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People and Places in
Project Management
Research
People and Places in
Project Management
Research
Edited by

Michael Young
People and Places in Project Management Research
Series: Project Management Research Series

Edited by Michael Young

This book first published 2017

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright © 2017 by Michael Young and contributors

All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-4438-4362-8

ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-4362-1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations .................................................................................... vii

List of Tables .............................................................................................. ix

Foreword .................................................................................................... xi

Introduction ................................................................................................. 1

Part I Project Management Offices

Chapter One ................................................................................................. 5

The Role of Knowledge and the Project Management Office
Shahram Sokhanvar and Dr. Bambang Trigunarsyah

Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 21

The Project Management Office: Origins, Definitions and Nomenclature
Anthony Wood and Dr. Mark Shelbourn

Part II Stakeholders

Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 35

Stakeholder Expectations Regarding Public Project Oversight
Dr. Alexia Nalewaik and Dr. Anthony Mills

Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 49

Engaging With Sponsors New to Projects: Using Visual Metaphor,
Rich Pictures and Infographics to Communicate, Manage and Entertain
Dr. Matthew Overton

Part III Complexity

Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 63

Humble Iconoclasts: Leadership for Complex Projects
Dr. Kaye Remington
vi Table of Contents

Chapter Six ................................................................................................ 77

Aspects of Project Complexity
Prof. Vernon Ireland

Chapter Seven............................................................................................ 87
Developing Valid and Reliable and Reliable Scales to Predict Success
of Large Complex Projects Complex
Dr. Roxanne Zolin

Part IV Risk Management

Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 101

‘Due Diligence’ for Precautionary Risk Management Approaches
in Projects
Conrad D'Cruz, Dr. Sam Fragomeni and Vinayaga Sarma

Chapter Nine............................................................................................ 115

Analysis of Risk Impact on Road Development in Indonesia
Lukas Sihombing

Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 131

Identification of Critical Risks Influencing the Application of Energy
Efficient and Renewable Technologies in Australian Green Office
Buildings: Preliminary Findings of a Survey
Dr. Ibrahim Mosly

Part V Case Studies

Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 145

Delivering Australian Roads with PPP’s? Global Management
of Business Risks
Dr. Colin Duffield and David Wilson

Chapter Twelve ....................................................................................... 165

Financing and Procuring Major Infrastructure: A Comparison of Three
International PPP Style Projects
Dr. Colin Duffield, Gigih Atmo and Hamzeh Zarei

Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 187

Student Engagement in Online Learning Environments: A Case Study
Anthony Wood

Contributors ............................................................................................. 199

 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1-1: Significance of Proposed Research ......................................... 15

Figure 2-1: PMO labels in common use .................................................... 27
Figure 4-1: Matrix of representational methods and analytical
approaches. Source: Overton (1993). ................................................... 50
Figure 5-1: Breakdown of interviewees by industry sector and role
equivalent ............................................................................................. 65
Figure 8-1: Relationships between the Risk Management Principles,
Framework and Process ..................................................................... 104
Figure 8-2: MANDATE & COMMITMENT: Framework for managing
risk (based on ISO 31000):2009 ........................................................ 107
Figure 8-3: Risk Management Process .................................................... 108
Figure 8-4: Due Diligence in ERM incorporating WHS Act 2011,
WHS Regulations 2011 & HB 254-2005 – Risk management
and Control Assurance Standard. ....................................................... 110
Figure 11-1: Timing and outcomes of contentious Australian road
projects ............................................................................................... 157
Figure 11-2: PPP Decision Support System ............................................ 159
Figure 12-1: Cirebon Coal-fired Power Project Structure (Indika
Energy, 2012)..................................................................................... 170
Figure 12-2: Qatar Gas 2 simplified project structure (excluding
condensate and LPG) ......................................................................... 171
Figure 12-3: Desalination plant project organisation structure ................ 172
Figure 12-4: Cirebon Power project financial structure .......................... 174
Figure 12-5: Qatar gas 2 project capital structure (Newendorp
& Gajameragedara, 2005) .................................................................. 175
Figure 12-6: Desalination project, Victoria financial structure ............... 178
Figure 13-1: Student profiles ................................................................... 191
Figure 13-2: Student engagement behaviour during the delivery
period ................................................................................................. 192
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1-1: KM processes frameworks ......................................................... 9

Table 1-2: PMMMs Models ...................................................................... 13
Table 1-3: Research questions ................................................................... 16
Table 2-1: PMO Classifications................................................................. 24
Table 2-2: Suggested PMO classifications and nomenclature ................... 29
Table 3-1: Impact of Direct and Indirect Stakeholders on Project
Performance # ...................................................................................... 42
Table 5-1: A comparative summary of the relationship between
communication characteristics and leadership style (from De Vries
et al., 2010) .......................................................................................... 67
Table 5-2: Communication characteristics associated with productivity
in conditions of uncertainty, comparing research data to our sample. .... 69
Table 7-1. Project success and failure factors and leading
performance indicators of the project stakeholders .............................. 89
Table 7-2. Project Success Factor Scales................................................... 93
Table 7-3. Project Managers’ Perceptions of Stakeholder Satisfaction ..... 93
Table 9-1: Phases, Stages, and Steps in the Project Life Cycle (PLC) .... 118
Table 9-2: Toll Road Infrastructure Risks in Indonesia........................... 120
Table 9-3: Correlation Results from Validation r > 0.3 ........................... 123
Table 9-4: Result of Factor Analysis from 9 components ....................... 123
Table 9-5: Mix Variable X216 with X217............................................... 123
Table 10-1: Commonly implemented EERTs in Australian green office
buildings, adapted from (Mosly and Zhang, 2010a) HVAC
Lighting Solar Wind .......................................................................... 133
Table 10-2: Risks associated with EERTs, adapted from (Mosly
and Zhang, 2010b) No. Risks ............................................................ 134
Table 10-3: Data reliability Data source Cronbach’s Alpha .................... 136
Table 10-4: Risk evaluation Level of Risk Impact Points Low level risk
X ” 4 Medium level risk 4 < X ” 10 High level risk 10 < X ............. 137
Table 10-5: Critical risks of EERTs with its mean risk impact values Risk
No. HVAC Lighting Solar Wind CB NV RS UFAD EELB MS ST
PV WT ............................................................................................... 138
Table 11-1: Australian transport PPP projects ......................................... 151
Table 11-2: Sensitivity analysis of inputs into the 4 step Transport
Planning Model .................................................................................. 159
x List of Tables

Table 12-1: Risk allocation of PPP projects from different jurisdictions ... 168
Table 12-2: Comparison of Key Strategic drivers ................................... 180
Table 13-1: t-test results .......................................................................... 193
Table 13-2: Correlation analysis result .................................................... 193
 FOREWORD

Project management continues to develop and evolve, as too does the

use of project management across a range of industries, disciplines and
domains.

