Lawrence Final

8/3/2019 Lawrence Final

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

Uganda is a landlocked country in the East African region. It borders with Kenya in the East,

Tanzania and Rwanda in the south, Democratic Republic of Congo in the west and Southern

Sudan in the North. The country covers a total surface area of 241,038 Sq. km and is

basically an agrarian economy with over 80% of the population deriving their livelihood from

the agricultural sector.

Uganda relies on its road network for the movement of over 95% of its goods and passenger

traffic. As such, a sound road transport infrastructure is crucial to the attainment of the

national policy objectives of a strong private sector led growth that contributes to economic

development and poverty eradication. The Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP)

underlines the need to improve road transport infrastructure in order to boost production,

incomes and competitiveness by linking producers to their markets and facilitating

integration, (ESIA report, 2009).

Road construction and maintenance activities in Uganda reached a virtual standstill around

the 1980s as a result of political instability and economic decline. The physical resources

required to operate and maintain the road network gradually disintegrated as the professional

and support personnel were displaced (Planning and Evaluation Unit, 1992). Consequently, a

significant portion of the feeder road network deteriorated severely. This resulted into

economic and social depression in the country. In early 1986, the Government of Uganda

accorded high priority to the rehabilitation of critical physical infrastructure such as roads,

water supply and electrical installations in order to help revitalize the economy. Almost all

local resources and foreign assistance in the field of transport were devoted to the

improvement of highways, railroads and air transport

For the last one decade, the Government of Uganda has prioritized development and

maintenance of the road network by increasing the sector funding by Ushs.468 billion to a

total of Ushs.1.118 trillion and also implementing key sector reforms like the creation of the

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Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) in 2006, restructuring of the Ministry of Works,

and the operationalization of the Road Fund in 2008 in order to be able to sustain its high

economic growth record, (Background to the Budget, 2010/11).

As a result of the road sector reforms, which were fruits of the Road Sector Development

Programme 1(RSDP1) and Road Sector Development Programme 2 (RSDP 2), Uganda today

has a comprehensive road network, comprising of 20,000km of National Roads, 13,000km of

District Roads, 2,800km of Urban Roads and 30,000km of Community Roads. These roads

serve to interconnect communities and districts and link land locked Uganda to neighbouring

countries. Over 2,000km of road have so far been completed and another 10,000km,

according to the Works Ministry, is expected to be completed in less than two years.

(Njoroge, Daily Monitor, Fri, 7th Jan, 2011). He adds that there are approximately 1,000km of

roads currently under construction and these include Soroti-Lira (123km), Kabale-Kisoro

(100km), Kampala-Gayaza-Zirobwe (42km) Matugga-Semuto-Kapeka road (42km),

Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara (300km), Kawempe-Kafu (166km), Kampala-Mityana (57km),

Fort Portal-Bundibugyo (103km), Lira-Kamudini-Karuma (111km), Masaka-Kyotera (38km)

and Mbarara-lshaka (58km) and others are yet to begin.

1.1 Background to the Study

The status of Ugandas road network presents a discrepancy between capital investment in

road projects and quality delivery of these projects. It is common for roads in Uganda to

revert to their original dilapidated status two to three months after repair in Kampala,

(Njoroge, Daily Monitor Fri, Jan 7th, 2011). Njoroge adds that many roads lack proper paving

and most lack adequate drainage systems, a thing that contributes heavily to their short

lifespan. He concludes his article, True Status Of Ugandas Road Networkwith a general

remark, Road maintenance has been very poor with substandard and inefficient contractors

pocketing tax payers money only to produce nothing.

In the same line, Alinange (Roads Authority Communication Manager) was quoted by a

Kyambadde in his article why dont Ugandan Roads Last? published in the Dispatch,

(Thursday 29 September, 2011) asserting that among other factors contributing to the reduced

life span of some roads is the shoddy work and lack of competence or capacity attributed to

some of the local companies contracted to do the repairs.

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The major problems that affect the construction industry include the following: Too much

emphasis is placed on the business aspect of firms with little or no emphasis on technical

competence; there is a lack of critical mass of local professional managers and specialists

with sufficient experience and knowledge in the management and operation of large

construction projects; the management capacity of local firms is very weak both at company

level and project implementation level; the number of contractors is too high for the workload

available; there is also a lack of equipment and qualified professionals. Said Ssebanakitta the

Executive Director of UNRA in an interview withBissika of the Observer (Wednesday, 22

October 2008 19:24).

Despite the creation of UNRA and the allocation of a big part of the national budget to the

Works and Transport Sector, the condition of roads remained unsatisfactory, and according to

the Budget Monitoring Report by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic

Development (MOFPED) in 2009, the absorption of funds by UNRA was rated as poor,

(Auditor General Report on The Management of Road Maintenance of National Roads by

UNRA 2010). In this report, Hon. John Nasasira, the Minister of Works and Transport was

quoted at the Launch of the second report of commission of Global Road Safety (5th May

2009) acknowledging that the road safety condition in Uganda is still unsatisfactory and road

accidents, fatalities and injury have been increasing during the past 10 years. The Ministeralso estimated that road accidents in Uganda cost about 2.7% of Uganda GDP in terms of

lives, injury, vehicle and other property loss. Analysis of accident statistics reports in Uganda

indicates that 5% of the accidents are due to road condition, including: bad road surface, pot

holes, poor road designs and inadequate road furniture.

There is evidence that although most road projects complete in Uganda, they are badly

designed, the scope is not effectively managed in terms of road dimensions and they do not

last their life span due to poor quality. This is one reason why road accidents are rampant in

the country. Makuma in his article, Northern Bypass turns into a Passage to Deathin the

independent, (Tuesday, 28 December 2010) brings out shocking statistics from Kira Police

station which oversees the road. According to these statistics, the road has since it was

opened in October 2009 last year to October this year witnessed 109 accidents in which 34

people have died. Of the 34 dead, 62 percent were people knocked while either walking along

or crossing the road. Makuma goes ahead to bring out a testimony from a policeman at the

nearby Kiwatule Police Post who testifies that the Kiwatule flyover has been a very tragic

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area because even during day, drivers find visibility hampered. One needs to enter the tunnel,

which is about five metres long and dark, with the vehicle full-beam on. Unfortunately, there

is no warning sign. It gets worse because the Kiwatule underpass is a major crossing point for

patrons of the Kiwatule Recreation Grounds, which is a venue for major concerts.

In another context, Nasasira in his article Do not judge our performance basing on sorry

Kampala roadspublished in the Observer (Sunday, 16 January 2011 22:21), disputes the

impression created in the media and other public fora, over the last several years that the

national road network has been in steady decay and that very little or nothing is being done

about it. Although the Minister disputes this impression as false, it is still an indication that

the public is not satisfied with the road network in the country despite the huge amounts of

money that the Government of Uganda is investing in the sector. In the same article Nasasira

outlined a number of roads that are under reconstruction among which are Mukono-Jinja,

Bugiri-Malaba-Busia, Kampala-Jinja road, Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara road, -Fort Portal-

Kasese-Mpondwe road, mbarara-Ibanda road just to mention but a few. Unfortunately none

of these roads has lasted 20 years since they were constructed. This is also an indication that

road projects in Uganda do not for some reason deliver quality as desired by the end users.

