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1 – 10 of over 223000
Article
Publication date: 5 July 2011

Bon‐Gang Hwang and Zong Bao Yeo

Increased disposal costs and reduction in number of landfills have created a need for implementing effective waste management in the construction industry. As every construction…

5878

Abstract

Purpose

Increased disposal costs and reduction in number of landfills have created a need for implementing effective waste management in the construction industry. As every construction project is unique in its way of development, benefits from the waste management may also differ from project to project and thus project characteristics should be taken into consideration when implementing the strategy. This study seeks to investigate how different project characteristics affect perception on benefits, from construction waste management, based on the survey results from 66 industry experts.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was conducted to gather information on project characteristics and its classification, construction waste management, waste management plan and its benefits. Subsequently, a set of questions was formulated to gain insight and opinion on the selection of project characteristics and particular benefits of construction waste management. A set of questions pertaining to different project characteristics linked with benefits of waste management was sent to each of the personnel for their views.

Findings

The results of this study establishes that the key materials used in projects, project size in terms of total installed costs, and project type have perceptual impacts on benefits from construction waste management.

Originality/value

Understanding how project characteristics will affect the benefits can help the construction industry to identify projects to which the waste management should first be applied, maximizing its benefits.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2009

Vanita Ahuja, Jay Yang and Ravi Shankar

Effective flow of data and communication at every stage of a construction project is essential for achieving required coordination and collaboration between the project…

5331

Abstract

Purpose

Effective flow of data and communication at every stage of a construction project is essential for achieving required coordination and collaboration between the project participants, leading to successful management of the projects. In present scenario, when project participants are geographically separated, adoption of information communication technology (ICT) enables such effective communication. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to focus on ICT adoption for building project management.

Design/methodology/approach

It is difficult to quantitatively evaluate the benefits of ICT adoption in the multiple enterprise scenario of building project management. It requires qualitative analysis based on the perceptions of the construction professionals. The paper utilizes interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique to assess importance of perceived benefits and their driving power and dependence on other benefits.

Findings

The developed ISM model shows that all the categories of benefits, i.e. benefits related to projects, team management, technology, and organization are inter‐related and cannot be achieved in isolation. But, organization‐ and technology‐related benefits have high‐driving power and these are “strategic benefits” for the project team organizations. Thus, organizations are required to give more attention on strategically increasing these benefits from application of ICT.

Originality/value

This analysis provides a road map to managers or project management organizations to decide that if they are planning ICT adoption for achieving certain benefits then which are the other driving benefits that should be achieved prior to that and also which are the dependent benefits that would be achieved by default.

Details

Construction Innovation, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 May 2008

D. Baccarini and G. Bateup

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how benefits management is applied to office fit‐out projects, in terms of benefits identification, benefits planning, benefits control…

2505

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how benefits management is applied to office fit‐out projects, in terms of benefits identification, benefits planning, benefits control and benefits realisation.

Design/methodology/approach

Three case studies, based in Perth (Western Australia) are investigated based on structured interviews with the project sponsor; and analysis of secondary documentation, such as business cases, briefs, and post‐occupancy evaluations.

Findings

There is no coherent, holistic application of benefits management models in office fit‐out projects. There are fragments of benefits management evident from the research, such as benefits identification and planning within business cases and briefs, and benefits realisation through post‐occupancy evaluations.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on three case studies, so it is not possible to draw any strong generalisations. Future studies are needed to corroborate or contradict the findings in this research.

Practical implications

The results highlight some aspects of benefits management in office fit‐out projects that could be improved, particularly the setting of key performance indicators for benefits, and more formal benefits control and realisation processes.

Originality/value

This research is the first to take the construct of benefits management, which is primarily applied to information systems projects, and investigate its application in building projects.

Details

Facilities, vol. 26 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2013

Paulo Pina, Mario Romão and Mírian Oliveira

Identifying and tracking how knowledge management (KM) impacts on organizational performance represents a gap in the research. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze

2046

Abstract

Purpose

Identifying and tracking how knowledge management (KM) impacts on organizational performance represents a gap in the research. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the applicability of adopting a benefits management (BM) approach in order to identify KM benefits and elicit their contribution to the achievement of business objectives.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study was carried out in a systems and information technology firm in Portugal. The data were collected using interviews and documental analysis. The data were subjected to content analysis.

