Dealing with Project Management Challenges through effective Project Leadership

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2013 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A, ( Atlantic International University ), course: Project Leadership, language: English, abstract: Leadership is a crucial component of project management in any development sector. However, the construction sector in developing countries has features and processes that make leadership even more vital. Construction projects by governments demand huge financial and technical resources and the project teams are usually large and diverse. The process of project construction management is long and involves a large number of separate and connected tasks. Good leadership is also crucial in government construction projects since poor performance can have negative repercussions for the nation and the general population. Thus, effective leadership is essential and can provide answers to the many challenges that the construction sector faces which has long term socioeconomic implications for developing countries. This paper investigates the challenges that are faced by government initiated construction projects in developing countries and suggests possible ways of addressing them through effective leadership. Several studies have been undertaken to investigate factors leading to low productivity, cost overruns and hazards among other challenges in specific construction projects but less has been done to discuss the general challenges facing construction projects. In doing this, attention should be paid to contexts because they differ. This prompted me to study the Zimbabwean case.

Tsitsi is a Youth and Women Empowerment Specialist, a policy coordinator and a specialist in project planning, implementation and review. She holds a Master of International Studies (Development Cooperation) from Ewha Womans University where she was also conferred a Masters in International Studies (Women and Development). She also holds a Master of Public Administration Degree from the University of Zimbabwe. She has a degree in Politics and Administration (University of Zimbabwe), a certificate and Diploma in Human Resources Management, a certificate in Professional Leadership (Ewha Womans University) and a certificate in Conflict Sensitive Approaches to Humanitarian Assistance and Peace Building (UNIFEM). Tsitsi has wide experience in designing youth empowerment, women and community development projects in response to community needs. Since 2003 she has been working for the Government of Zimbabwe in women empowerment and youth empowerment activities. Currently she is a District Development Officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Development in Zimbabwe. She is also a Senior Lecturer at the Center for Development Studies.