Problems Faced by the Project Managers in the Implementation Process - Aspire Zone - Case Study Example

Aspire Zone Case Name Institution Date Course Introduction Aspire Zone is a 2.5 square kilometers sporting complex that is also known as Doha sports City. It is located in Al Waab District of Doha. It was established in the year 2003 as an international sports destination with most of the sporting constructed for hosting the 2006 Asian Games. Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA world cup and the Aspire zone is one of the main projects for the world Cup (Aspire Zone, 2015). Aspire Zone hosts the Khalifa International Stadium which is a 50,000 capacity stadium that is primarily used for soccer. It is set to play an important role in the 2022 FIFA world cup. The world’s largest indoor multi-purposes sports hall with 13 different playing fields is also found in Aspire Zone. Aspire Tower which is the tallest structure in Doha is also found in Aspire zone. Aspire Zone was also important during the bid for 2016 summer Olympics and it was proposed by Qatar Olympics Committee. Aspire zone is well known around the world for its finest training facilities that offers sports, Sports medicine, research and education destination for the international sports industry. Various projects are also being carried out for the purposes of enhancing the capacity of different facilities. The main project is the re-development of the Khalifa International Stadium for the purposes of ensuring that it meets the FIFA stadium requirements (Aspire Zone, 2015). This is because the stadium is set to host some of the matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The paper discuses the problems faced by the project managers in the implementation process. Goals and objectives To identify the project management problems that faces the managers implementing the redevelopment of Khalifa International Stadium. To identify the current project management practices at Aspire Zone and how it is used to address the problems. To determine the actual defects that contributes to the problem. To identify the key correct processes used by the project managers in comparison to their roles. Problem The project managers face some major challenges during the execution of the project and it has overall effects on the whole project. Inadequate skills for the project is one of the major problem that is affecting the redevelopment of Khalifa international stadium which is set to host some of the 2022 World Cup matches (Sofotasiou, et al, 2015). In Qatar, the workforce is mainly comprised of the expatriates. Most of the employees are immigrants from different countries. This makes it difficult to know their actual capabilities and skills as most of them have not worked in the country. Since the country mainly depends on the immigrants for labour, the project has been faced with difficulties in terms of recruiting the specialists. This is considering that the project requires specialized labour during the execution process. A project is likely to face challenges when the project contributors don’t posses certain skills. A high number of employees are also required for the purposes of ensuring that the project is able to meet the deadlines. However, since the country mainly depends on the expatriates for labour; a shortage of manpower has been witnessed in some of the areas during the execution process. The lack of adequate skills for the projects has resulted to other problems in the execution of the project. Already there have been doubts with regards to the project meeting the deadline. This is as a result of the lack of adequate skills for the project in some of the crucial areas. The lack of adequate staff has seen the some of the employees working for longer hours than recommended. This has raised a lot of concerns among the human rights organizations as well as the media. Some of the media reports have indicated that the employees executing the project are being exploited. Such reports have discouraged the potential employees from being recruited to work in the project which further affects the project. The health and safety of the employees is also compromised as a result of working for long hours. Several fatalities have also been reported among the employees which has painted a negative image of the project (Brannagan & Giulianotti, 2014). Determining the needed competencies among the employees is also a challenge that the project managers face at the execution stage of the project. Working with a team is also difficult for the managers due to communication issues. Most of the expatriates are from different countries and most of them speak different languages. This makes it difficult to determine their competencies and it has resulted to most of the employees being assigned manual tasks which does not require much expertise. The project also lacks a specific method for determining the competencies of the employees working for the project. Inadequate skills for the project have the potential of causing delays and hence affecting the actual outcome of the project. The performance of the project managers is also affected when there is lack of adequate skills for the project. Key Correct Processes Training is one of the key processes that are utilized by the project manager to address the problem of inadequate skills for the project. The project manager usually undergoes training from time to time. The training is aimed at equipping the project manager with the skills to access and determine the available competencies of the workers. Although the issue of employees is mainly a human resource issue, the project manager is directly responsible for the success of the project. Working with other stakeholders is also a key correct process that the project manager is involved in. This involves working closely with the supervisors to asses and determines