Leon Pretorius

MANAGING RISK FOR SUCCESS IN A SOUTH AFRICAN ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ENVIRONMENT

The role that project risk management plays in ensuring the successful delivery of engineering and construction projects in South Africa is addressed in this paper. A survey questionnaire was developed to establish approaches used for risk management, and tools and techniques for risk identification. The findings revealed that project risk management had a significant role to play in the success of projects in South Africa. Respondents whose organisations practised structured risk management processes reported success in their projects. The main challenge was found to be in the implementation of risk management tools and techniques. Thus it became apparent that widespread adoption of project risk management in South Africa seemed to be impeded by a low knowledge and skills base, especially in terms of its application. OPSOMMING Die rol wat projekrisikobestuur in die suksesvolle aflewering van ingenieurs- en konstruksieprojekte in Suid-Afrika speel word hier aangespreek.’n Vraelys is ontwikkel om benaderings tot risikobestuur asook toerusting en tegnieke vir risikoidentifisering te ondersoek. Die belangrikste bevinding is dat risikobestuur ’n belangrike rol speel in die sukses van projekte in Suid-Afrika. Die implementering van risikobestuurtoerusting en tegnieke is aangedui as een van die grootste uitdagings wat oorkom moet word. Dit blyk dat die algemene aanvaarding van projekrisikobestuur in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks bemoeilik word deur lae vlakke van kennis en vaardigheid.

Theory of the triple constraint — A conceptual review

Projects are generally undertaken because they are part of the plans to meet business needs and charter organizations to new levels of performance. Projects are however constrained by conflicting demands and competing priorities within the project environment. Neglecting to manage these constraints accurately and effectively may be sufficient to condemn a project even if all other project management activities are performed to a high standard of excellence. The aim of this paper is to improve the interpretation of the triple constraint and its dynamics and indicate how this may advance the delivery of project success. An integrated model is proposed to facilitate the strategic management of the triple constraint trade-offs as a function of the project higher purpose.

Embedded innovation - strategic management incubators for knowledge hegemony

Global competitiveness and category leadership is the strategic challenge for South African innovators over the next decade. Within the context of engineering management, this research identifies the strategic drivers and corporate positioning necessary to meet this challenge and to create a vibrant manufacturing and innovation landscape leading to wealth for South African stakeholders. Focusing on the product life-cycle, the research identifies ‘incubators of competitive advantage’ within the areas of context-management, resource-management, and opportunitymanagement. The aim is to establish an organisational paradigm relating to the creation of intellectual capital and to knowledge management within these arenas, as sources of innovation and competitive advantage. OPSOMMING Wereldwye kompetisie asook produkleierskap is strategiese uitdagings wat SuidAfrikaanse innoveerders in die volgende dekade gaan aanspoor. Hierdie navorsing identifiseer strategiese drywers en korporatiewe posisionering wat nodig is in die konteks van ingenieursbestuur om van hierdie uitdagings aan te spreek. Sodoende word ‘n aktiewe vervaardigings- en innovasielandskap wat kan lei tot welvaartskepping vir Suid-Afrikaanse belanghebbendes bevorder. Deur te fokus op die produklewensiklus word ‘omgewings van kompeterende voordeel’ binne in konteks-, hulpbron- en geleentheidsbestuur geidentifiseer. Die doel is om ’n organisasiekultuur te skep wat deurentyd intellektuele eiendom en kennisbestuur as bronne van innovasie en kompeterende voordeel vooropstel.

A perspective on human factors contributing to quality requirements: A cross-case analysis

Although formal definitions and processes do exist for requirements engineering, projects are still failing due to the poor quality of requirements. This study investigates this phenomenon, in particular the reasons why high quality requirements cannot be delivered.

Technology diffusion and forecasting : the case of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for simulation of greenhouse internal environments

Forecasting emerging technologies as well the rate of diffusion of resultant products are complex in the context of management of technology usually because of a lack of relevant data. Techniques such as bibliometric analysis and the Bass diffusion model are utilized in this paper to assess the growth rate and market penetration of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as a technology. The penetration and growth rate of user acceptance of two CFD codes (not identified) are simulated. Furthermore, a technology forecasting model of research and innovation in the field of application of CFD in the assessment of greenhouses is presented. Some CFD results of simulations for internal and external flow in an eight-span greenhouse are presented as an illustration of the power of CFD as technology.

Strategic management of the triple constraint trade-off dynamics - a polarity management approach

The project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) endorses that every project is governed by the triple constraint, which reflects a framework for evaluating competing demands. This paper extends the benefits of polarity management to the triple constraint in project management through an integrated framework. The aim of this paper is to indicate that the integrated framework may provide a feasible negotiation mechanism to facilitate optimum trade-offs between, and exploitation of, the key triple constraint variables as a function of the project higher purpose.

The Vital Entrepreneurial Learning Organization: A Corporate Mindset for Entrepreneurial Change Management

A globally competitive technology business environment requires a dual perspective for entrepreneurial change management to secure long-term and short-term vitality in mature organizations. Entrepreneurial organizations should shape the environment-organization relation and pursue entrepreneurial activities in new businesses and in existing businesses to integrate efficiency, innovation and adaptation. The presented concept of a vital entrepreneurial learning organization describes a systematic theoretical framework for firm-level entrepreneurship in dynamic environments. The theoretical constructs developed on theoretical exploration are: nine design elements of holistic intrapreneurship, three entrepreneurial tasks and process model, role model for the entrepreneurial organization, conceptual framework of the business environment, qualitative systems model for entrepreneurial change management, and five organizational learning elements. These theoretical building blocks provide new insights into the nature of holistic intrapreneurship.

