How Positive Psychology can Support Sustainable Project Management

Author(s):  
Jasper C. van den Brink

In this chapter, the relationship between positive psychology and sustainable project management is discussed. A general description of the field of positive psychology is given. The relationship between positive psychology and the three P’s of sustainability (People, Planet, and Profit) is described. Specific attention is paid to hope and optimism as ways to intervene in project teams. Hope and optimism are central concepts in positive psychology. These concepts can help to improve the sustainability of project teams and to stimulate sustainable change.

2013 ◽  
pp. 958-973
Author(s):  
Jasper C. van den Brink

In this chapter, the relationship between positive psychology and sustainable project management is discussed. A general description of the field of positive psychology is given. The relationship between positive psychology and the three P’s of sustainability (People, Planet, and Profit) is described. Specific attention is paid to hope and optimism as ways to intervene in project teams. Hope and optimism are central concepts in positive psychology. These concepts can help to improve the sustainability of project teams and to stimulate sustainable change.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme Coetzer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between adult attention deficit (AAD) and the operational effectiveness of project managers (OEPM). Design/methodology/approach – In total, 160 actively employed business graduate students participated in a business course where they were assigned to four person project teams responsible for completing a major business project. The project contained four sub-projects each of which was managed by a different team member. At the end of the semester each team member rated the others on their operational effectiveness as a project manager. Each subject identified a close associate who completed an observer version of the Brown Attention Deficit Scale. Product moment correlations were used to test the hypotheses that AAD and each of the symptom clusters are negatively associated with OEPM. Simultaneous linear regression was used to test the hypothesis that difficulties activating and organizing to work (DAOW) is uniquely associated with OEPM after controlling for the influence of all the other symptom clusters. Findings – AAD and each of the symptom clusters is negatively associated with OEPM, and DAOW is uniquely associated with OEPM. Research limitations/implications – Research study is limited by use of an indirect work sample (working graduate students) and future research requires direct workplace samples of project managers. The influence of creativity within the relationship between AAD and project management effectiveness requires further investigation and may reveal beneficial aspects of the disorder. Practical implications – Individuals and organizations wanting to ensure timely and successful completion of key tasks and projects need to be aware of the influence of AAD on OEPM. The provision of intensive project management training/coaching, regular performance feedback, project management tools and an organized work space free of distractions is suggested for disordered project managers. Disordered project managers are especially vulnerable during the task activation and organization phase which may be addressed through the use of peer coaching and constructive team support. The effective design and management of project teams represents a significant opportunity for distributing the potential creative benefits of the disorder while managing the deficits. Pairing disordered employees with coworkers who are less creative but have better administrative skills may be mutually beneficial. Employee assistance programs that raise awareness and provide access to assessment are an important part of multimodal management of the disorder. Social implications – Increasing social, economic and legal pressures to provide reasonable accommodation for functional but disordered employees, be more inclusive and take appropriate advantage of employee diversity underscores the general social value of this research. Originality/value – This research study is the first examination of the influence of AAD within the nomological network that determines project manager effectiveness. The results are of value to researchers, organizational development specialists, human resource management specialists, managers and employees who are seeking effective multimodal management of the disorder in the workplace.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1(15)/2020) ◽  
pp. 73-77
Author(s):  
Juliusz Pietrzak

The article deals with the problem of the relationship between an employee and a project manager. The research aims to examine the employee - project manager relationship in the projects of European companies. The article consists of two main parts. The first is theoretical, the second empirical. The empirical data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with five project managers and five team employees. Keywords: project management, relationship, manager, employee


Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Kotera ◽  
Pauline Green ◽  
David Sheffield

