How Poor Management of External Stakeholders Affect the Scope of the Project - Research Paper Example

Module: Research methods Research proposal: How poor management of external stakeholders affect the scope of the project INTRODUCTION Project management is the management discipline entitled to produce a unique outcome within defined scope, time and resources (Kerzner, 2013). Easier said than done, effective project management requires considering wide range of factors in order to arrive at the intended project outcome. Failure to comply with any of these factors involved in the project management can turn the project into failure in the form of incompletion of the project within defined and planned time, scope and resources. Each of these is linked to each other and is also affected by other related factors. Among large number of factors that result in such failures, management of stakeholders is very critical and requires consistent strategy as well as management for the purpose of aligning the entire internal and external team on single page. The consequent impact of bad management or mismanagement of stakeholders resultantly causes inability to define the scope of the project which in turn causes the delays in the project, and or increases the cost of the project etc. Failure of the project often results as a consequence of the failure in identifying due stakeholders and their respective jobs (Achterkamp, and Vos, 2008). In the similar vein, this project proposal is aimed to propose the assess the impact of bad management of stakeholders on the project success/ failure in terms of scope of the project HHR (Haramain High Speed Railway) project in Saudi Arabia. OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT The Haramain High Speed Railway is a world class high speed railway transport system that is under construction. The railway system includes the implementation, that is, design, construction and operation, will link Makkah to Medina through Jeddah, Rabigh and King Abdul-Aziz Economic City in about two and a half hours at an operational speed of 300 km/h. The passenger railway line 440 km in length is designed to carry out a daily traffic of 123,600 passengers between Makkah and Medina in 2022, and 210,000 passengers by 2042. The railway system will help reduce traffic congestion on the roads by carrying about three million passengers including Hajj pilgrims. In addition, this project will generate both employment and wealth. On behalf of the Ministry of transport and the sponsor Ministry of finance, the project was planned to be implemented in two phases with various contracts, under the supervision of the Saudi railways organisation. For the phase one, the civil works in charge of the construction of civil works for the route such as earth work and bridges has been awarded to one Consortium of four contractors, three Saudi companies and one Chinese company. The work started in April 2009 for a total period of three years and total value of 6.5 billion Saudi Riyal. For the phase two, the construction of four passenger stations was awarded to one Saudi-Turkish Consortium of two companies, Jeddah central and King Abdullah Economic City awarded to Saudi consortium of two companies. The jobs not defined in the above two contracts was then awarded in the third contract entitled trains and railway infrastructure/ The trains and railway infrastructure and systems that encompasses all civil and infrastructure work that was not included in phase one, procurement of rolling stock, tracks and systems, in addition to operation and maintenance of the transportation system for a period of 12 years after commissioning. This contract was awarded to Saudi-Spanish Consortium in January 2012 for a total of 34 months. The Operation Control Centre (OCC) located in the area of the Jeddah Station was intended to ensure and control a high level of safety and security through monitoring by several integrated systems, the automatic train traffic control and security functions, telecommunications network in order to provide radio contact between train and ground, providing on board and on ground security systems with many functions and services. The Supervisory Control and Data Control that will monitor the power supply systems , a Closed Circuit Television system that will be used to monitor the whole railway line and building security systems. The minimum spacing between the trains is set at four minutes and according to the train performance calculations, the travel time between each station has been evaluated as 21 minutes between Makkah and Jeddah central, 14 minutes between Jeddah central and King Abdul-Aziz International Airport, 46 minutes between Jeddah central and King Abdullah Economic City, 36minutes between King Abdullah Economic City, and 61 minutes between King Abdullah Economic City and Medina. The service patterns for the original 2012 plan according to the traffic assumption and assuming 480 seats per unit, the number of trains per hour will be six trains per hour from Makkah to Jeddah, four trains per hour between Jeddah to King Abdullah Economic City including three trains per hour between Jeddah to King Abdul-Aziz International Airport, and two trains per hour between King Abdullah Economic Airport and Medina central. In 2042, it is expected that the service patterns will be six trains per hour between Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City including three trains between Jeddah and King Abdul-Aziz International Airport. There will be three trains between King Abdullah Economic City and Medina central. A high performance entry and exit gate up to 40 passengers per minute will be provided by the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC). It will provide a high performance ticket office machine and ticket vending machine. The AFC equipment will be installed to enable complete visual surveillance from the Station Control Room or the ticket offices. The system is based on compulsory reservation for any traveller. Any mode of payment will be allowed ranging from coins, bank notes, debit and credit cards. There will be a variety of tickets leaflets contact-less cards, and magnetic tickets. The AFC system will be expandable to allow selling agencies. Ticket reservations will also be made through the internet. The Passenger Information System composed of the display