Unravelling Downsizing – What do we know about the Phenomenon?

This downsizing article represents a succinct review of the scholarly work of researchers studying the multifaceted downsizing phenomenon over the past 30 years. Since Cascio’s (1993) article “Downsizing: What do we know? What have we learned?”, the research has burgeoned across several countries. This paper examines what we have learned during the many years of scholarly enquiry. As such, the article is based upon an analysis of the downsizing literature and represents a summation of secondary sources. The research also provides an update on the latest downsizing developments.downsizing; strategy; workforce; literature review.

Phases of Cost Cutting: Downsizing is Dead; Long Live the Downsizing Phenomenon

This downsizing research article presents a phase typology of job cutting which includes three distinct phases and three levels of argument. Conceptually, the paper draws heavily upon the seminal work of Littler and Gandolfi (2008) seeking to expand and update their 2008 Academy of Management (AOM) Conference paper. The paper culminates with a contemporary discussion of current downsizing practices showcasing that the strategy of downsizing has remained a popular restructuring method on a global scale.downsizing; cost cutting; phase; strategy.

The impact of high performance work practices on project performance. A case study of construction companies in South Africa

Abstract: A vast amount of research advocates that a tight link exits between High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) and organisational performance.  Nonetheless, a detailed study indicating which of these practices offers significant performance in relation to multi-project environments is still lacking. Importantly, project performance is a measure of success in multi-project environments evident in construction firms. The objective of this study is to determine the impact of HPWPs’ bundles namely: recruitment and selection (RS), training and development (TD), performance appraisal (PA) and compensation system (CS) on project performance in the construction multi-project companies in Cape Town, South Africa. In this study, perceptual data was obtained using a questionnaire survey of 63 participants working as project team members and administrative staff respectively in select construction companies in Cape Town, South Africa. Stratified and convenience sampling techniques were used to selected the participants. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of SPSS, version 24.The statistical results show that out of the four HPWPs, only CS has a significant association with project performance. &nbsp

Towards Successful Crowdsourcing Projects: Evaluating the Implementation of Governance Mechanisms

The last decade has witnessed the proliferation of crowdsourcing in various academic domains including strategic management, computer science, or IS research. Numerous companies have drawn on this concept and leveraged the wisdom of crowds for various purposes. However, not all crowdsourcing projects turn out to be a striking success. Hence, research and practice are on the lookout for the main factors influencing the success of crowdsourcing projects. In this context, proper governance is considered as the key to success by several researchers. However, little is known about governance mechanisms and their impact on project outcomes. We address this issue by means of a multiple case analysis in the scope of which we examine crowdsourcing projects on collaboration-based and/or competition-based crowdsourcing systems. Our initial study reveals that task definition mechanisms and quality assurance mechanisms have the highest impact on the success of crowdsourcing projects, whereas task allocation mechanisms are less decisive

The mediating effect of TQM practice on cost leadership strategy and improvement of project management performance

This study investigates the relationship between cost leadership strategy, total quality management (TQM) practices, and improvement of project management (IPM) performance. Based on a literature review, six main hypotheses and a theoretical model are developed on how these three domains are linked together. A data set collected from 128 mid to senior-level managerial employees of Malaysian engineering firms is utilized to validate the theoretical framework. The findings show that cost leadership strategy does not have a direct impact on IPM, consequently, it affects through the full mediation of TQM practices

Project management success in health: the need of additional research in public health projects

PROJMAN 2014 - International Conference on Project MANagement, Procedia TechnologyThe research about the factors that are linked to project management performance and project management success, has been developed for several years, so the literature about this subject is relatively extensive. After a literature review about project success factors, it was found that the current research effort is mainly focused on information technology, engineering and software development projects, not yet on public health projects. Public health projects have a different focus, are concerned on providing conditions in which people can be healthy, and are essential for populations’ welfare. Their distinctive attributes justify the need of research towards the development of a specific model of success factors, to support top management and project managers in planning and operational management. A model of success factors would help in the identification, control and minimization of issues that increase the likelihood of going in the wrong direction and strengthen those that create value or increase the probability of going successfully. It would also be useful as a tool for prediction and diagnosis in evaluating objectively and gradually minimize the probability of project failure, and thus assist in improving the project performance. This article presents a brief literature review on project management success and points out the need of additional research for public health projects in this area

La performance dans le management de projets : Contribution à l’étude des facteurs clés de succès du management de projets évènementiels dans la ville d’Agadir, Maroc

RésuméL’objet de cet article est de montrer, sur la base d’une étude quantitativeréalisée dans le secteur évènementieldans la ville d’Agadir (Maroc), Que laperformance dans le management de projets est essentiellement une question de comportements des acteurs de projets, mais aussi de l’emploi des outils et des techniques. Autrement dit, l’atteinte de la performance nécessite la prise encompte des facteurs reliés aux valeurs, des facteurs reliés à l’organisation, desfacteurs technologiques et des facteurs humains.Mots-clés : la performance dans le management de projets, les facteurs desuccès du management de projets, les facteurs de succès du management deprojets évènementiels.AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to show, based on a quantitative study in theevents sector in the city of Agadir (Morocco) that project managementperformance is essentially a question of behavior, but also the use of tools andtechniques. In other words, the achievement of the performance requiresconsideration of factors related to values, factors related to organizational,technological factors and human factors.Keywords: project management performance, project management successfactors, project management success factors for events

The Influence of Internal Control, Leadership Style, and Teamwork to Information System Project Success

The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of internal control, leadership style, and teamwork on the success of the information technology projects. The method of data collection is done by studying literature, questionnaires, interviews, and direct field observations. The research methodology used is quantitative method with the primary and secondary data source. Questionnaires were distributed to the project team, and 110 responses of employees at AIT Co. were received. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS. Findings showed that internal control and teamwork have a significant influence on the success of the information technology projects, but leadership style not significant. It was found that internal control, leadership style, and teamwork simultaneously have a significant and positive influence on the information technology projects success by 80%. The implication of this study is to increase successful project rate, the role of internal control is important to monitor from the earliest stage until project finished, and company needs to arrange program such as watch together, eat together or outing program. For future research is to expand the scope of the study, such as increasing the number of companies involved, with variations in other variables and can add control and moderating variables

Project management as a collection of qualities and characteristics

The significance of project management for the contemporary organization is progressively increasing, which stimulates the researchers to continuously study the obligations,responsibilities, knowledge, skills and abilities of the effective project managers. The goal of the paper is, on the basis of extensive theoretical research, to synthesize the qualities and characteristics of the successful project manager. In this connection there are presented six professional and four personal characteristics, considered as most important.Значимість проектного менеджменту для сучасної організації наростає прогресивним чином, що стимулює дослідників безперервно вивчати обов’язки, відповідальності, знання, здібності та вміння ефективних проектних менеджерів. Мета статті полягає в тому, щоб на підставі поглибленого теоретичного дослідження синтезувати якості і характеристики успішного проектного менеджера. У зв’язку з цим представлено шість професійних і чотири особистісних характеристики, що вважаються найважливішими.Значимость проектного менеджмента для современной организации нарастает прогрессивным образом, что стимулирует исследователей непрерывно изучать обязанности, ответственности, знания, способности и умения эффективных проектных менеджеров. Цель статьи состоит в том, чтобы на основании углубленного теоретического исследования синтезировать качества и характеристики преуспевающего проектного менеджера. В этой связи представляются шесть профессиональных и четыре личностных характеристики, считающиеся самыми важными