Farman Afzal, Shao Yunfei, Muhammad Sajid and Fahim Afzal
Cost overrun is inherent to project chaos, which is one of the key drivers of project failure. The purpose of this paper is to explore the critical elements of complexity-risk…
Abstract
Purpose
Cost overrun is inherent to project chaos, which is one of the key drivers of project failure. The purpose of this paper is to explore the critical elements of complexity-risk interdependency for cost-chaos in the construction management domain by utilizing a multi-criteria decision model.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 12 complexity and 60 risk attributes are initially identified from the literature and using expert’s judgements. For the development of a structured hierarchy of key complexity and risk drivers, a real-time Delphi process is adopted for recording and evaluating the responses from experts. Afterwards, a pair-wise comparison using analytical network processing is performed to measure complexity-risk interdependencies against cost alternatives.
Findings
The findings of the integrated priority decision index (IPDI) suggest that uncertainties related to contingency and escalation costs are the main sources of cost overrun in project drift, along with the key elements such as “the use of innovative technology,” “multiple contracts,” “low advance payment,” “change in design,” “unclear specifications” and “the lack of experience” appear to be more significant to chaos in complexity-risk interdependency network.
Research limitations/implications
This study did not address the uncertainty and vulnerability exit in the judgment process, therefore, this framework can be extended using fuzzy logic to better evaluate the significance of cost-chaos drivers.
Practical implications
These results may assist the management of cost overrun to avoid chaos in a project. The proposed model can be applied within project risk management practices to make better-informed technical decisions in the early phases of the project life cycle where uncertainty is high.
Originality/value
This research addresses the importance of cost overruns as a source of project chaos in dynamic systems where projects reach the edge of chaos and progress stops. A new IPDI index contributes toward evaluating the severity of complexity and risk and their interdependencies which create cost-chaos in infrastructure transport projects.
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Muhammad Sajid Khattak and Usman Mustafa
The complexity of projects has become a serious issue and obstacle in their successful completion. In order to overcome these complexities, it has become imperative to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
The complexity of projects has become a serious issue and obstacle in their successful completion. In order to overcome these complexities, it has become imperative to identify the relevant management competencies of project managers. The purpose of this paper is to address the problem of cost, time and scope in engineering infrastructure projects due to their complexities through management competencies.
Design/methodology/approach
In the first phase of the study, 32 experts were interviewed through semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire. In this phase, essential elements of complexities were identified initially. This was followed by finding required dimensions of competencies to counter these complexities and to acquire improved performance. In the final stage, required levels of competencies for specific elements of complexity were identified. In the second phase, 85 “project managers” were also approached to get feedback about their recently completed public sector engineering infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
Findings
The study identified additional dimensions, i.e. honesty, enthusiasm and dedication, in the case of competencies and adverse law and order situation, political instability, land issues, energy crisis and weak authorization of project managers in the case of complexities. Leadership, management skill, communication skill, effectiveness and result orientation were identified as top quality traits required. The study concluded that there is a significant impact of management competencies and complexities on project performance.
Originality/value
The study contributes to a better understanding of how to improve performance in complex engineering infrastructure projects through adopting management competencies. It also empirically illustrates the relations among project management competencies, complexities and project performance. Although the research is grounded on public sector infrastructure projects, its findings may also be helpful for practices in project management of other sectors.
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Muhammad Shoaib Farooq, Maimoona Salam, Norizan Jaafar, Alain Fayolle, Kartinah Ayupp, Mirjana Radovic-Markovic and Ali Sajid
Adoption of latest technological advancements (e.g. lecture capture system) is a hallmark of market-driven private universities. Among many other distinguishing features, lecture…
Abstract
Purpose
Adoption of latest technological advancements (e.g. lecture capture system) is a hallmark of market-driven private universities. Among many other distinguishing features, lecture capture system (LCS) is the one which is being offered to enhance the flexibility of learning environment for attracting executive business students. Majority of foreign universities are offering the facility of LCS to their students in offshore campuses established in Malaysia. Yet, very little is known about perception and behaviour of executive business students towards acceptance and use of this facility. Therefore, to bridge the identified gap in academic literature, this study is an effort to explore the causal relationship between existing constructs of extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2), personal innovativeness (PI), intention and use behaviour (UB) towards LCS. Moreover, this study is aimed to extend the UTAUT2 by introducing a new variable, namely, PI in the domain of information technology (IT) (PIIT).
