Browsing by Author "Partington, David"
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Item Open Access Building Grounded Theories of Management Action(Blackwells, 2000-06) Partington, DavidThis paper presents a structured approach to grounded theory-building. It is aimed at 'mode 2' (Gibbons et al., 1994 management researchers, in particular those who analyse recollections of past events, often recorded in interview data, to develop explanations of management action. Two characteristics of mode 2 enquiry - transdisciplinarity and an emphasis on tacit knowledge - make grounded theory potentially attractive to mode 2 researchers. However, the approach offered here differs in two important ways from the much-cited universal grounded theory model originated by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and later proceduralized by Strauss and Corbin (1990). First, it acknowledges that the form of theories of management action which will satisfy the contemporary demands of mode 2 research is different from the form of integrated sociological theory for which the original grounded theory approach was developed. Second, it takes account of differences between the ontological assumptions underlying the use of retrospective data for analysing management action, and those associated with participant observation, the pivotal strategy of grounded theory's symbolic interactionist roots. The result is a simplified, more direct approach which works for the specific purpose of generating useful, consensually valid theory.Item Open Access Conceptual determinants of construction project management competence: A Chinese perspective(Elsevier, 2008-08) Chen, Ping; Partington, David; Wang, Jia NingIn recent years Western project management theories and practices have become increasingly recognized and dispersed in China, particularly in construction-related work. The assessment and development of project management competence in China are driven by attempts to follow the Western standards-based competence certification programmes. Yet little is known about whether and how the predefined set of knowledge embodied in the Western standards are used by Chinese project managers in their workplace. In this paper we report an empirical exploration of Chinese construction project managers’ ways of conceiving and accomplishing their work. We replicate in the Chinese context the previous UK-based phenomenographic study of construction project management competence, which revealed three different conceptions arranged in a hierarchy of performance. The results of this China-based study confirm the conceptual determinants of construction project management competence first revealed in the UK, and provide practical implications for effective training and professional certification of project management competence in China. Meanwhile, the replication of the phenomenographic approach to understanding project management competence in China enhances the cross-cultural validity of the approach and highlights its potential for explorative management research.Item Open Access Configuring in high velocity error sensitive circumstances: A grounded study(Cranfield University, 2005-12) Young, Malcolm; Partington, DavidThe operational reliability of organizations that deal on a routine basis with very dynamic circumstances has been a rich domain of study for organizational scholars for many years. Increasing reliance on the application of complex technologies and human processes in a range of social endeavour provokes our need to understand the attributes of such processes. Traditional contingency theoretic perspectives tend to produce archetypal resolutions that identify in rather specific terms what organizational forms can be matched with particular environmental characteristics. But as the organizational environment becomes more dynamic this approach seems less credible. This research therefore moves beyond the search for archetypes to investigate the processes by which resources are configured in order to deal with dynamic circumstances. Further, with self-managed teams increasingly acknowledged to be central to performance, contributing to fast, flexible and creative action and therefore used as the fundamental work group, this study focuses on the meso-level of the team. This helps to limit the scope of the research task while still offering opportunities for good theoretical and practical contribution. Adopting a grounded, qualitative methodology it triangulates evidence from three dissimilar domains (accident and emergency, air traffic control and fire service) that share a common context of unpredictability, high velocity and error sensitivity. The findings identify a specific type of situated behaviour, termed agile configuration, by which team members configure remarkably flexible and reliable behaviours in very dynamic situations, suggesting an almost limitless range of potential configuring behaviours that avoid the limitations of configurational archetypes. The adduced models and explanations provide theoretical insights that increase understanding of behaviour in extreme contingencies and therefore advance traditional contingency theoretic perspectives, with particular relevance for concepts of dynamic capability. These outcomes also have practical potential for the development of agile configuration competence in self managed teams and larger organizational groupings.Item Open Access Configuring knowledge in practice-grounded research networks: a Contemporary Example(2002-08) Partington, David; Young, MalcolmManagement scholars have an opportunity to play two important roles in helping to address the practice-grounded management research agenda. First, they are wellplaced to act as cross-sector integrators of management knowledge within networks of organizations which are faced with similar management problems but which are otherwise dissimilar and unconnected. Second, they