KEY FUNDAMENTALS OF SYSTEM THEORY
- Definition of a System Theory
Because project management is an outgrowth of systems management, it is fitting that the underlying principles of general systems theory be described. The aim of systems theory is to facilitate better understanding in a complex environment; that is, if the system within which managers make decisions can be provided as a more explicit framework, then such decision-making should be easier to handle.
Traditionally, management has undertaken its orle through using an analytical approach, by taking apart the thing to be understood, trying to understand the behaviour of the parts taken separately, and then assembling this understanding into an understanding of the whole. This approach is referred to as ‘segmentatism’. (Hamilton, 1993).
Organizational culture theory offers a framework to understand the beliefs and assumptions present in any workplace. Schein (1992) characterizes organizational culture as “artefacts, espoused values and tacit assumptions of an organization” (as cited in Taylor, 2005, p. 641). ‘Artefacts’ are noticeable items like dress, behaviours, and language. ‘Espoused values’ are awritten statements of the organizations’ philosophy and mission as would be found in practice literature, mission statement, and internal communication, and ‘tacit assumptions’ are the values guiding those statements. While organizational culture has become a key topic in the management science, (Schein, 1984, 1986), it has not received due attention in social work literature (Yan, 2008).
(Auyang, 2004) defined system as the complex independent parts put together, but actually, they are not the parts. Similarly, according to (Gigch, 1978), system is “a real or a contrived assembly or set of related elements”. Again, (Schoderbek et al., 1980) in their book came to a conclusion about a generally accepted definition for system from several scientists and researchers that a system is made up in such a way that, the entire system encompasses a series of objects with an association between those objects, their attributes, joint to each other or somehow allied with the environment.
A system may be defined as several sets of interdependent elements or parts which possess high level of connectivity, stability and closure. If the project is well understood, these three property of the system can be used at any level of any system for a fruitful result.
- Connectivity: These models reflect the connectional structure of the system under investigation and emphasize context-dependent couplings between the system elements in terms of effective connectivity (J Anat, 2004).
- Closure: System closure defines the numbers of interactions which begins and ends within the system divided by the number of interactions which has either begin or end within the system. Relating with connectivity, the value of closure may vary from 0.0 to 1.0.
- Stability: This term expresses the duration of time the project took to complete the task and the sustainability of the project as well. As the project pass through many ups and downs during the phase of development, at the ending phase, it is brought to equilibrium and is balanced.
- System Development
The growth and development of the system is generally characterized through greater specialization of the components of the system and increase exchanges between the system and other components outside the system. In the terms used earlier, the development of systems tends toward higher levels of connectivity and lower levels of closure. More specialized systems with high connectivity components is said to be more complicated. Systems with more external relationships are preferred to be “dependent” or less “isolated.” The evolution of human civilization is largely the history of this development, any increase specialization and trade within social systems and increased levels of external communication through trade, exploration and military conquest.
- System Control
As the project proceeds towards the finish line of development, the system become more unstable and vulnerable to disruption due to failure of one of its specialized components or breakdown of one of the interactions. There are several methods to prevent and protect the project against such disruptions. These are listed below
- Administration:
- Substitution
- Redundancy
- Self-regulation
- Decentralization
All these defence mechanisms are commonly employed in the design and maintenance of complex systems with no one mechanism necessarily superior to the others. Well designed and managed systems are likely to employ a combination of several of these mechanisms to protect against system breakdown.
- Self-Regulation
In the system, there are several means and medium through which communication and interaction between components are exchanged. Besides exchanging of actual energy, materials and other products, they inform about “feeds back” to the producing component explaining about whether or not to modify its output and identifying the future results of the system. Negative feed-back system is most commonly used form of self-regulation. Positive feed-back systems are equally important though less well understood. As negative feed-back produce equilibrium and stability, positive feed-back promotes change and instability in systems. Direct relationships are shown by positive signs, whereas inverse relationship is indicated by positive signs.
- Systems Analysis
We can indicate the components of a system as “subsystems” and to the larger system surrounding the system as the “suprasystem.” Systems analysis consists of a six step process of determining how a particular system functions in terms of its subsystems and suprasystem.
- Identifying the system under study
- Identifying the sub-systems
- Indentifying the suprasystem
- Determining the flows between the system and the supra system
- Determining the flows among the sub-systems
- Balancing the flows among subsystems
- Levels of Order
Levels of order are of different kinds in systems, especially in human social systems. This orderly based system helps to manage and maintain everything in place and keeps things under control. Thus all systems exist within some physical and environmental context which sets some limitations and determines certain properties of the system.