Design/methodology/approach
SmartPLS-3.2.6 was used for data analysis and all PLS-related calculations. For this purpose, a self-administered questionnaire was designed to collect data regarding acceptance and UB towards LCS. A sample size of 481 responses from executive business students, who were enrolled in offshore campuses of five selected foreign universities in Malaysia, was used for testing the proposed theoretical model.
Findings
The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, price value, hedonic motivation, habit and PIIT have a significant and positive influence on acceptance and use of LCS among executive business students. Unique to this study is that, findings of this study have highlighted PIIT as an important factor that affects intention and UB towards LCS among executive business students.
Practical implications
By validating and extending the UTAUT2, the findings of this study provide a number of practical implications along with a comprehensive, robust and useful framework for universities to successfully implement technological advancements, such as LCS, to enhance overall learning outcomes.
Originality/value
By investigating the factors determining acceptance and use of LCS among executive business students, using a partial least square (PLS)-based SEM approach, this study makes a sizeable theoretical, methodological and contextual contribution to the overall body of knowledge.
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Maria S. Plakhotnik and Natalia V. Volkova
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a perceived organizational culture on organizational identification and commitment of employees of a Russian university that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a perceived organizational culture on organizational identification and commitment of employees of a Russian university that is transforming to become an English-medium instruction (EMI) university.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected between February and March 2018, via an online survey that was disseminated among 115 new employees; 90 were completed and used for analyses. The survey included three scales.
Findings
Employees of the EMI university perceived its culture as market, which is not a common characteristic of universities that usually have a clan culture. The study has also demonstrated a discrepancy between the perceived (market) and the preferred (clan) organizational culture. The study has also showed that a clan, and not a market, culture strengthens employee organizational commitment and identification.
Originality/value
Most research has examined EMI universities from the perspectives of teaching and learning. This study contributes to the limited conceptual and theoretical base around these universities by examining their processes from a perspective of management. This paper suggests that the adoption of English as a medium of instruction requires organizational change that leads to change in organizational culture.
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Frank Nana Kweku Otoo and Nissar Ahmed Rather
Highly committed, motivated and engaged employees assure organizational success and competitiveness. The study aims to examine the association between human resource development…
Abstract
Purpose
Highly committed, motivated and engaged employees assure organizational success and competitiveness. The study aims to examine the association between human resource development (HRD) practices and employee engagement with organizational commitment as a mediating variable.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 760 employees of 13 star-rated hotels comprising 5 (five-star) and 8 (four-star). The data supported the hypothesized relationships. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the proposed model and hypotheses. Construct validity and reliability were established through confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The results indicate that HRD practices and affective commitment are significantly associated. HRD practices and continuance commitment were shown to be non-significantly associated. HRD practices and normative commitment were shown to be non-significantly associated. Employee engagement and organizational commitment are significantly associated. The results further show that organizational commitment mediates the association between HRD practices and employee engagement.
Research limitations/implications
The generalizability of the findings will be constrained due to the research's hotel industry focus and cross sectional data.
Practical implications
The study's findings will serve as valuable pointers for stakeholders and policymakers of the hotel industry in the adoption, design and implementation of proactive HRD interventions to keep highly engaged and committed employees for organizational competitiveness and sustainability.
Originality/value
By evidencing empirically that organizational commitment mediates the nexus between HRD practices and employee engagement, the study extends the literature.
