No abstract

T he general topic of the World Congress of the IPMA (International Project Management Association) in June 1990 in Vienna, Austria, was ''Management by Projects.'' Since then the vision to cope with the complexity and the dynamics of companies by projects has become a reality. Management by projects is today the most appropriate organizational practice in many industries. Research results about the specific strategies, structures, and cultures of the ''project-oriented company'' (POC) have been published, even the project orientation of regions and nations have been assessed and benchmarked.This chapter introduces the POC as a social construct and describes models for the organizational differentiation and integration in the POC, such as projects, programs, expert pools, the PM office, and the project portfolio group. Further, a POC Maturity Model, based on the specific business processes of POCs, is presented, which can be applied to assess and to benchmark the competences of POCs.It is not intended to describe the specific business processes of the POC in detail. This is done in the literature on project and program management. The intention is rather to elaborate on the new perceptions of projects and programs as temporary organizations and social systems, and to present an integrative model for the POC. The POC: A Social ConstructCompanies are becoming more project-oriented. Projects and programs are applied in all industries and in the nonprofit sector. To perceive a company as a POC is a social construction. Any company (or parts of a company, such as a division or a profit center) that Name /8830/ch06

No abstract

Background: The problem of antimicrobial resistance requires common strategies at the European level. Methods: We report on an EU initiative fostering antibiotic (AB) stewardship (ABS) in hospitals. Results: The project ‘ABS International: implementing antibiotic strategies for appropriate use of antibiotics in hospitals in member states of the EU’ started in September 2006 in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. A training program for national ABS trainers was prepared and standard templates for ABS tools (AB list, guidelines for AB treatment and surgical prophylaxis, and AB-related organization) and valid process measures as well as quality indicators for AB use were developed. Specific ABS tools are being implemented in up to five health care facilities per country. Conclusion: ABS International is the first EU-funded initiative focusing on the implementation of structural measures in hospitals to promote the prudent use of ABs.

No abstract