M.Comm. (Business Management) / Project failures worldwide are still significantly high, despite the availability of project management frameworks, standards, techniques and methodologies. A project’s success is, in part, contingent on effectively managing the constraints of time, costs and performance, and in order to achieve this, it is essential for the project manager to possess and display appropriate competencies. The problem addressed in this study is to gain understanding of the project management competencies needed for the successful implementation of South African Built Environment industry projects. South Africa is faced with the challenge of reducing the huge backlog of infrastructure delivery. Given the delivery prioritisation by the government, the construction industry is the preferred vehicle of delivery. However, the industry lacks the requisite project management expertise and experience to make good on this objective. This study investigates the project management competencies required to improve the performance of the industry in delivering the much-needed infrastructure. The study also identifies those competencies that are instrumental to the effective implementation of project management techniques and examines the contributory issues of project management leadership and project success. Given the aforementioned, a survey was conducted among members of Project Management South Africa (PMSA). The data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics. Overall, respondents agreed that project management requires much more than just knowing how to manage the constraints of time, costs and performance. Of particular note, respondents indicated that, in addition to the more commonly emphasised project administration expertise (i.e. setting and managing scope, timelines and budgets), a project manager must be competent in structuring the project task and clarifying scope, communicating effectively, developing the project objectives, showing reliability and planning the project economy. ii This study contributes to research and practice in two ways. Firstly, we identify and report on core project management competencies. The identified competencies also contribute to the available literature. Secondly, the study proposes a framework that would provide an organisation with a system for recruitment, measuring performance, identifying training and development needs of individual employees and rewarding effective performance for superior performers. The study is significant because by gaining a greater understanding of what key competencies are needed to effectively manage a Built Environment industry project, more effective education and training methods, as well as procedures, can be developed to facilitate the instruction of the defined key competencies and improve the effectiveness of future project managers in the South African Built Environment industry. It furthermore adds to the existing body of project management competency research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:7717 |
| Date | 02 September 2013 |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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