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Project Team (project + team)
Selected AbstractsAssembling the Project TeamNEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 101 2003Donald B. Mills Although the approval of a project's design and budget typically rests with the campus governing board, a project team determines the configuration, the cost, and the utility of the completed project. Because of the importance of these decisions, colleges and universities must select project team members carefully. [source] Building Effective Project TeamsJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 2 2003Roger Hartley No abstract is available for this article. [source] Product Development and Learning in Project Teams: The Challenges Are the Benefits,THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2009Amy C. Edmondson The value of teams in new product development (NPD) is undeniable. Both the interdisciplinary nature of the work and industry trends necessitate that professionals from different functions work together on development projects to create the highest-quality product in the shortest time. Understanding the conditions that facilitate teamwork has been a pursuit of researchers for nearly a half century. The present paper reviews existing literature on teams and team learning in organizational behavior and technology and innovation to offer insights for research on NPD teams. Building on prior work, the organizational benefits of NPD teams are summarized, and five attributes of these teams are identified that hinder attainment of their potential: (1) project complexity; (2) cross-functionality; (3) temporary membership; (4) fluid team boundaries; and (5) embeddedness in organizational structures. It is argued here that effective management of these five attributes allows not only organization-level benefits but also team-level benefits in the form of new capabilities and team member resilience. The critical roles of leadership and of communication and conflict management training are then highlighted as strategies for overcoming the challenges to team effectiveness in NPD as well as for realizing five team benefits: (1) project management skills; (2) broad perspective; (3) teaming skills; (4) expanded social network; and (5) boundary-spanning skills. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these ideas for conducting future team research. [source] Clinical use of the adult attachment interview in parent,infant psychotherapyINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004Miriam Steele This article provides an illustration of how the use of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985) can be extended beyond the research arena to its use as a clinical instrument in parent,infant psychotherapy. The article is based on the ongoing work of the Parent,Infant Project team at the Anna Freud Centre, London, where psychoanalytically trained therapists routinely administer the AAI early in the therapeutic process. In the first part of the article, we introduce the thinking behind the use of the AAI as a clinical tool and its particular relevance to the field of parent,infant psychotherapy. In the second part, we track the accruing clinical picture built up from a case example of the initial clinical sessions with a father who attended the Parent,Infant Project with his partner and two young children, and from the father's AAI. The discussion of the AAI material illustrates the distinct, yet related, interpretations of the parent,infant psychotherapist and the independent AAI coder as each made sense of the father's interview transcript. The resulting dialogue, between the psychodynamic-clinical and the attachment-research based approaches to the AAI, aims to highlight the added value the interview provides to the clinical understanding and process in parent,infant psychotherapy, which may ultimately help bridge the gap between the research and clinical domains. [source] Situations of opportunity , Hammarby Sjöstad and Stockholm City's process of environmental managementCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2008Örjan Svane Abstract Hammarby Sjöstad is a large brownfield development in Stockholm guided by extensive environmental objectives. This case study focuses on the environmental management of the city's project team. A main aim was methodology development related to the concept of situations of opportunity , how to study those periods when the team had great influence over the process. Goal conflicts on for example energy use and the lake view were identified. The team used policy instruments such as development contracts and design competitions. Some of the situations identified contributed little to the environmental management, for example the detailed planning. Others were more successful, for example the integration of infrastructural systems. Success situations were unique or created by the team, and had less formal power. Other situations had more power, but were burdened with a prehistory of routines and agreements. The methodology should also be applicable to other processes of environmental management. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Leadership in R&D ProjectsCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007Diana Grosse This article describes the results of an empirical study regarding a suitable style of R&D project leadership, especially what tasks project leaders should perform by themselves and what tasks they should delegate, what personal characteristics they should be endowed with and what kind of relationships they should have with their team. Fifty interviews were held in German institutions short-listed for an award for their innovative products by the Saxon government. In contrast to the assumption of the Social Identity Theory, in these institutions good R&D project leaders are not the ,prototype' of their team, but successfully balance the interests of the company and the R&D project team. [source] The Golden Freeway: a preliminary evaluation of a pilot study advancing information technology as a social intervention for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and their familiesHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 1 2004Jennifer Soutter BSc PhD Abstract Established information technology was used in an attempt to reduce social isolation by providing each family who had a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy with a personal computer, and e-mail and Internet connectivity. Seventy-four of the 88 families in the north of England (i.e. Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Teesside, and Tyne and Wear) with a boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who was diagnosed before January 2000 had the equipment installed. Evaluations of equipment usage and parental perceptions of the project were carried out at 3 and 12 months post-installation. Results from quantitative and qualitative interviews with parents indicated that benefits accrued to the families and to the boys themselves: family relationships can be extended, and the boys can acquire a degree of independence which, according to parents' views, can boost self-confidence and self-esteem. As hoped, social isolation was felt to have been reduced, and an occupation, interest and enjoyment provided. The greatest use of the computer was for schoolwork with siblings sharing in this. Cost proved to be a problem for a number of families. For the project team, there were unexpected aspects: creating an e-community was more difficult than anticipated, more training was required and not all families would ever use the equipment to its fullest. However, families did emphasise the value of the project as a way of opening the world for their sons. [source] Redesigning mental health services: lessons on user involvement from the Mental Health CollaborativeHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 1 2003Glenn Robert PhD Abstract Objectives, To explore the involvement of mental health service users in the redesign of in-patient mental health services in six Trusts participating in a multi-regional NHS modernization programme. Design, Semi-structured interviews and observation of team meetings undertaken as part of an action research study. Participants and setting, Users, clinical, medical and managerial staff from six mental health trusts which participated in the Northern & Yorkshire and Trent regions' Mental Health Collaborative (MHC). Results and conclusions, Whilst there were some problems, user involvement was undoubtedly a strength of the MHC in comparison to other modernization programmes within the NHS we have studied. However, the particular challenges posed by the specific context of acute mental health services should not be overlooked. The initial approach taken in each of the sites was to simply invite a user or user representative to join the local project team. In the course of events, various changes were made to this initial mechanism for involving users in the ongoing work of the teams. These changes , and setbacks in some sites , make drawing firm conclusions as to the effectiveness of the various strategies employed problematic. However, our qualitative data suggest a number of broad lessons that will assist both those leading and participating in other redesign initiatives to maximize the benefits to be gained from service user involvement. [source] Recent Activities of HTS Power Application in KoreaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Minwon Park From April 2007, DAPAS (Development of the Advanced Power system by Applied Superconductivity technologies), which is a 10-year-long program, entered the final phase with 4 years. For the last 7 years, the significant achievement of DAPAS is that a 10 m long and 100 A critical current-coated conductor and core technologies of distribution line voltage class HTS power systems including cables, transformers, fault current limiters (FCLs), and motors have been developed. In particular, a 100 m length HTS power cable was installed and is operating well in the Gochang power system test center. Two different types of FCL were successfully developed and demonstrated very good results of fault current test with 22.9 kV distribution line voltage class. In the case of the HTS motor, it was well operated too on connecting to 2 units of a 1.1 MVA conventional induction motor each as a load. In addition, the coated conductor project team achieved a 30 m length and 185 A critical current-coated conductor tape after 6 months since the hardware was set up. [source] Developing Clinical Terms for Health Visiting in the United KingdomINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 2003June Clark BACKGROUND The UK health visiting service provides a universalist preventive health service that focuses mainly on families with young children and the elderly or vulnerable, but anyone who wishes can access the services. The principles of health visiting have been formally defined as the search for health needs, the stimulation of awareness of health needs, influencing policies that affect health, and the facilitation of health-enhancing activities. The project is currently in its fourth phase. In phase 1, 17 health visitors recorded their encounters with families with new babies over a period of 3 months; in phase 2, 27 health visitors recorded their encounters with a wider range of clients (769 encounters with 205 families) over a period of 9 months; in phase 3, the system is being used by a variety of healthcare professionals in a specialist program that provides intensive parenting support; phase 4 is developing a prototype of an automated version for point-of-contact recording. UK nursing has no tradition of standardized language and the concept of nursing diagnosis is almost unknown. Over the past decade, however, the government has initiated the development of a standardized terminology (Read codes) to