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on Project, Program and Portfolio Management |
| By: | Thomas Gillier (MTS - Management Technologique et Strategique - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)); Sophie Hooge (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris); Gérald Piat (EDF R&D - EDF) |
| Abstract: | Organizations often launch exploration projects (EP) aiming at developing innovative products (or services) by the exploration of new technologies, users, ecosystems or business models. Because a fundamental purpose of any project is to create value, the approach of value management (or value engineering) has been largely adopted in the organizations to manage the projects. However, the fact to move beyond the existing markets and the established technologies imply great difficulties and uncertainties for managing creative projects. Indeed, because exploration projects precisely aim to invent products (or services) that do not exist before, the value to create is unknown at the start of such project. So, what does value management precisely mean in situation of exploration project? This research aims to clarify the nature, the beneficiaries, and the ways to manage the value in such situations. After reviewing the historical development of the two traditional approaches of value management in project management literature, we then show we show their inadequacies for managing exploratory situations. This article is based on a longitudinal of two case-studies into a collaborative management research conducted with a major French car manufacturer. The two case-studies are an inter-firm EP corresponding to the joint exploration of an innovative multimodal urban platform by the automotive firm and two other industrial partners and an intra-firm EP aiming at generating innovative projects for the development of the electric vehicles. We propose an expansive value management model (EVM) towards three main propositions: 1) evaluating and stimulating the creation of value with a constant comparison with the dominant designs - (2) sustaining the exploration by tuning the degree of undecidability - (3) stimulating the emergence of new ecosystems by the creation of new platforms projects. Finally, this research proposes key managerial principles for EP management and a set of indicators to monitor the exploration process (i.e. identifying design rules to break, managing two kind of design paths...) and the collective dimension (i.e. the beneficiaries...) of EP. |
| Keywords: | value management; exploration; radical innovation; exploratory projects; creativity; dominant design |
| Date: | 2013–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00824354&r=ppm |
| By: | Ralston, Laura |
| Abstract: | The World Bank Group has identi?ed support to fragile and con?ict-affected states as a strategic priority. This paper provides a systematic portfolio review of the International Development Association-funded projects in fragile and conflict-affected states during 2001 to 2013 and a detailed empirical analysis of the correlations between project and country-level characteristics with project outcome ratings. The portfolio review identi?es a decline in the proportional amount of resources directed to fragile and conflict-affected states and a decline in the number of internationally recruited staff based in these countries. The empirical analysis ?nds no statistical difference in whether projects obtain at least a moderately satisfactory outcome rating between countries that are fragile and conflict-affected states and those that are not. Examination of the distribution of project outcome ratings indicates that projects in fragile and conflict-affected states obtain slightly lower ratings conditional on being unsatisfactory or satisfactory. Detailed cross-section regression analysis ?nds that indicators of project complexity, such as supervision costs, staff time, preparation time, and ?nancing, are correlated with lower outcome ratings. Project leader characteristics are correlated with project outcome ratings, but to a lesser degree in fragile and conflict-affected states, potentially indicating that it is more difficult for project leaders to in?uence project outcomes in these environments. Last, a new approach to control for unobservable project characteristics, such as inherent complexity or ambition, shows preliminary evidence that changes in the project leader and increases in the supervision budget are correlated with improvements in project performance. |
| Keywords: | Housing&Human Habitats,Country Strategy&Performance,Rural Portfolio Improvement,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Banks&Banking Reform |
| Date: | 2014–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7098&r=ppm |
| By: | Ralston, Laura |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a comprehensive review of the operations that the World Bank has supported to create jobs and promote employment in fragile and conflict-affected situations. A novel approach to identifying projects is presented that enables searching for projects based on stated development objectives, regardless of the sector of the project. Of a sample of 2,166 projects funded by the International Development Association, this resulted in the identification of 98 projects that have specific job creation and employment generation development objectives. Among these projects, 51 percent of countries appearing on the list between 2004 and 2012 have implemented projects. Detailed textual analysis is carried out on the project descriptions and indicators to evaluate how well projects are aligned to the context. The results suggest there is a lack of measurement on outcomes that are particularly relevant for fragile and conflict-affected situations, such as the development of social cohesion, reintegration of those involved or affected by violence, impacts jobs have on the willingness to engage in violence or conflict, perceptions of government accountability, and equitable access to these economic opportunities. Quantitative analysis of the portfolio indicates that there are also systematic differences in the size and resources associated with job creation projects in countries with fragile and conflict-affected situations relative to similar projects in other International Development Association-borrowing countries. Given the mixed empirical evidence on the relationship between jobs and conflict, this report calls for more methodological measurement of the impacts of these programs on stabilization outcomes in the future. |
| Keywords: | Banks&Banking Reform,Development Economics&Aid Effectiveness,Housing&Human Habitats,Population Policies,Labor Markets |
| Date: | 2014–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7078&r=ppm |
| By: | Zhang, Jian; Vialle, Pierre |
| Abstract: | Founded in 1987 as a sales agent of PBX (private branch exchange), Huawei has become one of the world's leaders in the ICT Industry. It initially had little technological and management knowledge, but competed with the incumbents including Sino-foreign joint ventures (JVs), state-owned firms, and foreign vendors. In 2013, Huawei has become the world's largest telecom network infrastructure vendor. It operates business in more than 140 countries, and foreign markets represent two thirds of its revenue. It is one of a few vendors able to provide end-to-end telecommunications equipment and solutions. 44% of the 140,000 employees are R&D engineers, and 10% to 20% of its annual revenue is invested in R&D. In a recently published analysis of patents 'Patent Power 2012' by IEEE Spectrum, Huawei is the only Asian firm in the top 20 in communication/internet equipment category. As other Chinese firms, Huawei has benefitted from specific country factors, and in particular from the impact of policies. The Chinese public policy has skilfully used inter-organisational relationships and networks in order to develop a Chinese 'knowledge pool' with worldwide connections (Vialle 2007, 2009). the development of the University system, the close links between research centres and industry, the development of JVs, and focused research projects, have created a system which is not only able to acquire, produce and diffuse publicly available and rather codified knowledge, but also to convert tacit knowledge endogenously generated by industrial activity into a more codified form. One benefit for Chinese Telecom companies has been the large availability of relatively cheap qualified manpower. |
