The emotional intelligence of a construction project manager plays an essential role in project management, and recent developments in teamwork have increased the need to explore better ways to utilize teams and achieve effectiveness in the construction sector. However, research that holds the team-level perspective in emotional intelligence studies is lacking, and the mechanism of the construction project manager’s emotional intelligence on team effectiveness remains unexplored. This knowledge gap is addressed by developing a model that illuminates (...) how construction project manger’s emotional intelligence can affect team effectiveness via the mediation of team cohesion and the moderation of project team duration. A questionnaire survey was utilized to gather information from construction project teams across 156 leader-member dyads in the Chinese construction industry. The results reveal that construction project manager’s emotional intelligence is positively related to team effectiveness and the team cohesion mediates this cause and effect. Further, project team duration moderates the relationship between team cohesion and effectiveness. This study offers new insight into how project manager can better lead team members toward desired team outcomes from a team perspective and makes an explorative effort in investigating the “time” role in construction project management. (shrink)

Only a small percentage of PhD students manage to complete their PhD thesis on time. How can a student plan his/her PhD program in such a way that it will be completed within a set period? Project Management for PhDs shows how to plan and manage a PhD program, no matter how complex and unique the project may be. The writing process receives special attention, as it has been proven to be one of the most important factors (...) in delaying PhD progress. Offering a practical step-by-step plan, the book uses an associated planning system so the student can create a custom-made project schedule. Project Management for PhDs will benefit students and supervisors from all fields and any type of PhD program - not only for those in the classic four-year program, but also for those working part-time, either on their own time or combining the PhD with other commitments. (shrink)

The present study aims at proposing a time series-based network public opinion emergency management decision support algorithm for the problems of low decision accuracy and long decision time in traditional similar algorithms. In this proposed algorithm, after the time series data are preprocessed, the association rules of the original indicator data of network public opinion emergencies are mined, the original indicator data matrix of NPOEs will be constructed, and the improved local linear embedding approach will be employed to obtain (...) the original indicator data of NPOEs. After carrying out the preprocessing according to the preprocessing results, the objective weight of the emergency decision index is calculated through the interval value fuzzy information entropy measurement of the emergency decision index, the emergency management decision support model is constructed, and the emergency management decision support of the NPOE is realized. The simulation experiment results show that the proposed algorithm has a better effect on the decision-making effect of the management of NPOEs, and a higher decision-making efficiency is achieved. (shrink)

Discussion about project management, in both the academic literature and industry, is predominantly based on theories of control, many of which have been developed since the 1950s. However, issues arise when these ideas are applied unilaterally to all types of projects and in all contexts. In complex environments, management problems arise from assuming that results, predicted at the start of a project, can be sufficiently described and delivered as planned. Thus, once a project reaches a (...) critical size, a calendar, and a certain level of ambiguity and interconnection, the analysis centered on control does not function adequately. Projects that involve complex situations can be described as adaptive complex systems, consistent in multiple interdependent dynamic components, multiple feedback processes, nonlinear relations, and management of hard data and soft data. In this study, through a complex network, the dynamic structure of a project and its trajectories are simulated using inference processes. Finally, some numerical simulations are described, leading to a decision making tool that identifies critical processes, thereby obtaining better performance outcomes of projects. (shrink)

Utilising Richard Rorty’s criticism of epistemology, this paper will demonstrate the manner in which traditional project management attempts to apply a reductive and limited range of quasi-scientific techniques to problems that continually defy such reduction. The argument will be made that project management is better considered as an existential response to organisational crisis rather than the systemic application of principles to achieve pre-determined objectives. Within the range of an existential response, two kinds of response are proposed: (...) the reflective or defensive (Segal 1999). Rorty’s edifying hermeneutic is offered as an example of a reflective response to organisational crisis and argues that the notion of the interpretation of competing language games better serves project management practice than the application of one over-arching meta-narrative as embodied in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK 2000). (shrink)

