Category: Success

Introduction

As we move forward in the age of digital migration, the need to be well updated with technology is becoming a necessity that we cannot afford to ignore. This blog will provide four ideas that LaGuardia Community College can use to enhance its daily business practices. These ideas include;

Opening Intranet Portal for the Student’s faculty and staff members

Creating an Intranet portal will increase productivity, communication, streamline processes, collaboration, and knowledge sharing management. Various significant benefits of the Intranet portal entails;

Users will be in a position to access all essential tools, and the required information to perform their tasks swiftly. It will improve efficiency as this is a fast way of passing information to different departments.

An intranet is very crucial since it acts as the central platform for the users that helps them get information and other essential communication tools. This gives the management a unique forum for sufficient attention space whereby it can easily interact with the workers online. This will, therefore, lead to improved services of the organization and also nourish the relationship between the management and the college members.

Apart from holding static as well as dynamic information, the modern intranet also boasts of some tools that are at the disposal of employees for effective use in their work. This will be very useful for the company since it will provide documentation of processes while availing these crucial tools that can be used to automate business activities.

Different social and collaboration tools in modern intranets provide employees with a platform whereby they can share information about their work and discuss issues that affect their day-to-day activities. This is on top of being able to access information that is related to their job requirements. Networking tool plays a crucial role as far as the discoverability of various skills that the institution members treasure. This would enable employees to connect directly with their colleagues without following lengthy corporate procedures.

The modern intranet will also enhance knowledge management. This is as far as the organization of the business information is concerned. Additional information by employees that is mainly in the form of blogs, discussions, documents, and well-thought comments will play a significant role in bringing dynamic new ideas into the firm.

The web network

The creation of a network system improves learning by incorporating the collaborative online experience of the students, staff, and faculty.

SharePoint 2013 provides the user with enhanced network features that enable social networking, i.e., a SharePoint site contains web-parts, RSS feeds to internal or external content, page links to personal and public blogs, wikis, lists, and document libraries. These features will help students to discover information on My Site every time they visit and enable social networking through sharing common interests and feedback from other web users.

Expand Online Learning platform

Expanding the online learning platforms, provides the professors with a standard learning management system (LMS) that enhances classroom-based teaching and communication with students.

The SharePoint 2013 is a powerful collaborative tool that provides the instructors and students with the ability to run asynchronous classes using the LYNC feature. This feature is rich with live updates, Blogs, and Wikis that help to measure studying outcomes.

Site Departments

Another effective way is by deploying the SharePoint infrastructure to create Site Departments that would help to achieve a more productive and engaging environment that will improve the user’s experience.

By using SharePoint 2013, benefits can arise by integrating Microsoft solutions in a bid to improve the access to the right information promptly. It will boost personal and team performance that makes efficient use of provided data.

Conclusion

In conclusion, these four ideas can impact the daily practices at LaGuardia Community College by efficient and active usage of SharePoint.

The article The Triple Constraints: A Valid Set of Criteria to Measure IS-Project Success? written by Koen Milis is centered on the concept of the triple constraints and its significance for ICT projects. The triple constraints involve time, cost, and specification (Milis 1). However, it should be stated that sometimes the notions “accomplishment” and “loss” can be interpreted differently. The particular type of the experience was created to analyze the way team members of the project view success, proving that there are a lot of things that may affect the outcome.

At the beginning of the article, the author claims that managers need to have all the information about the project and be aware of the success criteria to accomplish all the goals and aims that were set in the beginning. There are three fundamental definitions that the triple constraints, namely time, cost, and specification (Milis 1). Their combination is significantly essential for the accomplishment of the project.

The author states that in case the project was completed after the deadline, or there were some difficulties with the budget the project is believed to be failed. However, the definition of the failure and success are more complex. Every member of the team can view the accomplishment in a different way. Everyone has a personal point of view and has some criteria to determine whether the project has positive or negative consequences (Milis 1).

Then the author of the article moves on to describing the research design. Milis notes that the quantitative method was used to collect and analyze data from the experiment. The group of people, who took part in the experiment, had to measure the success of the project according to the information given by the analysts (Milis 3). The experiment had three levels.

During the first level, the participants received some criteria for success and were asked to take them into account while analyzing the projects; during the next step the members of the experiment were given the information concerning twenty-five projects and the description of how the criteria were fulfilled or not. During the last phase of the test, the experts were chosen, and they were divided into four groups, namely managers, project team members (benefactors), project team members (no benefactors), and users (Milis 4). Their task was to analyze the project according to the description and to evaluate the progress made.

After making an accent on all the peculiarities of the experiment, the author draws reader’s attention to the data analysis. Milis provides the reader with all the necessary information presented in the form of tables. The results show that it is impossible to create a set of criteria that can be applied to all the members involved in the project. People, who belong to various groups, evaluate the success of the project differently. Moreover, the author states that the principle of the triple constraints is not always seen as the primary criteria. Consequently, the fulfillment of the triple constraints does not guarantee the successful outcome of the project. Such criteria as the commercial success and punctuality are viewed as the major ones that can impact the opinion of all the team members (Milis 11).

According to the research, the most meaningful criteria for the users are considered to be the following: “user happiness”, “on time”, and “financial or commercial success” (Milis 12). The issue of satisfaction the user’s interests is believed to be important for the project team members (no benefactors) (Milis 12). Such criteria as “within budget” and “on time” are also relevant and, according to Milis, has the same significance as the accomplishment of the long-term goals (Milis 12). The differences in the perception of the criteria and the vision of the project may cause the outcome and become a reason for the failure.

The researcher draws the reader’s attention to the fact that seven criteria chosen for the experiment were limited. However, the further analysis needs to be supported, and the number of participants should be extended as it will provide more information concerning the issue of evaluating project’s success by different stakeholders (Milis 14).

At the end of the article, the author draws the conclusion and gives suggestions for the further research. According to Milis, every project manager should choose team members depending on the primary goals that need to be achieved. Managers should also take into account the difference between criteria and evaluation of them. It should be stated that specifications are significant to be made, for the outcome to be successful.

It is to make an accent that the information in the article is organized in a logical manner and documented appropriately. The generalizations are well supported with examples, tables, and figures. It should be pointed out that the author supports his ideas by providing the reader with the needed information, analyzes the results in a very detailed way, uses examples, and collects data for the reader to understand the main concern of the article better.

Work Cited

Milis, Koen. The Triple Constraints: A Valid Set of Criteria to Measure IS-Project Success?. 2008. Web.

Introduction

The blistering development of digital devices and the demand for computers and software connected with their functioning have a great impact on the modern world and nowadays companies that work in the given sphere are guaranteed to obtain a great income. Microsoft is taken as the most powerful actor, which popular OS guarantees it about $93580 million of income (Microsoft 6). Under these conditions, if Google wants to compete with Microsoft and conquer the market which provides about $90 billion of income (Kelly para. 7), it should force the creation of the OS of a new sort.