The heading of his article was also an indirect acknowledgement that the state of Kampala

roads is sorry and yet every financial year huge amounts of money are pumped into the

sector for road maintenance and upgrading.

Kyambadde in his article why dont Ugandan Roads Last? published in the Dispatch,

Ugandas Leading Daily (Thursday 29 September, 2011) quoted Alinange, the Roads

Authority Communications Manager admitting that : If there is good drainage, then a road

with that will last longer than one without any drainage system, Alinange added that among

other factors contributing to the reduced life span of some roads in Uganda is the shoddy

work and lack of competence or capacity attributed to some of the local companies contracted

to do the repairs. In the same article, Kyambadde quoted an engineering consultant who

preferred to remain anonymous. The consultant asserted that What we have in Uganda today

are many engineers practicing without licenses which are wrong. People should get registered

immediately after they finish school and go through a mentoring program under the

supervision of a registered engineer, and this statement explained his proceeding statement

about the road condition in Uganda; These roads are bad from their geometrical designs,accessibility by human traffic and motorcycles/bicycles.

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1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Despite Government relentless efforts to improve the road sector and bring it to a desired

standard by restructuring the Ministry of Works and Transport and increasing the sector

funding, road projects still have not delivered the desired quality from the Users point of

view. Repaired roads do not last a year before they are full of potholes, newly constructed

roads last a few years and then demand for major repairs while the number of accidents

recorded every year keeps increasing. This leads to numerous questions regarding the

competence of road construction practitioners, leadership styles of those manning road

projects and the style of negotiation used during the process of road construction in Uganda.

This study thus seeks to assess the effect of competence, negotiation and leadership on

success of road construction projects in Uganda.

1.3 General objective

To assess the significant effect of competence, leadership, negotiation on the performance of

road construction projects in Uganda.

1.4 Specific ObjectivesSpecifically, this study is intended to achieve the following objectives:

To evaluate levels of competences among road construction practitioners

To assess the styles of leadership among road construction practitioners

To determine levels of negotiation among road construction practitioners

To establish the relationship among leadership, negotiation and competence and

project performance

1.5 Research Questions

This study was guided by the following questions:

1. What are the levels of competences among road construction practitioners in Uganda?

2. What are the styles of leadership among road construction practitioners in Uganda?

3. What are the levels of negotiation among road construction practitioners?

4. What is the relationship among leadership, negotiation and competence and project

performance with regard to Ugandas road construction industry?

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1.6 Scope of the Study

This study concentrated on Ibanda, Kamwenge, Kiruhura road projects in south-western

Uganda and Kampala road projects in central Uganda. The study focused on competence,

leadership, negotiation and road project performance. The study took four months starting

June through October, 2011.

1.7 Significance of the Study

i. This research and its findings provide insight into the human resource competences,

leadership styles and negotiations skills needed to successfully perform in the road

construction and upgrading sector in Uganda.

ii. The findings of this study are useful to the Government, related Ministries,

development partners and project managers and contractors in road project initiation,

planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure success.

iii. This study has generated a new framework for further research pertaining to HR

practices and project performance relationships. Further research can be conducted

basing on the findings of this study to enhance project performance in any other filed

other than road construction.

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1.8 Conceptual Framework

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Competence

Skills

Knowledge

Negotiation

Problem identification

Solution appraisal

Project performance

Efficiency

EffectivenessLeadership

Vision

Resource management and

mobilisation

Motivation & Inspiration


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CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents a review what previous scholars have written about Human resource

competences, leadership, negotiation and project performance. The presentation in this

chapter is guided by the objectives of this study.

2.0 OPINIONS AND IDEAS OF EXPERTS

A project can be characterized by a few elements such as objectivity as it is definable with

result, output or product, complexity with normally interrelated activities and large number of

different tasks, unique where it is usually a one-off assignment, uncertainty as it has

element of risk, temporary with its well defined beginning and end and lastly operate in a life

cycle as emphasis and resource needs change during the life of the project (Munns & Bjeirmi,

1996). A projects success therefore is defined by how the project manage balances the

technical and human aspects to deliver expected products within the specified time frame and

budget.

On the other hand, project management is defined as the process of controlling the

achievement of the project objectives, using the existing organizational structures and

resources and managing the project by applying a collection of tools and techniques without

interrupting the routine operation of a company (Munns & Bjeirmi, 1996). Some of the

functions of project management are defining the work requirement, allocating resource

needs, planning the execution of work required, monitoring the progress of the work and

taking action to unexpected events that took place.

Roepke, Agarwal, & Ferratt (2000) contend that leadership transcends all other

organizational factors. While Shore (2005) asserts that Leadership affects corporate culture,

project culture, project strategy, and project team commitment and affects business process

reengineering, systems design and development, software selection, implementation, and

maintenance; without appropriate HR competence, the risk of project failure increases.

A study by Hauschildt et al. (2000) concluded that a projects technical components make up

only 50% of the challenge of executing and completing a project. The authors further

contended that the other 50% of the challenge involved the organizational and human aspects

of leadership and team building/collaboration, with the majority of the human element being

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ascribed to leadership. Srica (2008) argued that since the late 1990s project management has

experienced a shift towards a stronger emphasis and focus on the organizational and human

aspects of project work. This is in comparison to the past, where the emphasis was more on

the technical aspects of project accomplishment.

The emphasis placed on leadership and human relations contributed to increased efficiency in

addressing the problems encountered in the project process (Johnson, 1999). The

development of better processes and the organizing of teams more effectively resulted from

an increased emphasis on leadership and human resources (Kloppenborg & Opfer, 2002).

Leadership and competence therefore constitute project management culture.

Many project management processes and techniques (planning, scheduling, control, and

automated tools) exist for tracking and measuring the technical elements of projects. The

processes and methods do not, generally, track or measure human elements of managing

people such as communication, building relationships, resolving conflict, and team

engagement or motivation (Kloppenborg & Opfer, 2002). It is believed that leadership

competencies are required to enable project management to effectively use human resource

skills to improve project outcomes (Schmid & Adams, 2008).

Different scholars measure project success and failure in different ways: according to Cleland

(1964; Thilmany 2004), determination of a successful project outcome is measured by the

extent to which the project accomplished complex endeavours that met a specific set of

objectives within the constraints of resources, time, and performance objectives. Indications

of successful project outcomes are the accomplishment of the specific objectives of the

project as defined by the project stakeholders and are dependent on the combined efforts of

project management and the project team (Johnson, 1999).

Essential to the successful outcome of projects are the project manager and the project team(Berg & Karlsen, 2007; Blackburn, 2002; Cleland, 2004; Kerzner, 2006). The project

manager is responsible for leading the project team towards achieving the desired outcome of

the project (Cleland, 2004; Kerzner, 2006). The role of project manager combines human and

technological resources in a dynamic, temporary organization structured to deliver results that

include social as well as technological aspects (Blackburn, 2002). Leadership in a project

environment requires the project manager to integrate and lead the work of the project team

(Berg& Karlsen, 2007). Project management is not an isolated activity, but rather a team

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effort (Johnson, 1999). A team requires leadership in order to function effectively (Cathcart

& Samovar, 1992).

