...Management Control of Project Portfolio Uncertainty: A Managerial Role Perspective Tuomas Korhonen, Cost Management Center (CMC), Department of Industrial Management, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland Teemu Laine, Cost Management Center (CMC), Department of Industrial Management, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland Miia Martinsuo, Department of Industrial Management, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland PAPERS ABSTRACT ■ This article presents empirical results on different managers’ viewpoints regarding the sources and management of project portfolio uncertainty. As a key result, this study demonstrates the versatility of uncertainties experienced by managers, the limited degree of perceived control over them, the use of an almost complete management control package in managing uncertainties, and the necessity of managers’ cooperation in the skilled use of the management control package when managing uncertainties. In addition, a further research agenda is proposed. KEYWORDS: project portfolio management; uncertainty; managerial roles; management control systems; product development INTRODUCTION ■ n their product development, large companies have adopted project portfolio management (PPM) as a means for prioritizing and selecting product development projects among various options as well as allocating resources with the value maximization, balance, and strategic alignment of the portfolio in mind (Cooper, Edgett, & Kleinschmidt...
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...MGT 550B MANAGING THE INNOVATION PROCESS Course Introduction Managing the Innovation Process Panos Kouvelis Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations & Manufacturing Management INSTRUCTOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION Managing the Innovation Process Panos Kouvelis Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations & Manufacturing Management PANOS KOUVELIS Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management Director of Boeing Center on Technology, Information & Manufacturing Sr. Associate Dean & Director of Executive Programs Has Always Been a Good Student !! (avoided “real life” as much as possible) B.S., Mechanical Engineering, NTUA M.S., Industrial & Systems Eng., USC MBA, USC Ph.D., Operations Management, Stanford Loves to Teach 4 years, Business School, UT Austin 5 years, Fuqua School of Business, Duke 14 years, Olin School of Business, Wash.U. (My wife has decorated my home office walls with nicely framed teaching awards, “most popular professor at Olin, ***Bus. Week ranking”) Managing the Innovation Process Panos Kouvelis Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations & Manufacturing Management PANOS KOUVELIS (cont’d.) Consults Frequently (to any firm having money & troubles to spare) Recent “victims”: Solutia, Duke Hospital, IBM, Aerofil Tech., Express Scripts, LHB Ind., Reckitt & Beckinser, Boeing, Ingram Micro, MEMC, Spartech, MECS, Maxim, Bunge, Smurfit Stone, and Emerson. Writes a lot (“publish or perish”)...
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...NEWCASTLE BUSINESS SCHOOL & LEARNING DEVELOPMENT GSBS6001 Assignment 1: OVERALL STRUCTURE The following is an example of how this assignment might look when finished. The word limits are indicated at the end of each section. This is neither an essay or a report; it is simply an assignment with 3 sections. It does not need to have an introduction or a conclusion. Clarity is achieved by clear section headings, and clear paragraphing. NB: our example does not reach 1500 words; further paragraphs need to be written in sections 2 and 3. The Decision A mining claim of 60 miles had to be staked, and the project manager Tom Parker decided to budget 7 days and 3 assistants to do it. He based this decision on his own physical experience and skill. He was an outdoors man, skilled in all non-technical aspects of mining claims. He himself proved able to do 8 claims per day, and he assumed that each assistant would be able to do the same. The workers were poorly paid, but if they completed the job in 7 days they would receive a $300 bonus. Parker may have negotiated this bonus with the company when he budgeted 7 days. The main outcome of this decision was that the job was not completed in time. There were several smaller consequences of the initial budgeting decision that resulted in this outcome. No planning of the details was done until after Parker and the men set up camp. Only at this stage did they consider differences in the terrain, the order of areas to be staked, and where the...
