Organisatorisk effektivitet i en multiprojektorganisation

Abstract

ABSTRACT
An organization that for the most part has routines that are defined and managed as projects and where the projects are carried out parallel to each other is called a multi-project organization. In such an organization, the projects can be unique or recurrent, large or small and organized in different ways, but in common for these organizations are that the projects are many, that they integrate with each other and that they affect the environment around them. The main purpose of this thesis was to seek understanding of what factors that affects the effectiveness in the project activities in a multi-project organization. The main purpose was parted into two partial purposes in which the first one was to examine what factors the project staff perceived as particularly relevant and how these factors were linked together in the understanding of the organizational effectiveness. The second partial purpose was to examine what the main strategic considerations were and what the possible actions a management board can take to improve the organizational effectiveness in a multi-project organization. The study took an abductive research approach and was conducted as a case study at a multi-project organization. In order to fulfill the purpose and to gain a deeper understanding of the object of study, two group discussions were first conducted with employees of the company's two divisions. The information from the group discussions was also used to conduct a survey study, in order to increase the understanding of to which extent different factors may influence the effectiveness in the project activities.
The study shows that the management board is faced with strategic considerations regarding the integration between projects, which mainly is about achieving high efficiency when the company's resources should be allocated among the projects. Another strategic consideration is about managing of the project portfolio, which primarily concerns the selection of projects. These choices are very important so that the number and sizes of the active projects are consistent with the company’s available resources. Resource availability in the organizations various parts are important to maintain a high quality during the projects execution and to avoid delays. But projects were sometimes carried out despite the fact that the employees felt that there really wasn’t enough resources to execute the projects as they should. Many of the employees therefore felt that the management board should involve them more regarding conditions and resources in future projects, which also was considered important to be motivated to work toward the company’s goals.
VII
The management board also has the responsibility to motivate and engage employees to work actively with the company’s quality management system which is an important tool, both to achieve high efficiency and quality during the project execution, but also get the organization to work towards continuous improvements and development.
The information for all the projects that are carried out at the company is gathered in a project database. The project database is used both to administrate and document all the information for the ongoing projects. This is also the only administrative tool that the two divisions have in common and it is therefore important that this information is correct. The employees had several comments regarding the project database, which were considered to obstruct their work and reduce the effectiveness in the project execution. These are analyzed and leads to suggestions for improvements.
A clear communication policy is important to avoid misunderstandings and confusion in the communication between the project staff, but also so the project employees receive continuous feedback from the project managers during and after the projects. The main reasons are to avoid previous arisen errors to be repeated and to create solidarity throughout the whole organization. A formal company education for new employees is important so that the project managers get insight of the core business processes, which is a prerequisite for the communication and cooperation between the project staff to work effectively.
The study also shows that many of the employees have a need for education related to their work areas, but due to the intensity of the work with the projects these needs are hampered. The management board is therefore faced with additional strategic considerations of making decisions about financial losses in the short term and the development of the employees and the organization over the long term. Many of the employees are also affected by stress. The consequences of the stress are both a lower quality and that the number of errors increases, but many of the employees are also affected negatively by the stress after they’ve left the workplace. Stress preemptive actions can be introduced to reduce stress among the employees, but it is also important that they are given time to collect their thoughts to ponder the work of previous projects.

• author: Lorentzon, Eric
• supervisor: Carl-Johan Asplund
• organization: Production Management
• course: MIO920
• year: 2011
• type: M1 - University Diploma
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• other publication id: 11/5394
• language: Swedish
• id: 1970841
• date added to LUP: 2011-06-17 08:09:04
• date last changed: 2011-06-20 12:15:57