| Keywords: | Huawei,China,Telecommunications,catching-up,latecomer |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse14:101379&r=ppm |
| By: | Xie, Yang; Zilberman, David |
| Abstract: | This paper builds a model determining optimal capacities of diversion dams or water transfer projects. The model incorporates stochastic inflows to the dams and the role of the dam capacity in reducing overflows, and gives a closed-form expression of the marginal benefit of capacities. Comparative static analysis suggests that larger water projects could be required by 1) improvements in water management efficiency, 2) upward shifts in the marginal overflow-caused loss, or 3) more abundant inflows. The result provides important policy implications about the impact of integrated water reforms, rising concern about food security, and climate change on optimal water project capacities. The model is also applied to analyze the relation between water project capacities and conservation technologies, showing 1) that too large or too small water projects could discourage adopting conservation technologies, 2) that the impact of conservation technologies on optimal capacities is ambiguous, and 3) that if designers of water projects take water users' potential adoption of conservation technologies into account, the first-order condition of the capacity determination model could have multiple solutions. |
| Keywords: | dam capacity, technology adoption, water management efficiency, food security, climate change, water reform, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Public Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q25, Q15, Q54, Q28, Q01, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea14:169820&r=ppm |
| By: | Moe Thuzar (Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)); Rahul Mishra; Francis Hutchinson; Tin Maung Maung Than; Termsak Chalermpalanupap |
| Abstract: | With closer regional integration there is increasing interest within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and on the part of ASEAN’s dialogue partners in the potential gains of closer connections between Southeast Asia and South Asia. The strategic positions of India, Myanmar, and Thailand provide the basis and scope for implementing multi-modal connectivity projects, for building upon and improving existing infrastructure and processes for cross-border connectivity in trade. With outward-looking policies in the various subregions that seek to link their economies closer than ever, the ASEAN and South Asian countries are presented with a wide array of options at the bilateral, subregional, and regional levels that can be pursued in partnership under the different frameworks for cooperation. The role of regional entities such as the Asian Development Bank is also important to consider. This paper assesses the political economy and other implications of cross-border connectivity between South and Southeast Asia, and suggests practicable options for moving forward. |
| Keywords: | cross-border connectivity, South Asia, Southeast Asia, multi-modal connectivity projects, coordination framework |
| JEL: | F55 H77 H87 O19 P48 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:govern:24518&r=ppm |
| By: | Lane, Julia (American Institutes for Research); Owen-Smith, Jason (University of Michigan); Rosen, Rebecca (American Institutes for Research); Weinberg, Bruce A. (Ohio State University) |
| Abstract: | Longitudinal micro-data derived from transaction level information about wage and vendor payments made by federal grants on multiple U.S. campuses are being developed in a partnership involving researchers, university administrators, representatives of federal agencies, and others. This paper describes the UMETRICS data initiative that has been implemented under the auspices of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. The resulting data set reflects an emerging conceptual framework for analyzing the process, products, and impact of research. It grows from and engages the work of a diverse and vibrant community. This paper situates the UMETRICS effort in the context of research evaluation and ongoing data infrastructure efforts in order to highlight its novel and valuable features. Refocusing data construction in this field around individuals, networks, and teams offers dramatic possibilities for data linkage, the evaluation of research investments, and the development of rigorous conceptual and empirical models. Two preliminary analyses of the scientific workforce and network approaches to characterizing scientific teams ground a discussion of future directions and a call for increased community engagement. |
| Keywords: | UMETRICS, STAR METRICS, Science of Science Policy, linked data, scientific workforce, scientific networks |
| JEL: | C8 O3 J4 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8556&r=ppm |
| By: | Vassili Joannides (GDF - Gestion, Droit et Finance - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)); Nicolas Berland (DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - CNRS : UMR7088 - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | Purpose - This paper contributes to the sociology-of-science type of accounting literature, addressing how accounting knowledge is established, advanced and extended. Design/methodology/approach - The research question is answered through the example of research into linkages between accounting and religion. Adopting an Actor-Network Theory (ANT) approach, we follow the actors involved in the construction of accounting as an academic discipline through the controversies in which they engage to develop knowledge. Findings - We show that accounting knowledge is established, advanced and developed through the ongoing mobilisation of nonhumans (journals) who can enrol other humans and nonhumans. We show that knowledge advancement, establishment and development is more contingent on network breadth than on research paradigms, which appear as side-effects of positioning vis-à- vis a community. Research limitations - In our analysis, we followed humans and were able to let them share their strategies with us and validate our ex post facto reading of their papers. We were unable to do the same with nonhumans because of their intrinsic properties. Practical implications - This paper provides scholars with analytical tools that could help them position their research projects within a scientific network and understand the need for interactions with other actors in establishing, advancing and developing knowledge. Originality value - The originality of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we apply ANT to accounting knowledge, whereas the accounting literature applies it to the spread of management accounting ideas, methods and practices. Secondly, we develop an original methodology for data collection by inviting authors from the network to give a reflexive account of their writings at the time they joined the network. Well diffused in sociology and philosophy, such an approach is, albeit, original in accounting research. |
| Keywords: | Research network; Accounting research; Knowledge; Actor-network theory; Controversies; Translation; Knowledge management |
| Date: | 2013–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00824632&r=ppm |