As the discipline continues to evolve, it is critical that we explore new

ideas, develop new approaches and techniques and build the collective
body of knowledge in the practice of project management. Research also
provides a window into broader trends within our sector, and provides
empirical data that helps us challenge the thinking of stakeholders for the
paths they are choosing.

The chapters within this monograph provide some of the current

thinking, concepts and research within the Australian project management
academic community. It is through such research that we re-examine our
assumptions, uncover new applications and solve problems that may have
been present for some time.

I commend this monograph to you and in doing so I challenge you to

broaden your thinking and understanding of project management and to
help improve what is done in practice.

Ian Sharpe 4-DM MAIPM CPPD

Immediate Past National President
Australian Institute of Project Management
 INTRODUCTION

This book has been structured into five parts.

Part I
The two chapters in Part I introduce and provide definitions for common
terms surrounding Project Management (PM) and Project Management
Offices (PMO). Chapter One, by Sokhanvar and Trigunarsyah, evaluates
project management (PM) and offsets it against knowledge management
(KM), demonstrating how PM and KM work both with and against each
other in a project knowledge management environment. Chapter Two, by
Wood and Shelbourn, aims to more deeply define the PMO concept in
terms of current documentation in the literature coupled with industry
understanding or acceptance of PMO nomenclature and its constituent
parts and functions. Together, these two chapters provide a solid
definitional foundation for the subsequent chapters.

Part II
The two chapters in Part II focus on stakeholders, both who they are
(Chapter Three) and an effective and convenient way to communicate with
them (Chapter Four). Chapter Three, by Nalewaik and Mills, identifies and
focuses on the various stakeholders in a project, and emphasises the
importance of communicating clearly with stakeholders in order to
establish reasonable project expectations. Chapter Four, contributed by
Overton, extends this idea of clear communication with a focus on visual
representations, including the power of visual metaphor to represent
complex concepts simply.

Part III
Part III addresses project complexity in its various facets. In Chapter Five,
Remington discusses leadership for complex projects through distinctions
of charismatic, human-oriented, and task-oriented leadership styles as
established through interviews with senior leaders. In Chapter Six, Ireland
presents multiple aspects of project complexity. Chapter Seven, contributed
2 Introduction

by Zolin, offers scales for measuring and monitoring the success of

complex projects as developed from interviews with project managers and
directors. Together, these chapters shed light on project complexity and
how best to navigate the challenges complexity brings.

Part IV
Part IV addresses risk management. Leading off this three-chapter section
with a conceptual chapter, D’Cruz, Fragomeni and Sarma take on concepts
of due diligence, the precautionary principle, and Enterprise Risk
Management in Chapter Eight. Sihombing analyses risk impact on
Indonesia road development in Chapter Nine, focusing on project risk
management, commenting on the project life cycle, and concluding
positive and challenging project impacts as based on survey data. Mosly
focuses on critical risks involved in greening office buildings in Chapter
Ten, identifying numerous critical risks related to Energy Efficient and
Renewable Technologies (EERTs) in Australian green office buildings as
indicated by survey responses. Thus, the three chapters in Part IV move
from the conceptual to an industry-specific application of risk and risk
management.

Part V
Part V concludes this project management monograph with three chapters
of case studies. In Chapter Eleven, Duffield and Wilson target Public
Private Partnerships (PPPs) with an evaluation of the success of seven of
Australia’s road projects. Duffield, Atmo, and Zarei then closely examine
three large international PPP-style projects in Chapter Twelve, looking for
similarities and differences among nations and national economic positions.
Drawing our look at project management to a close and bringing our
attention back to the classroom, where it all begins, Wood presents a case
study of online graduate-level project management courses, illuminating
tips for success in Chapter Thirteen. After a foray into various aspects of
theory and application in the previous sections, this final section brings the
reader’s focus to some very specific project management phenomena
aimed to elucidate successful processes of project management education
and practice.
 PART I

PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICES

 CHAPTER ONE

THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE PROJECT

MANAGEMENT OFFICE

SHAHRAM SOKHANVAR
AND DR. BAMBANG TRIGUNARSYAH

Since Aristotle’s time, the importance of knowledge has been widely

discussed by a plethora of authors (Drucker, 1993; Porter, 1985; Wiig,
1997b). Peter Drucker (1993), as a highly accredited academic, has
strongly accentuated the role of individuals’ knowledge for improving
organisational competitive advantages. In his latest publication he
proposes “intellectual property” as a nonphysical and intangible asset of
organisations (Drucker, 1993).

It is widely accepted that individuals’ knowledge significantly impacts

on improving the quality of services and products (Drucker, 1993; Wiig,
1997b). In the last ten years, decision makers have realised the crucial
impact of human beings’ knowledge on organisational performance;
therefore, organisations have changed their strategies from “being product-
oriented” to “adopting knowledge-driven” approaches (Wiig, 1997b).

From another perspective, organisations have faced a number of

challenges in order to both reduce their costs and respond to market
demand in a timely manner (Project Management Institute, 2012). A
project–oriented strategy has been adopted to not only tackle the
mentioned problems but also to develop competitive advantages. This
approach gives organisations the opportunity to act productively in various
circumstances.

Project is defined as the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and

techniques to meet project requirements as well as objectives, whereas
Project Management (PM) comprises methods, procedures and processes
6 Chapter One

to utilize knowledge of project team members for delivering a quality

product or service (PRINCE2 Foundation, 2008; Project Management
Institute, 2012). The notion of the Project Management Office (PMO) has
been recently proposed to institutionalize and develop PM practices within
organisations. To do so, Project Management Maturity Models (PMMMs)
have been developed for establishing and, then, improving PMOs as well
as PM practices in enterprises.

Current PMMMs (see Table 1-2) are comprised of a number of levels

and criteria to determine the degree of quality of PM. The greater the level
of maturity, the better the quality of project management. Similar to other
maturity models, they entail a number of criteria from the PM point of
view to examine the status of PM practices or processes against
appropriate PM methodology. However, existing PMMMs do not analyse
maturity of PM from the knowledge management (KM) point of view.
This means that proper KM practices and processes have not been
addressed for each level of maturity.

We aim to cover this gap through both developing a framework to

address KM practices in different levels of PMMM, and, ultimately,
proposing appropriate criteria to assess the maturity of PMOs from a KM
point of view.

