Abstract

Communication patterns make or break projects in every organisation. In the Buea municipality, construction companies struggle to find the right rhythm or communication pattern that best suit their numerous construction projects given they operate mostly informal and un-regulatory systems. The researcher therefore was committed to determine the influence of communication patterns on project outcome in construction companies within the Buea municipality.

To achieve this, the researcher had to evaluated the influence of circle communication pattern, analyse the effect of chain communication pattern,  Investigate the influence of “Y” communication pattern and also Analyse the influence of Wheel communication pattern on project outcome  in construction companies within the Buea municipality. A total of 170 construction workers were sampled in the study. The study employed the descriptive research design and questionnaires were used for primary data collection.

Data collected was analysed using regression analysis. Findings from the study revealed that the circle, wheel, chain and Y communication patterns have a positive influence on project outcome of construction companies in Buea. From the findings, the researcher concluded that communication patterns have a significant influence on project outcome of construction companies in terms of timely delivery of project.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

     1.1 Background to the Study

Globally, communication patterns and the role they play to ensure successful project outcomes have continued to attract the attention of researchers. Thus, it seems important to constantly promote good communication management practices and look for new ways to support project managers and team members in better realization of communication and documentation processes in their projects.

According to PMI’s Pulse research, 55 percent of project managers agree that effective communication with all stakeholders is the most critical success factor in project management (PMI, 2015). Effective project communications ensure that the right information reaches the right person at the right time and in a cost-effective manner and it is a critical element of team effectiveness, both in traditional and virtual teams (Pitts et al., 2013). The effectiveness of project communication often determines the quality of decisions and their implementation. Without a solid communication plan, strategy and tools, it is impossible to keep everyone up-to-date and informed.

More than 50% of management problems are caused by poor communication (Memon et al., 2015), which can lead to differences  in  expectations, people not  knowing the  status of the project and what is expected from them. Therefore, communication  is  a  key  element,  which  has  to  be applied  effectively  throughout a project’s life cycle and it cannot  be  taken  for granted, as it requires preparation and persistence.

At the onset of the recent global financial crisis, financial institutions issued subprime mortgages without necessarily liaising with other lenders. The lack of communication between these entities resulted in a housing bubble that consequently led to high rates of foreclosures and defaults (Foong, 2014). There was a consensus among scholars that the major financial institutions failed to work with the relevant regulatory authorities (Haddon, Loughlin, & McNally, 2015).

The communication breakdown led to the most significant and worst global financial crisis in modern-day history, which affected virtually all sectors of the global economy (Foong, 2014). Effective communication patterns could be useful in solving this problem as it strengthens cohesion between project teams and enables them to work together against a common challenge.

In addition, poor communication strategies usually affect project team members’ understanding of various objectives. According to Browne, Ha, Manzoni, and Mere (2016), team members of global businesses with advanced communication strategies are more likely to complete their projects successfully.

One reason for this increased likelihood, experts contend, is that the project managers of such businesses are often well aware of what to achieve from the initial stages of the project execution processes due to the adoption of proper communication systems (Browne et al., 2016). Although there is a significant association between quality communication and project success, there is scant literature about the impact of communication practices on project failures (Ziek & Anderson, 2015). To address this gap in the literature, I sought to provide in-depth insights into the strategies that can be used by PMs to strengthen communication within project teams.

Giant global companies with fast project life cycles and complex products prefer suppliers who can support them in several technology areas and can offer a wider range of services. The programs (project including several sub-projects) are more and more complex with a direct influence to time to-market schedule. This will stress the importance of good program management, open and honest interaction and company performance.

Relationships are cornerstones in successful project management and good strategy in communication makes complex work easier and integrates all elements seamlessly together. As a business-enabling tool, the role of communication is irreplaceable. Without it, there would be neither production nor projects. Communication is prerequisite to any business actions.

Projects are all about communication, and project managers have the key responsibility to hold the lines in their hands, both internally (to ensure operational excellence) and externally (to ensure understanding of customer’s needs and customer satisfaction).

