Research
Projects
2004-2008 Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery)
“Forensic Management Approach to Rework Mitigation in Project Systems”
Funding: $380,000 (Awarded)
Team: Professor Peter Love, Professor Derek Walker, Professor Martin Loosemore, and Dr Jim Smith
Rework is the unnecessary effort of re-doing a process or activity. The direct costs of rework in construction have been reported to be as high as 25% of project costs. These rework costs would be higher if they included the intangible, but real costs of disruption caused by schedule delays, litigation, and dysfunctional contract relationships. To reduce rework in construction projects a forensic project management model that can be used to stimulate learning and process improvement will be developed, evaluated and validated. This will enable the design of strategies to reduce rework and improve the overall performance of projects.
2004-2008 Australian Research Council (ARC Linkage)
“Optimising Value for Money in Software Development through Standardised Cost Metrics in the Procurement, Development and Project Management Phases”
Funding: $200,000
Team: Professor G Callender, Associate Professor T Woodings (Curtin University), Professor Peter Love, Mr D Baccarini, Mr K Vinsen, Ms P Morris, Ms S Wehmeier, and Mr T Rosser
Mission critical and complex software projects habitually exceed budget expectations significantly. Regular outsourcing of software development means that procurement specialists, project managers and software engineers require a common understanding of individual system requirement costs to facilitate accord on price. Contemporary techniques for describing and costing requirements fail to directly map into project management structures, leading to ongoing value comparisons that are subjective and unrepeatable. This research will develop the principles to be used by both clients and suppliers to compute earned value from requirements, leading to more accurate assessments and calculations of Value for Money in software projects.
An exploration of the contribution of informal interactions at work to the quality of working life
Researchers: Dr Maryam Omari and Ms Megan Paull
Funding: FBL Strategic Research Grant - 2006
In the 1980s interest in informal interactions at work were about fun, flexibility, competitive advantage and motivation. During the nineties the emphasis shifted to customer service, innovation, empowerment and creativity. In the current climate of labour shortages and relative economic prosperity there is an added pressure associated with retention of high performing staff, and the creation of a work environment where people are not only satisfied, but are willing to stay in the face of offers from competitors. This study seeks to explore the role of employee social interactions including; use of humour, rumours, gossip, socialising and fun, in the creation of a happy and productive work environment which retains high performing staff, and becomes an “employer of choice”.
Emotional Contagion and Leadership Capability
Researchers: Associate Professor Peter Standen and Dr Maryam Omari
Funding: FBL Strategic Research Grant - 2005
Emotional contagion, or the sharing of emotions is a relatively new field of study in management literature. Much of the early studies in the area were conducted from a psychological/social psychology perspective with a focus on personality.
The aim of this study is to explore the notion of emotional contagion from a leadership perspective: to what extent organisational leaders are responsible for setting the emotional climate/mood of the organisation, and in doing so, what are the effects on the organisation as a whole, and on individual employees.Management and Leadership in VET organisations
Researcher: Dr Llandis Barratt-Pugh - in association with the Sellenger Centre for Policing research
This is a large ($400k) research project led by the Institute of the Service Professions ECU that is investigating the ’wellbeing of the professions’ by involving teachers, nurses and the police, who account for 70% of public servants in WA. The project is funded by the ARC and 10 local organisations and unions.
The pilot work has produced a survey instrument that being sent to 21,500 professionals during a three year cycle. The aim of the study is to provide a cultural landscape of professional health to act as a baseline for future development and a tool for determining strategic initiatives to improve professional health, both for individual development and organisational performance improvement.
Frontline Managing Identity
Researcher: Dr Llandis Barratt-Pugh
This is a longitudinal study that has already produced a major national evaluation the NCVER publication ’ Paradise nearly gained’ . This report has been downloaded by over 8 thousand practitioners and academics since 2003. From the broad survey and 26 case studies, three case studies have been continuously followed to understand the patterns of learning interaction and identity development associated with the FMI as a the leading instigator of workplace learning activity. The study is currently reporting as a PhD upon the partnerships, the extended identity and generation of learning infrastructure and capability that exists within ’rich or thick’ productions of frontline management development activity. The study analyses the discourses that consituted the FMI, the organisational performances of the FMI and the subsequent productions of the FMI.
The study has produced a theory of Frontline workplace management development and an analysis of the role of technologies such as the FMI which are positioned as discursive technologies of translation model in relation to patterns of organisational change. This study is continuous as workplace learning begins to form new patterns of learning conversations, changes the balance of global and local knowledges, generates more relational managing practice, and more relational managing identity, based upon productive reflection and local ’knowing’ . This project was initially sponsored by the NCVER.
The appropriateness of current models of on-line training for SMEs
Researchers: Dr Beverley Webster, Professor Beth Walker and Dr Sue Stoney
Industry Partners: WA Department of Education and Training
Timeline: January – December 2005
It is widely recognised that training and education are effective ways to reduce small business failure. Current training delivery methods for small business owners tend to be static and do not address the real needs of new owners, which centre around just-in-time business specific skills development. One method that has been suggested to overcome the time pressures for small business owners is to deliver training on-line. However, it is evident that small business owner/managers have different understandings of on-line training and therefore the current models of delivering training on-line may in fact not be the most suitable to address specific needs. This research will explore the appropriateness of this training method for small business owner/managers and will develop a framework of appropriate training delivery.
Developing a framework of training for older small business owners
Researchers: Dr Beverley Webster, Professor Beth Walker and Julia Turner
Industry Partners: WA Department of Education and Training
Timeline: July 2004 – June 2005
The aim of this research study is to develop a framework of training for the older small business owner. The research will focus on four key areas: (a) their training needs, (b) how they differ to those of other sectors of the business population, (c) the preferred mediums of training and skills development delivery and (d) the relationship between participation in training and business growth. Previous research has addressed training and small business owners as a homogenous sector, which ignores the differences in experiences, values and attitudes of older entrepreneurs. A significant practical outcome of this research will be the development of a training framework for the provision of ongoing professional development and business assistance for older business owners.