A supply network governance framework: a case study of the South Australian mining industry

Purpose – The competitiveness of mining regions largely depends on the performance of the regional supply chains that provide services to mining companies. These local supply chains are often highly intertwined and represent a regional supply network for the industry. Individual companies often use supply chain strategies that are sub-optimal to overall supply network performance. To effectively respond to an uncertain business environment, policy-makers and supply chain participants would benefit by a governance framework that would allow to incentivise the formation of supply networks structures enabling effective operations. The purpose of this paper is to offer an empirically grounded conceptual framework based on Complex Adaptive Systems (CASs) governance principles, which links network governance mechanisms with supply network structure and operational performance to incentivise the formation of adaptive and resilient supply networks in the mining industry. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method research design and a case study of the South Australian mining sector were used to collect empirical data. Qualitative interviews and network analysis of the SA mining industry regional supply network structure were conducted. The relationships between network parameters were interpreted using CAS theory. Findings – An empirically grounded conceptual framework based on CAS governance principles is developed. The case study revealed that supply chain strategies and governance mechanisms in the SA mining industry have led to the formation of a hierarchical, scale-free structure with insufficient horizontal connectivity which limits the adaptability, responsiveness and resilience of the regional supply network. Research limitations/implications – The findings are drawn from a single case study. This limits generalisability of the findings and the proposed framework. Practical implications – The proposed framework draws the attention of the policy-makers and supply chain participants towards the need for utilising CAS governance principles to facilitate the formation of adaptive, responsive and resilient regional supply networks in the mining industry. Originality value – The proposed conceptual framework is an attempt to parameterise the governance of the regional supply networks in the mining industry.Larissa Statsenko, Alex Gorod and Vernon Irelan

Self-organising supply networks: A case study of the SA mining industry

For efficient operation, it is vital for supply chain management leaders and policy makers to recognize the nature of the system they deal with. Supply chains, are increasingly recognized as systems of systems, which are complex networks exhibiting selforganising properties. In large scale real-life networks, selforganisation manifests itself in distinctive structural patterns, such as Power Law connectivity distribution, scale-free, fractal, and nearly decomposable modular structure. Identification of such structural patterns in real-world supply networks may provide useful insights into their dynamics and functionality, and as a result, apply adequate governance frameworks to embrace structural complexity. To this end, the methods for identification of complexity traits in real-world industrial supply networks are of interest. A case study of the mining industry supply network in South Australia has been used to propose a method for identifying self-organisation patterns in regional industrial supply network structures. The approach combines network analysis and recent methods for testing Power Law distributions. The findings provide insights into the mining industry supply network functionality, including such operational characteristics as robustness, responsiveness, flexibility, and resilience.Larissa Statsenko, Vernon Ireland, Alex Goro

A complex adaptive systems governance framework for regional supply networks

Purpose: This paper aims to propose an empirically grounded governance framework based on complex adaptive systems (CAS) principles to facilitate formation of well-connected regional supply chains that foster economic development, adaptability and resilience of mining regions. Design/methodology/approach: This study is an exploratory case study of the South Australian (SA) mining industry that includes 38 semi-structured interviews with the key stakeholders and structural analysis of the regional supply network (RSN). Findings: Findings demonstrate the applicability of the CAS framework as a structured approach to the governance of the mining industry regional supply chains. In particular, the findings exemplify the relationship between RSN governance, its structure and interconnectivity and their combined impact on the adaptability and resilience of mining regions. Research limitations/implications: The data set analysed in the current study is static. Longitudinal data would permit a deeper insight into the evolution of the RSN structure and connectivity. The validity of the proposed framework could be further strengthened by being applied to other industrial domains and geographical contexts. Practical/implications: The proposed framework offers a novel insight for regional policy-makers striving to create an environment that facilitates the formation of well-integrated regional supply chains in mining regions through more focussed policy and strategies. Originality/value The proposed framework is one of the first attempts to offer a holistic structured approach to governance of the regional supply chains based on CAS principles. With the current transformative changes in the global mining industry, policy-makers and supply chain practitioners have an urgent need to embrace CAS and network paradigms to remain competitive in the twenty-first century.Larissa Statsenko, Alex Gorod, Vernon Irelan

