Instutional Affiliation
Part 1: Existing Studies
Alias, Z., Zawawi, E. M. A., Yusof, K., & Aris, N. M. (2014). Determining critical success factors of project management practice: A conceptual framework. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 153, 61-69. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.10.041
This source identifies five different variables that define project success; the researchers define these variables as project management action, procedures, human factors, external issues, and project related factors. The researchers define these factors as critical for success, and without synchronization, the researchers project failures in processes. This gives both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of project management and project management processes. This is one of the essential conceptual frameworks that will be used to build this particular study regarding construction projects in the UAE.
El-Sayegh, S. M. (2008). Risk assessment and allocation in the UAE construction industry. International Journal of Project Management, 26(4), 431-438. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.07.004
This study investigated social, political, and cultural risks and found them to be insignificant in the completion of the project, but that risk and risk allocation is very important in the UAE. Much of the risk is allocated to contractors, with only two of the risks associated with the owners. Risk allocation is important in the completion of the project. The risks associated with project planning must be allocated appropriately.
Gibson, G. E. Jr., Yu-Ren, W., Chung-Suk, C., & Pappas, M. P. (2006). What is preproject planning, anyway? Journal of Management in Engineering, 22(1), 35-42. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2006)22:1(35)
This is a quantitative study that investigates the role of pre-project planning in the overall delivery of the project. This project was focused on the United States, and covered fourteen years of projects in the industry. It presents recommendations and conclusions based on the overall outcomes of the projects. This is a useful source because it is based on the construction industry, even though it does not focus on the UAE. The pre-project planning phase is essential because it structures the rest of the project; if the pre-planning project phase is not completed properly, then the rest of the project is likely to fall off-track.
Harris, F. & McCaffer, R. (2013). Modern Construction Management (7th ed.). Oxford: John Wiley & Sons.
The textbook reflects the current best practice for construction managers, which is excellent as the research for this particular industry continuously changes. The construction industry requires traditional management skills, but changes in engineering structures have also affected the project management structure for construction in recent years. This is an excellent text that provides structure regarding the most ethical and responsible CSR practices for construction management.
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project management: The managerial process.
This text overviews both the technical and behavioral issues that are associated with project management. Although this text is not specific to construction project management, project management principles generally remain consistent philosophically across disciplines. As changes occur, the text is updated to reflect new project management pedagogical structures.
Mazarr, M. J. (2016). Risk and Uncertainty. In Rethinking Risk in National Security (pp. 51-64). New York, NY: Macmillan.
A significant part of project management is financial planning, and there are undoubtedly financial risks associated with project planning. Long-term financial risk is also assumed when a construction project is begun, and offsetting this risk is essential. This is a qualitative piece of research that investigates a number of the most important philosophical underpinnings of financial risk and uncertainty. This does not discuss financial risk in regards to project management specifically, but it does focus heavily on the overarching goal of offsetting risk and uncertainty in large-scale project management, which is fundamentally important in construction project management. It also underscores the need to understand uncertainty as an issue in risk management.
Taleb, N. N. (2010). The black swan–the impact of the highly improbable. London: Penguin.
This is a mixed qualitative and quantitative examination of the issues that are associated with financial risk and uncertainty. The book talks extensively about the role of the unpredicted in the course of an event or a project. It is heavily focused on the financial crisis and the reasons behind the crisis, but the project management impacts are clear.
Zaneldin, E. K. (2006). Construction claims in United Arab Emirates: Types, causes, and frequency. International Journal of Project Management, 24(5), 453-459. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.02.006
This construction industry in the UAE is booming, and the number of claims that are occurring in the construction industry in the UAE are also occurring. These claims can affect the outcome of projects in the construction industry. This study is quantitative and looks at a number of claims for a variety of projects and recommendations were developed that are designed to prevent the number of claims in the construction industry.
Two Questions for Consideration:
What are the most common risks associated with construction project management in the UAE? Are they different for the UAE, or are risks universal?
