About this issue

Citation

Walker, D.H.T. (2010), "About this issue", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 3 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijmpb.2010.35303baa.001

About this issue

Article Type: From the Editor From: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Volume 3, Issue 2

This issue presents an eclectic set of papers providing a broad perspective from a wide variety of countries. Two themes emerge from these papers.

First, the consideration of stakeholders’ needs in projects is stressed in paper one by Johanna Liinamaa and Magnus Gustafsson from Finland in terms of the customer’s views in improving systems integration. The second paper, by M.M.M. Teo and M. Loosemore, from Australia provides useful insights into how a protest movement can develop and be sustained for several years by previously “silent” stakeholders who can be come not only vocal but halt progress of a project when their concerns are either ignored or their impact underrated. The third paper by E. Osei-Tutu, E. Badu and D. Owusu-Manu concerns corruption and unethical behaviour in infrastructure projects in Ghana. This paper concerns the wider public as stakeholders and it suggests ways that the public interest can be protected through legislation and reform as well as suggesting how a culture that tolerates such practices can be challenged.

The second theme in this issue relates to strategic and process improvement in project management (PM). The fourth paper by Nils O.E. Olsson, Stein Frydenberg, Erik W. Jakobsen and Svein Arne Jessen from Norway provides an exploration of factors that influence the investment quality of projects and how that quality should be evaluated. This paper links in well with PM strategy. The fifth paper by Bjørnar Henriksen and Carl Christian Røstad also from Norway follows a strategic PM theme through a discussion of the prioritisation of projects using the Business Effect Evaluation Methodology (BEEM). This is followed by an operational PM improvement paper by Mikko Kärkkäinen, Timo Ala-Risku, Kary Främling, Jari Collin, and Jan Holmström from Finland in which they discuss how inventory management in temporary storage locations can help PM, project logistics, and central logistics organisations carry out their work more effectively.

The first paper by Johanna Liinamaa and Magnus Gustafsson from Finland, entitled “Integrating the customer as part of systems integration”, discusses the important emerging interest in systems integration taken from a PM perspective and highlights the importance of customer integration as part of systems integration in industrial project business. It develops an understanding of systems integration based on an empirical study, in two phases, of a global company providing large and complex solutions including demanding strategic and operational efforts, within the power and marine sectors. The paper analyses the technical and social dimensions and describes how to systematically manage them. The research found that a social dimension of integration can be achieved by making a direct change in policy towards six supplier capabilities or integration mechanisms that were found critical. These are: showing interest in the customer’s needs and business requirements; promptly responding to and solving customer needs; having knowledge concerning the latest technical development; having the ability to listen to the customer and to reflect on what has been said; taking responsibility for the delivered installation after handing it over; and having logistics competence to guarantee availability of parts. The paper falls into a category of looking at value generation and its implications are that benefits of understanding and managing the social dimension, in terms of customer integration, of systems integration properly have a considerable financial impact on the project company’s business.

The second paper from two authors in Australia follows. This paper by M.M.M. Teo and M. Loosemore entitled “Community-based protest against construction projects: the social determinants of protest movement continuity” provides fascinating insights into how stakeholders that were involved in a community-based action “project” against a “development project” evolved and emerged. In this paper they investigate the social forces that shape perceptions of risk and sustain community-based protest against controversial construction projects. It provides deep insights into how some stakeholders act and react and 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 were shown to 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. Mismanaged community concerns about controversial projects can escalate into long-term and sometimes acrimonious protest stand-offs that have negative implications for the community, firms involved and for industries as a whole. The findings of this paper can help project managers avoid this. The paper shows how social network theory can be applied as well as how the research work used contagion theory to explain the way that the protest movement evolved. Innovative research methods adopted for the research reported upon in the paper provide some stimulating ideas for readers interested in this kind of research question. This makes a substantial contribution to current work being undertaken in PM on stakeholder management and engagement.

The third paper by E. Osei-Tutu, E. Badu and D. Owusu-Manu from Ghana, Africa is entitled “Exploring corruption practices in public procurement of infrastructural projects in Ghana”. This paper tackles an often neglected area of PM research, corruption and unethical behaviour and it explores and discusses 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 actualise the expected economic gains of infrastructural projects. The research findings acknowledges that conflict of interest, bribery, embezzlement, kickbacks, tender manipulation and fraud were observed corruption practices in the Ghanaian infrastructure projects delivery system. The severity of corruption practices intensified the author’s search for more innovative means of delivering infrastructure projects that will achieve value for money. They argue that in the pursuit to control corruption practices, this would require constitution of a sound procurement system and pro-social equity policies that would foster good governance, corporate social responsibility, transparency, accountability, judicious public expenditure and national progress. They also argue that the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) of Ghana was observed to proffer solutions for these underlying constructs but not without challenges. Their paper suggests a number of business approaches that can be used to combat corrupt practices in Ghana, which are explained in terms of political, psychological, technical, operational and retaliatory measures. They also proposed that knowledge about and debating corruption related issues is just as important to the modern public procurement as are the abilities to creatively and logically introduce monitoring systems when planning, executing and completing projects. This paper provides useful insights in corruption and unethical behaviour in general as well as presenting research from an often neglected part of the world in terms of PM research.

