A continuum of organizations formed to carry out projects: Temporary and stationary organization forms

Projects are carried out by temporary organizations. These organizations can function independently or in cooperation with stationary organizations. To enable efficient project and program management, these differences in organization structure have to be considered. This paper therefore contrasts organizations formed to carry out activities at project sited based on forms of employment, work processes and resource networks used. Findings indicate that temporary organizations that are dominated by stationary “parent” organizations often rely on its abilities to secure access to crucial resources and to identify suitable work processes. “Pure” or virtually “pure” temporary organizations instead rely on their employees’ skills and contacts to develop suitable routines and gain access to resources

The division of responsibility for project supply

Activities undertaken at project sites, such as construction work and festivals, regularly generate substantial material flows. Management of these flows is important to ensure project success, e.g. by avoiding delays, but is seldom discussed in literature. To advance knowledge on these issues, a study was undertaken to determine the need for coordination of the often numerous project participants’ logistical activities. The division of responsibility for procurement, transport and handling of project supply was therefore examined. Based on three cases, findings show that considerable coordination needs exist due to extensive use of system sourcing and significant outsourcing of logistical activities

PARENT ORGANISATIONS IMPACT ON TEMPORARY ORGANISATIONS AND THEIR LOGISTICS REQUIREMENTS

Projects are carried out by temporary organisations. These organisations are often linked to parent organisations but can also be free-standing organisations. How parent organisations impact on temporary organisations is here analysed based on a comparison of employment forms, work processes and resource networks for a number of organisations involved in four different projects. Based on the analysis a discussion on how the existence of a parent organisation can impact on temporary organisations logistics requirements is held. Temporary organisations with parent organisations are noticeably governed by their parent organisations and dependent on their abilities and resource bases. Temporary organisations that lack a parent organisation instead have to rely on their employees skills and contacts to develop suitable routines and gain access to resources. Based on these findings propositions for further research are given

Coordination of material flows to and from project sites: The case of an exhibition centre

A multitude of organisations with varying material needs are often involved in activities at project sites. This makes the use of collective project resources, like material handling resources at project sites, demanding. However, to ensure project success it is important that material flows needed to support activities undertaken at project sites are not disrupted as this can result in unnecessary costs and low customer service. The purpose of this paper is therefore to analyse how material flows to and from project sites can be coordinated and how project characteristics might impact on how this is done. To do this, empirical data from a primarily qualitative case study undertaken at a Swedish exhibition centre used for multiple fairs has been collected. Findings illustrate how significant improvements can be achieved in the management of material flows to and from project sites if the material handling needs of the project participants are known in advance and the utilization of critical logistical resources is planned accordingly. The coordination of material flows for fairs are, however, impeded by fair characteristics like short project duration, heterogeneous material flows and fair diversity. Further research on coordination of material flows to and from project sites is suggested as the logistical problems observed in the studied case are likely to exist at other project sites with restricted access as well