Most projects include procurement processes which may consist of tendering, negotiation or a combination of the two. It has been found that if the procurement relationships in a project are healthy, then it has a significant influence on the success of the project. This may be because team performance in a project environment is influenced, amongst others, by the extent to which the contracting parties trust each other. However, most of these studies have been conducted in Europe, America, and Asia and in large international construction projects where tendering is the usual method of contract award. Few studies have investigated the role and types of trust during project initiation, specifically during project negotiation.
Project delays have long been perceived as a regular occurrence in most construction projects worldwide. This study focuses on identifying common delay causes in high rise buildings in Dubai and the effective measures to mitigate those delays. To do so, an extensive literature review was conducted followed by a questionnaire survey. Sixty-eight responses received from professionals working on large high-rise projects in Dubai. The study concludes by ranking the common delay causes as well as the effective measures to mitigate them. The implication of this study is a better understanding and dealing with the challenges associated with the timely delivery of high-rise buildings.
SynopsisThis paper critiques the current expression 'soft skills,' citing the move towards the use of 'collaboration' to describe the activities undertaken within project management and cognate disciplines. The paper contrasts the pejorative way 'soft' is used to describe a skill range, with the constructive, and descriptive, expression 'collaborative competencies.'RelevanceAs project management skills become a crucial requirement for graduates across disciplines, it is crucial to describe what are arguably essential skills for project teams accurately. This paper seeks to explore an alternative descriptor that is positive and describes the activity undertaken.ResearchThe paper uses a meta-review of pertinent literature to quantify the incidence of relevant words, including drawing on cognate sectors.Main findingsThe use of the word 'collaborate' has become ubiquitous to describe project management and related activities; however, the way the requisite competencies required to collaborate effectively are described does not reflect the growing maturity of the profession. Despite earlier attempts to provide an alternate descriptor to 'soft skills' that usually describes one aspect of the skill-set, this paper proposes that a descriptor should describe the activity undertaken. Whereas 'soft skills' fails to provide a link between the skill-set and the activity is undertaken, the descriptor 'collaborative competencies,' in comparison, provides a clear indication of the context in which the skill-set will be employed.Research implicationsThe adoption of a descriptor that, by definition, includes the target behaviour will improve the profile of collaborative competencies so that they can be afforded greater legitimacy within the project management environment, as well as the education system that supports the profession.
Synopsis Society stands on the threshold of the 4th Industrial Revolution, a change that will see Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Robotisation (bots) take a central role in global economic and labour markets. The profession on project management must be impacted by these changes, and this research explores whether Australian Universities are preparing project managers to be 'job-ready' in this light of this Relevance for Research and Education This research explores the current project management education offerings in Australian Universities and compares these to current and/or future developments project management AI, ML and Bot technology. Research Design This research uses a Grounded Theory methodology. Two data were collected and analysed. The first data were gathered from current project management courses offered by Australian Universities. These were categorised by the subjects offered and the duration of each course. The second data were gathered from project management "Educators", "Developers" and 'Practitioners" and explored the types of knowledge and skills these groups expected would be required in the coming 1,3,5 and 10-year time horizons. The data from each analysis was reviewed using a comparative assessment of education offerings against current and future project management skills. Main Findings This research concludes that the field of project management will see AI, ML and Bots having a significant impact on both 'hard skill' and 'soft skill' based tasks and processes within the next five - ten years. The research finds conclude that Australian Universities have, at best, 3 'teaching cycles' to make the necessary changes, and that a failure to change project management curricula within the next five years will result in university graduates who are not 'job-ready' for the profession of project management Research Implications Our research has implications for both project management educators and practitioners. We found the impacts of the 4th industrial Revolution have the potential to significantly change the requirements for project management education and practice
Synopsis This paper explores the relationship between social networks and change management in organisations with egocentric network properties, namely structure, position, and tie. It contributes a theoretical development network-based model for understanding such relationships and demonstrates how data from a survey tool can be used to demonstrate these relationships. The study offers insights into patterns of interaction within organisations and between network members in organisations, demonstrating that social network analysis alone cannot capture the diversity of structural elements within egocentric network properties. Relevance for practice/education Utilising social network theories such as degree centrality, structural holes and strength of strong ties a theoretical model is developed. The model incorporates essential aspects of social network theory to explain the relationship between the management of change in projects and social network properties. The model is capable of underpinning and shaping strategic change in organisations. Research Design Many theories advocate the importance of social network attributes and the management of change in organisations. The influence of informal networks on performance within an organization at individual, team or organizational level can be significant. Increasingly, executives in organisations developing collaboration in knowledge-intensive work, flexibility, and a de-layered hierarchical structure realise they require knowledge of informal networks amongst their employees. Based on network and change management theories we extend classical social network studies and develop a model to help understand the relationship between employee networks and change management. Key Findings We find that employee networks impact an organisation's performance and has implications for managing organisational change. This is in substantial agreement with previous studies. These findings are useful for researchers and help them understand how social network attributes can influence the management of change in organisations using a social networks perspective that is both empirically and theoretically motivated.
