H.S. Robinson, P.M. Carrillo, C.J. Anumba and A.M. A‐Ghassani
Performance management is a key issue in the construction industry as a result of complex internal and external factors. Large construction organizations are implementing…
Abstract
Performance management is a key issue in the construction industry as a result of complex internal and external factors. Large construction organizations are implementing performance management models to improve business processes, products and management of people to facilitate continuous improvement. This study investigates the implementation of performance management models in large construction engineering organizations. First, a brief review of the drive for performance improvement and the strategic considerations for the adoption of performance management models is carried out with specific reference to the Balanced Scorecard and the EFQM Excellence Model. Second, using case studies of large construction engineering organizations, the findings from the implementation of performance management models are analysed and discussed. It is shown that whilst progress has been made in the implementation of performance management models in large construction organizations, significant challenges remained at the planning, deployment and assessment and review stages. This includes the motivation for performance management, leadership and resources, communication mechanisms, measurement and data collection techniques and the role of knowledge management. Performance management models provide a basis to develop strategy for sustaining longterm business objectives, and more construction organizations will adopt such innovative tools to facilitate continuous improvement, as the business benefits become clear.
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THE note of the Conference at Harrogate was the question of unemployment in relation to libraries. The arguments advanced were intended for the wider public rather than for…
Abstract
THE note of the Conference at Harrogate was the question of unemployment in relation to libraries. The arguments advanced were intended for the wider public rather than for librarians, and reproduced a now fairly familiar argument that the issues of books from libraries have increased by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the depression. It is quite clear that many men who normally would not read quite so much have turned to books for consolation and guidance. The fact that branch libraries were closed at Glasgow as an economy measure, and were afterwards re‐opened under the force of public opinion, would emphasize the opinion generally held that in times of economic stress it may be an even greater economy to increase expenditure upon libraries than to curtail it. This argument is, of course, in a region which the average material mind of our governors cannot always reach. It is nevertheless true, and the Conference provided ample evidence of its truth.
Sarajul Fikri Mohamed and Chimay J. Anumba
To examine the development of a viable framework for the enhancement of construction site management practices through an integration of knowledge management (KM) processes �…
Abstract
To examine the development of a viable framework for the enhancement of construction site management practices through an integration of knowledge management (KM) processes ‐ underpinned by case study findings from construction organizations that have implemented knowledge management. A multiple case study approach (that incorporates qualitative comparators with observations made within five construction sites) was adopted. The main aims were to investigate the key problems of site management practices, to observe existing practice in managing knowledge on the construction site, and to present opportunities for improvement. The case study findings revealed that services obstruction, poor site communication and information, incomplete design, local residents, and cooperation and motivation issues are major problems inhibiting construction site performance. They also identified that the site management team used conventional approaches (meeting and observation) to resolve management and technical problems onthe construction site. The site management teams should be prepared to deal with on‐site problems and risks in a systematic and efficient way.KM can help to prevent the site management team from repeating past errors; by capturing best practices, lessons learned,and especially, the solutions to problems that arise on site, similar situations in the future can be dealt with efficiently and effectively.There is little written on how to improve site management practices through knowledge management.This paper focuses on a KM deployment at site management level and demonstrates that site management teams still do not have any systematic methods for the creation, capture, storage, sharing and reuse of knowledge.
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AT the very outset of this paper it is necessary to make clear that it is not an attempt to compile an exhaustive bibliography of literature relating to special librarianship…
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AT the very outset of this paper it is necessary to make clear that it is not an attempt to compile an exhaustive bibliography of literature relating to special librarianship. Neither space nor time permit this. In fact, the references given can only claim to be a sample of the wealth of material on the subject and this paper is submitted in the hope that it will stimulate others to more scholarly efforts. Reference numbers throughout this paper refer to items in the ‘Select list of references to the literature of special librarianship’, section 2 onwards.
Anna Julia Cooper and Septima Poinsette Clark were two prominent late 19th- and early 20th-century educators. Cooper and Clark taught African American students in federally…
Abstract
Anna Julia Cooper and Septima Poinsette Clark were two prominent late 19th- and early 20th-century educators. Cooper and Clark taught African American students in federally sanctioned, segregated schools in the South. Drawing on womanist thought as a theoretical lens, this chapter argues that Cooper and Clark’s intellectual thoughts on race, racism, education, and pedagogy informed their teaching practices. Influenced by their socio-cultural, historical, familial, and education, they implemented antioppressionist pedagogical practices as a way to empower their students and address the educational inequalities their students were subjected to in a highly racialized, violent, and repressive social order. Historical African American women educators’ social critiques on race and racism are rarely examined, particularly as they pertain to how their critiques influence their teaching practices. Cooper and Clark’s critiques about race and racism are pertinent to the story of education and racial empowerment during the Jim Crow era.
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Franziska Günzel-Jensen, Helle Neergaard and Sarah Robinson
Entrepreneurship education is transforming from traditional teacher-led classrooms to student-centred learning environments, where effectuation principles are increasingly…
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurship education is transforming from traditional teacher-led classrooms to student-centred learning environments, where effectuation principles are increasingly adopted as a pedagogical framework. Yet despite its promise for developing real-world entrepreneurial capabilities, the implementation of effectuation principles in classrooms reveals a striking pattern: while some student teams excel, others struggle or even revert to passive learning approaches. Such variation in team responses raises an important question about the underlying mechanisms influencing team responses. This article aims to fill that gap by understanding why some student teams excel and others struggle in the higher education (HE) effectuation classroom.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study involving 29 student teams enrolled in an undergraduate entrepreneurship class that is based on effectuation principles at a HE institution was conducted.
Findings
The study identifies three distinct responses among student teams. The first group displays apathy, and the second group rejects the process after a few classroom sessions. Both groups encounter student-centred learning identity threats. In contrast, the third group, despite facing similar identity threats, manages to persist.
Originality/value
This study argues that teaching and learning effectuation is more complex than generally depicted in the literature. It uncovers necessary and sufficient conditions related to students overcoming student-centred learning identity threats. By doing so, the study contributes to the understanding of why the connection between teaching effectuation and learning effectual behaviour is more intricate than previously understood. Additionally, it offers important practical implications for entrepreneurship educators and programme designers at HE institutions.