Abstract
[Doctoral Study Title]
[your official name]
BS, [university], 200X
Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
[last month of quarter you plan to graduate] 200X
Background
Megaprojects have become a significant issue in the economic and infrastructural development of projects nationwide. An estimated 8% of the global GDP is made up of megaproject related funds and they have become the primary vehicle for the creation and delivery of a variety of social infrastructural projects including “water and energy, information technology, industrial processing plants, mining, supply chains, enterprise systems, strategic corporate initiatives and change programs, mergers and acquisitions, government administrative systems, banking, defense, intelligence, air and space exploration, big science, urban regeneration, and major events.” (Flybjerg, 2014). Given that these projects make up such a substantial sector, it is essential that they be meaningfully controlled and appropriately executed.
Unfortunately, historically, megaprojects have a history of significant overspending, or failing to meet the budgetary constraints, and timelines, originally established for the project (Flybjerg, 2014). A study by Kardes, Ozturk, Cavusgil, & Cavusgil, (2013) worked to identify the primary characteristics of megaprojects, the factors that contribute to negative outcomes, or missing benchmarks and a potential framework for risk management through increase managerial prescription. Specifically, thru found that adopting successful risk management, can improve success rates, and overall alter the course of the project.
One specific case study of this phenomenon can be seen in risk assessment for, and management of risks, as they relate to highway construction projects in the UAE. A study conducted by El-ayegh & Mansour (2015) carefully considered the specific risks associated with these projects. A total of thirty- three risk were identified from previous research, and a questionnaire developed to find what construction professionals felt were the significance of those risks and their impact on benchmark accomplishment (El-ayegh & Mansour, 2015). They found that the most significant risks, in terms of prioritization, included “most significant risks include inefficient planning, unexpected ground utilities, quality and integrity of design, delays in approvals, and delays in expropriations” (El-ayegh & Mansour, 2015).
Expanding on this concept, Boateng, Chen, & Oguniana (2015) worked to create a process model for prioritizing the risks involved in a megaproject, all of which increase the likelihood that the project will be unable to reach the benchmarks set for its completion. The study found that social, technical, economic, environmental, and political factors all played a role in the success of the project, during the construction phase, and that the more complex the risk profile for the project the more likely that it would run over on both time and budget (Boateng, Chen, & Oguniana, 2015). More specifically, they collected three years of data from projects during the construction phase to develop an ANP process model regarding risk factors, and determined that risks must be prioritized individually for each project in order for success to be impacted (Boateng, Chen, & Oguniana, 2015). These findings were supported by the research of Eweje, Turner, and Muller (2012) who determined that the value of projects erodes as projects miss their benchmarks, and so the overall success of the project is driven by the project manager. More specifically, the study found that there were four key risk areas which needed to be more closely controlled including government relations, community relations, contract management, and procurement. As such, the amount of information a project manager has, which can be used to evaluate and control these risk factors, and how he uses that information to make strategic decisions for the mega project significantly impact project outcome (Eweje, Turner, and Muller, 2012).
A study by Nahyan and his peers (2012) confirms these findings. They conducted a study concerning the major management issues that effect the construction of transportation infrastructure in the UAE, and the resulting ability to complete projects successfully. The study found that megaprojects demand the active involvement of stakeholders (Nahyan, Sohal, Fildes, & Hawas, 2012). More specifically, as the complexity of the project increase, so does the significance of knowledge sharing and communication between key stakeholders. This communication allows leaders to make strategic and informed decisions, and to delegate authority down through the mega-projects organization, so that the design, planning, and construction can move forward as established by its benchmarks (Nahyan et al., 2012).
More specifically, these studies, when taken together highlight that risk, resulting uncertainty, and then the governance or decision making that occurs as a result, are all directly tied to project success. In keeping with these determinations, a study by Sanderson (2012) found that performace could be described as it relates to governance, or management, solutions. They specifically considered the impact of “explanations and solutions by examining authors’ epistemological assumptions about decision-maker cognition and about decision-maker views on the nature of the future. It argues that despite important differences in their epistemological orientation,” as means of determining the impacted of farsighted decision making. (Sanderson, 2012). They found that there was a major gap in research which does not consider the importance of governing, over the importance of specifc risks, and suggest that a projects-as-practice approach be taken in the future (Sanderson, 2012). This means that there must be increased research on how management and organization impact the manager’s ability to control risk factors, and negative outcomes.
Problem Statement
Megaprojects are those that cost more than $1 billion and propose to offer attract a large range of investor types. When one considers that it is common for overruns of up to 50% to occur, it is clear that projects are not being as efficient, or project leaders as effective, as is necessary for maximized profitability (Flybjerg, 2014). The general problem is that those who work on megaprojects are often under huge amounts of pressure to promise delivery, but because of their complexity project managers are struggling to adhere to safety measures, time constraints, and budgetary ceilings as they move the project towards completion. The specific business problem is that megaproject managers often lack the skills or strategies required to effectively address the uncertainties the surround the task of creation. Therefore, two crucial dimensions are key factors for success: organization and risk management (Kardes, Ozturk, Cavusgil, & Cavusgil, 2013, Flybjerg, 2016; Hu, Chan & Lee, 2014).