cover all disciplines and all aspects of health care, and it is likely that the emerging SNOMED-CT terminology (a merger of the Read codes with the SNOMED terminology) will be mandated for use throughout the National Health Service (NHS). MAIN CONTENT POINTS The structure and key elements of the Omaha System were retained but the terminology was modified to take account of the particular field of practice and emerging UK needs. Modifications made were carefully tracked. The Problem Classification Scheme was modified as follows: ,All terms were anglicized. ,Some areas , notably relating to antepartum/postpartum, neonatal care, child protection, and growth and development,were expanded. ,The qualifiers "actual,""potential," and "health promotion" were changed to "problem,""risk," and "no problem." ,Risk factors were included as modifiers of "risk" alongside the "signs and symptoms" that qualify problems. The Intervention Classification was modified by substituting synonymous terms for "case management" and "surveillance" and dividing "health teaching, guidance, and counseling" into two categories. The Omaha System "targets" were renamed "focus" and a new axis of "recipient" was introduced in line with SNOMED-CT. The revised terminologies were tested in use and also sent for review to 3 nursing language experts and 12 practitioners, who were asked to review them for domain completeness, appropriate granularity, parsimony, synonymy, nonambiguity, nonredundancy, context independence, and compatibility with emerging multiaxial and combinatorial nomenclatures. Review comments were generally very favourable and modifications suggested are being incorporated. CONCLUSIONS The newly published government strategy for information management and technology in the NHS in Wales requires the rapid development of an electronic patient record, for which the two prerequisites are structured documentation and the use of standardized language. The terminology developed in this project will enable nursing concepts to be incorporated into the new systems. The experiences of the project team also offer many lessons that will be useful for developing the necessary educational infrastructure. [source] Children's interactions with interactive toy technologyJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 2 2003R. Luckin Abstract Digital toys offer the opportunity to explore software scaffolding through tangible interfaces that are not bound to the desktop computer. This paper describes the empirical work completed by the CACHET (Computers and Children's Electronic Toys) project team investigating young children's use of interactive toy technology. The interactive toys in question are plush and cuddly cartoon characters with embedded sensors that can be squeezed to evoke spoken feedback from the toy. In addition to playing with the toy as it stands, the toy can be linked to a desktop PC with compatible software using a wireless radio connection. Once this connection is made the toy offers hints and tips to the children as they play with the accompanying software games. If the toy is absent, the same hints and tips are available through an on-screen animated icon of the toy's cartoon character. The toys as they stand are not impressive as collaborative learning partners, as their help repertoire is inadequate and even inappropriate. However, the technology has potential: children can master the multiple interfaces of toy and screen and, when the task requires it and the help provided is appropriate, they will both seek and use it. In particular, the cuddly interface experience can offer an advantage and the potential for fun interfaces that might address both the affective and the effective dimensions of learners' interactions. [source] The application of product measures in directing software maintenance activityJOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, Issue 2 2007M. P. Ware Abstract This paper is concerned with enhancing aspects of project-management techniques in relation to maintenance in commercial object-oriented software. Maintenance forms a significant proportion of the lifecycle of a product and consequently its costs. Techniques such as lean production attempt to reduce cost by focusing team effort and to pre-empt issues by the use of early detection and resolution strategies. This study involves a commercial application written in C++ and its evolution over a one-year period. Software product measures are used in conjunction with Pareto analysis to determine effective predictive class targeting in a release cycle. We assess the capability of the measures and consider how the results can be used by the project team. The study extends the work of others in this field in three ways. First, other studies have analysed procedural code, whereas we use an object-oriented code base. Second, most studies assess the predictive capability of measures against the number of software issues; we examine these factors, but uniquely test for change density using density modified measures and we also test for revision volume. Finally, we examine the implications of these results and offer a cohesive framework of recommendations placed within the lean management philosophy. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An analysis of trust among globally distributed work teams in an organizational settingKNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 3 2007Sue Newell Regardless of whether a project team is located in the same workplace or distributed around the world, trust remains an important element deemed necessary to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborative work. At the same time, distribution across sites presents challenges to trust building that are not present among co-located teams. A further complicating factor in trust building among distributed teams is national culture. As we demonstrate, the impact of nationality can be increased when organizations put the distributed sites in a competitive frame. Using the Newell and Swan threefold typology of trust, this paper analyzes trust among IT work teams whose members are located at sites that are distributed in the United States, Ireland, and India. Our case analysis confirms the problematic nature of trust building among globally distributed teams. Specifically, we found that due to situational factors and socio-psychological dynamics an ,Us versus Them' attitude prevails among the distributed sites. This paper concludes that the traditional approaches used by organizations to address the challenges of global collaboration are insufficient and that trust building in an organizational setting requires project managers to actively work on relationship management to minimize the impact of an inter-group perspective. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Assembling the Project TeamNEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 101 2003Donald B. Mills Although the approval of a project's design and budget typically rests with the campus governing board, a project team determines the configuration, the cost, and the utility of the completed project. Because of the importance of these decisions, colleges and universities must select project team members carefully. [source] Virtual team concepts in projects: A case studyPROJECT MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009Palitha R. Kuruppuarachchi Abstract This article uses a case study to demonstrate the application of virtual team concepts in a virtual project team formed from existing personnel within an organization. The article is presented as a literature review followed by a case study of a virtual team project entitled the "Country Capital Works Program" undertaken within the New South Wales Police Force, Australia. The case confirms the appropriateness of existing virtual team concepts in a virtual project team formed from existing personnel for a specific purpose. The study has the inherent limitations of any case study in terms of the generalization of the findings. [source] Critical success factors for modernising public financial management information systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina,PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2005Scott Vickland Abstract This article identifies a number of critical factors that have contributed to the successful implementation of a public financial management information system in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The information system, funded by USAID and implemented by Emerging Markets Group from 1999 to 2004, has revolutionised accounting practices and has contributed to a more transparent and effective public sector. This article describes the project's context and purpose, its main features, challenges and obstacles. It continues by outlining the critical success factors that have contributed to the success of the project in a challenging environment. The project was implemented in a rather unique environment since it was initiated not long after the end of the civil war and the creation of the Republic of BiH. The Republic of BiH inherited the former socialist Yugoslavian payment systems. There were no adequate public financial management systems in place, and the project team could essentially start from scratch. The project team designed and implemented an accrual accounting system, and unlike the situation in many countries, relieved the government from having to transform their financial management system from cash-based accounting to accrual accounting. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Assumptions improve project and product qualityQUALITY ASSURANCE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003Bruce Fieggen Abstract The effect of poor assumptions on project quality is usually negative. Therefore, it is critical to implement 'good assumption management'. A simple method to capture and apply assumptions to the Project Management Planning of any project is described in this article. Good assumption planning gives the project team and senior staff a preview to potential project problems. Good assumption management prevents poor assumptions from damaging your project and product quality. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Increasing the impact of conservation projectsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Lou Ann Dietz Abstract To assure a future for endangered primates and many other species, we must develop and carry out projects for their conservation as quickly and effectively as possible, even with only limited information about the complex systems of biological, political, social, economic, and cultural factors influencing the conservation situation. Adaptive management, defined as the integration of design, management, and monitoring to systematically test assumptions to learn and adapt, provides practitioners a method for improving strategies to achieve and sustain the desired conservation impact. The Conservation Measures Partnership, a joint venture of conservation NGOs, developed the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, a freely available framework that guides practitioners through implementation of best conservation practices. Using this process, project teams are explicit about the assumptions behind the strategies they choose, and thus able to trace their successes and failures back to good or poor theory, implementation, or a combination of the two. The Open Standards comprise five steps that constitute the project management cycle: (1) Conceptualize what you will achieve in the context of where you are working,involves defining your project team, scope, vision, conservation targets, critical threats, and analyzing the situation; (2) Plan your actions and monitoring,involves developing an action plan including goals, strategies, assumptions, objectives, and activities; a monitoring plan including indicators for measuring the status of goals, objectives, and assumptions; and an operational plan specifying the resources needed; (3) Implement your actions and monitoring,includes developing and implementing detailed work plans and ensuring sufficient resources, capacity, and partners; (4) Analyze, use, and adapt,involves managing monitoring data, regular analysis to convert them to useful information, and adapting the project plans accordingly; and (5) Capture and share learning,involves sharing lessons with key external and internal udiences to promote a learning culture. Am. J. Primatol. 