Improving communication between client and contractor during construction project in Nigerian construction industry

Communication today has become the crucial element of every organisation. In construction industry, during construction project, information need to be accurately and timely communicating among project stakeholders in order to realized the project objectives. Poor communication between client and contractor during construction project is one of the major factors that affect project delivery. Therefore the objectives of this research are to investigate the causes and effects of poor communication between client and contractor and the suitable methods to improve communication between the client and contractor. The objectives where achieved by identifying the causes and effects of poor communication between client and contractor, and the methods to improve communication between the client and contractor in the Nigerian construction industry through a statistical analyses. Structured questionnaire was used to 120 combinations of clients and contractors in the construction industry with 80% of response rate. Several analyses such as frequency, mean, ranking and Regression were used to analyze the data. The results shows that, lack of corporation and selfish interest were the most causes of poor communication between the client and contractor. Contrastingly, maintaining integrity and sufficient trust were the most significant ways to improve communication between the client and contractor. The hypothesis reveals that, poor communication between the client and contractor has significant effects on construction projects. This research will profit the client and contractor, and the various project stakeholders in the construction industry, by providing adequate knowledge regarding the causes and effects of poor communication between the client and contractor, so that necessary steps to be taken for prevention. Also it will provide knowledge about the appropriate strategies (method) to employ in order to improve communication between the two parties

Divide and Conquer: Political Decentralization and Secessionist Suppression in Indonesia and the Philippines

This paper examines the roles of identity-based conflict and secessionist sentiment in motivating and affecting political decentralization in middle-income democracies. The literature on decentralization largely assumes a link between the process and increased political accountability and service delivery effectiveness; however, these theories do not take into account cases in which national crisis and regional instability are the primary motives to decentralize. This paper hypothesizes that when decentralization occurs in direct response to threats of secession, the quality of its political accountability and service delivery mechanisms will be lower than would otherwise be predicted. Two cases are considered: the Philippines, whose decentralization occurred under a stable and well-institutionalized democratic regime, and Indonesia, which radically and rapidly decentralized in the face of high-intensity conflicts in Aceh, Maluku, and Papua. Ultimately, the careful construction and implementation of a moderate devolution program in the Philippines led to success in the areas of political accountability and service delivery, while the more extreme Indonesian program faced long-term challenges and shortcomings in those same areas. Neither country, however, can be said to have successfully eliminated regional separatism or otherwise incorporated discontented groups into their devolved systems, suggesting that this process represents a particular challenge to newly decentralized regimes

技术创新、企业创新与社会创新

文章通过案例分析发现创新应该包括许多维度,如单纯意义上的技术创新、组织创新、经营方式与理念创新、企业制度创新、商业模式创新、企业关系创新、公共关系及整合能力创新等。而且创新分成多个层次,从技术创新到企业创新,再到整个经济体系的社会创新

NÄR WILLYS MÖTE WILLMA, En fallstudie i samspelet mellan butikskoncept och människa

Titel: NÄR WILLYS MÖTTE WILLMA, en fallstudie i samspelet mellan butikskoncept och människa Seminariedatum: 2008-06-05 Ämne: FEKK01, Kandidatuppsats, Företagsekonomi 15 poäng Författare: Sebastian Andersson, Mårten Mårtensson, Natally Netterby Handledare: Håkan Lagerquist Nyckelord: Dagligvaruhandel, butikskoncept, innovation, kulturutvidgning, organisationens livscykel Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva och analysera den förändringsproblematik som kan uppstå då nya sätt att arbeta och tänka introduceras från ledningshåll i en organisation samt hur dessa bör hanteras för att nå konkurrenskraftiga lösningar. Metod: Studien är en fallstudie med i huvudsak abduktiv ansats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom personliga, kvalitativa intervjuer som varit semistrukturerade till sin karaktär. Den kvalitativa ansatsen är vald för att kunna ge en djup och nyansrik bild av det valda fallet. Teori: Den organisatoriska livscykeln används för att klargöra förändringsproblematiken. Teorier om kulturell förändring syftar till att utröna hur en förändring bör ske. Styrning och motivation kan här ses som verktyg i förändringsarbetet. Lean production och relations-modellen används för diskussion kring långsiktigt hållbara lösningar. Empiri: Studieobjektet är Willys organisation och omfattar Willys huvudkontor i Göteborg, pilotbutiken för Willmakonceptet i Söndrum, Halmstad samt även Willys i Ystad. Intervjuerna har omfattat både personer på ledningsnivå och i butik, butikschefer och personal. Resultat: Genom studien har vi kommit fram till att det finns ett glapp i hur ledning och butiksmedarbetar ser på organisationen och dess arbete. De befinner sig i olika faser i den organisatoriska livscykeln vilket vi förklarar genom att en förändring av detta slag tar tid att få genomslag i en så stor organisation. För att lyckas med den förändring företaget står inför anser vi att en kulturell utvidgning är nödvändig där fokus ligger på andra styrformer och motivatorer än tidigare. Förändringen bör gå mer mot klanstyrning och interaktiv motivation. Dessutom menar vi att ett utvecklat lean- och relationstänkande kan hjälpa organisationen med att skapa förutsättningar för en framgångsrik nästa fas

Front-Line Managers' Strategizing: A Case Study of a High Street Optical Retailer

The present study investigates how Front-Line Managers (FLMs) accomplish strategizing practice and praxes in their day-to-day work at a high street optical retailer (Optica). Despite increasing research on strategizing work, we are still ill-informed about the phenomenon at the lower, non-senior management level. Data was collected over 12 months by interviewing 24 FLMs and four middle managers; by observing FLMs in their stores and during five regional monthly meetings; and by collecting internal documents and external industry reports covering seven years. The data was analysed using thematic coding whereby both the agent’s context analysis and conduct analysis methodological bracketing techniques were mobilised. Findings from the present research reveal that FLMs strategize by carrying out strategy-realising work in the form of localising practices and praxes. The organisation’s strategy constrains the localising work of FLMs, while their professional experience enables it. The organisation’s strategy is drawn up and enacted in the day-to-day work of FLMs when they are localising. The present study claims four main theoretical contributions to the SaP literature. Firstly, it advances strategizing as strategy-realising work by defining strategizing as a social strategy-realising praxis that transposes the abstract strategy statement into the concrete conduct. Secondly, it elaborates on a notion of strategy as a combination of external and internal social structure explaining strategy heterogeneity. Thirdly, this research extends current SaP literature by discussing the role of structural context in the tension between normativity and creativity. Fourthly, it advances a framework illustrating strategy-realising as a structuration process, composed of multiple and overlapping structuration cycles. The framework illustrates how structural context and strategic agency co-depend and co-emerge in strategizing practices and praxis. Methodological contributions are made in two ways. First, the present study offers a critical assessment of employing Strong Structuration Theory to conduct empirical SaP studies. Second, it elaborates a data analysis model that combines abductive logic with the agent’s context analysis and conduct analysis methodological bracketing techniques