<p> In the modern world, information and speed are paramount. Governments and businesses alike compete not only with one another but to better serve the public. Governments around the world are using more and more technology to reach those that are not capable of traveling to the nearest cities or do not have the resources for technology. Governments with smaller budgets or in third world countries are looking at technology as an option to do more with less. This new trend is referred to as eGovernment, or electronic government. Through this new breakthrough, governments may improve service hours, lower costs, and allow citizens to interact more with them. </p><p> This investigation will illustrate worldwide trends of doing governance utilizing more businesslike applications, such as enterprise software and network architecture. In addition, we found many good reasons to use electronic government solutions within the island of Puerto Rico in order to reduce operating costs and increase productivity. After a thorough analysis of the basic necessities of the four principal groups that demand services from any government, the ideal model for carrying out electronic government in Puerto Rico was created. </p>

<p> A company or government is only as good as its most qualified employees. This qualitative interpretative phenomenological study sought to understand what skills are needed to supervise government information technology (IT) project managers through their lived experience. Fifteen participants in the field of government IT were interviewed. They included five senior managers, five supervisors, and five project managers who worked as IT government contractors or employees were interviewed. The participants&rsquo; responses revealed that different groups disagreed as to what skill sets were essential in supervising government IT project managers. The findings of the research highlighted that the senior managers and supervisors valued skills from a macro-level perspective, while project managers valued skills from a micro-level perspective. The results of the study indicated that the different groups of IT employees&mdash;senior management, project managers, and supervisors&mdash;deemed different skill sets as essential. There was a consensus regarding the importance of communication skills as all groups included aspects of communication in the top-five essential skills. However, the rating number allocated to these skills and the definition of the terms differed between the participants and across the groups. The results of the study brings to light the importance of developing appropriate position training for government IT supervisory positions.</p>

<p> Affirmative action public procurement programs (AAPPP) stem from legislation related to the Civil Rights movement. Debates about program usefulness and relevance have occurred as well as court decisions challenging not only the legality of these programs, but their very existence. The problem is that, although minority small businesses are fast-growing, access to public procurement opportunities is minimal. An assessment of the perceived social and economic impact of affirmative action public procurement programs between participants and non-participants could provide needed information to inform stakeholders more about how these programs are experienced. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental causal-comparative (ex post facto) study was to determine whether minority business owners who have participated in AAPPP perceive the economic benefits, economic costs, social benefits, and social costs in minority businesses differently than non-participants. A random sample of 128 minority business owners seeking government contracts in the information technology field participated in this study. The participants were requested to complete a survey to assess their perceptions of affirmative action public procurement program participation on its economic benefits, economic costs, social benefits, and social costs. The findings showed AAPPP participants and non-AAPPP participants perceived economic costs and economic benefits similarly. The findings also showed AAPPP participants perceived both the social costs and benefits significantly greater than non-participants. Although the findings lend support for the continued use of these programs, the results paradoxically lend some support for their discontinuance. Without any overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it can be argued that continuing with these programs is necessary, since an inherent form of discrimination based on race or gender within the economic system still appears to exist, although not coherently depicted or understood. </p>

<p> Increased globalization and competition have forced companies to implement solutions at a rapid pace using new and evolving technology. As a result, companies are now initiating an increasing number of complex projects each year. Project management (PM) practitioners &ndash; the individuals responsible for leading a project team through the planning and implementation of these complex projects &ndash; need to understand the tools and techniques to implement a complex project successfully to meet the strategic goals of the organization. Emotional intelligence (EI) is a primary component of the leadership skills necessary to manage a complex project. The purpose of this study was to explore the EI competencies used by PM practitioners who managed a complex project as defined by Qureshi and Kang (2015). Using the Goleman model of EI, this study investigated 22 PM practitioners who managed a complex project and found the PM practitioner&rsquo;s ability to be adaptable, innovative, and trustworthy to be key personal competencies used in the management of a complex project. Furthermore, the ability to understand organizational politics and its effect on the team and the complex project, to maneuver around it, and to be influential, and deal with conflict are necessary social competencies when managing a complex project. These competencies are not limited to complex projects. This study also investigated EI competencies experienced in non-complex projects and found that trust, conflict management, influence, and political awareness were all EI competencies that held equal importance to PM practitioners when managing a non-complex project. People were the key. Findings from this study found that &ndash; although non-complex projects may not provide the innovative approaches or the need to adapt to change as found in a complex project &ndash; when people are involved, PM practitioners still need the ability to trust, resolve conflict, deal with and maneuver around the political climate, and influence the team.</p>