72:425,440, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The learning credit card: A tool for managing personal development,BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2008Nick Rushby This is the report of a five month study, undertaken by Sundridge Park Training Technologies in association with Guildford Educational Services to assess the potential of smart card technology to support learning and the management of learning. The study had two strands,the state of the art of the technology and its potential for supporting, delivering and managing learning. In addition to a study of the literature and extensive discussions with people using smart cards, potential users of smart card and visionaries, the project team developed two illustrative systems using cards to store personal data relating to education and training. The term ,smart card' is often used loosely to describe three different types of card, each of which is similar in general shape and size to a traditional credit card. These are: memory cards, laser cards,and true smart cards incorporating a processor and memory. This study has been concerned with memory cards and smart cards. The focus for smart card applications has been predominantly financial: there are relatively few applications in education or training. A notable exception is the large scale project at the University of Bologna which uses smart cards to manage the progress and achievements of a large number of students in the Department of Electronics. The two illustrative systems provided valuable experience of using memory cards and smart cards in quasi-real education and training applications. They highlighted the problems of limited memory capacities and confirmed the high level of user acceptance reported by other trials. We can expect considerable advances in the technology of both memory cards and smart cards over the next months and years. The memory capacities of both types of cards will increase many-fold and the unit costs will fall as large quantities of cards are produced for financial applications. Education and training applications will benefit from this expanding market. The major surprise from the study was the level of interest in the work and the enthusiasm expressed by almost all of those who came to hear of it. The general level of awareness of smart card technology was found to be low. However, the requirement for a system which will enable individuals to manage and own their learning on an extended timescale was generally recognised. Some of the possible applications for smart cards and memory cards in education and training had emerged before the official start of the study and it is clear that the technology is potentially pervasive. The project team and those consulted identified a wide range of possible applications both in education and in training. These focussed on assessment, personal course planning and management, identification of relevant learning opportunities, and the ownership of learning. It was felt that, over the next few years, smart cards are very likely to be in common use as credit cards for financial applications. Therefore, their use for education and training should be planned now. The recommendations from the study are that: More detailed studies are needed to find out how smart cards and memory cards could be used by different organisations in a fully operational system; Standards should be established for smart card applications in education and training, similar to those governing financial applications; Applications should be developed after the standards have been established. To be convincing, these should take a case study approach with small pilot studies in a variety of contexts and must follow real needs rather than attempt to drive them; The case studies would then form the basis for a campaign to increase awareness of smart cards and their potential for education and training, together with a programme for building an infrastructure to support the proposed systems. The public sector should fund the task of developing standards and providing interfaces with existing educational systems and projects to demonstrate the feasibility of various applications. Since educational standards have a European dimension, the European Community may be a source of support for work in the area of standards. At the same time, private sector funding should be sought for skill development and career development systems in industry and in education. The Training Agency itself should consider the application of smart card technology to the control and management of the Youth Training Scheme (YTS). [source] From Global Knowledge Management to Internal Electronic Fences: Contradictory Outcomes of Intranet DevelopmentBRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001Sue Newell This paper considers the adoption of intranet technology as a vehicle for encouraging organization-wide knowledge sharing within a large, global bank. Ironically, the outcome of intranet adoption was that, rather than integrate individuals across this particular organization, the intranet actually helped to reinforce the existing functional and national boundaries with ,electronic fences'. This could be partly explained by the historical emphasis on decentralization within the bank, which shaped and limited the use of the intranet as a centralizing, organization-wide tool. This is possible because the intranet can be described