Cornelis C. Van Waveren

The role of supervisor support in predicting employee job satisfaction from their perception of the performance management system: A test of competing models in engineering environments

Past studies of performance management systems (PMS) have focused more on designing the framework and less on the effect it has on employees. Moreover, employees in developing countries may not be knowledgeable or familiar with PMS. This paper proposes two competing statistical models to examine the roles that supervisor support (SS) has in engineering organisations. It was found that SS is a mediator, but not a moderator, in the relationship between PMS and employee job satisfaction. In other words, SS partially explains why employees have positive perceptions of their jobs based on their evaluation of the current PMS; SS thus enhances the PMS in engineering organisations.

Knowledge-sharing within the project-based organisation : a knowledge-pull framework

This paper examines mechanisms to use lessons learned on individual projects within an organisation. A Delphi study highlighted the organisation’s responsibility for incorporating knowledge from projects into a project management methodology. Knowledge from a project should be transferred through a centralised knowledge management function that should evaluate codified knowledge within the context in which it was generated, determine how the knowledge should be used, and maintain the explicit knowledge database and the knowledge flow process. Based on a literature review, structured interviews, archived data, and a Delphi survey, a framework for transferring knowledge to the organisation is proposed. The framework enables the organisation to motivate and guide knowledge transfer within a methodology that indicates where, when, and how knowledge transfer and use should take place.

FACTORS THAT IMPACT KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION IN PROJECTS

Knowledge dissemination, as part of the knowledge exchange process, is particularly challenging in any project environment due to the temporary nature of projects. Although several studies in the earlier literature studied the factors that influence knowledge exchange, very few examined them from the ‘knowledge push’ perspective. This study aims, therefore, to highlight the critical factors that impact knowledge dissemination in a project environment. This empirical research found ten critical factors, such as individual experience, trust, source credibility, shared understanding, motivation, and articulability. These individual factors seem to have a dominant influence on knowledge dissemination from the view point of the knowledge source.

Factors for electronic media selection in project communication

Knowledge transfer in projects are more complex and challenging than such transfers in normal operations due to the temporary nature of project teams in which team members often do not see the capturing and transferring of knowledge across projects as important for long term benefits to the organization. Understanding how and why different communication media, computer-mediated or otherwise, are used in organisations becomes essential to prescribe and to predict sound rationale organisational investments in different media choices. Although a lot of research has been done on factors that influence media selection as a knowledge transfer tool, organisations are becoming more dependent on using the electronic media for communication and further advancement in the electronic media necessitate continued research. This study investigates the key factors that influence the selection of electronic media in projects communication focussing on the engineering sector as well as identifying factors which are more dominant that others. The communication factors which were identified during the study were grouped into four groups: system characteristic factors, task factors, organisational factors and people factors. The study investigated the influence of the communication factors on the following forms of electronic media: e-mail, internet, intranet, extranet, electronic bulletin boards, television networks, audio recordings, video conferences, tele conferences, instant messaging, telephonic systems and multimedia presentations. Results showed that the top ten key factors which influence selection of electronic media consisted of; six system factors, three task factors, one organisational factor and one people factor. Systems factors were more critical than the other factors in influencing the choice of electronic media.

The relationship between project management office maturity and organisational project management maturity: an empirical study of the South African government infrastructure departments

The Project Management Office (PMO) has been associated with organisational project management competence. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this perception. This study examines the relationship of PMO maturity and the nine knowledge areas that describe Organisational Project Management (OPM) by collecting data from 129 PMO executives, staff, and project managers in South African Government Infrastructure Departments (SAGID) using a structured questionnaire. The results show that a PMO’s ‘strategic’ maturity has the highest impact on all nine areas of OPM. It is thus recommended that public organisations need to accelerate the strategic maturity of their PMOs to benefit from them.

A multivariate analysis of success factors for Six Sigma deployment: The South African mining industry as a case

Accepted 7 May, 2012 The Six Sigma continuous improvement methodology has been successfully deployed in many organisations on a global basis. This has resulted in significant reduction in cost and increases in revenue as a result of the improvement in operational excellence associated with improved business practices, the removal of variance in systems and processes and the reduction in waste generation and poor product quality. By virtue of the financial meltdown in 2007/2008 Lonmin PLC, which operates within the South African Mining Environment, embarked on a restructuring and reorganisation initiative and decided to transform its Six Sigma deployment from a centralised centre of excellence approach to one where the core competencies and drive behind the deployment programme (black belts and master black belts) are re-integrated into the line functions of the organisation. This transformation has provided the opportunity to analyse the differences between the two approaches and to explore the factors which are critical to a successful deployment. The empirical results have identified twelve success factors within the operational context of the Six Sigma deployment undertaken by Lonmin PLC. Practical recommendations are made regarding the approach to be followed based on these factors during a Six Sigma deployment.

The implementation of TQM in the component supply chain in the South African motor industry

The South African motor industry has flourished over the past two decades. During these years, many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have chosen South Africa as one of the countries to establish their plants, but local vehicle sales are not the driving factor of this large investment in South Africa, as many vehicles are exported to other countries. South African assembled vehicles are now competing on a global market. A study was conducted in the automotive industry of South Africa, utilising the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM) database in South Africa, to investigate the differences in first tier and second tier suppliers in terms of the organisational profiles of these companies, the implementation of total quality management (TQM) principles in their plants, and how the companies missions and goals are structured around the customers needs. The research methodology comprised a literature review and an empirical study based on a questionnaire forwarded to automotive companies in South Africa. A number of conclusions could be reached from the study as differences between first and second tier suppliers in general, irrespective of whether the suppliers uses TQM or not.