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

<p> Managing within social-ecological systems at the landscape scale, such as in the national forests of the Sierra Nevada of California, is challenging to natural resource managers (e.g. the U.S. Forest Service) due to the uncertainties in natural processes and the complexities in social dynamics. Collaborative adaptive management (CAM) has been recently adopted as a viable strategy to diminish uncertainties in natural processes through iterative policy experimentations and adaptations, as well as to overcome conflicting values and goals among diverse environmental stakeholders through fostering and facilitating collaborations. While many CAM studies have focused on evaluating the management impact on natural systems and processes, few have examined the social engagements and dynamics of management itself. To address this knowledge gap, I examined the various social engagements in CAM, particularly the flow of information products, dialogues in public meetings, and social connections among participants, based on my research case study&mdash;the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project (SNAMP). </p><p> SNAMP began in 2005 in response to the USDA National Forest Service's 2004 Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment calls for managing the forest using the best information available to protect forests and homes. The participants in the project can be sorted into three primary categories of environmental stakeholders: federal and state environmental agencies, the public and environmental advocacy groups, and university scientists. The project studies the impact of forest fuel reduction treatment on forest health, fire mitigation and prevention, wildlife, and water quality and quantity at two study sites: Last Chance in the northern region of the Sierra forests at Sugar Pine in the southern region. The primary strategies and methods for fostering partnership and facilitating collaboration among the diverse participants are producing science information and making it transparent and publicly accessible, as well as facilitating discussions about such research and management results in public meetings. </p><p> To evaluate the effectiveness of CAM in the case of SNAMP, I used a mixed-methods research approach (i.e. citation analysis, web analytics, content analysis, self-organizing maps, social network analysis), by leveraging available information technologies and tools, to characterize and analyze the flow of digital information products, the outcomes of facilitated discussions in SNAMP public meetings, and the resilience of the social networks in SNAMP. Some of the interesting findings include: 1) Scientific knowledge products, in the form of peer-reviewed journal publications, contributed to knowledge transfer between scientists and environmental managers; 2) facilitated discussions helped environmental stakeholders to stay engaged on the important administrative and research topics through time; 3) the social networks experienced turbulence but remained resilient due to the existence of a committed and consistent core group of environmental stakeholders that represent diverse backgrounds and interests. As the picture of how information, conversation, and social connections contributed to the success of CAM emerged, my dissertation provides recommendations to natural resource managers on how to improve in these areas for future implementations of CAM.</p>

<p> This qualitative interpretative phenomenological study increased the understanding of project managers&rsquo; perception and lived experiences of the primary issues contributing to the success or failure of projects. This study used method triangulation to analyze the experiences of 48 project managers. The study was conducted in three phases, including a pilot study, an open-ended questionnaire, and one-on-one interviews. The project managers&rsquo; lived experiences indicated that stakeholder communication; collaboration; and consensus on governance, leadership methods, definition of requirements, and success criteria during the project initiation stage are critical to achieving higher project success rates. The major themes that emerged from this study are the definition of project success, requirements and success criteria, stakeholder consensus and engagement, transparency, and project management methodologies. Additional research is suggested to determine if there is a relationship among experience, qualifications, certification, and project success or failure and to determine implementable solutions to improve project success rates.</p>

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed September 08, 2009). PDF text: ca. 128 p. UMI publication number: AAT 3352851. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (M.Hous.Man.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-104).