potentially have access to a wide range of advanced or specialized research skills, in particular the development and application of innovative quantitative and qualitative methods to new problems. In this paper we describe a research initiative that aims to combine these two roles in the pursuit of knowledge about the characteristics of competent strategy implementers. Taking the perspective of strategic programs, we highlight important theoretical differences between programs and rationalistic, reductionist, generic approaches to project management which, for many management professionals, are the principal source of program management knowledge. We argue that a variant of the interpretive research approach known as phenomenography may be combined with traditional, rigorous grounded theorizing to answer important practically-oriented questions about program management competence, with the ultimate aim of generating useful knowledge about the selection and development of strategic program managers in contrasting contexts.Item Open Access Decision making in unfamiliar problem domains: evidence from the investment banking industry(Cranfield University, 2004-02) McGrath, Michael Peter; Jenkins, Mark; Partington, David; Bowman, Cliff; Goffin, KeithThis research explores the determinants of risk behaviour when an organisation operates outside its normal operational domain. Organisations are being forced outside their normal operational domains with ever-increasing frequency. Through studying a banking acquisition, an area which has not been studied before, the research identifies the risks faced by the organisation, the apparent irrational management of the risks, and the reasons for this behaviour. The research applies multiple research methods, which include the review of company documentation, interviews with key managers and external experts, a modified Delphi technique, case studies and statistical analysis. Through these methods, the risks faced by the organisation are identified and evaluated in terms of probability, impact, and degree of mitigation. Four risks are investigated in detail, and based on these, six propositions are put forward, four of which are support by statistical tests. The research shows that where the organisation had a successful outcome history in managing a given risk, or could manage the risk using normal management controls, the risk tended to be managed disproportionately well compared to its significance. Where those conditions do not apply the management of the risk tends to be proportionately lacking. There is also evidence to suggest that the existence of industry-specific regulation in relation to a risk results in the risk being better mitigated. Organisations wishing to improve their risk response in unfamiliar operational domains should therefore consider day-to-day controls as one route to improvement. Also, where possible, they should try to create a history of successful outcomes in dealing with the risk types they are likely to face in unfamiliar problem domains. Regulatory bodies need to consider the impact that their regulations will have in order to help organisations exhibit better behaviours in unfamiliar problem domains.Item Open Access Deconstructing Scholarship: An Analysis of Research Methods Citations in the Organizational Sciences.(Sage Publications, 2007) Partington, David; Jenkins, MarkUnderstanding the variety of different ways in which citations contribute to scholarly writing is an important part of the tacit knowledge possessed by experienced researchers. There is, however, little published work to help novice researchers develop this aspect of their craft. To address this issue, we present a framework of citation usage derived from inductive analysis of a selection of published articles and emphasize its relevance for research methods topics. This framework provides a template for structuring citation usage in academic research and a useful developmental tool for novice researchers.Item Open Access A phenomenographic study of British civil servants' conceptions of accountability(Cranfield University, 2007-02) Lupson, Jonathan; Partington, DavidIn the United Kingdom civil servants have traditionally been accountable to their managerial and political superiors for probity and due process in the execution of their duties. Recent parliamentary and administrative reforms have changed this view. Individual civil servants are now additionally accountable to a range of external groups for the results of their work. This change is reflected in the role of Senior Responsible Owner (SRO), a civil servant accountable to a management team for the achievement of a predefined project outcome. This thesis challenges the idea that accountability is a unitary concept that can be defined by others and delegated in this way. The subjective nature of human understanding suggests theoretical grounds for the existence of different conceptions of accountability among different individuals for a given outcome. In this research I have applied the analytical approach known as phenomenography to the study of these different conceptions. The approach has been widely used, mainly in fields outside management, to establish the bounded number of qualitatively different ways in which a given aspect of reality is conceived by different individuals. Analysis of interviews with 30 SROs from 12 government departments revealed four different conceptions of accountability, each with multiple attributes. The conceptions can be arranged in a hierarchy of increasing richness and complexity. This research contributes to theoretical knowledge of the concept of accountability in the field of public administration in four ways. First, the study adds time to the known attributes of accountability. Second, the study confirms sanctions as an attribute of accountability. Third, the hierarchy of four conceptions of accountability throws