Kumar (2000), in a study of reengineering projects, found that failure was primarily linked to

the organizational context and could be attributed to the lack of leadership, organizational

culture, the lack of integration, and the lack of commitment by senior management.

2.1 To evaluate levels of competences among road construction practitioners

2.1.1 Competence

Competent comes from the Latin root competere which means to be suitable. In todays

workplace, the term competent is generally used to describe someone who is sufficiently

skilled to perform a specified task or to fill a defined position; a competent physician, a

competent salesperson, a competent plumber. Increasingly, organisations are interested in

assessing the competence of individuals in order to guide employment and development

decisions, (GAPPS, 2007). Global Alliance for Project Performance standard outlines are two

major approaches to defining and assessing competence:

i. Attribute based wherein personal attributes such as knowledge, skills, and other

characteristics are identified and assessed. Competence is inferred based on the

presence of the necessary attributes.

ii. Performance based wherein work outcomes and performance levels are identified and

assessed.

Competence is a complex subject that is impacted by many variables, for example the

varying roles assumed by team members and leaders and the impact of factors that affect

these roles. This complexity could explain the absence of a comprehensive understanding of

what constitutes competences (Skipper & Bell, 2006). Boyatzis, (1982) defines competence

as an underlying characteristic of an employee (i.e., a motive, trait, skill, aspects of ones

self-image, social role, or a body of knowledge) which results in effective and/or superior

performance. It is important to note that competence has levels. Two different employees

could be described as competent and yet their levels of competence vary.

Essential Competencies serve as the foundation of knowledge and skills needed by everyone.

(Spencer et al., 1990). These can be developed through training and are relatively easy to

identify. Competences can also be developed through experience; doing the same job over

and over again can also make someone competent in that job to some level.

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The Editor ofPublic HR (April 1999) noted that: Competencies can offer [HR practitioners]

an opportunity to define excellence - and, even more importantly, demonstrate the value they

bring to their organizations. Ultimately, HR practitioners who can demonstrate their value to

their organizations will inevitably be rewarded with that ever-elusive seat at the table.

Janice (March 1999), asserted that HR professionals in all sectors are in a state of transition.

Narrowly focused specialists are being asked to grow into the new generalists roles in the

evolving workplace. She went on to note, In addition to the technical competencies that

already are required, the HR generalists of the future will have to have all the skills necessary

to play an active role in charting the strategic direction of our agencies.

Historically project managers have been considered competent if they understood the triple

parameters of cost, schedule, and technical performance. Currently, the role of a project

manager requires competence in project management, the demonstrated ability to perform, in

three general areas Technical, Contextual, and Behavioral, (Ireland, 2008, p2). Ireland

explains these areas:

i. Technical competence for a project manager entails the ability to manage cost,

schedule, and technical objectives through a series of planned actions and adjust the

course of actions when there are circumstances that do not conform to the plan.

ii. Contextual competence for a project manager entails an understanding and ability to

work within the project environment, which includes the parent organization or

organizations that have project oversight.

iii. Behavioral competence for a project manager is exhibiting those social and attitudinal

attributes that promote harmony within the project team and a smooth working

relationship with project stakeholders.

2.1.2 Competence and project performance

Rubin and Seeling (2003) investigated the relationship of the project managers experience

on the projects success or failure. The findings indicate that a project managers previous

experience had a minimal impact on the projects performance. The size of the previously

managed projects did not influence the managers performance. A project Managers may not

have an impact on the performance of a given project simply because every project is unique.

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This implies that for a project manager to influence the success of a project, he needs the

exhibit the essential competences other than the experience.

Thite (2000) on the other hand asserts that in the project environment, possessing

management skills is not sufficient to be successful for Project management practices require

that managers have the due competence, experience and leadership skills to see a project

through. Achieving successful project outcomes require the combination of technical and

Human resource competencies.

2.2 To assess the styles of leadership among road construction practitioners

2.2.1 Leadership

Leadership is a dynamic relationship based on mutual influence and common purpose

between leaders and collaborators in which both are moved to higher levels of motivation and

moral development as they influence others through action to accomplish an objective

(Freiberg & Freiberg, 1996, p. 298).

Bass (1990) suggested that leadership was the ability to influence those you are leading

towards the achievement of goals and objectives. Pierce & Newstrom (2006) defined a leader

as one who exercised intentional authority over one or more other individuals, in an effort to

guide actions towards the accomplishment of some mutual goal; such a goal requires

mutually supporting actions among members of the group.

An organizational setting requires the leader to interact with followers on a regular basis

while listening and directing them towards success (Lapp, 1999). Dvir et al., (2002) suggests

that good leaders should be trusted by their followers for whom they provide a sense of

autonomy. The leader should be consistent with decision making for followers as well as the

overall good of the organization. The leader should also be able to envision potential

problems and pitfalls before they happen (Gehring, 2007).

Hackman & Johnson (2000) believed that to be effective the leader ought to be able to

balance many variables while mobilizing the organizations resources in pursuit of a common

objective. They further alleged that achieving such objectives required the unification of

purpose for both leader and followers. To achieve balance does not necessarily rely on the

development of any particular trait or style of leadership but more on the leaders ability to

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analyze the situation and adopt a leadership approach that mobilizes followers (Winston,

1997).

Geoghegan and Dulewicz in their article, Do Project Managers Leadership Competencies

Contribute to Project Success?publishedin the project management journal (Vol. 39, No. 4,

586, 2008)expounded on the ideas of Dulewicz and Higgs (2005) and proposed a new

model for leadership, which recognized that leadership encompasses competences and

personal characteristics, and since organizations characteristics, such as culture, vary,

different competence profiles are appropriate in different circumstance. There is therefore no

one size fits all in leadership. The leadership competences required to ensure success of a

given project will always vary according to the circumstances and nature of the project.

2.2.2 Leadership and project performance

Thompson (2010) in his study, Servant-Leadership: An Effective Model for Project

Management reviewed the works of Ravichandran (2000); Reeser (1999); Pinto & Trailer

(1998) and observed that the general observation is that most project managers come from

technical backgrounds and exhibit an engineering mentality with limited consideration for

leadership skills. With the absence of the proper leadership skills needed for building a

network of balanced interpersonal relations, avoiding unnecessary control, destructive

conflict and excessive bureaucracy the complex and highly standardized project management

approaches of plans, standards, methodologies, or software are unlikely to achieve successful

project outcomes. Construction projects therefore do not necessarily have to be managed by

engineers for there is a difference between the technical competence and leadership capacity.

The engineers may have the technical competences while lacking the leadership skills

required leading the project to success.

Tornatzky & Fleischer (1990) found that projects failed to achieve successful results because

of three factors. The factors are the organizational background, the external environment, and

the technological framework. Failure in the organizational context can be attributed to

leadership, corporate culture, corporate project knowledge base, and top level support.

