Project management offers a structured approach to managing projects.  In construction projects, project management was known as construction management in which the practice of the managerial and technological aspects of the construction industry are apparent.  This includes a business model where one party to a construction contract serves as a construction consultant, providing both design and construction advice.  According to Cleland and Gareis (1994), projects should transform an unsatisfactory (existing or future) state to a better state within a certain time, using a limited effort. In a more pragmatic terms, project management within the construction projects means that there is someone who always has the unique needs for something new tangible outcomes of it, and requires knowledge and resources to conduct the realization of the concept within the specific constraints of time, money and specifications (Cicmil, 1997). Furthermore, required expertise and resources are needed, either in-house or from the market, need to be pooled together to create the change – the transition from the idea to the creation, according to the client’s expectations, which are provided by professionals, consultants, contractors and sub-contractors (Cicmil, 1997).


Rationally, project managers within construction projects play an important role in the process of the project because they organized the activity process within the project effectively. Experience has shown that the selection of the project manager is a key appointment which can influence the success and failure of the project.  For example, the grand opening of the Millennium Dome through the year 2000 is considered a major achievement because no status delay had been recorded.[1]  However, the problem arose from the inability of the management to achieve their performance targets particularly on the number of visitors which should be at 12 million.  Throughout 2000, paying visitors only reached 2.65 million and 87% of visitors expressed their satisfaction on the visit and services at the Dome.  Although this figure stood as the national record for pay-to-visit attraction, the management was confronted critical bottlenecks that seemed like domino effect against its financial position. 


Due to inability to reach its visitor target, sponsorship income had plunged resulting to lowering its target from ₤175 million to only ₤115 million including the fact that the timing of cash inflows was also experiencing delays. [2]  In addition, the management also expected expenditure forecasts to overtake the budget by at least five percent.  As a result of this unsuccessful financial performance, the 1997 vow that the government is willing to extend lottery funding beyond the original due date at December 31, 2000 to avoid jeopardizing the programs of the Dome is put into action.  For example, the Millennium Commission approved four further grants totaling ₤179 million in conjunction with the strategy to lower the visitor target during and beyond 2000 to 4.5 million. 


As compared to other project management tasks, the project management within the construction industry is crucial. The project management within the construction industry usually handles tasks such as designing and construction process, labor, material, and equipment estimation and cost estimation whereas the project management in the accounting department only handles variables and planning procedures related to accounting.  In addition, the project management in administration department only handles administrative related tasks.  This means that the project management within the construction industry has different parts i.e. equipment, materials and cost-related planning part and construction management processes.  As defined by Badiru, (1993), project management is simply the process of managing, allocating, and timing resources to achieve a given goal in an efficient and expedient manner. Projects especially in construction projects come in simple or complex. Moreover, the objectives that constitute the specified goal may be in terms of time, costs, or technical results. Several techniques have been created in order to execute this type of management with ease. Project management techniques are used widely in many enterprises, including construction, banking, manufacturing, marketing, health care services, transportation, R&D, public services, and so on.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



 

                To make projects be successful, the key characteristic of a project manager is crucial.  In accordance to the scope of the project, a project manager should have the following characteristics as stated by Burke, R. (2003):


Ø  Ability to select and develop an operational team from a standing start.


Ø  Leadership and management ability.


Ø  Ability to anticipate problems, solve problems and make decisions.


Ø  Ability to integrate the project stakeholders.


Ø  Operational flexibility.


Ø  Ability to plan, expedite and get things done.


Ø  Ability to negotiate and persuade.


Ø  Understand the environment within which the project is being managed.


Ø  Ability to review monitor and apply control.


Ø  Ability to administer the contract, the scope of work and scope changes.


Ø  Ability to manage within an environment of constant change.


Ø  Ability to keep the client happy.


 


With regards to the type of education, training and occupational standards required for project manager, it is necessary for them to have knowledge concerning trends and management issues.  Basically, there are several organizations that organized regular meetings and newsletters to keep project managers informed about project management issues such as body of knowledge, certification of project managers or the so-called Project Management Profession (PMP), unit standards, ethics and global forum.


