EFFECT OF PROJECT MANAGERS

COMPETENCIES ON PROJECT
PERFORMANCE
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[DATE]
[COMPANY NAME]
[Company address]

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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1

Background of the Study ................................................................................................ 1

Problem Statement ...................................................................................................... 2

Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................................... 3

Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 3

The Significance of the Study ......................................................................................... 4

Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 5

Research Gap ................................................................................................................. 8

Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................. 8

Methodology ................................................................................................................... 9

Managerial Implications .............................................................................................. 13

References ..................................................................................................................... 14
Introduction

This study investigates the relationship between the competencies of a project manager and

project performance. It is strongly believed through academic exploration and analysis of

practical case studies that experience and competencies of a project manage r might play a

vital role in project’s success. The author of this study has

Background of the Study

Often success is caused by competencies of project management; however, there

could be complexities in projects, which could lead to difficulty in executing a project.

With time newer and newer things are coming to the surface, which is increasing

complexities, and because of the dynamic atmospheres, the implementation of projects is

becoming harder. Such things might also include fast-changing technologies, the diverse

point of views of the stakeholder involvement and the different kinds of uncertainties

(Ramazani and Jergeas, 2015). However, if a manager possesses the required competencies

for a project by its type, nature, complexity, and context, then they can make a project

successful and can improve the overall performance of the project.

In countries like Pakistan, which are on the way of development, the application of

project management, expertise, and their competency levels are very low. In Pakistan,

improper planning and other managerial issues have already caused delay and exceeding

the budget in many projects. Megaprojects on which the overall progress of a country

depends are mostly affected by incompetent managers, and their process is slowed down

(Hodgson and Paton, 2016). The nation takes more time to develop than it should have.

Some of the other factors which cause cost overruns and time overruns are the weak

planning and management along with non-availability of the sustainable workforce. An

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example of it could be found in the construction of the new Islamabad International Airport

Project. This project had a lot of issues regarding the field of project management.

In countries like Pakistan, there is a great need for the use of modern tools and

techniques of project management to handle the performance of high-level challenges.

Most of these challenges arise in mega construction projects. The use of standardised and

globalised tools and techniques could lead to successful projects that can be easily

achieved (DuBois, Koch, Hanlon, Nyatuga and Kerr, 2015). Most of these problems arise

in the public sector; therefore, this sector should focus more on getting a competent person

for project management and handling of such mega projects.

It is clear from the above-given literature that there is a great deal of influence of

the project complexities and project management competencies on the success of a project

as well as the performance of a project (DuBois, Koch, Hanlon, Nyatuga and Kerr, 2015).

The purpose of this research study is to empirically show how the performance of projects

in the public sector of Pakistan regarding engineering infrastructure is affected by project

complexities and project management competencies.

Problem Statement

The purpose of this study is to examine the project management competencies

important for the success of a project, mostly considered when project managers are hired,

promoted and when their job is designed. There exists a considerable amount of research

on the finding and determining the best competencies required by a successful project

manager and also to pass the professional certification exam of PMI. The gap found in the

literature is that the literature has failed to describe what is best or most important

competencies required by the project managers to run a successful project. Managers would
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agree on the fact that no single individual could have all the competencies required by a

successful manager at the highest level; one project manager is completely proficient. Thus

it is necessary to find out those competencies which are the most important in specific

situations. Each situation will require a different set of competencies.

Purpose of the Study

The study is based on five different purposes:

 To contribute to the existing literature of competencies required in project

management; more particularly to determine the competencies considered for the

sake of designing a job, hiring and promoting project managers.

 To find out if some managerial competencies should be considered more important

than the other by project managers regarding designing the job of a project manager,

as well as their hiring and promotion.

 To determine if soft skills or hard skills are more important in designing the job of a

project manager, as well as their hiring and promotion.

 To make recommendations as well as draw conclusions about designing the job of a

project manager, as well as their hiring and promotion.

 To find out that when hiring or promoting a project manager, which competencies

should be the basis for asking questions in their interviews.

Research Questions

Following are the research questions designed for this research study

1. Which project management competencies are perceived as more important by

experienced project managers when hiring new project managers?

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2. Which project management competencies are perceived as more important by

experienced project managers when promoting existing project managers?

