Integrating services into solution offerings in the sales work of project-based firms

Project marketing and sales are the key activities at the front-end of solution delivery projects. Effective sales are a prerequisite for successful solution delivery in project-based firms, but little is known about the requirements for sales practices, particularly when the firm integrates services into solution offerings. The purposes of this study are to explore the integration of services into the sales of solutions and identify the needs and practices of service-related sales in project-based firms. The implications of integrating services into the solution offering are discussed based on a qualitative interview-based case study in two engineering industry firms. The findings suggest the use of business-level integration practices to facilitate the integration of sales and services at the project level. The results also indicate the importance of cooperation-oriented practices during a project in both interpersonal and group collaboration. The findings highlight the role of integrative people to manage collaboration and information flows at the front-end of projects. The findings contribute to the evidence on the requirements of sales work in integrating services with solutions by showing the complementarity of system and cross-functional integration in service-related solution selling as well as the work of integrative people in overcoming problems arising from the increased solution orientation in project-based firms.     

Organisational design for improved performance of urban water utilities in developing countries

Unclear roles and responsibilities and other factors related to organisational design, have been found to be some of the common barriers to providing good urban water services in developing countries. A comparative study commissioned by the World Bank in 2013 assessed how five well-performing water utilities located in different parts of the world aligned their organisational structures and management systems with their strategies and the operating environment. Lessons therefrom can be adapted for organisational (re)design of water utilities, for their improved performance, subject to enabling factors in the individual organisation's operating environment.     

Perceptions of architectural design and project risk: understanding the architects' role in a PPP project

Southern Cross Station is one of the largest public–private partnership (PPP) projects undertaken in Australia. In this project the architects played a significant role in developing an iconic design which has received international professional design awards and much media attention. In the media the architects' design was perceived as having impacted negatively on capital costs. Given these contradictory perceptions, the aim of this study was to better understand perceptions of the architects' role in relation to project risks arising out of their design. A survey of key project executives working in the PPP consortium responsible for delivering the project was undertaken. The survey was structured by a framework combining the PPP life cycle, project risks and the idea that architectural design can be viewed as a research and development activity rather than simply as a problem‐solving activity. The survey responses point to the fact that the architects mitigated technical and operating risks and their activities had little bearing on the project's substantial write‐downs. This counters media perceptions of the project that the design activities of the architects created more risks than they mitigated.     

Business models in project-based firms – Towards a typology of solution-specific business models

Project suppliers are taking increasing responsibility for their customers’ businesses by servicing and operating their installed base of equipment. Simultaneously, the locus in value creation in the project suppliers’ deliveries and business models has changed from short-term project deliveries to also include the operation of systems. We analyze five solutions delivered by a power plant supplier firm. The term ‘solution’ here refers to an offering which includes a project component and an after-delivery service component. We assess the distinctive features in the business models of the solution deliveries. This paper contributes to the existing knowledge by suggesting use of solution-specific business models with six key business model elements and by developing a typology of five solution-specific business models. The typology can also be used for assessing the performance of individual solutions. Our suggestion of a solution-specific business model is especially novel in the research of integrated solutions and business models: although existing literature argues that on a general level a firm can have several business models, prior research has not suggested the use of project-specific or solution-specific business models. Therefore, our finding of solution specificity of business models contributes significantly to the existing knowledge.     

An integrated model of factors influencing project managers' motivation — Findings from a Swiss Survey

The imperative need for increasing project managers' motivation is a major concern for organizations. We developed and evaluated an integrated model of factors influencing project managers' motivation, the ‘Motivational Factor Inventory’ (MFI). The MFI consists of 47 items grouped in 6 motivational dimensions. These dimensions are: 1) interpersonal interaction, 2) task, 3) general working conditions, 4) empowerment, 5) personal development, and 6) compensation. Results of this study showed that the MFI was a valid instrument and that all identified items were relevant for project managers' motivation. A clearly defined, interesting task, working with a supportive and goal oriented team, getting the necessary information and financial and personnel resources, and having the possibility to influence important decisions have been identified as the most important motivators for project managers working in Switzerland. Factors related to compensation were the least important motivators. Results are discussed, and practical conclusions and recommendations for further research are formulated.     

Governance performance in complex environment: The case of a major transformation in a university hospital

Project-based organisations have emerged as new forms of organisation in the last few decades. However, hierarchy persists. Both serve their own purpose, but entail different sets of values. This is particularly true in relation to the contribution of project management to organisational performance. The competing values framework has been used to highlight different sets of values and preferences underlying the evaluation of PMO performance and emphasizes the competing aspect. The research adopted a participatory action research approach in a university hospital where a major organisational transformation is taking place. Findings reveal the existence of paradoxes between the executives and the PMO regarding the PMO performance and show how these paradoxes evolved over time. This sheds light not only on the paradoxes, but also on the dynamic process related to performance evaluation within a transformation project.     

