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Megaprojects and Risk provides the first detailed examination of the phenomenon of megaprojects. It is a fascinating account of how the promoters of multi-billion dollar megaprojects systematically and self-servingly misinform parliaments, the public and the media in order to get projects approved and built. It shows, in unusual depth, how the formula for approval is an unhealthy cocktail of underestimated costs, overestimated revenues, undervalued environmental impacts and overvalued economic development effects. This results in projects that are extremely risky, but where the risk is concealed from MPs, taxpayers and investors. The authors not only explore the problems but also suggest practical solutions drawing on theory, experience and hard, scientific evidence from the several hundred projects in twenty nations and five continents that illustrate the book. Accessibly written, it will be the standard reference for students, scholars, planners, economists, auditors, politicians and interested citizens for many years to come.
The Oxford Handbook of Project Management presents and discusses leading ideas in the management of projects. Positioning project management as a domain much broader and more strategic than simply 'execution management', this Handbook draws on the insights of over 40 scholars to chart the development of the subject over the last 50 years or more as an area of increasing practical and academic interest. It suggests we could be entering an emerging 'third wave' of analysis and interpretation following its early technical and operational beginnings and the subsequent shift to a focus on projects and their management. Topics dealt with include: the historical evolution of the subject; its theoretical base; professionalism; business and societal context; strategy; organization; governance; innovation; overruns; risk; information management; procurement; relationships and trust; knowledge management; practice and teams. This handbook is of particular relevance to those interested in the research issues underlying project management.
The unique biological capacities of humankind enabled the emergence of organized societies and sophisticated and globalized cultures. The progressive and universal recognition of science and technology as bulwarks of our species' survival, longevity, and quality of life made individual and organizational behaviors the main drivers of current (and future) human and planetary health standards.Environmental Health Behavior: Concepts, Determinants, and Impacts, integrates two different but intertwined fields, environmental health sciences and human behavior sciences, identifying and systematizing current knowledge about human behaviors and habits, and addressing the challenge of environmental su...
Perspectives on Projects describes the full range of skills a project manager must develop. By grouping these skills into nine schools and developing a metaphor for each approach, students and managers alike are better able to apply the theory in developing a strategy for managing their project.
The authors are all international figures in the field of project marketing. Bernard Cova is co-founder and leader of The European Network on Project Marketing and System Selling. The book provides models and methods necessary to develop a constructive approach to project marketing. It contains more than 20 short cases drawn from a wide variety of industries - aerospace, construction, engineering, transport and energy. The cases are international with examples from Europe, Asia, USA and Africa.
The Business of Projects broke ground when it was first published in 2005, by showing how leading businesses create and implement projects to drive strategy and innovation. Projects are used to coordinate activities with customers and suppliers and ensure that organisations become more dynamic and adaptable. The book extends the resource-based view of the firm to focus on the business lessons learned from the design and production of high-value complex products and systems (CoPS), which have always been project-based. As well as frameworks and management tools, it provides case studies of high-technology industries - such as telecommunications, flight simulation and medical devices - to show how projects are used to achieve strategic objectives, perform systems integration, organise productive activities, manage software, achieve organisational learning and deliver solutions for customers. This book is essential reading for project professionals, academics, students, engineers, managers and policy makers seeking a strategic, innovative perspective on projects.
Projects are the engines that drive innovation from idea to commercialization. In fact, the number of projects in most organizations today is expanding while operations is shrinking. Yet, since many companies still focus on operational excellence and efficiency, most projects fail—largely because conventional project management concepts cannot adapt to a dynamic business environment. Moreover, top managers neglect their company's project activity, and line managers treat all their projects alike—as part of operations. Based on an unprecedented study of more than 600 projects in a variety of businesses and organizations around the globe, Reinventing Project Management provides a new and highly adaptive model for planning and managing projects to achieve superior business results.
The book is based on an international research project that analyzed sixty LEPs, among them the Boston Harbor cleanup; the first phase of subway construction in Ankara, Turkey; a hydro dam on the Caroni River in Venezuela; and the construction of offshore oil platforms west of Flor, Norway. As the number, complexity, and scope of large engineering projects (LEPs) increase worldwide, the huge stakes may endanger the survival of corporations and threaten the stability of countries that approach these projects unprepared. According to the authors, the "front-end" engineering of institutional arrangements and strategic systems is a far greater determinant of an LEP's success than are the more ta...
The research regarding complex organizations is scarce at this time. Few research studies have investigated the function both of the open, uncertain systems and the closed, certain systems of different organizations. This book is cited as a "conceptual inventory;" its main purpose is to formulate possible propositions to further study the similarities and differences of organizational behaviors across disciplines. It explores such issues as organizational design, technology and structure, and assessment of organizations. The analysis then examines the ways in which the following variables and concepts impact an organization: human variables, discretion, control of complex organizations, and ...