system and public address system will supply information to passengers about the trains’ timetable, train information and the general information. CHALLENGES FACED BY PROJECTS In contrast to the above planned system for project, shows massive disruption. For the phase of Civil work, the contractor got financial variation of more than 100% to have the total cost exceeding 13.5 billion and the construction period has been doubled. In depth analysis revealed various factors as underlying reasons for such variations. The original alignment has been rerouted many times, number of culverts more than doubled because of poor original hydrological study. The lack of integration and alignment with the processes of land lords, utilities owners, permits from public authorities. In addition to this, internal conflicts between consortium members was another challenges faced by the business. Additionally, lack of management skills and experience of the clients and the consultant teams contributed to the inability to achieve the desired results of completion of project within defined time, cost and scope. On the other hand, the phase two of the project is facing many challenges and resultantly, the total cost of the 4 stations is 10 billion royal and the total duration is 24 months but is has been exceeded by more than 12 months and extra cost in incurred. Also, the extra cost is still disputed between the owner and the contractors. As a consequence of all these above factors, the third contract as defined above also resulted in the delay as compared to the planned period of 34 months. Different factors contributed to the delay include delays in the work of phase one (civil works), lack of integration and consequently resulting conflicts among the involved parties, the lack of the international experience of the Spanish railway companies; and finally, the technical complexity of the project systems. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES From the detailing of the issues and challenges faced by the three contract and two phases of the project, it can be concluded that across the board the project faced lack of integration of the direct and indirect involved parties. More specifically, the parties can be defined as the stakeholders and hence, there was considerable different between the stakeholders involved in the project. For instance, the while planning the project and determining its cost aspect integrated stakeholder would h have provided comparatively accurate cost estimations which in turn would have saved the cost overrun by 100% in the civil works phase. Similar goes for the other phases as the stakeholder were not found on the single page and wavelength which has resulted in the conflicts and consequently the deviations in the estimated and actual cost, time and scope was notified. This sets the backdrop the study for the identification of the effective management of stakeholders plan and its impact on the scope of the project. Hence, the underlying research questions of the study can be defined as follows: 1- How the failure to effectively integrate stakeholders towards the single scope of the project can result in the failure of the project? 2- How the inabilities of the internal stakeholders of the project in managing external stakeholder lead towards the disruption of the project scope? 3- What are consequences of inability of managing stakeholders on cost and time of the project? 4- What are the stakeholders’ management techniques can play an effective role avoiding such failures in completing the project within defined scope? With these research objectives, following research objectives are set forth: 1- Defining pattern for aligning for aligning all the stakeholders (both internal and external) toward the single scope in order to reduce the failure chances. 2- Developing eligibility criteria that must be accounted for the internal stakeholders to manage external stakeholders and consequently controlling the deviation in the project scope, time and cost. 3- Recommending stakeholders’ management system for the project to overcome challenge and probabilities of failure in future projects. As evident from the above set the research objectives and aforementioned research questions, the study revolve around the role of the stakeholders in general and role of internal stakeholder in specific in defining the project completion within defined scope. As a matter of fact, the project is already delayed and had faced cost overrun. Therefore, the recommendations that will be developed on the completion of this report will be presented to complete the project from now onwards. INDICATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW The process by which a project is defined and prepared is referred to as project scope. This aids to determine whether or not to proceed with the project (Luckey and Philips, 2006). In the early stages, a complete scope definition in a project’s life cycle enables an easy construction project in the development process. A good scope definition will lead to satisfaction by project stakeholders (Kloppenborg, 2014). A variety of interests can be affected either negatively or positively by the developing of the project. Many projects fail in cost, schedule and operational characteristics due to poor scope definition (Atkinson, Crawford, and Ward, 2006). A stakeholder approach theory developed by Edward Freeman (1984) is meant to build a structure that is responsive to the concerns of managers who were being stricken by unexpected changes (Mainardes, Alves, and Raposo, 2011). Different stakeholders have different levels of what needs to be prioritized on therefore a different scope definition of the project that they are involved in (Freeman, 2010). Stakeholders in the key phase of the planning are required to be on the same page and wavelength. This implies developing plan for the to deliver and support the phases of the projects while ensuring effective dealing with the key risk factors. Different levels of change on the surrounding environment and people are faced by the construction projects in addition to the construction site. As a result, project definitions boundaries may be redefined or subjected differing expectations and interpretation by different stakeholders. The stakeholder’s management theories can benefit the project scope definition practices. The