Failure in the external environment is linked to competitors, suppliers, customers, vendors,

government, and education. Failure in the technological framework can be hardware,

software, and telecommunications or a combination of the three areas. Leadership run

through all the three factors. A good leader will be to strike a balance in a project

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influence in negotiating when they are involved early, at the inception and scope definition

phases of the project lifecycle. At this point, they have more control over the commitments

that are made to the client regarding scope and schedule, and are in a better position to

acquire the needed personnel resources at a reasonable cost, (Hartley, 2006). He adds that

when they are already committed to a schedule and under time pressures to deliver, they can

be at a disadvantage in negotiating. Greater project success comes if they can set the client

expectations and allow some flexibility for the inevitable change requests. The negotiation

leverage of the Project Manager diminishes as the project delivery work begins and other

personnel are deployed on other projects. The time to negotiate for needed resources is

before commitments are made to the client

2.3.2 Negotiation and project performance

Without skill in negotiation, the project vision is rarely fulfilled. Too much is promised or too

little is delivered. The unique nature of projects involves a constant stream of negotiation.

Often, we negotiate the sale of something that doesnt exist, the completed project, and then

must negotiate with a wide range of others to make it happen. Negotiating is an hourly event

on projects. Project personnel can switch from buying to selling many times in a day. On one

side, we negotiate the definition of scope, results, and performance for the project and then

we negotiate the means of fulfilling that contract, (Peters &company, 2001). For a project to

succeed, good negotiation is therefore essential.

Thompson et al. (1990) in their article Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision

Processes observed that Planning and change management regarding scope, resources,

scheduling, budgeting, to mention but a few can benefit from good negotiating skills. Since

these are the key defining elements of project success, good negotiation will therefore have a

positive impact on project success.

Negotiation is one potential process to make construction projects succeed or fail, (Panja,

2009). Panja argued that negotiation between project participants is the first step to do

businesses even construction industry, and it can take place all stages of construction

projects. In negotiation process, the characters of project participants can affect to their

behaviour which can lead to resolve conflicts and outcome with satisfaction. Thus the ability

of project participants for negotiating effectively is one essential success or failure. Weaknessof negotiation can also affect to sizeable loss not only negotiators needs but also affect to

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other sides involved. Notwithstanding, both the behaviour of negotiation, negotiation issues

and outcomes are valuable for practices and academics.

2.4. Project Performance

One focus of project management research has been on establishing the attributes of effective

project performance and the factors that facilitate effective project performance.

Traditionally, project performance had been defined in terms of meeting cost, time and

quality criteria. Tukel and Rom (2002) reported an empirical study conducted in the USA to

determine the performance measures project managers commonly used to evaluate the

success of their projects. Specifically, they identified the project managers orientation

toward using internal and/or customer driven measures of performance. In general, they

found that the project managers primary measure is quality and their most important

objective is meeting customer needs. According to Kerzner (2000), project performance was

defined as the completion of an activity within the constraints of cost, time, and performance.

This definition of excellent performance has been modified to include completion within

budgeted cost, within the allocated time period, at the proper specification level and the

customers satisfaction.

2.4.1 Project performance Criteria

The very famous and well-known Golden Triangle or Iron Triangle, have been

traditionally used as criteria to measure project success. This Golden Triangle refers to the

basic criteria of cost, time and quality. Project success will be accorded if it is completed

within the budgeted cost, implemented on time and to quality parameters requested.

However, these criteria have received many critics for being inadequate in determining

project success, customer opinion and contact was minimal and no long term follow-up effort

was established. Over the time, various attempts have been made either to add more

dimensions to the basic criteria or to abstract to fewer dimensions (Atkinson, 1999).

Later it is observed that other researchers try to extend the measurement of process to include

perception from the client, this is not surprising as this is an era where the concept of Total

Quality Management (TQM) has begun to evolve where customer satisfaction is one the most

important element to measure performance. In an effort by Kerzner (1998) in his book, In

Search of Excellence in Project Management, he identified 5 criteria that can be used to

measure project success. The criteria are completed in time, within budget, completed at the

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desired level of quality, accepted by the customer and resulted in customers allowing the

contractor to use them as a reference (Kerzner, 1998: p. 25). Further exploration through the

literature reveal that researchers were now extending the measurement of project success to

the after delivery stage in contrast to the early literature where emphasis was given to

measurement criteria on the project management stage. One of the researchers, Atkinson

(1999) in his study extended the measurement of project success beyond the Iron Triangle; he

proposed a new way to consider project success criteria called the Square Route.

The three additional success criteria categories are the information system which looks into

the maintainability, reliability, validity and the quality of the information used, benefits as

perceived in the organization which can be measured in terms of improved efficiency,

effectiveness, increased profits, organizational learning and lastly benefits or effectiveness ofthe project as perceived by the stakeholder community such as satisfaction of users, social

and environmental impact and personal development, to name a few. The elements under

these three new criteria categories are not exhaustive and can be added whenever an

appropriate and applicable element is identified to be deemed related to the individual project

being measured.

The article written by Lim and Mohamed (1999) proposes to classify project success into two

categories: the macro and micro viewpoints. The macro viewpoint of project success is

determined by two criteria which are completion and satisfaction whereas the completion

criterion alone is sufficient to determine the micro viewpoint of project success. The macro

viewpoint of project success will address question like: Is the original project concept

achieved? If it is then the project is considered to be successful and vice versa. This can only

be known at the operational phase of the project and the achievement depends on the users or

stakeholders.

The criteria for measuring project success must be established at the beginning of the project,

otherwise team members and project leader will find themselves heading into different

directions and the result of the project will not be successfully determined due to difference

in perception, emphasis and objectives (Baccarini 1999). Four success dimensions have been

classified by Shenhar (1997). The first dimension is the efficiency which is not limited by the

dimension of time, cost and quality but can be extended to number of engineering changes

prior final design release, production efficiency and yield, efficiency of purchase order and

safety measures. Organizations need to be cautious as not to limit the measurement of success

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using efficiency measures as these efficiency measures are basically measuring project

success in the implementation success and do not represent the total success of the project.

The second dimension is the impact on the customer or end user followed by the third

dimension which is impact on the organization. Lastly the success of the project need to be

measured by the way it helps the organization to move and prepare for the future. Questions

like does the project explore new opportunities for further markets, ideas, innovations and

products? Does the project management build new skills, develop new technologies and core

competencies need to be addressed before determining the success of the project.

