Construction projects are commonly afflicted by risk due to their uncertainty and complexity in nature. Thus this requires the contractor to have an effective risk management approach. Previous studies revealed that there was no formal risk management being used by the contractors in Malaysia. Hence, the study concentrated on the types of risk involves during construction project, the application of risk management by contractors in Malaysian construction industry and the strategy taken by them to mitigate risks. The research conducted surveys to the contractors registered with the Construction Industry Development Board, Malaysia (CIDB). The finding shows that there is a lack of standardization in the practice of risk management. Risk management has been mandated by the company and that the application has improved project performance. Besides formal approach and educating the people to conduct risk management, it is recommended that a standardized guideline of risk management is needed to improve the application of risk management among contractors in Malaysia.

No Success Factors References 1 Champion at company (Claes Wohlin, 2012) 2 Champion's network within the company (Claes Wohlin, 2012) 3 Buy in and support from company management (Claes Wohlin, 2012) 4 Buy in and support from industry collaborators (Claes Wohlin, 2012) 5 Short term results and impact on industry (Claes Wohlin, 2012) 6 Organizational stability (industry partner) (Claes Wohlin, 2012) 7 Researcher has a visible presence in industry (Claes Wohlin, 2012) 8 Regular meetings (Claes Wohlin, 2012) 9 Relevant expertise of researcher (main person in the collaboration)

For decades, as a developing country, construction industry remains as one of the largest and most important industries in Malaysia especially in terms of job creation. However, project failures in terms of project delay and cost overrun are observed more severe than the global average. While there are many reasons that may contribute to these problems, but recent studies carried out globally by the well-known researchers in project management have found that the competency of project manager, being one of the most important persons from initiating, to closing of the project, is one of the most crucial factor affecting project success. Many developed nations have come out with their project management assessment and certification standards, in order to train, assess, and certify the qualified project managers that are equipped with the necessary and required competencies and skills, but there is an absence of project manager's competencies assessment and certification standards in Malaysia until to date. This paper presents the literature review that have been carried out on the need for a competencies assessment framework for the Malaysian construction project managers.

A joint venture (JV) involves two or more businesses pooling their resources and expertise to achieve a particular goal, where the risks and rewards are shared. JV has become popular because of their importance as a strategic alternative in global competition. The number of JV has increased over the past two decades due to intensified technology, competitive challenges and market globalisation but it is important to understand what causes some JV to fail and others to succeed. Conflict is the main reason that causes some JV to fail. It may create problems in future planning and have negative effects on the financial performance of the firm that would affect JV survival. Hence, the study concentrates on the JV relationship between partners in the Malaysian construction industry in order to identify the effective ways in managing conflicts. A total of 100 questionnaires were distributed to the selected respondents and the finding shows that all of the respondents experienced conflict in the JV and the conflict management team seems to be inexistent to manage the conflict. Some recommendations in managing conflict are dictated by discussing the problem such as open talk, self-patience, endurance and being decisive as well as educating all the staffs in handling conflict.

Alternative dispute resolution methods (ADR) were developed in the construction industry to acquire suitable solutions. These methods are classified based on the role of the third party (neutral). Third-parties can play multiple roles in the ADR process including a facilitative, advisory, determinative or combined. The authorities of the third-party in the types of ADR techniques are different. Despite the importance of a third party in the ADR process, previous studies are not clearly identified factors for selecting them. The purpose of this research is to provide critical factors for neutral to support ADR methods in the construction industry. This research also, highlights the role of neutral in common ADR techniques. Random sampling was used for quantitative data collection. Of the 200 experts invited to fill in the questionnaire, 112 experts participated. To provide critical factors the factor analysis was used. The research found four critical factors for selecting supporting ADR neutrals in construction including; familiarity with legal and technical issues, being accepted by parties, efficiency and fairness. It can be concluded that selecting neutral party using the critical factors is efficient because the selection of a third-party in ADR is based on many variables is very difficult.