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...Case Study Report ‘The Delicate Quest for Corporate Environmental Sustainability’ Learning Development © 2012 Adapted from original student work by permission CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARYiii 1. INTRODUCTION1 2. THE DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK AT GREENHEART1 2a. A Sociological Perspective2 2b. The Phenomenon of Conformity3 3. THE DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK AT GREENHEART PLUS3 3a. A Sociological Perspective4 3b. The Phenomenon of Paradox5 4. CONCLUSION5 5. RECOMMENDATIONS6 REFERENCE LIST8 Executive Summary This report employs a sociological perspective to analyse the decision-making framework of the food company Greenheart, and its subsequent entity, Greenheart Plus. At Greenheart, decisions were made essentially by one individual, whose rationality was, naturally, bounded. His decision to create an environmental investment fund and to initiate other environmentally responsible production methods ultimately threatened the economic viability of the company. From a sociological perspective, the CEO’s authoritative decision-making meant that the employees were not committed to the decisions, and therefore the decisions were not implemented successfully. The subsidiaries of the company did not share the environment objectives, and this also resulted in ineffective implementation of the objectives. A lack of conformity among employees meant a lack of co-operation in achieving the objectives. This changed with the takeover in...
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...Introduction Under Armour was founded in 1996 by former football player Kevin Plank. Under Armour is the originator of performance clothing designed to keep athletes cool, dry and light throughout their sporting event or training. The technology behind Under Armour's diverse product assortment for men, women and youth is complex, but the program for reaping the benefits is simple: wear HeatGear when it's hot, ColdGear when it's cold, and AllSeasonGear between the extremes. Under Armour invented the type of fabrics we see so commonly used among professional and amateur athletes. How innovation happens What's your over arching strategy, is it to grow or just to survive? To grow you may have to come up with more radical types of innovation. Incremental innovation to survive at the min and come up with a research and development group for the larger growth. Research and technology Marketing Organisation and business strategy 1996ORIGINAL #0039 COMPRESSION T It all started with an idea to build a superior T-shirt... In 1996, Under Armour was born with the original 0039 Compression T-shirt that boosts muscle performance and wicks moisture, keeping athletes cool, dry, and light. Managing uncertaininty The only constant thing about innovation is its going to be uncertain. Structured search process helps minims the blow. Organizations can also embrace the uncertainty and have an uncertainty management type of process. Is the uncertainty in relation to our...
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...actual return will be different than expected (Risk, 2013). With risk comes the possibility of losing some or all investments (Risk, 2013). Uncertainty refers to situations in which there is no viable method of assigning probabilities to future random events (Keat & Young, 2009). In order to understand the relationship between uncertainty and risk, first I would like to define risk. First, in technology and economics, risk is expressed as an expected value that an event will be accompanied by undesirable consequences (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). Here it is measured by both the probability of the event and the seriousness of the consequences (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). For example, the probability that a bearing will fail in five years is .001 percent (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). In the second area of planning, risk is what can happen that will cause the project to fall behind schedule or go over cost. During planning, the known-unknowns are risk (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). The final area is in management; risk is the possibility that outcomes will be different from what we expect. It is the effort to manage both the known-unknowns and unknown-unknowns (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). Risk analysis refers to the uncertainty of forecasted future cash flows streams, variance of portfolio/stock returns, statistical analysis to determine the probability of a project's...
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...Management Journal 2006, Vol. 49, No. 5, 894–917. WHEN DOES TRUST MATTER TO ALLIANCE PERFORMANCE? REKHA KRISHNAN Simon Fraser University XAVIER MARTIN NIELS G. NOORDERHAVEN Tilburg University We examine how uncertainty moderates the trust-performance relationship in alliances, building on the distinction between behavioral uncertainty, which relates to anticipating and understanding partners’ actions, and externally caused environmental uncertainty. We argue that trust matters more to performance under behavioral uncertainty and less under environmental uncertainty. In data from 126 international alliances, the positive relationship between trust and performance is stronger under high behavioral uncertainty and weaker under high environmental uncertainty. We conclude that partners should concentrate on developing interorganizational trust where potential improvement in alliance performance justifies this effort, which in turn depends on the type of uncertainty faced. Strategic alliances blur firm boundaries and create mutual dependence between previously independent firms (McEvily, Perrone, & Zaheer, 2003). A distinctive characteristic of strategic alliances is that partners have to deal not only with the uncertainty in their environment but also with the uncertainty arising from each other’s behavior (Harrigan, 1985). Because of partners’ dependence on each other, previous research has emphasized the importance of relational factors for the smooth functioning of strategic...