This chapter aims to discuss undertaken investigations of KM in both

functional and project organisations. First, discussions in knowledge
management are presented followed by existing arguments on project
management and the project management office. This will be followed by
current discussions of project knowledge management and findings. At the
end, contributions and significances are explained.

The Emergence of Project Knowledge Management

There are a number of definitions in the current literature that illustrate
knowledge from different points of view. Some of these have
epistemological perspectives while some others present ontological views
of knowledge. Basically, data and information are two main constituents
of knowledge in which "Data is a simple observation of states of the
world" and "Information is data endowed with relevance and purpose"
(Knight & Howes, 2003, p. 13). According to Knight and Howes (2003),
knowledge is valuable information which comes from an individual’s
mind.
 The Role of Knowledge and the Project Management Office 7

From another point of view, Davenport and Prusak (2000, p. 5) define

knowledge as "a fluid mix of experiences, values, contextual information,
and expert insights that provides a framework for evaluation and
incorporating new experiences and information." Nonaka and Takeuchi
(1995) believe that knowledge is subjective, process-relational, and
aesthetic which is created through human being interactions.

To sum up, knowledge entails the followings characteristics (Alavi &

Leidner, 1999; Arora, Owens, & Khazanchi, 2010; Davenport & Prusak,
2000; Nonaka, 1994; Wiig, 1997a):

x Valuable information which comes from an individual’s mind,

belief or values;
x An individual’s ability to generate new knowledge from existing
information, experience, insight or knowledge; and
x Value creation for organisations to develop their competencies and,
consequently, competitive advantages.

Knowledge has two main dimensions: explicit and tacit. The first type
of knowledge is articulated and codified in organisational documents,
forms and instructions while tacit knowledge is embedded in an
individual’s mind, beliefs and thoughts which could not be easily codified.
In other words, tacit knowledge is known as the hidden side of an
individual’s knowledge, deeply rooted in his/her actions, ideals, and
commitments (Nonaka, 1994).

In order to define knowledge management, Alavi and Leidner (2001)

discuss five views of knowledge as: a state of mind; an object; a process;
a condition of having access to proper information; and a capability.

They illustrate that if knowledge is a process, then KM is defined as

the process of creation, sharing, and distributing knowledge; in contrast, if
knowledge is a capability, then KM is considered as the building of
organisational core competencies and understanding of strategic know-
how (Alavi & Leidner, 2001).

In conclusion, they (Alavi & Leidner, 1999, p. 6) define KM as “A

systemic and organisationally specified process for acquiring, organizing
and communicating both tacit and explicit knowledge of employees so that
other employees may make use of it to be more effective and productive in
their work.”
8 Chapter One

From another perspective, KM could be classified into technical and

non-technical enhancements. Technical development activities focus on
improving the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) aspect
of KM while a nontechnical approach deals with both social science and
the managerial side of KM.

From a process point of view, KM has been discussed by a number of

authors. In order to propose a generic KM process, Nissen et al. (2000)
conducted a comprehensive study, and they propose an “amalgamated KM
process framework” which is comprised of creating; organizing; formalizing;
distributing; applying; and evolving processes. Later on, a complementary
work was undertaken by Lytras et al. (2002) to improve the previously
mentioned model. This research team has developed a comprehensive
framework which they believe is applicable for both academic and
business organisations (Lytras et al., 2002). Despite their claim about
validity of their model, however, it has not been examined yet for project-
based organisations.

Project is a temporary activity and it requires different practices for

managing project knowledge (Kasvi, Vartiainen, & Hailikari, 2003). Kasvi
et al. (2003) defined three types of knowledge in project environments:
technical knowledge; procedural knowledge; and organisational knowledge.
This typology has been adopted and further developed by Wiewiora et al.
(2010). They substituted “organizational knowledge” with “about
customer requirement” in compliance with PMBOK (Wiewiora et al.,
2010).

In order to address KM processes in a project environment, Owen and

Burstein (2005) have conducted research and then proposed a framework
for addressing KM processes in project-based organisations. This model
entails four major KM processes, namely: creation; capture; transfer; and
reuse (Owen & Burstein, 2005). Although the mentioned framework was
examined, it has not been accredited yet as a generic KM process
framework.

To summarise the current KM processes frameworks, Table 1-1

depicts proposed frameworks in two different contexts: functional and
project-based organisations. In summary, knowledge is an important factor
for developing organisations and delivering successful projects. From a
process point of view, knowledge management is the process of creating,
capturing, transferring and reusing project knowledge from initiation to the
closing phase. In our research, the main focus has been on investigating
 The Role of Knowledge and the Project Management Office 9

Proposed Authors Processes and their underpinnings

Context
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6

Functional Nissen et Create Organize Formalize Distribute Apply Evolve

Organisations al. (2000)

Lytras et Relate/value Acquire Organize Enable Transfer Use

al. (2002) Reuse

Project–based Owen & Create Capture Transfer Reuse **** ****

Organisation Burstein
(2005)

Kasvi et Creation Administration Retrieval Utilization **** ****

al. (2003)

Table 1-1. KM processes frameworks

10 Chapter One

the managerial aspect rather than the technical point of view. Also, we
have mainly investigated the process management aspect of KM in project
environments.

Project Knowledge Management

According to Koskinen et al. (2003), there is a strong correlation
between knowledge management (KM) and project success/failure. This
means that utilizing appropriate KM practices in projects contributes to
exploitation of proper knowledge/experience in proper time, which
improves performance of activities and, ultimately, success of the project
(Davidson & Jillian, 2009; Kasvi et al., 2003; Owen, Burstein, & Mitchell,
2004). In other words, managing project knowledge significantly
contributes to delivering quality products/services in order to achieve
project objectives.

Differences between a project and an organisation’s operation from a

KM point of view have come into consideration since the early 2000s.
Bresnen et al. (2003) discuss the following to emphasise differences of
KM in mentioned contexts:

x Projects are finite and their personnel disband or leave after project
termination; therefore the created knowledge is not utilized in
similar projects if:
x There are difficulties to develop and disseminate knowledge within
and between projects (inter and intra project).
x Fragmentation of project team members into different groups
causes a number of difficulties for flowing knowledge among
groups.
x KM and organisational learning across the projects and between
individuals have many difficulties.

Given the importance of KM for project success, the proposed KM

practices for functional organisations are not necessarily appropriate for
utilizing in project-based environments. The temporary nature of the
project is one of the main reasons of the mentioned differences. This
means that project-based organisations require proper solutions to tackle
KM issues within project contexts.

