Human Resource Strategies in Project Teams

1.0 Introduction

This chapter gives a holistic view of the study by presenting the background of the Human Resource Practices employed in terms of managing project groups. It also presents the aims and objectives of the research and states the problem that has necessitated this research. Finally, it presents the scope the research will cover and a justification of why this research is imperative.

1.1 Background

Human Resource Management involves more than people management but most importantly ensuring that the management practices produce the desired value for the organisation. Human Resource Management is a contemporary concept, previously it was known as personnel management because it entails mostly administrative roles. Presently, Human Resource Management is used to deal with complex work situations. Organisations embrace it as a framework to guarantee that workforce deliverables are of significance to the organisation (Cusworth and Franks, 2003). The way people are managed whilst working on a project will directlyimpact on the management function and the success or failure of the project. Employees are critical to the overall success of the business therefore, managing their competencies will go a long way to affect the success of the business. Project management usually brings together a group of people who are put in teams to achieve a specific goal or a set of specific goals set out in the project brief. Globally, the innovativeness of the construction industry is being challenged in order to satisfy the aspirations of both societies and clients. This challenge has been apparent in the face of extreme competition from players within the industry (Lathan, 1994). This competition and the desire to satisfy clients and society have caused managers within the construction industry to assemble talents as per the requirements of a project under construction. Managing talent, or in other words, human resource in order to create value for a company has evolved since the early 1980s (Collins and Clark, 2003; Dinsmore and Cabanis – Brew, 2011). It is due to this evolution that human resource managers now consider people as a critical aspect of the overall organisational strategy by assessing their contribution in terms of a resource rather than cost to the organization. According to Collins and Clarke (2003), people and the talent they possess has become a source of competitive advantage to an organization and managing them carefully will result in the organization enjoying the full benefits they present.

The increasing growth in population and urbanization, coupled with economic growth and development within the Sub – Saharan terrain has been associated with an increasing demand for infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings. This situation has not been different in Ghana due to the emergence of the country as a middle income, coupled with increase in disposable income hence increasing the demand for housing, offices and social amenities. The densely populated areas within Ghana have seen a great increase in construction development to meet the ever-increasing demand for them (De Boeck, 2013). Djokoto et al (2014) are of the view that, in order to meet client’s expectation within the construction industry in Ghana, matching competencies to specific jobs is critical to the growth of the industry. Adebayo (2002) and Laryea (2010) both postulate that organising construction activities on project basis will insure the benefit of the organisation and the client. In spite of these findings, Chikweche and Fletcher (2014) have found out that the competencies of both project managers and team members on a construction project has become a concern as far as the construction industry in Ghana is concerned. Competencies have become valuable because, according to Djokoto et al (2014), finding and managing the right competencies and improving on such competencies within the course of executing the project will contribute to the project being finished on time and meeting client specifications.

1.2 Statement of Problem

A Deloitte report as cited by the works of Schwartz et al (2017) focused on how the human resource function is critical to identifying leaders and project members who can adapt to modern trends and guide them to embrace challenges that come with working on projects. It also stressed on the movement from a function leader to a people leader where support should be given to project team members in order to achieve set project objectives. It is in this vein that Schwab and Samans (2016) posit that human resource practices within the construction industry need to focus on contributing towards the building and improvement of competencies that will inure to the overall enhancement and attainment of project objectives. A study by Djokoto et al (2014) clearly notesthat this aspect is missing within the Ghanaian Construction Industry and as such identifying the specific Human Resource Management practices that contribute to competency of project manager and their team members on construction projects has become key to the survival of construction companies in Ghana. This research therefore focuses on finding out the exact competencies that are associated with construction project management and how project managers and team members can efficiently harness them in the organisation.

1.3 Research Approach

Managing people has been a daunting task because of individual differences and individual approach to similar issues in similar circumstances. This has made people working on the same projects, often than not, feel distant and in some cases, finding it difficult to achieve the collective aim of the business. Literature has shown this to be detrimental to the realisation of project objectives. Human resource practices, when organised and implemented well, may be a panacea to this problem. Considering the above, the qualitative approach to research was adopted. Twelve (12) semi – structured interviews with employees from the two companies were conducted in two construction companies namely: Taysec Construction and Aya Construction. The interviews were designed to find out how human resource practices affect people working in project groups and how working in groups can ensure the overall achievement of the project objective. All interviews were conducted over the phone and surveys were self-administered.

1.4 Research Objectives

The following shall serve as the guiding objectives of this study;

To develop an up to date understanding of the competencies of project managers and team members in the construction industry in general.

To explore the HR practices used in the construction industry on a project level.

To explore the role of context and challenges specific to the construction industry in Ghana.

To identify the competency support systems used in the construction industry in Ghana.

1.5 Research Questions

What are the competencies of project managers and team members in the construction industry in general?

What are the HR practices used in the construction industry on a project level?

What are the specific challenges facing the construction industry in Ghana?

What are the competency support systems used in the construction industry in Ghana?

1.6 Structure of the Study

This study is divided into five chapters. The first chapter deals with the introduction to the subject matter. The second chapter deals with the review of the related literature. It focuses on literature about project management, human resource practices, competencies of group leaders and members and the Ghanaian construction industry. The third chapter deals with the research methodology that facilitated the investigation of the subject matter. This dealt with selecting appropriate methods that will help unravel and answer the objectives set out by this study. The fourth chapter deals with analysis of data that was collected using the methods outlined in chapter three. This analysis was done in relation to the set out objectives. The last chapter deals with the presentation of research findings and the recommendations.

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the works of academics in the area of Human Resource Management and its practices relevant to this study. Some of the practices discussed here are recruitment, selection, training and managing of workforce. It looks critically at previous literature that relates to HRM competencies and how they manifest in the execution of projects within the construction industry. The chapter further deals with how the literature relates to the local situation in Ghana. In short, this chapter presents in a logical manner how literature will influence this research.

2.1 Human Resource Practices and Organizational Performance

According to Tyson (1995), Human Resource (HR) strategy relates to both the explicit and implicit intentions of an organization that are geared towards the management of employees through the overt expression of such in both policies and practice. There have been several approaches to HR strategy (Torrington et al, 2011; Clinton and Guest, 2013) that have also been adopted in different ways in different organizations. The Universalist Approach to the management of HR has been one of the widely accepted approaches (Torrington et al, 2011) and has come to be known as the best practice. It must be noted that, in a larger extent, the Universalist Approach does not wholly depend on an organization’s competitive strategy. They posit that an organization, depending on its own personal circumstances, will have its own set of human resource practices that will be geared towards a high organizational performance. Clinton and Guest (2013) identify HR practices to include recruitment, selection, training, development, performance management, job design, participation and employee voice, talent management and work security. There is also the Fit and Contingency approach, which is an extreme continuum of fit; vertical and horizontal integration (Morris et al, 2006). While the vertical integration looks at aligning the overall HR strategy with the overall strategy of the organization, the horizontal integration looks at all the HR practices employed within a firm working together in a uniform and coherent manner. In addition to the above-mentioned approaches, there is also the resource-based approach to human resource management. Wright et al (1994) describes this approach as one that takes the competitive advantage an organization has into perspective and considers how the development of the available human resources can help achieve such an advantage. They argue that this approach has major advantages because the source of the competitive advantage becomes difficult to imitate by others, they become rare and become highly impossible to substitute. Torrington et al (2011) note that this approach is people centred and that the contribution of individuals within the organization is greatly monitored. In 2002, Wright and Boswell came up with what they termed a typology of Human Resource Management. In their research, they critically looked at different levels of analysis of the HR practice within an organization; individual verses organization and single verses multiple levels. They went further to suggest that a decision by implementers of HR strategy that focuses on the organization as a whole can be termed as “macro HRM” and where the implementers focus on individuals as “micro HRM”. They also suggested that single HR practices can be implemented one at a time and this is termed as a single approach whereas situations where different practices are implemented at the same time or as a unit working together as a system was referred to as the multiple approach. Subsequently, other researches (Stevenson and Starkweather, 2010; Chowhan, 2016) have been done, which affirm the studies conducted by Wright and Boswell. Figure 1 gives a visual explanation of the typology of Human Resource Management as suggested by Wright and Boswell (2002).