            The purpose of the body of knowledge is to identify and describe best practices that are applicable to most projects of the time.  There is widespread consensus about their value and usefulness.  They also intended to provide common lexicon and terminology within the profession of project management – locally and internationally. Apparently, the PMP is a certification process that offers a means for experienced project managers to gain a formal qualification in project management.  There is a trend away from the knowledge based examinations which assess the persons ability to perform.  For unit standards and ethics requirement, there is an increasing recognition of certification and for some project it is being made a mandatory pre-qualification. Competency is a mixture of explicit knowledge derived from formal education, tacit knowledge and skills derived from experience.  For young professionals, explicit knowledge is more important, but the other competencies will become increasingly important in their careers.  The PMP is a single level certificate programme, which measures explicit knowledge directly through a multi-choice test, and tacit knowledge and skill indirectly by assessing the candidate’s work experience.


The value that is added by project management is fundamental to most organisations, in that the specialty performs the traditional managerial function that includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling on the organisation’s operations. For organisations it is crucial identify the advantages and drawbacks of using internal teams or external consultants as Project Manager and Client’s benefits.  Actually, having internal teams is actually showing some advantages.  And since they are from the organization, these internal teams might have familiarity within the businesses environment. In addition, by providing the right combination of methodology, training, resources and technology, internal teams can help external consultants determine how to most effectively focus the resources they have available.  They can also help preserve the integrity of project deliverables by ensuring that issues are identified in a timely manner and key dates are being consistently met which is crucial in making clients satisfied.  These tools and support solutions help improve overall project metrics, while enabling project teams to work more effectively and efficiently in high-stress environments.  With regards to drawbacks, there some instances of doubt with regards to the knowledge of internal teams as project management team because they are not trained to do those kinds of tasks.  With this, training for internal teams is also important.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



 

Project managers play an important duties and responsibilities in the process of the project because it is the only way to organise the activity process within the project effectively. In addition, the project team should be managed by a professional manager to keep the project going on from time to time till the finishing date.  In this case, the project manager needs to monitor and communicate with the team accordingly to (Kenny, J. 2003):



  • Employee attitude towards work commitment

  • Enforce standard procedures and policy between stakeholders

  • Perform better and high quality of communication skills between stakeholders

  • Discipline on time management for both parties

  • Motivate and encourage for challenge tasks.


 


When running a project, it is important to understand the values and issues that project teams have in order to address them and keep everyone on board for the duration of the project. Project team members are not always keen to participate but engaging them at this early stage of the project will help ensure success. With respect to the success of the projects, the approach to arrive at a price base for the purpose of tender assessment must be considered.  Several factors should be determined, which need improvement. Primarily, the contracts to be used in the projects must be appropriate, which suits the style and preferences of its employees. The management style of the project managers and its implication to the contracts must then be given enough attention to ensure the organization and control of the tenderers. Function also includes organizing, which determines what needs to be done, how will it be done and who will do it, leading to directing and motivating all parties and resolving conflicts, controlling, and making sure that the organization has achieved its stated purpose (De Bono, 2005). In short, the scope in the project management contracts entails the refreshing and reinforcing of the tasks and responsibilities of the project manager. Possible problems and the target project plan distinguished by the organization should create a plan in relation to project measures. During the project, the activities should be in various stages of completion; some on target, some ahead of plan, some behind plan, some on budget, some overspent and some under spent. 


Apparently, in project management there is a so-called Design Process Management and Construction Process Management.  Actually, the Design Process Management is more on planning and the Construction Process Management on the other hand is more on the details of construction project. The success of a project would most likely depend, one way or another, on how the project manager addresses the lifecycle (Schokkaert & Eyckmans 1994). It mainly includes the management of information, technology and people. Perhaps, due to the reason to specify what are the specific important factors that should be considered within those three variables, researchers have identified several success factors in project management. For instance, the success of project management is about the success in Design Process Management and Construction Process Management. Almost similarly, Lester (1998) acknowledged the five important factors for business success in project developments, which include: the commitment of senior management acting through a culture that gives importance to entrepreneurial individuals; innovation, organizational process and structure that hold up cross-functional band and offer procedures for their process; creating new product ideas; giving efficient venture teams and leaders; and a planned process for modern projects. Kenny (2003) adds that project managers should also give importance to learning and innovation to ensure the success of the project.