- Requisite Functions
A number of theorists have found it fruitful to try to specify the requisite functions necessary for a system to operate. Each of these functions must be performed by one or more of its subsystems or the goods or services provided by the function must be imported from some outside the system, presumably in exchange for the surplus products of some other requisite function performed within the system. Any system which fails to provide for the fulfillment or acquisition of all requisite functions must either change or die. Although all requisite functions are necessary for system survival, some may be more critical than others.
- System Properties
A system at any level is a functioning organism in its own right and has a number of properties which belong uniquely to the system but not to its component parts. Such emergent properties are calling system properties. Being able to distinguish between properties of systems and those which are merely the aggregated properties of system components is a very important theoretical and methodological skill which is closely connected to understanding clearly which system at which level is currently being investigated.
- The Ultimate System
One additional attribute of systems must be considered, although this topic creates more anxiety than clarification about systems and their properties. Most systems maintain themselves over time, adapting to changes in the environment and to internal pressures in order to continue operating as a system. While providing stability and continuity, this tendency also leads to considering the well being of the system as more important than the well being of its individual components.
INTRODUCTION OF THE PROJECT
This project is related to the construction of Chameyalia hydro power plant. It is a small but very important project in contest to national level. It is a 30 megawatt project situated in the far western region in the Darchula district. This project is solely under the management of Nepal Electricity Authority, and is constructed by Chinese contractor namely China Gezhouba Water and Power (Group).
The process of directing and controlling a project from start to finish may be further divided into 5 basic phases:
1. Project conception and initiation
The concept to build this hydropower is due to bitter fact that Nepal is struggling to overcome the load shedding situation and the program was initiated to cope and to overcome this horrifying situation. Nepal Government has taken this step and has placed the generation of electricity as the first priority.
2. Project definition and planning
Chameliya Hydroelectric Project (30MW) situated in the Far West of Nepal is also moving on the track. Following the award of civil contract to China Gezhouba Water and Power Group Company Limited (CGGC) on December 21, 2006, the Project construction is gaining momentum.
Time:The Project was scheduled to be completed in year 2011, but due to poor progress, the deadline was postponed twice; once to August 2013 and then extended further to March 2015.
Cost:Till date this project has consumed around US$ 158 million. As the fund is getting short, additional funding of US dollar 15 millions for the project has been requested to the Korean bank about a year ago. Of the total budget of 12.5 billion, at present Rs. 8.6 billion has already been spent.
Quality: Though quality work is in progress, but due to the geographical location of this place, cost for the use of quality products is soaring up.
Procurement: As it is already mentioned that the project being made is in geographically challenging place, lots of expensive materials are being supplied to fulfil the demand of the project.
Risk: Risk is one of the most emerging situations of this place, and to solve them is even more complicated. Risk is generally due to local people residing in this place.
3. Project implementation or execution
Although Chameliya Hydropower project is a new concept with the aid to provide equality in the development process of different regions, the project has faced severe financial, political, technical and geological hiccups in its six years of construction period struggling to overcome its difficulties. As there is an idioms ” All’s well that ends well” but in this case from the beginning phase of 2006, this project faced major technical difficulties like geological constraints which caused to squeeze a length of about 843 meters in the tunnel leading with landslide causing a big hole in the penstock zone.
4. Project performance and control
The Korean analysts came up with the report that the civil works preceding the electro-mechanical works had been lacking behind schedule to the contractor’s “low priority, less profitability” attitude. They are blaming Chinese contractor China Gezhouba Water and Power (Group) Company as they are handling the civil works that include building the penstock, tunnel intake, and powerhouse.
5. Project close
This is an ongoing project with the deadline of completion by March 2015.
INTERDEPENDENCE OF SYSTEM
All the systems are interrelated to each other. One system has a definite and distinct impact on the performance of other system. This can be explained as
Conflict is the major case rising in this area. Local people who owned the land of this project been constructed has not been paid a handsome ransom. Due to this, local villagers creates nuisance in this site, in the year 2012, they blaze the drilling machine which worth million dollar and was gifted by the government of Japan. Similarly conflict is also seen between the Nepalese workers and Chinese workers, due to misunderstanding of languages, discrimination in paid salary and difference in the facilities provided to them. Sometimes as the conflict cliffs to the height, work in the site is halted for months. Due to this, it completely affects the budget as well as completion time of the project.
