Projectification has become a buzzword. Although repeated claims of an increasing projectification were often supported by illustrative, case-based evidence, a systematic and complete measurement of ...projectification of an entire economy - including all sectors and project types - is still missing. A more precise and reliable measurement of the degree of projectification can be helpful for underlying the importance of project management both for research and practice. This paper presents the results of a comparative study in three Western economies: Germany, Norway, and Iceland. Projectification was measured as the share of project work on total work. This allows for a systematic comparison between countries and sectors. We show that although differences exist among the countries regarding their size and industry structure, the share of project work in advanced economies seems to be about one third. However, comparing the different countries demonstrates that important differences exist for individual sectors.
•A complete measurement of the degree of projectification of the German, the Norwegian and the Icelandic economy.•Measurement includes all sectors of the economy and all project types.•Projectification is 34.7% in Germany, 32.6% in Norway, and 27.7% in Iceland.•Results suggest that in advanced economies around one third of all economic activities is project work.•The comparison of the three economies reveals major differences on the level of individual sectors.
Today, due to the flexibility of work, the workplace is no longer just a place with four walls and a desk, and barriers such as time and space have been overcome by implementing flexible ways of ...working offered to employees. In Romania, changes in the labor market are obvious. If 10-15 years ago the standard/traditional employment model was the basic element of labor relations, and flexibility seemed an exotic and distant concept, nowadays labor flexibility has become a reality that no one can deny. Moreover, flexibility in labor relations has become a necessity. The employer is required to find and retain those employees who professionally meet the requirements of the job. The currency of exchange is that employees have their own requirements and needs to which the employer must adapt. The main objective of the research study is to determine how managers implement the main forms of flexible work.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar mikrobiologi melalui project work pada pembelajaran tatap muka terbatas di SMK Negeri 2 Depok. Model pembelajaran yang diaplikasikan ...menggunakan model project work. Sintaks project work adalah memberikan pertanyaan utama, menyusun desain proyek (proposal proyek), penyusunan jadwal, memantau proyek, pengujian hasil proyek, evaluasi hasil proyek. Penelitian dengan 4 tahapan yang terdiri dari prasiklus, siklus pertama, siklus kedua, dan siklus ketiga. Pengumpulan data dengan metode observasi pembelajaran, evaluasi pembelajaran, penilaian selama kegiatan pembelajaran. Hasil penelitian penggunaan model project work dapat meningkatkan hasil belajar mikrobiologi dengan rerata nilai prasiklus 73, siklus pertama sebesar 84, siklus kedua sebesar 86, siklus ketiga sebesar 88. Kesimpulan penelitian yaitu hasil belajar mikrobiologi pada pembelajaran tatap muka terbatas di SMK Negeri 2 Depok dapat ditingkatkan melalui model project work. Penggunaan project work efektif dalam meningkatkan hasil belajar mikrobiologi pada pembelajaran tatap muka terbatas.
Several studies have investigated projectification and its effects at the firm level, but the macroeconomic implications of project work have scarcely been considered. This paper analyzes the ...macroeconomic effects of firm-level projectification. We study the interlinkages between different sectors by extending standard input-output modeling and analyze the static and dynamic effects of projectification. The results indicate that projectification can have positive macroeconomic implications for production/innovativeness, employment and income that differ across economic sectors, but projectification can also have negative impacts. As a major implication, the use of temporary forms of organizing cannot be recommended without reproach but depends on the economic sector and sectoral interdependencies.
•Input-output analysis to study macroeconomic effects of firm-level projectification•Effects of projectification on production/innovativeness, employment and income•Differentiation between short-term (static) and long-term (dynamic) effects•Projectification has mostly positive macroeconomic implications•In some sectors projectification has negative effects (mainly short-term)
Research Summary
While multi‐project work (MPW) is becoming an increasingly popular work arrangement, its relationship with project performance is understudied. On the one hand, MPW is deployed to ...increase employee worktime utilization and productivity, which should be reflected in more timely project completion. On the other hand, MPW also brings switching costs due to attention residue and cognitive setup. Based on this trade‐off, we derive an inverted U‐shaped relationship between MPW and project performance. We find support for this relationship in a longitudinal dataset containing 9,649 project‐month‐employee observations. More specialized experience, project similarity, and employee familiarity positively moderate the inverted U‐shape. Furthermore, the results are robust to a host of model specifications, data structures, assumptions, and alternative explanations.