Following the works of Huselid (1995) and Wright and Boswell (2002), Chowhan (2016) sought to find out how strategic HR functions influenced high performance work systems (HPWS). In his view, he posited that HR functions and practices cannot be viewed in its individual forms but must be looked at as part of a running machine; a system. By this, it means all the individual practices cannot stand-alone but must work in correlation with other practices. He also went further to suggest that the skills, talent, abilities and knowledge available to an organization at any particular time is as a result of the recruitment and selection decisions. He suggested that, this HR practice (recruitment and selection) should be very detailed. In project management, the people brought on the project must be a decision that has been carefully thought through and must be taken in consideration with the requirements of the project or the project aims and objectives.

2.2 Human Resource Management and Project Managers and Members

The management of people is what has come to be referred to as HRM. Previously, it dealt with workers’ administration and mostly salaries (Brendin, 2006). The mid 90’s saw HRM becoming more of a strategic function and critical to the survival of an organization. According to Dinsmore and Cabanis – Brew (2011) it grew to encompass the management of skills, competences, talents and value addition. In fact, it has become widely accepted that HRM combines two aspects of management; human relations and strategic management (Bredin, 2006). This means that employees are now more seen to be very strategic to an organization than how they were previously seen. According to Dinsmore and Cabanis – Brew (2011), the HR function is the function of management that deals with those tasked to manage projects and project teams. They posit that project management is about a specified group of persons who are given specific goals in accordance to the completion of a specific task. It must be noted that a project is assessed based on its success or otherwise and to a larger extent, the people who ensured such success or otherwise. Since people are responsible for this success, Harold and Kerzner (2013) are of the view that function and practices of HR in managing people have a direct correlation to the success of the project. Several studies (Dinsmore and Cabanis – Brew, 2011; Garel et al, 2001; Berber and Lekovic, 2013; Bredin, 2006) have shown the role of HR in the management of projects, its management and members are in several layers (practices). All the various studies have mentioned between three and six layers, but this research will consider the layers suggested by Larose and Corriveau (2009). These layers are discussed in relation to the assumptions of the role of HR in the management of projects suggested by Dinsmore and Cabanis – brew (2011); planning, acquiring a project team, developing a project team and managing the project team. The layers suggested by Larose and Corriveau (2009) include recruitment, selection, training and managing. They further on suggested other two layers, which include mobilization of the integration of an organization culture. Every organization has its own way of doing things and this has come to be termed as the culture of the organization. It is this culture that every employee of an organization is expected to learn to fit into the organization or project team. This research focuses on three of the layers suggested by Larose and Corriveau (2009) and are further discussed below. Selecting as a layer or HR practice has been defined by Brendin (2006) to be the process that involves choosing of personnel to be part of a project team. Larose and Corriveau (2009) posit that the selecting of people to be part of the team is the base of the whole process. Selecting people towards the successful completion of a project must always be according to the skills the individual brings on board to the team. The skills, according to Harold and Kerzner (2011) must be those that best fit the skill set needed on the project. In order to have the right selection processes in place, there are tools in place to ensure that. The tools used are mostly dependent on the culture of the organization and the type of skill set needed on the job. When people are selected unto a project, the next step is to train them as the next layer of the HRM role. Training, according to Dinsmore and Cabanis – Brew (2011), is a method employed by HR managers to develop the available skills of employees to meet the required competencies needed on a particular project. This layer is very important because, it ensures that all persons on the project acquire the knowledge to help achieve the objectives of the project. For a firm to have a sustainable strategic competitiveness, it begins with the training of the personnel (Brendin, 2006). The third layer of the HRM concept is the managing of the personnel (Dinsmore and Cabanis – Brew, 2011). Management of members of a team involves the organization and the evaluation of the performance of the individuals on the project; whether or not they are helping achieve project aim and objectives.

2.2.1 Selection as a Process to Detect the Right Project Managers and Members

As mentioned earlier, selection is the process of bringing together the required skill set in order to execute a project. In project management, it is required that a major function of HR is to anticipate the skills needed on a given project in order to recruit people who have such necessary skills to meet the needed project skills. Identifying a multi – skilled team to suit a specific project has been suggested by Crawford (2005) as the first step in ensuring a successful project management. This presents a task for human resource managers as they are supposed to liaise with other departments to ensure this. The function of finding the required people, according to Harold and Kerzner (2013) is more than selecting and must encompass recruiting persons who possesses in the closest proximity the necessary skills and competencies to match the project. For this to be successful, HR managers must be able to compile a list of the set competencies needed on the project. To have a successful list, human resource managers must work in tandem with the proposed project manager and project team members (Starkweather, 2010). Identifying the right persons for the project becomes the foremost assignment for HR managers. Harold and Kerzner (2013) suggest that project team leaders and their members must be creative, multidisciplinary and people who have shown clear interest in the project. In identifying a good project manager, experience counts very much (Garel et al, 2001) and also the individual must be one who can easily manage time and be a good negotiator. The main skills project managers need to bring on board include, interpersonal, conflict resolution, leadership and management skills (Chikweche and Fletcher, 2014). According to Schwartz et al (2017), a project team leader must be matured but this maturity is not measured in terms of age (Samana, 2016) but in terms of the candidate’s capacity to lead on the project. Although this is difficult to measure, Collins and Clarke (2003) suggests that one’s previous experience and success can be used as a cue to measure maturity. The role of the HR in this regard is to come up with a complete list of required skills needed for the project and the attributes of the leader and members required on the project; Crawford (2005) suggests that this is a sure way of identifying the best for the project throughout the selection process. The role of the HR must be fixed on attracting the right talent and skill set. The culture of the company influences when hiring should take place and who is to be hired (Harold and Kerzner, 2013). Based on the culture of the organization will determine the skills set needed it is for the HR managers to understand the culture and bring on board people who call work in such a culture. To select people to be part of a project team, they can be selected from the outside of the organization or from within the organization or a combination of both. But in all these, Berber and Lekovic (2013) are of the view that competence must supersede such decision. If the required competence cannot be found within the organization, then it is prudent to select from outside of the organization. Aside competences, cost are also a factor; is the company having the financial muscle to select from outside of the organization? It is questions such as this that makes Harold and Kerzner (2013) suggest a right balance in the management decisions on the hiring and selecting process. The balance must be between competence, cost, freedom and monitoring. Finding the right balance will help HR managers identify who and at what point to hire. Since HR managers will not be around throughout the execution of the project, the project manager they select must be one who can ensure a team progress and cohesion.

2.2.2 Training as a Process to Develop Project Managers and Members

Project team managers and their members must have up to date competencies that suit the required the job in question. The aim of this, Garel et al (2001), suggests is to provide qualified personnel an avenue to constantly improve on their competencies. Upgrading the knowledge of the human resource available to a firm in itself is a source of motivation for the team members (Sarkweather, 2010). The creativity of a team is critical to the survival and completion of the project in question and it is important the role of the HR is geared towards this. It can then be deduced that one major role of the HR is to defend the diversity of the group and foster cohesion. In ensuring proper training, Clarke (2003) suggests that the HR manager must spell out required short and long-term competencies needed on the project. Training must occur during a designated time and must be on need basis after a major general one has been conducted (Dinsmore and Cabanis – Brew, 2011). By need basis, it means the HR managers must be able to assess the skills of the persons on the project in order to know where the skills need improvement. Garel et al (2001) posit that the process of training is a major step in ensuring success on a given project and its design takes several weeks or even a year to design a training program on those on a project. Laryea (2010) suggests that those who are asked to take charge on programs must be people who have been successful on several projects.

2.2.3 Managing Project Teams to Achieve Performance

Management of teams, according to Berber and Lekovic (2013) deals with animating of the project, motivation of project members and ensuring proper communication between members and management. In managing a team, there must be a clear policy guiding the project and from the policy, must emanate guidelines that all persons must adhere to (Crawford, 2005). Guidance and policies are important to a project because it helps in ensuring a clear focus and direction for the project. To manage a project, the HR manager must be able to constantly arouse and the interest of the members and direct their focus. It is important that HR managers understand the values and culture of the organization before they set out to plan training programs.

2.3 Competence and Skills of Project Managers

Competence has been a word that has been associated with a job or a person (Woodruffe, 1991). In fact, Stevenson and Starkweather (2010) define competency as the overall ability of a person to perform on a given job. In fact, Crawford (2005) goes further to explain it a behaviour trait a person displays on a particular task towards the completion and achieving the aims of the given task. In fact, he is of the view that competency is a factor of behaviour that is significant to a given job or task. Crawford makes mention that an Attribute Based Competency Approach (ABCA) or model was initially developed by McCelland and McBer in the mid 80’s. These models have been successfully implemented in various countries such as the UK, Australia and South Africa. According to Mirabile (1997), competency can be seen as the skills and knowledge an individual or group of individuals possess in order to ensure high quality standards on a given task or solving a given problem. In order to bring people on board a project or hire people for a specific job or task, their competence must be measured to ascertain the level of competence they bring on board (Crawford, 2005). There are several tools that can be used to measure competence (Mirabile, 1997; Crawford, 2005; Delamare and Winterton, 2005) which include interviews, focus groups, competency model formats and even questionnaires. The decision to employ a particular measurement tool is dependent on the overall objective the purpose for which the measurement is being carried. Crawford (2005) developed a framework for competency modelling and standard; the model looked at attributes while the standard looked at performance. In his work, Crawford distinguished between input competencies, personal competencies and output competencies in relation to project managers and supervisors. Input competencies were identified to be knowledge and skills an individual possesses. Personal competencies were identified to include the core personal characteristics of the individual and output competencies were identified to be the characteristics demonstrated in practice on a specific job or task.

CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter explains how the research objectives were achieved; it describes the tools and methods used by the researcher to attain answers to the research objectives through comprehensively answering the research questions. Since the aim of this research is to find out the HR practices that are implemented amongst project group managers and project group members, the methods employed are thus, geared towards such purpose. This chapter also discusses relevant literature that supports the methods selected by the researcher.

3.1 Research Objectives

The general research objective was to discover how Human resource management practices are used amongst project managers and project group members in the construction industries in Ghana. The aim has become relevant because there are currently increased activities within the construction industry in Ghana and thus, workers within the construction industry tend to work on multiple projects within a specified period of time. Working on such multiplicity of projects is what has pushed construction companies in Ghana to organise project groups to work on specific projects in order to achieve the stated objectives in regard to the contracted project (ISSER, 2014). This research is the first to be conducted considering the Ghanaian setting and consequently, the following served as the research objectives.

Research Questions

What are the competencies of project managers and team members in the construction industry in general?

What are the HR practices used in the construction industry on a project level?

What are the specific challenges facing the construction industry in Ghana?

What are the competency support systems used in the construction industry in Ghana?

3.1 Research Approach

Anholt (2007), Chi and Qu (2008) and Prayag and Ryan (2012), conducted their research through the investigation of the views of respondents. Prayag and Ryan (2012) explicitly favoured this methodology since it helped the researchers to completely comprehend the viewpoint the respondents were originating from. This methodology will in general be subjective and as Kent (2007) posits, respondents in such methodology give out their own abstract reactions to the inquiries put to them. With a noteworthy part of the research striving to investigate the reactions or responses of project managers and group members on how HR practices affect their work, it was judicious to utilize the subjective methodology in one section, to this study. It must be noted that, past research on the implementation of HR practices has taken a look at how these practices are implemented form the point view of those responsible for HR (Baloglu and MCcleary, 1999; Beerli and Martin, 2004; Firmino et al., 2006). This made them utilize just the quantitative way to deal with the research. Lee et al's (2005) examine how the workers who worked on the Stadium for Japan – Korea 2002 World Cup were affected by the way they were managed. He utilized the subjective methodology since they assessed how decision makers in the HR section helped in pushing employees; both temporal and permanent to give their best. Since this study is looking at the points of view from the team managers and members, it was imperative to consider the examination approach of both Lee et al (2005) and Beerli and Martin (2004). Bearing in mind the methodologies by these two examinations, a combinedresearch approach was utilised for this investigation (subjective and quantitative). The qualitative methodology helped this research into picking up a thorough comprehension of the issues as the methodology favours understanding than simply summing up. Since this research focuses on the Ghanaian setting, it was critical to incorporate the qualitative approach and particularly as Sonmez and Sirakaya (2002) are of the view that studies that concentrated on the views of individuals are clearly abstract particularly when the setting becomes possibly the most important factor, henceforth, including this methodology in the research appropriate. Dissimilar to the qualitative approach that takes a gander at logical clarifications (Sonmez and Sirakaya, 2002), the quantitative methodology is more for studies that look to sum up its discoveries (Malhotra, 2007). In the utilization of quantitative information, there is the use of statistics for analysis and it is bias-free (Malhotra, 2007). Since this study needs to look for an in – profundity comprehension of the issues relating to Ghana, it factored Creswell’s (2013) recommendation; hence, it was judicious to utilize the blended way to deal with the accumulation of information.

3.2 Research Strategy

The research was conducted with Ghana in context and this introduced the test of an appearing absence of writing focused on the Ghanaian setting. With respect to that, the contextual analysis approach was utilized to enable enough assembling of data. Morris and Wood (1991) recommended that, with this research, it helps the researcher to assemble enough knowledge and understanding. The study, additionally, because of the joined methodology, utilized both descriptive and factual introductions of its discoveries. This was learnt by the work conducted on a similar subject matter on the Ghanaian setting by Ocran (2015). In representing how the case study analysis methodology is applied, Robson (2002) implied that it ought to incorporate an in-depth examination of a particular current issue inside its ordinary relevant life. Creswell (2013) likewise emphasized that the sort of examination to be done should direct the extent of the contextual analysis to be utilized. Since this study is taking a two-organization analysis, interviews were conducted from project members and managers in two different construction companies situated in two different areas of the country. Likewise, a numerous case study investigation was utilized, with respect to a single issue of HR issue on construction in Ghana; it was studied from the point of workers who have been involved in the construction of different structures in Ghana; drawing lessons from Creswell (2013). Since there have been studies under a similar topic led inside the European and the Eastern Asian world, the research likewise embraced Creswell's (2013) characteristic contextual analysis approach that made the researcher put the uniqueness of Ghana under the magnifying instrument. It is imperative to note that, similarly as with most research, this study likewise applied the exploratory research strategy at the underlying stages to help characterize the issue and how the target of this study was defined, as posited by Neuman (2007). It was after the exploratory study that the descriptive studies were utilized through the accumulation and translation of information. The research, as recommended by Saunders et al (2009), gave inside and out details of the Ghanaian circumstance by portraying the Ghanaian construction industry story in detail.

3.3 Time Dimension

With respect to the component of time, Neauman (2007) and Saunders et al (2009) presents two kinds of research; the cross – sectional and the longitudinal. Cross – sectional researches are the famous among the two. As indicated by Robson (2002), cross – sectional investigations typically have a segment of a survey connected to it. Disregarding this, Saunders et al (2009) included the significance of adding a qualitative segment to cross – sectional research. They insinuated that the qualitative viewpoint comprehends a phenomenon inside a characterized time allotment. For the reasons for this research, the cross – sectional dimension is embraced; with both the review and qualitative parts being utilized.

