Project Team Members Research Articles

A Comprehensive Analysis of Monitoring and Control Mechanisms in Operational Relocation Project at Limkokwing University, Botswana

The analysis of project monitoring and control processes holds paramount significance in project management and delivery, attracting considerable attention within academic discourse. The study explores the intricacies of project monitoring and control, particularly in the context of operational relocation at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology Botswana. The study employs a comprehensive survey methodology, encompassing all project team members and university management, stratified by department, and tasked with responding to structured questionnaire items. Analysis of the gathered data unveils proficient performance in project monitoring and control, underscored by systematic reviews of project progress and interface oversight. Based on the insights gleaned from this investigation, the study urgently recommends the establishment of a specialized monitoring and control unit or function within the university’s organizational framework. This is not just a suggestion, but a crucial step to address developmental exigencies or challenges, and to enhance the prospects of successful project outcomes. However, the study also identified certain barriers to success, including inadequate staff coordination, a need for more skilled personnel with requisite experience, and resistance to organizational change. Therefore, further research is necessary to refine and optimize the efficacy of monitoring and control processes, taking into account these key factors.

A social realist view of contextual disruption through (un)conferencing

Disruptions within higher education are seldom effortless and often provocative. They may result in a break from traditional, established educational models of knowledge transmission, offering alternative ways of accessing and cocreating knowledge. In 2021, the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) adopted an (un)conferencing methodology for its annual conference. In this paper, the association’s Student Learning Project Team explores contextual disruption against the (un)conferencing backdrop. Critical reflective accounts by project-team members provide the empirical grounding for the paper. First, the notions of context and contextual disruption are discussed. Second, the reflective accounts are analysed using Archer’s structure, culture, and agency, as analytical framework. Third, Archer’s morphogenetic framework is used to appraise whether change or stasis occurred within the project team. Finally, recommendations for others wishing to facilitate intentional contextual disruption are shared. Ultimately, the article provides insight into the intricacies of contextual disruption as part of (un)conferencing.

Optimizing Construction Project Team Management: Identifying Team Development Strategies and Techniques

This qualitative research investigation explores the intersection of team development with team management, specifically within the construction industry context. Qualitative data was meticulously gathered through in-depth interviews with nine highly experienced construction project managers and team members. Employing a qualitative approach, we rigorously applied content analysis to scrutinize the amassed data, centering on the core inquiry: 'What precise strategies and techniques of team development are indispensable for effectively overseeing construction teams?' The principal objectives were dual-fold: firstly, to elucidate the nuanced interplay between team development and team management, and secondly, to outline and underscore the critical strategies essential for fostering effective team development within construction projects. Subsequently, the research unearthed three foundational factors pivotal in facilitating and optimizing effective team development, each underscored by its corresponding techniques. These factors encompass the empowerment of team members, strategic delegation coupled with robust support mechanisms, fostering an environment conducive to building effective teamwork and collaboration and fostering continuous personal development within the team context.This comprehensive study delivers invaluable insights into the intrinsic correlation between team development and successful management of construction teams, identifying pivotal strategies and techniques to augment overall productivity, team cohesion, and operational efficiency within construction team dynamics. These findings present a valuable guide for enhancing the efficacy of construction team management practices, thereby contributing significantly to the field.Keywords: coaching, content analysis, debriefing, qualitative study, skills development, team development, team intervention, team management, teamwork, training.

Towards a Transcultural Approach for Inter-Professional Communication in Complex IT Project Teams—Aiming to Avoid Cross-Functional and Cross-Hierarchical Conflicts

IT projects are becoming increasingly complex due to rapidly advancing technologies, the need to tackle more difficult problems, and the involvement of a larger variety of experts with different backgrounds and experiences from different countries and cultures. It is also common for these teams to often work remotely in virtual settings. In this context, besides conflicts between IT project team members, cross-functional and cross-hierarchical organizational conflicts might emerge as well. These conflicts can vary in terms of their origin, nature, and intensity. This paper is a qualitative study focused on understanding interpersonal communication-based conflicts in multicultural and multidisciplinary IT project teams. The purpose is to find a common approach that can mitigate and eventually resolve these conflicts, aiming to promote shared knowledge and ultimately reduce the gap in understanding and the likelihood of conflicts. Both secondary research (a literature survey) and primary research (involving experienced managers and experts from project teams in the Romanian IT industry) were conducted in order to reach the objectives, besides sets of lessons learned and recommendations, to develop a framework for systematic conflict analysis and to propose a practice for a transcultural framework of common team vocabulary. To achieve these, a number of conflicts were investigated in IT project teams and corresponding cases. Based on the research findings, the authors concluded that a more formal approach is needed to address the problem of conflicts. From a theoretical standpoint, this paper suggests the concept of management diversity and provides a typology of organizational conflicts. Nevertheless, the framework for systematic analysis of conflict typology (FACT) and the framework of common team vocabulary in the multicultural environment of IT organizational project teams, as well as the sets of lessons learned and recommendations, might be useful and inspiring for both scholars and managers, not only in the IT sector.