Managerial Summary
How many projects can you work on simultaneously? We study this question in the context of new product development (NPD) projects in a multinational organization. We suggest that multi‐project work (MPW) might be a double‐edged sword. On the one hand, MPW academics or engineers can be more productive by filling the gaps in their schedules and developing time management practices. On the other hand, MPW also carries switching costs. This trade‐off creates an inverted U‐shaped relationship between MPW and project performance. So, how can MPW be more beneficial or less costly? We find that more specialized employees can benefit more from productivity gains while working with familiar members or similar projects can alleviate switching costs.
This exploratory study provides an influence diagram that shows the network of conditions that influence the use of visuals to effectively engage executives. The diagram was developed from the ...experiences of project managers and executives elicited through twenty-four semi-structured interviews. Twenty-nine conditions are found to influence the use of visuals to effectively engage executives. These are grouped into four categories: the executive's disposition to the use of visuals; the organisational conditions to create visuals; the project manager's understanding of the executive's information needs; and the executive's and project manager's appreciation of the benefits of using visuals. The study's results highlight that while the interviewed executives had a predisposition to the use of visuals as they are generally time-poor, capability to create visuals to support executive engagement was not widespread. Practical contributions include disclosing the criticality of organisational support for creating visuals and the vulnerability of executives in making project decisions.
•Executives' work conditions influence their preference for visuals.•Creating visuals is not a widespread competency among Project Managers (PMs).•PMs require organisational support to create visuals.•Use of visuals is motivated because both executives and PMs benefit from their use.
This study focuses on healthcare students' perception of an inquiry-based approach to pandemics for an online history of medicine course. The course was designed using Bateman's Humanities Model of ...Inquiry. First-year undergraduate students (n = 111) responded to a questionnaire that included 19 items using a Likert scale and open-ended questions on interest in current topics and learning opportunities. The median total score was 77 (maximum 95). The free texts revealed that students perceived the inquiry-based project to be motivating as it piqued curiosity, interest, and relevance. Students also reported on historical knowledge development and enhanced communicative competencies. The study highlights the value of an inquiry-based approach accompanied by project work and real-world topics to enhance students' learning experience.
This paper examines the impact of a structured, multi-dimensional reflection track of a 16-week pilot programme in experimental pedagogics (XP) in The Netherlands. XP is an elective undergraduate ...programme in which students investigate socially relevant educational problems in local communities and design educational interventions to address these issues through problem-oriented project work (PPL). To accompany the learning journey, students follow a reflection track structured with workshops, learning diaries, and articulated learning essays, that covers cognitive, phenomenological, relational, social and global dimensions of reflection. The design of the track was informed by an interdisciplinary reflection framework combining inputs from cognitive and critical paradigms. To evaluate and improve the impact of this novel approach to reflection in problem-oriented education, the authors undertook an Education Action Research (EAR) process with the 17 participating students. The evaluation phase of the EAR was conducted using a phenomenographic design to draw out qualitative variations in conceptions of reflection among students who participated in the pilot. Focusing on variations of conceptions allowed the teachers-as-action-researchers to gain a fine-grained understanding of reflection within the XP problem-oriented setting. The findings reveal an outcome space comprising seven increasingly complex reflection categories. A phenomenographic analysis of the categories led us to conclude that there exists a reflection “sweet spot” inside which there is growth in reflection breadth and depth. Outside the sweet spot, students either do not reflect at all, or become so entangled in reflection that an infinite reflection regress appears to derail learning. We conclude by discussing the contributions of these findings to strengthening critical, socially relevant reflection in problem-oriented project work in the context of current global crises, focusing on the role of supervisors in fostering productive reflection.
Most of our workforce consists of members of Generation Y, making it necessary to understand their motivations to work on projects. In this article we investigate the motivation of young project ...professionals in the context of four case studies. Based on self-determination theory, we outline the Conceptual Model of Young Project Professional Motivation, which is comprised of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and purpose. The study offers several contributions to theory and practice. First, the article extends the understanding to self-determination theory by operationalizing the different needs of young project professionals in projects. Second, it explicitly adds the need for purpose as a central motivator to our theoretical understanding. Third, it puts the motivators in contexts and shows that these motivators have varying levels of importance in different project and organizational contexts. From a practice perspective, the study contributes to a better understanding of how to attract and retain young project professionals in organizations, for example, by fostering work environments and career opportunities that are aligned with their needs. We conclude this article with a research agenda.
PDF