Planning in Design Process Management can also refer to several planning steps throughout the whole project not just a single or overlapping phase.  In fact, it is what the project participants used to build key objectives under project charter.  As poor management takeovers this crucial undertaking, they may be installing over- or under-estimated value of the project.  Thus, irrational objectives could be created.  In addition, going further back into project selection, inability to carry-on key objectives that initially made the project acceptable as the project accelerates can entirely deter its value-adding potential.  For example, new technology (selected for customer-value centrism) is cheaply funded (cost-savings centrism) which resulted to sub-standard parts (defeats the former and supports the latter). 


 


            Theoretically, poor project management can be a cause of internal conflict and inadequate authority (Stuckenbruck, 1981, p. 9).  The former is characterized by poor schedule and budget control because of the absence of cooperation between the project team and functional organizations.  This readily explains how the planning stage under the project life-cycle can be ineffectively made with this situation.  As a result, time and cost objectives are at risk of distortion.  As the project team would want to keep the objectives, the conflict can induce bottlenecks especially in coordination.  In effect, the project team is bound to devise tactics to solve such bottlenecks which ultimately result in limiting the scope of the project, revising the original objectives and attempting to stand on their own. 


In Design Process Management, the project team members are also one of the most essential elements of the project because of the direct participation they have with regards to the progress of the project. One of this is to evaluate the skills of the probable team members and how they can have an impact on the results of the project. Aside from this, the plan of the project which is part of the design process management should be carefully assessed.  Planning is an important competent of the planning and control cycle, because the planning process not only establishes what is to be done, but also smoothes the way to “make-it-happen”.  The challenge is to select and apply the available planning tools and techniques effectively. 


In connection, the Construction Process Management should be part of the design process management since it is responsible in the progress of the actual project.  In this management part, problems that may occur within the projects should be reviewed. Managing projects put the manager into a difficult position because of the weight of responsibility associated with the task. Based on existing studies, the rate of most project failure is high (Cicmil, 1997). Cicmil (1997) enumerated the reasons on why projects fail. Cicmil (1997) stated that reasons include: “poor understanding and identification of the client/customer/end-user needs; inadequate specification of project requirements and project constraints; consequently, setting unrealistic project goals altogether; organizational behavior factors including structure, functions, performance, and associated behavior of groups and individuals; bounded rationality in the process of project planning and project implementation, i.e. the lack of appreciation of dynamics and change; poor monitoring and control during the project implementation phase; and measurement and assessment of project progress against the plan (p.392).”


The success of a project would most likely depend, one way or another, on how the project manager addresses the lifecycle. It mainly includes the management of information, technology and people. Perhaps, due to the reason to specify what are the specific important factors that should be considered within those three variables, researchers have identified several success factors in project management. For instance, Shenhar and Dvir (1996) identified several critical success factors such as: project mission; project planning; project control; top management support; and customer involvement. Almost similarly, Lester (1998) identified five critical factors for success in new product development projects, which include: the commitment of senior management acting through a culture that gives importance to innovative and entrepreneurial individuals; organizational structure and processes that supports cross-functional teams and provide guidelines for their operation; encouraging new product ideas to be generated; providing effective venture teams and leaders; and a tactical planning process for innovative projects. Kenny (2003) adds that project managers should also give importance to learning and innovation to ensure the success of the project. With this, it indicates on how both Design Process Management and Construction Process Management in the development of project management.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



 

                As a Project Management Professional, the clients have significant role in the construction process.  The project manager is the project’s single point of responsibility and the company’s representative to the client.   During the meetings with client the planning and control system will provide information about every aspect of the project.  Clients prefer to deal with one person- the project manager- who is accountable.  This gives them confidence that problems will be addressed and the projects will be completed in time.