3. Which project management competencies are perceived as more important by

experienced project managers when jobs are designed for project managers?

4. Whether hard or soft competencies are deemed more important by experienced

managers when designing jobs, hiring and promoting project managers?

The Significance of the Study

This research study is being undertaken to go beyond just determining the

competencies which can potentially increase the performance and success of a project. It

goes to the extent of finding out which competencies amongst them are more important to

consider. Since all projects are not of the same kind and nature, therefore the importance of

the competencies depends upon the specific situation. However, some of the competencies

are deemed more important by the manager than the others. The purpose behind

determining the important competencies is to make the hiring, promoting and job designing

processes more and more efficient (Blomquist, Farashah and Thomas, 2016). In most of the

organisation, according to different researchers, there is a sense of frustration among the

employees regarding hiring and promoting practices. Their frustration has been validated or

ratified by their colleagues. Although it is not possible to remove all the bias from hiring

and promotion process, still if appraisals and interview questions are based on the most

important competencies required for a specific project then, there will be the lesser amount

of frustration. This phenomenon will result in increasing the performance of the project

managers and the success of the projects. The hiring and promotion processes designed in

the light of this study will be more than just gut feeling and therefo re will be proved
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beneficial in the hiring and promotion of project managers (Blomquist, Farashah and

Thomas, 2016). Furthermore, these competencies could also be used to design jobs for the

project managers which will give them a complete sense of what is expected from them.

Also, their performance could be compared against the set job design. The researcher

suggests that there is a lot of values in finding out the key performance indicators or

competencies of project managers who are important for designing a job, hiring and

promotion processes. The findings of this research study will help the managers as well as

the organisations hiring these managers.

Literature Review

There are great numbers of studies conducted on leadership’s managerial and

emotional competencies. However, the literature on intellectual competencies is very little.

According to the literature, there are three kinds of competencies of leadership namely;

emotional, managerial and intellectual competencies (Rezvani et al., 2016). Together these

competencies define the type of personality a leader has, along with his traits and

characteristics. A combination of these competencies is needed for a manager to be

successful as a leader and to cope with the complexities of today’s dynam ic world. The

above-mentioned three kinds of competencies differentiate between effective and

ineffective leaders and manager (Loufrani-Fedida and Saglietto, 2016). They also helps to

determine the beliefs, values and actualities of a manager or a leader by drawing in judges

with impartial points of view to give proficient perspectives on high-minded and ethically

apt picks, and an open domain for exchange on convictions, prospects, and announcement;

b) vision and creative ability: encourage project managers to develop the scholarly

administration in light of the fact that an energetic pipedream causes colleagues to focus on
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undertaking objectives and targets (Larsson, Eriksson, Olofsson and Simonsson, 2015). It

is implausible that innovativeness and creative ability with the right outlook and tools can't

render operational and efficacious outcomes — apparition aides in protruding issues liable

to be experienced and to grasp their impact on the business and effective finish of the task.

Creative ability and curiosity prepare for venture directors in making novel methods of

insight. Furthermore, vision and creative ability can likewise adjust the manner in which

organisations are going which in the end prompts beginning patterns and prospects

inappropriate choice of career (DuBois et al., 2015).

For projects to be completed a project manager successfully is required to initiate,

plan, execute, monitor, control and close the project. When time, budget, and performance

goals are met, a project is then said to be successful. However, there is more to the success

of a project than just time, budget, performance goals and scope constraints. At the

beginning of every project, the criteria for measuring the success of that project should be

set in advance. The criteria should clearly define what is expected from each of the

stakeholder involved in the project (de Carvalho, Patah and de Souza Bido, 2015). If a

clear criterion is not set, then each person or stakeholder will look at the performance of

the project with their perception and some might call the project a success and some might

call it a failure because of the subjective opinion. According to many of the researches in

the literature, for a project to be successful, there should be proper planning and execution,

followed by control of quality, time and cost (Loufrani-Fedida and Missonier, 2015).

