Influence Of Critical Success Factors On Project Performance: A Case Of The National Transport And Safety Authority Of Kenya
Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In this study the influence of Critical Success Factors on Project Performance has been \ninvestigated, taking the case of the National Transport and Safety Authority of Kenya. In \nthis pursuit, four specific research objectives were advanced to guide the inquiry. They \nincluded: to examine in what ways Leadership Sponsorship influence project performance; \nto assess how Human Relation Orientation influence project performance; establish in what \nways Communication Orientation influence project performance and to determine how Goal \nOrientation influence project performance. The study applied a cross-sectional survey \nresearch design owing to its ability to allow quantitative and qualitative data from a large \npopulation. The study had all employees of the National Transport and Safety Authority who \nare the project participants in five key management projects at the Authority as the target \npopulation. This study used two instruments; a questionnaire and an interview schedule. \nQuestionnaires were administered by the researcher. The study had both quantitative and \nqualitative data. Using descriptive and inferential statistics, quantitative data was analyzed \nwhile content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Inferential statistics such as \nPearson correlation coefficient and chi-square test was used to analyze quantitative data. \nResults of quantitative data analysis are presented in tables. \nThe Findings revealed that project performance is determined by Leadership Sponsorship, \nGoal Orientation and Communication Orientation. When leadership changed by 1 unit, \nthen there was in the same direction a corresponding change by 1.29 units of project \nperformance in the same direction. Similarly, a change in Communication Orientation and \nGoal Orientation by 1 unit in each case, had a corresponding change of project performance \nby 1.11 and 1.16 respectively. The researcher however failed to establish any correlation \nbetween Human Orientation and project performance and concluded that there was no \ndirect impact of this attribute to the projects at the Authority. There was however limited \nevidence on its application across all the five management projects at the Authority, \nexplaining in part the negative results. \nThe results depict that at 95% confidence level, Leadership Sponsorship, Communication \nOrientation and Goal Orientation are significant explanatory variables for any change in \nproject performance. The coefficient of determination (R)2 of the univariate Chi-square \nAnalysis of the results, explaining the magnitude. Interpreting the results Leadership \nSponsorship explains 97% of any change in Project Performance, while Communication \nOrientation explains 89% of any change in Project Performance and Goal Orientation \nexplaining 89% of any change in Project Performance. The remaining 3 % - 11 % of change \nin the dependent variable (Project performance) respectively, is explained by other factors \nnot measured by this study. \nThe study concluded that the most successful projects within the Authority, where those with \na senior member of management, with sufficient authority on people, systems and funds who \nacted as a Sponsor. The sponsor communicated the vision of the project, motivated the team, \nresolved conflicts within the project and within the organization, while reinforcing change, \nand building the necessary coalitions to make this possible. Projects that were Goal Oriented \nhad clearly defined the scope of the project, set a clear path project in terms of what needs \nto be achieved, and set project milestones. They had also a good focus on the smaller daily \nxii \ngoals and had ensured congruence amongst team members. Furthermore, the team members \nwere action oriented in the sense that success was defined based on realization of very specific \nobjectives, that were time bound. Finally Saddled between the two aspects as a critical \nsuccess factor was Communication Orientation. It was evident from the study that the intent \nof leadership and the work plans of the project managers required an effective cascade to all \nproject team members for realization of any tangible project results. Furthermore, \nCommunication Orientation proved essential in addressing the group dynamics within a \nproject and the management of all project stakeholders. \nThis study therefore recommends the adoption of the principle of Project Leadership \nSponsorship and training of senior management members on this aspect. Furthermore, Goal \nOrientation and Communication Best Practices should be well documented and adopted in \nprojects as means of improving performance. As a matter of fact, the development of a \nproject management manual applying the principles in this study would be a great way to \nstandardize these practices across all management projects.
Author: Mathew Mutua Munyao
Language: English
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2712555514