Main body

The fact is that nowadays the market of digital technologies and software passes through a period of blistering growth. The level of demand on OS increases along with the introduction of new devices which need a certain operating system. However, looking at Figure 1, it is possible to say that Microsoft remains the monopolist as 89% of the market belongs to it. That is why, the existing situation in the sphere of OS could be characterized by the attempts of Microsoft to remain the main actor, despite Apples products. The situation is also complicated by the fact that there is no OS that could be able to compete with the Microsoft OS and provide the same possibilities and services for its users. Nevertheless, the peculiarities of the market and the high level of demands on it could be taken as the guarantee of the great level of expected incomes for a new OS.

Resting on these facts, Google can enter the market suggesting a revolutionary new operating system that could be able to satisfy the new sort of demands which appears in the age of the development of various technologies and close cooperation with the Internet. People, who cannot imagine their lives without constant access to the Internet will be the targeted audience of the company and new OS, characterized by the great attention given to this very aspect of the functioning of a device.

The intention to introduce a new and efficient OS could be explained by several factors. First of all, Google has great experience in the sphere of the Internet and software connected with it (Google Inc 4). Figure 2 shows, that Google is the most popular search engine which demonstrates the great credibility and efficiency of this sort of software. Moreover, the company has already created the Internet browser which makes work on the Internet much easier. That is why, it is possible to presuppose that the company will be able to place greater focus on Chrome OS, which is already being created, and make it open to the audience and efficient (“Google Chrome OS” para. 5). The new OS should be able to compete with Windows OS and help the company to conquer the market.

Conclusion

However, one should keep in mind the possible risks connected with the creation of the new OS and its promotion. It is a very long-termed process that demands constant control and support from various departments of the company. Microsoft has great experience in the given field and that is why its products are deprived of some mistakes. Google should try to use the same practice.

The next steps of the company should include the standardization of all its products for them to be able to operate in terms of the new OS, provide a great number of various functions and possibilities, which have never been introduced before, for the Internet users, and guarantee the customers satisfaction.

Works Cited

Google Chrome OS. n.d. Web. 2016. Web.

Google Inc. Annual Report 2014. Web.

Kelly, Gordon. “Microsoft Is The New Google, Google Is The Old Microsoft” Forbes. 2015. Web.

Microsoft. Annual Report 2015. 2015. Web.

Search engine statistics October 2014. Web.

Smith, Dave. CHART OF THE DAY: Windows Is Still Massive. 2014. Web.

Introduction

Aim

The report is aimed at identifying whether a typical hotel in Spain needs intermediaries to achieve success in the tourism industry or whether the specified type of entrepreneurship may attain success on its own merits.

Objectives

Answering the question above will require making several crucial steps. Particularly, the following objectives will have to be completed:

• Viewing the existing tourism-related theories that set the background for the analysis and provide a framework to place the information within;
• Locating the current trends in the tourism industry by carrying out a vast analysis of the latest studies on the subject matter and analyzing the current (2011–2015) statistical data;
• Identifying new methods of booking and locating their advantages and disadvantages;
• Specifying the options that the cooperation with intermediaries provides to an owner of a hotel located in Spain;
• Checking the alternative options that an owner of a Spanish hotel has and comparing the outcomes of using them to those of cooperating with an intermediate.

Rationale

Working in the realm of the global economy means being able to cooperate with intermediaries, no matter what industry a company operates in (Anamaria & Maria-Christina 2013). Because of the necessity to correlate a variety of actions and make sure that the required deadlines are met to satisfy the needs of the target audiences, a firm has to be supported by a partner organization that may serve as the link between the entrepreneurship in question and a certain stakeholder (Haag 2012). The significance of such cooperation, however, can be questioned in the realm of the tourism industry, where a company can connect with the target customers directly and where very little need for intermediaries seems to emerge. Herein the rationale for the paper lies; it is imperative to identify whether an independent hotel can function in Spain without the assistance of intermediaries.

The answer to the question above depends heavily on a range of conditions starting from the company’s budget and scope to the range of details including the opportunities for the choice of the logistics strategy, the promotion tools used, etc. Herein the significance of identifying the key characteristics of the organization in question lies. To make the results of the investigation as objective as possible, one should consider a typical three-to-five-star hotel with the following range of services included:

• The arrival and the departure of guests,
• The reception of guests;
• Room service;
• Pool and sun-loungers;
• Twice day room service;
• Breakfast and a three-course dinner;
• Daily newspaper;
• Complementary cocktails;
• Laundry, dry-cleaning, and shoe-shining services;
• Free parking;
• Free Wi-Fi internet access;
• Hair dresser and other beauty services;
• Doctor on call;
• Babysitting services.

It should also be borne in mind that, in most modern hotels, rooms can be booked by calling the hotel staff directly or by making an order via the company’s site. Finally, the location of the hotel matters significantly, as those built in the vicinity of the beach, in the state capital, or in a close proximity to the key Spanish attractions, gain additional points among most tourists:

The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts, see page 2) was EUR161.1bn in 2013 (15.7% of GDP) and is expected to grow by 2.0% to EUR164.3bn (15.9% of GDP) in 2014. It is forecast to rise by 1.9% pa to EUR198.3bn by 2024 (15.9% of GDP). (Travel & tourism 2012, p. 3).

According to recent data, Spain has been experiencing a large upheaval in the tourism sector (Heijs 2013). Particularly, the number of people visiting Spain has been increasing consistently over the past decade. According to the graph provided below, Spain is expecting an even greater number of tourists to come next summer (Fig. 1). Therefore, it can be assumed that setting a company in the designated industry can be viewed as a very reasonable move.

Literature Review

Working with Intermediaries

Having an intermediary presupposes enjoying sufficient help in the environment of the contemporary hotel business, as a partner is likely to take a range of responsibilities and, therefore, make the managers’ schedule less busy. A recent study points to the fact that an intermediary allows for an impressive boost of the hotel’s performance by increasing awareness regarding its services among the target denizens of the population. The specified characteristics of the partner intermediary are essential in the contemporary realm of the tourism and hospitality industry due to the rapidly increasing competition rates. Indeed, a closer look at the contemporary tourism niche in Spain will reveal that it is occupied by a substantive number of companies (Sönmez et al. 2013). Particularly, the recent increase in the number of tourist accommodations built over the past few years and the number of times that these facilities have been used should be brought up: In 2014, Spain was the most common tourism destination in the EU for non-residents (people coming from abroad), with 260 million nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, or 21.5 % of the EU-28 total” (Tourism statistics, 2015, par. 10).

Distribution channels and how they work

A closer overview of the key purpose of a distribution channel will demonstrate that he key activities that distribution channels, in general, and tourism distribution channels, in particular, are responsible for, boil down to the marketing services. Specifically, it is the responsibility of the people in charge to make sure that the services of a particular hotel are promoted to the target denizens of the population and that the specified audience uses the corresponding services. In lieu of the specified services, the owner of a Spanish hotel may consider cheaper nonetheless efficient self-promotion tools such as active use of social media and the development of a team of competent marketers. It should be borne in mind, though, that different types of intermediaries have different services to offer; particularly, the retail travel agents (Turner 2012), wholesalers (Liu & Yang 2013), and international retailers (Villacé-Molinero, Reinares-Lara, & Ponzoa-Casado 2013) deserve to be mentioned as the essential representatives of the tourism intermediaries. The choice thereof depends heavily on the scope of the hotel in question; for instance, for the entrepreneur, who wishes to offer services to the members of the local population, the former two options are preferable, while the latter should be advised to the company attempting at expanding into the global market.