Fundamental changes in sciences offer new perspectives for the management of complexity. Increased complexity in society, economics, and technology requires a new and suitable organization and management. What are the consequences and results for project management? That is the theme of this article. First of all it will given a short introduction to project management, which will be later called "traditional project management" or "project management 1st order (PM-1)." Then, the (...) challenges by the fundamental changes in sciences and the increased complexity in society, economics, and technology will be discussed. It will state that traditional project management cannot solve these challenges. The widespread working-themes and results of the research program "Beyond Frontiers of Traditional Project Management" as an answer to these challenges will be presented at a glance. Subsequently, it will discuss some selected results of the research program: The principle-definition and foundation of "Evolution of 1st and 2nd Order." The Evolution of 1st Order and the impact on Project Management methods and processes. Evolution of 2nd Order and the Grand Evolutionary Systems Theory (GEST) of E. Laszlo as also the impact on Project Management methods and processes. Management of crisis: turn a change to advantage or risk-assurance? Thereafter, the concept of "Project Management Second Order (PM-2)" is presented as a highlighted result of the research program, as a new paradigm in project management, and as an answer to the challenges, described earlier will be explained in detail. Finally, a real example of transfer evolutionary and self-organizational management principles in a real project life will be demonstrated. (shrink)

In this paper are identified several critical ethical issues that arise in most software projects. Proactive ways to address these issues are detailed. These approaches are consistent with most professional software development standards.

A project manager’s emotional intelligence (EI) is essential to project success. However, the mechanism in this cause and effect remains a black box in extant literature. China is now the world’s largest construction market, and figuring out the mechanism of construction project manager’s (CPM’s) EI on project success is meaningful for developing the global construction market. This study conducted an in-depth interview with 24 CPMs with more than 5-year experience in construction project management. The (...) grounded theory was employed to profile the application of CPM’s EI and to build the multilevel mechanism that explains the influence of CPM’s EI on project success. The mechanism framework conforms to the existed input–process–output (IPO) theory. It consists of a team-level mechanism (including the positive team atmosphere, shared vision, and team cohesion) and an individual-level mechanism (i.e., organizational citizenship behavior directed at the organization, perceived supervisor support, trust in leader, and subordinate’s psychological and emotional health). This study further proposed that the effect of this mechanism does not work immediately but develops with time passing. Implications for further research and project management practice are discussed in the end. (shrink)

The study is based on validating and exploring the effects of a mega project plan on infrastructure development and Sustainable Project Management. The CPEC has great importance to infrastructure development and economy-boosting. The current study's primary aim is to deal with environmental protection, economic boost up, international relations influencing to the Project's success. The paper also addressed project management as a moderator between environmental protection, economic boost up, international relations, and the CPEC project's (...) success. The primary data has been gathered by using questionnaires, and PLS-SEM has been employed for the analysis. The results revealed that environmental protection, economy boost up, and international relations have a positive association with the success of CPEC. The outcomes also exposed that project management moderating among the nexus of economy boosts up the international relations and success of CPEC. The present study results guided how Pakistan and China make the CPEC project stronger with the efficient implementation of practices required for protecting the environment, with the economic growth and boost up, and good strong relations with foreign countries. This study was an attempt to validate the different factors to check their association with each other in a new environment, resulting in a leading edge for the success of mega projects that influence project management. (shrink)

Since the early 1990's the value sensitive design (VSD) approach has been a continually burgeoning design methodology for technological innovation. VSD is commonly described as a "principled approach" to technology design, given that it is explicitly orientated towards designing technologies for human values, rather than sidelining them to ad hoc and/or ex post facto design. However, in much of its near three-decades-long development, the VSD approach has mostly been adopted as a conceptual framework to assess existing technologies and to explore (...) how the consequences of the technology's development could have been influenced positively if VSD was adopted early on and throughout the design process (Friedman et al. 2002). Similarly, VSD has been adopted as a conceptual framework for analysing how future speculative technologies like molecular manufacturing (Umbrello 2019) and advanced artificial intelligence systems can be directed towards positive futures (Umbrello and van de Poel 2021). Yet, despite the benefits of these endeavours and VSD being an approach that can be adapted to any given design domain, it has yet to be widely appropriated in existing design spaces as a primary design approach. In this short paper, we aim to fill this lacuna by framing VSD as a toolkit that can be adopted by existing design teams rather than a wholesale approach. In particular, we describe how VSD maps seamlessly onto agile workflows, an approach to project management that is widely adopted globally. By doing so, we hope that the VSD approach will likewise be more attractive and thus adopted more broadly. As a consequence, a more explicit orientation towards designing technologies for human values will follow. (shrink)