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S. Bilal, Muhammad Sohail and Rahila Naz
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the studies of momentum and transmission of heat on mixed convection boundary layer Darcy‒Forchheimer flow of Casson liquid over a linear…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the studies of momentum and transmission of heat on mixed convection boundary layer Darcy‒Forchheimer flow of Casson liquid over a linear extending surface in a porous medium. The belongings of homogeneous‒heterogeneous retorts are also affianced. The mechanism of heat transmission is braced out in the form of Cattaneo‒Christov heat flux. Appropriate restorations are smeared to revolutionize coupled nonlinear partial differential equations conforming to momentum, energy and concentration of homogeneous‒heterogeneous reaction equations into coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Numerical elucidations of the transmogrified ODEs are accomplished via a dexterous and trustworthy scheme, namely optimal homotopy analysis method. The convergence of planned scheme is exposed with the support of error table.
Findings
The exploration of mixed convection Darcy‒Forchheimer MHD boundary layer flow of incompressible Casson fluid by the linear stretched surface with Cattaneo‒Christov heat flux model and homogeneous‒heterogeneous reactions is checked in this research. Imitations of the core subsidized flow parameters on velocity, temperature and concentration of homogeneous‒heterogeneous reactions solutions are conscripted. From the recent deliberation, remarkable annotations are as follows: non-dimensional velocities in xa− and xb− directions shrink, whereas the non-dimensional temperature upsurges when the Casson fluid parameter ameliorates. Similar impact of Casson fluid parameter, magnetic parameter, mixed convection parameter, inertia parameter, and porosity parameter is observed for both the components of velocity field. An escalation in magnetic parameter shows the opposite attitude of temperature field as compared with velocity profile. Similar bearing of Casson fluid parameter is observed for both temperature and velocity fields. Enhancement in concentration rate is observed for growing values of (Ns) and (Sc), and it reduces for (k1). Both temperature and concentration of homogeneous‒heterogeneous upturn by mounting the magnetic parameter. Demeanor of magnetic parameter, Casson fluid parameter, heat generation parameter is opposite to that of Prandtl number and thermal relaxation parameter on temperature profile.
Practical implications
In many industrial and engineering applications, the current exploration is utilized for the transport of heat and mass in any system.
Originality/value
As far as novelty of this work is concerned this is an innovative study and such analysis has not been considered so far.
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A.S. Dogonchi, F. Selimefendigil and D.D. Ganji
The purpose of this study is to peruse natural convection in a CuO-water nanofluid-filled complex-shaped enclosure under the influence of a uniform magnetic field by using control…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to peruse natural convection in a CuO-water nanofluid-filled complex-shaped enclosure under the influence of a uniform magnetic field by using control volume finite element method.
Design/methodology/approach
Governing equations formulated in dimensionless stream function, vorticity and temperature variables using the single-phase nanofluid model with the Koo–Kleinstreuer–Li correlation for the effective dynamic viscosity and the effective thermal conductivity have been solved numerically by control volume finite element method.
Findings
Effects of various pertinent parameters such as Rayleigh number, Hartmann number, volume fraction of nanofluid and shape factor of nanoparticle on the convective heat transfer characteristics are analysed. It was observed that local and average heat transfer rates increase for higher value of Rayleigh number and lower value of Hartmann number. Among various nanoparticle shapes, platelets were found to be best in terms of heat transfer performance. The amount of average Nusselt number reductions was found to be different when nanofluids with different solid particle volume fractions were considered due to thermal and electrical conductivity enhancement of fluid with nanoparticle addition.
Originality/value
A comprehensive study of the natural convection in a CuO-water nanofluid-filled complex-shaped enclosure under the influence of a uniform magnetic field by using control volume finite element method is addressed.
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M.S. Sajid, A. Tonsi and M.K. Baig
The purpose of this article is to discuss the value of health‐related quality of life (HR‐QOL) measurement and describe its development with a few examples.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to discuss the value of health‐related quality of life (HR‐QOL) measurement and describe its development with a few examples.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is a literature review of various articles published in the last 25 years on health‐related quality of life.
Findings
HR‐QOL tools are health status instruments, which are utilized to assess the changes in the health status of patients. These surveys are of increasingly importance as healthcare providers are challenged to justify treatment approaches and rationale for any intervention. Objective criteria can be used to determine whether there is clinical evidence of disease. However, the impact of disease on the individual's life is not included in such a clinical assessment. The use of validated and reliable health instruments is directed at measuring this impact in a reproducible and valid fashion. In patient‐centred research, “experimental” conditions are constantly changing because human beings with values, feelings, perspectives and social relationships are being treated. It is especially important to use valid measurement tools when assessing these impacts.
