this, the bank mainly relies on impersonal coordination modes. An emerging result highlights the role of the customer as a “perceptual filter” between the different channels of employees.Research limitations/implicationsCustomer opportunism is studied via channels employees perceptions. An investigation using a customer survey may help to better understand this construct, e.g. to identify its antecedents, and to measure it precisely. Moreover, further qualitative and/or quantitative studies with larger sample sizes are needed to try and generalize these results.Practical implicationsIt is recommended not to forget that customers can facilitate or hinder multichannel coordination. Retail banks have the power to use them conveniently, provided that they are fully conscious of the scope of the “partial employee” role played by the customer.Originality/valueThis paper broadens understanding of how multichannel distribution structures are coordinated, and in a way belies traditional organizational design literature. The emerging result gives birth to the concept of “reversed interactive marketing”, which has interesting theoretical and practical repercussions.

The role of entrepreneurial families in entrepreneurial ecosystems: the family social capital approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Benavides-Salazar ◽  
Cristina Iturrioz-Landart ◽  
Cristina Aragón-Amonarriz ◽  
Asunción Ibañez-Romero
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems ◽  
Family Social Capital ◽  
The Family ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Entrepreneurial Dynamics

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how entrepreneurial families (EFs) influence the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) by using the family social capital (FSC) approach. Design/methodology/approach For this paper, the authors analyzed the Manizales EE as a case study. The authors used a variety of data collection procedures, including in-depth interviews with 26 entrepreneurs and mentors. Findings The authors established how EFs affect EE development, identifying how the FSC bridging mechanisms impact the EE’s social and cultural attributes, boosting entrepreneurial dynamics. Originality/value The results indicated the relevance of EFs’ embeddedness and the degree of the FSC institutionalization in promoting of entrepreneurship within the EEs.

Internal projects as strategic tools: an organisation-level perspective and a research agenda

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjørn Bjorvatn
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThe purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe and explain how organisations use internal projects to implement organisation-level strategy objectives.Design/methodology/approachTheory development with an emphasis on explaining key constructs and their mutual relationships. The theoretical contribution is represented in a diagram along with a detailed verbal account.FindingsThe paper develops a dynamic, cross-level framework to illustrate the organisational processes and outcomes that determine project-based strategy implementation within a single organisation. The interplay between the base organisation and the project, and benefits realisation were singled out as key future research areas. The proposed framework engages with central discourses in the fields of project management, strategic management, innovation studies, knowledge management and organisation studies.Research limitations/implicationsOnly the contours of an organisation-level theory of strategically motivated internal projects are outlined. Future research must elaborate on the complexities, the non-linear relationships and the boundary conditions that follow from the proposed framework.Practical implicationsManagers are alerted to the strategic role of internal projects, how these projects help connect strategy and performance and what the accompanying organisational processes and outcomes look like.Originality/valueThe paper constitutes an early conceptual treatment of strategy-driven internal projects as a distinct project category, thus addressing a major knowledge gap in project studies. Organisational project-management theory is extended with suggestions for future research.

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