3.4 Research Population

This study had its emphasis on a two scope of study populations: project team managers and project team members. This research population were considered in light of the fact that, per the study goals, it was essential to consider the issues from the view point of those involved in the actual construction and how the HR practices pushed by the HR managers and the department. The research population explicitly centred on the workers of Taysec Construction and Facilities Management Ltd and Aya Construction. In terms of Taysec, it is only their construction section that was considered for the study. Here twelve semi- structured interviews were conducted. Taysec construction is an independent Ghana based developer that is currently at the fore front of infrastructure and construction in Nigeria. It is a big-sized organisation that offers several intergrated services on behalf of clients. In this organisation, 4 HR top level- project managers were interviewed and 2 of the members in the teams. On the other hand, Ava Construction is a relatively middle sized company that takes on projects mostly locally within the region. In this organisation, 3 HR top level project managers were interviewed together with 3 other team members, two of which were new to the organisation, though had been in the sector for more than 5 years.

3.5 Sampling and Sampling Technique

The convenient and purposive sampling methods were employed in this research (Saunders et al, 2009). The convenient sampling method was used for the selection of the respondents when the employees of the companies were recognised. Neuman (2007) is of the view that convenient simple random methods are employed when the time frame for the studies is very limited and also, with a very low budget. This was exactly the issue for this research and thus, the researcher ended up adopting Neuman’s (2007) position. It must be noted that the purposive sampling method was also used in terms of selecting which companies should be used for this study. Saunders et al (2009) is of the view that when the source of the information to be collected is within the hands of specific people and will become difficult to have access to such information, it is critical to take into consideration the aims of what is being researched, then specific organizations or people will be targeted. It is in view of this suggestion by Saunders et al (2009) that the researcher, looking at the competitiveness nature of the construction industry in Ghana, coupled with companies using all options to guard their data, that the purposive sampling method was also employed. 10 project group members each of the selected companies were interviewed and also, 2 project group managers each from the two companies who have worked on current and previous projects were also used for the study.

3.6 Sources of Data

Sources of data comes in two folds; primary source and secondary source, which are both at the disposal of this research. Malhorta (2007) differentiate between primary and secondary data by indicating that, primary data are collected directly from source while secondary data are mostly collected from a collected primary source. For the purpose of this research, primary data is critical. Albeit the predominant usage of primary data, it is important to know that, some form of secondary source of data forms the basis for the manner in which the primary data was collected. Primary data was considered in light of the fact that it enabled the researcher to assemble information on explicit issues.

3.6.1 Data Collection Methods

This study utilized the survey approach such as questionnaire and the use of an interview guide in the collection of data from both the project team managers and project team members. They were utilized because as King (2004) suggests, it helped in the evaluation of the information and appropriate speculation. Also, a semi – structured interview approach was used by providing interview guide to respondents (see Appendices 1 and 2). The interview guides and questionnaires were influenced by work of King (2004). The researcher conducts two interviews on a pilot premise and this enables the researcher to make redresses on any vagueness as far as the wording of the interview guide is concerned. A similar methodology was taken for the survey by conducting it some individuals (two from each company) on a pilot premise. The study covered areas on selection, training, recruitment etc within the construction industry in Ghana. As per the work by Malhorta (2007), this study embraces the direct approach of accumulating qualitative data as interviews are profundity and plain in nature. Since it was an interview guide, some questions werealtered depending on the stream of the discussion.

3.7 Analysis of Data

The information gathered for this research will be analysed using qualitative methods, a topical methodology as recommended by Krueger (1994). There have been some significant criticism with regards to the utilization of qualitative data as being instinctual and emotional so in that capacity, the words, consistency and key explicit remarks were viewed as great so as to limit the subjectivity however much as could be expected. The research conducted by Krueger (1994) and Ritchie and Spencer (1994) formed the foundation of the analysis of the qualitative data collected. The way both researches suggested how themes are to be drawn from interviews made the researcher to adopt the works of these two researchers. It must be noted that Rabiee (2004) also alluded to Krueger’s (1994) as being useful to amateur researchers as it makes the whole analysis of the quantitative data easy and simple to understand and interpret. The analysis of the qualitative data was in conformity to the suggestions of Yin’s (1981) five step framework for the analysis of data. It must be noted that the five – stage approach (Yin, 1981) discussed in chapter three will be adhered to in this chapter.

Yin suggested that the first step to analyse qualitative data is for the research to familiarise himself or herself with the collected data in other to understand the emerging issues. This can be done by listening and relistening to the interviews over and over again. He went further to posit that the second is to develop themes out of the emerging issues that cuts across the interviews. Identifying similar issues and making it into one theme and finding out other issues that shows sharp contrast to the popular emerging issues. The third aspect of the framework is to find direct quotes and sentences which suggests the themes that have been listed previously, while keeping the research objectives in mind. This helps the researcher to compare the patterns to the actions of the HR department form the different organisations used. This is where Yin’s (1981) within – case and across – case analysis of qualitative data comes into use as it helps the research to understand how to contain the volume of the information at his disposal. At the fourth stage, the research arranged all the identified quotes and sentences under the already identified themes to facilitate the analysis. The last and fifth stage saw the researcher interpreting the data and making meanings out of the interpretations. Analysis of quantitative research data, unlike qualitative, have several approaches towards dissecting the empirical data (Ritchie, 2014). In line with this, and as mentioned in the earlier chapter, the researcher adopted the thematic analysis approach into analysing the data collected. This approach was used because, according to Byran and Bell (2015), it is considered as the most potent in terms of the organization of qualitative data. It must be noted that thematic analysis involves building different themes emanating from the empirical data to aid in answering the stated research questions. One major advantage of this approach is how it tends to be flexible; allowing space for thorough and in depth analysis (Ritchie 2014).

Secondly, the case study methodology was used to analyse some of the findings.

3.8 Ethical Considerations

Every single moral thought set out by the University of Salford’s Ethics Committee were conformed to. Respondents were made to unequivocally give their assent by signing and returning consent forms before the interviews and questionnaires were administered. Issues on secrecy were completely clung to with all respondents. All respondents knew about the purpose of the research before partaking in the study and in that capacity, nobody participated in this research under pressure. They furtherwere informed that they had the liberty to withdraw from the interview at any point of the study.

3.9 Research Limitations

A noteworthy impediment to this research was the small sample size looking at the population of Ghana and those involved in the construction industry in particular (2017). It tends to be contended this may impede speculation of results, yet it must be noticed that the information was gathered from respondents from diverse background within Ghana but have been employed in the selected organisations. The other significant impediment was the conceivable subjective way to deal with the exploration. To take out this, the researcher connected a 5 bias-free stage approach from Krueger (1994) and this limited the dimension of subjectivity.

CHAPTER FOUR ANALYSIS OF DATA

4.0 Introduction

This section focusses on the analyses of the various data collected using the selected pre-dominant themes.

4.1 Context in the construction industry of Ghana

Basing on the responses of the participants, the context was sub divided into 4 parts namely: their role on the project, the type of project, the organizational structure and complexities that came with uncertainties within the project.

