Investigating critical stakeholder management issues in construction project management

Projects in whatever form they are executed affected or are affect by persons/individuals or groups who have a direct or an indirect interest or stake in them. Actions or inactions’ of these groups or individuals may impact positively or negatively on the successful implementation/execution of the project. Construction projects have suffered Time and Cost Overruns as a result of inadequate communication between policy makers, implementation agencies and groups or individuals who have diverse interest in the projects. In some case scenarios projects have not left the drawing tables at all. It is often the case that the needs of communities or interest groups are not taken into account when choosing, designing or scoping a project to serve them. Such projects may either suffer opposition or abandonment when completed. A case in point is the Overhead Steel Bridge situated in Nima a suburb of Accra. This foot bridge though completed several years ago has largely been turned into a place of convenience. The community definitely would have preferred some other facility other than the overhead Foot Bridge. Another case in point is the newly constructed Walker Bush Highway (N1). The locations of the Pedestrian Bridges on this highway have not served their intended use to the fullest. This is evidenced by the number of accidents resulting in deaths on the road due to the refusal of the surrounding community members to use the bridges. Across the length and breadth of the country one would witness a number of projects at various stages of construction all abounded because interest groups in one way or the other were not consulted to make inputs into or to know their needs and concerns and how these could be managed to fit into the project implementation programme. These interest groups or individual who impact or are impacted positively or negatively on the successful implementation of projects may be classified as stakeholders. Stakeholder management is therefore crucial to the successful implementation of construction projects. In managing these groups it is important to know what to communicate, how to communicate, when and where to communicate and most importantly to whom the communication is to be directed. The research therefore identifies some of the critical issues involved in managing the needs and concerns of external stakeholders and their relative importance and ranking. The study aims at developing a framework for the engagement of external stakeholders in Road Construction project in Ghana; to identify the stakeholder management practices of Ghana Highway Authority and to identify the key components required for the development of a framework for stakeholder management. The research focused the study on selected Road projects of the Ghana Highway Authority in the Ashanti region. The population project consultants, contractors, and key identifiable stakeholders involved in the selected projects were requested to fill out the questionnaire forms. A semi structured interview was also conducted where convenient. This was undertaken in an attempt to solicit their views and understanding of the whole concept of stakeholder management. The survey showed that project implementation officials did not consider stakeholder management as an issue for an effective project success story. Those consultants who had undertaken to consult with stakeholders had done so not as a process requirement but an individual basis. It is therefore recommended that the frame work that has been developed would be adapted as part of a project implementation process that would involve all stakeholders. Key works: Critical Issues, Stakeholder Management, Construction Projects, relative importance and rankings.

Source: KNUST