The role of command-and-control management and governance in systems engineering

27th Annual INCOSE International Symposium (IS 2017) . Adelaide, Australia, July 15-20, 2017. Session 6 Track 4: Acquisition & Supply.Command‐and‐control management has traditionally been the primary methodology used in Systems Engineering (SE) to manage systems. However, even though command‐and‐control has a significant and important role in managing traditional systems, it lacks adaptability and flexibility in dealing with complex systems. A general understanding exists that systems differ in terms of their typology and several different typologies have been proposed in order to assist systems engineers to distinguish between various types of systems. Since different types of systems require different management approaches, the governance method has been recently introduced in SE as a potentially more effective management style for certain types of systems, especially complex adaptive systems. This paper addresses issues faced by systems engineers in choosing whether to apply command‐and‐control management or governance in a particular situation. Additionally, it includes information about different criteria and a profiling methodology. These can be used to help practitioners to differentiate between system types and suggest the appropriate type of management style to apply to a given system. Two cases are presented to illustrate the application of both management approaches under differing degrees of complexity.Alex Gorod, Leonie Hallo, Tiep Nguye

Paradox: Holarchical view of system of systems engineering management

This paper focuses on a method of developing a framework for effective System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) management.While developing the management process in dealing with SoSE, we are searching for ways to engineer multiple integrated complex systems, which can be concurrently, highly emergent and effectively governable. The authors propose to utilize the "holarchical view" methodology to identify and examine this essential phenomenon of paradoxes of SoSE management. The proposed method is based on the Boardman-Sauser five distinguishing characteristics of Autonomy, Belonging, Connectivty, Diversity, and Emergence. The outcome of this research would influence further studies on the topic and greatly contribute to the SoSE body of knowledge.Alex Gorod, Brian Sauser, John Boardma

Clarifying the project complexity construct: past, present and future

Abstract not availableJavad Bakhshi, Vernon Ireland, Alex Goro

A socio-physical approach to systemic risk reduction in emergency response and preparedness

his paper proposes a socio-physical approach that considers jointly the interaction and integration of the social and physical views of a system to improve emergency response and preparedness. This is accomplished through a reduction of systemic risk, which refers to a risk that could be greater than the sum of the risks of the individual system constituents. Using network analysis, it is shown that the explicit socio-physical approach yields meaningful qualitative and quantitative differences when compared with approaches that focus on the social and physical views in isolation. The benefits of this proposed approach are illustrated on a case study using clustering analysis and a proof-of-concept simulation. This new approach leads to systemic risk reduction by enabling a more informed and coordinated response strategy following an incident and a better identification of possible consequences and preparation strategies prior to an incident.William Ross, Alex Gorod and Mihaela Ulier

Understanding the dynamics of system-of-systems in complex international negotiations

This paper explores the intersection between the complex international negotiation processes and the more traditional negotiation modes, emphasizing their strong connection to the issue of the behavioural leadership. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate why the traditional negotiation approaches to complex conflicts have frequently failed in the past, and how the recognition of system-of-systems (SoS) can be helpful to political leaders during the negotiations, from the standpoint of achieving a more sustainable outcome. The concept of leadership style serves as a linking point to determining the dynamics of negotiations and recognition of multiple systems in the study. Specifically, the leaders' personal characteristics - for instance, their personal views with regards to the conflict, level of comfort with ambiguity, physical agility and adaptability in challenging environments - can be crucial to the achievement of successful settlements.Barbara Rapaport, Vernon Ireland and Alex Goro

Application of case studies to engineering management and systems engineering education

As engineering system complexity has increased over the years, numerous complex systems projects have failed due to the lack of an appropriate systemic perspective. Since the solution to this challenge is itself a complex system, educating and training our current and future technical leaders on these challenges, and providing suggested changes in their mind sets, is imperative. As an educational tool, case studies can be a platform through which the analysis, knowledge application, and drawing of conclusions can occur to facilitate coping with the most complex systems. Case study learning has proven successful in the training of business leaders with real life examples of the strategies and tactics used by leading businesses to succeed globally. A valuable characteristic of case studies is that they support a holistic understanding and interpretation of the systems of action or interrelated activities engaged in by the participants. However, case studies are not as broadly used in engineering management and systems engineering education. This paper describes the importance of case studies to engineering management and systems engineering education, discusses frameworks for their implementation, and presents a case study template that can be used as a guideline in engineering education. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.S. Jimmy Gandhi, Brian Sauser, Brian Emery White, Alex Gorod, Vernon Irelandhttp://www.asee.org/public/conferences/8/papers/4002/vie

A contribution to developing a complex project management BOK

This paper proposes a project typology focused on system of systems (SoS) projects, which are recognised as complex in a hierarchy of simple, complicated, and complex. Three types of complex systems are proposed: traditional SoS projects, such as defence or air transport, in which a developing project incorporates an existing independent asset; SoS projects which address wicked problems and hence require use of soft system methods to determine stakeholders, boundaries and a solution process; and, integration of assets, such as states or enterprises into an encompassing system. Context, leadership style and personality types suitable for each are proposed. Some tools are referenced. Soft system methods to explore solutions to wicked problems are outlined.Vernon Ireland, Alex Gorod, Brian E. White, S. Jimmy Gandhi, Brian Sause