One must admit that the latter scenario requires the help of intermediaries in most cases due to a large number of customers that the firm needs to cater to. At this point, the marketing issue grows to reach the culture-related problems, such as the necessity to appeal to specific demographics that are characterized by a unique culture and, therefore, need an original promotion strategy.

In respect to the scenario in question, i.e., the means of attracting British customers to an independent hotel in Spain, one must consider the fact that the European countries have recently been enjoying a rather wide popularity due to the combination of affordable prices and the time constraints that most representatives of the target audience have. In other words, it is expected that Spanish hotels are going to be favoured by a range of European tourists, particularly, the British ones:

UK holiday makers are increasingly looking to do more with their holidays and are opting for shorter breaks. As a result, European destinations are becoming very popular. The convenience of short flight times and a wide variety of places to see and things to do, including both cultural and relaxation activities, has boosted visits to our closest neighbours. (Package vs. independent holidays 2014)

Pricing

In light of the fact that the environment of the global economy is extremely competitive, it is essential for an organization to assume a reasonable financial stance to gain the trust of customers and facilitate the environment, in which they would be willing to have the experience of cooperating with the hotel managers once again. In other words, reasonable pricing is crucial to establishing a close contact with the target denizens of the population and promoting the corresponding services successfully.

The influence that intermediaries have on the leaders of tourism-related entrepreneurships can be deemed as very strong. In other words, an intermediate organization is likely to change the mind of the hotel leaders once a rival firm decides to drop the prices and gain a significant competitive advantage over a more expensive entrepreneurship. Indeed, studies show that intermediaries are likely to bend the strategies used by the organizations operating in the tourism and hospitality industry (Abrahams et al. 2012). The influence in question is viewed as having its benefits and problems. For instance, the fact that intermediaries can point a company to a more adequate pricing approach can be deemed as rather positive and, therefore, worth encouraging. As long as a firm recognizes the needs of the target customers, is aware of the competition in the designated area, and is ready to compromise to gain new clients, the business can be considered successful. However, without a proper idea of how the financial framework of an organization works and what resources the firm in question has at hand, the agency may cause a disruption in the organization’s operations (Gupta 2013). These discrepancies in the financial strategy of the firm may lead to not only minor hiccups in its overall operational process but also a major crisis and the failure to meet its basic quality standards.

Working Without Intermediaries

Overview

It would be wrong to assume, though, that a company is entirely helpless without the assistance of the corresponding partners allowing it to broaden its distribution channels. With a well-developed strategy that helps a company coordinate its logistics strategy, customer relations, and product promotion, the chances of a Spanish hotel to succeed at least on a local level are rather high as long as the firm’s actions are prioritized.

Changes

In addition, a range of customers do not seem to be excited about booking a room in a hotel with the help of intermediaries (Rensmann 2012). The reasons for the specified phenomenon are quite obvious; people believe that, once contacting the hotel staff directly, they will be able to get their message across in a more efficient way and that the key information will not get lost or misinterpreted (Mihajlović 2014).

Booking

More importantly, the changes that have occurred to the process of booking over the past few years are quite drastic. The process of booking a room in a hotel has been simplified to going to the official site of a company and choosing the options from a list provided by the organization. The specified approach cannot be considered an attempt to avoid the use of the intermediaries’ services fully, though: the transfer from the use of travel agents to filling out a form for an online order only involves a shift from using the services of an actual person to the use of an online interface designed for the same purpose.

Analysis

Based on the research carried out above, one must admit that the significance of intermediaries in the tourism industry is rather high; moreover, it grows explicitly high as a lather number of people are appealed to by the company. In other words, the importance of having intermediaries in the global environment is doubtless. For an organization operation in Spain on a local level, however, the assistance of the specified services can be viewed as substantial, yet not indispensible.

In fact, the overview of the existing studies and the latest trends in the tourism industry shows that most customers would rather talk to the representatives of the hotel than their intermediaries when booking a room or asking for additional information (Haiyu & Qian 2014). The specified detail of a company’s functioning, therefore, defines the rates of customer satisfaction to a considerable degree. Hence, a small Spanish company offering local services should consider avoiding using intermediaries at least as far as the communication process is concerned. Therefore, it can be assumed that the use of intermediaries may become not only an excessive tool in managing a business in the designated industry but also the one that may jeopardize the success of the entire entrepreneurship. In other words, a Spanish hotel, especially the one that has a range of services and is set in the vicinity of the key sights or close to the coast, can refuse from using the services of intermediaries without any major damage to its annual profit margin as far as the cooperation with the target customers is concerned.

Methods of booking

When it comes to defining the significance of intermediaries, though, one must address the booking issue first. As it has been stressed above, the process of booking has undergone significant changes over the past few years, the option of an online booking being the key change in the specified area. Nowadays, the following options for booking a room in a hotel are available to customers:

• making a call;
• filing an order via the corresponding form on the company’s site.

It can be assumed that the importance of intermediaries in the field of room booking drops as the process of filing an order is getting increasingly simplified for the hotel managers. Indeed, prior to the use of the corresponding tools for processing the data supplied by the customers, the help of intermediaries was obvious; without extra staff, an organization of a comparatively large scale would not be able to process all requests and take account of every detail. However, nowadays, as the staff members have the chance of receiving the data already organized in the manner that is easy to process, delivering the designated services has become very simple, and the assistance of intermediaries is no longer required (see Fig. 1).

Seeing that the specified approach to booking hotel rooms has become a commonplace tool in the contemporary hospitality industry, the significance of the use of intermediaries in the course of managing the ordering process does not seem reasonable. As the evaluation of the recent studies carried out above shows, the opportunities that the specified services have to offer do not leave much room for the intermediaries to factor in. Quite on the contrary, the reinforcement of online tools used for booking has created the environment, in which no mediators between the hotel staff and the clients are required.

Seeing that the process of online booking contributes to a significant increase in the customers’ satisfaction rates, it will be more than reasonable to switch to the use of the corresponding electronic form. As the review of the recent studies carried out above has shown, most representatives of the target population prefer to use the online forms for submitting their order. The specified phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that the technological breakthrough occurring over the past few decades allows for a rapid and consistent improvement of the process of online booking by simplifying the key steps and providing users with additional options. Keeping in mind that “consumers’ major motivators to use the Internet are information gathering, communication, exploration of websites, and shopping” (Papatheodorou, 2015, p. 287), a company is likely to design a site with a customer-friendly interface and a variety of options for making an order without the assistance of any intermediaries. The simplification of the booking process sets the stage for a faster and a more efficient processing of the incoming orders.