Findings

BM can strengthen KM, not only by identifying the benefits, but also by aiding the process of organizational change required to achieve those benefits, considering the investment objectives, the necessary transformations and the allocation of responsibilities, among other aspects.

Research limitations/implications

This research was based on a single case study. The findings cannot be generalized.

Practical implications

Because it can be used to identify the role of KM in the achievement of the business objectives, the BM approach may be of use to managers who need to identify and explain the benefits of KM.

Originality/value

The originality of this research is that it uses the benefits management approach to link knowledge management to business objectives.

Details

VINE, vol. 43 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0305-5728

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 January 2017

Carl Marnewick

Standards are written by practitioners for practitioners. It is therefore logical that project managers should comply with project management standards. Benefits management is a…

Abstract

Purpose

Standards are written by practitioners for practitioners. It is therefore logical that project managers should comply with project management standards. Benefits management is a domain within programme management. The focus of benefits management is to deliver benefits of initiatives beyond the closure of a normal programme or project. This is not the case with projects within the information systems (IS) discipline, implying that IS programme and project managers are not adhering to standards. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the best practices associated with benefits management are applied to IS initiatives in order to maximise the benefits of these initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

Senior and middle managers in South African organisations were interviewed to determine how benefits are managed within their various projects. The purpose of the interviews was to determine adherence to standards and especially benefits management and, second, to determine whether these organisations are achieving any benefits and ultimately value.

Findings

There is an overwhelming non-adherence to benefits management best practices within the IS discipline, and IS programme and project managers do not have the slightest idea how to perform benefits management. Irrespective of this, organisations do believe that they are receiving benefits and value from these IS projects.

Research limitations/implications

The research was only done in South Africa with the specific focus of IS. The results are thus very specific and opens the door for more comprehensive research that focusses on various industries, countries and standards.

Practical implications

The results have several implications ranging from how standards are written to the professionalism of IS programmes and project managers. Organisations are not achieving the optimal benefits from investments. The fact that organisations do realise benefits from a broken process, implies that more benefits can be realised when the entire benefits realisation process is followed. Governance controls should also be put in place to ensure that programme and project managers are adhering to standards.

Originality/value

Standards are dominating the project management discipline and there is a general assumption that programme and project managers are adhering these standards. This research queries the value of standards as the results indicate that there is limited adherence to standards and best practices.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2000

Colin Fuller

A theoretical model, which describes continuous improvement and benchmarking processes, was developed. The model was based on the concepts that improvements in management inputs…

13728

Abstract

A theoretical model, which describes continuous improvement and benchmarking processes, was developed. The model was based on the concepts that improvements in management inputs should produce organizational benefits and that management inputs are limited by budget constraints. The model was developed using health and safety as an example of operational management issues. In this example, organizational benefits related to reductions in the number and costs of accidents and management inputs referred to the provision and costs of accident prevention control measures. The utility of the model was demonstrated with five health and safety scenarios, which tested the model against the continuous improvement philosophy and benchmarking with respect to reducing costs, improving performance, minimising organizational change and assessing performance within different work environments.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2018

Amgad Badewi, Essam Shehab, Jing Zeng and Mostafa Mohamad

The purpose of this paper is to answer two research questions: what are the ERP resources and organizational complementary resources (OCRs) required to achieve each group of…

4185

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to answer two research questions: what are the ERP resources and organizational complementary resources (OCRs) required to achieve each group of benefits? And on the basis of its resources, when should an organization invest more in ERP resources and/or OCRs so that the potential value of its ERP is realised?

Design/methodology/approach

Studying 12 organizations in different countries and validating the results with 8 consultants.

Findings

ERP benefits realization capability framework is developed; it shows that each group of benefits requires ERP resources (classified into features, attached technologies and information technology department competences) and OCRs (classified into practices, attitudes, culture, skills and organizational characteristics) and that leaping ahead to gain innovation benefits before being mature enough in realising a firm’s planning and automation capabilities could be a waste of time and effort.