This issue has led a number of studies to investigate KM in project

environments and its related challenges and issues. One of the earliest
studies was carried out by Brown and Duguid (1998), by which they raised
 The Role of Knowledge and the Project Management Office 11

the issue of leakiness and stickiness of knowledge in project environments.

In their study, the main focus was on single projects but this approach has
been subsequently improved by considerations of investigating KM
practices intra and inter projects.

Despite the increasing attention of KM studies in project environments,

however, the existing literature is not rich enough, in comparison to KM
studies in functional organisations (Bresnen et al., 2003; Koskinen K U &
Pihlanto, 2008; Owen et al., 2004). The following are major studies of KM
in project–based organisations that have been undertaken to cover some
recognized gaps in the existing literature:

x Lack of appropriate knowledge sharing and acquisition systems

(Koskinen et al., 2003)
x Repetitive works or rework because of lack of effective knowledge
reuse and transferring system (Desouza & Evaristo, 2006; Love,
Irani, & Edwards, 2003; Owen et al., 2004);
x Lack of wisdom in projects because of inappropriate knowledge
management system in the project environment (Walker &
Christenson, 2005)
x Poor system to collect and assimilate lessons learned between and
within projects (Goffin, Koners, Baxter & Van der Hoven, 2010;
Newell, Bresnen, Edelman, Scarbrough & Swan , 2006); and
x Lack of collaboration because of unsystematic KM in project
environment (Davidson & Jillian, 2009);

To sum up, managing knowledge in project environments is a

relatively new subject and it could be investigated in several directions,
from proposing the proper KM processes to designing practical systems to
prevent knowledge loss and improve project success. In our study we have
focused on proposing the proper framework to address the KM practices in
PMOs which will be discussed later.

The notion of Project Management Office

Given the importance of PM for improving organisational competitive
advantage, the dramatic increase of attention to PM necessitates
development of appropriate methodologies (Grant & Pennypacker, 2006).
According to Kerzner (2009), PMO is the valid and practical solution to
establish, develop and institutionalise PM methodologies within
12 Chapter One

organisations. PMOs are responsible for (Desouza & Evaristo, 2006;

Project Management Institute, 2008):

x Aligning projects with organisational strategies;

x Developing standards, processes, and methods of PM and
improving organisational capacities;
x Monitoring and controlling organisational projects;
x Training project stakeholders, especially project team members and
project managers and;
x Managing project and team members' knowledge which is
recognized as one of the main responsibilities of the PMOs.

Anecdotal evidence reports that organisations have shown meaningful

interest in launching and improving their PMOs in the last decade.
According to Liu and Yetton (2007), a considerable number of companies
established their PMOs in 2003 and they predict that this number will
significantly increase in the future. Due to the importance of the PMO, it
should be gradually developed through the following appropriate methods.

Experts and practitioners advise utilising PM Maturity Models (PMMM)

in order to properly develop the PMO in organisations. In other words,
PMMM is an answer to the question of “how should PMOs be developed”
(Kerzner, 2005). The basic idea of the maturity model is that "you must
learn to crawl before you can learn to walk” (Andersen, Henriksen &
Aarseth, 2007, p. 101). The PMMM is a framework to construct PM
practices by improving from an immature level, i.e. initial or ad hoc, to a
mature level, i.e. optimized through advising specific processes or
practices (Jugdev & Thomas, 2002; Kerzner, 2005).

There are a number of proposed PMMMs (see Table 1-2), a majority of

which have adopted a process-oriented approach. A study by Gasik (2007)
compares more than twenty PMMMs and recommends the subsequent
factors for choosing appropriate methods for various organisations: method
independency; public domain; publication; industry; independency;
transparency; years of existence; and ease of use.

Despite the fact that current PMMMs utilize both a process-oriented

approach and PM best practices, there are a number of gaps which need to
be covered and addressed (Desouza & Evaristo, 2006; Kerzner, 2005). In
addition, Aubry and his associates (2008) discuss the usefulness and
practicality of the existing PMMMs, but they emphasise that they have not
 The Role of Knowledge and the Project Management Office 13

Maturity Level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Maturity Model
OPM3 Standardize Measure Control Continuously ******
(2008) improve
P3M3 Awareness Repeatable Defined Managed Optimized
(PRINCE2 Foundation,
2008)
Kerzner’s Model (2005) Common Common Singular Benchmarking Continues
Language Process Methodology Improvement
CMMI- based model Initial Repeatable Refined Managed Optimized
(Jugdev & Thomas 2002)

Table 1-2. PMMMs Models

14 Chapter One

yet concluded PMMMs are the perfect solution from all aspects because
they are still faced with a number of issues and challenges.

Given the incompleteness of PMMM, knowledge management is

recognized as one of the major challenges in the PMO and proposed
PMMMs. In other words, existing PMMMs have not discussed the
maturity of PMO from a KM point of view. This gap has been identified
as the main problem for our research, which is mentioned in the next
section, and we aim to construct a framework for addressing KM practices
in each level of PMMMs.

Research Problem
The Standish Group (1995) reports that, in 1995, only 16% of 175,000
Information Technology (IT) projects in the United States were
successfully closed, 31% of them failed and 53% struggled with about
190% overrun cost. Lack of applying PM practices has been mentioned as
the main cause of project failure and existing challenges. This report and
its proposed recommendations was disseminated among organisations and
proper advice was proposed to help them in developing PM practices (The
Standish Group, 1995).

In order to investigate the usefulness of the first Standish Group’s

report, the same study was conducted six years later and interestingly,
significant improvements were found. The project success rate was
significantly raised to 34 % (100% improvement) while the failure rate
reduced to 16 % (about 100% improvement) (The Standish Group, 2003).
Utilising proper PM practices and, consequently, PMO has been
mentioned as the main reason for mentioned improvements (Anbari, 2005;
Kerzner, 2009; Project Management Institute, 2012; The Standish Group,
2003).

As previously mentioned, knowledge management has been reported

as a critical factor for managing successful projects (Kotnour, 2000).
Inappropriate knowledge management within and between (intra and inter)
projects has been recently discussed among a number of academics and
practitioners as a “problematic issue in the project and project
environments” (Kasvi et al., 2003; Koskinen & Pihlanto, 2008; Kotnour,
2000; Owen, 2004). A comprehensive survey study asserts that the cost of
reworks in Australian construction projects is about 35% of the total cost
of projects and, 50% of total overrun cost (Love et al., 2003). It could be
 The Role of Knowledge and the Project Management Office 15

clearly concluded that “reworks” happen when knowledge management is

poor.