Purpose Statement
The previous research has focused on the construction industry, particularly on its scopes, costs, schedules, and uncertainties. In contrast, however, the purpose of this study is to continue that discussion, shifting the focus toward application of project management principles in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Directly related to the topic of project management costs, schedules, risks, and uncertainty management are the claims and other setbacks that construction industry project managers encounter can be minimized through effective management. Therefore, it is important to understand fully how these specific setbacks emerge and how one can address them using the best project management strategies known, based on current best practices in the industry such as the promotion of sustainability among others. This is significant because it can allow project managers to establish a new framework for organization and management of mega projects, to increase bid accuracy, and project profitability overall.
Research Question
The primary research question is: Does missed benchmarks and claims made in the UAE construction industry contribute to project managers’ risky behavior
Independent variables: Claims made, benchmarks not met
Dependent Variable: Risk-taking behaviors, as defined by the literature
Null Hypothesis
H0. Missed benchmarks and claims made in the UAE construction industry do not contribute to project mangers’ risky behavior”
Alternative Hypothesis
H1. Missed benchmarks and claims made in the UAE construction industry do contribute to project mangers’ risky behavior
Experimental Methodology
These questions will be investigated, based on quantitative analysis of the data available regarding the construction of UAE’s megaprojects. The experimental design will rely on surveys and the quantitative data that is gathered by researchers regarding the industry as a whole. This idea can be tested using traditional experimental design, particularly focusing on the analysis of data from current construction 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 and complex situations. The population target size will be 10 different project managers from different firms. Ideally, these 10 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. 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 since the data will be gathered by double-blind researchers through semi-structured interviews—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.
Generally, data will be managed and organized; then, it will be read in its appropriate categories, further integrating the data into the research question. Thereafter, the research will be interpreted and classified using context, categories and comparisons; and the final step for the data will be the representation of the data using a visual medium. More specifically, the analysis of data will follow the following procedure (Cresswell, 2014).
Step 1: The number of respondents who elected not to respond to the full interview will be reported. This will report the number of respondents vs. non-respondents and will provide a tool for complete understanding of the participant responsiveness.
Step 2: The impact of non-response and the resulting bias will be addressed.
Step 3: Descriptive statistics will be calculated, and their meaning explored, as it relates to the research questions.
Step 4: Computer generated models will be used to analyze and create meaning from the data.
Step 5: Data will be presented, in a results table, and interpreted.
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 and complex situations. The goal of this study is to provide a culturally-specific look into the realities faced by project managers in construction sites in the UAE. The realizations gleaned in this research will likely be applicable to project managers in different countries as well.
Significance of the Study
This study is of value, in the business sector, because the megaprojects have such a large economic impact, globally, so it is important for those involved in the key stakeholder, or supply chain, position to understand how megaprojects operate, what their needs and risk factors are, and what framework is being, or should be, used for decision-making in order to preserve the integrity of the project. By doing so, the profitability, timeline, and safety of these projects will be improved overall, and the global economy, as well as the local economy will benefit.
More specifically, the study contributes to effective practice of business by creating a more meaningful framework of the way that project management, and strategy management practices, can be implemented to improve execution of large projects. This would lead to social change through faster, more efficient and more affordable improvement to infrastructure and completion of social projects. This improves quality of life, and paves the way for future projects to be executed well.
References
Boateng, P., Chen, Z., & Ogunlana, S. O. (2015). An Analytical Network Process model for risks prioritisation in megaprojects. International Journal of Project Management, 33(8), 1795-1811. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.08.007
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
El-Sayegh, S. and Mansour, M. (2015). "Risk Assessment and Allocation in Highway Construction Projects in the UAE." J. Manage. Eng., 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000365, 04015004.
Eweje, J., Turner, R., & Müller, R. (2012). Maximizing strategic value from megaprojects: The influence of information-feed on decision-making by the project manager. International Journal of Project Management, 30(6), 639-651. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.01.004
Flyvbjerg, B. (2014), What you should know about megaprojects and why: An overview, Project Management Journal, 45 (2): 6-19, DOI:10.1002/pmj.21409
Flyvbjerg, B. (2016). Oxford handbook of megaproject management. Oxford.: Oxford Univ Press.
Hu, Y., Chan, A. P., & Le, Y. (2015). Understanding the Determinants of Program Organization for Construction Megaproject Success: Case Study of the Shanghai Expo Construction. Journal of Management in Engineering J. Manage. Eng., 31(5), 05014019. doi:10.1061/(asce)me.1943-5479.0000310
Kardes, I., Ozturk, A., Cavusgil, S. T., & Cavusgil, E. (2013). Managing global megaprojects: Complexity and risk management. International Business Review, 22(6), 905-917. doi:10.1016/j.ibusrev.2013.01.003
Nahyan, M. T., Sohal, A. S., Fildes, B. N., & Hawas, Y. E. (2012). Transportation infrastructure development in the UAE: Stakeholder perspectives on management practice. Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management, 12(4), 492-514. doi:10.1108/14714171211272234
Sanderson, J. (2012). Risk, uncertainty and governance in megaprojects: A critical discussion of alternative explanations. International Journal of Project Management, 30(4), 432-443. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.11.002
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