One might argue that the specified innovation does not quite permit the direct contact with the hotel managers mentioned above. Credited as important in the development of relationships between the company and its clients, the specified process can be viewed as essential for establishing a strong link between the company and the clients. Indeed, as the literature analysis carried out above has shown, the significance of direct cooperation between a customer and the hotel managers is essential to the development of trustworthy relationships and the further foundation for increasing customer loyalty rates. The promotion of the interface that reduces the process of communication occurring between a customer and the hotel staff to a minimum, therefore, may be viewed as a threat to the establishment of the necessary communication patterns between the clients and the members of the organization.

Nevertheless, the fact that the new and improved interface allows for a faster processing of the client’s request and prevents major misunderstandings from occurring can be viewed as a significant improvement of the existing tools and a huge step forward in enhancing the hotel managers’ control over the aspects of its functioning that used to concern primarily the intermediaries. Particularly, the necessity to use the services of travel agents when providing customers with an opportunity to book a room are no longer needed, which means that the very concept of an intermediate in the hospitality become obsolete.

The issue of intermediaries as the means of promoting the hotel services to a larger number of people can be viewed as a rather reasonable idea seeing that the competition rates are very high in the specified area (Claveria et al. 2015). Getting rid of intermediaries presupposes that the organization must develop a perfectly working marketing tool and come up with a well put together marketing campaign. More importantly, in light of the fact that the target area can be defined as a highly competitive environment, the entrepreneurship members must elaborate on the design of a proper branding approach. In other words, the firm will have to come up with a unique brand product based on the set of services that it has to offer, its values and mission statement.

On the one hand, developing the brand image and the brand product on one’s own instead of using the assistance of the corresponding companies can be viewed as a sensible decision since an alien organization is highly likely to misinterpret the idea behind the company’s operations. On the other hand, for the SME that is going to expand its services and cater to the needs of different denizens of the population, it will be required to shape the brand image a bit each time when it is represented to a new set of target customers as the firm has to appeal to specific needs of each tier. Without the proper marketing research and the knowledge of the cultural specifics thereof, an entrepreneurship may misrepresent its product. To be more exact, the organization may incorporate the elements that are viewed as negative by the representatives of a particular culture in their brand product, therefore, averting the potential clientele from their product. The opposite scenario, however, is also a possibility; the specified phenomenon can lead to the development of false expectations among the target audience and the consequent disappointment as well as the following drop in the number of customers and their loyalty rates. Hence, a proper market research must be carried out, which is a rather complicated task that requires the assistance of a competent partner, an intermediary being the desirable one in the given scenario. Thus, it can be assumed that the process of brand development and its further promotion to the target audience will require either extra funding with the following redesign of the company’s financial strategy, or the use of the intermediaries’ help as far as the development of the brand product is concerned.

The setting, in which the organization in question operates, in its turn, also provides the evidence both against and in support of using intermediaries. For instance, the fact that the company was created and operates in Spain, one of the hottest tourist spots in the world, allows assuming that people will be immediately attracted to it as long as the pricing strategy is adequate. On the other hand, the abundance of similar services, which the Spanish tourism sector can be infamously characterized by, points to the fact that a tourism SME will be hardly noticeable among larger and honestly more successful organizations. Indeed, casting a single glance at the current map of the tourism-related facilities, particularly, hotels, in Spain, one will have to admit that the competition rates are very high (see Fig. 1). Apart from the fact that the market is dominated by the companies offering similar services and providing the same, if not better, quality, one should also bear in mind the need to create and sustain a brand that will be different from the ones designed by the rival firms. Herein the significance of developing a perfect brand image lies; unless the company makes itself memorable and attracting to the target denizens of the population, its success is jeopardized.

The tools that a Spanish company of a medium size has at its disposal as far as the promotion issues are concerned also lead to rather ambiguous results. For example, the fact that the use of social media as the tool for advertising the firm’s services is very affordable shows that the company set in Spain may attract quite a range of people and, therefore, become rather profitable. However, the necessity to be able to identify the current trends in the network promotion area and create the tool that will appeal to all members of the target population makes one question whether a medium company will be capable of attaining the necessary results. Using the assistance of an intermediary would be much more helpful in the specified case, seeing that the process of promotion will be steered by the people who know what they are doing.

The transportation issue should also be addressed as a major dent in the overall concept of avoiding the assistance of intermediaries in the tourism industry. Specifically, the fact that the company promises to greet the visitors and drive them to the hotel should be mentioned as a challenge given the large number of clients and the tight deadlines that the firm will have to deal with. In the specified scenario, arranging a schedule that is well put together is rather complicated and requires the use of rather costly digital tools.

At this point, however, one must mention the fact that the online tools, which are viewed as the means for the customers to get the necessary information across and communicate their needs can be viewed as another type of intermediaries. To be more exact, the very concept of online tools for filing an order and booking a room in a hotel can be viewed as a type of an intermediate that helps a customer and a manager of the hotel start the communication process. Indeed, by filling out the required form, a customer sends the message that would later on be processed by the corresponding member of the hotel staff and delivered to the people responsible for the quality assurance and the delivery of the corresponding services. Thus, in some sense, it can be assumed that the current situation in the tourism industry as far as the intermediaries and their services are concerned, should be viewed as the process of one type of intermediaries ousting the other one from the target area:

Last but definitely not least, the key characteristics of the target customers need to be brought up. As it has been stressed above, the present-day clientele of the tourism industry, in general, and the Spanish hotels, in particular, is represented by the people who are concerned with the issues related to economy, particularly, financing, and environmentalism: “Studies by IHEI (2002) have revealed that most tourists preferred to stay in hotels with a responsible environmental attitude. Indeed, almost all respondents (96%) indicated that they preferred to stay in hotels which take good care of the environment” (Mensah & Mensah 2013, p. 450).

It should be noted that the specified attitude goes beyond being concerned about the adherence to the sanitary norms by the hotel staff. Apart from the natural demand for the rooms to be maintained in perfect order and under the appropriate sanitary conditions, the specified requirement also presupposes that the company should display the corresponding environmentally-friendly ethical values and incorporate them into its vision, following them fully. The compliance with the existing requirements regarding the environmental concerns, however, becomes quite complicated once the organization is represented by the third party. Seeing that the corresponding intermediaries, including travel agencies and advisors, cannot possibly learn every single detail about the company’s functioning, its ethical stance, and environmental awareness issues, it is highly likely that the firm may be misrepresented to the target audience, i.e., the British customers. In other words, the use of the corresponding intermediaries can be viewed as a threat to the proper representation of the hotel services.

The pricing issue, in its turn, should be viewed as a major argument in favour of using the services of the companies in question (Ivanova et al. 2015). As the review of the recent sources on the subject matter carried out above has shown, the given type of agencies may be very helpful in bringing the prices for certain third-party organizations down. For instance, an intermediate organization is likely to succeed in persuading the leaders of a hotel to reconsider their pricing policy I order to retain a valuable client.