Our investigation shows that KM issues in project-based environments

have been recently considered and current literature suffers from a lack of
studies. Particularly, proper KM practices not only have not been
addressed in project environments, but also the existing PMO maturity
models have not discussed the maturity of PMO from a KM point of view
(see Figure 1-1).

Figure 1-1 Significance of Proposed Research

Therefore, an attempt to integrate KM practices in the PMO maturity

models will contribute to both improving efficiency of PM and developing
organisational competitive advantages. In addition, it will provide original
insights to crystallize the role of KM in the PMO. To do so, research
objectives were proposed and we are attempting to reach the following:

x To explore and analyse the role of KM practices in the PMO;

x To identify and analyse the PMO maturity and its challenges from a
KM point of view; and
x To develop a framework to address the PMO maturity levels from
the KM perspective
16 Chapter One

Research Questions
In order to achieve the research objectives, three questions and fifteen
sub questions were designed which can be found in Table 1-3.

To answer these questions, the proper research method was selected

which will be explained subsequently.

Research Questions’ elaboration

Questions
1. How are KM 1.1. What are the challenges (in terms of People, Processes
practices and and Technology) of the PMO from KM perspectives?
processes 1.2. What kinds of PM practices and processes are utilized at
employed in the each maturity level of the PMO?
PMOs and what
1.3. How are KM practices and processes utilized at each
are their
maturity level of PMO?
challenges?
1.4. What are expectations of PMO stakeholders (PM
Managers, PMO staff and Organisational Managers) from
KM point of view?
2. How do KM 2.1. What are similarities and differences of employed KM
practices practices in various maturity levels of PMO?
contribute to 2.2. What are expectations of PMO stakeholders in each level
improve of maturity?
maturity level of 2.3. How have KM practices been considered during
the PMO? development of the PMO maturity level?
2.3.1. What are the key criteria to improve the maturity of
PMO from KM point of view?
2.3.2. How have KM practices developed in order to increase
maturity level of the PMO?
3. How is 3.1. What kinds of KM practices are expected at each
Knowledge maturity level of PMO?
integrated in the 3.2. How is knowledge captured, created, applied, transferred
PMO maturity and maintained in the each maturity level of PMO?
model? 3.3. How should KM practices be employed at each maturity
level of PMO?
3.3.1. What are the criteria of PMO maturity from KM point
of view?
3.3.2. How the PMO should be assessed in terms of KM
practices?
3.3.3. What kinds of KM practices should be employed to
integrate KM at each maturity level of PMO?

