Oya Icmeli Tukel and Walter O. Rom
In this article, we report on an empirical study conducted in the USA to determine the performance measures project managers commonly use to evaluate the success of their…
Abstract
In this article, we report on an empirical study conducted in the USA to determine the performance measures project managers commonly use to evaluate the success of their projects. Specifically, we identify project managers’ orientations toward using internal and/or customer driven measures of performance. We also investigate the priority given to these measures at different stages of a project by identifying the primary objective at those stages. In general we find that project managers’ primary success measure is quality and their most important objective is meeting customer needs. The priority given to this objective does not change during various stages of a project regardless of the project type and industry classification. The choice of performance measures, however, is influenced by project type and industry classification.
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Atul Gupta, Injazz J. Chen and Walter O. Rom
Empirically examines the relative importance of technical andorganizational factors in the implementation of flexible manufacturingsystems (FMS). Identifies a list of eight…
Abstract
Empirically examines the relative importance of technical and organizational factors in the implementation of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). Identifies a list of eight technical and organizational factors. Describes a stepwise regression analysis which was performed with the level of perceived success of FMS implementation as the dependent variable. All organizational and technical factors were used as explanatory variables. In the stepwise regression analysis, three of the five organizational factors (i.e. team approach, employee commitment and top management involvement) entered the model, suggesting that they are significant factors to successful FMS implementation. Based on the results of the statistical analysis, three focus groups were further organized to develop a framework for an effective training and management development, to help managers better understand the scope of both the problems and opportunities associated with the human issues which arise while firms are undergoing technological changes.
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Oya I. Tukel, Walter O. Rom and Tibor Kremic
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of learning in a project‐driven organization and demonstrate analytically how the learning, which takes place during the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of learning in a project‐driven organization and demonstrate analytically how the learning, which takes place during the execution of successive projects, and the forgetting that takes place during the dormant time between the project executions, can impact performance and productivity in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
A learn‐forget model was developed using the learning curve concept prevalent in many manufacturing processes. The model assumes that learning occurs while project tasks are being performed and forgetting takes place during dormant times between the successive implementations. The log‐linear model was adapted, with both learning and forgetting rates being a function of the doubling or tripling of output. Forgetting is inhibited through the use of knowledge transfer tools such as use of close‐out documents or content management platforms. The model is applied to a simulated project environment where a number of projects are executed sequentially, and the results are evaluated using the reduction in total duration and return on investment.
Findings
Computational results demonstrate that the learning and forgetting rates and level of project close‐out effort impact project performance, in the form of reduction in duration, much more significantly compared to the impact of the length of dormant times between the project initiations. Furthermore, even in a slow learning environment, using close‐out reports as a knowledge transfer tool, managers can achieve more than a 40 percent reduction in duration after several successive implementations.
Research limitations/implications
Although the theoretical development is applicable to a general organizational setting, the empirical testing of the model is done in project‐driven organizations where projects are implemented on an ongoing basis.
Practical implications
Managers can significantly benefit from the findings of this study. It is shown that the accumulated learning which represents knowledge generated during the implementation of a project, if transferred successfully, improves productivity and enables faster implementation. In a project‐driven organization an almost 80 percent reduction in total duration is achievable with the use of close‐out documents. This result promotes the importance of the learning process and managers should enable their team members to learn as much as they can while implementing a task and to document it methodically.
Originality/value
This study constitutes an initial effort to illustrate quantitatively how the level of learning and forgetting impact performance in a project‐driven organization. This study is also original in that it methodically demonstrates the importance of spending time during the phase‐out, documenting the project artifacts, that enables knowledge transfer, and thus improves performance.