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...Effects of Economic Uncertainty on Business Decision Making Market uncertainty has never been higher. Business observers, CEO’s and policymakers have repeatedly raised concerns about the uncertainty of doing business during the ongoing financial and economic crisis of 2007. No one is sure whether or not people who do business with Uncle Sam will be left out in the cold. This kind of uncertainty can play havoc with business and with the economy at large. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), widely recognized as Obamacare, was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010. It is intended to decrease the number of uninsured Americans and lower the overall cost of health care in the U.S. Most business owners are concerned about the program’s potentially harmful effects on the cost of employee health care coverage. Charlie McCrudden, vice president of government relations for the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, said “There’s a lot of uncertainty about what contractors will do about providing health care for their employees…” (Anesi). As uncertainty continues to grow in the markets, so do the changes in employment practices. During challenging economic times, many businesses are opting to hire temporary and contract workers as opposed to full time employees. Not only does this hiring practice affect employment rates and the economy as a whole, but is also affects those seeking work and financial stability. Uncertainty and ambiguity are...
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...International Journal of Project Management 19 (2001) 79±87 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijproman Managing incomplete knowledge: Why risk management is not sucient Steven Pender * SMS Consulting Group, 4/60 Marcus Clarke St, Canberra, ACT, Australia Received 1 December 1998; received in revised form 8 July 1999; accepted 14 July 1999 Abstract The Project Management Institute's Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) underpins many initiatives to improve project management practice. It is widely used for training and underpins the development of competency standards. Because of its fundamental importance, the PMBOK should be critically reviewed. This paper agues for an expansion of the PMBOK Guide's risk management knowledge area to include a wider perspective of incomplete knowledge. The PMBOK Guide deals with uncertainty through the traditional use of probability theory, however the underpinning assumptions of probability theory do not always apply in practice. Furthermore, probability-based risk management theory does not explain important aspects of observed project management practice. This paper discusses an expanded framework of incomplete knowledge, including: an expanded concept of uncertainty that acknowledges ignorance or surprise, where there is no prior knowledge of future states; imprecision arising from ambiguity (fuzziness) in project parameters and future states; and, human limitations in information processing. The paper shows the expanded framework...
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...Project across most industries face huge uncertainty as regard to complex, ambiguous and dynamic environment (external environment) which can have impact on the project planning process. Similarly, projects are becoming larger and more ambiguous which make the execution and realisation of project complexity to be on the increase therefore increase our internal complexity. (Azim, 2010) established that project are increasingly being characterized as complex across most industries and sectors. (Vidal et al. 2011, p. 719) define project complexity as the property of a project which make it difficult to understand, foresee and keep under control, even when given reasonably complete information about the project system. Besner and Hobbs project (2012) established that size, complexity and together with risk (known unknown) and uncertainty (unknown unknown) are path of project characteristics to be considered in selection of project management toolsets to be adopted in their management approach. Each of the project classification approaches attempt to address interaction between complexity and uncertainty and the impact this interaction has on project planning process. The key principles for addressing complexity in the planning process. The complexity of project has always been there which make the need to execute and bring realisation of project complexity on the increase. Therefor the key principles of project complexity in the project planning process are to understand...
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... | | INSE 6290 Quality in Supply Chain Design DISTRIBUTED COORDINATION IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY November 5, 2013 Montreal, Canada 1. INTRODUCTION A supply chain refers to the production and distribution process from raw materials to finished goods. Members of the supply chain are dependent on each other to reduce overall cost and maximize their profit. This dependency, resulting in risk and uncertainty along with benefit, has recently been increasing due to the rapid innovation of information technology, globalization, and outsourcing. A need for coordination mechanism arises from interdependencies between the activities of supply chain members and this need differs depending on sources of complexity and uncertainty. Supply chain coordination is ``a term encompassing cooperation (joining operation), collaboration (working jointly), and integration (combining into an integral whole). It also involves information system alignment (jointly expanding the information structure beyond the boundaries of each supply-chain member). These elements constitute coordination mechanisms to manage independencies among supply chain members`` (Botta-Genoulaz 2010). Below is the conception model of supply chain coordination (Arshinder 2011). [pic] A literature review is presented in this paper...