Table 1-3. Research questions

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 BUSINESS ORGANISATION.
Shortly after the outbreak of war, the Canadian Government made
a donation to the Mother Country of a large quantity of flour, and in
the beginning of 1915 the Baking Society purchased 10,000 sacks of
this flour. The committee decided that when the bags were emptied
they should be sold as souvenirs, and from their sale the sum of £87
was realised, which was distributed amongst local war charities. In
March of this year, the board had a very satisfactory conference with
the board of Kinning Park Society and the dairy employees of that
society. The subject of the conference was a project of Kinning Park
board that the dairy shops of that society should be fitted up for the
sale of teabread and pastries. Later, the board of the Baking Society
discussed the question of opening shops throughout the city for the
sale of smallbread and pastries, but owing to the difficulties imposed
by war conditions, the subject was dropped for the time being.
Immediately the Armistice was signed, however, the subject was
again taken up by the board, with the result that, at the 200th
quarterly meeting, proposals were submitted in which were
embodied a suggestion that the Society should open a development
account and offer to those societies operating in the Glasgow and
Suburban area, which were willing to co-operate with the Federation,
a proportion of the cost of fitting up shops for the sale of teabread
and pastry. In this offer it was provided that the shop, locality, and
scheme of fitting should be approved by the directors of the
Federation; that only U.C.B.S. goods and confections of Co-operative
manufacture should be sold for a period, the period suggested being
ten years. If these provisions were agreed to the Baking Society
would be responsible for one third of the cost of fitting up the shop,
provided that one third did not exceed £150. The scheme received
the hearty commendation of the delegates at the meeting at which it
was submitted, the only objection taken being to the fact that for the
time being it was confined to the Glasgow area.
 THE PRICE OF BREAD.
Reference is made above to the part which was played by the
Federation in keeping down the price of bread. In November 1914
the price of the 4–lb. loaf was increased by a halfpenny; in January
1915 another halfpenny advance took place; and in March of that
year another halfpenny; while by the month of May the price had
risen to 8d. per 4–lb. loaf. In February 1916 another halfpenny was
imposed, and in May of that year yet another halfpenny; while before
control came into operation the price in Glasgow and Clydebank had
risen to 11½d. and in Belfast to 1/ for the 4–lb. loaf. A rather
remarkable note in one of the board minutes for 1916 is that which
states that a letter had been received from a co-operative society,
protesting against the action of the Federation in refusing to consent
to an increase in the price of bread. The secretary of the Federation
mercifully kept the name of the society out of the minute of the
meeting.
Prior to the beginning of 1915, the catering for the meals of the
employees had been done by a committee of themselves, but in
March of that year they approached the board with the request that
the Society should take over and carry on this work. During these
years the output of the Society was increasing gradually but surely.
For the year which ended in January 1915, the output was 230,780
sacks, an average of 4,440 sacks per week for the year, and an
increase of 440 per week in three years. On the 3rd of April, it was
reported that during the preceding week 5,351 sacks had been baked.
This constituted a record week’s baking for the Society, but for some
time afterwards, until the coming of Government Regulation flour,
record after record was made only to be broken. By the month of
September 1916, the turnover had risen to 5,410 sacks per week, or
almost a thousand sacks of a weekly increase in eighteen months. In
the end of that month, the output was 5,925 sacks, and by the end of
February 1917 the record figures of 6,012 sacks were reached. In
these increases all three bakeries participated, and the rapid increase
for 1916 and the early months of 1917 is all the more remarkable in
view of the fact that the amount of baking which was done for the
military was not nearly so great as it had been in the earlier months
of the war. On the last Saturday in 1916, 21,546 dozens of bread were
baked and seventy bridecakes made. There had evidently been an
epidemic of war marriages at this Hogmanay.
 BISCUIT AND TEABREAD TRADE.
In the biscuit trade as well as in the bread trade, the directors
carried out as far as possible their policy of keeping prices as low as
was consistent with securing the Federation against loss, but the
rapidity with which the various ingredients for these luxuries of the
baking trade increased in price caused the prices to the societies to
be raised shortly after the outbreak of war. In March 1915, it was
decided to reduce the discount allowed on teabread by two and a half
per cent., in order to compensate in some measure for the increases
in the cost of materials. Toward the end of 1915 the Society found
that their stocks of biscuits were falling very low, owing to the
shortage of labour, as about 30,000 tins of biscuits were being sent
out every week. Systematic overtime was worked in the biscuit
factory with the object of overcoming the shortage. The Society were
also faced with a serious shortage of biscuit tins, due to the fact that
societies were not returning the empty tins promptly, while the
manufacturers were not able to supply the demand for new tins. To
meet this difficulty the directors authorised the purchase of a
machine for the manufacture of the tins. By the beginning of 1916 the
shortage of materials necessary for the manufacture of pastries, and
especially of sugar, was becoming very marked, and in March of that
year it was decided to stop the manufacture of a number of the
varieties of which sugar was a considerable ingredient. In May, it was
found necessary to advance the price of biscuits by, on the average,
nine shillings per cwt., yet, notwithstanding the high price, the
Society were having difficulty in fulfilling their orders. Earlier in the
year it had been decided to look out for suitable ground for an
extension of the biscuit factory, and at the quarterly meeting held in
September power was granted the directors to spend up to £9,500 in
purchasing land for this purpose. By October, the price of biscuits
was advanced other eight shillings per cwt., but as this was four
shillings per cwt. below the price which other merchants were
charging the societies were getting a very good bargain. In
November, it was decided to cease the manufacture of all French,
iced, and sugar-coated pastries, owing to the increasing shortage of
sugar.
 THE SOCIETY AND ITS WORKERS.
At the outbreak of war many employees joined the Army or Navy,
and to these the Society decided to pay half-wages. As the months
passed, more and more of the younger men joined up, first under the
Derby Scheme and later under the Conscription Act, so that the
carrying out of the policy of paying half-wages meant the disbursing
of a considerable sum every half-year, and by the end of 1916 the sum
of £10,628 had been so expended; £7,892 being paid to dependants
and £2,736 retained in the hands of the Society at the credit of
employees serving with the Colours. At this time, 304 of the Society’s
employees had joined the Services, and eighteen had made the great
sacrifice.
This drain on the male workers of the Society brought troubles of
its own in its train. We have already seen that considerable difficulty
was being experienced in meeting the demand of customer societies
for biscuits, while the difficulty in meeting the demand for bread was
equally great. Toward the end of 1915, the Operative Bakers’ Union
consented to allow their members to begin work one hour earlier on
Saturday mornings, while a number of men who had been formerly
employed as “jobbers” were given full-time employment. In the
beginning of the following year an attempt was made to induce the
Bakers’ Union to permit the employment of women in the bakery,
but this permission they refused, although they admitted that
“dilution” was in operation in similar establishments. In July of 1916
an agreement with regard to dilution was reached, whereby it was
decided that, after all reasonable efforts had been made to obtain
male labour, females should be appointed in the same proportion as
apprentices; that two girls could be appointed for every man who
left, and that the arrangement was to continue for the duration of the
war or of conditions created by the war.
In that year some difficulty was experienced in getting the bakers
to come to terms with the employers in the Glasgow district on the
question of wages, but the dispute was finally adjusted after notices
to cease work had been handed in. The terms finally agreed on were
substantially those which had been offered by the Federation, and
gave the bakers an increase in wages of four shillings per week. The
bakers did not take kindly to the proposal to introduce female labour
into the bakehouse, and when the directors proposed to take that
step protested strongly, notwithstanding the agreement which had
been arrived at on the subject, and although they were working very
many hours of overtime each week. The directors therefore decided
that the question of the employment of female labour should be
referred to the War Emergency Committee, and that committee gave
their award in favour of the introduction of female labour into the
pastry and smallbread flats, but would not allow them to take part in
the baking of loaf bread.
 DELIVERY DIFFICULTIES.
We have already seen that the needs of the war transcended all
other considerations in the opinion of the War Office officials, who
commandeered many horses and vans from the Society at the
outbreak of war and later. The difficulties of delivery thus created the
directors endeavoured to overcome by the use of motors for delivery.
But even machinery will not go on for ever without requiring repairs,
and as breakdowns became more frequent increasing difficulty was
being found in having the necessary repairs done, because of
shortage of labour of the necessary skill, and because also of the
shortage of the necessary material. Another delivery difficulty had a
different cause. The shortage of labour was general, and the retail
stores were as greatly handicapped as were other businesses. In 1916,
with the view of overcoming this handicap to some extent and at the
same time ensuring as far as possible that the shops should not be
open in the absence of skilled supervision, the societies adopted the
policy of closing their shops during the lunch hour. To some extent
this policy attained the object which the societies had in view, but as
soon as it was put into operation the Baking Society found their
delivery difficulties increased, for their vans had to stand idle while
the shops were closed. Representations on the subject were made to
the various societies, which gave very favourable consideration in
most cases, and the practice grew up of leaving one employee in each
shop to take delivery of goods which arrived during the lunch hour.
Early in 1916 the societies gave tangible form to their recognition
of the strenuous work which was being imposed on the directors by
circumstances brought about by the war; this tangible recognition
taking the form of an all-round increase in salaries and allowances
for committee work.
Yet strenuous as had been their work during those first two years
of the war, and great as had been their difficulties, the two years on
which they were about to enter were to provide even more strenuous
work and to produce difficulties which were so great as to prove
almost insurmountable. They were to provide conditions of bread
baking which were to change loaf bread from being one of the most
palatable forms of food into for the time being one of the most
detestable and detested.
 While the Congress was meeting at Leicester in 1915, the news
arrived that Mr Duncan M‘Culloch, who had done so much to build
up the Baking Society, had passed away, and fitting reference was
made to his decease at the quarterly meeting in June, and also at the
annual meeting with the representatives of the Irish societies in July.
His death removed a man to whom the shareholders of the Baking
Society, and particularly the shareholders in Ireland, owed much,
and many were the expressions of regret when the news became
generally known.
 CHAPTER XIX.
BREAD BAKING UNDER CONTROL.