Organisations which are efficient mostly focus on cognitive competencies of the

managers, leaders and the team to enhance their creative as well as critical skills which

help them in all the steps of the project management through learning and experience
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which ultimately enhance their decision-making skills. A competent leader always set goals

and objectives in light of a well-defined vision and them formulate strategies to achieve

those goals and objectives (Meng and Boyd, 2017). An effective leader makes use of

effective communication skills to train the members for the present and upcoming

challenges and problems and to motivate them to work to the best of their abilities. A set of

different competencies together in the workforce of an organisation make it dynamic and

well run which enhances the abilities of the workforce to improve their performance as

well as that of the organisation (Meng and Boyd, 2017).

There have been numerous studies on the quantitative analysis of the overall project

success. According to the literature of project management, in spite of the advancement in

the field of project management such as project management methods, processes,

techniques, and tools, still, no significant increase has been seen in the project success. To

understand project management in a better way, there is a strong need for understanding

the common success factors of different projects (Tabassi et al., 2016). According to some

recent research studies, it is suggested that leadership competencies are one of greatest

success factors and further investigations should be made in this area to promote successful

project management. Conventionally the success of a project is measured through a triangle

of cost, time and specification, however, researches should focus more on general as well

as specific factors that may contribute to the success of a project (Hassan, Bashir and

Abbas, 2017). Literature still lacks an appropriate or agreed on a list of critical success

factors in the field of project management.

This study will test the following hypothesis:

H1: Emotional competencies of project managers increase the project performance

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H2: Leadership competencies of project managers increase the project performance

H3: Intellectual competencies of project managers increase the project performance

Research Gap

The paper will fill the research gap by addressing the project managers’ emotional,

leadership and intellectual competencies. Before this study, researches have been done to

explore the impact of the hard and soft skills of leaders. This study will extend the scope to

emotional, intellectual and leadership skills of the project managers and their impact on the

project performance.

Theoretical Framework

The framework developed for the study shows three independent variables listed as

emotional, leadership and intellectual competencies of project managers and one dependent

variable. The dependent variable in the framework is projected performance. The

relationships of the variables shown in the model are studied through primary data

collected from the target audience. This serves as the appropriate tool for data collection

because it enhances the opportunity to gather data from the large sample. The survey

technique also enables accurate information from the respondents increasing the precision

of the data collected.

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Methodology

The research methodology used in this research study is adapted from a recent study

that was conducted on the completed infrastructure projects that took place in Pakistan.

The questionnaires used are made by Project Manager Competency Development as well as

International Project Management Association for the complexities the model of Bosch-

Rekveldt et all. (2011) is used.

Research Approach

To carry out the research, a deductive approach is used over the inductive approach. For

the deductive approach, a general hypothesis is developed by collecting the secondary data

from past researches conducted on the topic. The findings of various authors will help in
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collecting data for the development of a hypothesis. The hypothesis is then tested by

collecting primary data to answer the objectives set for the research.

Time Horizon

The research follows cross-sectional study, that is, a single examination of a cross-

section of a population at one point of time. Thus it provides disease prevalence. The data

will be collected only once from a fraction of population selected randomly and tested to

get the answer to the objectives.

Sampling

 Unit of Analysis

The unit of analysis for the study is project directors of different public sector

infrastructure projects in Pakistan. To serve the purpose project directors will be

approached through a self-administered survey regarding their recently completed public

sector infrastructure projects in Pakistan.

 Sampling Technique

The purposive sampling technique was is because only project directors of those projects

are approached that are completed. It is an appropriate method for this type of research in

terms of cost and the efficiency of data collection. The setting for this study is non-

contrived as the investigations were carried out in natural environment.

 Sampling Size

The data is collected from 200 project directors as the study considers 200 completed

infrastructure projects completed recently. Approaching 200 project directors will be

convenient in terms of cost and time so this number is retained for the study.

Research Instrument
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The intellectual competencies of the project managers are measured by the Leadership

Dimension Questionnaire from the study of Dulewicz and Higgs (2008). The success of the

project is measured by the Project Success Assessment Questionnaire, which was presented

in the study of Shenhar and Dvir (2007). The mentioned questionnaire was operationalised

by Ahmed et al. (2006) by 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to agree

strongly. The methodology used is a questionnaire based to collect data from the

respondents. There are three sections in the questionnaire namely; demographics,

intellectual competencies, and project success.