Therefore, it is essential to make sure that the customers are provided with the money saving options, such as a choice of a wide variety of rooms, the possibility to include a particular service in the list of the desired ones or, on the contrary, to exclude it from the range of the requested items. The details such as the ones listed above are quite hard to arrange and take account of as long as they are processed by a third-party organization and only then offered to the hotel manager. Because of the increased possibility for a human error, the use of intermediaries such as travel agents, travel advisors, etc. cannot be deemed as a reasonable step to take. Hence, it is imperative for the managers of a Spanish hotel to consider the use of online forms instead. Although they do not provide the communication that a company needs to develop strong relationships with the target audience, they promote a significant increase in the firm’s quality standards. As a result, it is expected that, by abandoning the services of intermediaries, including advisors and travel agents, the entrepreneurship based in Spain and working in the tourism industry will have an opportunity to reinforce its efficacy and boost its performance rates by meeting the customers’ demands in a far more efficient fashion.

Conclusion

Despite the challenges that the refusal from using the corresponding services of intermediaries are likely to trigger, there is an opportunity for a Spanish hotel to survive in the highly competitive environment that the tourism industry is without any intermediaries. Despite the fact that the cooperation with the latter is not restricted to the process of booking, one still has to admit that the specified issue has been the key aspect of the specified agencies’ operations. The creation of online tools that allow for booking a room, communicating with the representative of the hotel management, creating specific orders, etc., the significance of intermediaries has dropped significantly in the tourism industry realm.

Intermediaries can be a substantial help for the companies that are willing to focus on their further development and expansion into the global market, yet they obviously prevent a company from developing trustworthy relationships with customers. Standing in the firm’s way in the communication process and serving as the mediator as far as the services such as booking, intermediaries create the environment, in which the target audience remains detached from the organization and where the creation of premises for customer loyalty becomes rather complicated.

In addition, intermediaries cannot be credited for being as fast is the online tools used as the current and more technologically advanced alternative. The forms filled in by customers prevent a range of errors from occurring in the workplace, therefore, contributing to a consistent growth of the customer satisfaction rates. Furthermore, the specified innovations can be deemed as essential in increasing the speed of data processing, which is important for maintaining the customer satisfaction rates high and retaining its current competitiveness level. Seeing that a range of organizations employ the tools that allow for a fast and efficient acquisition, analysis, and usage of data, it is imperative that the entrepreneurship in question should be able to use the specified type of data to its advantage as well, which can be carried out with the help of the corresponding online tools. The use of intermediaries, on the other hand, can be viewed as obsolete in the designated area of a hotel’s operations.

Despite the fact that the use of intermediaries offers more room for a company to explore its opportunities for further expansion and focus on the quality of the product, they seem to hamper the growth process of an entrepreneurship operating in the tourism industry since cooperating with them is not the only and by far not the cheapest means of promoting an organization to the target denizens of the population. The significance of intermediaries has dropped greatly with the introduction of the tools that offer new opportunities in terms of the distribution channels choice and exploration.

Therefore, it can be assumed that running a hotel in Spain can be carried out without the services of intermediaries. Though admittedly a complicated task, the refusal from using the assistance of intermediaries will open a plethora of opportunities for the specified type of an organization in terms of the development of a promotion campaign, the design of the company’s brand product and establishing itself in the designated area as a strong and efficient organization.

Reference List

Abrahams, C, Bayat, M S, & Karodia, M 2012, ‘Perceptions of Cape Metropole residents on the effectiveness of tourism marketing strategies of the West Coast region, of the Western Cape’, Kuwait Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, vol. 1, no. 12; pp. 49–69.

Anamaria & Maria-Christina 2013, ‘What motivates cultural tourists? An analysis of Bucharest inhabitants’ motivation to visit the centre region’, Economic Sciences, vol, 22, no. 1, pp. 825–834.

Claveria, O, Monte, E, & Torra, S 2015, ‘Common trends in international tourism demand: Are they useful to improve tourism predictions?’, Tourism Management Perspectives, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 116–122.

Gupta, D D 2013, Tourism in the global village, Web.

Haag, O 2012, ‘”Bumping some bloody heads together”: a qualitative study of German-speaking readers of Ruby Langford’, The Journal of the European Association of Studies on Australia, vol. 3. no. 1 , pp. 114–125.

Haiyu, H, & Qian, P 2014, ‘A research on information technology applied to improving performance for tourism enterprises’, Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 1418–1424.

Heijs, J 2013, Erawatch country reports 2011: Spain, Web.

International tourism, number of arrivals 2015, Web.

Ivanova, M J, Ivannos, S H, & Yanev, H 2015, Distribution channels of eco and rural guest houses in Bulgaria – from fiction to reality, Web.

Liu, Q, & Yang, Q Z 2013, ‘Research on tourism industrial cluster from the perspective of network platform’, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 25–29.

Mensah, I, & Mensah, R 2013, ‘International Tourists’ environmental attitude towards hotels in Accra’, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 444–455.

Mihajlović, I 2014, ‘ICT and new trends in consumer behavior -new experiential knowledge, opportunities or challenges for intermediaries’, Journal of Marketing Management , vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 43–64.

Package vs. independent holidays 2014, Mintel, UK.

Papatheodorou, A 2015, ‘Corporate strategies of British tour operators in the Mediterranean region: an economic geography approach’, Tourism Geographies, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 280–304.

Rensmann, B 2012, Towards a typology of retail cybermediation in tourism markets, Web.

Sönmez, S, Apostolopoulos, Y, Theocharous, A, & Massengale, K 2013, ‘Bar crawls, foam parties, and clubbing networks: mapping the risk environment of a Mediterranean nightlife resort’, Tourism Management Perspectives, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 49–59.

Tourism statistics 2015, Web.

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Turner, L 2012, ‘Beyond “medical tourism”: Canadian companies marketing medical travel’, Globalization and Health, vol. 8, no. 1, p. 16–26.

Villacé-Molinero, M T, Reinares-Lara, E, & Ponzoa-Casado, J M 2013, ‘Loyalty programs rewards based on tourism services: a study of their influence on behavioral loyalty’, China-USA Business Review, vol. 12, no. 2, 174–184.

Introduction

The success of any organization must be able to determine its strength and weaknesses (Denolf, Trienekens, Wognum, van der Vorst, & Omta, 2015). The paper at hand is aimed to analyze how the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) can be applied to the case study “Boss, I Think Someone Stole Our Data” to understand the level of organizational readiness, benefits of the company, and risk factors that will have to be addressed. The analysis will be supported by case examples and recommendations on risk management. Initial categories of risk are going to be identified and presented using the Example Risk Checklist.

Critical Success Factors (CSFs)

Regardless of the service or product, the organization offers, its success is determined by its ability to observe and maintain Critical Success Factors (CSFs). If the company fails to ensure that all the criteria are met, even the most elaborately designed project is likely to fail (Buh, Kovačič, & Indihar Štemberger, 2015). CSFs refers to a set of particular business characteristics (typically limited by 8) that may exercise a direct or indirect influence upon the viability of the idea underlying it and, therefore, upon the effectiveness of the expected outcome. The problem with CSFs is that they cannot be clearly defined as they are not universal for all enterprises. Every business and even every project within the same company may have its unique CSFs (Tan, Shen, Langston, Lu, & Yam, 2014). However, it is still possible to identify their major types:

• industry CSFs (appearing as a set of standards for a particular field or industry);
• strategy CSFs (characterizing the most effective, competitive parameters of the strategy selected within the business);
• environmental CSFs (referring to the most favorable strategic moves in the given economic circumstances);
• temporal CSFs (those that may not be permanent for the business but are used to meet the current needs of the organization to foster its future development) (Romanosky, Hoffman, & Acquisti, 2014).

