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Public investment programming is a complex exercise and involves a number of factors. These include social, economical, environmental, technological and political factors. In addition, each of the factors depends on many subfactors. For example, the economic factor depends on project impact on local and national economy, number of beneficiaries, and opportunity cost of work lost. The Public Projects Programming System (3PS) is mainly a decision support system aimed at helping senior decision makers in the public sector to program the implementation of public investment projects. A multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approach was used based on the weighted average multi‐criteria analysis (WAMA) model. The structure (database, model base, and user interface) of the 3PS is presented. A case study, in the northern suburbs of Beirut, shows the implementation of the system in a real post conflict reconstruction environment in Lebanon.

The present paper presents the major causes of delays in the construction industry in Lebanon and the relative importance of these postponements. A survey of a randomly selected sample of 11 owners, 15 contractors and 10 architectural/engineering (A/E) firms from Lebanon was undertaken. The survey included 64 causes of delay, grouped into 10 major groups, in which the participants were asked to indicate their level of importance of each delay. The level of importance of the causes and the groups were measured and ranked by the importance index for owners, contractors and A/E firms. It was found that all three parties generally agreed on the ranking of the major categories of delay factors. Owners had more concerns with regard to financial issues, while contractors ranked contractual relationships highest, and finally, A/E firms ranked project management highest.

Sustainable construction is a way for the building industry to move towards achieving sustainable development, taking into account environmental, socio‐economic and cultural issues. Buildings, infrastructure and the environment are inextricably linked. Energy, materials, water and land are all consumed in the construction and operation of buildings and infrastructure. These built structures are also part of our living environment, affecting our living conditions, social well‐being and health. It is therefore important to explore environmentally and economically sound design and development techniques to ensure that buildings and infrastructure are sustainable, healthy and affordable. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role that the construction industry is playing in the sustainable development management globally and in Lebanon particularly. Survey questionnaires were distributed to main construction industry players: Contractors, Architects/Engineers and Owners/Developers. These questionnaires are designed to collect information on companies’ environmental awareness and social responsibilities and current practices that include land development, material selections, energy efficiency, construction operations, waste handling, storage facilities, sustainable designs and so on. The information is then analysed and recommendations are made on how to learn from socially responsible companies and how to improve the overall sustainable development of the construction industry in Lebanon.

This paper aims to propose a methodology to develop an organizational memory to benefit from team knowledge and to make the design of electromechanical devices processes more efficient.

Different frameworks and methods were analyzed from literature, obtaining key ideas to be included in the methodology developed and considering other approaches to apply in team knowledge about design processes. The research was conducted as a case study in a Mexican small and medium-sized enterprises dedicated to the manufacturing and installation of electromechanical devices where the methodology was implemented.

A five-stage methodology was developed which consisted of preparation, identification, capture & storage, dissemination & application and finally the evaluation & feedback stage. An implementation of the described processes was carried out, which was materialized into a technological tool that represents the organizational memory where knowledge was captured, organized and disseminated.

This study offers guidelines that can be applied in other organizations where team knowledge on design processes have not been adequately used for company’s improvement. The application of this methodology could be a strategy that enabled team knowledge to store their experience. This knowledge could then be consulted and recovered by the workgroup in an effective manner to solve new problems.

A methodological proposal to develop an organizational memory about team knowledge was developed. To evaluate the impact of the methodology implementation, a variety of indicators were proposed, which were classified as economic, organizational and performance indicators.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of information technologies and technology-enabled social networks on the efficiency of knowledge management processes in the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies.

Scientific literature analysis, structural equation modeling and expert evaluation (structured questionnaire) were used to develop the research model, collect data from the audit and consulting companies’ experts and test the research hypotheses.

The empirical results of this research supported the hypotheses stating that information technologies and social networks positively affect the knowledge management cycle, including five processes (acquisition, creation, storage, sharing and application) within the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies.

The research results were generated from the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies, which form a limitation concerning the geographical area and the business sector.

From the results of this study, audit and consulting companies, as well as organizations and society broadly, would benefit via the positive effect of information technologies and technology-enabled social networks on the whole knowledge management cycle, which has a further impact on organizational performance. These practical implications are related to a more open, sharing culture that drives organizational performance to the members and stakeholders of organizations, which, in turn, benefits society.

This research analyzes information technologies and technology-enabled social networks’ impact on knowledge management processes, particularly in the context of the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies. While the phenomena have received some attention in the prior scientific research, the studied context so far remained under-researched, where a gap is found in studying the knowledge management cycle as a whole.