4.1.1 Respondent’s role on a Project

The participants interviewed during this research were either project team leaders or project team members. The studies showed that the project team leaders were involved in all aspects of the project including: budget estimates, supervision of project group members and most importantly, liaising with other departments within the main organization. “One thing that one must understand in terms of leading a project is that, you must be in constant communication with all departments within the organisation, from finance to logistics to HR” (Respondent 1: Project Team Leader, company A). “ “Before one is made a group leader, they must have knowledge in different sections of the business because at the end of the day, you have to speak to all the sections to get the project done” (Respondent 8: Project Team Leader, company B) From the above responses, the researcher found out that the role of project team leaders requires more than leadership skills on the project but also possession of some form of management capabilities in order to coordinate the members and the different sections within the organization. “When I need a truck tomorrow, I must tell my foreman” (Respondent 3: Project Team Leader, company A) “Last week, our mixer broke down and it was manager who arranged for a repairer” (Respondent 9: Project Team Leader, company B) It can be deduced that the role of a project team leader requires a range of skills to deal with different people and sections within the organization. In a sharp contrast, project team members are assigned specific tasks on the project; their roles are job specific and thus, their skills should match the role for which they are being put on the project. “What I do mainly is to deal with the IT stuff. You see, the drawings on the computer are all generated by me and I make sure the things done are in relation to the actual computer based drawings” (Respondent 4, Project group member, company A) “It’s all about me making sure the right materials are being used at every stage, from foundation, to casting, to laying of blocks” (Respondent 12, Project group member, company B) Clearly, when it comes to project group members, they are given specific tasks to perform on the project.

4.1.2 Type of Projects in Relation to Team Formation

The type of projects were also seen as an emerging theme as respondents were of the view that, they are put on a project depending on their type. By type of project, they mostly referred to the scale of the project; whether big (major) or small (minor). The respondents were of the view that the decision to put one on a project goes beyond the capabilities of the person but the experience the person has on previous projects come into play. In this case, for a major project, those who have been on similar major projects or have been on several minor projects were selected and vice versa. “The project we are working on now is my second project since I joined this company. Although some of my colleagues on this same project have been given a new project responsibility yesterday” (Respondent 2, company A) “Oooo I will not be put on a major job because I am relatively new here but I know after working on some few jobs, I will be put on a major job” (Respondent 6, company A). “I moved from one major company that is why I am working on this project”. “Yea Yea, so I have my own experience before coming” (Respondent 8, company B) It can be observed that the experience one gathered on the job was a major factor in deciding who had to be on a particular project. It can also be observed that the experience can be gathered from anywhere and not necessarily within the organization.

4.1.3 The complexity and uncertainty of the project

The complexity of the project usually is determined by the person who gives out the contract to the organization; the giver decides on the design, the materials to be used and the land on which the project has to be executed on. This provides its own set of complexities and uncertainties. These two determinants (complexity and uncertainty) also had an impact on who was put on a project. “At times the way the client wants the job will also determine if I will be put on the job or not. There was this one time, a client wanted the project to a specification and quite some speed so I was not selected although under normal circumstances, I would have been selected.” (Respondent 11, company B) “Well, in spite of all my experience so far, at times the client requests for something that makes the organisation to go out to look for people who don’t even work here to be on that project. You know, it’s all about making the customer happy. This job it’s your professionalism and recommendation you get from clients”. (Respondent 4, company A)

4.1.4 The Organizational Structure

The structure of the organization was also seen to influence how and who works on a project or leads a project. It also influences the length of time for a decision to be taken on who is put on a project. “Unlike my previous organization, decision on whether I will be on a job takes quite some time because it has to go through a lot of sections who will be part in the project for approval” (Respondent 3, Company A) “Decision on who should be part on the job is quite easy because it is mostly between the project office and the HR. these are the only two people who decide on which project one must be put on” (Respondent 8, company B) The organizational structure and departments that were involved in a single project were seen to influence the swiftness and the appropriateness of who was supposed to be on a project.

4.2 Skills and Competencies of Project Team Leaders and Members

All respondents were interviewed on the skills and competencies they deemed relevant to team members and managers. Whether a project manager or not, they were all interviewed on what competencies were relevant in their own view and from their experience. The most prevalent themes from these interviews were from the technical and personal view and thus were discussed as such. Evaluation from the transcripts showed that knowledge on technical skills and human related competencies were key.

4.2.1 Technical competencies of project group members

Basing on the transcripts, all respondents were of the view that, when it comes to construction, technical skills are of great importance. They stressed on skills of operating the different machines on site, reading technical drawing and understanding these were of huge value to every member of the team. “This job is technical and so to have the technical knowledge is very important” (Respondent 10, Company B) “To be successful on a team, I know I must know how to use a variety of tools and machines; even the ones I will not be directly using because it helps me understand what I am supposed to do when it comes to my turn” (Respondent 6, Company A) “Our work is mainly technical and so the most important thing is understanding the technical aspects. Even the instructions we receive from the team managers are very technical so if I lack that knowledge, it means I can’t do any meaningful thing” (Respondent 9, Company B) “Knowledge in understanding the construction drawings you are given is very critical. Every single aspect of it is technical so if you lack the technical understanding, you can’t do this job” (Respondent 11, Company A) All respondents were of the view that technical skills and competencies were of huge importance throughout the project from conception to its completion. All instructions are given in accordance to those technical requirements and thus, it is important members understand them.

4.2.2 Technical competencies of project team managers

Technical competencies related to team managers were very similar to those of the team members. All team managers are required to have the ability to understand all the technical details of the project. The difference here is that, as the team members must understand the technical issues with the specific role they are occupying, the team managers must understand the technical issues on the whole project. So usually, team members are selected based on their previous experience on different sections of a project. “Before I became a project team manager for the first time, I had already worked on 9 different projects as a team member. I think that they wanted me to understand all the different areas of a construction project before giving me this position for the first time” (Respondent 2, Project team manager, Company A) As a manager, I must understand myself what I am asking the members to do. This is very important because if I don’t understand, I will not know if they are doing it right or wrong” (Respondent 7, Project team manager, Company B) “You see, for me, I must understand what everyone is doing. Hahahaha, it makes me jack of all trades” (Respondent 1, Project team manager, Company A) It is evident that the team managers must understand all the nitty gritty of the technical requirements of the project in question. This makes technical competence a huge requirement for team managers.

4.2.3 Human competencies of a project manager

From the analysis of the transcripts, it was very evident that project group managers require to have team – working skills, flexibility skills, problem solving and leadership skills. The respondents who were team leaders posited that it is important to have very good team working skills as it helps in managing communication, ego and the atmosphere within the working environment. “As a manager, if there is any problem, I am the first point of call and I must suggest solutions to ensure a smooth running of the project” (Respondent 8, Company B) You see, working with people means that you must know how to manage their individual egos. Egos are everywhere and it mostly slows down the business if not managed well.” (Respondent 2, Company A) “Being a team manager makes you the leader on the project and it is important that the members see you as a leader. That is very important as it helps you to be in a control position on the team” (Respondent 1, Company A) “Arranged discussions with all sections must be led by me and it is my team working skills with the members that makes me know what I will discuss with the departments” (Respondent 7, Company B) The human related competencies are usually built upon when one is put on project after project. Knowing how to manage the team members is very critical as all success or otherwise on the project is always attributed to the manager” (Respondent 2, Company A) Time management was also a key human related competency that was seen as important to team managers. Projects tend to be time bound and thus, how to manage the time and the time used by all project members is very important. “I think time management is a very major skill” (Respondent 1, Company A) “Projects are usually within some specific time and budget and I must make sure we do everything within the specified time, so we don’t exceed budget”. (Respondent 7, Company B) Ability to solve conflict was also a major skill needed by a project group leader and it is pertinent because conflicts are inevitable in work situations. “There is always some form of conflict at the job site and I must make sure I solve these conflicts all the time because the more they argue, the more the project delays” (Respondent 1, Company A) “The ego members have always resulted in conflicts and as a leader, I must make sure I solve such conflicts because they delay the project” (Respondent 7, Company B)

4.3 Human Resource Practices

All respondents interviewed talked about human resource practices. The participants were asked questions on how their interviews were conducted before getting their current job and their experience with the HR department within their period of stay on the job. All respondents agreed that they have had several engagements with the HR and it was based on this that the sub themes were developed.