new light on the subject that calls into question the unitary view. Fourth, the results refute the notion of a schismogenic paradox of accountability and provide empirical support for meanings of accountability that transcend this paradox.Item Open Access Project sponsor competence in the UK public sector: A systematic review(Cranfield University, 2003-08) Lupson, Jonathan; Partington, DavidThis thesis reviews the literature on project sponsorship, competence and accountability in the public sector. It adopts a systematic review methodology, which aims to find, evaluate, analyse and synthesize literature on a transparent, replicable basis. Based on a set of keywords derived from a scoping study and practitioner inputs, a series of keyword searches were conducted on a number of databases. The literature found was evaluated for relevance and rigour against a set of specified source, content and quality criteria. I developed new content criteria in response to new uses of keywords in the literature. I also used the reference lists in the material that passed all the criteria to find further literature, which I also reviewed for rigour and relevance against the source, content and quality criteria. Systematic review is therefore a deductive process, which changed my understanding of the research subject form a general one to a more specific one. I found project sponsorship to be a common role in many areas where project management is used. My synthesis of the literature suggested that the role is a powerful, risk-taking one, requiring leadership and ownership. Competence is a divided , ambiguous concept, with current approaches limited by virtue of their rational, dualistic ontology. Accountability is fundamental to any understanding the role of the project sponsor in the public sector, but is a difficult, changing concept, capable of being viewed from either a process or an organizational perspective. I found significant research gaps in the project sponsorship literature. It has been the subject of little direct research. Whilst there is some understanding of the role in relation to the project, the wider aspects of the role and what may constitute competence in the the role are fertile areas for further research.Item Open Access Reviewing the literature or picking an argument: a typology of literature usage in academic publications(British Academy of Management, 2003) Partington, David; Jenkins, MarkItem Open Access A study of the implications of applying a competency-based approach to performance management in a global organization(Cranfield University, 2005-09) Davis, Paul; Partington, DavidEvidence shows that an organization will function more effectively if the various components of its human resource management system are aligned and acting in a mutually supportive way (Baird and Meshoulam, 1988; Semler, 1997; Bowen and Ostroff, 2004). According to some authors a competency-based performance management system supports the concept of alignment by defining and rewarding the behaviour that is expected and associated with effective performance (Grote, 2000; Boam and Sparrow, 1992; Richards and Howard, 2004; Hopen, 2004; Mosley and Bryan, 1992). The assumptions underpinning the competency-based approach to performance management have, however, been questioned by a number of other authors, including Burgoyne (1989), Jacobs (1990), Morgan (1997) and Day, (1988). The motivation for this research study resulted from a perceived misalignment between (1) the desired leadership behaviour espoused by the top team members of a major UK multinational organization, (2) the behaviour prescribed in the organization’s leadership competencies, and (3) the behaviour that was rewarded in practice. The study takes an unusual opportunity to conduct an in-depth study of the application of a competency based approach to performance management. In the first of three linked research projects, one-to-one interviews were conducted with the organization’s six top team members using an approach that combined repertory grid and laddering techniques. The aim was firstly, to identify the top team members’ criteria 'in use' for assessing and rewarding leadership behaviour in the context of the organization's decision to utilise a competency-based approach to performance management, and secondly, to test the degree of alignment of these criteria among the top team members. The data revealed a good degree of alignment regarding the competencies required, but a poor degree of alignment on their definitions of the behaviours needed to support those competencies. It was also found that two competencies mentioned by the top team members were missing from the organization’s new formal leadership competencies. In the second project the output of Project 1 was used in a web-based questionnaire that was distributed to the 301 members of the organization’s Global Services Leadership Team (GSLT), whose performance appraisals were based on the leadership competencies. The purpose of Project 2 was firstly, to test the degree of alignment between the GSLT's views of what constituted appropriate behaviour and the views of the top team revealed in Project 1, and secondly, to test the degree of alignment of how the desired behaviours identified by the top team were seen to support the leadership competencies. The results showed a good degree of alignment across the GSLT with the top team views of what constituted appropriate behaviour but a poor degree of alignment of understanding of how those behaviours supported the formal competencies. The results also identified a degree of ambiguity within and between the competencies. In the third and final project I conducted a series of participative feedback sessions with key organizational stakeholders based on the results of Projects 1 and 2. Using principles taken from action research, Project 3 was a joint exploration of the problems identified with