FAMINE POSSIBILITIES—CHANGES IN QUALITY OF FLOUR—

FOOD CONTROL DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED—BAKERS’
DIFFICULTIES—THE POSITION OF THE U.C.B.S.—A BIG
LAND PURCHASE—ILLNESS OF THE PRESIDENT—A
NATURAL WORKING DAY BY ORDER—ITS DIFFICULTIES
—ENTERTAINMENTS TO SOLDIERS—BRANCH BAKERIES
—IRELAND—LEADHILLS—ROTHESAY—BUTE CO-
OPERATIVE SOCIETY FORMED—SUBSIDISED BREAD—AN
INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL—DELIVERY DIFFICULTIES—
EMPLOYEES ON MILITARY SERVICE—THE END OF THE
TASK.

The first two years of the war had brought difficulties in their train
which the bakers of the country found considerable difficulty in
overcoming; but the conditions under which they were called on to
produce bread in the following two years were such as had not been
experienced for at least a hundred years, and there came a time when
the country was faced with the possibility of having to do without
bread altogether for a period. Fortunately this possibility did not
become reality, but it was the cause of material changes in the quality
of the flour used for breadmaking and of the conditions under which
the bread was made and sold which would have seemed impossible
before the war began. By the early winter of 1916 the possibility of a
condition of things obtaining which would prevent the importation
of foodstuffs, and particularly of wheat, in sufficient quantities to
provide full supplies for the population of the British Isles began to
force itself on the Government, so they appointed a gentleman to the
position of Food Controller and conferred on him almost despotic
powers. One result of this control of food was a drastic interference
with the milling of flour. In Scotland the millers produced flour in
ordinary times which contained a little more than 70 per cent. of the
wheat; the first fruits of the new order of things was a regulation that
the extraction from the wheat should be increased, by about 8 per
cent.
There can be no doubt that under the circumstances this
regulation was necessary. There was a time in the history of these
islands when practically all the food consumed by the people was
grown in the country; but during the lifetime of the last generation
this position had gradually altered until Britain was dependent on
wheat imported from abroad for four-fifths of the bread supply of her
people. There had always been pessimists who foresaw, as a result of
a war with a maritime power, a danger of interruption to the steady
supply of seaborne food which was necessary if the people were to be
saved from starvation, and who uttered warnings which passed more
or less unheeded; but the time had arrived when these warnings
seemed likely to become justified. Towards the end of 1916 it was
becoming apparent that there was likely to be a world shortage of
foodstuffs, and particularly of wheat, and doubts were being
expressed in well-informed circles as to whether there would be
supplies sufficient to enable the people to carry on until the 1917 crop
was ready. While this world shortage was due in a measure to the
war, because of the number of men who usually devoted themselves
to agricultural pursuits who were then engaged in war work of one
form or another or serving with the Forces, it was also due in large
measure to a world shortage for which Nature, through the medium
of a bad summer and a wet autumn, was responsible.
The result was that in this country the regulations affecting flour
extraction became more and more rigorous, until not only were
millers extracting a proportion approaching 25 per cent. additional
from the wheat, rejecting practically nothing but the outer husk, but
many other varieties of cereal, even including a considerable
proportion of maize, were pressed into service and mixed with the
flour from which bread had to be baked. In some cases potato flour
was also used for this purpose. Fortunately, the famine which had
threatened in the summer of 1917 was staved off, but the inveterate
submarine campaign waged by the Germans during the whole of that
year was responsible for the destruction of many food-carrying ships
and of many thousands of tons of wheat and flour which were being
conveyed to this country from America as well as of many other
varieties of food.
 BAKERS’ DIFFICULTIES.
All this was the cause of much worry to bakers. They had been
accustomed to the manufacture of bread from flour the quality of
which was well known and regulated with almost scientific accuracy,
but under the new order of things they found the knowledge which
they had acquired laboriously over a long period of years almost
useless to them. So long as they were dealing with wheat flour, even
if that flour did contain a large proportion of offal which had
formerly been used to feed cattle, the position was not quite so bad,
for most of them had been in the habit of baking a greater or lesser
proportion of what was termed “wheaten” and “wholemeal” bread.
But when flour produced from rye, barley, and even maize had to be
added their troubles began, for only by chemical analysis was it
possible for them to determine the proportions in which the various
cereals were used, and these proportions were varied arbitrarily week
by week at the whim of the Wheat Commission authorities; while the
millers were absolutely prohibited from giving any information on
the subject. Thus, when after a series of experiments they had
ascertained the method by which they could produce the best loaf
from a given flour, they suddenly discovered that the mixture had
been altered, and that their experiments had to begin all over again;
and this continued to be the position for some time even after the
end of the war.
 THE POSITION OF THE U.C.B.S.
While the position of the average private baker was that which has
been described above, the baking departments of Co-operative
societies found themselves in a very much worse position in direct
ratio as they had been loyal hitherto in the use of Co-operatively
milled flour. The flour mills of Scotland did not produce more than
one half of the flour which was used in the country, with the result
that the remainder had to be imported; but the Scottish Co-operative
Wholesale Society imported wheat and themselves milled practically
all the flour sold by them. The consequence was that as the quality of
“Government Regulation” flour deteriorated, the flour which was
supplied by the Wholesale Society’s mills, in common with that
supplied by the other millers, was of such a nature that bread baked
with it was inferior in quality and unpalatable. As, however, bakers
were compelled to take flour from the source from which they
procured it at the time when the Food Control regulations came into
force, those who had formerly used a considerable proportion of
imported flour were allowed to mix a good percentage of the flour
which was still being imported with the “Regulation” flour, and were
thus enabled to produce a comparatively white and palatable loaf;
while the Wholesale Society, which had not been in the habit of
importing much flour, were now allowed by those responsible for the
bread regulations to import only a very small proportion, and their
customers suffered accordingly. It was only after repeated
representations had been made to the Government and the Wheat
Commission that, ultimately, the proportion of imported flour which
Co-operative bakers generally were allowed to use was raised
considerably.
From this cause the Baking Society was as great a sufferer as were
the others. The bread became more and more unpalatable as the
admixture of foreign cereals in the flour used increased, and
complaints about the quality of the bread began to come in with
irritating frequency. The receipt of these complaints, justifiable as
they were, must have been all the more irritating to the committee
from the fact that they found themselves the victims of
circumstances over which they had not the slightest control. They
knew that the bread which they were producing was unpalatable, and
the fact that the Germans had to eat bread which was very much
inferior was but poor consolation in view of the fact that many of
their trade rivals were able to produce better bread because of the
larger proportion of white flour which they were allowed to use.