4.3.1 Assignment to projects verses longevity of project

It was observed from the analysis that project group members and their managers stayed together for the whole period of the project. In fact, the longer the project, the longer they stayed together. It was also observed that when the life span of projects was extremely long, project managers and projects members were in most cases, assigned to other short-term projects. It was also seen that at times, the number of project team members changed (increased or decreased) depending on the trend the project was taking. In some cases too, the team leaders were changed to other projects and other team leaders replaced them. “This particular project I am working on is a long term one so I have been with the team for over 8 months. This has made us gel more and the project is moving smoothly” (Respondent 8, Company B) “The number of people I started this project with has changed over. Sule and Kofi were part of this team but they have been moved to join master Asare’s team because foreman says they need them there” (Respondent 11, Company B) “This project started with a team of 13 but we are now a team of 9 because the project is nearing completion and we don’t need everyone here” (Respondent 1, Company A) “The client increased the scope of our last project, so we had to increase the team because the pressure became too much” (Respondent 7, Company B) “During the execution of a project, if I realise, we will need more hands, I report to HR request for more people” (Respondent 8, Company B) “I was the manager of the current project I am managing but I was brought on this one because the HR said I was more suited for this job” (Respondent 2, Company A) In summary, project group members keep on changing depending on the nature and scope of the project.

4.3.2 Recruitment and selection as an HR Practice

Basing on the analysis of the interviews, it was realised that the HR department and the project managers were involved in the different HR practices implemented for members of groups and members within groups. “Yes, I had training last month and it was my project manager who recommended that training for me” (Respondent 5, Company A) “Recruitment is usually done by the HR department and it is them who assess all potential employees before they are hired” (Respondent 8, Company B) It was found out that the HR department reviewed CVs and placed calls to qualified persons for interviews. These interviews were scheduled for a day or two as all qualified persons were called for the interview to know who was best placed for the role. It was also found out that when people were being employed temporarily, they were mostly people who were already skilled on the job and it was the role of the HR to fully understand the CV of such person and discuss their suitability with project team managers before they were brought on board. “I received a call from the HR department that I have been shortlisted for an interview” (Respondent 12, Company B) “I remember on that day, it was a call from the HR” (Respondent 4, Company A) “In the interview, there was Mr. Afranie who became my first team manager when I landed this job” “Yes, he sat in that interview” (Respondent 9, Company B) “There were technical people on the panel. Well I didn’t know at first, but when I got the job, I realised they were technical people” (Respondent 10, Company B) As many of the respondents noted, the HR did the HR practice that was a determinant of whether they joined the organization or not. This recruitment was the same other technical people within the organization. There were times where there were some internal vacancies in the organisation and Respondent 2 recounted that it was that opportunity that landed him his current role as a project manager. “I had work on 8 occasions as a project member so when the opportunity came, I put in my application and since the HR and my supervisors knew what I could do, it was quite easy landing the role” (Respondent 2, Company A)

4.3.3 Training and development of project group managers and members

All the organizations used for this study were engaged in the training and development of their employees. This was evident in the analysis of the responses from the participants. It was realised that both organizations had their own scheduled training sessions, which normally did not take into consideration the specific training needs of the participants. This looked like a general one done on a timetable basis. “I think most of the time, the HR must ask the managers where we need the training before they fix it” (Respondent 3, Company A) “Every 4 months, we have a compulsory training. It helps but I think the training is not always important “(Respondent 5, Company A) “You see, the point is that, the scheduled training looks like the HR people want to organize the training at all cost” (Respondent 10, Company B) “Yes, they give us training and at times we go on retreat for such training” (Respondent 11, Company B) The above shows that the team members and managers did not see the importance of the scheduled training programs organized for them. From their point of view, trainings had become more of a routine than a need. In as much as this was discovered, the analysis also revealed that there were concerted efforts to bring to team members specific training needs. “My manager has recommended me on two occasions to the HR for training on the use of the plum machine and the interpretation of the joint drawings” (Respondent 11, Company B) “No nono. The HR can’t see my specific need unless my manager tells them or I tell them myself through my manager” (Respondent 5, Company A) “The thing is, I can identify my own needs or my manager can identify my needs and report to HR or the specific department I am under” (Respondent 6, Company A) “The whole idea of training is good but at times it keeps long. Last year, while working on the Sine Project, I needed training on how to develop an artistic impression using the software but instead, they called another guy to come do it and I just had that training last week. After the project itself is over” (Respondent 4, Company A) It was found out that people who needed some specific training had to go through their managers or their departments to request for such and also the team managers mostly responded tosuch requests when they identified the training gap. It was also found out that in most cases, the training tallied for so long that it was usually provided when not necessary. It was also realised that in some cases when training or skill gaps were detected, they waited to add other training needs before they actually trained the affected employees. “The last time we requested for some training, we were told they are waiting to have training sessions for the whole group” (Respondent 8, Company B)

4.3.4 Employee motivation, support and retention

It was found out that when it came to motivation and support, the HR did not really have a significant role in this. Most of these roles were mainly played by the project team managers and the individual departments under which the team member fall. “The HR does not support the teams at this level. They help at times but the most important person here is the team manager” (Respondent 5, Company A) “The team leader is the one who motivates us on daily basis and when he finds it difficult, he contacts the HR” (Respondent 9, Company B) “It is when my team manager and my head of department are not able to handle it before the HR comes in” (Respondent 11, Company B) Although the HR played a role in some way or the other, they only came in occasionally when team managers requested them to.

4.3.5 Performance appraisal

It was found out that the performance appraisals were done on theme basis and it is the team members and their managers who graded one another and the feedback of the grading was given to the HR department for the necessary analyses. The study also found out that it was the HR that set parameters upon which each employee was appraised. It was found out that in very rare occasions, the HR conducted direct interviews that were meant to serve as performance appraisals for team managers and members but this was just to augment the other ways of appraisal. “Well we are made to grade everyone at the end of every project and they forward the grades to the HR” (Respondent 8, Company B) “Well, you see, every group member scores the other group members. Even including scoring the team manager” (Respondent 12, Company B) “Aside the grading, the HR may interview you based on your grading to know exactly the reasons behind your grading” (Respondent 4, Company A)

4.3.6 Career development

All the respondents agreed that structures were in place to ensure career development. They were of the view that with the available training, focus group discussions and the feedback they got on regular basis, provided a platform for them to develop themselves. Also, it was found out that to move from project team members to a manager, you must have shown some clear signs of development. “When I submitted my application to be a project manager two years ago, I wasn’t successful because the HR explained to me my shortfalls and they trained me to improve upon those. That is what has made me a manager today” (Respondent 7, Company B) “The trainings they give us helps us to improve on our skills on regular basis so personally I enter every new project with a new skill learnt” (Respondent 5, Project A) “Eeeerrmmm, as for career development, it is very clear they give us the opportunity to. It is only those who don’t want to improve who don’t improve” (Respondent 3 Company A)

4.4 Discussion

The main aim of this chapter is to compare empirical findings with established theoretical backgrounds and framework as discussed under the literature review section while relating them to the research objectives. This will help direct the research towards the appropriate conclusions. The discussed below emanates from the already identified themes.

4.4.1 Findings on the Context in the Construction Industry

In general, the study found out that the competences of project managers and team members in the construction industry vary depending on the size and time frame of the projects. The project types within the construction industry are very varied; it may be a minor project, a major project in terms of size or a shorter project or longer project in terms of time frame. So, depending on the client’s specifications, the context may differ and not stay the same over different projects. This relates directly to the research by Padalkar and Gopinath (2016) on how the size and time frame of a project influences its complexity. It was also found out that project uncertainty was as a result of many factors, paramount amongst is the specification the client proposes and the land available to the client. The technical knowledge that project team members have also influences the complexity of the project. When the technical know-how is high, the project seems to be less complex and vice versa. This is in line with the research by Bakhshi et al (2016) on how technical know-how affects the complexities of projects as indicated in their context. It was also realised that anytime a client changed the specifications or design or both of a project, the complexity increased. The organizational structure of an organization or how many people involved in taking decisions on a project also influences its context and uncertainty. Clearly, these companies had a less complex organizational structure so the uncertainty was quite low because few people were involved on each project. Should the structure be a complex one, it would been in line with the work of Bredin and Söderlund (2011) on how HR affects the roles of members of a project. With no so very clear responsibilities of project managers within the construction industry; thereby making them jack of all trades, leadership challenges may set in. As Shenhar and Dvir (2007) posit, when there are no clear set out functions of project managers, the possibility of them encountering challenges is always high.