the competencies of the employees. This process usually talks time as most of the activities require testing. Working with the supervisors who understand different languages has been important in dealing with the expatriates. Some of the employees have also benefited from the training programs that are available to the employees. The training of some selected employees is usually carried out. The training is for the purposes of equipping them with more knowledge and skills (Turner, 2014). This is useful in terms of solving the problem associated with inadequate skills for the project. The project manager in consultation with the supervisors and other stakeholders usually identify the areas that has shortage of employees. A selected group of employees then undergo training in order to fill the skills gap. This process has been useful at the execution stage in terms of addressing the problems. In most cases, the training that is usually conducted last for a short period of time and does not fully address the problem. This is considering that some areas require employees with specialized skills and training in different areas such as engineering. The hiring of new employees is also one of the key correct processes that is utilized by the project managers. This involves contacting recruitment agencies in order to recruit employees with specialized skills from other countries in Europe and North America. This is considering that there is a lot of difficulties in terms of the number of employees. The local people with specialized skills are also being encouraged to take up different positions at the project in order to address the inadequacy of skills. However, it is important to note that the locals usually require more salaries and wages as compared to the expatriates. In most cases, the locals who are involved in the project are only interested in the positions that require specialized skills as compared to the manual duties. Outsourcing is also one of the key correct processes that are available to the project manager (Kerzner, 2013). However, outsourcing is not being fully utilized as the concepts is still new in the industry. Outsourcing is also a complicated process due to the lack adequate specialized skills in some of the professions. The project managers therefore face a lot of difficulties in terms of addressing the problems regarding inadequate skills. Comparison of the key process with current process and project manager roles The project managers play an important role in terms of executing a project. Planning and defining the scope of the project is a role of the project manager. This is closely related to the key process undertaken to deal with the inadequate skills. The planning process requires the project manager to determine the manpower that will be required during the project. The inadequate skills therefore affect the plans that have been put in place by the project manager. Resource planning is also an important function of the project manager (Burke, 2013). This directly deals with the employees working in the project execution. Currently the project manager has put I place a resource plan. This involves how the resources will be utilized during the project and the measures that can be used to determine the accountability of the process. The current source of labour has been identified as the expatriates from Africa and Asia. Developing schedules as well as time estimates is also an important role of the project manager. The schedules are however being affected by the inadequate skills which has led to concerns as to whether the projected will meet the dateline. The employees are currently required to work for long hours in order to meet the time estimate. Creating charts and schedules is one of the functions of the project manager. The project manager usually prepares the charts for the purposes of ensuring that project is carried out in accordance with the schedule. It is through the use of the charts that the project manager is able to know whether the time estimates are being met. Managing risks and issue is a role of the project manager. The lack of adequate skills presents a risk at to the project and the employees. Training and development is one of the key correct processes that the project manager has put in place. This is useful in the management of the risks at it enable the employees to acquire more knowledge that enables them to carry out their duties effectively. The issues that are related to the working conditions are also being addressed by the project manager through training. Providing team leadership is a role of the project manager (Larson & Gray, 2011). Providing tem leadership entails listening to the concerns of the team members and addressing the problems. A team leader also needs to work with the other stakeholders in order to ensure that the project is successful. The project manager is currently being involved in the process of addressing the concerns that have been raised by the stakeholders including the employees. This is through addressing the shortage of skills through training and hiring of new employees. The project manager currently works with the supervisors in order to ensure that the skills and competencies of the employees are determined. The role of the project manager at Aspire Zone is therefore useful in ensuring that the project is successful. The key correct processes as well as the current process are in line with the roles of the manager. Actual problem The actual problem that is being reencountered by the project manager can be considered as scope related problem. In project management, project scope involves the work that needs to be accomplished for the purposes of delivering a product, service or results with the specified features and functions (Walker, 2015). The project scope is therefore work oriented and it has the details of what needs to be