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Browsing Masters by Subject ", Ghanaian Construction"

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    Empirical understanding of the status of professional project management practices in the Ghanaian building industry
    (2013-08-28) Kissi, Ernest
    Professional project management practice has become a vital discipline in the modern construction practices in the world over all. The antecedent of its practice and application is perceived by practitioners and researches as vehicle for efficient goods and services delivery in the construction industry. In this perspective, professional project management has been practiced in the Ghanaian Building Industry since the 1980s; since the first attempt was made, not much has been done in the practical application and regulation of the practice. Moreover, stakeholders appear to be confused of what constitute the professional practice and application of project management in the industry. Today, the adoption of the project management practice has extended to the business and manufacturing sector in Ghana but yet it practice remains not well regularized from being fully integrated into the Ghanaian Building Industry. This study sought to identify the challenges and opportunities for effective project management practice in the Ghanaian Building Industry (GBI) by adopting two stages data collection entailing qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative help in identifying eighteen project management variables that stakeholders believe are posing challenges to good project management practices in Ghana. To help understand these factors better, factor analysis was used to analyse the eighteen factors identified. The findings highlighted on five major constraints to the development of PMPP namely: weak project management knowledge base; lack of clearly defined role for project managers; poor procurement management practices; weak institutional framework and poor communication management. Descriptive data collected also revealed that even though the conditions of contract for medium-size projects made mention of the title project manager for public sector works, the practice of the project management is yet to be fully integrated into Building Industry in Ghana. The study concludes with six (6) most significant strategies geared towards the improving of the professional project management practices in GBI. These strategies includes the following: i) setting-up of regulatory institutions ii) encouraging stakeholder's engagement and round table discussions among project participants, iii) policy makers recognising the benefits of the practice and enforcing procurement laws iv) encouraging continuous professional developments, v) awareness creation among organisations and institutions; and vi) developing an attitude at the corporate level by treating any assignment as project management task. It is anticipated that the conclusion made in this study will provide a basis for new strategies to promote the development of professional project management practices in Ghana.