In the demographics section of the questionnaire, the questions are asked about the

projects and the respondents themselves. The respondents are required to answer each of

the question keeping in mind their recently completed project. The questionnaire is

developed online, and the link for the questionnaire is shared with the project managers of

about 200 recently completed projects through email. The questionnaire mostly asked about

the personal competencies of the project managers as per the dimensions of PMCD PMI

and IMPA framework. For the work complexity, the framework of Bosch-Rekveldt is used.

The questionnaire also includes questions about newly found competencies, dimensions,

and elements of complexities. These questions are asked through the expert interview in

another phase of the study. Majorly four kinds of questions are asked format each

respondent;

1) Background of the respondents such as their age, tenure of experience, association

and education etc.

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2) General and specific characteristics of their recently completed project s such as

actual cost, approved cost, actual time, approved time, actual scope and approved

scope etc.

3) Complexities of the project such as questions about the observed scoring of the

complex elements. This part of the questionnaire also allowed the respondents to

give out their thoughts about the complexity of the project as well as the elements

they found as the source for complexity in these projects. TOE frame and Bosch -

Rekveldt et all framework is used to analyse the answers of the respondents. The

complexity scale is from 1 to 7 with one as least complex and seven as the most

complex.

4) Project Management Competencies, which are such dimensions of management

which are necessary for running a project. The respondents are asked to give their

answers on a scale of 1 to 7 with 1 as lowest and 7 as highest.

In SPSS Bi-variate methods are used to determine the relationship between two

variables such as project performance, project complexity, and project management

competencies. As all the questions asked are answered by a 7 point Likert scale, therefore

to find the correlation Spearman’s coefficient is adapted to have a monotonic link between

two variables. Furthermore, to make the study more effective, outliers will be identified

and taken out of the data because outliers could mislead the results. Univariate general

linear modelling (ANOVA) test is used to quantify the effect that management

competencies and complexity of the project have on the performance of the project. To

categorise the data and give it a more meaningful form, the data is divided into two groups

by competencies such as high competency and low competency as well as by complexity

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such as high complexity and low complexity. Therefore, there will be a total of four groups

for the analysis of the data.

Managerial Implications

The job of project managers is demanding and complicated, as it needs that the project

manager will keep an eye constantly on various tasks that are being done at same time in

the non-construction projects along with dealing with the highly difficult combination of

individuals working to complete those tasks. The department of higher management must

examine the competencies of their project managers to identify what skills are missing

“Belbin team roles test is recommended for training requirements” (Liikamaa, 2015). This

assists the managers to enhance their level of performance, which is reflected by the

outcomes of the projects.

A training agenda must be held by the organisations for both senior and new project

managers that comprise developing the dimensions of skills competency which include the

following, conscientiousness, motivation, influence, interpersonal sensitivity, intuitiveness,

emotional resilience, and self-awareness (Sunindijo, 2015). All these skills are essential

and must be present in the team members so that the organisation can ge t benefit out of

them instead of going in more loss by hiring more members in teams.

 All those organisations, which are in the process of hiring project managers from

the new generation, must put the skill competency in their main criteria list for

selecting perfect candidates.

 Project managers must be careful while selecting their team members and also they

must give them proper coaching to ensure that all team members are capable enough
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to resolve their issues independently without taking external help an d can be easily

counted on (Sunindijo, 2015).

 There should be proper planning and designing of the projects with 100%

involvement of all the team members along with perfect accuracy.

 The project managers must give all subordinates specific powers so that t hey can

express their innovativeness and come up with the latest ideas and solution for

sorting out the issues by themselves.

References

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a predictor of project performance: Constructing and validating a domain-specific

scale. International Journal of Project Management, 34(8), 1417-1432.

De Carvalho, M. M., Patah, L. A., & de Souza Bido, D. (2015). Project management and its

effects on project success: Cross-country and cross-industry

comparisons. International Journal of Project Management, 33(7), 1509-1522.

DuBois, M., Koch, J., Hanlon, J., Nyatuga, B., & Kerr, N. (2015). Leadership Styles of

Effective Project Managers: Techniques and Traits to Lead High-Performance

Teams. Journal of Economic Development, Management, IT, Finance &

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Hassan, M. M., Bashir, S., & Abbas, S. M. (2017). The impact of project mana gers’
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leadership. Project Management Journal, 48(2), 74-87.

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