POSITIVE EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AS A DETERMINANT OF PROJECT SUCCESSS AND BUSINESS EXCELLENCE: THE CASE OF POLAND
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/JPM.2015.019Keywords
Poland, self-assessment, EFQM Excellence Model, project management, project success, positive management, positive employee attitudes, employee engagement and satisfactionAbstract
Purpose: The paper reports the importance of positive employee attitudes such as work engagement and job satisfaction for project success and business excellence. It is based on two different research projects. The first one, conducted in 2007, entitled “Self-assessment in quality management systems of companies”, was concerned with the engagement of Polish enterprises in initiatives aiming at business excellence. The second study called “Project management efficiency in the enterprises operating in Poland”, completed in July 2008, dealt with the identification of project success factors.
Methodology: EFQM Excellence Model indicators were used as the evaluation criteria for the first study. A structured questionnaire built upon them was distributed among the most active companies in the Polish economy. The research sample PL2007 numbered 230 companies was collected as a result of the study. The second research resulted in the sample PL2008 mostly formed on the basis of the member list of the Polish Project Management Association. In total, 70 respondents filled out the questionnaire which made it possible to identify the project success factors.
Findings: The results coming from the 2007 study indicate that the key factors influencing examined firms’ performance are related to people and their satisfaction. At the same time they are the most critical factors for business excellence improvement. The results of the research project carried out in 2008 show that among a few dozen of tested factors which are conducive to successful realization of projects, the most significant ones are again those referring to people, especially to their engagement.
Originality/value: The paper combines the research results generated in two different studies conducted in companies operating in Poland, the first one focused on business excellence indicators and the second one concentrated on project success factors. Presented data make it possible to indicate how strongly performance on both the operational (project) level and the strategic (business) level is influenced by employee attitudes.
References
Belassi, W., Tukel, O. I. (1996), “A new framework for determining critical success/ failure factors in projects”, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 141-151. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0263-7863(95)00064-X
Dahlgaard, J. J., Dahlgaard-Park, S. M. (1999), “Developing a culture for innovation, creativity and learning”, Total Quality Management, special issue with the Proceedings of the Fourth World Congress, Sheffield, UK, Vol. 10 No. 4/5.
Dahlgaard, J. J., Dahlgaard-Park, S. M. (2006), “Lean production, six sigma quality, TQM and company culture”, The TQM Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 263-281.
Diallo, A., Thuiller, D. (2005), “The success of international developments projects, trust and communication: An African perspective”, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 237-252. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2004.10.002
Eskildsen, J. K., Dahlgaard, J. J., Nørgaard, A. (1999), “The impact of creativity and learning on business excellence”, Total Quality Management, Vol. 10 No. 4-5, pp. 523-530. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0954412997488
European Foundation for Quality Management, (1999), The EFQM Excellence Model, Brussels Representative Office, Brussels.
European Foundation for Quality Management, (2009), EFQM Excellence Model, EFQM Publications, Brussels.
Hermel, Ph., Ramis-Pujol, J. (2003), “An Evolution of Excellence: Some Main Trends”, The TQM Magazine, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 230-243. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.1108/09544780310486146
Hyvari, I. (2006), “Success of projects in different organizational conditions”, Project Management Journal, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 31-41.
Jha, K. N., Iyer, K. C. (2007), “Commitment, coordination, competence and the iron triangle”, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 527-540. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.11.009
Kristensen, K., Juhl, H. J., Eskildsen, J. (2001a), “Benchmarking excellence”, Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 19-23. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108 /13683040010362256
Kristensen, K., Mørch, L. S., Sørensen, H. D. (2007), “Managing the Value Chain“, in: Developing Competence to Improve Business Performance for Rapid Change in the 21st Century. Proceedings of the 12th World Congress for Total Quality Management in Edinburgh, UK, 2007 (CD ROM).
Martalla, J. A., James, J. C. (1997), “Importance-Performance Analysis”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 51-61. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1250495
Oakland, J. S., Oakland, S. (1998), “The links between people management, customer satisfaction and business results”, Total Quality Management, Vol. 9 No. 4-5, pp. 185-190. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0954412988866
Pinto, K., Selvin, D. P. (1988), “Project success: definitions and measurement techniques”, Project Management Journal, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 67-72.
Rubin, I. M., Seeling, W. (1967), “Experience as a factor in the selection and performance of project managers”, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 131-134. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TEM.1967.6448338
Van Der Merwe, A. P. (2002), “Project management and business development: integrating strategy, structure, processes and projects”, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 401-411. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00012-6
Westerveld, E. (2003), “The project excellence model: linking success criteria and critical success factors”, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 21 No. 6, pp. 411-418. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(02)00112-6
Westlund, A. H. (2001), “Measuring environmental impact on society in the EFQM system”, Total Quality Management, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 125-135. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09544120020020010147
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright
Articles submitted to the journal should not have been published before in their current or substantially similar form, or be under consideration for publication with another journal. Authors submitting articles for publication warrant that the work is not an infringement of any existing copyright and will indemnify the publisher against any breach of such warranty. For ease of dissemination and to ensure proper policing of use, papers and contributions become the legal copyright of the publisher unless otherwise agreed.
Plagiarism and ghostwriting
In response to the issue of plagiarism and ghostwriting the editors of the Journal of Positive Management has introduced the following rules to counteract these phenomena:
1. Contributors should be aware of their responsibility for a content of manuscripts.
2. Collective authors are obliged to reveal the contribution and an affiliation of each author (i.e. who is an author of specified part of a paper).
3. Any act of dishonesty will be denounced, the editors will inform appropriate institutions about the situation and give evidence of all cases of misconduct and unethical behaviour.
4. The editors may ask contributors for financial disclosure (i.e. contribution of specified institutions).
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 627
Number of citations: 0