Using leadership and strategic planning functions to improve management performance : the progress made by small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the province of Gauteng, South Africa

This study investigated the use of the leadership and strategic planning functions in improving the management performance of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the province of Gauteng, South Africa. The primary objective was to establish the extent to which SMMEs in the construction industry in the study area utilised leadership and strategic planning to achieve continuous improvement in management performance. Primary data were collected through structured interviews with 326 respondents from 64 randomly selected SMMEs in the built environment. The findings showed the necessity of educating the owner-managers of SMMEs concerning the use of appropriate management measurement tools and strengthening the implementation of the leadership and strategic planning functions in order to improve management performance. These findings suggest that specific management function-focused courses should be designed and implemented. Rewards should be introduced for SMMEs that show signs of continuous improvement.

A SYSTEMS DYNAMICS APPROACH TO COMPETING TECHNOLOGIES: EXPLORING UNCERTAINTY OF INTERACTION AND MARKET PARAMETERS

Technology can be identified as the result of an innovation process that may be timedependent. Furthermore, technology is both an input to the innovation process and an output of it. When two competing technologies are diffused into the market, they are evaluated as a technology system by means of a systems dynamics approach. It is shown that systems thinking can be used initially to identify and assess the important factors that influence the competitive behaviour of the two technologies. Interesting dynamics of this technology management system are presented and discussed in the context of uncertainty of interaction between the two technologies. It is specifically shown that the life span of the existing technology, which resists competition, may be adversely affected under conditions of uncertainty. The effect of uncertainty in more than one systems dynamics model parameter – specifically, the interaction and market parameter in the competing technology system – is also addressed. The Lotka-Volterra approach of predator-prey interaction is used to model the interaction between and diffusion of the two technologies in the system. A qualitative assessment of the systems dynamics model without uncertainty is attempted in the exploration of a real case study of two competing technologies. OPSOMMING Tegnologie kan beskryf word as die resultaat van ’n innovasie proses wat tydsveranderlik kan wees. Tegnologie is beide ’n inset sowel as ’n uitset van die innovasie proses. ’n Geval waar twee kompeterende tegnologiee in die mark diffundeer word met behulp van sisteemdinamika geevalueer as ’n tegnologiestelsel. Dit word aangetoon dat stelselsdenke gebruik kan word as voorloper om die belangrike faktore wat die kompeterende gedrag van die twee tegnologiee beinvloed, te identifiseer en te assesseer. Interessante dinamiese gedrag van hierdie tegnologiebestuurstelsel word aangebied en bespreek in die konteks van onsekerheid van interaksie tussen die twee tegnologieё. Dit word spesifiek aangetoon dat die bestaande tegnologie wat weerstand bied teen kompetisie se lewenspan nadelig geraak kan word in onseker toestande. Die effek van onsekerheid van meer as een sisteemdinamikamodelparameter, spesifiek die interaksie en markparameter, word ook aangespreek. Die Lotka-Volterra benadering gebaseer op die interaksie van aanval en verdediging word gebruik om die samehang tussen en diffusie van die twee tegnologiee in die stelsel te modelleer. Kwalitatiewe assessering van die sisteemdinamikamodel sonder parameteronsekerheid word ook aangespreek deur ’n werklike gevallestudie van twee kompeterende tegnologieё.

CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOUR IN INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING PROJECTS: CHINESE AND SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES

Past researchers and practitioners have realised that merely developing scheduling techniques is not enough to ensure successful engineering projects, and that communication behaviour is also a critical cultural issue for achieving project success. In this article, the communication behaviour of Chinese project managers is assessed in a cultural context, and the effect of communication behaviour on five project activities (project communication, negotiation, conflict solving, contract process, and team building) is evaluated. This is an empirical study that makes use of surveys to explore the cultural differences between Chinese and South African engineering project managers in respect of their communication behaviour, and the effects of those differences on the five project management activities in the construction industry. There are significant differences between Chinese and South African project managers in their communication behaviour in three project activities. However, there seems to be no significant difference between their communication behaviours in the contract process. OPSOMMING Navorsers en praktiserende projekbestuurders het reeds tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat skeduleringstegnieke op hulle eie nie voldoende is om suksesvolle projekte te verseker nie. Kommunikasiegedrag is ook ’n kritieke kulturele faktor wat kan bydra tot suksesvolle projekte. In hierdie artikel word die kommunikasiegedrag van Chinese projekbestuurders in ’n kulturele konteks geassesseer en die uitwerking van die kommunikasiegedrag op vyf projekbestuursaktiwiteite (projekkommunikasie, onderhandeling, konflikhantering, kontrakproses en spanbou) word geevalueer. Hierdie is ’n empiriese studie waar steekproewe gebruik word om kulturele verskille betreffende kommunikasiegedrag tussen Chinese en Suid-Afrikaanse projekbestuurders, en die uitwerking daarvan op die vyf projebestuursaktiwiteite in die konstruksiebedryf te ondersoek. Beduidende verskille tussen Chinese en Suid-Afrikaanse projekbestuurders se kommunikasiegedrag tydens drie projekatiwiteite word aangetoon. Tydens die kontrakteringsproses skyn daar egter geen beduidende verskil in kommunikasiegedrag te wees nie.