There ensued, as a consequence, a very considerable decline in the
bread sales of the Society. The customer societies would have taken
the bread, but their members could not and would not eat it. From
much the same causes the trade in biscuits and in teabread declined
also. The use of sugar in biscuits or in teabread was prohibited, as
was the manufacture of pastries. The result was that while the output
for the quarter which ended in October 1916 was 68,533 sacks, that
for the quarter which ended in October 1917 was 67,132 sacks, and
that for the corresponding quarter of 1918 was 62,867. And if the
details for loaf bread in M‘Neil Street alone are taken, the contrast is
still more striking. The output for 1918 had fallen below that of 1915
by over 400 sacks, and below that of the quarter which ended in
April 1917 by over 12,000 sacks.
 A BIG LAND PURCHASE.
By the end of 1916 M‘Neil Street bakery, and particularly the
biscuit factory, was again becoming congested, and power was
obtained from the quarterly meeting to spend up to £9,750 on the
purchase of more ground. At the time this power was obtained, the
committee had under consideration the fact that the ground on the
east side of M‘Neil Street, extending from the Clydeside to Govan
Street, was in the market, and ultimately the purchase of this ground
was completed at a cost of £9,750. The ground contained an area of
6,590 yards. Much of it was occupied by buildings of a temporary
character; the only buildings of a permanent nature on the site being
two tenements at the southern end. This site has not yet been utilised
by the Society, but it forms an admirable property which is available
for any extensions which may require to be undertaken in the future.
Meantime it is let at a rental which gives a net return of 3⅓ per cent.
on the capital cost of the site.
 ILLNESS OF PRESIDENT.
In November of 1916 Mr Gerrard was laid aside for a number of
weeks by a severe illness, from which, fortunately, he recovered after
a time. With the exception of one short interval, he was able to carry
out his duties until the beginning of November 1918, when he was
again laid aside with an illness so severe in its nature that ultimately
he was informed by his medical adviser that he would have to give up
all thought of public work for the future. The last regular meeting of
the committee at which he was able to be in attendance was that held
on 10th October 1918.
 A NATURAL WORKING DAY—BY ORDER.
Several years before the outbreak of war the directors of the
Baking Society made a determined effort to institute a natural
working day for bakers, but were unsuccessful, as a natural working
day meant the use of bread which was cold before it reached the
shops, and this the members of the stores refused to accept. In
March of 1917, however, the Government, impelled by the exigencies
of war, were able to do, practically with the stroke of a pen, what the
unaided efforts of the Baking Society had failed to do. This Order of
the Food Controller decreed that bread must be at least twelve hours
old before it was sold in the shops. It is quite likely that those who
devised the Order did not know and did not desire to know how their
proposals were going to affect those engaged in the trade. The bakers
were faced with the necessity of rearranging their methods at a
moment’s notice. They had to rearrange the working day, and also to
find storage accommodation overnight for their total day’s output,
and on Friday nights for almost double that quantity. One good
result of the Order was, as has already been mentioned, that the
working bakers at last obtained a natural working day, for their
hours of work were fixed to begin at 8 a.m. and to end at 4.30 p.m.
The storage difficulty was one which was more difficult to
overcome. At M‘Neil Street storage accommodation had to be found
for 84,000 2–lb. loaves on ordinary weekdays and for 156,000 on
Fridays. This meant the fitting up of every available space with racks
and trays in which to place the bread, and a very serious addition to
the amount of labour necessary. On the other hand it meant that
there would be a considerable saving on delivery charges, as societies
were able to take in larger quantities in the mornings, and so
minimise the duplication of deliveries. The difficulties were all
overcome, and, in a very short time, the delivery side of the business
was working as smoothly as the attenuated state of the delivery staff
could be expected to permit.
 ENTERTAINING SOLDIERS.
During the years of war a feature of the philanthropic work of the
Society was the entertaining of large parties of convalescent soldiers
from the Glasgow military hospitals. The Society began this good
work in August 1916, when a party of convalescent soldiers from
Stobhill Hospital, numbering 200, were conveyed to Calderwood
Castle in brakes, and entertained there. The party were accompanied
by the Society’s Silver Band, and an enjoyable afternoon was passed.
Then, early in 1917, another party of wounded were taken to a
matinee at a theatre in the afternoon, and were afterwards conveyed
in brakes to the Society’s premises, where they had tea, and a
splendid concert was provided. Several of these theatre
entertainments were given, and were much appreciated by the
recipients of the Society’s kindness.
In another way the Society also showed kindness to men who had
been fighting their country’s battles. An “Overseas Club” for
members of the Colonial Forces had been established in Glasgow,
and during 1918 and 1919 a party of visitors from this club were
taken over the bakery every Thursday, being afterwards entertained
to tea, when the work which was being done by the Federation and
the principles on which it was managed were explained to the
visitors. Early in 1919, a letter was received from the Scottish
Sectional Board of the Co-operative Union, commending the
propaganda work which was being done in this way by the U.C.B.S.
directors, and offering a number of copies of “Working Men Co-
operators” for distribution. The Baking Society directors were much
gratified by this commendation and gladly accepted the gift of books,
which were afterwards distributed to the Colonial visitors.
 BRANCH BAKERIES.
Various difficulties attach to a gigantic bread bakery which are not
apparent in the working of any other commercial concern of similar
size, and chief amongst these is that of rapid and cheap delivery. The
perishable nature of bread and the ease with which it is injured by
crushing make carriage by railway impracticable, while combined
with these difficulties is the fact that the majority of bread customers
desire to have it as soon after it is baked as possible. All these
disadvantages combine to limit the distance within which a bakery
can operate successfully to a radius of about twelve miles, and even
on the outer edges of that radius it is doubtful if the cost of delivery
does not counterbalance the saving caused by larger production. Yet
the advantages of having bread baked by a large Co-operative
organisation, instead of by many small ones, are obvious. In the first
place, the large buyer has the advantage of buying all the raw
materials used at rock-bottom prices: he has the advantage also of a
wider knowledge of the fluctuations of a market notorious for
rapidity of rise and fall, and this expert knowledge enables him in
normal times so to average the cost of flour used that it is always at
the lowest average possible.
It can be easily understood, therefore, that Co-operators,
struggling with adversity and yet desirous of providing Co-
operatively-baked bread for their members, should turn to the
U.C.B.S. for help.
In this way there had come to the directors within recent years
numerous calls for help. Unfortunately, the majority of these arrived
at a time when it was impossible to give the help desired. The first of
these calls came from Ireland. In and around Dublin there were
several small societies, having a combined membership of
somewhere over two thousand. The Dublin Industrial Society, after
unsuccessfully endeavouring a few years earlier to get the Baking
Society to help in the financing of a bakery in Dublin, had gone
ahead with the erection of a bakery for themselves, but it had never
been very successful. The Society itself was not too successful for a