Facilitating organisational decision making: a change risk assessment model case study

Purpose: This paper aims to take the challenge to propose a novel modelling approach named Change Risk Assessment Model (CRAM), which will contribute significantly to the missing formality of business models especially in the change risk assessment area and decision-making. Organisational change risks are assessed with the aid of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in an attempt to define the internal dynamics of organisational change management within project management eliciting also risk cause-and-effect relationships. Design/methodology/approach: The study discusses interviews/survey/AHP. Findings: The study presents the following findings. Change risk factors assessment (identification and prioritisation) recommendations (see Case Study) integration of change management; project management; risk management top four risk factors, namely, leadership, communication, project management team and culture. Research limitations/implications: As projects can be different in a variety of factors (quality, scope), an exhaustive list of risk factors cannot be identified. There is a continuous risk identification process throughout the projects’ life cycle. For example, many risks can be classified initially as unknown and can be refined after the initiation phase of the project. AHP factors limitation (eight per level) possible bias (survey analysis). Practical implications: With the aid of modelling and especially CRAM, business change risks can be assessed numerically and prioritised. Several risk factors and related attributes were identified and categorised. This empowers project managers or other stakeholders to make proper decisions about whether to take on or abandon respective organisational or project changes. Social implications: One of the values of CRAM is that it can be regarded as a global change risk assessment method that can be applied regardless of project type, size or organisation. Moreover, it has the advantage that it can be used by any kind of project, as the method is designed to be tailored to specific needs, taking significant environmental change risk factors into account. AHP has numerous uses in operational research, in project management and in general in areas where decisions (evaluation and selection) have to be made. The analysis of the case study presented, indicated that it is vital to assess the degree (impact) that each risk attribute poses to address complex organisational decisions. Originality/value: CRAM aims to bridge the gap between theoretical and applied work in the integrated research field of change management, project management and risk management. Furthermore, the approach attempts to develop a novel systematic methodology (model) for assigning probabilities in attributes (criteria) pair-wise comparison and more specifically, modelling and assessing change management risks, adding a different perspective and technique to the research area

The changing landscape of IS project failure: an examination of the key factors

YesInformation systems (IS) project failure has been a recurring problem for decades. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the key factors that influence project failure and an analysis of the major areas that can have a significant impact on success; and second, to explore some of the key aspects that have an impact on project management performance from the practitioner perspective and discusses the problems faced by organizations in the closer integration of change and project management. Design/methodology/approach: This study critically reviews the IS failure literature developing a synthesized view of the key issues and common reasons for projects to fail. The approach taken in this study is one that focuses on a number of key questions that pull together the relevant themes in this genre of research whilst highlighting many of the implications for practitioners and organizations alike. Findings: Key questions remain on the underlying causes of instances of poor project management as an IS failure factor. The literature has omitted to develop a deeper analysis of the associations between failure factors and the potential causal relationships between these factors. The realization of project benefits relies on the success of both change and project management yet the formal integration of these two disciplines is constrained by separate standards bodies and an immature body of research. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited by its theoretical nature lacking an empirical element to provide a deeper analysis of IS failure factors and their interrelationships. This specific area is a recommendation for future research, where causal relationships between failure factors could be developed via a mathematic-based method such as interpretive structural modeling. Practical implications: With failure rates of IS projects still unacceptably high after decades of attempts to significantly change outcomes, a deeper analysis of this topic is required. The research gaps and recommendations for practitioners highlighted in this study have the potential to provide valuable contributions to this topic of research. Originality/value: The intent of this study is to present a new perspective of this genre of IS research that develops the main arguments and gaps in the literature from the practitioner viewpoint

Managing the delivery of iconic football stadiums in England

The English football premier league has become the most popular sports league in the world; with ardent fans and audiences all over the world. The potential business opportunities that this growth holds have therefore attracted investors who are keen to buy shares in the clubs and sign up the best footballers that money can buy. Underpinning the growth in all of the premier league clubs is a desire to make a distinct statement of identity as part of a competitive strategy. One way to achieve this is through the design and construction of iconic football stadiums. This paper explores the specific project management challenges associated with delivery of iconic football stadiums in England and draws lessons for the management of similar iconic infrastructure projects. A study of project management best practice and some case studies shows that key issues which are common to these projects are centred on design management; choice of procurement route; client management; and stakeholder expectation management. These issues are not necessarily unique to the project management of iconic football stadiums but are amplified by the context of these projects. The emphasis on iconic status in a competitive market also means that stadium projects should be conceived and delivered in the context of other strategic projects which should be clearly understood by the project management team

