Agency theory perspective on public - private - partnerships: international development project

Purpose – Agency theory suggests that divergences will occur when a principal, e.g. client, and agent e.g. a project manager, interests are different in the execution of a project. The purpose of this paper is to explore if the agency theory can explain the subtleties integral to the behaviours and relationships between players delivering a public-private-partnership (PPP) in the context of an international development (ID) project. The intra-/interpersonal dynamics include governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private commercial service providers. The authors develop a conceptual framework and provide evidence from a case study of the testing of a Road Safety Toolkit in Kenya to explore several propositions. Design/methodology/approach – Extant literature identified application of the agency theory, and the development of a conceptual framework. A case study describing an ID project was used to validate the propositions prior to the expansion of a research instrument for data collection in the field. Findings – Through the lens of the agency theory and the limitations imposed by exploring a series of propositions, several insightful conclusions have been derived from the case. ID projects have particular nuisances that make them unique when compared to the majority of commercial applications. An added dimension and level of complexity is a consequence of the PPP incorporating government, NGOs and private corporations. The case exemplified the need for PPP ID projects to build on partner networks to influence and disseminate outcomes. Some agency problems were far less prominent than would normally be seen in a commercial project. Research limitations/implications – The methodologies presented in this paper need to be adapted and practiced in different kinds of ID projects in order to get confirmatory analytical results. The limitations imposed by the use of the single case, whilst drawing insightful conclusions, would necessitate greater testing in the field. Practical implications – Although the problems of the agency theory are well researched in the operations management literature, there is limited application to ID projects and no previous research within the context of a PPP. Therefore, this work is important for greater understanding of the specific issues associated with project delivery of an ID. Social implications – Conflicting goals between principals and agents are common for organisations, which in turn affect inter-relationships on an international footing. The agency theory has had little attention in the project management field, yet is fundamental to relationships and communication. Originality/value – There has been little research that explores the agency theory in the context of a PPP involving governments, NGOs and private commercial service providers, executed as an ID project. This work, therefore, exhibits new and novel findings

Operations sustainability maturity model: preliminary findings of financial services in developing and developed countries

Purpose This paper aims to develop and apply a measurement instrument to identify a comparative metric that identifies operational sustainability maturity across sectors and countries. Design/methodology/approach Using structured interviews to complete the operations sustainability maturity model (OSMM) in financial services organisations, data were compared to show differences for developed and developing countries. Findings The preliminary findings indicate that there is no significant difference in the sustainability maturity index between countries. However, size and profitability are strong indicators of sustainability maturity. Research limitations/implications These findings represent preliminary findings drawn from the financial services sector in a limited number of countries. Expansion of the data set will give greater confidence of results. Practical implications The OSMM is an empirical tool used to collect data that allows statistical evaluation of sustainable strategies used by firms in various sectors and in different countries. Social implications Sustainability is of critical importance in the economic development of all countries. The OSMM embraces fiscal, operational and environmental considerations. The research gives new insights to alternative strategic imperatives. Originality/value With increased awareness of organisational sustainability, academics have developed a number of tools, approaches and strategies to ensure commercial viability. However, few corporations have successfully institutionalised ongoing sustainability. OSMM is unique. Its wider application to embrace additional industry sectors and countries will bring new insight to strategic intent