As far as the given case study (Flayton Electronics) is concerned, the most demonstrative example from the case that allows determining the main CSFs is the issue of a data breach and the information security system that is currently unable to protect the information from unauthorized use. It is clear from the case that the company’s secret data can be modified, recorded, and even destroyed by third-side parties due to the staff’s negligence. Since the organization is unable to provide integrity and confidentiality, this means that security is presently the most pressing problem that has to be addressed by the major business strategy. This implies that not only computer systems must protect information from disclosure but also managers and employees must receive proper training to be capable of quickly resolving the situation in case another data breach suddenly occurs. Therefore, the most applicable CSFs at the current stage of its development are:

• staff education and coaching;
• management loyalty and commitment;
• staff motivation and orientation;
• high-quality data and reporting systems;
• improved protection of computers;
• improved system of communication;
• quick and effective decision-making;
• the increased role of the quality department;
• the capability of immediate action;
• improved abilities of managers;
• well-developed strategies.

Project Benefits, Organizational Readiness and Risk Culture

The key problem with the risk culture was that such data breaches affected the whole company, bringing all its processes into chaos. Moreover, it was next to impossible to find the one who was to blame for the whole failure. Even if all employees had been questioned, it would have been hard to determine who had caused the chaos (and who was legally responsible for it), how it was going to be solved, and what consequences were to be expected (Sen & Borle, 2015). At Clayton’s, the major concern was not even the data breach but the obligation of the company to protect the private information provided by its customers. Besides, there was a delicate concern since the company did not know what best way to choose to notify its clients about the possibility that their information could have been stolen. The majority of customers and other stakeholders wanted to know if the company had been subjected to the attack. Finally, there was no effective strategy that would allow the company to avoid future problems in this aspect.

After the team realized that the situation might repeat and the customer data could get breached once again, they came up with an immediate response to the problem. The organizational readiness for the situation was first and foremost supported by the fact that the CEO, Brett Clayton, did not ignore the issue, but was completely involved in it throughout the whole process (Biener, Eling, & Wirfs, 2015). All the employees somehow connected to the issue of data protection tried to collect more details on the problem to detect possible reasons that could bring about such deplorable consequences.

Another problem of risk culture was that the organization not only undermined its security policy but also put at risk all the customer information. However, the benefit of the project implemented by the organization was that the company guaranteed that all the information provided by its clients would be protected against any cyber attack whatsoever (Allodi & Massacci, 2017). Therefore, the customer could be sure that his/her card information would not be stolen at least because Flayton Electronics would not want any compromised cases on their hands. Performing any operations connected with their cards without their consent would be considered a legal offense and could undermine the legitimacy of the company’s actions.

That was why, to ensure that all the mentioned benefits could be materialized, the company had to do everything it could to protect the private information of its clients. The CEO opted for the implementation of the PCI system, which did not function at its full potential due to certain flaws in its firewall. In this particular case, it was not maintained properly, which impeded the work of the whole system and could not ensure total protection of data.

From the legal perspective, if the organization is unable to guarantee that the client receives all the due benefits, the company is obliged to suffer the consequences (fines, loss of customer loyalty, undermined image, and competitive disadvantage). Thus, no matter if the company was or was not ready for the blow, its direct responsibility was to ensure that no customer information was disclosed.

Recommendations

To save its reputation, the company must prove that the security breach was unexpected. The fact that the organization tried to implement a PCI system and did not achieve any success at least proves that some steps were taken to improve the situation. The problem was majorly in the firewall, which could bring about the notorious breach. This situation demonstrates that all the steps necessary for prevention were taken but did not lead to any results.

As for future recommendations, they are:

• the company must develop a solid plan that would allow its leaders to solve similar problems without letting customers know about them;
• effective internal control is necessary to ensure that all the components of the plan are implemented accordingly;
• preventive measures are crucial for detecting all problems occurring the systems; if any inconsistencies are found, they are removed immediately;
• all the key stakeholders must be informed about all serious occasions;
• the company must learn to identify if all its processes are adequate, its software is updated, its team is committed, and its staff is qualified enough.

Initial Categories of Risk

The initial categories of risk include (Feri, Giannetti, & Jentzsch, 2016):

References

Allodi, L., & Massacci, F. (2017). Security events and vulnerability data for cybersecurity risk estimation. Risk Analysis, 37(8), 1606-1627.

Biener, C., Eling, M., & Wirfs, J. H. (2015). Insurability of cyber risk: An empirical analysis. The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Issues and Practice, 40(1), 131-158.

Buh, B., Kovačič, A., & Indihar Štemberger, M. (2015). Critical success factors for different stages of business process management adoption–A case study. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 28(1), 243-257.

Denolf, J. M., Trienekens, J. H., Wognum, P. N., van der Vorst, J. G., & Omta, S. O. (2015). Towards a framework of critical success factors for implementing supply chain information systems. Computers in Industry, 68(1), 16-26.

Feri, F., Giannetti, C., & Jentzsch, N. (2016). Disclosure of personal information under risk of privacy shocks. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 123(2), 138-148.

Romanosky, S., Hoffman, D., & Acquisti, A. (2014). Empirical analysis of data breach litigation. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 11(1), 74-104.

Sen, R., & Borle, S. (2015). Estimating the contextual risk of data breach: An empirical approach. Journal of Management Information Systems, 32(2), 314-341.

Tan, Y., Shen, L., Langston, C., Lu, W., & Yam, M. (2014). Critical success factors for building maintenance business: A Hong Kong case study. Facilities, 32(5/6), 208-225.

Introduction

Projects pose new opportunities and new challenges that are defined by their peculiarities. Projects as a phenomenon could be described by the following words: “limited, temporary, innovative, unique, and multidisciplinary” (Ika, 2009, p. 6). It is not surprising that a whole branch of management is nowadays devoted to this phenomenon. One of the related aspects that remain unsolved is that of project success and its assessment.

At the dawn of the project management, it was common to define the success with the help of the “iron triangle” which consists of time, quality, and costs. However, as the scientific and empirical material accumulated, it became evident that these three characteristics, important as they may be, are not enough, and the perspectives from which a project can be assessed are extremely numerous (Ika, 2009).

Apart from that, some factors of project success can be described as “implicit”, vague (such as, for example, customer’s satisfaction), and they are particularly difficult to assess (Ika, 2009). As a result, the question of defining projects’ success remains open.

According to Welch-Devine (2012), one of the main problems that prevent scientists from creating valid guidelines for project evaluation is the absence of a clear, consistent definition of success in general. The author proceeds to point out that most works attempting to define success remain vague. Ika (2009) describes similar difficulties and, in fact, proceeds to explain the reasons due to which success as a notion is so challenging to define.