2.4.2 Factors Contributing to Project Success

Developing or identification of success factors has dominated the field of project

management from 1980s to 2000. Many researchers have tried to a certain extent to identify

success factor for project management. These include Kerzner (1987), Pinto and Slevin

(1987), Pinto, Slevin and Dennis (1989), Clarke (1999), Cooke Davis (2002) and Muller

(2003). The following paragraphs are dedicated in reviewing the main contributors in setting

the success

Pintos Model of Ten Critical Success Factors of the Project Management Profile

Pinto and others have published a number of articles from 1987-1990 on critical success

factors and has established a widely known accepted 10 critical success factors. Pinto used a

fifty-item instrument called Project management Profile (P.I.P) to measure a projects score

on each of the ten factors in comparison to over 400 projects studied. The 10 critical success

factors identified by Pinto (1986) are listed as follows:

1) Project mission initial clarity of goals and general direction

2) Top management support willingness of top management to provide the necessary

resources and authority of power for project success

3) Project schedule/plans detailed specification of the individual action steps required

for project management

4) Client consultation communication and consultation with, and active listening to all

affected parties

5) Personnel recruitment, selection and training of the necessary personnel for theproject team

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6) Technical tasks availability of the required technology and expertise to accomplish

the specific technical action steps

7) Client acceptance the act of selling the final project to its intended users

8) Monitoring and feedback timely provision of comprehensive control information at

each stage in the implementation process

9) Communication provision of an appropriate network and necessary data to all key

actors in the project management

10) Trouble shooting ability to handle unexpected crises and deviations from plan

The first seven factors can be laid out on a sequential critical path while the remaining three

factors which are monitoring and feedback, communication and troubleshooting must be

necessarily present at each point in the implementation process. As the project moves along

its life cycle, different factors are emphasized. The first three factors (mission, top

management support and schedule) are related to the early planning phase of project

management whereas the other seven are concerned with the actual execution stage of the

project life cycle. As both strategic and tactics are essential for successful project

management, their importance shifts as the projects moves through its life cycle. Strategicissues are most important at the beginning and tactical issues gain in importance toward the

end. It is vital that a successful project manager/leader must be able to make transition

between strategic and tactical considerations as the project moves forward.

In addition, Pinto also stresses the importance for both project team and clients to perform

regular assessments to determine the health of the project and to involve team members in

early planning and conceptual meetings. By doing so it can reinforces the goals of clients in

the mind of the project team as well to obtain clients perceptions on the ability of the projectto satisfy their expectation besides influencing team members to achieve a common project

goal. Regular and continuous communication is essential to ensure the team is moving in one

common direction and members are aware of transition and also to emphasize the importance

of joint effort in making the project a successful one. Based on Pinto empirical research

conducted in 1986 where 418 responses were obtained from a group of project managers in

multiple industries, the ten factors identified explained 63.3% of the total variance in the

dependent variable which is project success and 7 factors with p-values less than 0.05 were

obtained.

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2.5 Summary

Previous scholars have extensively studied competence, leadership, negotiation and project

performance. Despite the differences in the opinions of different scholars in the area of

projects management, the importance of competence, leadership and negotiation in

determining the success of a project is undisputed.

The Chaos reports by the Standish Group (1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009) suggested

that problems related to successful project outcomes and inevitably the solution to achieving

project objectives that meet stakeholders expectations, originates with people in HR roles

and the procedures adopted by project managers. A research study by Cambridge

Universitys School of Business and Economics concluded that 80% of projects failed

because of poor HR management (Zhang & Faerman, 2007). The findings further suggested

that poor leadership skills reflected limited or no teamwork, inadequate communication, and

an inability to resolve conflicts as well as other human related inefficiencies.

Notwithstanding the validity and importance of previous research in relation to competence,

leadership, negotiation and project performance, there is still limited research on the

significant effect of a combination of these variables on road project performance specifically

in Uganda. This study therefore seeks to fill this gap in the body of project management

knowledge.

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CHAPTER THREE

Research Methodology

3.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the methods and techniques that were used in conducting this research.

It describes in detail the data sources, study design, study population, geographical and

subject scope of the study, sample size and design, data collection and analysis, ethical

considerations during the study and the limitations/ challenges of the study.

3.1 Research Design

The study was both quantitative and qualitative descriptive inquiry that examined whether a

relationship exists between competence, leadership, negotiation and successful project

outcomes. The study employed cross- sectional corelational survey design. It was cross

sectional in as far as data was collected from roads construction projects in the selected

districts. It was corelational survey in that questionnaires were administered at once and later

collected for cleaning, processing and analysis; the results were thus correlated in regard to

the cause variable (competence, leadership and negotiation) and effect variable( project

performance). A quantitative descriptive approach was chosen because it allows for the

exploration of relationships between variables through statistical treatment of data (Gall,

Gall, & Borg, 2007; Swanson & Holton, 2005).

3.2 Study Population

The study population was composed of 815 stakeholders in road construction projects. These

included people from the district administration, staff from UNRA, Ministry of works, the

contractors and local opinion leaders. This population was deemed appropriate to reduce the

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margin of errors since a bigger population would include people who practically had no

knowledge of project management and yet the subject under investigation required that a

respondent has some knowledge of project management and has had a relationship with the

initiation and implementation of any road construction project.

3.3 Sample size and design

Appropriate minimum samples of respondents were drawn randomly. The sample frame

comprised of key stakeholders of the. The sample size was based on Krejcie and Morgan

(1970) table for determining the sample size for any population of a definite size; thus shown

below:

Category Target population Sample size

administration 10 10

Contractors 5 5

Practitioners 500 217

Opinion leaders 300 169

Total 815 401

3.4 Data Collection

Data was collected using non standardized self administered questionnaires. Section one

asked questions regarding the demographics characteristics of respondents. Section two used

Likert scaled questions that sought to identify the levels of competence among practitioners

in road construction. Sections three sought to identify the leadership styles among road

construction practitioners the negotiation skills possessed by practitioners in road

construction. The last section of the questionnaires sought to identify the various views of

practitioners on project performance and the relationship among competence, leadership,

negotiation and project performance.

3.5 RESEARCH PROCEDURE

This study was conducted in four stages and these are:

i. Initial preparation for the study involved reviewing related literature, designing the

questionnaires, identifying the target groups to provide information, identifying the

appropriate samples and seeking the introduction letter from the university authorities.

ii. After the initial preparations, the researcher moved to the field to collect data. This

involved giving the questionnaires to the targeted respondents and explaining

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important issues about the questionnaire and negotiating the time when the

questionnaires would be collected. The questionnaires were self administered and so

the researcher collected the filled questionnaires from the respondents later.

iii. With due respect to the time agreed upon with each respondent, the researcher

collected the questionnaires and when all were collected, the data was cleaned,

organised and entered into the computer for analysis.

iv. After the analysis, the researcher interpreted the results and incorporated them in the

final report.

3.6 Ethical Considerations

The Belmont Report (1979) outlines three basic principles relevant to the ethics of research

involving human subjects, namely respect of persons, beneficence, and justice. In conducting

this research great care was taken to understand and be familiar with any and all of the

regulations associated with the fields of the study. It was extremely important to protect the

rights of the participants. Cooper & Schindler (2003) argued that research must be designed

so that a respondent does not suffer physical harm, discomfort, pain, embarrassment, or loss

of privacy. Informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and, the participants right to

privacy are some of the measures that were used to ensure that the participant, respondent or

subject in this research were treated with the principles of respect of person, beneficence, and

justice.