4.4.2 Skills and competence

In line with the research question about competence of project members in construction specifically in Ghana, it was found out that they required skills in auto card, operating of machines, understanding and interpreting construction drawings. These were the technical competencies that seem to be common in the construction industry. It was also found out that the HR department was very much involved in training and retraining project team members on how to develop and improve these skills in other to build on their competence. The human competencies varied depending on the role a person plays on a team; whether a team member or a team manager. Whiles team members were mostly required to just understand the activities of the other team members and deal with their personal ego, share their knowledge and skills from their experience for the goal of the team, project team managers were inundated with competencies such as conflict resolution, leadership, flexibility and communication. It must be noted that most literature on project team members and managers has placed less importance, in terms of discussing the human competencies of project team members; this research has gone a step further. It builds on Ashan (2013) findings by adding sharing of information between team members. Technical competence was found to be the major key in the construction industry, as each project needed some level of technical competence. Technical competence was in forms using of the AutoCAD software to develop images, operating complex machines and interpretation drawings from clients to know the specific materials to use and the quantity to use. Project team managers in addition to the technical competence, also needed competence in time management, problem solving, communication and flexibility in other to manage the whole team. This is in line with the research by El – Sabaa (2001) on employee skills needed for successful completion of projects. These findings also align with the study by Cheng et al (2005) on the importance of behavioural skills on managing projects.

4.4.3 HR Practices in the Construction Industry in Ghana

The first practice realised was recruitment. The research found out that this was a key practice because assembling the right people for a project will determine the success of the project or otherwise. According to findings of this research, the competence and skills of a person are determined at this stage which helps the organization to understand who they are bringing on board. Selection of members unto a project was another key HR practice found out where the HR, in consultation with relevant department heads selected people to be on a project. According to Bredin and Söderlund (2011) this is very important because each project comes with its own technical requirements and it is very essential the skills are assessed before they are put on a project. This practice was well embraced in the HR department of the construction industry in Ghana. Training and development were also seen as a major HR practice within the industry. It was very key in developing and improving of competence within the industry and within organizations. As Khan and Rahseed (2015) suggests, training and development are used to build competence and confidence in handling projects of different requirements. The organizations studied showed that the provision of training was paramount as they fixed their time tabled training sessions and also offered training on demand. Knowledge sharing was also found to be in the industry because this research found out that anytime there was lack of technical skill available to the organization, the organization would recruit externally persons with such skills on temporal basis. This sharing of information and competence is very peculiar to the Ghanaian industry as Ekrot et al (2016) suggests that organizations within the same industry shy away from sharing information. Career development was also found out to be one of the major practices of the HR department. This research found out that before one became a project manager, they would have worked as a member of at least some 6 projects. This helped in making the employees to put in their best as they knew there would be an opportunity for advancement and learning on the job.

CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION

5.0 Introduction

This chapter summarises the whole of the research by putting forward the deductions made from the findings and also the look at the theoretical and practical implications of the findings of this research. It also suggests recommended areas for further studies.

5.1 Summary of Findings and Conclusions

Basing on the existing literature, this research set out to find answers to the four main research objectives stated in the first chapter of this study. It was all geared towards finding an answer to how HR practices contribute to the competence of project team members and managers within the construction industry in Ghana. The existing literature acknowledges the relevance of HR practices in organizations that deal with projects but the literature that focuses on empirical evidence on how these practices enhances the competence of project team members and managers was lacking. This seemingly lack of evidence is what informed this research. The answers to the research questions involved finding out the context of the Ghanaian construction industry. Qualitative method was used, 12 different semi structured interviews were conducted in 2 different organisations, and findings were analysed using themes. In summary, possession of technical skills in Autocard, operating of machines, understanding and interpreting construction drawings is very imperative in the success of project members in construction. It is worth noting that recruitment, selection, training and development, knowledge sharing and career development is key HR practices in the construction industry of Ghana. It was striking to realise that knowledge sharing within the construction industry is key in making members at different levels of the organization to be comfortable to deal with the project hence early completion of the tasks. One major finding was that the training was very key to the development of the project team members and the managers. The research realised that training helped build on the competencies and the development of the team. One major finding was that during recruitment, members have to show that they possess particular basic technical skills as the other pending high level skills are always obtained during the job skill training. Despite this, the key challenge facing construction industry in Ghana is the lack of relevant and timely trainings especially in preparation of complex situations that arise in the industry.

It was observed that the HR involved itself in several activities to ensure the competencies were developed at every stage of the process. It was realised that project team members have several roles to play in helping in improving the competencies of other members as members could share information and understanding the work at every stage of the process. In contrast with the existing literature framework, this research fund out that anytime competencies are lacked and are identified in another organization, they recruit such competence on a temporal basis and on project basis. This helped in solving the shortage of skill on short-term basis. It can be concluded that, it is necessary for the organisations to provide appropriate training and development program in order to improve the human competencies as well as enhance the technological competencies in order to maximise the performance of the staff members in the organisation. The project team managers are playing crucial role in organising the training program which provides a scope to the managers to manage the human resource and improve the overall competencies in performing with their full potential as the organization so that it is possible for the employees to contribute positively in the organisational success. Though knowledge sharing, both the skill and knowledge are improved among the employees and the staff members are capable of performing efficiently in order to achieve the future organisational success. Hereby, as per the findings of the study, the human resource management strategies are important for contributing in the competencies enhancement of the project managers and the team members in the project based organisations. In the recent era of globalisation, all the leader and the managers are focusing on developing effective human resource management strategies so that they can create values for the employees and motivate them for long run to achieve future success. Through this study, it is possible for the researcher to fulfil the set objectives in the introduction of the research. The objectives are,

To develop an up to date understanding of the competencies of project managers and team members in the construction industry in general

Through this study, it is possible for the researcher to understand and gain in depth knowledge and concept about the importance of competencies present among the employees of the construction industry in Ghana. It is necessary for all the employees of the construction industry to have proper competencies, knowledge and technical skill in order to perform better and maximise their contribution to get the construction project completed successfully. The study provides proper knowledge and understanding about the employee’s management process, where the researcher discuses the tactics of training and development program in the construction industry in order to raise employee’s competencies in the instruction industry. The literature review provides a scope to understand that there is positive connection between the employee’s competencies and organisational performance in the company, where through human resource management, the project managements are trying to retain the employees for long run and motivate them efficiently to improve their performance.

To explore the HR practices used in the construction industry on a project level

Through the data analysis and findings, it comes to know that their project managers are concerned about the strategic planning to manage the human resource of the organisation. This objective is also fulfilled through this study, where the project managers try to provide suitable organisational culture and provide safety and security to the employees, which is effective to develop effective bonding with the entire employee and encourage them to perform better in the organisation. On the other hand, as per the findings and discussion, the human resource management practice of training and development program, managing cultural diversity and maintaining the workplace culture are also contributing factor in order to create values for the employees and lead them towards achieving success. Additionally, the project manger and the leader are trying to provide high return in investment, performance related pay and rewards which are also considered as motivational factors for the manager to encourage the staff and improve their competencies and contribution in the construction project. Hereby, the second objective is also fulfilled through this research.

