The Project Effective Company (PEV)

The research and development project has been initiated to study the practice of managing internal development initiatives and to propose new approaches and methods. 30 compa­nies covering different industries and size have been interviewed according to a questionnaire, and in about half of the companies further studies have been carried out with internal seminars held for discussion of the findings and new approaches. A general pattern emerged rather quickly, namely that companies experienced the great­est difficulties in managing internal development initiatives in an area in-between major strategic initiatives and local initiatives carried out solely in organizational units (sec­tions and departments). At any point in time in a company there are many internal development initiatives in progress competing for attention. To acknowledge this complex management situation the notion of orchestration has been introduced to indicate that management of internal development initiatives is about harmonizing the activities of many interested parties into a concerted effort being able to continuously shifting the balance between actors and focal areas. Mainly based on observed practice, the project will explain managerial patterns and outline a spectrum of means for better management of internal development initiatives. The main results will be published in a Danish book at Børsens Forlag, as well as in international journals and proceedings.   CIP project group: Adjunct Professor Hans Mikkelsen, Professor Jens O. Riis, Research Assistent Jesper Rank Andersen Network partners: Associate Professor Pernille Eskerod,University of Southern Denmark, and Professor John Christiansen, Copenhagen Business School, as well as colleagues from Linköbing Technical University and Chalmars Technical University in Sweden. Case companies: 32 Danish firms. Project duration: 2003 ? 2004