British High-Speed Railway Project - Case Study Example

British High Speed Railway Project Introduction In responding to the increasing pressure of busy railways,and the doubling of demand for rail travel, the British government embarked on a multi-billion pound railway project in January 2012. What is more, Britain’s population is predicted to increase by more than 10 million people in the next 25 years (Cleland and Ireland, 2007). The administration identified that good transport networks strengthen the economy. Lives are made miserable and travel opportunities constrained by unreliable and congested transport networks. Consequently, the economy suffers because of restricted growth. This paper seeks to explore the nature and form of the 16 billion euros High Speed 2 (HS2) railway project that will pass through several centers, including London Euston, North East England, Central belt of Scotland, among others (Mentel and Meredith, 2012). The aim of the analysis is to assess the project alongside some fundamental issues and the various associated challenges. An evaluation of how the issues have been managed will also be presented. Issues and Challenges in the Initiation Stage; Legal Challenges The government of Britain established the HS2 Limited and put the management and completion of the multi-billion railway program under its care. The company has already developed accessible, non-technical, and user friendly guide to the policies and strategies developed for the project. The company acts as the sole representative of the government, representing it in all the route consultations, and other types of consultations. Simon Kirby was appointed as the HS2 Construction Chief to supervise the implementation of the British High Speed (HS2) project (Tavani, 2007). An evaluation of the initiation stage of the British High Speed (HS2) project reveals considerable levels of tension and opposition against the project’s take-off. Legal challenges as well as property compensation concerns pushed the cost of initiating the project higher, apart from expanding the scope of parameters for the government (Kezner, 2009). Various analysts have argued that the legal processes associated with the implementation stage of the project consumed a lot of unnecessary time and other resources. This section seeks to explore whether the project was able to achieve its goals and objectives against the backdrop of the high opposition level of the political class and the wider public. The issue of property and compensation can be analyzed from two perspectives. The issue can be classified both as a legal issue and as a political issue. This is because its political dimension has resulted in unnecessary bureaucratic procedures that have increased cost implications for the handlers of the British High Speed (HS2) project (Pinto, 2013). The matter will be discussed in detail in the following section. With respect to legal challenges, the issue has caused the HS2 Limited both time and money in participating in the various legal suits pertaining to compensation. Extreme compensation demands have led to lengthy court procedures (Kousholt, 2007). Some quarters have been observed to oppose various government proposals for compensation programs along the British High Speed (HS2) project lines. Various signatories and groups have challenged, in court, the mode of developing the proposals (Kousholt, 2007). They are calling for a new mode of planning, design, and public engagement. The legal suit was sponsored by four groups, namely HS2 Action Alliance, Aylesbury Golf Club, Heathrow Hub, and 51M. The legal challenges are associated with the consultation process, the economic case for the route, and the mode and nature of compensation (Kousholt, 2007). ------------------------- Legal challenges like compensation claims and breach of environmental standards have increased the length of the initiation stage. Legal challenges have led to injuctions, which have stalled project activities. Lack of political-goodwill Lack of political goodwill has greatly undermined the initiation stage of the British High Speed (HS2) project. This has caused the project to suffer a negative public image because of the perception and the tension created among the masses. Failure to attract enough public endorsement has led to failure to secure or delays in securing legislative backing for the project (Edmond and Steins, 2011). Consequently, these issues have contributed to promoting time constraints in the initiation stage of the British High Speed (HS2) project. The leadership of HS2 Limited has identified that there exist three major challenges for the initiation stage, as well as the immediate future (Edmond and Steins, 2011). Firstly, the management is yet to complete a public consultation program that requires the handlers of the project to listen and respond to the concerns of the public. This should be followed by the development of frameworks that will address the concerns (Choudhury, 2008). Secondly, the handlers are also expected to complete all the required studies as per international standards within a set time frame, and lastly, the handlers are obliged to provide Justine Greening (the secretary of state) with the necessary backing in her effort to introduce the hybrid bill to parliament (Choudhury, 2008). All these efforts are aimed at securing public and parliament (constitutional) backing for a smooth take off (Nagarajan, 2005). Though such issues were not expected by many analysts, the parameters are demanding even for the skilled and the sizeable team at the HS2 Limited. The lack of political good will can affect the implementation rate of a project (Choudhury, 2008). This is because most multi-billion projects are political in nature because they are connected with campaign promises. This insinuates that when the political process does not amass enough political backing for the project, it can delay its implementation process (Choudhury, 2008). Moreover, such projects are costly, and are tied to lengthy bureaucratic procedures. Their procurement processes are always the center of political debates. The circumstances around the implementation of such projects end up causing more delay in implementing the projects (Choudhury, 2008). Also scams and corruption tendencies around the projects cause controversies that lead to other disciplinary, investigative, and