To explore the role of context and challenges specific to the construction industry in Ghana

The role of the project manager is disused in the research, where the project managers are responsible for developing effective human resource managements strategy as well as manage the employees and encourage them for contributing with their full potential, for maximising the overall performance so that the construction project can be completed successfully. Through this study, it has also been explored that, there are sever challenges in the construction industry in Ghana, for which the project managers fail to manage the employees and staff to complete the project proficiently. Due o unhealthy workplace and lack of management of employee’s safety and security, the employee’s retention is low and for which the construction industry is hampered with low workforce and lack of skilled workforce. In addition to these, lack of management of the human resources as well as poor strategic planning to encourage the employee’s further raise the issue in the construction industry in Ghana, the study is hereby effective to fulfil the third objective of the research.

To identify the competency support systems used in the construction industry in Ghana

Through this study, it is also possible for the researcher to develop proper strategic practice to manage the human source of the construction companies in Ghana. The study provides a scope to the researcher to analyse the existing practice to raise competencies among the employees as well as existing strategic planning for the employees for encouragement and motivation so that they can contribute in the construction project with their full, potential and technical skill so that the project must be completed proficiently. In addition to these, the competencies system is beneficial for the employees to perform better and maximise the organisational success efficiently. The recommendations are developed further in order to fulfil the fourth recommendations of the research where proper recommendation for enhancing the competencies among the employees are necessary for the construction industry of Ghana in order to maximise their performance and fulfil the project proficiently.

5.2 Managerial Implication of this Research

In terms of managerial implications, this research seeks to provide adequate and additional information to HR practitioners in project-based organizations. In spite of this, it must be noted that this particular research looks at the construction industry and thus the interpretive approach used took into consideration the Ghanaian perspective. Therefore, the findings of this research will help HR practitioners in the construction industry in Ghana to understand what constitute the enhancement and the improvement of competencies from the perspective of project team members and managers. This will help HR practitioners to channel their resources well into doing the exact needs of their employees. It should also be noted that because the Ghanaian context was used, applying it in a different context may result in a different approach but it does not take out the fact that understanding these issues from the view point of the project team members and managers is very critical. This also informs HR practitioners on how to improve the competencies of their employees and also, how to maintain or retain them. Since the literature shows a high demand for people with technical skills, HR practices will come in handy in ensuring that employees are given the needed help, training and motivation to remain with the organization.

5.3 Theoretical Implication

This research critically looked at how HR practices affected the activities of project team members and their team managers. The general findings agreed with the existing literature but in the same vain, there was some contradicting situation between this research and existing literature. This research looks at the HR practices not at the organizational level but at a project-based level, which gives a new view to an area, which has not been harnessed fully. In contrast, hiring people from other firms temporarily was not in tandem with the existing literature and thus, provides an opportunity for further research into why this is so.

5.4 Future scope of this research

The qualitative approach employed in this research brings the age-old argument of subjectivity however this research employed acceptable ways of interpreting qualitative data. This research also focused more on the Ghanaian setting. It is therefore recommended that future research focuses on an in-depth comparative study of other Sub Saharan African countries that have similar cultural and economic outlooks. Further, a quantitative frame work would be incorporated in further studies such that bias is reduced and that a broad representation on the subject is obtained. Within organisations, it is recommended that on-going and timely trainings be organised for both project members and managers in order to address the unique rising needs within the construction industry.

5.5 Recommendations

It is necessary of the construction companies in Ghana to improve the competencies among the employees and the staff members in order to maximize their performance in long run. Proper recommended suggestions are valued further. First and foremost planning of the organizations in Ghana should be arranging training and development program through which the leaders and the project managers can provide the chance of personal and professional development to all the employees at the construction sites on Ghana. Through arranging the training and development program, it is possible to enhance the skill and capabilities of the employees, where they can have the opportunity to gather more in depth knowledge and understanding in the training session in order to improve their performance and contribute positively in the construction sites of Ghana so that the project aim can be fulfilled and the project can be completed well. In this context, it is also necessary for the construction companies to arrange the induction process so that the recruited employees also can get proper process of gathering understanding and knowledge to perform at workplace. Through the induction process, the employees can understand their roles and responsibilities as well as acknowledge the working practice though which they can understand the organizational culture and tactics of working in the construction sites. Though the training and development program, the labourers at the construction sites can share their views with each other , where the elder and the project manager encourage the participants to communicate with each other and share each other’s experience, the contribution of the senior members and executives officer at the construction sites are also necessary in this context, where they are also trying to share their experience in order to maximize the overall competencies of the workers and co-workers as a whole. Hereby, need based training and development program needs to be developed with proper help of the project manager and the leader of the constriction company. In addition to these, technical training is also necessary to be developed by the construction companies, were proper cooperation with the engineers and technicians are necessary to educate other employees at the workplace who also can communicate and cooperate while working. Proper technical skill and knowledge about the tactics if conducting the project activities at the construction sites are necessary for all the employees so that they can contribute positively and maximize the value so the project proficiently. Apart from the above recommended suggestions for the employees at the constriction sites of Ghana, it is also necessary for the project management team to improve communication and cooperation in order to maximize competencies among the employees. In this regard, encouraging the members to communicate with others positively and cooperating with each other is beneficial for the manager to enhance positive working culture at the organization. In this context, implementation of the Information and communication Technology (ICT) is necessary at the construction sites, where all the members can communicate with each other and gather more knowledge and experience for working as a team. In this regard, the construction project activities are based on the team work and in this regard, proper team orientation needs to be developed with effective coordination and cooperation where all the employees must focus on working as partnership s that sharing knowledge and technical skill, working as a team and maximizing project aim cooperatively can be achieved properly. This working culture is beneficial for the construction organizations in Ghana to improve the overall competencies of the employees and lead them towards achieving success. This is another effective strategy through which the organizations can improve competencies among all the labourers, technicians and engineers at the constriction sites as whole and maximize the performance of them to achieve the project aim successfully. In addition to the above mentioned recommendations, it is necessary to acknowledge the contribution of the employees and create values for them to motivate them in long run. This is also indirectly enhancing the competencies and capabilities of the workers at the construction sites. In order to maximize the performance of the workers at the construction sites, it is necessary for the project managers to create values for them by providing them monetary and non-monetary incentives and rewards. In this regard providing them proper performance related pay, salary and yearly bonus and compensation are effective to improve the competencies among the workers and motivate them properly to work with their full potential. On the other hand, non-monetary rewards are also necessary for encouraging them and creating values r the workers which in turn helps to enhance competencies among the employees.

In this context, providing proper safety and security is necessary at the construction sites, where implementing CCTV cameras, managing safety at the sites, providing security guard for securing the employees as well as fire extinguisher and emergency exit are necessary to be implemented at the construction sites in order to enhance their performance and give them freedom to wok safely. Moreover, providing the employees proper insurance for any accidental incident take place at the construction sits as well as encouraging their innovation and creativity, motivating them by providing freedom to work and harmony in working with others are important strategy for the project managers in order to recognize the contribution of the employees and improve their contribution in the construction sites. Apart from that, improving the competencies depends on daily feedback, performance monitoring through which the project managers can build strong relationship with all the workers and get proper feedback from tem about the working progress. This is also helpful for the manager to understand the contribution of the employees as well as evaluate their performance which in turn provides a scope to the employees to gain more in depth knowledge and understanding through performance evaluation which provides a scope to maximize performance of the employees as a whole. Moreover, continuous monitoring the process through CCTV and site visit is also effective to encourage the staff members and improve their competencies as a whole so that they can contribute positively in the succession of the project.

Action Plan:

The table below shows how the project managers can develop competencies among the employees in the construction sites of the companies.

All these trainings come at a cost and it is very important that organizations envisage these costs before they begin implementing them. This will help in not swaying their budget but help in developing the skills of the team members. Below is a specimen of a budget guideline that an organization can adopt. I had to look back at the interviews, my findings and my recommendations to come to such conclusions. And they were also motivated by my experiences during the MSc program.

This cost is not specific but can be varied for fit in an organization.

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