Project Management Trilogy Challenges in Africa—Where to from Here?

Abstract

While projects are now recognized as a means to achieve competitive advantage in Africa, project management still remains a Cinderella field. On average, 8 out of 10 project managers are accidental or have an inadequate project management (PM) knowledge base; PM training is falling short of some fundamental knowledge areas; and organizations which are supposed to be centered on programs and portfolios are, in practice, project-oriented organizations by default. These challenges are referred to in this paper as “PM trilogy challenges.” Results of five research projects are used in this paper to identify and discuss these issues. Finally, recommendations are made.

Special Issue: Why Do Projects Fail in Africa?

“…Understandably, Rwelamila and Purushottam (2012) coined project management in Africa as a ''Cinderella field'' that suffers from a ''project management trilogy challenges'': most project managers are accidental ones, there is an inadequacy of project management training programs, and there exists a lack of strategic project management focus.…”

Project Management as a Discipline in Africa

“…This created a fortune for some training institutes and a problem for the field of study. Rwelamila (2012) argues that, "while project management is now being recognized as a means to achieve competitive advantage in Africa, project management still remains a Cinderella field". Meaning that many has to be learnt pertaining to project management as a field rather it is still a mythic story to both practitioners and beneficiaries alike.…”

“…RELATED LITERATURE Marnewick (2014) argues that, whilst it is agreeable that project management is an emerging field of study, it also goes on to say that most if not all of our practitioners in Africa lack formal education or training on project management. Rwelamila (2012) argues that Management assigns individuals as Project Managers with expectations of high performance yet knowing that they do not have proper academic and professional qualifications comparable to what they themselves academically and professionally attained.…”

“…In his Project Management Trilogy Challenges in Africa, Rwelamila (2012) points out that the current project management training if falling short of fundamental knowledge areas. It is arguably true therefore that when Graham and Englund (2004) emphasizes that projects are the highways of economic and social development but strongly hinged on the environmental accommodation more than the capabilities and proper academic and professional qualifications of the project manager himself.…”

Factors That Impact Knowledge Dissemination in Projects

“…A meta-analysis over a 34-year period reveals that only eight per cent of the total of 1,043 articles on KM were published in Africa [48]. Moreover, the studies provided evidence that projects on the African continent fail in both public and private sectors [49]. This points to the need for more empirical studies in Africa.…”