In parts one and two of this series, we've looked how corporate cultures affect the outcomes a project attains and where cultures come from. In this final post in the series we'll look at the mechanisms through which cultures spread and what organizations can do to promote a healthy culture.
Pretty much every business leader understands the value of having a positive corporate culture. The state of many businesses however illustrates that not every business leader understands how to shape...
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Why projects fail
Corporate Culture – Part 2
Last week I posted thread that outlined some of the different types of corporate culture and started the process of looking into how corporate culture influences project outcomes. In this week's post we'll look at where cultures come from.
Part of the reason corporate culture is so poorly understood is because few organizations appreciate how cultures form. Cultures are invisible and they are hard to define. They develop out of ongoing interactions rather than a single moment in time and ...
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Corporate Culture – Part 1
Culture is a powerful force in any human system. It establishes the norms of behavior and acts as a reference point for the expectations we have of each other and ourselves. While we are all used to the idea of culture in our public societies (cultures driven by national identity, religious affiliation, generational groups and /or fashion), culture in the workplace gets less attention. While the phase "corporate culture" is banded around, few organizations really have a grasp of what it is, how ...
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Avon Products
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Avon Products - Canada
Project type : Product sales and ordering system
Project name : The "Promise" project
Date : Dec 2013 Cost : $100 to $125M
Synopsis :
Ding-dong - Avon calling. According to reports, a significant number of the Avon sales team in Canada will no longer be pressing any doorbells. One of the world's most established direct sales compan...
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Strategic Misrepresentation
As a timely follow up to the excellent set of posts about cognitive biases written by guest writer Paul Gibbons, the UK's National Audit Office (NAO) has just published a report that illustrates how the “optimism bias” and other dysfunctions can distort key investment decisions.
The decision to proceed with a project and decisions about how to approach it, are some of the most challenging needing to be made. These decisions are among the first to be made and occur at a point in time at which ...
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Healthcare.gov
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Department of Health and Human Services - USA
Project type : e-Commerce marketplace
Project name : The Affordable Care Act
Date : Oct 2013 Cost : Unknown
Synopsis :
When the President of the United States has to address the issue in front of the whole nation, you know you’ve created a serious mess. The Affordable Care act of 2010 is President Obama’s sig...
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British Broadcasting Corporation
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
British Broadcasting Corporation - UK
Project type : Digital archive
Project name : The Digital Media Initiative
Date : May 2013 Cost : £100M
Synopsis :
Having started operations in 1922, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is one of the world's oldest and most respected media production and broadcasting organizations. Covering both entertainment ...
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J.C. Penny
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
J. C. Penny Company Inc - USA
Project type : Nationwide merchandise pricing strategy
Project name : Fair and square
Date : Nov 2011 - May 2013 Cost : Contributor to $1B loss
Synopsis :
Know thy customer is the marketer's prime directive. Understand your stakeholder's is the Project Manager's corollary. J.C. Penny is a national level department store chain in the U...
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New Zealand Ministry of Education
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
Ministry of Education - New Zealand
Project type : Payroll system
Project name : Novopay
Date : Sep 2012 - May 2013 Cost : $30M NZD
Synopsis :
A 2010 report by accounting firm KPMG shone a spotlight on ineffective Project Management practices in New Zealand. Reporting that a shocking 70% of organizations included in the survey had experienced a failed pro...
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J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
The following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” - a list of failed or troubled projects from around the world.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Project type: Financial risk analysis tool
Project name: New Synthetic Credit VaR (Value at Risk) Model
Date: Sep 2011 (project) - Apr-Jun 2012 (operational failure)
Cost: Approximately $6B
Synopsis:
Sometimes the mightiest of the mighty is humbled by the meekest of the meek. Microsoft Excel may not be the most grandiose sof...
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