The development of efficient and strategic anti-corruption measures can be better achieved if a deeper understanding and identification of the causes of corruption are established. Over the past years, many studies have been devoted to the research of corruption in construction management. This has resulted in a significant increase in the body of knowledge on the subject matter, including the causative factors triggering these corrupt practices. However, an apropos systematic assessment of both past and current studies on the subject (...) matter which is needful for the future endeavor is lacking. Moreover, there is an absence of unified view of the causative factors of corruption identified in construction project management. This paper, therefore, presents a comprehensive review of the causes of corruption from selected articles in recognized construction management journals to address the mentioned gaps. A total number of 44 causes of corruption were identified from 37 publications and analyzed in terms of existing causal factors of corruption, annual trend of publications and the thematic categorization of the identified variables. The most identifiable causes were over close relationships, poor professional ethical standards, negative industrial and working conditions, negative role models and inadequate sanctions. A conceptual framework of causes of corruption was established, after categorizing the 44 variables into five unique categories. In descending order, the five constructs are Psychosocial-Specific Causes, Organizational-Specific Causes, Regulatory-Specific Causes, Project-Specific Causes and Statutory-Specific Causes. This study extends the current literature of corruption research in construction management and contributes to a deepened understanding of the causal instigators of corruption identified in CPM. The findings from this study provide valuable information and extended knowledge to industry practitioners and policymakers as well as anti-corruption agencies in the formulation and direction of anti-corruption measures. To corruption researchers in CM, this study is vital for further research. (shrink)

Edmund Husserl maintains that phenomenological thinking does not begin with the theoretical roof but with the foundations of immediate and concrete experience. Martin Heidegger claims that to begin with immediate experience is to think in moments of disruption or disturbance of the everyday. Using these positions as a starting point, this paper argues for a phenomenological approach to project management that explores the immediate and concrete experience of project managers. In doing so it attempts to address an (...) over-emphasis on the universalised and abstracted modes of theorising that currently dominate project management practice. Eugene Gendlin’s psycho-therapeutic technique of “focusing” provides a practical example of the phenomenological approach in action through a critical dialogue between researcher and practitioner, the co-authors of this paper. This paper argues that the insight derived from such an approach can do far more for a project manager in terms of their relationship to their work, the meaning they derive from it, and their effectiveness in the role, than a dedicated adherence to the strictures of traditional project management practice. (shrink)

Projects may exist in many forms, depending on the purpose and organisational context. Irrespective of the type and nature, however, the effective management of any project requires a high degree of commitment by the project members to the accomplishment of project objectives. The high degree of reliance on external international funding makes project management in non-profit organisations of developing societies a challenging task. The marriage of two entirely different sets of values and philosophical orientations (...) creates an invisible tensile force, impacting the different stages of the project life cycle. The present paper, which is exploratory in nature, broadly aims to study the impact of sponsors’ values on the different project-management activities, including both the planning and the implementation stages of the project. The research involves conceptualisation of the different significant issues in effective project management. The analysis of the identified issues is first made on the basis of the experience of the selected stakeholders in Tanzanian non-profit organisations. The analysis is further linked to the selected context-specific contemporary philosophical thoughts affecting the socio-cultural values in the region. The analysis shows that the variation in the values of project owners and stakeholders is one of the major challenges in the effective implementation of a project in the given context. The study is novel in its approach and raises some fundamental issues arising due to the different philosophical orientations and value-sets of the different partner-project organisations. It is expected that the study will stimulate further academic debate on the broader theme of ‘values, philosophy and project management’. The study is also likely to contribute to knowledge development in the subject area of management in general and practical management philosophy in particular. (shrink)

