Project Managers\u27 Strategies for Megaproject Success

In Africa, most oil and gas megaprojects exceed their original budget and time deadlines despite advancement in project management processes and systems. This study explored strategies project managers used for megaprojects\u27 success in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, from the perspectives of the owner and contractor organizations. Multiple case study design was utilized to collect data by asking open-ended questions in separate interviews with 4 project managers. Archival project data was also reviewed to eliminate information incongruences. The conceptual framework for the study is the contingency theory that there is no universal management structure for every project. The data analysis approach was thematic coding. Study findings from the data analysis were aggregated into 5 themes. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd themes include the project managers\u27 view of measures of megaproject successes, project managers\u27 strategies for managing the business environment, and the strategies for achieving megaproject execution excellence. The 4th and 5th themes are the strategies for facilitating employee performance and the typical social change development and social change performance initiatives to benefit neighboring communities because of a megaproject. The conclusion from the evidences gathered is that megaproject success is contingent on the ability of the project manager to unravel and address complexity leveraging strategic leadership and systems thinking. From these findings, project managers from the client and contractor organizations may use, adapt, learn, refresh, and improve their project management skills. The significance of the study to positive social change from improving the success rates of megaprojects includes improvement in human capacity development and infrastructural additions that can facilitate economic growth in the region

May 20, 1955

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia

The Wooster Voice (Wooster, Ohio), 1907-06-13, Commencement Edition

This special edition of the Voice gives the details of the 1907 Commencement Ceremony. The first page has the baccalaureate and the farewell speech typed out. The third page is a photograph of the 1907 graduates in their cap and gowns. The sixth and seventh pages are of the commencement program and the graduates with their major and minors. The remainder of the pages follow the usual Voice format, and the articles conclude the school year.https://openworks.wooster.edu/voice1901-1910/1130/thumbnail.jp

Entry mode selection for internationalization of giant Chinese state owned companies: The case of entrance in Africa of China communications construction company

Enterprise internationalization is an inevitable choice as open economies develop to a certain level. According to the direct investment development path theory of John Dunning, when the GNP Per Capita exceeds $3000, the net foreign investment will be positive. With rapid development over the past three decades, China’s international economic position and influence have significantly improved and its GNP Per Capita has surpassed$ 4000, it has entered the rapid growth stage for investment development as described in Dunning’s theory. At this stage, the market entry mode selection is the first issue to tackle for enterprise internationalization. This thesis takes China’s giant state owned construction companies as research object and the author analyzes the internal and external environments and the strategic selection for internationalization operation, and describes the conceptions, categories, internal attributes and factors of market entry mode selection for internationalization of construction companies. This thesis focuses on China Communications Construction Company Ltd (hereinafter referred to as CCCC), representative of giant Chinese state owned construction companies, sets up the SWOT analysis and weight system and conducts strategic positioning. Based on the above strategic positioning, the author takes into consideration the national background of these companies and puts forward three assumptions and their theoretical framework. The thesis takes CCCC’s entry into the market of Kenya and Angola as an example, verifies the effectiveness and application of the theoretical framework, and makes up the deficiency of the theory on market entry mode selection for enterprise internationalization, providing reference for enterprises’ market entry practice.Quando as economias abertas atingem um determinado nível de desenvolvimento a internacionalização das empresas torna-se uma escolha inevitável. De acordo com a teoria de investiemnto directo de John Dunning, quando o rendimento per capita excede $3000, o investimento estrangeiro liquido será positivo. Com um crescimento económico rápido nas últimas três décadas, a posição económica internacional da China e influência melhoraram significativamente e o seu rendimento per capita ultrapassou os$4000. Atingiu, deste modo, o estágio defendido por Dunning. Esta tese tem como objecto de pesquisa as empresas “gigantes” estatais Chinesas do ramo das obras públicas e o autor analisa a envolvente interna e externa e a escolha estratégica dos modos de internacionalização das mesmas. Esta tese foca-se na empresa chinesa – China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC), representante das empresas gigantes estatais chinesas de obras públicas, descrevendo o processo de realização da análise SWOT. Tendo por base o posicionamento estratégico da empresa, o autor analisa o contexto em que esta empresa se desenvolveu e avança com três pressupostos no que concerne à sua internacionalização. A tese compara também os processos de entrada da CCCC em Angola e no Quénia

Skill and strategy in games

This thesis consists of two parts. Part I deals with relative skill and the role of random factors in games. Part II is devoted to the computation of optimal strategies in two interesting classes of games: poker and take-and-guess games.

Cutting the Puppet Strings: Confronting The Singularity

Modern technology has excelled at an unprecedented rate. The rise of artificial intelligence raises many ethical questions and concerns for humanity, as it has incited many pressing debates between philosophers, computer scientists, and social critics who share concerns for the future of humanity but conflict with one another regarding whether or not we should rely on technology to govern human affairs and control society\u27s infrastructures. Drawing from Martin Heidegger, Jacques Ellul, Hubert Dreyfus, and others, this project weighs out the probabilities and problems of the technological singularity posited by Ray Kurzweil, confronting our habits of addressing technology and the way we model ourselves off of computational AI. And then, finally, what it means to regain human agency and remain spiritually and ethically accountable for the roles we play