AbstractThis study aimed to examine the relationships between mental wellbeing and positive psychological constructs in therapeutic students (psychotherapy and occupational therapy students). The number of therapeutic students has increased recently; however, they suffer from poor mental health, which may be improved by potentiating their positive psychological constructs, bypassing mental health shame. Therapeutic students (n = 145) completed measures regarding positive psychological constructs, namely mental wellbeing, engagement, motivation, resilience, and self-compassion. Resilience and self-compassion predicted mental wellbeing, explaining a large effect. Self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between resilience and mental wellbeing. This study highlights the importance of positive psychological constructs, especially resilience and self-compassion, for mental wellbeing of therapeutic students.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Ihuoma Oluikpe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the knowledge processes that interplay in the social construction and appropriation of knowledge and to test these constructs empirically in project teams. Design/methodology/approach – Literature research and quantitative survey were used. The research identified project success, faster completion times, operational efficiency, innovation and generation of new knowledge as dominating project management expectations in the past ten years. It studied how these projects construct and appropriate knowledge within project teams to achieve these five objectives. Using a quantitative approach, data were sought from 1,000 respondents out of a population of 10,000 from 11 project management areas in eight world regions to test the conceptual model in real-world scenarios. The data gathered were analyzed using quantitative analysis tools and techniques such as reliability, correlation and regression. Findings – There is a lingering difficulty within organizations on how to translate tacit knowledge into action. The transfer and utilization of tacit knowledge was shown to be embedded and nested within relationships. Innovation in projects was found to be mostly linked to replication and codification of knowledge (explicit dimension) as opposed to interpretation and assimilation (tacit dimension). Arriving at a mutual interpretation of project details and requirements does not depend on canonical (formal documentation) methods but mostly on non-canonical (informal) and relational processes embedded within the team. Originality/value – This work studies, in empirical and geographical detail, the social interplay of knowledge and provided evidence relative to the appropriation of knowledge in the project organizational form, which can be extrapolated to wider contexts. The work scoped the inter-relational nature of knowledge and provided further evidence on the nebulous nature of tacit/intangible knowledge. It also proved further that organizations mostly rely on explicit knowledge to drive organizational results, as it is easily actionable and measurable.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1337-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atilla Damci ◽  
David Arditi ◽  
Gul Polat

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between civil engineers’ demographics (e.g. age, marital status, education, work experience) and their personal values. The objective was to predict civil engineers’ personal values based on their demographics. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was administered to civil engineers to collect data on their demographics and their personal values. Statistical analysis was performed to verify whether a significant statistical relationship exists between civil engineers’ demographics and their personal values. Findings The most important and the least important personal values were identified for civil engineers. Statistical analysis indicated that civil engineers’ values do vary based on their demographics. Research limitations/implications The results of this study cannot be generalized, because individuals’ personal values and demographics are, by definition, local. Location and culture may affect the personal values of civil engineers. Practical implications Team leaders normally have access to information about the demographics of the engineers they employ; based on the results of this study, they should be able to predict their personal values, and to make more informed decisions when appointing them to particular positions on project teams. Originality/value The research presented in this paper, establishes for the first time, that a linkage exists between civil engineers’ personal values and their demographics, and makes it easier for team leaders to make assignment decisions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1213-1233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera A. Klinoff ◽  
Vincent B. Van Hasselt ◽  
Ryan A. Black ◽  
Estefania V. Masias ◽  
Judy Couwels

Despite the awareness of occupational stress in first responders, virtually no investigations have focused on correctional officer resilience. The purpose of this study was to (a) identify whether personal strengths (i.e., hope, optimism, social support) are associated with increased resilience, (b) determine the extent to which resilience protects against job burnout, and (c) ascertain whether resilience mediates the negative relationship between personal strengths and reduced burnout. Correctional officers ( N = 300) were randomly selected across five detention facilities. Meditational analyses examined the relationship between personal strengths and burnout, through the construct of resilience. Results revealed hope, optimism, and social support are significantly associated with reduced burnout, and that this relationship is mediated by resilience. These results suggest that personal strengths can reduce burnout in correctional officers by increasing resilience. This is the first study to examine the effects of these positive psychology variables on burnout in a correctional officer population.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Haverila ◽  
Jenny Carita Twyford

PurposeDrawing upon the relational exchange theory, the longitudinal relationship between various stages of project management customer satisfaction, value for money and repurchase intent are examined.Design/methodology/approachUsing a survey questionnaire, data were gathered over four consecutive quarters (N = 2,537). The statistical methods included exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsProject management was perceived as a three-dimensional construct (proposal, installation, commissioning/start-up). There was a significant longitudinal relationship between project stages and satisfaction in the complete data set. The results varied on the quarterly basis. The relationship customer satisfaction/repurchase intent was significant in the whole data set and during all quarters. This was the case for the relationships between value for money and customer satisfaction and between value for money and repurchase intent. The effect sizes were small between project management stages and customer satisfaction, small to medium for the value for money construct and large for the customer satisfaction construct.Originality/valueAn important implication is the significant relationship between the stages of project management and satisfaction. However, the effect sizes were small, however. The importance of the effect size in comparison to the significance of the relationships is highlighted especially when the sample size is large. The paper also confirms the linear relationship between satisfaction and repurchase intent. The nature of the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty is based on a moderate exchange relationship in the relational exchange continuum. The study contributes to the relational exchange theory in the context of project management.


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