Environmental factors and work performance of project managers in the construction industry

Abstract

A project manager is vital and indispensable in any project. While project management is only one of the many criteria upon which project performance is contingent, it is also arguably the most significant as it is people formulating the processes and systems who deliver the projects. This research aims to study the area of improving a project manager's performance by identifying the working environment variables which affect his performance. The objectives of this research study are to identify and ascertain which factors affect a project manager's performance in the private and public sector. With a knowledge of these critical factors, the industry will be able to enhance the performance of the project managers by minimizing these factors in their working environment. Using a sample of at least 30 project managers from the private and public sector, the working environment variables were investigated through a survey. The one-sample t-test was then used to test whether the factors were significant in influencing project performance. From the ANOVA test, it was found that there were differences in opinions by both the contractor and consultant project managers on the relative importance of the working environment variables. The result revealed that working hours, physical condition of project site, complexity of project, material and supplies, project size, duration of project and time availability were viewed differently in terms of importance by the two groups. A further ANOVA test revealed that project managers with experiential differences generally rated the importance of the working environment in the same way, except for level of authority. This study identified the importance of the working environment variables for the performance of a project manager. It also provides contractor and consultant project managers with a better understanding of their working environment. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved.