Causes of Large-Scale Projects Disruption in Qatar - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages For the purposes of the present study, however, there is a focus on the main issues and causes of delays and disruption, which often occur in mega construction projects. Very often the scholarly literature, and especially the practitioner reports, emphasize the effects or consequences of such issues, but in this case, the initial causes are selected as the main point for analysis. These issues can arise at any stage of a project but they often have their roots somewhere early in the process of setting up and starting the project. The purpose of this literature review is therefore to examine the theory and practice of project management with an emphasis on the initiation and planning stages, and the causes of delays and disruption which can occur at any stage.

This approach ensures that the literature review provides a sound and comprehensive basis for an investigation into several recent and contemporary projects in Qatar. It highlights highlighted how past experiences with delays and disruptions relate to project management theory and suggested what specific problems may arise in the Qatari context. This work is very timely because of the significant amount of large-scale project work that is currently in progress in Qatar, and the major infrastructure and construction plans that lie ahead in advance of Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The impact of delays on major contracts can go far beyond the immediate scope of the project, as for example the delays and disruptions which threatened South Africa’s ability to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup (Slot, 2009). There have been doubts in the press about Qatar’s ability to deliver all the infrastructure projects that are planned in the decade before the actual event, which has been labeled “FIFA’s most dangerous move yet” (Wilson, 2010, p. 1). For Qatar, however, the FIFA world cup provides a useful goal on the medium-term planning horizon (GSPD, 2010).

The first part of this literature review considers the main theories of project management showing a number of different approaches that have been used to gain an understanding of how such a complex activity should be carried out. ...Download file to see next pages Read More