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...It is important to understand how organisations operate and why they are structured in the ways in which they are. Organisations do not evolve by chance, or are they structured in a random manner. They are structured in a way in which organisations can obtain maximum power and control, which ultimately leads to their goals being achieved at a much more efficient rate. The purpose of this essay is to analysis the two theoretical perspectives of Modern and Post-modern which have different ways of understanding power, control and resistance in organisations. This will be achieved by comparing the two different perspectives and of distinctive contributions to the power, conflict and resistance which are key determinants of organisational life. It is stated that “Organizational structure... describes both the prescribed frameworks and realized configurations of interaction, and the degrees to which they are mutually constituted and constituting. (Stephen P. Robbins and Barnwell 2002) Power is an important concept in organisation theory. Organisations are built up of many factors from culture, structure, technology, and power. However power is inter-related to every factor in organisation theory (Daft, R.L. 2007). Two perspectives will be used to present the understanding of power and how power adds to culture and structure. Basic use of the word ‘POWER’ is used as a synonym of influence, strength, authority, and control over others. In organisation theory there are many different...
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...WEEK 10, Discussion Question 1: “Transshipment Problems” Can we apply transshipment models to inventory applications? Why or why not? Is the transportation model an example of decision making under certainty or decision making under uncertainty? Why? Can we apply transshipment models to inventory applications? Why or why not? Yes, transshipment models can be applied to inventory applications. This will ensure lower costs through proper management and disbursement of the inventory while providing faster response times. The inventory levels can be managed by location in order to ensure minimal levels and the shipping will occur for less cost and faster service due to inventory placement within regions (Taylor III, 2011). Is the transportation model an example of decision making under certainty or decision making under uncertainty? Why? The transportation model is an example of decision making under certainty. The data, in this case the route and items, has to be known in order for the decision making to be determined under certainty (Taylor III, 2011). Explain the assignment model and how it facilitates in solving transportation problems. What benefits would be gained from using this model? 2ND RESPONSE Can we apply transshipment models to inventory applications? Why or why not? Yes, it does seem that transshipment models can be applied to inventory applications. Inventory applications deal with transporting goods to different destinations just like the transshipment...
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...EIA process Resources Screening Scoping Prediction and mitigation Management and monitoring Auditing Public participation Managing uncertainty Techniques Final report - Environmental impact statement The EIA process makes sure that environmental issues are raised when a project or plan is first discussed and that all concerns are addressed as a project gains momentum through to implementation. Recommendations made by the EIA may necessitate the redesign of some project components, require further studies, suggest changes which alter the economic viability of the project or cause a delay in project implementation. To be of most benefit it is essential that an environmental assessment is carried out to determine significant impacts early in the project cycle so that recommendations can be built into the design and cost-benefit analysis without causing major delays or increased design costs. To be effective once implementation has commenced, the EIA should lead to a mechanism whereby adequate monitoring is undertaken to realize environmental management. An important output from the EIA process should be the delineation of enabling mechanisms for such effective management. The way in which an EIA is carried out is not rigid: it is a process comprising a series of steps. These steps are outlined below and the techniques more commonly used in EIA are described in some detail in the section Techniques. The main steps in the EIA process are: • screening • scoping • prediction...
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...international counterparts, it was found that South African leaders are reluctant to move away from a conventional transactional leadership. Leaders who were more transformational lead to long-term positive implications for an organisation. (3) Osborn, Hunt & Jauch (2002) state that transformational leadership will be more effective under traumatic situations as the emotional centre of brain is activated by trauma and this ability is helpful when organizational members experience change and anxiety. Leadership is a critical factor in managing strategic change. The successful managing of people issues will determine success or failure in strategic realignment of business institutions within a global context. (RV Weeks 2002) Strategic leaders effectiveness is dependent on environmental dynamism. Environmental dynamism increases uncertainty that is characterized by stress, anxiety and risk. (2) Transformational leadership encourage individuals to view a turbulent environment as an opportunity not a hindrance. Dynamic environments can generate that collective feeling amongst individuals to solve and deal with external problems. Employees, under uncertain conditions will follow transformational leadership’s natural orientation toward adaption and change, thereby questioning existing products and services and generating radical changes. Rapidly changing environments demand adaptation that will put pressure on leaders exhibiting...
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