PROJECT MANAGERS' SOFT SKILLS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DONOR-FUNDED INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

Kurui Zenah Jerotich, Dr. Samson Nyang’au Paul,Ph.D

Abstract


Over the years, donor funding has played a significant role in supporting programs and projects in Kenya. Despite the significance of donor-funded infrastructure projects contributing to 11% of theGDP, there exist implementation problems. Despite the existing problems facing successful implementation of donor funded projects, few studies have focused on the topic. Due to the existing conceptual and contextual research gap, this study sought to examine the influence of project managers' soft skills on implementation of donor funded infrastructure projects in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study specifically sought to determine the influence of project managers’ leadership skills and project managers’ problem-solving skills on implementation of donor funded infrastructure projects in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study adopted cross-sectional research design. The study used purposive sampling procedure to select all the 42 project managers and simple random sampling to select 10% of the targeted project beneficiaries to arrive at 230 project beneficiaries. This study used both primary and secondary data, which was collected using a structured questionnaire and desktop reviews. Quantitative data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics techniques. Multiple regression models were fitted to the data in order to determine how the independent variables influence the dependent variable. The findings were presented in tables. From the findings, it was established that project managers’ leadership skills and project managers’ problem-solving skills have a direct effect on implementation of donor funded infrastructure projects. The study recommended that project managers should coach and mentor team members. Project managers should focus on effective prioritization to maintain order within their projects, strategize and employ problem-solving tools to address issues efficiently. Finally, there is need for the policy makers to incorporate soft skills into the academic curriculum as they form a fundamental component in making prospective employees to perform better in their project work.

Keywords: Leadership Skills, Problem-Solving Skills, Implementation of Donor Funded Projects

 


Full Text:

PDF

References


Amoah, A. & Marimon, F. (2021). Project Managers as Knowledge Workers: Competencies for Effective Project Management in Developing Countries. Administrative Sciences, 11 (131), 1-13.

Azhar, N., Farouqi, R., U. & Ahmed, S., M. (2018). Advancing and Integrating construction education, research & practice. Cost Overrun Factors in the Construction Industry of Advancing & Integrating Construction Education, Research and Practice, First International Conference on Construction in Developing Countries (ICCIDC–I), (pp. 4-5). Karachi.

Blen, D. (2019, June 6). Factors Affecting Successful Implementation of Projects in International Nongovernmental Organizations in Ethiopia: The case of Save the Children International Projects. Retrieved from http://etd.aau.edu.et/xmlui/handle/123456789/20241

Boulden, G (2018). Thinking creatively, Dorling Kindersley, London.

Bourne, L. & Walker, H. T. (2014). Advancing project management in learning organizations. The Learning Organization, 11(1), 43-226.

Chong, S. (2017). Conflict Management. From http://knol.google.com/k7conflictmanagement.

Deepa, S. S., & Seth, M. (2019). Do Soft Skills Matter? – Implications for Educators Based on Recruiters' Perspective. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 7(1), 7-20.

Flannes, S. W., & Levin, G. (2017). Essential people skills for project managers. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts, Inc

Haddad, S., M. (2019). The effect of soft skills on project management success in IT industry. Bitstream: Wiley & Sons.

Hagemann V, & Kluge A. (2017). Complex Problem Solving in Teams: The Impact of Collective Orientation on Team Process Demands. Front Psychol. 2017 Sep 29; 8:1730. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01730. PMID: 29033886; PMCID: PMC5627219.

Hamilton, C. (2018). Communicating for Results: A Guide for Business and the Professions, (10th Ed). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning (265-271).

Kaplan, M., Dollar, B., Melian, V., Van Durme, Y., & Wong, J. (2018). Human capital trends 2018 survey. Oakland, CA: Deloitte University Press.

Kassim, H., H. & Mutiso, J. (2019). Determinants of Successful Implementation of Donor funded infrastructure projects in Wajir County Kenya. International Journal of Innovative Social Sciences & Humanities Research, 7(4), 20-36.

Kavita-Musembi, A., K., Guyo, W., Kyalo, D., N. & Mbuthia, A. (2018). Effect of Employee's Soft Skills on Performance of Public Energy Sector Projects in Kenya. International Academic Journal of Human Resource and Business Administration, 3 (2), 1-13.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2019). Kenya: demographic and health survey. Nairobi, Kenya: Central Bureau of Statistics.

Kilian, A. (2018). Soft skills lacking in the workplace. Nairobi: Creamer Media’s Engineering News.

Lacerenza, C.N., Marlow, S.L., & Tannenbaum, S.I. (2018). Team Development Interventions: Evidence-Based Approaches for Improving Teamwork. American Psychological Association, 73, (4), 517–531.

Landau, P. (2019). 12 resource allocation tips for project managers. Retrieved from: https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/resource-allocation.

Leslie, L (2018). Mass communication ethics: decision making in postmodern culture, Houghton Miffling College Division, London.

Mahaney (2019). An Agency Theory Explanation of Project Success. Research gate

Mahaney, R. C. & Lederer, A. L. (2019). An Agency Theory Explanation of Project Success, Journal of Computer Information Systems, 51 (4), 102-113.

Makena (2017). Report: Influence of Project Management Information Systems on Project Performance. UON

Malibu (2017). Contract Type Monitoring, Goal Conflict in Project Management Measures. Emerald Insight.

Muchungu, M. P. (2017, June 5). The contribution of human factors in the performance of construction projects in Kenya. Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi, pp. 48-53.

Mumford, M, Zaccaro, S, Connelly, M, & Marks, M. (2020). ‘Leadership skills: conclusions and future directions’, Leadership Quarterly, vol. 11 no. 1, pp.155-170.

Munns, A. & Bjeimi, G. (2020). The role of project management in achieving project success. International Journal of Project Management, 14(2), 82–87.

Narayanaswamy, R., Grover, V., & Henry, R. M. (2019). The Impact of Influence Tactics in Information System Development Projects: A Control-Loss Perspective. Journal of Management Information Systems, 30(1), 191- 226.

Ondari, P. O., & Gekara, J. M. (2019). Factors influencing successful completion of roads projects in Kenya. International Journal of Arts and Entrepreneurship, 1(5), 1-22.

Prencipe, A. & Tell, F. (2021). Inter-project learning: processes and outcomes of knowledge codification in project-based firms. Research Policy, 30 (9), 1374-1374.

Salas, E., Benishek, L., Coultas, C., Dietz, A., Grossman, R., Lazzara, E., & Oglesby, J. (2017). Team training essentials: A research-based guide. New York, NY: Routledge.

Verma, V. K. (2019). Human resource skills for project managers. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Watt, A. (2018). Resource Planning. Retrieved From: https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/chapter/chapter-11-resource-planningproject-management/

Wood, T. (2015). Village Phone Replication Manual: Creating Sustainable Access to Affordable Telecommunications for the Rural Poor. New York, NY: The United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force.

Young, T. (2019). Successful Project Management. London, UK: Kogan Page Publishers.

Yunus, M., Setyosari, P., Utaya, S., & Kuswandi, D. (2021). The influence of online project collaborative learning and achievement motivation on problem-solving ability. European Journal of Educational Research, 10(2), 813-823.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.