3.7 Data analysis and interpretation

Data collected from the respondents was analysed using SPSS 12.0 in which cross tabulation

of variables, correlations between the variables and regression of the variables was done. The

level of assessment of the competence of the practitioners, Leadership styles and negeotiation

levels were all analysed using frequency and percentage distribution while the relationship

among competence, leadership and negotiation and project performance was analysed using

Pearson Corelational Coefficient and the regression model was used to analyze the degree to

which these three variables influence project performance.

3.8 Limitations of the Research

The researcher while conducting this study encountered the following challenges:

I. Some respondents, especially those in higher positions were not ready to provide

information related with their project performance.

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To overcome this challenge, the researcher took the time to explain in detail the purpose of

the study so that they understood it as a purely academic research and nothing more. The

researcher also assured respondents who had hesitations that any information provided would

be confidential.

II. Some respondents were only ready to provide information on condition that the

researcher paid them for the information.

To overcome this challenge, the researcher tried to dialogue with such respondents explaining

that the research was purely academic and as a student, involving money in conducting the

study would make it almost impossible.

III. Other respondents did not understand the questionnaire and so some left it half filled

while other filled it but with irrelevant information.

Some respondents took the initiative to contact the researcher for guidance and the researcher

carefully guided the respondents without biasing their point of view. Some questionnaires

were however collected by the researcher and found with irrelevant information. To prevent

them from distorting the results, such questionnaires were excluded from the others during

the cleaning process.

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS AND FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

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4.0 Introduction

This chapter contain the findings of the researcher after analyzing the data that was collected.

Specifically, this presentation was guided by the following research objectives:

To evaluate levels of competences among road construction practitioners To assess the styles of leadership among road construction practitioners


To establish the relationship among leadership, negotiation and competence and

project performance

4.1 Background Information of respondents

4.1.1 Project Engaged WithThe results in the table below indicate the nature of the Project that the respondents were

engaged with

Table 1: Project Engaged With Among Respondents

Frequenc

y

Va...lid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Engineering 130 32.4 32.4

Construction 147 37 69.4

Information Technology 40 10 79.4

Enterprise Resource Planning 41 10.2 89.6

Infrastructure Design & Development 27 6.7 96.3

Other 16 4 100

Total 401 100.0

4.1.2 Approximate the size of project teams

The results in the table below indicate the size of the project teams that respondents had

worked with in the projects they were engaged in.

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Table 2 Approximate the size of project teams

Frequenc

y

ValidPercent

%

Cumulative

Percent

Vali

d

Less than 5 57 14 14.2

05 10 100 25 39.2

11 20 70 18 57.2

21 50 97 24 81.4

51 100 15 4 85.5

Over 100 61 15 100Total 401 100

4.1.3 Capacity in which Respondents Performed

The results in the table below show the various capacities in which the respondents

performed when the participated in project implementation.

Table 3 Capacity in which Respondents Performed

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Frequenc

y

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Vali

d

Project Manager 66 16.5 16.5

Project Coordinator 21 5.2 21.7

Project Team Member 198 49.4 71.1

Customer/ User 53 13.2 84.3

Advisor 21 5.2 89.5

Administrative Support 21 5.2 94.7

Other 21 5.2 100.0

Total 401 100.0

4.1.4 Age Group and Gender Distribution

The gender and age group of the respondents were presented as indicated in the table below

using a cross tabulation.

Table 4: Age Group and Gender Distribution

GenderTotal

Male Female

Age 21 - 30 yrs Count 102 48 150

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Group

Column % 42.8% 29.4% 37.4%

31 - 40 yrsCount 56 89 145

Column % 23.5% 54.6% 36.2%

41 - 50 yrs

Count 80 26 106

Column % 33.6% 15.9% 26.4%

Total

Count 238 163 401

Sample % 59.4% 40.6%100.0

%

4.1.5 Participation in the implementation of projects and Gender Distribution

The table below show results of the number of respondents who had ever participated in

project implementation and their gender and those who had not participated in project

implementation

Table 5 Participation in the implementation of projects and Gender Distribution

GenderTotal

Male Female

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Ever participated

in the

implementation of

projects

YesCount 304 87 391

Column % 100.0% 89.6% 97.5%

NoCount 10 10

Column % 10.3% 2.5%

TotalCount 304 97 401

Sample % 75.8% 24.2% 100.0%

4.1.6 Total years of work experience and Human resource competence

The results in the table below indicate the respondents who had received formal human

resource training before assuming their current jobs and those who had not alongside their

work experience.

Table 6 Total years of work experience and Human resource competence training

before assuming present role Distribution

Received formal Human

resource competence

training before assuming

present role

Total

Yes No

Total years work

experienceLess than 2

Count 210 5 215

Column % 90.9% 2.9% 53.6%

2 5Count 10 86 96

Column % 4.3% 50.5% 23.9%

6 10 Count 7 50 57

Column % 3.0% 29.4% 14.2%

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11 20Count 4 29 33

Column % 1.7% 17% 8.2%

Total

Count 231 170 401

Sample % 57.6% 42.3%

100.0

%

4.1.7 Total years of work experience and Leadership Training

The results in the table below indicate the respondents who had received formal leadership

training before assuming their current jobs and those who had not alongside their work

experience.

Table 7 Total years of work experience and Leadership training before assuming

present role Distribution

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31

Received formal

Leadership training before

assuming present roleTotal

Yes No

Total years work

experience

Less than 2Count 12 176 188

Column % 9.2% 64.9% 46.8%

2 5Count 4 28 32

Column % 3.0% 10.3% 7.9%

6 10Count 111 50 161

Column % 85.3% 18.5% 40.1%

11 20Count 3 17 20

Column % 2.3% 6.7% 4.9%

Total

Count 130 271 401

Sample % 32.4% 67.6%100.0

%


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4.1.8 Present role and Negotiation training

The results in the table below indicate the respondents who had received formal training to

enhance their negotiation skills in their current roles and those who had not.

Table 8 Present role and training in negotiation Distribution

32

Any training in negotiation

in present role Total

Yes No

Present

Role

None leaderCount 24 274 298

Column % 82.7% 73.6% 46.8%

Leader

Count 5 98 103

Column % 17.2 26.3% 7.9%

Total

Count 29 372 401

Sample % 7.2% 92.7%100.0

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4.2 Relationship between the variables

4.2.1 The Pearson (r) correlation coefficient

This was used to examine the nature of the relationships between the variables. According to

this correlation coefficient a positive relationship between two variables X and Y is said to

occur if an increment in one of the variables either x or y, brings about an increment in the

other variable. On the hand, a negative relationship between the two variable X and Y occurs

when an increment in one of the variables leads to a decrease in the other variable.

Table 9 Relationship between the variables

Competences NegotiationLeadershi

p

Project

Performance

Human Resource Competences 1.000

Negotiation .115 1.000

HR Leadership .294* .113 1.000

Project Performance .533** .158 .433** 1.000

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

.4.2.2 Regression model

Regression analysis was used to examine the degree to which Human Resource

Competences, Human resource leadership and Negotiation can influence the Projects

Performance.

