Auxiliary management methods supporting process maturity : has the pandemic changed anything?

PURPOSE: The dynamics of changes in the enterprises’ environment in the last two years can be considered in two ways. On the one hand, the external conditions, including potential market opportunities, have changed dramatically due to the limitations of the Coronavirus pandemic. On the other hand, enterprises were forced to change their work style to a remote one for the same reason. During the conducted research, attempts were made to determine whether external conditions have changed and how they influenced the management of enterprises.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research scope includes primarily small and mediumsized enterprises operating in various regions of Poland. The data was collected using an online survey. Due to the inability to obtain complete data for statistical analysis, the authors decided to use the Grey System Theory (GST). A descriptive scale was used in the questionnaire, which is also a good reason for using GST. The fundamental advantage of using GST is the possibility of drawing conclusions based on incomplete information.FINDINGS: This research was conducted shortly before the pandemic in 2019 and 2021. The organization's maturity process awareness level and the scope of using selected management methods were analyzed. The relationship between this maturity process awareness level and the use of specific management methods has been indicated.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The paper presents significant differences between the factors in 2019 and 2021. The distinction is required to determine which elements and how much has changed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This is the first study that determines the impact of each factor in organization maturity process awareness level using GST.This research was funded by the Poznań University of Technology, Faculty of Engineering Management (project number: 0811/SBAD/1031).peer-reviewe

Grey method of selecting a contractor in the UN public procurement

PURPOSE: The article proposes a new method for selecting a contractor in United Nations public procurement. Approach: This method is based on the use of the grey number decision model.FINDINGS: The presented model, which belongs to the grey systems theory, enables to combine quantitative and qualitative criteria in the assessment of the contractors.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The method is particularly applicable in case of the presence of subjective features among the evaluation criteria which are difficult to express on a quantitative scale. An example of its use may be the so-called green public procurement, in which, apart from the quantitative criteria, such as price, there are qualitative criteria related, for example, to the impact of the offer on the social and ecological environment. The first section of the article presents the basics issues related to public procurement. In the second section, the essence of the grey systems theory is described. The third part of the article presents the structure and procedure in the grey method of selecting a contractor in public procurement on the example of the United Nations.VALUE: Finally, the developed method as presented on the selected case study can be a guide for future cases.peer-reviewe