Originality/value
This article is written from the authors' own experience and knowledge and adds those benefits to the literature already available.
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Adnan M. Rawashdeh, Malek Bakheet Elayan, Mohamed Dawood Shamout and Salima Hamouche
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of human resource development on turnover intention through the mediating role of organizational commitment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of human resource development on turnover intention through the mediating role of organizational commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used a quantitative research design. Data were collected from 204 flight attendants employees working at Royal Jordanian Airlines Company using an email survey questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to test the hypothesized model.
Findings
The results assure positive effect of human resource development (HRD) on organizational commitment. Negative effect of both HRD and organizational commitment to turnover intention is observed. The results also confirm that the effect of HRD on turnover intention is negatively mediated by organizational commitment.
Originality/value
This research paper extends the literature by empirically adducing evidence that organizational commitment negatively mediated the effect of human resource development on turnover intention of the airlines in Jordan.
研究目的
本研究擬透過組織承諾的中介角色,探討人力資源發展對離職意向的影響。
研究設計/方法/理念
本研究採用了定量研究法。數據透過電郵問卷調查,從204名在皇家約旦航空公司工作的機艙服務員取得的。研究人員使用結構方程模型來測試假設模型。
研究結果
研究結果確認了人力資源發展對組織承諾的積極作用,也肯定了人力資源發展和組織承諾兩者對離職意向的負面影響。研究結果亦確認了人力資源發展對離職意向的影響,是會受組織承諾負介導的。
研究的局限
由於研究在約旦的航空工業內進行,故取得的數據不能概括地廣泛應用於其他行業上。
研究的啟示
研究的結果,在人力資源發展、組織承諾和離職文獻的知識體系上提供了新的信息。本研究亦顯示了在一個仍未充分探討、處於發展中國家的公司的背景下,人力資源發展、組織承諾與離職意向三者之間的相互作用。由於過去對人力資源發展和離職的研究大多是在發達國家進行的,故本研究的結果,確切證明了在發展中國家的背景裡,機艙服務員對人力資源發展的看法,會影響其態度的情感部分和行為意向。再者,本研究或可填補以發展中國家為背景之離職文獻研究缺口,尤其是約旦。實際上,面對員工有離職意向這挑戰的航空公司管理階層或需特別關注這個學術研究,這也正是本研究主要的啟示。航空公司經理和政策制定者可使用本研究的結果、作為他們研發人員保持策略的指導原則,以把員工離職的意欲減至最低。
研究的原創性/價值
研究以實驗為依據,引證了就約旦航空公司而言,人力資源發展對離職意向的影響,是會受組織承諾負介導的。
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Natalia Volkova and Vera Chiker
The purpose of this study to establish what demographic characteristics (gender, generations and organisational tenure) play a role in employee perceptions of organisational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study to establish what demographic characteristics (gender, generations and organisational tenure) play a role in employee perceptions of organisational culture, commitment and identification in Russian public organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected electronically from 248 employees of two public organisations. Three questionnaires were used.
Findings
Organisational tenure plays a central role in the way how employees perceive organisational culture; tenure also shapes the levels of both commitment and identification. The specific finding of Russian settings is that the longer employees work for a company, the lower the levels of psychological attachments they demonstrate, while it is not the case for some existing international results. The other findings correspond with those in international studies, in which women were more psychologically attached to the organisation and showed a higher level of identification and lower rates of negative forms of this concept than men did. The older the employees are, the higher the level of identification they express.
Practical implications
Managers working in Russian settings can struggle with engaging and retaining employees. Understanding the demographic effects can help alleviate these challenges.
Originality/value
Based on empirical findings, this paper contributes to the literature on organisational socialisation by providing evidence of the damaging effects of the length of organisational tenure on psychological attachment to the company (in the form of commitment and identification). Additionally, tenure is the shaping factor of employee perception of organisational culture.