With regards to quality assurance, the PMBOK defines project quality management as ‘… the process required ensuring that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken both the management of the project and the product of the project’ (as cited in Burke, 2003, p. 240). This means that the need for a plan that monitors the timelines and quality objectives is essential because it employ processes like job combination and workflow analysis to gather savings, this is known as quality control.


Quality planning and control, according to Burke (2003, p. 241), ‘is the process of identifying the quality standards the project needs to comply with, to achieve the required condition and satisfy the terms of the contract’. There are certain activities that the firm need to take upon opening with the requirements of clients and finishing with excellent operation in order to guarantee that all worthy measures and standards appropriate for the scheme are followed, all the tests and reviews are conducted and planned. The following are such activities Burke (2003, p. 241):


Ø  Recording and resolution problems.


Ø  Quality Plan preparation .


Ø  Compliance to applicable Standards/Guidelines.


Ø  Test cases preparation.


Ø  Plans and test cases approval.


Ø  Necessary focus on measures of quality.


Ø  Test plans and assessment of test coverage preparations.


            Quality policies are guidelines set down in the norms of the project quality standards and the subsequent planning done according to it. The policy is important as it lays the foundation for the complete procedure to make quality implementation a successful venture.


Moreover, to ensure quality control, communication with the various members of departments and those with various tasks is also important since it is helpful for the outcome because of their perspectives. Lockami (2003) pointed out that the environment of the new project and the way that it is premised to be done is one of the most important parts for the production of the early corporation, and this is also important for this new project in order to avoid the problems that the other similar corporations have suffered. Each of the staff has to be evaluated immediately and precisely according to their abilities, skills and output. The focus of their core works are important as part of the management of the human resources and also included in the ways that their outcome will be done and included in the final output of the entire project, especially during the start.


            In sum, employees within the project need to be empowered, and it is within the responsibility of the project manager in order to maintain quality control. The project manager must remember the project management is not all about managing the technical aspects of the project, but also the performance and disposition of the people performing the specific tasks. Thus, he or she should be familiarized or should integrate a positive culture within the project team. Culture is basically a system of attitude and behavior patterns (Schokkaert & Eyckmans 1994). Longman & Mullins (2004) cited a list of the dimensions of project management culture, which are: integration of various efforts and discipline; applying horizontal management; being results oriented; viewing temporary situations and relationships as normal; uncertainty is expected; people are rewarded for what they do, not for who they are; speed, flexibility and lateral communication are given importance; valuing teamwork; people are task oriented; and indefinite authority is not unusual. However, in a succeeding study, Longman & Mullins (2004) confirmed that the dimensions of project management culture are simply professional commitment (career pursuit, reference group and leisure time), project team integration (consciousness of team identity, knowledge-based influence, and informal process), work flexibility (job decodification, work autonomy) and work performance.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



 

Construction projects are difficult because there are many things to consider. There is the budget, the time-frame, the supplier and the resources (human and tangible resources) (Czuchry, A.J. & Yasin, M.M. 2003).  As a research staff concerned in the Constructions projects – a feat that requires extra preparation and research. A need of study about the probability of that process by identifying key variables that would be problematic in the process is crucial. By knowing how much budget is needed, how much timeframe is needed and how much man-power is needed, this study would be able to predict the success of the constructions projects. Further, identifying the advantages that an integrated supply chain approach can contribute to the project would help in its development.


However, despite the improvement of the performance of many organizations, these changes also contributed to the distress of some, which are not apt for these changes. From this, it can be understood that, existing and persisting in the business industry is not as easy as it seems. Because of these, many business organizations and companies are encountering a variety of problems and issues that determine their success or failure in the business arena and in the industry. These problems and issues arise from the external and internal changes that the project management encounters.


             With this, we may say that the best practice in project management and its use to develop benchmarks and key performance indicators for the construction industry is important.  Actually, the project manger’s position as the single point of responsibility to coordinate multi-disciplined projects and make the best use of the resources conforms to the best practice in project management.  As for best practice the following must be considered (Czuchry, A.J. & Yasin, M.M. 2003):


Ø  Companies prefer their mangers to be technical experts in the field of the project, as it enables the managers to confirm technical decisions themselves.  This view is supported by the fact that most project management positions advertised require the managers to be technically competent in the field of the project.