When and How Servant Leadership Leads to Megaproject Success: The Roles of Project Governance and Interpersonal Trust

Employing social exchange theory, we examined when and how servant leadership leads to megaproject success. Based on the data of 273 responses from project team members and project managers, our findings indicated that servant leadership improves project success in megaprojects by enhancing interpersonal trust. Additionally, when project governance is high, the effect of servant leadership on interpersonal trust is weaker. The study puts forth theoretical and practical implications for professionals working in mega construction projects.

The Mongol Invasion of Hungary in Its Eurasian Context

This report gives an account of the historiography of the Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1241–1242, and the ongoing research of the project “The Mongol Invasion of Hungary in its Eurasian Context.” The research has been carried out by an interdisciplinary team comprising representatives of diverse academic institutions and fields. The primary objective of the project was to reassess existing scholarship by comparing it with the findings of the project team members, ultimately generating new scholarly insights. The team members concentrated on various aspects, including archaeology, military history, and the short- and long-term impacts of the Mongol military invasions in the mid-thirteenth century.

Appraisal of Mobile Apps for Communication and Collaboration among Construction Project Teams

Purpose: The construction industry faces communication and collaboration challenges, leading to delays, errors, and increased costs. This study investigates the impact and effectiveness of mobile apps in enhancing internal and external communication and collaboration in the construction industry.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The research design consisted of five phases: familiarisation with the study topic, literature search for construction apps, selection of apps, assessment and categorisation of apps, and validation of app functionality. The selection of apps was based on their versatility, capability to perform multiple tasks, market popularity, relevance to communication and collaboration, readability, and range of functions. Empirical study articles were used to validate and assess the functionalities claimed by the app developers.
 Findings: Out of the 65 mobile apps evaluated, only 12 met the exclusion criteria for assessing the practicality of their functions through empirical evidence. Mobile apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, SmartBidNet, and Basecamp have the potential to significantly enhance communication, collaboration, and decision-making processes in the construction industry.
 The Research Limitation: The study identified and evaluated only 12 mobile apps out of 65, based on the exclusion criteria established to evaluate the practicality of the applications' functions through empirical evidence. This limited sample size may not fully represent the range of mobile apps available for communication and collaboration in the construction industry.
 Practical Implication: The mobile apps to be used by project team members have the potential to replace traditional methods, particularly for geographically dispersed teams, leading to improved project efficiency and accuracy.
 Social Implication: Mobile apps facilitate real-time communication with local communities, allowing construction projects to address concerns and involve community members in the decision-making process.
 Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing insights into the availability, accessibility, and competencies of mobile apps in improving internal and external communication and collaboration within the construction industry.

Analyzing the Influence of Organizational Culture in Projects using Last Planner System

The use of lean tools and techniques to reduce waste from the workflow has been prominently gaining popularity in the construction industry worldwide. Last Planner System (LPS) is one of such distinguished tools used by construction majors. Many research suggests that LPS plays a significant role in improving the collaboration among the project team members and the firm's organizational culture. This paper reports the intermediating effect of organizational culture on construction projects that implement the Last Planner System and also identifies the effect of LPS on the project's operational performance. Various survey items pertaining to each variable was identified and was validated through Content Validation. All the established items were then compiled into a questionnaire, and multiple data were collected from a variety of projects. The data were analyzed using bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis. Additionally, the "organizational culture assessment instrument" was utilized to compare the organizational cultures of various construction sites. It was discovered that the Last Planner System had a positive but negligible relationship with the operational performance of the project, and the organizational culture. It was observed that all the projects implementing LPS had a balance culture. The contribution of this work is the knowledge that the implementation of the Last Planner System is not necessarily enhanced by culture to a great extent. However, it has a positive impact on both the operational performance of the project and the organizational culture.