All PMs (Project Managers) have different approaches to customer communication. In constantly changing business, for example as subcontractor for a telecommunication company, operational performance is extremely important together with being proactive and agile. But the people making business allocation decisions are human and therefore company reputation and public image/brand also do affect the decisions. Communication and relationships can save or ruin a project.

In Africa, there is a massive growth in effective business communications (Mersham and Skinner, 2009).This is providing communication specialists with new opportunities to expand their horizons. African business practitioners have been challenged to develop their skills at both an international and interpersonal level to assist in the development process. They are being required to facilitate communication with all key stakeholders from community leaders to senior governmental levels and within their organisations(Taylor and Kent, 2006).

There is an increasing interest in developing communication expertise that is not only appropriate for communicating with traditional, domestic stakeholders, but one that can take into account international inter-African and intercultural communications (Pratt and Adamolekun, 2008) Information exchange and efficient co-operation doesn’t just happen; in a proficient company, communication is well organized, efficient and effective. Communication strategy clears the air, removes doubts, emphasises the meaning of planning and at best involves all participants around the same round table (IDRC, 2011).

Different project groups  need  different  pattern  of  communication with exact content that addresses their welfare and leads to their satisfactions. Stakeholder’s participation in the establishment of project will involve a process where stakeholders’ collaboratively engage, as suitable in the plan, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of activities. (Stoldtet al, 2012).

Boosting project performance  through stakeholder’s  satisfactions  is  a  key  concern  for  many  African organizations  (Charles  et  al,  2012).  Whilst  studies  have  demonstrated  that  there  are many  factors  influencing  project  productivity,  including  stakeholders‟  motivation, infrastructure  and  government  policies,  it  is  clear  that  developing  and  implementing effective  communication  management  techniques  can  help  to  improve  performance  in many project organization throughout Africa (Charles et al, 2012)

Management communication’ refers to the communication between senior executives and internal stakeholder groups (employees). The successful manager will continually strive to persuade individual subordinates that the goals of the enterprise are compatible with their own goals. Communication could be called the lifeblood of an enterprise, and the communicating manager must have an adequate knowledge of the nature and role of communication in the management of people (Puth, 1994:3).

Effective communication with  and  among  employees  constitutes  a  substantial  part  of the  internal  marketing  communication  of an  enterprise  and  is  crucial  to  its  success.  Internal  marketing  communication  is  the  pattern  of messages  shared  by  employees  and  managers,  consisting  of tangible  interaction  as  well  as intangible  communication,  for  example  the  atmosphere  created by nonverbal communication and soft furnishings  in the workplace.

Project is a time-bound, organized endeavor for providing service(s) and producing a product. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills and tools to ensure that a given venture is accomplished successfully. In order to ensure project success, the existing framework of project management advises project managers to exercise nine knowledge areas. These are management of the project’s scope, time, cost, quality, human resources (HR), communication, procurement, risk and integration.

Project scope, time and cost are considered triplet constraints and primary functions of the projects. Now- a- days, quality is also considered the fourth.    Communication on the other hand encompasses defining the scope of the project, setting requirements  related   to scheduling and costing and conducting routine meetings with the team as well as with the clients. Therefore, even a minor mistake in communication planning can lead the project to chaos. Structured framework for communication helps track and distribute information throughout the project life cycle (Desouza and Amuza, 2003). Communication management is the function that drives the entire project throughout its life cycle. Communication drives all other functions and knowledge areas from initiation of a project until its close out.

Communication with project team enables the manager to learn project scope, time and cost requirements while intra-team communication enables the project manager to address the project’s performance. This study interprets that the quality and effectiveness of communication is the basic prerequisite that makes or breaks the project. Communication, that is the key to success or failure of a project, is a full-fledged knowledge area essential for Project Management (PMI 2009; Schwalbe, 2010).

A web source of knowledge revealed that ‘project management is central to businesses today’, (2005). It contributes that project management remains effective only when there is an effective communication for team management.

