Influence of organisational culture on project planning: a competing values perspective in Ghanaian context

Purpose: This study empirically examined the influence of organisational culture (OC) on construction project planning.Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive cross-sectional survey approach was used to obtain quantitative data from 375 large and medium-scale construction firms in Ghana. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as mean and standard deviation, confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation and multiple regression model.Findings: The results revealed that the market type of organisational culture had the highest significant positive influence on project planning, followed by clan, hierarchy, and adhocracy cultures. The results further revealed that a high level of project planning is positively associated with the combined cultural clusters represented by the dimensions of “stability and control clusters”.Research limitation: This study focused on only large and medium-scale construction organisations; however, data from small-scale construction organisations will be needed to strengthen and widen the scope of applicability of the findings.Practical implication: It is evident that the practice of adhocracy culture in the surveyed firms provides a low significant effect on project planning efforts. It is, therefore, recommended that more emphasis be placed on market culture as it had proven to have a higher significant influence on construction project planning.Social implication: This study contributes to management and public policy by identifying organisational cultural types that significantly contribute to achieving effective project planning.Originality/value: Organisational culture in the context of project planning initiatives has received very little attention in project management research. This research significantly contributes to the research stream by providing empirical evidence of the influence of OC on project planning, highlighting which OC types are more or less likely to improve project planning efforts

EMPIRICAL STUDY OF COMPLIANCE WITH OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY LEGISLATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

In general, the construction industry is one of the world’s occupational settings that has high incidents of fatalities and injury rates. Developing countries, Ghana inclusive are faced with much more challenges to effective management of occupational health and safety due to the increasing rate of industrialization and weak occupational health and safety framework. The study aims to examine compliance with occupational health and safety legislation in construction sites in Ghana. The study adopted a quantitative research strategy. Two hundred and one (201) members of construction companies and One hundred and forty-three (143) officers of Regulatory Institutions (RIs) responded to the questionnaires distributed. The findings indicated that construction companies had achieved improved H&S standards compliance because; employees use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) effectively, construction companies allow labour interactions, observe H&S provisions in contract conditions and other relevant safety regulations, control noxious or offensive and highly flammable substances on site. It is recommended that the government adequately resourced Regulatory Institutions (RIs) to effectively carry out their mandate to significantly reduce risk and accidents on construction sites. Keywords: Health and Safety, Construction, Compliance, Accidents, Ghana

APLIKASI MONITORING PROYEK KONSTRUKSI BERBASIS WEB PADA CV. SEMESTA SARANA

Tujuan Penulisan Laporan Akhir ini adalah untuk membuat Aplikasi Monitoring Proyek Konstruksi Berbasis Web pada CV. Semesta Sarana. Aplikasi ini terdiri dari 3 user yaitu Admin, Ketua Proyek, dan Pimpinan yang diakses melalui web dimana Admin dapat menginput data user, data client, dan data proyek sedangkan Ketua Proyek dapat menginput data jenis kegiatan, data status kegiatan, data kegiatan, data bukti lampiran, dan data jenis lampiran. Proses yang berjalan pada Aplikasi Monitoring Proyek Konstruksi ini yaitu data proyek yang telah diinput oleh Admin akan dikirimkan kepada ketua proyek untuk menginput data kegiatan proyek apa saja yang sedang berlangsung di lapangan, kemudian akan menghasilkan keluaran berupa laporan kegiatan proyek dalam bentuk file PDF yang dapat dicetak untuk selanjutnya diberikan kepada Pimpinan. Proses tersebut dijelaskan pada laporan ini dalam bentuk desain rancangan menggunakan Diagram Konteks, Data Flow Diagram (DFD), Block Chart, Flow Chart, dan Entitiy Relationship Diagram dengan bahasa pemrograman PHP dan database MySQL. Dengan dibuatnya aplikasi ini diharapkan dapat mempermudah dalam melakukan monitoring proyek konstruksi pada CV. Semesta Saran

A STUDY OF CHALLENGES FACED BY REGULATORY AUTHORITIES FOR IMPLEMENTING HEALTH AND SAFETY COMPLIANCE IN THE GHANA CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY CONTEXT