Development and validation of the Design-for-Safety (DfS) climate measurement tool

Design-for-Safety (DfS) is a promising intervention to address safety and health risks in construction. At the same time, past research on construction safety and health consistently emphasized the importance of measuring safety climate in ensuring good safety performance. However, existing construction safety climate measurement tools are focused on measuring construction workers’ perception of safety management within their projects or organizations. Therefore, existing construction safety climate construct and measurement tools cannot be directly applied in the DfS context, which is focused on the upstream project team comprising designers and developers. Thus, the DfS climate construct and a corresponding measurement instrument were created. DfS climate is defined as project team members’ shared perceptions of the DfS policies, practices, and procedures that arise from the behaviours they observe getting rewarded, supported, and expected. With a sample of 242 responses, the questionnaire was subjected to exploratory factor analysis. The instrument consisted of 19 questions. These questions were split into five dimensions: participation of leader, member cooperation, member participation, project resources, and expectations for stakeholder representation. The study found that DfS climate was linked to outcome variables such as whether design changes arising from DfS review would be incorporated into the design. The research makes an academic contribution by creating the concept of DfS climate, accounting for the cognitive aspect of performing DfS. In addition, practical contributions are made as organizations can measure the DfS climate for their projects and find areas to improve.

Redefining Success: How Personal Ambitions and Confidence Levels Shape IT Project Dynamic

Abstract Background Failures in information technology (IT) projects continue to concern executives and organisations. Individuals are realising that to remain competitive in the workplace, they must develop skills to become successful project team members and project managers. Objectives The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between IT project team members’ competencies and their impact on IT project success, considering the iron triangle. Methods/Approach Our study is based on IT projects that have been implemented for a public or private organisation in Slovenia and where contractors are employed in IT development enterprises on a sample of 141 IT companies. Step-wise regression was used to determine which competencies of various project roles are relevant for project success. Results The most intriguing result is the negative association of achievement orientation with project success for analysts or consultants, suggesting that an excessive focus on personal accomplishments could potentially conflict with team objectives. Additionally, the variation in the significance of self-confidence across roles, particularly its less critical impact on project managers, challenges conventional wisdom regarding the universal importance of confidence in leadership positions. Conclusions These insights reveal the nuanced and role-specific contributions of individual characteristics to project success, highlighting the importance of aligning personal traits and professional actions with the project team’s collective goals.

Contemporary Issues in Project Management: The Burj Khalifa Project

This research delves into the pivotal analysis of diverse, globally dispersed project teams operating remotely, presenting a comprehensive examination of the evolving landscape of project management. In the contemporary era of remote work, project managers and team members face unprecedented challenges necessitating a reassessment of skill sets. The paradigm shift towards remote collaboration underscores the significance of understanding cultural nuances, communication technologies, and virtual team dynamics. Drawing on research by Dinsmore and Cabanis-Brewin (2019), the paper highlights the critical role of navigating cultural diversity and fostering effective virtual communication for project success in globally dispersed teams. Furthermore, the study explores the evolving requirements for project managers and team members, emphasizing skills beyond traditional project management. Referencing the work of Hidalgo (2019), the paper accentuates the importance of adaptability, digital literacy, and proficiency in collaborative technologies. As remote work becomes standard practice, project professionals must cultivate skills in virtual leadership, conflict resolution in virtual settings, and leveraging technology for seamless collaboration. This academic exploration underscores the imperative for project management professionals to continually develop a diverse skill set aligned with the demands of contemporary, globally dispersed project teams operating in remote environments.

The Effect of Comprehensive Leadership Style on Team Performance: The Role of Promoting A Team's Innovation Culture

Objective: Inclusive leadership style is considered an effective leadership method in any organization. The aim of this study is to its impact on project team performance, a common form of outsourcing in Hanoi, Vietnam. While also considering the mediating role of innovation culture in this relationship. Method: The study provides empirical evidence from a sample of 876 project team members at outsourcing companies in Hanoi by evaluating the measurement model and testing the structural equation model (PLS-SEM). Results: The results of empirical research show that innovation culture has an important role in mediating the relationship between inclusive leadership style and team performance. In addition, innovation culture also positively affects individual creativity, thereby helping to improve work results in teams. From there, it shows the need to build an innovation culture framework that includes people, process, data, and technology aspects to evaluate the innovation approach of enterprises. Finally, some implications of working group governance and team leadership are discussed, such as increasing the application of collaboration technologies, the stronger establishment of the virtual team model, and digital leadership orientation. There are ways to promote and strengthen a culture of innovation in IT businesses to reach maturity in digital transformation and how to respond to challenges for faster recovery in today's context. Conclusions: The regression model showed a significant relationship between leadership style and team performance, leadership style and innovation culture, and innovation culture and team performance. The study provided policy recommendations to support leadership style and team performance.