At the same time, this problem does not appear to prevent researchers from attempting to suggest frameworks of project success assessment. In fact, recognizing the opinion that the notion of projects success leaves room for interpretation seems to be beneficial for studies: it encourages researchers to take into account a bigger scope of situations.

The position of Welch-Devine (2012) is understandable since the vagueness of terms is not appreciated by science, and project success could certainly be defined as a term. However, it should be admitted that the multidimensional, complex nature of the notion makes it especially difficult to provide a valid definition of success (Ika, 2009).

At the same time, defining success for particular projects seems to be a more manageable task. Definitely, the results of any project need to be studied from numerous points of view, but the scope of issues that is embraced by the general notion of success is much more extensive and much less assessable. It could be therefore concluded that defining the process of project success measurement may turn out to be more manageable and important than defining the notion of project success in general.

The Points to Be Criticized

According to Ika (2009), it is not uncommon for project management researchers to assume that the meaning of the notion of success is obvious (p. 6). This means that the problem of its definition is simply ignored. Alternatively, it may be solved by bringing in the notion of “failure”, which appears to be just as vague and relative as that of success (Ika, 2009).

At the same time, it should be pointed out that in the context of project management both the ideas of success and failure are not always sufficient to describe the project’s outcome. This happens due to the fact that the success of a project should be regarded from different perspectives (Ika, 2009). The examples for this point of view will be provided further in the paper. Therefore, it is useless to deny that the notion of success is not defined and stays vague the time being.

It is also understandable that vagueness is not scientifically appreciated. However, it should also be pointed out that the notion of success is not the only vague term that is used in scientific studies. The attempts at defining the concept are definitely worth attention.

At the same time, the attempts at creating a framework for the assessment of the success of particular project can turn out to be just as useful, especially right now, when the general phenomenon is not completely defined. To prove that the studies of the process of project success assessment are just as challenging and important as those of the generalized notion of success, we are going to dwell on the relativity of the issue and the interrelation of the concepts of success and failure.

Project Success Definition

While the generalized notion of success is indeed extremely broad, the assessment of every project success cannot be limited to the “iron triangle” as well. Instead, it is a complicated issue that requires extensive research.

The Relativity of Failure and Success

One of the factors that complicate the process of defining any project’s success is the fact that it should be regarded from different perspectives. It is obvious that the various groups of stakeholders have different aims, and the research by Davis (2014) provides a consistent illustration to this fact.

According to this research, a project manager is first and foremost interested in the costs of the project, and only then in the quality, while it is of primary concern for the customer. Apart from that, according to the study, the levels of quality which can satisfy the managers do not necessary coincide with those expected by the customer. Besides, while the mentioned factors are the most important for the selected groups of stakeholders, they are not the only ones that matter.

For example, recent studies have underlined the importance of social and ecological outcomes which corresponds to the modern environmentalist trends and should be respected by a responsible company (Welch-Devine, 2012). Apart from that, it could be useful to mention the difference between project management success and that of the project itself.

Definitely, the two notions are interrelated, but the success of either does not immediately depend on or trigger the success of the other one (Bryde, 2003). Still, the success of project management is, in my opinion, one of the components of the overall projects success that needs to be taken into account. In order to provide the examples for this paper, Toyota Camry project is going to be described.

Even though in 2008 Toyota officially left General Motors behind, becoming the largest car company in the world, that very year the company recalled more than 4 million vehicles. In 2010, another 2.3 million cars were recalled, and the company admitted being in a crisis caused by the poor quality of its products (Andrews, Simon, Tian, & Zhao, 2011).

Technically, this crisis was caused by the mismanagement of a number of failed projects, for example, that of Toyota Camry, one of the models that were massively recalled because of acceleration problems. The first reports about these problems appeared in 1999, but the company denied being responsible for it. From the point of view of managers, at the time the project was a success: it was successfully carried out in accordance with the new cost-saving program (due to which the quality of the constituents was not exactly satisfying) and was being sold, bringing profit to the company (Andrews et al., 2011).

However, such a project assessment was valid only in the short-time perspective. From the point of view of the customers, a car with accelerating problems is a failure. Moreover, given the dangers connected to this particular kind of difficulties, it is evident that the trust of the customers was reducing, and the reputation of the company was getting damaged.

Later, Toyota further decreased customers’ satisfaction through a remarkably incompetent crisis management strategy. It appears, that the company refused to realize that while the success of a project can be assessed from the point of view of its management, other stages of a product’s life must also be taken into account.

The Interrelation of Failure and Success

While some of the aspects of the interrelation of failure and success have been mentioned in the previous section, there is more to be said in this respect.

The big picture. Taking into account the big picture does not presuppose an unjustified broadening of the studies’ limits. It is obvious that the contribution of the project to the company’s development is an important part of its success. The problem of Camry car project was neglected by Toyota for more than seven years mostly due to the fact that the company’s success made its managers overly optimistic (Andrews et al., 2011). The company is still recovering from the damage dealt to its reputation, partially because it failed to assess the level of successfulness of their products and compare the worrisome tendency to the big picture in a proper way.

A consolation prize: learning the lesson. Still, as we know, Toyota Camry has not disappeared from the market, and nor did other projects that proved to be unsuccessful from the point of view of the 2007 recall. Having learned its mistakes, Toyota pays more attention to the quality of its products and to the customers’ satisfaction.

It can be proved by the fact that last year Toyota recalled more than 6.5 m cars worldwide (Rankin, 2014, para. 2). Even though this does not sound like success, it should be pointed out that the vehicles were recalled because of the problems that have been detected by the company but that had not led to any kind of trouble.

To compare, General Motors also has to recall a number of cars, but this company’s negligence has allegedly caused 13 deaths (Rankin, 2014, para. 14). Toyota has obviously learned the lessons of its failures and implements the new knowledge for new projects. It should be pointed out that the analysis of a project success is particularly important from the point of view of gaining experience.

Scientific Guidelines

All the information presented above proves the fact that the notion of project success is an extremely relative and complex issue. At the same time, it does not mean that a project’s success cannot be measured. Quite the oppose: a project’s success can and should be measured; it is the notion of success as a whole that does not necessarily require a static definition in the context of a particular case study.

Such an approach could cause difficulties and vagueness which is never appreciated in the scientific circles. However, it does not prevent researchers from finding generalized and universal frameworks for project success.

For example, Todorović, Petrović, Mihić, Obradović, and Bushuyev (2015) suggest a framework that instructs a manager to take into account the key performance indicators that “represent a set of measurable data used for evaluating and measuring performances in implementation phase” (p. 774).

While the authors do provide the examples of such factors, they do not attempt to enumerate them or to define the level of success for them. The resulting framework is not vague; it is schematic indeed, but it offers a structure of assessment for almost any kind of project. Being very flexible, it provides guidelines without constricting the researcher and encourages open-minded thinking.

Conclusion

Upon criticizing certain tendencies in project success assessment, the following points have been presented in this paper. While the attempts at defining the notion of success have been made throughout the past decades, it appears that this problem has not been solved yet. Technically, the dichotomy of failure and success may be not a suitable framework for the assessment of a project’s results.