Sequential and reciprocal interfacing is very essential in this place where lots of conflicts and misunderstanding occurs as it hampers the project and reputation of the nation as well. As interfacing also involves physical interference, equipment incompatibility, or schedule inconsistencies, it will be a helpful tool to solve the disputes between different contractors working in this place. Chinese contractors responsible for construction can maintain smooth relationship with Nepali contractors through communication and with flow of controlled information. The main objective of the interface management system is tracking these interfaces to ensure the design, engineering, procurement; fabrication and construction are performed in balanced form and with minimum risks
Procurements are managed by the Chinese construction company, but the budget is allocated by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). As the geographical location of Darchula district is not a perfect match to build a hydro power plant, all the goods and materials used are of super quality. As a result, budget has soared to sky. Due to this situation, NEA is running out of stocked budget and is seeking help from government of Nepal as well as bank of South Korea to help this project with the appropriate budget. Likewise due to the best quality materials used, experts are recruited which will definitely cost the project but seeing the shining face, this project is to be finished with solid infrastructure.
COORDINATION
The application of knowledge, processes, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project is very important.
Every time it is the prime duty of quality management system to insures the work to be done right the first time. To maintain and level up the quality is all about improving the processes, accountability, and recognition, strengthening culture and emphasizing individual performance. Quality can act to connect the gap between the cost and the time, and will effectively bridge any gap which is possible to emerge during project core process integration. Likewise, in the case of Chameliya hydropower project, quality products are utilized with full efficiency. No compromise is done these days to spend money in purchasing best procurements products and hiring experts to complete the project as quick as possible.
During the initial phase of this project lifecycle, project started with lots of confusion and without proper planning which lead this project to fall behind the schedule. If proper management was to be done from the beginning of the project it would have definitely leads to the improvements in quality and greatest reduction in rework. Hence, it is very essential, as to avoid rework and lose budget, time, quality etc., enlisting the support of construction and procurement teams has to be done, and continuity to this collaboration throughout commissioning must be maintained.
Secondly, the most important tools to improve the system and to strengthen the grip over the perfection of project are conduction of training workshop. Training each and every human resources with the excellent and efficient method will certainly deviate them to do their work effectively. Each level of human resources must be judged and be trained accordingly. Training provided to workers in this project has definitely lead work to be commenced with quality, save large portion of budget and save time. Training given to workers working in this project has helped the project to move in desired direction along with efficiency.
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
As it is a first major project which has started during the period of politically most troubled time in the history of Nepal, in the year 2006, it had to undergo several political ups and downs. During this phase of construction, the country was under the process of negotiation with the Maoist communist leaders who were great threat to the country and its resources. Due to this situation, no experts and engineers were ready to go to this remote place with the fear to be kidnapped or being assaulted. As a result of this situation, quality work was not yet commenced during this phase of time. As the time was running by without the productive work done, conflict was soaring up within the political parties regarding this project. The major barrier causing the delay in project was by geological problems, political disruptions and technical issues due to which the estimated cost has gone up. At the beginning of the project, estimated cost reckoned was US$ 99.9 million, but at present the latest data reveal that the cost of construction has reached US$ 158 million.
Risk management is a system assigned to deal with all the risky factors being evolved in the project. Political issues being the major, risk related to politics must be solved through table talk and speaking to local villagers. Similarly risky factors that are vulnerable to cause damage to human as well as project must be identified and must act accordingly.
The second external environment which causes delay in the project is its geographical location as well as the climate of this place. Geologist has confirmed that the sand and mud quality of this place is wool mud which is soft in nature. Due to this, situation, large walled concrete tunnel has to be built which costs a lot of budget. Similarly, climate and weather of this area changes dramatically. Last year in 2012, there was a heavy rainfall with landslides which resulted in flood, resulting a big hole in the penstock zone of the tunnel.
REFLECTION
As the project is related to construction of hydro power plant, lots of complication has been observed during the process of construction work. This project gives a perfect and clear vision of proceeding with designed ideas. This project has a perfect scope to handle and eliminate the electricity crisis in Nepal. Later on it was well designed and analysed with the help of experts from abroad. All the systems of this anticipated project is co-related to each other. Though this project is lacking behind the scheduled time, which is due to improper handling of project by the contractor. Likewise, political instability in the country, interference of the local people and natural calamities are the major causes of delaying this project.
This 30 Mega Watt project is not as big in comparison to the budget it is engulfing without completing. This is where the country budget is losing its grip to enrich the country with more mega projects in progress and the one which are to be built in the future. The whole responsibility must be taken by the surveyor who marked the geographical area of this project a perfect site to build this project. Recent survey has also shown that, there is no frequent visit of site engineers and experts to the site, as a result, workers at the site are not paying their attention in doing their work or doing the cheap work, which is sure to hamper the quality of the project.
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