Flow of correct and timely information, in a well-structured manner makes the project team efficient and the processes start to produce in time that affects the project’s outcome positively. Establishing a reporting hierarchy between the team members of any project is recommended as an essential HR practice. Where communication management is necessary for the beginning and progress of any project, it simultaneously addresses relations and motivation of the project team. Therefore, effectiveness in com munication management is critical for the project’s success outcome.

This study perceives that project team members are the primary stakeholders. The project manager is responsible to ensure the flow of adequate, precise and timely information to each member of the team so that at least, the scope and schedule of the project is well interpreted by every member as much as his /her role requires. This study board is an ongoing activity that needs to be maintained through the project’s life cycle with due care and responsibility. This study interprets that project managers should define and implement a formal communication framework to involve all external and internal stakeholders of the project.

The study learnt that literature advises the project managers to update their team members with details like what information will be generated, when, where, by whom and to whom it must reach and at what time. However, this study identifies that the literature does not provide adequate assistance for the project managers on how to develop an effective framework for stakeholder communication easily. The consciousness of the quality in communication is required to ensure that the project ends successful.

Communication influences most project activities and areas because managing any aspect of the project involves communicating within the project team or with external stakeholders. That is why communication management is considered as one of the most important knowledge areas in project management and a very complex one at the same time. It is affected by many factors, like characteristics of project stakeholders, project environment, project communication structure, and communication properties, physical and psychological barriers.

Research has shown that there is a direct connection between communication and a project’s outcome, which is determined by the design of the communication environment of the project. Project communication and networking skills are considered to be the life blood of project management leadership and awareness of the potential offered by efficient communication is an essential prerequisite for success in the business world.

1.2 Statement of problem

Communication is an essential part of every organization. It contributes to the development of an enterprise. The way in which an organization is structured guides communication flow in the organization.

Many companies in the world minimize the importance of communications that is why some companies easily crash from the early stage. The successful implementation of a project depends on its appropriate management in a number of areas (Kerzner, 2013). One  of the  areas of project management identified  within numerous  methodologies  and  frameworks  is  communication  management,  which  is  considered to be of crucial importance to the success of a project especially  those  carried  out  by  dispersed  teams (Han, 2014).

However, in Cameroon generally and Buea in particular, housing production is dominated by the informal sector.  The sector is characterised by a wide range of non-regulatory mechanisms that are used in undertaking housing construction. These characteristics are quite visible in the following housing development activities:  housing surveys,  supply  chain management,  employment  and  the  remuneration  of labour,  project  financing  and  procurement  processes (Pettang et al., 1995). The set of non-regulatory activities being undertaken by construction professionals, termed “self-construction”, pre-dominates the informal sector.

Several disadvantages are associated with self-construction; these include unstable financial standing, a lack of monitoring and control of work, lack of skilled labour and instability of the labour/manpower used,  a  prevalence  of  odd  jobs  executed  by  piece-workers, the use of materials and equipment acquired dubiously (Pettang et al., 1995) and the lack of clear rules in communication and coordination.

Despite the existence of numerous sets of principles and methodologies concerning communication management and many available ICT tools and systems in this era, construction companies in the Buea municipality still witness many project failures or projects experience serious problems that results from improper communication patterns.  Some construction companies have had issues with their clients due to the untimely delivery of their contracts and the delivery of poor quality products despite the high cost incurred. Good communication pattern keeps conflict and confusion from bogging projects down by ensuring key players are aligned on project goals and know exactly what’s expected of them.

1.3 Research Questions

1. To what extend is project outcome affected by circle communication pattern in construction projects within the Buea municipality?
2. To what extend is project outcome influenced by chain communication pattern in construction projects within the Buea municipality?
3. To what extend is project outcome influenced by ‘Y’- communication pattern in construction projects within the Buea municipality.
4. To what extend is project outcome influenced by wheel communication pattern in construction projects within the Buea municipality.

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