Ø  If the project manager knows and understands the technical issues of the project they will be in a better position to apply judgment and forecast problems.


Ø  Team selection can be based on both human compatibility and technical ability.  The technical ability and demonstratable skills they would be able to verify directly.


Ø  They can be effectively involved up-front during the feasibility study, estimating and quotation stage of the project.


Ø  They will be able to gain respect from the team by demonstrating not only good management but also technical expertise.


In order for a project manager to add-value to the construction process and product, they usually moves up the corporate ladder which is more concerned on people, costs and coordinating multi-disciplines and less with technical issues. In may not be desirable to have the technical expert leading the team, as they could suppress innovation from the other team members, particularly in their area of expertise (Denker, S., Steward, D.B. & Browning, T.R. 2001). However, effective project management requires many non-technical skills such as human resource management, team building, financial accounting, negotiation, integration and coordination.


There is a need for a competitive pool of project managers in the world today. There are two implications of this occurrence: first, there is a relative shortage of competent project managers that are capable of promoting and designing programs that could both enhance the business profitability of the company and at the same time cover the short-term losses that may ensue; and the problems that project manager encounter in designing strategies and in its operationalization.


Project management practice has been largely dependent on the designing of strategies and methods after careful assessment of the needs and the improvements that could be done in the company. However, there are limitations on their part. Foremost of which is the lack of proper training and education for most project managers. This area is a relatively young field and at most scholars are yet to formulate much needed paradigms and researchers that could best address specific issues in the workplace. Moreover, most organizations are still hesitant in fully implementing this strategy because of the short-term costs that it may give to the organizations.            Further, the structural impact of instituting facility management is both undesirable and costly for managements. It is in lieu with the cost and the personnel adjustments that they have to go through.


 


References:


 


Badiru, A.B. (1993).Quantitative Models for Project Planning, Scheduling and Control. Quorum Books, Westport, CT. 


 


Burke, R. (2003). Project Management: Planning and Control Techniques. (4th ed.). West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons.


 


Cicmil, S. (1997). “Achieving completeness through TQM principles and organisational learning”, The Learning Organisation, MCB University Press, Vol. 4 No. 1.


 


Cleland, D.I. and Gareis, R. (Eds) (1994). Global Project Management Handbook, McGraw-Hill International Editions.


 


Czuchry, A.J. & Yasin, M.M. (2003), “Managing the project management process”, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 103 No. 1; pp. 39-46.


 


De Bono, S (2005). Assessing Managerial Attributes Case Study of Maltese Managers in            the Service Industry, DBA Executive Summary.


 


Denker, S., Steward, D.B. & Browning, T.R. (2001). Planning Concurrency and Managing Iteration in Projects. Project Management Journal, Vol.32, No.3; pp.31-38


 


Kenny, J. (2003). Effective Project Management for Strategic Innovation and Change in an Organisational Context. Project Management Journal, Vol.34, No.1; pp.43-53.


 


Lester, D.H. (1998). Critical Success Factors for New Product Development. Research Technology Management, Vol.41, No.1.


 


Lockami III, A. (2003). A constraint-based framework for strategic cost management. Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol.103, No.8; pp.591-599


 


Longman, A. & Mullins, J. (2004). Project Management: A Key Tool for Implementing Strategy. Journal of Business Strategy, Vol.25, No.5; pp.54-60.


 


Schokkaert, E. &Eyckmans, J. (1994). Environment, in Harvey, B. (ed.), Business Ethics: a European Approach, Prentice Hall, Hertfordshire.


 


Shenhar, A.J. and Dvir, D. (1996). Toward a Typological Theory of project management. Research Policy, Vol.25, No.4; pp.607-632.


 


Stuckenbruck, L. (1981). The Implementation of Project Management: The Professional’s Handbook. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.



 

[1] From http://www.nao.org.uk/whats_new/9900/9900936.aspx?alreadysearchfor=yes


[2] From http://www.nao.org.uk/whats_new/9900/9900936.aspx?alreadysearchfor=yes



Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com


0 comments:

Post a Comment

 
Top