Strategic projects form the core of corporate growth, change and wealth creation, which enable a firm to achieve and sustain long-term success. However, a traditional engineering perspective on project management still seems to dominate. In general terms, manages are fully aware of some traditional techniques, such as NPV, but these can undervalue a strategic project. They occasionally apply techniques for controlling projects, and often lack a practical understanding of recently developed techniques. The purpose of these recently developed techniques is to create a project's value from the outset, and to drive a firm to superior performance and aspiration. The current research project aims to explore the role of techniques in facilitating successful strategic project management, and the elements involved in it, as applied to the UK upstream oil and gas sector. At first, the existing literature on successful strategic project management is reviewed, with major emphasis given to the techniques applied to managing projects. The proposed methodology follows a triangular approach. First, exploratory interviews essentially describe fifty multidisciplinary elements involved in strategic project management. Second, an exploratory deskwork explores the extent to which techniques address, in theory, these elements. Third, a main survey describes the elements managers pay considerable attention to, searches for the elements that are believed to explain a strategic project's success and identifies the techniques that often address each element in practice. Finally, follow-up interviews validate some questionnaire findings. As a result, sets of techniques for successful strategic project management are proposed, and validated through assessment sheets. The present study represents an embryo for future investigation in the project management field. First, it explores the gap between elements that are believed to explain a project's success and those that managers pay most attention to in managing strategic projects. Finally, it suggests that the convergence of financial, environmental (green) and internal business issues might be a healthy route for the UK upstream oil and gas sector towards successful strategic project management.

Quality management (QM) has without doubt been one of the leading management fashions of the 1990s. QM programmes derive from a growing belief during the 1980s that commercial success comes not simply from low cost competitiveness but from high and reliable quality. The aim is to foster the commitment of employees across the organisation to quality in terms of product and service delivery, and to create a culture of "continuous improvement".

This thesis critically reviews and evaluates theories of organisational knowledge and knowledge-related activities. Specifically, it assesses and synthesises relevant theories and thoughts to develop a conceptual model of the knowledge integration process. Empirical evidence, collected from two organisations- Boots The Chemists and NatWest Global Financial Markets is also exploited as a means of building a grounded theory of knowledge integration This theory explains the processes of knowledge integration within the context of crossfunctional project teams. It also considers the general factors that influence these processes, as well as the dynamic interrelationships between the proposed processes. The theory provides a framework not only for future research to systematically examine and test knowledge integration processes within different organisations, but also allows management to continuously anticipate knowledge integration activities within their own organisations. Based on a social construction perspective, this thesis demonstrates that knowledge integration is more than merely the representation of intellectual activities underlying the planning, redesign and implementation stages of a cross-functional programme. It also argues that cross-functional knowledge integration is a continuous process in which programme participants establish emotional alignment through social interaction. This research contributes to studies of organisational knowledge and knowledge-related activities by providing an explorative account that synthesises existing literature with empirical evidence. Secondly, this research contributes to the theoretical development of knowledge integration by focusing on its processes rather than just its outcomes and implications which have been the main concern of other researchers. Finally, the development of a cross-functional knowledge integration theory contributes to the consolidation of the intellectual and emotional dimensions of knowledge-related activities that have in the past been treated in isolation.

The main objective of this exploratory study was to add to the almost non-existent Thai literature on women in management. Three key themes were pursued throughout the study, i. e., the representation of Thai women in management, their work versus family responsibilities, and the barriers they encounter in ascending the managerial hierarchy. The study was conducted in three distinct phases. First, a survey questionnaire was distributed to 536 male and female middle-level managers across diverse organizations in Bangkok. Second, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 67 women managers. It was likely that those in public sector organizations differed in their background and work experiences from their counterparts in private firms, hence data was collected from women managers in the two sectors and comparisons made. Lastly, structured interviews were held with 25 Human Resource/Line managers from a crosssection of firms in which the women managers worked. The study found that the women who have succeeded in these organizations are the ones who have very similar backgrounds and attitudes to the men. They work the same long hours, and have the same interest in furthering their careers as men. Therefore we cannot explain women's career barriers in terms of individual characteristics, such as their motivation or commitment to work. The results suggest that organizational structures and processes are central to an understanding of the ways Thai women are marginalized and excluded from managerial positions. For instance, women were clustered in relatively few occupations, received less in terms of earnings and training, had smaller spans of management, and less authority for final decisions than men. During interviews, women managers mentioned that the negative attitudes of male managers and gender biases in organizational practices, were barriers they had frequently encountered. The data also revealed that the contradictory and ambiguous values that underlie women's role as wife-mother at home and manager at work, necessitated a constant struggle for balance and remarkable personal sacrifices on the part of Thai women managers. By way of conclusion this dissertation submits that there is not a single cause that constrains women's advancement but rather a pattern of cultural, social and legal factors that characterizes the general situation of women managers in Thailand. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for women in management are discussed and future directions for research in this area are suggested.

No description available.

Stuart E. Madnick, John J. Donovan. / Bibliography: leaves 24-25.

Peter Lorange, Michael S. Scott Morton. / Includes bibliographical references.

Phyllis A. Wallace. / Includes bibliographical references.

Stuart E. Madnick. / Bibliography: leaves 20-22.

Stuart E. Madnick, project supervisor. / Includes bibliographical references.