other formal procedures that are unrelated to the implementation of the project. Politics play a central role in such projects, and unmanaged political processes impact negatively on such projects by causing unnecessary delays (Choudhury, 2008). Communication The government’s failure in communication can also be evaluated in terms of failure to align the British High Speed (HS2) project plans with the overall growth implications. The government’s initiative of campaigning for the benefits of the project is very wanting. Though, the project signifies future economic development and growth, a failure to communicate this fact can attract considerable opposition from public spheres. They would even go to the extent of openly campaigning against the project, thereby causing the masses to follow in the same suit (Tonnquist, 2009). Communication assumes a crucial role in keeping projects on the right track (Field and Keller, 2008). It helps to communicate the project’s plans both to the public and the handlers. In short, communication completes the network in connecting all the stakeholders who are involved with the implementation of various projects. The nature of communication in a project reflects the distance between the project’s success and failure (Dayner, 2014). This is because communication offers the means through which information can be interchanged from one medium to another. Projects usually adopt various forms of communication, like the face-to-face communication, technological assisted communication like mobile phones, emails, and paper based type of communication. Communication is crucial in communicating the plans, aims, objectives, benefits, guidelines, and other parameters (Dayner, 2014). If the public is amply informed on the benefits of a particular project, they are less likely to exert opposition. This communication should also include clear and fair compensations schemes with respect to the level of interference that the project will cause. It is always argued that projects will go a long way in changing the current state of life by making it better. In this light, the costs and challenges are always outweighed by the benefits (Dayner, 2014). However, the management of the projects should ensure that there are clear consultative channels set in place to handle the concerns and needs of the public. With advancements in information technology, it only becomes of utmost importance to align with modern communication aspects like email, online social networks, live chatting sites, and others. Adopting modern communication is beneficial as it goes a long way in channeling information rapidly. Clearer and rapid forms of communication are good signs for projects because of the rapid delivery process (Choudhury, 2008). Leadership The implementation of strategic goals an plan requires the application of team effort headed by the project leadership team. Each person involved in the process of change management is charged with a specific responsibility. Communication is crucial is ensuring that the entire team understands the role of leadership in the strategic implementation of the project (Kousholt, 2007). It is the responsibility of the management to assess the input of each stakeholder and measure it against some established form of performance evaluation. Management is required to establish a structure that identifies frameworks for supervision, guidance, as well as performance contracts to ensure that effectiveness and efficiency is attained in the course of the implementation (Kousholt, 2007). The leadership of British High Speed (HS2) project can be assessed both from a negative angle and from a positive angle. This is because the project’s leadership can be connected to the success of the implementation of the initiation stage. Weaknesses of the project can help to explain the failed leadership of HS2 Limited and the government at large in winning public opinion and support (Heldman, 2011). Apart from the professional capacity forwarded by leadership, it also brings along the vast experience that can be used to attain high degrees of efficiency. In 2012, the government of Britain appointed Kirby Simon as the new chief executive officer concerned with construction implications. Simon joined the British High Speed (HS2) project from Network Rail where he was the managing director of Infrastructure Projects (Heldman, 2011). He has an extensive experience in project management, and has been in charge of 5 billion euros per annum investment programs which were tasked with the improvement of the country’s railway system. Leadership is always blamed when the project does not achieve desirable results, or when a project does not reach successful completion (Heldman, 2011). Various past projects and programs in the past have shown that the performance of leadership is crucial in the success and failure implications of various projects. British government’s determination to press ahead with the multi-billion project was undermined with the exit of the former HS2 Limited chairman; “Captain Invisible.” The former chairman’s leadership was terminated because of issues related to misappropriation of funds (Heldman, 2011). The former chairman, Doug Oakervee was set to leave the company at the end of the year following a dreadful summer that saw the costs of the project go up (Heldman, 2011). Conclusion This paper has satisfied its objective by offering a discussion of various theoretical frameworks and practices associated with most projects. The paper has also offered a discussion of how the various theoretical frameworks apply to the High Speed railway project. The paper has shown how the initiation stage was marred by various tensions accruing from political discontentment and legal challenges. The implementation was also marred by leadership and communication difficulties (Kloppenburh, 2000). The paper identifies that the mitigation/ project management procedures helped the project to successfully pass the initiation stage. The paper recommends that the measures should be applied in other areas and stages of the British High Speed railway Project. Communication and leadership theme. Leadership and communication go hand in hand. An effective leader should also reflect efficient communication skills.Communication acts as the heart of the supervision process. 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