Owner/client is a significant contributing party within the management of a project in construction. In addition to the payment of the bills related to the project, owner/client has duties and responsibilities such as selecting the professionals, making his requirements understood clearly by other parties, making decisions to recommendations and placing orders. Owner/client has to perform these duties and responsibilities at the right times and in correct ways to have the required quality and value for his/her investment. In (...) performing his/her duties and responsibilities owner could introduce positive and negative contributions to the value of the constructed facility. Value-based project management concerns with owner's/client's value system and helps owner/client in performing his/her duties and responsibilities for the optimum positive contributions to the value of the constructed facility in construction. This paper highlights the principles of value-based project management in construction and investigates the impact of owner contributions to the value of a constructed facility in practice. (shrink)

ArgumentSpace projects represent, after World War II, the archetype of large-scale organization of scientific practices that are flexible, temporary, and oriented towards specific goals. A new form of activity, the project, emerged through the management of technical means, allocation of skills, and coordination of various players. Project management emerged as the synthesis of a set of social practices designed to subordinate as well as synchronize the initiatives of researchers, engineers, and technicians who had temporarily joined forces. (...) This article presents the genesis and deployment of the Franco-Soviet space program ARCAD 3 whose purpose was to study the magnetosphere with a satellite. This study is situated at the junction of three historiographical dimensions: scientific writings, links between action and graphic forms, and Big Science. The diagrams, organization charts and schedules produced by the French space agency throughout the entire project form the documentary substrata of this analysis. These graphic management tools define the role of each player, designate fields of competence, and specify the temporality of actions. A self-monitoring system as well as surveillance instrument, diagrams, organization charts and schedules are linked to form a certain vision of authority along the lines of the “neoliberal governmentality” defined by Michel Foucault. By defining in advance and in writing all the possible (or impossible) relationships, the chronological order of activities as well as the actions to be performed, graphic project management tools contribute to the transfer of coercive panoptic mechanisms towards a minimal organization of relationships between individuals. (shrink)

Knowledge must forever govern ignorance, and a people who would be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. Popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy—or perhaps both.—James Madison, 1815.

This study derives an improved model of managers' decision-making behavior regarding possibly failing projects. Instead of adopting cognitive moral development used by Rutledge and Karim (Accounting, Organization and Society 24, 173-184, 1999) this investigation uses the agency theory framework to consider individual moral philosophy for the improvement of decisions regarding possibly failing projects. This research hypothesizes that a manager with low relativism has a stronger tendency to discontinue a possibly failing project than one with high relativism when agency problem (...) are present or absent. Also, this study suggests that a manager with high idealism has a stronger tendency to discontinue a possibly failing project than one with low idealism. Through experiments this work finds that agency problem is a significant factor on decisions regarding possibly failing projects in all circumstances. This result is consistent with prior literature and shows agency problem universality. Next, the empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that a project manager with low relativism tends to discontinue a possibly failing project more than one with high relativism, showing that individual moral philosophy can partially mitigate the phenomenon of escalating managers' commitment. (shrink)

This study derives an improved model of managers’ decision-making behavior regarding possibly failing projects. Instead of adopting cognitive moral development used by Rutledge and Karim this investigation uses the agency theory framework to consider individual moral philosophy for the improvement of decisions regarding possibly failing projects. This research hypothesizes that a manager with low relativism has a stronger tendency to discontinue a possibly failing project than one with high relativism when agency problem are present or absent. Also, this study (...) suggests that a manager with high idealism has a stronger tendency to discontinue a possibly failing project than one with low idealism. Through experiments this work finds that agency problem is a significant factor on decisions regarding possibly failing projects in all circumstances. This result is consistent with prior literature and shows agency problem universality. Next, the empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that a project manager with low relativism tends to discontinue a possibly failing project more than one with high relativism, showing that individual moral philosophy can partially mitigate the phenomenon of escalating managers’ commitment. (shrink)