居住建筑组构模型的动线网络分析——空间句法组构理论的应用

该文简要论述了希利尔空间句法研究中的组构模型方法。文中应用组构建模和网络中心度（接近中心度Cc与经过中心度Cb）指标，对三例中国传统居住建筑的空间构成作了图解分析，这些图解分析展现了传统居住空间中社会制度时日常生活动线的严密控制；文中讨论了组构理论中的句法学与日常生活经验之间的关系；论述了组构建模与解释，都需要依据具体的日常实践经验。这种基于组构模型的解释方法，有助于把概念诠释的“自明性”与分析模型的“逻辑性”结合起来；进而揭示空间形态中所蕴含的概率性活动规律。     

Manipulating the flow of design information to improve the programming of building design

The increasing complexity of modern buildings and the use of fast-track methods of procurement systems has meant the expeditious and successful completion of the design phase of a project has become ever more important. This paper describes a research methodology that can help plan the building design process. Design models, based on data flow diagrams, have been developed to map information flows during the design of a modern building. These models are analysed using Steward's design structure matrix, which allows ordering of the tasks to produce schedules or design plans based solely on information flowing between design tasks. Traditional ordering is based on experience but modern complex projects require a more rigorous approach. Design is an inherently iterative activity and design structure matrix analysis reveals how to order most efficiently interdependent tasks and use estimates of design information further to improve the scheduling of design tasks.     

机遇与挑战--从"首届上海青年建筑师新秀奖"看大型建筑设计研究院的人才培养

从首届上海青年建筑师新秀奖“被大院建筑师囊括的事实．探索并论述大型建筑设计院在青年建筑师培养过程中具备的优势以及存在的不足。     

价值管理在设计评标中的应用

在招标投标中,评标是一个非常重要的环节。目前我国招标法规定一般采用合理最低价中标,评标也是采用经评审的最低价中标。通过这样的招标,业主只能从参与投标的单位中择优选择设计(或施工)单位,但无法评定项目的价值。在面对实力相当的投标单位时,业主应该如何评价和选择合适的设计(或施工)单位,以实现“降低成本,提高功能”的最终目标,本文应用价值管理的原理和方法,很好地解决了这个问题。     

Success factors of knowledge management in temporary organizations

The prevalence of temporary forms of cooperation and project-based work is increasing. Likewise, the knowledge-intensity of work contents is growing. However, the unique and temporary nature of projects and programs does not support knowledge transfer from, between and within projects.This research aims at spotting success factors of knowledge management in temporary organizations. Based on a cross-industry sample with 414 organizations, we apply the partial least square (PLS) method to test the influence of cultural, organizational, structural, and process-related factors on knowledge management effectiveness.Besides IT-support and formal elements of the organization, it is cultural factors that strongly influence knowledge management success. In temporary organizations they compensate for the lack of organizational routines and organizational memory. Our results contribute to a more differentiated understanding of knowledge management in project environments.     

Integrated design approach for improving architectural forms in industrialized building systems

An architectural design process is investigated to achieve form flexibility in industrialized building systems (IBS), as IBS constructions do not have sufficient flexibility to develop varied architectural forms. The ethnography method has been used to examine the issues related to “form” flexibility in the design life cycle of IBS constructions by observing the constructions of live experimental models. The major tasks and respective design aspects that facilitate form flexibilities in architectural design have been identified. Furthermore, an integrated life cycle model has been developed to effectively address the interfaces between the design tasks and eventually fulfill the needs of IBS in the design life cycle.     

Evaluation of factors influencing the earthquake-resistant design of reinforced concrete frames according to Eurocode 8

The impact of factors which affect the performance of regular-reinforced concrete frame buildings designed according to the Eurocodes is investigated. The introduction of a sequence of variants of a structure, which gradually takes into account the design factors, makes it possible to measure the level of impact of an individual design factor on the global structural and performance parameters. The proposed procedure was applied to several regular reinforced concrete frame buildings, which were designed for ductility class medium and located in a region with moderate seismicity. A comparison between the reduction factor and the behaviour factor revealed that the behaviour factor defined in Eurocode 8, which significantly affects the design seismic action, is based more on the expert elicitation rather than on a firm scientific basis. Furthermore, based on the results of the investigated buildings it is shown that the design factors which are simply adopted in the design often have a significant impact on the resulting structures and their performance, whereas some other design factors, which require analysis of the structure and a lot of labour by engineers, often have only a minor effect on the performance of a structure.     