Research limitations/implications

It is qualitative study. It needs to be backed by quantitative studies to test the results.

Practical implications

Although the “P” in ERP stands for planning, many academics and practitioners still believe that ERP applies to automation only. This research spotlights that the ability to invest in ERP can increase the innovation and planning capabilities of the organization only if it is extended and grown at the right time and if it is supported by OCRs. It is not cost effective to push an organization to achieve all the benefits at the same time; rather, it is clear that an organization would not be able to enjoy a higher level of benefits until it achieves a significant number of lower-level benefits. Thus, investing in higher-level benefit assets directly after an ERP implementation, when there are no organizational capabilities available to use these assets, could be inefficient. Moreover, it could be stressful to users when they see plenty of new ERP resources without the ability to use them. Although it could be of slight benefit to introduce, for example, business intelligence to employees in the “stabilizing period” (Badewi et al., 2013), from the financial perspective, it is a waste of money since the benefits would not be realised as expected. Therefore, orchestrating ERP assets with the development of organizational capabilities is important for achieving the greatest effectiveness and efficiency of the resources available to the organization. This research can be used as a benchmark for designing the various blueprints required to achieve different groups of benefits from ERP investments.

Originality/value

This research addresses two novel questions: RQ1: what are the ERP resources and OCRs required to achieve the different kinds of ERP benefits? RQ2: when, and on what basis, should an organization deploy more resources to leverage the ERP business value?

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1999

Barbara Farbey, Frank Land and David Targett

This paper considers the problems of evaluating the benefits of an investment in information technology and systems against a background of institutional change. It is based on a…

2316

Abstract

This paper considers the problems of evaluating the benefits of an investment in information technology and systems against a background of institutional change. It is based on a case study in the National Health Service and follows the progress of a project to introduce benefits realisation in NHS Trusts. The case illustrates the importance of personal, hands‐on attention to benefits management and calls attention to the different contingencies faced by managers in attempting to introduce evaluation or benefits realisation schemes. It concludes that, where managers face “certain” contingencies, formative evaluation will be beneficial, but where the contingencies are uncertain, structural changes in the organisation may be more effective in achieving benefits. The paper ends with a plea for evaluation activities to be re‐integrated into their organisational context.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1983

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…

16312

Abstract

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 21 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2022

Subrata Talapatra, Kutub Uddin, Manuel Doiro and Gilberto Santos

The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived benefits offered by integrated management system (IMS) in the readymade garments (RMG) sector in Bangladesh and the…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived benefits offered by integrated management system (IMS) in the readymade garments (RMG) sector in Bangladesh and the respective linkage with corporate social responsibility (CSR) to promote sustainable development. This study presents a list of IMS benefits composed of different international management standards according to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, OSHAS 18001: 2007 and SA 8000:2014.

Design/methodology/approach

To identify the possible benefits of IMS, a systematic literature review was conducted from 2009 to 2019, namely, in the database of Elsevier, Emerald and John Wiley. A questionnaire survey was developed with the purpose of examining the perceived main benefits of IMS. The questionnaire was e-mailed to 355 representatives of 15 RMG sectors in Bangladesh. A total of 256 complete and useable responses were received, constituting the base of this work. Subsequently, statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 20 software.

Findings

The main findings of the present study show that the most important five benefits of IMS in RMG sector in Bangladesh are better capacity to achieve organization’s objectives, optimum use of various resources, business sustainability, synergies of different management policies and reduction of duplication efforts.

Practical implications

Two major limitations of the study are as follows: first, it is not a longitudinal study; second, IMS benefits were examined in the national sector context. The present study has both theoretical and practical implications. The study presents a comprehensive list of IMS benefits that contribute to the existing literature from a theoretical point of view. On the other hand and from a practical point of view, this study encourages managers to implement IMS in their organizations.

Originality/value

This study helps in understanding the contribution of IMS benefits to cleaner production and CSR in Bangladesh. The focus on the benefits of IMS in the RMG sector in Bangladesh is another significant aspect of this study because it promotes the development of environmental policies linked to CSR with stakeholder engagement, as a driver to sustainable development.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 223000