In this discussion piece we address how the UK government has attempted to manage public expectations of a proposed biometric identity scheme by focussing attention on the handheld, i.e., the ID card. We suggest that this strategy of expectations management seeks to downplay the complexity and uncertainty surrounding this high-technological initiative, necessitating the selective use of expertise for the purpose of furthering government objectives. In this process, government often relegates counterexpertise, if not dismissing it outright, thereby greatly politicizing the (...) policy deliberation process. We argue that this manoeuvring by government spells trouble for both democratic deliberation on the issue of biometric identification in the UK and, more generally, expertise-based policy making in related technological ventures. (shrink)

Summary This study is a further attempt to apply correspondence training in the classroom in order to improve learning outcomes. Using this strategy a class of middle school pupils was encouraged to show more initiative, independence and self?regulation in planning and carrying out topic work. The pupils were required to forecast what they proposed to achieve in a certain period and then to check up at the end to see how far they had been successful. In addition, upon hearing an (...) audible signal, they were required to decide whether they were ?on?task? and whether they were working well. The outcome was that the pupils achieved a better work output in terms of both quantity and quality than before. In addition, they gained valuable experience in forward planning and in working independently. (shrink)

Through its focus on deep and experiential learning, service-learning has become increasingly popular within the business school curriculum. While a reciprocal dimension has been foundational to SL, the reciprocality that is emphasized in business ethics literature is often on the relationship between the service experience and the academic content, rather than reciprocal learning of the service providers and the recipients, let alone other stakeholders. Drawing on the notion of enriched reciprocal learning and on Aristotle’s typology of modes of knowing, we (...) revisit reciprocal learning by illustrating what kinds of learning occur for server and served in four SL projects from a project course in CSR, and emphasize the role of boundary spanners from the project organizations in making this reciprocal learning happen and translating the various types of student learning in ways that are useful for their organizations. We find that when boundary spanners are particularly engaged at making the projects impactful, they contribute to making the learning experiences of students, managers and sometimes other stakeholders useful, multidimensional, and ultimately rewarding. (shrink)

Human Brain Project: Ethics Management or Proceduralization of Reflexivity? Everywhere, the reflexivity and responsibility of research and innovation is called for – the neurosciences being no exception. Undesirable side effects of scientific‐technical developments should be recognized early on and opportunities for participation by non‐scientific actors should be made available. In addition to the well‐known reflective programs such as Technology Assessment, Public Understanding of Science, Ethical Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) of Science, Science Communication and Citizen Science, a new (...) program is emerging: Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). With the dimensions of anticipation, reflexivity, inclusiveness and responsiveness advocated here, social accountability of research has just been expanded again: factually (applying to the scientific practice of all domains), temporally (becoming more and more permanent) and socially (involving more and more actors). The following study will first reconstruct the current prominence of RRI as the dynamics of a changing relationship between science and society, then explore into the claim and reality of RRI as documented in publicly available material. The observation: While RRI at the level of its program aims at legitimacy through democratization of knowledge production, the organization of RRI demonstrates highly orchestrated bureaucratic arrangements and procedures. In the case of the Human Brain Project, it thus becomes clear that and how RRI is being put to the service of supporting neuroinformatic big science through targeted reductions: it is mainly framed as ‘ethics management’ and hardly integrated into research practice or even public discourse. (shrink)

We propose a theoretical framework that highlights the most important consequences of complexity for the form and evolution of projects and use it to develop a typology of project complexity. This framework also enables us to deepen the understanding of how knowledge production and flexibility strategies enable project participants to address complexity. Based on this understanding, we advance a number of propositions regarding the strategies that can be most effective for different categories of complexity. These results contribute to (...) the integration of various strands in the research on project complexity and provide a roadmap for further research on the strategies for addressing it. (shrink)