The fourth paper is by Nils O.E. Olsson, Stein Frydenberg, Erik W. Jakobsen and Svein Arne Jessen from Norway and is entitled “In search of project substance: how do private investors evaluate projects?”. It comes out of the CONCEPT research programme and reports upon a study of private investors’ assessment of projects from both financial and non-financial analysis of projects, with an emphasis on non-financial analysis. The purpose of the study was to explore factors that influence the investment quality of projects and how that quality should be evaluated. Results indicate that the substance (investment quality) of a project is not only dependent on the characteristics of the deliverables, but is also context dependable. The involved decision makers evaluate to what extent potential projects are compatible with company strategy, if they have trust in the people who will manage the investment, expected market development and exit options. This paper studies how project selection is done by people investing their own money.

The fifth paper by Bjørnar Henriksen and Carl Christian Røstad from Norway discusses the important strategic issue of how to best prioritise projects from a program of work or portfolio of potential projects focusing on the strategic impacts of those projects. The methodology they describe was developed within the PROMISE project, where ten applications and the eight corresponding companies (application owners) represent the cases where the methodology were developed and tested. Their study presents a methodology (BEEM) that has been proved relevant in different contexts when projects and units need to be evaluated, compared, prioritised and coordinated according to strategies and key business drivers. BEEM is also a methodology that could guide projects and units in a distributed organizational environment according to overall strategies. Thus, the methodology might also be used by projects and units to improve the strategic position and/or business development.

The last paper by Mikko Kärkkäinen, Timo Ala-Risku, Kary Främling, Jari Collin, and Jan Holmström from Finland is entitled “Implementing inventory transparency to temporary storage locations: a solution design experiment in project business”. The paper reports on research that evaluated the feasibility of implementing a tracking based inventory management system in temporary storage locations of a project delivery chain. It describes the use of tracking based inventory information for improved logistics control in equipment delivery and installation. Their paper found that it is feasible to implement a tracking based inventory management in temporary storage locations. The challenge is to ensure that installation partners adopt the system. The benefit is improved logistics control of equipment delivery and installation for the original equipment manufacturer. This paper provides a case study of use of cutting edge technology to demonstrate to project business firms that useful inventory visibility solutions can be developed for temporary storage locations in collaboration with installation partners.

A practice research note by Martin Loosemore from Australia entitled “Using multimedia to effectively engage stakeholders in risk management” follows. This paper provides a description of a new risk management tool that he has developed and tested with a case study example being discussed in this paper. 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 and it does so illustrating examples of screen images from a case study example. It draws upon theory as well as practice to explain how the tool can be applied to effectively engage stakeholders in innovative ways to capture and harness their collective knowledge in managing risks and opportunities. Using tools to help stakeholders visualise potential risks and to help them develop ways to cope with these is a vital area of PM practice.

This issue also introduces the work of two recently completed and published doctoral theses. Readers should be aware that these thesis notes provide direct URL links to web sites where these theses can be downloaded free of charge and the corresponding author email is also provided to allow readers to contact these recent doctoral graduates. The first Thesis Research Report Note features the work of Klaus Niebecker, who undertook his PhD at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia while working in Germany, along with David Eager and Bruce Moulton, and is entitled “Collaborative and cross-company project management within the automotive industry using the Balanced Scorecard”. This research provides insights into a new cross-company project management concept that was tested and evaluated in the automotive industry. Furthermore, an IT solution was developed and implemented, and advantages and disadvantages of the concept and its IT solution are analysed and recommendation on its application given. The project demonstrates how the Balanced Scorecard can successfully be applied to networked project environments. Thesis URL link: http://hdl.handle.net/2100/917

The second thesis research note features the work of Alejandro C. Arroyo who undertook the Doctor of Project Management (DPM) at RMIT University while being CEO of Southmark Logistics head quartered in Buenos Airies, Argentina www.southlog.com/. This thesis co-authored with Derek H.T. Walker is entitled “The role of the Atlantic corridor project as a form of strategic community of practice in facilitating business transformations in Latin America”. This paper summarises the scope, methodology and main findings of a doctoral thesis about business transformation in Latin America taken from a PM and communities of practice perspective. This thesis can be downloaded from URL link: http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20091105.161713

The intention of this journal is to also provide a review of relevant and useful new PM publications that can enhance the PM academic and practitioner’s stock of knowledge that can be reflected upon. In this issue we review two books of relevance to PM professionals. The first book is entitled Strategic Project Risk Appraisal and Management by Elaine Harris published by Gower is reviewed By Dr Peter Edwards. The second book is entitled Images of Projects by Mark Winter and Tony Szczepanek is reviewed by Dr Svetlana Cicmil. Both books and reviews should be of great interest to readers.

This issue also provides a snapshot of upcoming conferences and events as well as links to important PM sources of professional development and information.

Finally, I would like to thank both contributors and reviewers who have generously given time and energy to make this issue possible. I hope to see many more papers that address the important and emerging frontiers of PM.

Derek H.T. Walker