Identifying design development factors in Australian PPP projects using an AHP framework

In Australia consortiums will come together and create an initial design concept or sketch design at the public–private partnership (PPP) bid stage. If the bid is successful this initial design is then developed further. However, a winning bid may have been evaluated on financial criteria alone and the consortium’s capability to develop the design through to project delivery may not have been thoroughly evaluated. In theory, design is a key process in PPP projects and the aim of the research was to understand what capabilities are important in the development of a design through this process. To clarify these issues, a range of activities and organizational factors linked to design development are proposed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. This method was chosen in order to see which design development factors were ranked more highly by experts. In this research the hierarchy was designed employing the categories of exploratory and exploitative design development. Below each of these overarching categories, there were four design development functional distinctions: the two exploratory distinctions were Design (D) and Design Management (DM). The two exploitative distinctions were Design Support (DS) and Design Infrastructure (DI). A further list of 36 design development sub-criteria was developed under the above categories. These sub-criteria formed the basis of a survey of respondents drawn from a database of industry sources in the public domain as well as a list gathered from a large developer involved in PPP projects. It included relatively senior managers, PPP project managers and architects. Survey respondents identified a recent PPP project that they had worked on. From the 36 responses it can be seen that the exploratory Design (D) and Design Management (DM) activities were ranked more highly than the exploitative activities of Design Support (DS) and Design Infrastructure (DI) associated with a PPP project organization. This suggests that PPP frameworks should account for these exploratory factors as well as the exploitative factors associated with compliance, quality systems and project team infrastructure. This indicates that in PPP projects design development through the effective management of an initial design is a critical factor.     

Commonly encountered seismic design faults due to the architectural design of residential buildings in Turkey

The 17 August 1999 and 12 November 1999 earthquakes in Western Anatolia provided undesirable field evidence that most of the low story residential reinforced concrete buildings have very poor earthquake resistance. Architectural design faults negatively affect the structural behavior of buildings. In Turkey, earthquake-resistant design is considered to be exclusively within the field of responsibility of structural engineers. As a result, architects and especially students of architecture are not well informed about the effect of their design decisions on the seismic performance of the buildings. Structural damages in collapsed buildings demonstrate that most of the design faults that lead to destruction of buildings are due to architectural decisions. This paper intends to present the concept of earthquake-resistant design in a comprehensible format for the architects and builders, therefore aims to contribute to the efforts of creating a better awareness of earthquake resistant building design.     

框剪结构初步设计中剪力墙数量的合理确定

剪力墙的数量的确定是直接影响框架-剪力墙结构安全性和经济性的切实问题。在总结已有各种剪力墙数量的确定方法后,对各类方法进行了比较和评价,发现通过软件建模并与其它方法相结合是一种更为方便准确的方法。     

工程项目在设计阶段的造价控制

分析了设计阶段造价控制在项目全过程造价控制中的重要性,指出了提高资金的使用效益是建设投资者努力和追求的目标,加强建设项目控制,是实现这一目标的必然途径.     

Concept evolution in architectural design: an octonary framework

A framework that integrates the fragmented elements of concept derivation, processing, and translation is developed and discussed. This framework aims to consolidate the divergent components of design conception into a comprehensive system that facilitates design conceptualization, initiation, and integration of various concept evolution phases, components, layers, and aspects. Accordingly, the framework describes a comprehensive approach based on a series of alternating divergence/convergence cycles. Subsequently, the approach encompasses a concept evolution process, derivation methods, aggregation/segregation technique, translation channels, and development layers. Each of the major divergent phases of the framework consists of eight parts. Furthermore, the skills and tasks associated with framework implementation are mapped into the main processing phases. The scope of this study is architectural design in higher education and practice. To demonstrate its applicability, the framework is implemented and illustrated by a case study. Reflections about its implementation and limitations are reported and discussed.     

厦门高层保障性住房户型设计初探

对厦门高层保障性住房户型特点进行分析,总结保障性住房户型设计的思路和理念,借鉴日本平民住宅户型设计的成熟经验,明确保障性住房户型精细化设计途径,达到提升保障性住房品质的目的。     

装配式建筑施工组织设计影响因素分析

装配式建筑中较为明显的优势就是施工进度,而如果没有做好施工组织设计,其优势将无法得到充分发挥.装配式组织设计的研究对推动装配式建筑的发展和前进具有重要的指导和理论价值.本文结合省直青年人才公寓晨晖苑项目实例,分析了装配式建筑施工组织设计中影响施工进度的因素,并对其影响因素提出了解决方案,为其他项目做参考.