This paper presents an academic project that addresses the issue of international corruption in the engineering and construction industry, in a manner that effectively incorporates several learning experiences. The major objectives of the project are to provide the students a learning activity that will 1) make a meaningful contribution within the disciplines being studied; 2) teach by experience a significant principle that can be valuable in numerous situations during an individual’s career, and 3) engage the minds, experiences, and (...) enthusiasm of the participants in a real ethical challenge that is prevalent in all of their chosen professional fields. The paper describes the full details of the project, the actual implementation of it during Winter Semester 2005, the experiences gained during the initial trial, and the modifications and improvements incorporated for future implementation. (shrink)

Taking the phenomena of “workplace spirituality” as its case, Shape-Shifting Capital argues that “spirituality” is constitutive of contemporary capitalism and outlines a methodology for tracking broad sociological shifts in the nature of Western religion and economy at the level of lived experience.

Therapeutic alliance is a central concept in psychotherapeutic work. The relationship between the therapist and the patient plays an important role in the therapeutic process and outcome. In this article, we investigate how therapists work with disaffiliation resulting from enduring disagreement while maintaining an orientation to the psychotherapeutic project at hand. Data come from a total of 18 sessions of two dyads undergoing psychoanalytic psychotherapy and is analyzed with conversation analysis. We found that collaborative moves deployed amidst enduring disagreement (...) can assist the therapist in furthering the disagreement as part of the ongoing psychotherapeutic project. Relying on their collaborative format, therapists utilize collaborative moves to temporarily mend the disaffiliation without necessarily changing their position and re-affiliating with the patient. We show how the relation between the therapist and the patient gets transformed in the moment-by-moment work accomplished in the psychotherapeutic talk. (shrink)

In this article we (a) interlink the philosophical ideas of Ernst Schumacher and Karl Popper within the framework of planning and management, (b) describe project management cases implemented using the principles of project cycle management (PCM) and (c) study whether the success or failure can be attributed to following these concepts. We consider two basic concepts for perceiving the world surrounding us: the concept of organisation and that of self-organisation. The former emphasises the predictability of (...) the future, where the results of each activity are predetermined and can always be achieved through thorough analytical planning. The latter sees the world as a generic whole where numerous interactions take place simultaneously, leaving the future unknown. As it has been shown, for example, by Schumacher, Hayek and Popper, the real world is uncertain and orders of great complexity appear spontaneously in a self-organised manner. Mankind has thus to cope with the self-organising world and to plan and manage therein. PCM is one of the most widespread contemporary management techniques used for that purpose in both the private and public sectors. However, PCM lacks a proper theoretical basis as well as philosophical framework. We have proposed elsewhere that the concept of piecemeal social engineering elaborated by Popper in his The Poverty of Historicism could serve as a theoretical basis, which can combine the organisational nature of planning and the self-organising and fuzzy world. Thus the task is mentally to split the planning and implementation issue: to take the whole into pieces and rearrange them in a desired manner in the planning phase (concept of organisation; convergent problem solving). The actual implementation of the plan ought to be conducted following a stepwise approach, re-planning all through the process (concept of self-organisation; divergent problem solving). “The future cannot be forecast, but it can be explored.” Not all human actions are unpredictable, but we cannot be sure what the results would be or judge the value of an action based on its inclusion in some plan. (shrink)

According to agency theory, agents base their economic decisions on self-interests when adverse selection conditions exist. However, cognitive moral development theory predicts that ethics/morals may influence decision-makers not to behave egoistically. Rutledge and Karim, 173-184) find both the moral reasoning level of the managers and an adverse selection condition affect a manager's project evaluation decisions significantly. Since prior studies have shown that national culture might influence the application of agency theory in project evaluation, this current study uses a (...) different moral development measurement to reexamine Rutledge and Karim's hypotheses in another culture. A total of 73 Taiwanese executive MBA students with an average of 12.17 years work experience participated in this study. We found that both moral development level and adverse selection conditions significantly affect managers' project continuance decisions. The interaction effect of these two factors indicates that, when adverse selection conditions exist, participants with a high level of moral development exhibit less of a tendency to continue an unprofitable project than those with a low level of moral development. With subjects from a different culture, our results confirm the findings of Rutldege and Karim. That is, the effects of moral development and adverse selection conditions on managers' project continuance decisions are robust and can be generalized to different cultures. Implications of the findings of this study to multinational firms are also discussed. (shrink)