Project performance and the effects of human activity: a case study of the University of Salford

Conflict is common in the project management industry. Project performance may be impacted negatively or favourably by human activities such as competing interests among stakeholders, project team members, and project managers, as well as by the intimidating methodology and structure of the project management process. This case study at the University of Salford looked into how human activity affects project management and performance. The mixed methodology used in this study allowed for a deeper understanding of the real-world experiences of the subjects and project teams. Project management students and professionals from the University of Salford provided the data, which was collected. The survey generated a sample size of 40 responses, of which 37 were reliable enough for analysis. At the University of Salford, it was discovered that relationships among team members were a crucial human activity that promoted cooperation, trust, and the extension of trust to others, thereby reducing conflict and ties of trust between stakeholders and project managers. However, positive team dynamics and strong group cohesion are required to actively and purposefully encourage conflict in order to achieve the project's aim, goals, and deliverables. Conflict in project performance and project management productivity, for example, may be reversed. Therefore, to achieve high performance and productivity, the project management process needs strong communication, positive team dynamics, and an understanding of scope. Conflict can have a negative effect on the process, lowering productivity and performance. Project managers should develop their communication skills to avoid this because it is a soft skill that can be learned and enhanced. This guarantees proper coordination, awareness of all stakeholders, and a decrease in conflict.

Optimizing Virtual Health Technologies Through a Performance-based Readiness Model: Lessons From the Field Deployment of National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network.

The advancement of the Army's National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network (NETCCN) and planned evolution to an Intelligent Medical System rest on a digital transformation characterized by the application of analytic rigor anchored and machine learning.The goal is an enduring capability for telecritical care in support of the Nation's warfighters and, more broadly, for emergency response, crisis management, and mass casualty situations as the number and intensity of disasters increase nationwide. That said, technology alone is unlikely to solve the most pressing issues in operational medicine and combat casualty care. A total performance system (TPS) creates opportunities to address vulnerabilities and overcome barriers to success. As applied during the NETCCN project, the TPS captures the best performance-centric information and know-how, increasing the potential to save lives, improve readiness, and accomplish missions. The purpose of this project was to apply a performance-based readiness model to aid in the evaluation of Army telehealth technologies. Through various user-facing surveys, polls, and reporting techniques, the project aimed to measure the perceived value of telehealth technologies within a sample of the project team member population. By providing a detailed approach to the collection of lessons learned, researchers were able to determine the importance of information and methods versus a focus on technology alone. The use of an emoji-based feedback assessment indicated that most lessons learned were helpful to the project team. Through the NETCCN TPS, we have been able to address product-related measures, knowledge of product efficacy, project metrics, and many implementation considerations that can be further investigated by setting and engagement type. Through the Technology in Disaster Environments learning accelerator, it was possible to rapidly acquire, process, organize, and disseminate best practices and learnings in near real time, providing a critical feedback and improvement loop.

Psychological Safety Effects on Knowledge Sharing in Project Teams

This article investigates the impact of abusive supervision in causing the loss of psychological safety, which in turn impacts knowledge-sharing among project team members. Moderation and moderated mediation of psychological capital (PsyCap) in the direct and indirect relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge sharing is also tested. Using a multiwave and multisource survey, data are collected from 239 subordinate–supervisor dyads in Indian project organizations. Our research results suggest that employees with abusive leaders suffer a loss of psychological safety which in turn demotivates knowledge sharing behavior. Furthermore, the effects of abusive supervision on knowledge sharing are moderated by PsyCap such that the negative impact is alleviated by high PsyCap. Most significantly, the moderated mediation findings show that the mediated relationship is contingent on the level of PsyCap, such that the negative influence of hostile behaviors of supervisors on knowledge sharing via psychological safety is attenuated by low PsyCap. The findings of the study suggest that organizations should invest time and effort in preventing abusive supervision in the workplace and enhancing psychological safety. Clear policies, well-developed communication systems, and active involvement of employees go a long way in building a psychologically safe working environment. Given the importance of PsyCap in influencing psychological safety and knowledge sharing, organizations should pay attention to screening for personal resources in addition to knowledge, skills, and abilities. As a personal resource, PsyCap is malleable and firms may invest in developing employees’ PsyCap resources.