In general, the construction industry is one of the world’s occupational settings that has high incidents of fatalities and injury rates. Developing countries, Ghana inclusive are faced with much more challenges to effective management of occupational health and safety due to the increasing rate of industrialization and weak occupational health and safety framework. The study aims to investigate the challenges faced by the regulatory authorities. The study adopted a quantitative approach and collect data using a survey. The findings indicated that Regulatory Institutions (RIs) faced challenges like; a lack of comprehensive national OHS policy, lack of effective supervision and inability to prosecute companies who violate health and safety standards, lack of adequate resources on-site, lack of logistics, and lack of a well-defined framework for regulating health and safety standards.  It is recommended that the government adequately resourced Regulatory Institutions (RIs) to effectively carry out their mandate to significantly reduce risk and accidents on construction sites.  Keywords: Health and Safety, Compliance, Construction, Contractors, Projects, Ghana

A STUDY OF BARRIERS HINDERING CONTRACTOR’S COMPLIANCE WITH H&S STANDARDS IN GHANA

In general, the construction industry is one of the world’s occupational settings that has high incidents of fatalities and injury rates. Developing countries, Ghana inclusive are faced with much more challenges to effective management of occupational health and safety due to the increasing rate of industrialization and weak occupational health and safety framework. The study aims to examine barriers faced by construction companies while implementing health and safety standards. The study adopted a quantitative approach. Two hundred and one (201) members of construction companies and One hundred and forty-three (143) officers of Regulatory Institutions (RIs) responded to the questionnaires distributed. The findings indicated that construction firms while implementing health and safety standards face barriers including lack of H&S officers on sites, higher cost, lack of contractor’s safety awards scheme, lack of clarity of instructions, lack of motivational package, lack of suitable health and safety education, and related cost. The study put forward various recommendations to overcome such challenges.  Keywords: Health and Safety, Compliance, Construction, Contractors, Projects, Ghana

Impact of health and safety management on safety performance of small and medium-sized construction businesses in Ghana

Health and safety at construction sites deals with both physical and psychological well being of workers on construction sites and other persons whose health is likely to be adversely affected by construction activities. It is of primary concern to employers, employees, governments and project participants. Although accident figures of the construction industry remain unacceptably high, some achievements in health and safety have been made. Nevertheless, the role of enabling socioeconomic, cultural, political, and institutional environments in health and safety management has either been overlooked or underemphasized. The importance of such enabling environments in this thesis is couched from the context of developing countries in particular, Ghana. In broader terms, the links between the socioeconomic, cultural, political, and institutional environments and health and safety at construction sites are still poorly understood. This thesis aims to understand the influence of the contextual environment on health and safety management within construction SMEs in Ghana and to develop a framework of recommendations for improving health and safety performance of the sector based on the analyses of the contextual environment. The thesis has adopted a multimethods strategy design, employing data collection techniques suited to the research setting. The discussion of results highlight the significance of the Ghanaian socio-cultural value systems particularly, the extended family system and traditional religious value systems in health and safety management within Ghanaian construction SMEs. The institutional structure for implementing health and safety standards on construction sites and the prevailing economic climate which undermines an enabling environment hinder construction SMEs from managing the risks of hazards on construction sites effectively. The research also gives insights into the difficulties posed by the internal environment of SMEs to the effective management of health and safety. Key issues identified by this study include: lack of skilled human resources; inadequate government support so construction SMEs; inefficiencies in the institutional structure responsible for implementing health and safety standards; the practice of corporate social responsibility; appropriate procurement practices; and, commitment to extended family obligations. These key issues need to be further explored. The study has made recommendations which, if adopted, will lead to significant improvements in the health and safety performance of construction SMEs in Ghana.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Holistic Algorithms for Examining the Non-Performance of Lean Method of Construction for Accelerating Efficient Utilization of Lean Construction Methods in Ghana