Exploring communication in project-based interventions

Purpose: The authors explore several aspects of communications theory to identify their relevance to managing a project-based productivity improvement intervention. The literature on communication accommodation theory, groupthink and trust appear to have important implications for improvements. The purpose of this paper is to develop a research methodology used in conducting empirical data collection in the field to test the developed conceptual framework. The authors emphasize the importance of management theory to project-based interventions. The focus of this work is summarized by the research question: “what facets of communication impact on the success of a project-based improvement intervention?”. Design/methodology/approach: Following a focused literature review, learnings from specific research were used to identify a series of propositions. The scope of the work was established to limit the range of issues under review. Next, a conceptual framework was designed that allowed a case study to be tested with regard to validity of the propositions. Further testing will be undertaken in a single company. Findings: There is clear evidence showing the relevance of effective communication when executing an intervention to seek performance improvement. In particular, understanding the need of stakeholders’ is paramount that allows the design of a communications strategy. Each phase in a project-based intervention requires different styles of communication. There is also a need to have varying degrees of trust. Total unchallenged trust invariably leads to groupthink that hinders critical decision making. Research limitations/implications: The work contributes to the understanding of the application of communication theory to project-based interventions – that invariably aim at performance improvement initiatives. While currently the work is in the early stages of research, it does nevertheless show some useful early findings. Clearly further work is needed in international projects in the context of multi-cultural teams and external stakeholders. Practical implications: With many interventions failing to meet their planned objectives there is a need to isolate possible reasons and to rectify or mitigate the causes. Project management and change management training should include a comprehensive understanding of management theories. This research will contribute to this knowledge base. Social implications: Project-based activities are used in most walks of life; the need for excellent management is therefore important. Invariably interventions involve considerable capital investment and their success advances productivity of nations. Understanding and integrating communication theories to their management, therefore, has significant social benefits. Originality/value: The importance of communications is identified in the project management literature and adjunct disciplines. Professional associations and leading bodies in performance and project management, while emphasizing the need for excellent communication, have not adequately addressed underpinning theories. There is little research focusing on communication accommodation theory, groupthink and risk in the context of project management. The authors’ have not been able to identify any research on an integrated framework that combines these theories with managing a project-based performance improvement intervention

On the challenges and opportunities of implementing lean practices in northern Italian manufacturing districts

The study analyses the challenges of the implementation of lean practices in some manufacturing districts of northern Italy. Lean practices aim at waste reduction and quality improvement in order to eliminate anything that does not contribute to the creation of value for the customer. In particular, owing to the highly fragmentation of customer demand which occurred in past decades, the economic sustainability is directly linked to the reduction of inventories and cycle times along the whole supply chain. This is truly relevant and challenging in those manufacturing districts that have been developed in the last years to exploit economy of scale. This strategy has led to a growing trend of outsourcing and, consequently, to the lengthening of supply chains. Longer supply chains result in longer cycle times and higher inventory levels that cannot be reduced by simply exploiting the overcapacity resulting from the current reduction of customer demand. Thus, it is necessary to identify the main economic, operational, and organizational factors characterizing these districts and relate them to the challenges and opportunities of implementing lean practices. This analysis emphasizes the need for some coordination mechanisms and the implementation of lean practices, not locally, but on the whole supply chain

A manpower allocation problem with layout considerations

In this study we investigate the problem of assigning tasks to operators in a facility characterized by longitudinal parallel machines such as in a shop floor served by an overhead travelling crane. Given a master production schedule (MPS) the objective is to assign all the jobs scheduled on the machines (i.e., the tasks) to the operators in order to fill to capacity the available workforce minimizing the distance between operators and tasks. In the model we assume that one task, i.e., a particular production job processed by a particular machine, must be entirely completed by a single operator. Different levels of automation of the machines are considered, from manual machines that require a permanent employee to highly-automated machines where a single operator can oversee several machines. During the setup time or repair time of a machine the operator is considered free to operate on the remaining tasks assigned to him, if any. On the basis of the MPS the number of operators is pre-defined in the long-term planning horizon taking in consideration a fixed mean transfer time between the tasks, that are the different production jobs on different machines. This value has a huge uncertainty because it is highly influenced by the tasks allocation. In fact a simultaneous multiple allocation means a continuous back and forth of the operator between his assigned machines. The objective of the model is the maximization of the operators utilization through minimizing the operator-task distances. The backlogged work is not admitted, therefore each day is independent of the other days, so a daily staffing is modelled. The study arises from a specific real-world problem but it could be easily extended to other contexts in which the operator-task allocation is subject to spatial-layout considerations. In general, non-optimized operators’ travel times may result in production losses, i.e., machine blocking and work in progress

Minimizing operators’ walking times into a linear system layout

This paper deals with the assignment of stations to operators into flexible manufacturing systems by minimizing the operators’ walking times over a given planning horizon. The manufacturing system is supposed to present a linear layout where the stations are aligned along a longitudinal axis. Stations are flexible (so that different jobs can be scheduled on the same station along the planning horizon) and may differ from each other in terms of degree of automation and, consequently, in terms of amount of human labor involved. Thus, two or more stations might share the same operator within the working shift and, consequently, the assignment of the optimal subset of stations to each operator is anything but trivial. Hence, a mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed which takes into account (and minimizes) the travel walking distances of the operators according to the assigned subset of stations. Other realistic constraints, such as the actual availability of the operators and the requirement stating that each scheduled job has to be assigned to a single operator for its entire duration, are included in the model. The validity of the model is proved by discussing a real-world case study from the plastic industry