Delays and cost overruns are evidently frequent problems in the construction industries of many developed and developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to assess factors leading to time overruns (delays) and cost overruns in construction projects in the Gaza Strip. Since there appear to be additional special contributors to delays here, the relative perceptions of contractors, consultants and owners are compared, based on a listing of causal factors derived from previous studies elsewhere, together with other factors arising from special conditions in the Gaza Strip.

A survey of a randomly selected samples yielded responses from 66 contractors, 27 consultants, and 31 owners. The survey included 110 delay factors/causes which were grouped into 12 major groups. The same survey also included 42 cost overrun factors. The level of importance of the delays and cost overrun factors were measured and ranked by their importance indexes, according to the perspectives of contractors, consultants, and owners.

There seems to be a general agreement between contractors, consultants and owners regarding causes of delays and cost overruns. The main four causes of time delays included strikes and border closures, material‐related factors, lack of materials in markets, and delays in materials delivery to the site. Additionally, the main three causes for cost overruns included price fluctuations of construction materials, contractor delays in material and equipment delivery, and inflation.

The outcome of this paper will assist owners, contractors, and consultants in understanding the reasons for delays and cost overruns, thus eliminating or minimizing these causes. This could be achieved by better management of the projects and by finding new methods for storing the critical materials from the beginning of the project. Furthermore, the local government is advised to initiate legislation to overcome problems arising from monopolies in the supply of construction materials.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the different aspects of the motives and benefits of certified ISO 9001: 2000 companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A total of 900 certified UAE companies were surveyed in April 2004 in UAE. The response rate was equal to 23.2 percent.

The paper finds that certified companies were more concerned by internal reasons like improving processes or products than by external reasons like pressure from customers or imitation of competitors. In addition, the certification process had generated more internal benefits than external ones.

These findings may indicate that the surveyed firms will sustain their quality efforts as continuous improvement is one of the cornerstones of ISO 9001: 2000 standard. In April 2004, when this survey was conducted, the number of certified companies listed in Dubai or in Abu Dhabi Stock Exchanges was still small. This limited the analysis of the certification's financial benefits.

This is one of the first papers trying to analyze the motives and benefits of ISO 9001: 2000 certified companies in the UAE. The selection of the motives and benefits were validated through statistical analysis and the relationship between expected and perceived benefits was discussed.

The purpose of this study is to propose a performance realization framework based on key factors of ISO 9000 implementation.

A three‐stage approach of a systematic review is employed to examine the literature and develop the framework. The review is concentrated on three research topics: motivations; critical success factors; and impacts of ISO 9000 implementation.

This study identifies five motivation factors (quality‐related; operations‐related; competitiveness‐related; external pressure‐related; organizational image‐related factors) and ten critical success factors (leadership; training; involvement of everyone; organizational resource; quality‐oriented culture; customer‐based approach; process‐centered approach; communication and teamwork; customizing the ISO requirements; quality audit). This study also develops a performance realization framework composed of three parts: conversion; enhancement; and competitive priority stages.

This study contributes to the development of the literature by providing a set of motivation factors and of critical success factors that can assist practitioners to effectively implement the standard. Further, the proposed framework helps to explain causal relationships among ISO 9000 impacts and provide guidelines about critical considerations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine management attitudes/perceptions of Egyptian manufacturing organizations toward the implementation of ISO 9001:2000. The implementation of ISO 9001:2000 depends on how the standard is perceived by Egyptian companies themselves.

The present study is exploratory in nature and seeks to collect data about management attitudes/perceptions towards ISO 9001:2000 through a structured mail survey. Mail questionnaires were sent to 200 manufacturing companies throughout Egypt, yielding a response rate of 35 percent.

Survey results indicated that Egyptian manufacturing organizations are aware of ISO 9001:2000 and it is considered to be relevant to their organizations. The main motivators for seeking ISO certification were to improve the efficiency of the quality system and to achieve customer satisfaction. The vital benefits perceived from implementing the certificate were improved documentation and improvement in the efficiency of the quality system. However, the participants perceived top management commitment and the lack of qualified personnel to be major barriers for the effective implementation of ISO 9001:2000.

The research adds knowledge in the field of quality management within the context of developing countries and gives a particular focus on Egypt and the manufacturing sector, as it is one of the few papers available within the field of quality management in Egypt.