as an interactive and decentred technology, which therefore has the potential for multiple interpretations and effects. Thus, while the intranet is often promoted as a technology that enables processes of communication, collaboration and social coordination it also has the potential to disable such processes. Moreover, it is argued that to develop an intranet for knowledge-sharing requires a focus on three distinctive facets of development. These different facets may require very different, sometimes contradictory, sets of strategies for blending the technology and the organization, thus making it extremely difficult for a project team to work effectively on all three facets simultaneously. This was evidenced by the fact that none of the independent intranet-implementation projects considered actually managed to encourage knowledge-sharing as intended, even within the relatively homogeneous group for which it was designed. Broader knowledge-sharing across the wider organizational context simply did not occur even among those who were working on what were defined as ,knowledge management' projects. A paradox is that knowledge-sharing via intranet technologies may be most difficult to achieve in contexts where knowledge management is the key objective. [source] Multilevel Social Dynamics Considerations for Project Management Decision Makers: Antecedents and Implications of Group Member Tie DevelopmentDECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2010Elliot Bendoly ABSTRACT Successful projects represent the effective culmination of management skills, planning, and individual project member strengths. In operations management, such strengths are often viewed predominantly from the perspective of skill base. However, it has become increasingly evident that behavioral traits associated with individuals play a very significant, if not ultimately dominating, role in the effectiveness of certain group projects. Our aim in this study is to look into how certain individual attributes viewed as relevant to these project contexts may lead to social networking decisions that have impacts spanning multiple levels of analysis. Such insights are likely to prove valuable to decision makers managing project teams as well. We employ a controlled 4-month investigation of multiple projects, for which we are able to consider both objective, and subjective pre-, in situ, and postproject data. Our results demonstrate that the issues of perceived control, confidence, and conscientiousness are relevant not only in driving individual perceptions of the value of within-group interactions, and hence the development of associated ties, but are also ultimately relevant in helping to drive higher levels of group performance. [source] How Cadforce makes quality part of the bottom line for its distributed work teamsGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 2 2009Cliff Moser When state-of-the-art technology and explicit work processes could not assure the quality of its deliverables, a drafting outsourcing firm turned to other tools to bridge critical learning and communication gaps between project teams on opposite sides of the world, as well as making the client part of the quality equation. Cadforce eliminated a layer of onshore project management and clarified accountabilities for quality; made training a core part of the project work flow; and synchronized onshore and offshore work cycles through a results-oriented work environment that incorporates new media, supplemented with a "human touch," to enhance collaboration and expedite communication between teams. Cadforce also involved clients in trade-off decisions by making the cost of quality an explicit part of its pricing strategy. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Self-Monitoring and Performance Appraisal Satisfaction: An Exploratory Field StudyHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2001Janice S. Miller Members of 12 project teams in five organizations participated in a study that assessed their self-monitoring characteristics and level of satisfaction with their performance appraisal system. Overall, taking part in self-ratings and upward appraisals of team leaders was associated with greater levels of appraisal satisfaction than was participating in peer evaluations. Self-monitoring level was negatively associated with appraisal satisfaction after controlling for level of ratings generated by peers, self, and leader. The paper discusses results, and offers practical implications in light of the social and interpersonal context that surrounds performance evaluation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Changing Organizational Forms and the Employment RelationshipJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 5 2002Jill Rubery This paper draws upon new research in the UK into the relationship between changing organizational forms and the reshaping of work in order to consider the changing nature of the employment relationship. The development of more complex organizational forms , such as cross organization networking, partnerships, alliances, use of external agencies for core as well as peripheral activities, multi-employer sites and the blurring of public/private sector divide , has implications for both the legal and the socially constituted nature of the employment relationship. The notion of a clearly defined employer,employee relationship becomes difficult to uphold under conditions where employees are working in project teams or on-site beside employees from other organizations, where responsibilities for performance and for health and safety are not clearly defined, or involve more than one organization. This blurring of the relationship affects not only legal responsibilities, grievance and disciplinary issues and the extent of transparency and equity in employment conditions, but also the definition, constitution and implementation of the employment contract defined in psychological and social terms. Do