Table 10 Degree to which Human Resource Competences, Human resource

leadership and Negotiation influence Projects Performance

Unstandardized Standardized T Sig.

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Coefficients Coefficients

Model B Std. Error Beta

(Constant) -.944 1.968 -.480 .634

Human Resource Competences .758 .221 .434

3.43

2 .001

Negotiation .665 1.000 .081 .665 .510

Leadership .522 .231 .2862.25

7.029

Dependent Variable:Project Performance

R Square 0.367F Statistic

8.50

3

Adjusted R Square 0.324Sig. 0.00

0

CHAPTER FIVE

Discussions

5.0 Introduction

This chapter presents a discussion of the findings as presented in the previous chapter. The

percentages are interpreted and discussed to provide a deeper understanding of the findings of

this study.

5.1 Table One

The results in table one indicate that most respondents were engaged with the construction

projects (37%) while least represented were the respondents engaged in other kinds of

projects other than those listed in the table (4.0%). Those engaged in Engineering, Enterprise

Resource Planning and Infrastructure Design and Development, comprised 32.4%, 10.2% and

6.7% respectively. Finally respondents engaged in projects related to Information Technology

comprised 9.6% of the sample.

The research primarily targeted the road construction projects and therefore the higher

percentage (37%) that represented the construction projects is justifiable. This does not make

the information revealed about other projects irrelevant for all projects share some common

characteristics like objectivity, definite start and end point, uniqueness just to mention but a

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few. Information about this project that some respondents were engaged with therefore

enhances the results of this study with regard to road construction projects.

5.2 Table Two

The results in table two indicate that most of the respondents had worked with teams between

5-10 members (25.0%) and just a few in the sample had worked with teams of 51-100

members (4.0%).

In most projects the workforce is normally grouped into smaller teams for purposes of

building a stronger team spirit, efficient and easy supervision and for motivation purposes. It

was found out that the highest percentage of respondents had worked with a team of 5-10

members which suits the criteria described above. A few members had worked with bigger

teams for bigger teams are usually hard to supervise and the bigger the team the weaker the

team spirit.

5.3 Table Three

Results in table three indicate that 49.4% of the respondents in the sample had performed in

projects as project team members. The rest had performed in the capacities of Project

coordinator, advisor, administrative support and other capacities not listed; each of thesecapacities constituted 5.2% of the sample. 16.5% of the sample had performed in the capacity

of project manager while 13.2% of the sample had performed in the capacity of

user/customer.

The biggest number of the sample size used in this study was composed of practitioners and

opinion leader while a smaller number was composed of administrators and contractors. It is

therefore justifiable that the highest percentage (49.4%) of respondents had performed as

project team members. This implies that most of the work on road projects is done by

practitioner rather than administrators.

5.4 Table Four

Results in the table four indicate that the majority of the sample were Male, constituting

59.4%% of the sample while females were in the minority, constituting (4.0%) of the sample.

Among the males, 42.8% were in the 21 30 year age bracket, only 33.6% of the males were

above 40 years old. Generally speaking, most respondents were in either the 21-30 year age

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bracket or the 31 -40 year age bracket (73.6%). Only 26.4% of the respondents were in the

41- 50 year age bracket.

This is justifiable because the years 21-40 are the years when people are active and strong to

work in Uganda. Most people finish school when they are in their twenties. Males are mostly

preferred in the road construction industry because of the nature of the jobs there.

Traditionally those jobs were seen as requiring physical strength which most women do not

have of recent however, a number of women are willing to take up such jobs.

5.5 Table Five

The results as in table five indicated that most of the respondents had participated in project

implementation (97.5%) and all the male respondents had participated in project

implementation before. Only ten females in the sample had not participated in project

implementation before (1.9%).

The results are as such because the researcher targeted respondents who had some knowledge

in projects in order to get reliable results.

5.6 Table six

To evaluate levels of competences among road construction practitioners

Table six indicates that most of the respondents in the sample had received formal human

resource training before assuming their current roles (57.6%) but 90.1% of these had a

working experience of less than two years. Only 9.9% of the respondents who had received

formal human resource training had worked for 2 years and above.

This implies that the practice of providing employees with formal human resource training

before assignment tasks to them has started of recent. Most of the senior workers in the road

construction industry were not trained formally in their jobs but they just learnt from on job

experience.

5.7 Table Seven

To assess the leadership competences among road construction practitioners

The results in table seven indicate that most of the respondents had not received formal

leadership training before assuming their present roles (67.6%) and most of these were those

juniors who had less than 2 years of work experience (64.9%). Those who had received some

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formal leadership training accounted for 32.4% of the total sample and the majority of these

had an experience of between 6-10 years.

The results in table seven imply that there is no practice of training worker in leadership. Just

a few people receive the training and this is after some good time of work. There is however

a range of a range of leadership roles in road projects such as team leaders, supervisors,

administration and so forth. The general implication of this is that most people lead naturally;

they are guided by their natural abilities to lead.

5.8 Table Eight


Results in table eight show that the majority of the respondents had not received any formal

training in their present roles to enhance their negotiation skills (92.7%); only 7.2% of the

sample had received some formal training to enhance their negotiation skills.

This implies that negotiation has not been given taken as an important factor that can affect

project performance. Most practitioners in road construction actually use their natural skills

to negotiate and those they have learnt from experience.

5.9.0 To establish the relationship among leadership, negotiation and competence and

project performance

This section presents an interpretation of the relationships among the variables as presented

in tables Nine and Ten

5.9.1 Table Nine

Assessing the relationship between competence and project performance

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The researcher observed a positive and significant relationship between the Human Resource

competences and project performance (r = .533**, p


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Results from the study revealed that Negotiation was not significantly related to project

performance. (r = .158, p>.05). In other words, good negotiation is not necessarily a

guarantee that there will be good project performance. This implies that there can be

instances when there is good negotiation and yet the project does not perform any better in

terms of time scope, value for money and quality. Similarly good negotiation may sometimes,

when combined with other factors such as adequate Human resource competences and

Human resource leadership, lead to better project performance. Some of the circumstances

that led to poor project performance in spite of the good negotiation included political

influence especially in Government projects, poor management of funds by project managers,

poor selection of project team members (selecting unskilled team members for technical

projects) and lack of inadequate project planning skills on the side of project managers.

5.10 Table Ten

Degree to which Human Resource Competences, leadership and Negotiation influenceProjects Performance

Results show that the Competences, Negotiation and Leadership can predict 32.4% of the

changes in Project Performance (Adjusted R Square = .324). The regression model had

acceptable levels of significance (sig.