In the construction industry, project managers make numerous decisions that affect deliverables. How can a project manager offset the delay of deliverables without accumulating too much risk?
Part 2: Quantitative Proposal
Qualitative Research Question
The overarching research question for this proposed study is: What are those successful strategies some UAE-based project managers use?
Quantitative Research Question
Independent variables: Claims made, benchmarks not met
Dependent Variable: Risk-taking behaviors, as defined by the literature
Do the number of benchmarks unmet and claims made in the UAE construction industry affect the risk-taking behaviors utilized by project managers?
Null Hypothesis
H0. Failure to meet deadlines or time-sensitive benchmarks has no effect on safety incidents on the UAE-based construction sites.
Alternative Hypothesis
H1. The UAE-based project managers exhibit higher rates of risk-taking behaviors when faced with a failure to meet time-sensitive benchmarks during construction projects.
H2. The UAE-based project managers take deliberate and targeted action that increases the likelihood of meeting further benchmarks when a time-sensitive project benchmark is missed during a project.
H3. Failure to meet time-sensitive benchmarks during construction is correlated with the number of safety-related incidents on the UAE-based construction sites.
Experimental Methodology
These questions will be investigated using a quantitative analysis of the data available regarding the overall construction industry in the UAE. The experimental design will rely on surveys and the quantitative data that is gathered by the industry as a whole. This idea can be tested using traditional experimental design, particularly focusing on the analysis of data on pre-existing projects; the focus will be on establishing a quantitative analytical framework for the study. Participants will be recruited in the most active construction companies in the industry, based on how active they are in projects and specialty. This data will give insight into the behaviors of specific project managers and their behaviors when faced with certain risky situations. The population target size will be ten different project managers from different firms. Ideally, these ten project managers will have worked on projects of approximately the same size and scope: the project will focus on commercial building projects worth between $50-$100 million USD. The limited scope of the projects will allow for better comparison of measurement metrics between projects. The quality and reliability of the data will be established because the data will be gathered through a number of different sources—the construction industry, out of necessity, keeps large amounts of project data. Random sampling of projects fitting these characteristics will be used, ensuring that there is no favoritism in the selection process for the data. Ideally, the data will use regression and correlation analysis to determine the relationships between the variables in the research question. First, data will be managed and organized; next, it will be read in its appropriate categories, further integrating the data into the research question. Next, the research will be interpreted and classified using context, categories and comparisons; the final step for the data will be the representation of the data using a visual medium. The goal for this project will be to accumulate project data from a number of different projects—some completed on time and some not completed on time—and address the factors that led to successful or unsuccessful completion. The target audience will be other project managers, as the goal will be to establish best practices in the face of risky situations. The goal of this study is to provide a culturally-specific look into the realities faced by project managers on construction sites in the UAE; the realizations gleaned in this research will likely be applicable to project managers in different countries as well, however.
References
Alias, Z., Zawawi, E. M. A., Yusof, K., & Aris, N. M. (2014). Determining critical success factors of project management practice: A conceptual framework. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 153, 61-69. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.10.041
El-Sayegh, S. M. (2008). Risk assessment and allocation in the UAE construction industry. International Journal of Project Management, 26(4), 431-438. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.07.004
Gibson, G. E. Jr., Yu-Ren, W., Chung-Suk, C., & Pappas, M. P. (2006). What is preproject planning, anyway? Journal of Management in Engineering, 22(1), 35-42. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2006)22:1(35)
Harris, F. & McCaffer, R. 2001. Modem Construction Management (7th ed.). Oxford: John Wiley & Sons.
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project management: The managerial process.
Mazarr, M. J. (2016). Risk and Uncertainty. In Rethinking Risk in National Security (pp. 51-64). New York, NY: Macmillan.
Taleb, N. N. (2010). The black swan–the impact of the highly improbable. London: Penguin.
Zaneldin, E. K. (2006). Construction claims in United Arab Emirates: Types, causes, and frequency. International Journal of Project Management, 24(5), 453-459. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.02.006