the performance management system exposed in Projects 1 and 2. The purpose of Project 3 was to stimulate the organization to make changes to improve the alignment and effectiveness of the performance management system. Project 3 identified that it was deemed unrealistic and inappropriate to try to define a unified set of competencies that could be applied in all contexts and applied to all of the different challenges facing the organization. The principle proposal resulting from this study is the need for a modification to alignment theory. It is proposed that extant competency literature appears to be overly prescriptive and fails to take account of contextual factors and the particular challenges facing individuals. The proposed modification to alignment theory requires the inclusion of the process of dialogue and the need for the active involvement of the leadership team members in facilitating understanding and effecting organizational alignment when applying a competency-based approach to performance management. It is proposed therefore that effective leadership action is critical to the creation of alignment that ultimately leads to more effective performance at the level of the individual, the process and the organization. Suggestions for further research to explore these proposals are made.Item Open Access The voice of struggle : an interpretive study of factors influencing success or failure of microenterprises in Brazil's urban favelas(Cranfield University, 2001-07) Siegmund, T; Hailey, J.; Partington, DavidI Third World countries and in particular in Latin America the high birth rate and the forced rural exodus of farm hands has caused a extremely high unemployment rate among the migrants who have flocked into the peripheries of the big cities. Without jobs many of these squatters remain in a desperate waiting position of sheer survival, but those that are more enterprising they to make their living by starting and developing a business of their own. Although this form of activity dates back to the very beginning of the worlds economic history, it has dramatically increased if the countries of the Southern hemisphere during the last three or four decades. Policy makers and scholars have been stirred up by the phenomenon. While ' new terms, like °microentrepreneur° and microenterpn`se° have been coined, a better insight into the labours of the struggling community of microentrepreneurs is still being sought after. This study, in its first chapter, tries to set the stage to uncover the factors that lead to success or failure of microbusinesses as seen from the unique point of view of the microentrepreneurs while doing business in the environment of the Brazilianfavela. The second chapter introduces the background literature on the relevant issues of the thesis. It presents a short historical overview and sheds light on the current social and economic situation of Brazil, on the general structure of microenterpises, on the importance of active entrepreneurship and on the personal traits of a entrepreneur. A vast set of information on the subject of help to microenterpises has been published by many support organizations, but as the predominant concern of the emerging enterprises seemed to be the lack of capital, most publications are restricted on how to collect and administer ftmds. These publications express the view of the donors, but almost no literature exists on the views of the receivers. It is the purpose of this study to l this apparent gap. The present research is geared to bringing to light views and perceptions at the grass root level. It intends to penetrate into the microenterprise culture of the favelas of Brazils megalopolises. A array of possible methodological approaches for achieving this aspired goal is presented in the third chapter and the final decision to use grounded theory, as a theory generating approach, is explained. The next chapter presents the scope of the field studies. Out of the almost homogeneous body of rural-urban migrants that constitute the majority of Brazils favela tenants, forty two microentrepreneurs were selected to form the target group of the thesis. I order to achieve a geographic spread, the megalopolises of Porto Alegre, Säo Paulo, and Salvador da Bahia were selected. The h chapter presents as its core section the extensive narratives of twelve micro-entrepreneurs, who represent a continuum of outcomes from cases of encouraging success to cases of complete failure. I the next chapter, chapter six, the data is screened using a extensive and methodical cross case analysis. From the statements of the interviewees nine distinct propositions emerge as the core findings of the study. These propositions match with the factors that influence the success or failure of the microenterprises as seen by the microentrepreneurs themselves: Drive and dedication, Schooling and competence, Family ties and other networks, Capital and loans, Business project, Chance and risk, Support, Rules and regulations, and Environment and context. The study postulates that the factors Drive and dedication, Schooling and competence, and Family ties and other networks are the most important. Chapter seven covers the effects of the demographical attributes of the microentrepreneurs and describes the casual relationships between the nine selected factors. Special attention is paid to the relative importance of each factor. The final chapter, the Conclusion, offers a summary of the findings and describes how they contribute to the three domains of knowledge: the structure and the agency of enterprises, the insight into the microentrepreneurs perceptions, and the development theory of micro- enterprises. It also highlights the implications of the findings for practitioners, support organisations, and official institutions, as well as making suggestions for further study. The final chapter ends with words of encouragement and caution.