carried out. At Aspire zone, high standards are required for the purposes of ensuring that the stadium is able to host some of the 2022 FIFA matches. The capacity of the stadium is also high as it is supposed to accommodate up to 50, 000 people. The project of this nature therefore requires a lot of expertise as well as a high number of workers to carry out different activities. The project scope therefore increased the demand for labour and specialized skills that could not be immediately found. This is considering that the country mainly depends on the expatriates for labour. The standards that were set by FIFA with regards to the stadium was also too high and the country had never handled such a project before. The project is also expected to meet a strict deadline despite the constrains in terms of the human resources. The scope of the project is not changing regardless of the constrains that the project is facing with regards to human resources. This has also created a situation known as scope creep which involves the introduction of more requirements that was not initially planned for during the project planning process. The concepts of project management is however being utilized to solve the problem. The project scheduling models are being used for the purposes of tracking the progress being made in the project (Heagney, 2012). This provides the project manager with adequate information with regards to the areas that the project is facing constrains. PRINCE 2 approach is also being applied by the project manager for the purposes of ensuring that the project is being carried out within a clearly defined framework. The concepts of PRINCE 2 are also being used for the purposes of planning and ensuring that key specific goals and objectives are met. The project manager is also using the concepts of motivation in order to ensure that the problem facing the project is addressed. The training of the employees is one of the aspects of motivation. Training the employees enables them to gain new knowledge and skills. This motivates the employees and enables them to improve on their performance and hence ensuring that the goals and objectives of the project are met. Recommendations and Conclusion It is recommended that the project manager should consider using more project management tools. The project manager should consider using the critical chain project management. This involves the planning and managing the project execution in order to deal with uncertainties that may be encountered during the project management. The Critical Chain project management methodology is effective in terms of addressing the issues of limited resources including the lack of adequate human resources which is being encountered in the project. Critical Chain Project Management utilizes the theory of constrains which deals with limited resources. It is recommended that training and development of the skills of existing employees should also be prioritized. This is to equip them with the skills required to carry out specific activities within the project. However, it is also recommended that benefits realization management should be carried out by the project manager. This is for the purposes of determining whether the training program is benefitting the project or solving the problem. Benefits realization management will also be useful in terms of keeping the project on track and ensure that the standards that have been set by FIFA are met. It is recommended that the project should also continue with the hiring process of the local professionals as well as expatriates from countries such as Europe. This is considering that such countries have carried out similar projects before. The working conditions of the employees should be improved so as to encourage more expatriates to join the labour force. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that Aspire zone is carrying out one of the major projects in the world. The project requires high standards so as to meet the FIFA requirements. The project has been encountered with problems in terms of inadequate skills to carry out the required tasks. It is evident that this problem is a s a result of the project scope which is quite demanding. The project scope has pushed for a high demand for labour as well as high standards. It is evident that the employees working at the project undergo a lot of strain as they have to work for long in order to bridge the demand for labor. The project has also faced criticism as a result of the constrains that have led to fatalities among the employees. It is however evident that the project manager has put in place measures to deal with the problem. Training, recruitment as well as improving the working conditions is some of the measures that the project manager is using to solve the problem. It is evident that the project management tools can be of more use in solving the problem. List of References Aspire Zone, 2015, what we do, Retrieved on 4th August 2015 from, . Aspire Zone, 2015, All projects, Retrieved on 4th August 2015 from, . Sofotasiou, P, et al, 2015, Qatar 2022: Facing the FIFA World Cup climatic and legacy challenges, Sustainable Cities and Society, 14, 16-30. Brannagan, P, M., & Giulianotti, R, 2014, Qatar, global sport, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Leveraging legacies from sports mega-events, 154-165. Turner, J, R, 2014, The handbook of project-based management (Vol. 92), McGraw-hill. Kerzner, H, R, 2013, Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, John Wiley & Sons. Burke, R, 2013, Project management: planning and control techniques, New Jersey, USA. Larson, E, W, & Gray, C, F, 2011, Project management, The managerial process. Walker, A, 2015, Project management in construction, John Wiley & Sons. Heagney, J, 2012, Fundamentals of project management, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Read More