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and quality because of the political pressures exerted on the project team by political

leaders. It was said that some political leaders have selfish interests in some projects

and causes them to tamper with the project plans just to make the project serve their

interests at the expense of the general public. several example were cited among

which was that some of the project budgets fall short not because there as a variation

in the bills of quantities quoted but because a portion of the budget was diverted to the

pockets of some politicians on claims that they played a big role in securing those

contracts and so they deserve some pay.

b. Bureaucracy; it also came out that governments bureaucratic processes negatively

impacted on project performance especially in terms of budget and schedule

management. A number of respondents indicated that government takes long to make

decisions and implement them and this affects the budgeting process and planning

project schedules. Two examples were cited on this: one was that when the bills of

quantities are quoted for a given project, the quoting is done according to the market

prices. But government takes long to release the funds and sometimes when the funds

are released later the market prices have changed already and yet the government does

not provide for those changes. Consequently the project managers are forced to

manage the projects within the funds available which affect the quality of the endproduct. Another example is that when government process take long, sometimes the

project is put to a standstill until a decision in made by the appropriate authorities, this

finally makes it hard for the project team to complete the project on schedule.

c. End user involvement in Planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects; it was

also observed that the end users of project products/services are involved in the

monitoring and evaluation of projects. Some respondents mentioned that Ugandas

system of planning, monitoring and evaluating projects especially in the road

construction industry does not involve the customers. The customers are left out on

claims that they are not technical enough and therefore projects are planned,

monitored and evaluated by a few people who in most cases do not represent actual

view of the customers.

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CHAPTER SIX

Conclusions and Recommendations

6.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the conclusions inferred from the finds of the study and then

recommendations of researcher based on the findings.

6.1 Conclusions

6.1.1 To evaluate levels of competences among road construction practitioners

The culture of providing workers with training to enhance their competences in their roles has

just begun. This is the reason why the highest percentages of those who have received formal

human resource training are juniors who have just started working. This implies that

Ugandas road construction industry is dominated by a workforce whose competences have

not been formally developed through training. Most of the senior officers responsible for

initiating, planning, implementing and monitoring road construction projects in Uganda,

therefore, mostly rely on their experiences other than the competences they gained through

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training. Failure of some road projects in Uganda can therefore be attributed to human

resource incompetence.

6.1.2 To assess the styles of leadership among road construction practitioners

Ugandas road construction sector is dominated by a belief that leaders are naturally born and

leadership skills are gained through experience. There is no culture of training workers in

leadership to develop their skills in leadership. The study however found that leadership is a

very significant factor that influences project performance. It can therefore be justifiably

inferred that incompetence leadership is one factor that has hindered road projects in Uganda

from delivering the desired quality.

6.1.3 To determine levels of negotiation among road construction practitioners

The role of negotiation in ensuring successful project performance has been neglected in

Ugandas road construction industry. This study found out that the majority of the

practitioners in this industry have not undergone any training which could enhance their

negotiation skill. Although the finding of the study indicated that the relationship between

negotiation and project performance is not a significant one, it still remains an important

factor which, if completely neglected, could negatively affect the performance of a road

project. This is because the process of constructing or upgrading a road involves a number of

stakeholders which makes negotiation important.

6.1.4 To establish the relationship among leadership, negotiation and competence and

project performance

Competence, Leadership and negotiation have a very significant effect on the performance of

a road project. Under looking any one of these variables can cause serious defects on the

outputs of a given road project. For a road project to deliver the desired quality, complete on

schedule and within the budget and to satisfy the expectations of all the stakeholders, it has to

be manned by a competent human resource, good leaders who are to vision, motivate, resolve

conflict and motivate the project team towards the project objectives and all the key

stakeholders especially the project managers should have excellent negotiation skills to beable to strike a balance the interests of all stakeholder.

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In Ugandas road construction projects, these factors have not been given the ideal attention

they deserve. Some of the contractors focus on the business aspect of the projects and end up

employing entrusting the projects into the hands of an incompetent human resource. This

makes the whole process right from the initiation phase to the monitoring and evaluation

ineffective and inefficient. The results of such a process are the sub standard roads we have in

Uganda and the continued Government expenditure on road repairing and construction.

6.2 Recommendations

Government of Uganda should establish a competence based criteria for employment into

public offices specifically in the road sector. Public offices should be occupied by those who

have the appropriate competences. Major offices in the Ministry of works and Transport,

UNRA, URF and other relevant offices should be given to those who not only have

experience but who have been formally trained to gain the required skills. Most people who

claim to have learnt from experiences still lack in competence because their experiences have

developed through the trial and error method which is itself wasteful of resources. There is

a standardized way constructing roads and so people only have to be trained to be able to

deliver the right quality. On job training is one way to provide the current workforce with

required leadership skills while juniors can be taken through the training before assuming

their roles.

Once the top officials have the appropriate competences, all the processes involved in road

construction such as road design, feasibility studies, tendering processes, project monitoring

and evaluation will be streamlined this these are usually the drivers of these processes.

Government should develop a mechanism of evaluating local contractors in the road sector to

before after licensing them to operate. This study has proved that some contractors actually

lack in competences and so end up producing shoddy work and other companies just present

a competent work force just for winning contracts and thereafter use semi-skilled personnel

to man the projects. This indicates incompetence in the monitoring and evaluation systems. A

mechanism of evaluating and monitoring these contractors should therefore be established to

ensure that all licensed contractors in the road sector actually have the required capacities and

abilities to deliver quality products upon completion of projects. These contractors should

also be monitored frequently to ensure that quality is at their finger tips in every piece of

work done.

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Government should facilitate the development of a leadership training culture. However

much some leadership traits are in-born, training in leadership enhances these traits and

increase ones capability of leading. This study has proved that most people hold leadership

positions in projects but a minority of these has actually received formal training in

leadership. According to the findings of this study, leadership significantly affects project

performance and therefore whereas good leadership leads to successful project performance,

poor leadership can lead to project failure. As a way to improve on the performance of road

projects in Uganda, there is therefore need to make sure that road projects are led by good

leaders. One of the ways to achieve this is through training; a culture that good leaders are

trained should be established in the road construction industry and this will enhance project

performance. On job training is one way to provide the current workforce with required

leadership skills while juniors can be taken through the training before assuming their roles.

To ensure timely delivery of projects, budget management, long lasting roads and satisfaction

of key stakeholders, good negotiation is important. Although good negotiation does not

necessarily guarantee project performance, Government of Uganda and all concerned

Ministries and bodies need to ensure that road projects are negotiated skillfully. This implies

that good negotiators should do the negotiations in order to strike a balance in the interests of

all stakeholders. Poor negotiation could lead to problems to do with schedule management,

time, and the quality of the end project. All concerned Ministries, organizations and

Government bodies should therefore begin to provide their workforce with training in

negotiation to enhance their natural skills. This can be done in form of workshops at work,

short course designed to suit their needs and sponsoring both senior and junior officers in

Universities to do related courses. Ensuring that most of the road project practitioners have

good negotiation skill is one way that will enhance the success of road projects in Uganda.

The Government of Uganda should refrain from politically interfering with the activities of

UNRA and Ministry of Works and Transport. All road projects should be focused on

delivering quality roads for sustainable development and so the Government should, though

support them, let the mandated bodies do their job. This does not mean that the Government

should not supervise, monitor or evaluate road projects but it should just mobilize required

funds and any other support and then stick to its supervisory role. This study found that most

projects in the road sector fail to deliver as expected because of political influences. Some

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politicians have at times interfered with these projects thus negatively affecting their

schedules, budgets and quality.

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