프로젝트 거버넌스가 IT 프로젝트 성과에 미치는 영향

Companies are paying attention to project governance to achieve corporate strategic goals and realize the value of IT projects in a fast and complex business environment due to the development of information technology. This study examines the difference between SMEs and large firms in a situation where project governance affects IT project performance. This study surveyed 208 project team members, project managers, and project applicants with IT project experience within two years in various industries, and analyzed survey responses using regression analysis and univariate analysis. The results of this study showed that project governance has a positive effect on IT project management performance and IT project goal performance for both SMEs and large firms. In addition, for small and medium-sized enterprises, project governance has a higher impact on IT project management performance and IT project target performance than large firms, and the higher the level of project governance execution, the higher the IT project management performance and IT project target performance. This study drew implications that project governance for both SMEs and large firms can positively affect the achievement of schedule, cost, scope and quality planned for IT projects, business success and customer satisfaction, and that if SMEs have good project governance, they can improve IT project performance to the level of large firms.

МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДХОДЫ К МОТИВАЦИИ И СТИМУЛИРОВАНИЮ ПРОЕКТНОЙ КОМАНДЫ

The article substantiates the relevance of the issues of motivation and stimulation of the activities of project team members, due to the high significance of motivation and involvement of project team members from the point of view of achieving the final results of project activities. The staff is one of the most important resources of the team, because only the presence of employees with the necessary professional and personal qualities, united by common values, will ensure effective teamwork to achieve the goals of the team. The article examines the specifics of the motivation of project team members, considers the possibilities and limitations of using well-known motivational theories to motivate the project team; systematizes typical mistakes of project managers when motivating team members and ways to overcome them; offers recommendations for increasing the motivation of project team members; it is shown that the complex and multidimensional motivation of project team members necessitates the use of a full range of directions and methods of stimulating their activities, including material (monetary and non-monetary) and non-material incentives.

Impact of ORBIS on public policies – open consultations of draft regulatory documents and the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe

Public policies and regulations strongly influence research and manufacturing in pharmaceutical sector. Therefore, it is of critical importance that these policies and regulations are of high quality as well as appropriately balanced between general rules and detailed solutions. The process of public consultations prolongs adoption of novel documents. On the other hand, comments from different stakeholders like academia, industry, public administration and patients allow 360-degree critical evaluation of the document and a better understanding of the topic. This mini-review summarizes the contributions of numerous members of ORBIS project team in open consultations of draft regulatory documents published by European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). ORBIS project feedback on the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe is also presented. ORBIS project members contributed to open consultations of two ICH draft guidelines, and three EMA draft documents. ORBIS project was also active during the European Commission’s efforts to develop Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe. The interaction between representatives of academic and industrial sectors allowed to form balanced comments. We hope that this paper will inspire more researchers to participate in future open consultations on public policies.

Development of a management tool to prevent emotional burnout in project teams

The article studies the phenomenon of emotional burnout in the framework of project team management. The authors of the article have considered the concept of emotional burnout, identified the causes of stress among project team members during project implementation and concluded that probability of emotional burnout syndrome can be reduced due to effective selection of project team by manager and balanced distribution of responsibilities among team members. As a solution for project managers, the authors have considered a “functional map” tool. A comparison of the functional map and a job description has been made in order to visualize distinctive features of the functional map. Based on the tool’s advantages and disadvantages analysis, the authors have proposed innovations to minimize probability of burnout syndrome among project team members. In conclusion, the authors have given their recommendations to project managers on controlling emotional burnout in project teams.

The human factor in agility: Exploring employee dedication in agile project organizations

As project management shifts towards agility, attention has centered on its performance outcomes. Yet, a critical area remains largely untapped: the human dimension. This study dives into the heart of this matter, focusing on the relationship between an agile project organization and the dedication of individual project team members. Venturing beyond traditional approaches, our agile project organization framework comprises five dimensions: culture, customer integration, work method, autonomy, and cross-functional capabilities. Additionally, we probe deeper to unearth the underlying factors that amplify or attenuate the relationship between agility and dedication. Grounded in a triple-informant sample encompassing 286 team members across 70 physical product development projects, our findings affirm not only agility's relationship with dedication but also three boundary conditions: a methodical implementation approach, a clear ideation strategy, and an entrepreneurial orientation. This exploration offers a richer, more holistic understanding, poised to reshape contemporary discourse on agile project management.