Lean construction process is key to efficient, sustainably and economical project delivery success of construction project; however, globally, LC is a critical tool in construction project management in the construction industry; especially in the developing economies of which Ghana is no exception. This study sought to examine nonperformance of lean construction method to enable efficient utilization of lean construction methods for sustainably, economical and proficient project delivery in Ghana. The study adopted mixed research approach. Using empirical data obtained from administration of questionnaires to Operational Managers/Staff and Expect personnel in Ghana; the data was analyzed using NVivo 11 software method. The study indicated that the surveyed participants across the cases had limited understanding, familiarity, and usage of lean construction methods. The study further revealed that the lean implementation challenges identified, in addition to the key indicators which represent the performance of LCM, were all significantly negative from the statistics of the study, establishing the non-performance of LC in Ghana. The study concluded that the adoption of lean principles will lead to more economical and sustainable projects in the industry. As a recommendation, it was suggested that management develop LC policies to guide the implementation and commit to the methods to enable efficient utilization of LC. Keywords: Lean, Construction, Method, Efficient, Utilization, DOI: 10.7176/IKM/14-2-02 Publication date:March 31st 202

Health and safety management in developing countries: a study of construction SMEs in Ghana

The construction industry plays a significant role in the economy of developing countries. The sector is, however, also one of the most hazardous with frequent accidents and health related problems. The purpose of this study is to examine the health and safety practices of construction small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Ghana with a view to improving the health and safety performance of the sector. A survey questionnaire was administered to owner/managers of SMEs, with a response rate of 32% of the sampling frame obtained. The findings reveal that few of the SMEs adopted proactive health and safety practices. However, health and safety practices identified as being particularly associated with firm characteristics were: accident investigation procedures; accident reporting procedures; use of health and safety posters; documentation of method statements; and, health and safety inductions. The paper brings to light the diversity of health and safety practices associated with different size categories of SMEs and constraints to improving health and safety. Based on the analysis, recommendations aimed at a positive change in the attitudes of owner/managers which takes into account size-related constraints are suggested for improving the health and safety performance of Ghanaian SMEs

Health and safety management within SMEs in developing countries: a study of contextual influences

Considerable attention has been focused on addressing construction health and safety risks in developed economies. Sadly, the same cannot be said of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where accident figures are extremely high. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of the contextual environment within which Ghanaian construction Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) manage Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S). A questionnaire survey was administered to construction SMEs to better understand the health and safety management practices and associated problems followed up by field interviews to explore key issues identified by the survey. The results of the study highlight the institutional structure for implementing OH&S standards, prevailing economic climate, and extended family culture as challenges to the management of OH&S. The study identifies low literacy levels, low socioeconomic status of workers, owner/managers’ ignorance of their OH&S responsibilities, commitment to extended family obligations, and ineffective OH&S administration as key factors limiting the capacity of construction SMEs to manage OH&S effectively. The study concludes that effective institutional structure and an enabling socioeconomic environment are needed to enhance the OH&S performance of SMEs and advocates for more proactive OH&S management that take into consideration the work cultures of SMEs

Implications of Knowledge Management Processes for Project Performance:Systematic Review, Gap Analysis and Scientometric Analysis

The purpose of this study is to review the current Knowledge Management (KM) trends and make inference for future directions of KM in project-based organizations and project performance through a Systematic Literature Review (SRL) and Scientometric analysis. First a Google advanced search was conducted and produced five hundred and seventy six (576) papers    A SLR of 38 articles from 2000 – 2022 was conducted to narrow the study.  Key stages in the systematic review included the formulation of the research questions, the identification of relevant research, data extraction and assessment of the risk of bias, data synthesis, summary and interpretation of the findings. Further, 981 academic documents on the topic were retrieved from Publish or Perish database. Then, co-occurrence and co-citation analysis were performed along with network visualization to examine research interconnections’ patterns. As a result, relevant key words, network of terms co-occurrences with 68 keywords, 793 links, and total link strength of 1,486 was revealed. The most popular keywords within the period, together with their frequency, mean year of publication, links, and total link strength were identified. Keywords:Knowledge Management, Systematic Literature Review, Scientometric Analysis, Project Performance, Bibliometric DOI: 10.7176/IKM/13-6-01 Publication date:September 30th 202