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Tibor Kremic, Oya Icmeli Tukel and Walter O. Rom
The purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to provide a structured review of the vast amount of outsourcing literature that has accumulated in the past two decades using a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to provide a structured review of the vast amount of outsourcing literature that has accumulated in the past two decades using a decision support framework. The second purpose is to statistically analyze the contents of the studies to identify commonalities as well as gaps, in order to suggest directions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The contents of more than 200 publications are analyzed using a variety of approaches. A decision support framework is used to first classify whether the studies address outsourcing benefits, risks, motivations or factors. Next, each classification is further described by the type of benefits, risks, etc. Additional relevant contents such as type of organization, and the location of the outsourcing practice are also considered. Multivariate analyses consisting of cross tabulations, chi‐square testing and cluster analysis are used for categorizing the studies with the aim of identifying relationships among the studies which are not apparent when they are considered individually.
Findings
A number of trends and relationships are identified. For example, most studies focus on US for‐profit organizations and are typically theoretical, discussing benefits, risks and motivators. On the other hand, the research on outsourcing practices of non‐profit organizations, where objectives for outsourcing are typically politically driven, is found to be scarce. Furthermore, the results of the cluster analysis indicate that the studies can be grouped into six clusters where the five small clusters are characterized by strong relationships with a few variables while the large cluster is characterized by variables that are not addressed in the studies.
Practical implications
Outsourcing has become commonplace in today's businesses. In addition to outsourcing in profit seeking organizations, there is considerable outsourcing effort in governmental and non‐profit organizations also. It is not easy for managers who are exploring outsourcing opportunities for the very first time and academicians who want to build upon existing studies to search the literature to find what they are looking for. This study addresses this difficulty by providing different classifications of the literature based on a variety of research criteria.
Originality/value
This study is a first attempt to organize the outsourcing literature using statistical as well as decision support tools. Using cluster analysis and discriminant analysis to explore the relationships among the contents of the studies is a new approach.
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The Maine State Library has begun to offer public domain and “user‐supported” software to libraries within the state. A subscription to the PC‐SIG software library on CD‐ROM makes…
Abstract
The Maine State Library has begun to offer public domain and “user‐supported” software to libraries within the state. A subscription to the PC‐SIG software library on CD‐ROM makes it possible to conveniently handle requests for any one of nearly 10,000 program and data files.
In prior articles in both volume 8 (number 4) and volume 10 (numbers 3/4) of Collection Building, bibliographies of U.S. government publications on AIDS were covered. The first…
Abstract
In prior articles in both volume 8 (number 4) and volume 10 (numbers 3/4) of Collection Building, bibliographies of U.S. government publications on AIDS were covered. The first bibliography covered both executive branch and legislative branch materials from 1981 to September 1986. The second bibliography covered only legis‐lative materials from 1986 to 1989. This article complements the second bibliography in its coverage of executive branch materials from 1986 to 1989 and also updates the first work. While 1986 to 1989 is the framework, some items inadvertently omitted from the earlier work are included here.
ONE or two questions raised by the writer of “Letters on our Affairs” this month are of some urgency. The first, the physical condition of books, is one that is long over‐due for…
Abstract
ONE or two questions raised by the writer of “Letters on our Affairs” this month are of some urgency. The first, the physical condition of books, is one that is long over‐due for full discussion with a view to complete revision of our method. The increased book fund of post‐war years, and the unexpected success of the twopenny library, have brought us to the point when we should concentrate upon beautiful and clean editions of good books, and encourage the public to use them. “Euripides” is quite right in his contention that there is too much dependence upon the outcasts of the circulating library for replenishing the stocks of public lending libraries. We say this gravely and advisedly. Many librarians depend almost entirely upon the off‐scourings of commercial libraries for their fiction. The result, of course, is contempt of that stock from all readers who are not without knowledge of books. It is the business of the public library now to scrap all books that are stained, unpleasant to the sight, in bad print, and otherwise unattractive. Of old, it was necessary for us to work hard, and by careful conservation of sometimes quite dirty books, in order to get enough books to serve our readers. To‐day this is no longer the case, except in quite backward areas. The average well‐supported public library—and there are many now in that category—should aim at a reduction of stock to proportions which are really useful, which are good and which are ultimately attractive if not beautiful. The time has arrived when a dirty book, or a poorly printed book, or a book which has no artistic appeal, should be regarded as a reproach to the library preserving it.