A manpower allocation problem with layout considerations

In this study we investigate the problem of assigning tasks to operators in a facility characterized by longitudinal parallel machines such as in a shop floor served by an overhead travelling crane. Given a master production schedule (MPS) the objective is to assign all the jobs scheduled on the machines (i.e., the tasks) to the operators in order to fill to capacity the available workforce minimizing the distance between operators and tasks. In the model we assume that one task, i.e., a particular production job processed by a particular machine, must be entirely completed by a single operator. Different levels of automation of the machines are considered, from manual machines that require a permanent employee to highly-automated machines where a single operator can oversee several machines. During the setup time or repair time of a machine the operator is considered free to operate on the remaining tasks assigned to him, if any. On the basis of the MPS the number of operators is pre-defined in the long-term planning horizon taking in consideration a fixed mean transfer time between the tasks, that are the different production jobs on different machines. This value has a huge uncertainty because it is highly influenced by the tasks allocation. In fact a simultaneous multiple allocation means a continuous back and forth of the operator between his assigned machines. The objective of the model is the maximization of the operators utilization through minimizing the operator-task distances. The backlogged work is not admitted, therefore each day is independent of the other days, so a daily staffing is modelled. The study arises from a specific real-world problem but it could be easily extended to other contexts in which the operator-task allocation is subject to spatial-layout considerations. In general, non-optimized operators' travel times may result in production losses, i.e., machine blocking and work in progress

Production scheduling to optimize the product assortment in case of constrained capacity and customer-driven substitution

This paper deals with the production scheduling problem by considering product assortment and demand substitution issues, along with capacity and production constraints. In this study we distinguish between long-term product assortment and short-term product assortment. The term “long-term product assortment” is used here to indicate the whole set of alternative products that a company is able to produce over a long horizon of time. On the other hand, the “short-term product assortment” represents the products that the company is able to offer to its customers at a time. We assume that, in general, for reasons of capacity constraints and operative costs, the short-term product assortment is a subset of the long-term product assortment. Thus, the objective is to optimize the production schedule and, consequently, the short-term product assortment by considering capacity and production constraints, customer-driven demand substitution and production and inventory costs. In particular, a mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed in a multi-period and multi-product perspective

Optimal production scheduling with customer-driven demand substitution

This paper deals with the production scheduling problem with customer-driven demand substitution. We consider a manufacturing system in a make-to-stock environment which is potentially able to produce a large variety of product options (the so-called long-term product assortment) but, for reasons of capacity and operative limitations, only a subset of those options can be available in stock at the same time (the so-called short-term product assortment). In such a context, typical of fields where high-variety strategies are applied, the first-choice option of the customer could be unavailable at a certain instant of time. In that case, if production is planned by taking demand substitution issues into consideration, other options which are good substitutes will be available, thus increasing the probability that the customer chooses to substitute. The paper proposes two mixed-integer linear programming models (for both the lost sale case and the backorder case) for optimising the production schedule by jointly considering (i) capacity and production constraints, and costs on one hand, (ii) and demand substitution issues on the other hand. An extensive experimental analysis has allowed us to evaluate the models’ behaviour in a variety of operative scenarios and to draw some concluding remarks

Optimal job assignment considering operators\u2019 walking costs and ergonomic aspects

The paper deals with the problem of assigning jobs to operators in contexts where the operators are not fixed on a single position, but rotate, by travelling on foot, between different stations. The objective is to jointly consider the need for minimising the operators\u2019 walking costs, expressed as both unproductive times and physiological costs, and the ergonomic risk of the scheduled jobs and their combinations. A new optimisation-based methodology is presented by developing a systematic procedure for input data analysis and an original mixed-integer linear programming model which minimises the cost of walking (or the total metabolic cost) by considering workplace safety and physiological needs. Finally, the proposed optimisation approach has been applied to a case study from the plastic industry. The obtained results allow to draw some interesting conclusions about the impact of ergonomic aspects on the optimal assignment of jobs to operators. Moreover, the importance of reducing unproductive times (i.e. walking times) and, if possible, improving the design of manual tasks (e.g. lifting operations) is highlighted by showing that even small ergonomic investments may lead to significant cost savings