This content requires Adobe Flash Player version
or later.
Either you do not have Adobe Flash Player installed,
or your version is too old,
or there is a problem with your Flash installation and we were unable to detect it.
The first research question asked how the various competency elements are ranked by the project manager fraternity. The analysis of the results indicates that in the case of all three competencies, the responses are positively skewed towards the extremely important and very important ratings. The implication is that the respondents had a very strong feeling towards each of the competencies. This is evident when one reflects on the top and bottom five competencies of each of the groupings. Although some competencies were rated lower, they were still perceived as important by the respondents. There is not a single competency that was rated as the “uber” competency.
Research question 2 focused on whether the three competency ranges are perceived as equally important by the project management fraternity. The contextual competence range overall was rated lower than the technical and behavioural competence groupings. The elements of contextual competence focus on the interaction of the project team within the context of the project and with the permanent organisation. They focus on the positioning of the project itself within the organisation and the strategic role the project plays. It might be that the respondents believed or perceived this competency range as more the competencies that portfolio and programme managers must possess. It is not really the function of a project manager to strategically position the project.
The answer to the third research question is quite interesting. Research by Marnewick (2012) highlights factors that contribute to project success. The factors that contribute the most to project success are (i) communication between the project team and the customers, (ii) executive support, (iii) handling of change, (iv) user involvement and (v) the clarity of the business objectives.
Table 6 provides a mapping between the top five competencies of each of the groupings and the factors that contribute to project success.
TABLE 6: MAPPING BETWEEN TOP FIVE COMPETENCIES AND PROJECT SUCCESS Factors contributing to project success
Communication between the project team and the customers
Executive support Handling of change User involvement
Clarity of the business objectives
Develop the project objectives
Table 6 shows the discrepancy between what the respondents believed to be important competencies and the factors that contribute to project success. Only four of the total of 16 top competencies can be mapped to the project success factors. This highlights the imbalance between what are thought to be important competencies versus the reality of what should be important competencies.
There is not a single contextual competency that was listed as a top competency contributing to project success.
CONCLUSIONS
The literature review highlights the importance of project management within the organisation. Project management plays a pivotal role in the implementation of the organisational strategy. This can only be accomplished if the project managers themselves are competent.
THE DISPARITY BETWEEN PROJECT SUCCESS AND PROJECT MANAGERS' COMPETENCIES 1122 Technical Communicate effectively Contextual Behavioural