In the 1920s and 1930s, an attempt was made to resurrect the aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius), the extinct wild ancestor of contemporary domestic cattle. The back-bred species that was produced are called ‘Heck cattle’. I argue that the attempt to create the Heck cattle as a form of resurrected aurochs, and their subsequent use in rewilding projects (as in the Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands) is a prime example of the continuous human project of the domination of nature. The consideration (...) of domination as an extreme form of management serves as a critical lens on the policy of rewilding, similar to long-standing critiques of the policy of ecological restoration by this author. Rewilding projects do not re-create a ‘wild’ nature free from human intervention and activity. Rewilding is another form of the human management of natural processes to achieve anthropocentric goals. My examination of the Heck cattle in the rewilding process is intentionally provocative because there is a connection to Nazism. I will argue that policies of rewilding have historical antecedents (and parallels in philosophical meaning) to the Nazi plans for re-creating an authentic Aryan landscape in the lands of Eastern Europe. The case history of the Heck cattle projects illustrates the danger of pursuing radical forms of management of the natural world. (shrink)

Models and modelling are central not only to management but to all human affairs. Models provide grounds for decision making and action-taking. This paper investigates the concept of ‘model’, showing that the conventional notion of a model as understood in management science, a notion founded on positivism and realism, is insufficient for the complex practical needs of management models. To remedy this situation, an alternative notion founded on Projective Constructivist Epistemology (PCE) is proposed. Some of the implications (...) of the new notion for modelling practice and model validation are also discussed. The new notion results from theoretical investigations and empirical experience gleaned over the last five years in public-sector, military and business contexts. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of areas that might merit investigation in the future. (shrink)

All projects take place within a context of uncertainty. That is especially noticeable in complex hydroelectric power generation projects, which are affected by factors such as the large number of multidisciplinary tasks to be performed in parallel, long execution times, or the risks inherent in various fields like geology, hydrology, and structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering, among others. Such factors often lead to cost overruns and delays in projects of this type. This paper analyzes the efficiency of the Earned Value (...) Management technique and its Earned Schedule extension, as means of forecasting costs and deadlines when applied to complex hydroelectric power production projects. It is worth noting that this analysis was based on simulation models applied to real-life projects. The results showed that cost forecasting becomes very accurate over time, whereas duration forecasting is not reliably accurate. (shrink)

The aim of this study is to examine gifted students' evaluations of their education programs in terms of their project production and management by considering the basic principles of gifted education and training programs. In evaluating the effectiveness of programs for gifted students, it is regarded as important to consider the evaluations of the individuals for whom the programs are implemented. Project production and management was taken as the basis for the principles and guidelines of the (...) programs implemented for gifted students. A mixed research design was used in the study. In the quantitative part of the research, the views of 300 randomly selected gifted students, who were attending the project production and management and special talent development programs at Science and Art Centers throughout Turkey, regarding their evaluation of the education programs, were analyzed. In the qualitative part of the research, the project production and management of the gifted individuals in the upper and lower groups according to their program evaluations were evaluated descriptively by examining the project proposals they developed. In the analysis of the quantitative data, it was determined that the participants had positive views about the effectiveness of the program, but that there was a significant difference between the upper and lower groups in terms of program evaluation scores. Considering this situation, the data of 10 participants in total were subjected to qualitative analysis in the second stage. As a result of the study, it was determined that all of the gifted students in the upper and lower groups were able to produce projects, but that in the categories specified in their projects, there were differences in favor of the upper group in terms of depth, originality, taking their talents into account, acting consciously, acting in accordance with the plan, participating in more prestigious competitions, and quality. (shrink)