Project management is undeniably the fastest growing discipline as organizations move into the euphoria of projectification of their operations. Though projects have been a part of human life since time immemorial, there is a sudden realisation of the effectiveness of the methods used in project management. The enrolment of students studying for project management in tertiary institutions has shown tremendous increase. Yet the project execution process is mired by high failure rates and absence of clarity on the necessary skills required for effective project execution. The authority-gap in project management presents political and operational conflicts, and new innovative ways of authority-gap reduction need to be identified and taught in training programs. Simultaneously there is a realisation by both academics and practitioners that there is a difference between managers and leaders. Extensive studies on leadership have not allowed for a one-stop-leadership-style to be used in leadership of any form, let alone project leadership. In fact there is no standard definition of leadership as this has been heavily contextualized and thereby disallowing the creation of a universal definition. No cast-in-stone leadership styles are known and thereby leaving the research on leadership to concentrate on critical competencies required for effective leadership of projects. This study seeks to establish the core competencies needed by the project leaders and other practitioners to reduce the failure rate and maximise the benefits currently sought after by organisations. Studies have shown that the matrix structure within which the embedded projects work is a contributing factor to the failure of projects. Because projects are executed by people, it would be the proper utilisation of people’s talents and competencies that are expected to yield favourable results. Thus, whilst the matrix structure creates the authority-gap that presents a problem for effective project execution, management-by-projects still remains the best way known to add economic value to performance and productivity. The study therefore focuses on those characteristics of project leaders that will most likely make the difference in the way people perform in the workplace. The research findings emphasised the importance of empowerment of project managers and the development of their interpersonal skills of the project leader with special emphasis on extroversion, genuineness of senior management, and the responsiveness of the project leaders as important requirements for effective authority- gap reduction. These critical competencies will therefore facilitate the project execution process and enhance the empowered project leader’s ability to reduce the high project failure rate and high cost overruns. These competencies apply specifically to the human element as it relates to the role of the project leader and the interaction with the team members, this new knowledge needs to be introduced into training programs and project practitioners.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9305 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Jowah, Enoch Larry |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Doctoral, DPhil |
| Format | xix, 324 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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