procedural justice and participation theories bring together the project scope definition and the stakeholder’s management theory (Fageha & Aibinu, 2012). A survey was done by (Assaf & Al-Hejji, 2006) in Saudi Arabia for determining the causes of delays and their importance according to every participants of the project. Among seventy three causes identified more than half of the participants indicate the project overrun by 30% over planned time and the main reason of this overrun was  “change order”. Similarly, Kaming, et al., (2010) found out that design changes, poor labor productivity and inadequate planning are the major causes of delay in construction projects in Indonesia.This implies that ill defined scope finally produces such results. Project scope analysis also identifies the potential risks based on the different stakeholders (Sumner, 2000). While defining scope, evaluation of the elements of the projects is important to develop mitigation plans to respond to the high risk elements. Zou, Zhang, and Wang, (2007) in the context of construction projects in China insisted in developing risk mitigation strategies with respect to other factor in addition to stakeholders and concluded to prioritized risk according to their significant influence on the project. It was concluded that it is the responsibility of the stakeholders to manage the relevant risks and work cooperatively from the feasibility phase to address the potential risks on time. Good management practice provides clarity to scope of the project. Effective management of scope is associated with proper estimation in relation to performance measures such as cost, duration and quality and the role of stakeholders is critical in each of these aspects. The scope impacts on the quality of the project which needs to be designed from start, during construction and the end product. Time and cost parameters are an issue since most projects run over budget and time and may compromise a project’s scope. It is important to take all these factors into consideration (Atkinson, et al., 2006). Sambasivan & Soon, (2007) also emphasized the importance of the assessing risks or delay factors have major impacts on the project completion. The empirical relationship between each cause and effect also emphasized the role of stakeholders such as contractor’s improper planning, inadequate experience, disputes and conflicts etc arise when scope is not aligned according to the stakeholders view. According to (Atkinson, et al., 2006), primary performance issues are often related to uncertainty that may be produced by multiple consortiums and the associated project management infrastructure. In line with this, Thomson, (2014) emphasized the need of engagement of the stakeholders mainly in the construction industry to establish and maintain good interface relationships and moderated contract variations. This allows transparency and easy resolution of dispute. Analysis and management of risk is dependent on intuition, judgement and experience. Due to lack of knowledge and doubts on the suitability of formal analysis and management, these techniques are mostly used. Mohd Nawi, et al., (2014) also put forward solution to bring stakeholders in the contruction industry aligned across the broad in contrast to the traditional system where design and the construction phase are separated. Furthermore, during implementation, a project is likely to face doubt due to introduction of design changes. Design changes lead to disruption of schedules and resourcing, affecting cost, time and the quality measures of the performance directly to an extent that is difficult to predict. The subsequent tactical operationalization factors could address the critical success factors of a project (Pinto & Prescott, 2007) A study done by Love, Irani & Edwards, (2004) showed that projects mainly run over time and costs and the rework levels do not differ significantly from the original methods. An alternative procurement model was developed based on factors that caused delay in construction. It was concluded that team building of involving stakeholders should be promoted during the first stages of the project. Also the role of project managers has a significant relationship with the standards for development. It is established that it is important that management should be flexible when there projects experience uncertainty. The stakeholders can change its course of action after repeatedly gathering information about the uncertain project. Managerial flexibility reduces the possibility of project overruns (Jorgensen & Wallace, 2000). In order to handle project characteristics, the managerial performance could be improved on by modifying the work practices. (Toor & Ogunlana, 2008) established that critical success factors provide guidelines of factors that may contribute to success in a project. Hence, it can be concluded that when a system consists of several interrelated workgroups, it is important that the groups should be effectively integrated both functionally and production to ensure better performance. This also includes project design, project schedule and resource supply systems. Production integration ensures that all systems in a large project contribute to the process of construction while functional integration includes the functional integration of the systems. To establish the effectiveness of a project’s management, assessment may be one time, through a periodic independent review or a continuous project management overview. It can also be an informal internal inquiry or a formal project management audit. METHODOLOGY The research methodology refers to the set pattern and structure to be followed for the timely completion of the research within defined scope and successful achieving the set objectives. Well defined research methodology is based on the scientifically approved philosophies, patterns, tools and techniques. Based on this, the section below provides comprehensive research methodology using research onion as system based guide. Research onion, as depicted below will be used in defining the system that is proposed for the underlying study: (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill, 2003) Research Philosophies The research philosophy that is be proposed for the underlying study and that underpins its objective is the realism research philosophy. According to the Flowers (2009) is the mix of the other philosophies of interpretivism and positivism. An interpretivism is carries the limitation of being relativist while on the other hand, positivism research philosophy is over-deterministic in the approach. By overcoming these limitations, realism is more inclined to acceptance of the fact that knowledge in reality is created in social settings. The philosophy best suits for the underlying study as the project are based on wide social context that not only involves domestic participants but also the international participants. Research Approach Research approach, according to the Patton, (2002), defines the process in systematic way for the successful achievement of research objectives set forth the study. Deductive research approach is proposed for this study as the study intends to leverage the theoretical frameworks that are already designed and approved on the scientific yardsticks set by research methodology (Jankowicz, 2005). Research Strategies An action plan is required for the implementation of approach selected for the study and based on the available options, the case study based strategy is proposed for the study (Yin, 2014). As a matter of fact, the underlying study proposes the stakeholders management in the context of the Haramain High Speed Railway of Saudi Arabia, therefore, case study based approach will enable the researcher to remain focused on the case context while discussing different imperatives. Time Horizon The time horizon requires determining that time for which the assessment of the project will be conducted. In line with the fact that study proposes to explore and ascertain the stakeholders’ challenges of Haramain High Speed Railway of Saudi Arabia since its inception, the project proposes to opt for the longitudinal time horizon. Data collection Data collection is one of the most important aspects of the research as the results of study are produced based on the quality and authenticity of the data. Methods implied for the data collection will be qualitative as well as quantitative where former method of data relies on the information that carries more detailed discussions while latter system is based on the facts and other numerical data (Creswell, 2013). The data will be collected from the primary and secondary sources. The primary sources will include the stakeholders both internal and external. Questionnaire and interview based data collection is proposed. The questionnaire and interview will be based on the structured set of enquires and it will allow the researcher to generate comprehensive idea about the working reasons behind derailing of scope and the mismanagement of the stakeholders. As large number of stakeholders has been involved in the project and contacting each will not be possible, therefore, the research proposes to employ the sampling technique of the research methodology. Sampling techniques enables the researcher to collect the information from the representatives and not from all researchers. In addition to the primary data, the secondary the secondary data will be collected from the scholarly articles, books, news and other related authentic sources. The secondary data will provide information related to the subject that will contribute in analyzing the project of HHR (Struwig, Struwig and Stead, 2001). REFLECTIONS AND RESOURCES While the development of the research proposal, I was able to learn about the development of the systematic research. The study research was relevant since it aimed to find out the relationship between management and scope definition and the effect on a project. The study will provide information on how to avoid future running of projects over time and cost and how to deviate from the problem if it occurs. It will also increase the confidence of validity in previous research. From this research proposal, as I was able to reflect constructively on my progress, having reasonable understanding of the international context of the Haramain Railway System. I have been able to think of how people will be positively affected by my work, particularly the stakeholders who have faced operational delays and the overrun in costs and time. Though was able to identify challenges and worth exploring reason of stakeholders with respect to the project; however, I need to learn more about the management of the resources for the achievement of objective successfully, both on personal level and professional level. For the research proposal, in person human resource was employed as I am currently working as one of project managers of HHR (Haramain High Speed Railway). Related to the time resource, the proposal was prepared within the time frame allowed for the course. It involved limited cost related resources, the information was available at disposal for being the part of the project. OVERALL STRUCTURE The overall structure of the study will be based on the following of chapters: Chapter1: This chapter will provide the detail review the project, the rationale for assessing the project of HHR and the set forth research aims and objectives of the study. Chapter 2: This chapter will be based on the comprehensive literature review related to the topic of the study. Review of theoretical grounds, different empirical evidences of the studies that are related to the role of stakeholders in the performance. Chapter 3; The chapter 3 of the study will provide the detailed methodology that will be employed for the completion of the study and the achievement of objectives. Chapter 4: Discussion of the data and the generation of the information from the data collected through questionnaire and interview will be conducted in this chapter. Chapter 5: The chapter will wrap up the study with the determination of the conclusion about the reasons and corrective measures that led to the bad management of stakeholders and its consequences on the project. List of Reference Achterkamp, M. C., & Vos, J. F. (2008). Investigating the use of the stakeholder notion in project management literature, a meta-analysis.International Journal of Project Management, vol.26, no.7, pp.749-757. Assaf, S. A., & Al-Hejji, S. (2006). Causes of delay in large construction projects. International journal of project management, 24(4), 349-357. Atkinson, R., Crawford, L. & Ward, S., (2006). 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