Private finance for the delivery of school projects in England

This paper analyses the use of the private finance initiative (PFI) approach to deliver school projects in England. The findings are based on case-study research in the Building Schools for the Future scheme (BSF), the largest single capital investment in SO years to rebuild and renew all of England's secondary schools. Up to half of the school infrastructure is to be procured by PFI contracts. A major concern has been the high cost associated with PFI procurement and any subsequent changes to scope. Furthermore, in some cases PFI-funded schools have been closed soon after completion; at great cost to the public sector. The aim of this research was therefore to understand the underlying reasons for these problems. The main conclusion is that the difficulties in BSF arise from not sorting out strategic issues and instituting appropriate organisational frameworks before engaging the private sector. The result of this is a lack of clarity about the long-term needs and end user aspirations. A brief outline of current programme management methods is given and it is suggested that this might be integral to the successful delivery of schools using private finance. A clear strategic vision that cascades into projects via programmes will ensure that the school infrastructure is appropriate for the anticipated strategic benefits and is aligned to the overall service delivery ambitions

Choosing project risk management techniques. A theoretical framework

The pressure for increasing quality while reducing time and costs places particular emphasis on managing risk in projects. To this end, several models and techniques have been developed in literature and applied in practice, so that there is a strong need for clarifying when and how each of them should be used. At the same time, knowledge about risk management is becoming of paramount importance to effectively deal with the complexity of projects. However, communication and knowledge creation are not easy tasks, especially when dealing with uncertainty, because decision-making is often fragmented and a comprehensive perspective on the goals, opportunities, and threats of a project is missing. With the purpose of providing guidelines for the selection of risk techniques taking into account the most relevant aspects characterising the managerial and operational scenario of a project, a theoretical framework to classify these techniques is proposed. Based on a literature review of the criteria to categorise risk techniques, three dimensions are defined: the phase of the risk management process, the phase of the project life cycle, and the corporate maturity towards risk. The taxonomy is then applied to a wide selection of risk techniques according to their documented applications. This work helps to integrate the risk management and the knowledge management processes. Future research efforts will be directed towards refining the framework and testing it in multiple industrie

Alternative models for academic family practices

BACKGROUND: The Future of Family Medicine Report calls for a fundamental redesign of the American family physician workplace. At the same time, academic family practices are under economic pressure. Most family medicine departments do not have self-supporting practices, but seek support from specialty colleagues or hospital practice plans. Alternative models for academic family practices that are economically viable and consistent with the principles of family medicine are needed. This article presents several "experiments" to address these challenges. METHODS: The basis of comparison is a traditional academic family medicine center. Apart of the faculty practice plan, our center consistently operated at a deficit despite high productivity. A number of different practice types and alternative models of service delivery were therefore developed and tested. They ranged from a multi-specialty office arrangement, to a community clinic operated as part of a federally-qualified health center, to a team of providers based in and providing care for residents of an elderly public housing project. Financial comparisons using consistent accounting across models are provided. RESULTS: Academic family practices can, at least in some settings, operate without subsidy while providing continuity of care to a broad segment of the community. The prerequisites are that the clinicians must see patients efficiently, and be able to bill appropriately for their payer mix. CONCLUSION: Experimenting within academic practice structure and organization is worthwhile, and can result in economically viable alternatives to traditional models

Chapter 20 Assessment of radiation pollution from nuclear power plants

Nuclear power plants split uranium atoms in a process called fission. In a nuclear power plant, heat is generated to produce steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity. Nuclear energy has been proposed in response to the need for a clean energy source compared to CO2 production plants. However, nuclear energy is not necessarily a source of clean energy as nuclear power plants release small amounts of greenhouse emissions in activities related to building and running the plant. Moreover, even if all safety measures are followed, there is no guarantee that an accident will not occur in a nuclear power plant. In the case of an accident involving a nuclear power plant, the environment and the people around it may be exposed to high levels of radiation. Another important environmental problem related to nuclear energy is the generation of radioactive waste that can remain radioactive and dangerous to human health for thousands of years. There are also several issues with burying the radioactive waste. Here, we describe different types of radioactive waste pollution from nuclear power plants, their environmental effects, nuclear regulations, and nuclear power plant incidents. Moreover, two case studies on nuclear power plant accidents and their consequences are discussed