employees perceive their responsibilities at work to lie with the direct employer or with the wider enterprise or network organization? And do these perceptions affect, for example, how work is managed and carried out and how far learning and incremental knowledge at work is integrated in the development of the production or service process? So far the investigation of both conflicts and complementarities in the workplace have focused primarily on the dynamic interactions between the single employer and that organization's employees. The development of simultaneously more fragmented and more networked organizational forms raises new issues of how to understand potential conflicts and contradictions around the ,employer' dimension to the employment relationship in addition to more widely recognized conflicts located on the employer,employee axis. [source] Elucidation and decisional risk in a multi-criteria decision based on a Choquet integral aggregation,a cybernetic frameworkJOURNAL OF MULTI CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS, Issue 5-6 2005J. Montmain Abstract The authors are developing multi-criteria Decision-making support systems (DMSS) for project teams in charge of selecting a technical solution among alternatives. They propose a cybernetic framework to emphasize the link between decision-making (DM) and knowledge management processes in such projects. These DMSSs rely on the tracking of the accompanying knowledge production of long-term decisional processes by a collective with many actors. Based on knowledge-production management, this paper explains how to design decisional risk evaluation, monitoring and control aids and traceability functions for strategic choices and logical argumentation. The DMSS is seen as a recommender system for the project manager. Each possible solution involved in the decision-making process (DMP) is evaluated by means of a set of criteria. The evaluation results from an interpretation of the knowledge items in terms of satisfaction scores of the solutions according to the considered criteria. Aggregating these partial scores provides a ranking of all the possible solutions by order of preference. As criteria are sometimes interacting, the aggregation has to be based on adapted operators, i.e. Choquet integrals. Evaluating possible solutions by the knowledge contained in the knowledge base (KB) opens the way to automating the argumentation of the project team's decisions: the argumentation principle underlying this approach is based naturally on coupling a knowledge dynamical management system (KDMS) with the DMSS. The DMSS also evaluates the decisional risk that reflects the eventuality of a wrong selection due to the insufficiency of available knowledge at a given time in order to adopt a reliable solution. Decisional risk assessment corresponds to sensitivity analyses. These analyses are then exploited to control the decisional risk in time: they enable to identify the crucial information points for which additional and deeper investigations would be of great interest to improve the stability of the selection in the future. The knowledge management of a collective project is represented as a control loop: the KDMS is the actuator, the risk accompanying the decision is the controlled variable and is strongly linked to the entropy of the KB managed by the KDMS. Each of the three phases,intelligence, design, choice,of the DMP is identified to a function of the control loop: actuator, process and regulator. This cybernetic framework for decision has its origin in knowledge management activities for a great-scale project,the EtLD project of the French Atomic Commission (CEA) that concerns the management of high-level long-life radioactive waste in France. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A pleasure working together?JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 3 2009The effects of dissimilarity in team member conscientiousness on team temporal processes, individual satisfaction In this study of 43 student project teams, we tested a multi-level mediation model of the relationship between dissimilarity in conscientiousness, team temporal processes, and team member satisfaction. We distinguished between individual-level dissimilarity in conscientiousness (i.e., the distance between an individual member and his or her team mates), and team-level dissimilarity in conscientiousness (i.e., the overall dissimilarity within the team). Individual-level dissimilarity in conscientiousness had a direct negative effect on team members' satisfaction with the team, but did not affect their satisfaction with the team's performance. Team-level dissimilarity in conscientiousness indirectly affected both types of satisfaction negatively as it impeded early agreement about the temporal aspects of task execution, which, in turn, hindered coordinated action in later stages of team task execution. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The knowledge-intensive company and the economy of sharing: rethinking utility and knowledge managementKNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 4 2002Alexander Styhre Knowledge-intensive organizations are based on their capability of making use of intangible, intellectual resources and assets. As opposed to preceding economic regimes, the post- industrial society is to a lesser extent dependent on production factors that are subject to scarcity. Instead, knowledge tends to grow rather than being consumed as it is shared with others. When examining the practices of knowledge-intensive companies, an ethics of sharing underlying to the use of all knowledge needs to be recognized. Rather than conceiving of knowledge as being an organizational resource that is derived from previous economic regimes, the analysis of knowledge needs to be grounded in a different perspective. This paper is an attempt to formulate such a perspective on knowledge-intensive organizations as being based on sharing rather than exploitation. The argument is supported by an empirical study of a pharmaceutical company wherein the distribution of knowledge across project teams, communities of practice and individuals was of key strategic interest. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Action, reflection, and learning , coaching in order to enhance the performance of drug development project management teamsR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2005Kina Mulec High-performing project teams are crucial for effective research and development (R&D). To become high performing, teams need to make use of their different skills and reflect upon their collective actions, thereby combining knowledge that could lead to value-adding activities for the company. This article describes the use of team coaching in supporting team reflection and learning in global R&D project teams. A collaborative research approach was used during the 8 months of coaching, with several inquiry methods being employed. The results indicate that coaching interventions have a positive effect on team performance, both from an efficiency perspective as well as from a creativity and climate perspective. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed, as is future research. [source] Increasing the impact of conservation projectsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Lou Ann Dietz Abstract To assure a future for endangered primates and many other species, we must develop and carry out projects for their conservation as quickly and effectively as possible, even with only limited information about the complex systems of biological, political, social, economic, and cultural factors influencing the conservation situation. Adaptive management, defined as the integration of design, management, and monitoring to systematically test assumptions to learn and adapt, provides practitioners a method for improving strategies to achieve and sustain the desired conservation impact. The Conservation Measures Partnership, a joint venture of conservation NGOs, developed the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, a freely available framework that guides practitioners through implementation of best conservation practices. Using this process, project teams are explicit about the assumptions behind the strategies they choose, and thus able to trace their successes and failures back to good or poor theory, implementation, or a combination of the two. The Open Standards comprise five steps that constitute the project management cycle: (1) Conceptualize what you will achieve in the context of where you are working,involves defining your project team, scope, vision, conservation targets, critical threats, and analyzing the situation; (2) Plan your actions and monitoring,involves developing an action plan including goals, strategies, assumptions, objectives, and activities; a monitoring plan including indicators for measuring the status of goals, objectives, and assumptions; and an operational plan specifying the resources needed; (3) Implement your actions and monitoring,includes developing and implementing detailed work plans and ensuring sufficient resources, capacity, and partners; (4) Analyze, use, and adapt,involves managing monitoring data, regular analysis to convert them to useful information, and adapting the project plans accordingly; and (5) Capture and share learning,involves sharing lessons with key external and internal udiences to promote a learning culture. Am. J. Primatol. 72:425,440, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Managing radical innovation: an overview of emergent strategy issuesTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2002Christopher M. McDermott Despite differences in definitions, researchers understand that radical innovation within an organization is very different from incremental innovation [13,17,21] and that it is critical to the long-term success of firms. Unfortunately, research has also shown that it is often difficult to get support for radical projects in large firms [14], where internal cultures and pressures often push efforts toward more low risk, immediate reward, incremental projects. Interestingly, we know considerably less about the effective management of the product development process in the radical than in an incremental context. The purpose of this study is to explore the process of radical new product development from a strategic perspective, and to outline key observations and challenges that managers face as they move these projects to market. The findings presented here represent the results of a longitudinal (since 1995), multidisciplinary study of radical innovation projects. A multiple case study design was used to explore the similarities and differences in management practices applied to twelve radical innovation projects in ten large, established North American firms. The findings are grouped into three high-level strategic themes. The first theme, market scope, discusses the challenges associated with the pursuit of familiar versus unfamiliar markets for radical innovation. The second theme of competency management identifies and discusses strategic challenges that emerge as firms stretch themselves into new and unfamiliar territory. The final theme relates to the people issues that emerge as both individuals and the project teams themselves try to move radical projects forward in organizations that are not necessarily designed to support such uncertainty. A breadth of subtopics emerge within and across this framework relating to such ideas as risk management, product cannibalization, team composition, and the search for a divisional home. Taken together, our observations reinforce the emerging literature that shows that project teams engaging in radical innovation encounter a much different set of challenges than those typically faced by NPD teams engaged in incremental innovation. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||