The assessment of every project’s success is a complex process that is supposed to incorporate the investigation of its results perceived from numerous perspectives. This does not mean that the success of a project cannot or should not be assessed.

Quite the opposite: a consistent analysis of a project’s success can provide the company with invaluable experience. It is obvious that if an existing framework is suitable for any particular case analysis, it should be used. Still, an analysis must not be limited to the usual guidelines. In case a company desires to learn and develop, its managers need to be open-minded about everything, including the assessment of project successfulness.

References

Andrews, A., Simon, J., Tian, F., & Zhao, J. (2011). The Toyota Crisis: an Economic, Operational and Strategic Analysis of the Massive Recall. Management Research Review, 34(10), 1064-1077. Web.

Bryde, D. (2003). Modelling Project Management Performance. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 20(2), 229-254. Web.

Davis, K. (2014). Different Stakeholder Groups and Their Perceptions of Project Success. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 189-201. Web.

Ika, L. (2009). Project Success as a Topic in Project Management Journals. Project Management Journal, 40(4), 6-19. Web.

Rankin, J. (2014). Toyota Recalls More Than 6.5m Cars over Steering and Seat Problems. The Guardian. Web.

Todorović, M., Petrović, D., Mihić, M., Obradović, V., & Bushuyev, S. (2015). Project Success Analysis Framework: a Knowledge-Based Approach in Project Management. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), 772-783. Web.

Welch-Devine, M. (2012). Searching for Success: Defining Success in Co-Management. Human Organization, 71(4), 358-370. Web.

Analysis of the means of evaluation

Why the evaluation is necessary and what kinds of decisions to make as a result of the evaluation

In general use, the evaluation focuses on measurement, appraisal, or judgment of the output and result of the project about the objectives (Milakovich and George 3). This is the only way the Project Manager can determine the project’s relevance, effectiveness, and benefits to the target group. Thus, evaluation concentrates on long-term outcomes and the effects of the project objectives.

Evaluation of the Project Team Read A is necessary to help the Project Manager understand, verify, or enhance the impact of the reading process on learners. This will show that the project is changing the reading culture among its target group. This process will ensure that the Project Manager does not rely on her instinct or guesswork, trial, and error approach about the delivery of the reading project.

Evaluation is also necessary to ensure that the project improves its delivery mechanism, becomes cost-effective, and efficient. It will also help in the identification of the reading program’s strengths and weaknesses to improve the project. This is because the reading project may end up being inefficient with several related and costly activities.

The Project Manager will verify the current activities and progress of the project. Several factors may influence the reading process. In the process, the initial plans for effective delivery of reading services may end up changing considerably; thus, evaluation is necessary to determine if the project runs according to the initial plans.

Also, the project evaluation will assist in determining if the project has met its goals, generate data that the Project Manager can use for verification, support the project before sponsors, promote a reading culture in the community, and creating public relations. It will also help the Project Manager determine effective programs suitable for retention in cases of financial difficulties. Finally, evaluation results can serve purposes of duplication of similar programs in other regions (Lane 2).

Decisions to make after evaluation include reinforcing components that make the Team Read project succeed, duplicate the same program in other interested schools, increased retention of the project coaches, and reduce dropout rates among learners. The Project Manager shall initiate recommendations for future project development such as include parents and the community in the program to avoid interferences.

The program evaluation enables the Project Manager to identify the efficiency of the reading program in terms of resource usages, the effectiveness of the program through measuring performance indicators, or objectives against its goals. Program effectiveness and efficiency aid in decision-making, solve accountability issues, and program planning. It is also useful in enhancing operation, monitoring of the program, and reallocation of resources to other important areas. Thus, for Trish McKay to comprehend the value, and have knowledge of the elements of the reading program, evaluation is necessary.

Key questions to answer during the evaluation

The evaluation process should reflect questions related to factors that have contributed to increased learning (changes in knowledge, perception, attitude, and skills among learners). It should also address questions of learning conditions such as self-reliance and increased reading or literacy.

The evaluation must also answer issues of the main activities under the project. This ensures that the project evaluation does not end up justifying irrelevant activities. Also, the evaluation should look into issues of the target goals and achieved goals. This leads to the question of whether the program implementation ended up as initially planned.

The process must also clearly answer the question of how many learners have successfully gone through the program, how many of them can reliably read on their own, and have shown remarkable improvements. There are also issues of coaches and learners attrition that evaluation questions must address, including project long-term sustainability.

Indicators of success of the program, their definitions, and measurement

Program key indicators should demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of reading outcomes.

• Expected increments in learning (changes in knowledge, perception, attitude, and skills among learners): the project evaluation must identify the increased levels of reading among learners in terms of specific numbers and periods. This enables the Project Manager to track the efficiency of the reading program.
• Increased retention of coaches and learners: the evaluation must show the number of dropouts of both learners and coaches since the inception of the program and indicate positive gains.
• Increased benefits to coaches: coaches undergo reading training to improve their skills. The process identifies the number of coaches that have benefited from training opportunities due to the reading program.
• Enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources: the program has a budget that guides the use of funds, and acquisition of resources.
• Some institutions have shown interest in the program through unsolicited phone calls and surveys. There are also cases of increased community involvement.

Explanation of the proposed evaluation design, conducting the evaluation and data collection

This is an outcomes-based evaluation. This design will enable the evaluation team to collect specific, measurable, and observable characteristics among learners and coaches that reflect both achievements and drawbacks of the program. Outcomes reflect the benefits that stakeholders derive from the program. In this program, outcomes can be in the forms of observable changes in learners (enhanced learning), and acquisitions of skills among coaches, increased reading ability, and self-reliance. It must clearly define target groups with clear goals and objectives of expected outcomes.

The evaluation design shall include identification of the main outcomes the evaluation team wants to examine. This includes the overall purpose of the reading program and the impacts the program has on all stakeholders. Thus, we must evaluate the general benefits the reading program has on learners. At the same time, the team must concentrate on the main activities that the project team does to achieve such outcomes. This eliminates the chances of evaluating irrelevant activities and collecting unnecessary information.

The design will also prioritize outcomes that the evaluation team wants to examine such as increased levels of reading, benefits to coaches, usages of resources, and factors that result in dropouts among participants. This depends on available time and other resources.

The design shall also define program observable indicators. This is a critical stage in outcomes-based evaluation. The team must define indicators for intangible activities such as changes in attitude, knowledge, reading, and skills. There should also be specific indicators for concerns related to supports readers get from coaches. The evaluation team must be careful with results that present achievement of associated indicators simply because such indicators are present.

The evaluation decision should also reflect outcomes in terms of achievements against the target. For instance, the evaluation team may demonstrate dropout among coaches as shown here by the indicator.

This also shows how many coaches went through the program in certain periods, what number completed the session reliably, and continued with the program to date.

The outcomes-based design also provides the evaluation team with the means of efficiently and realistically collecting information about the reading program, analyzing data, and presenting the findings.

The evaluation team shall use purposeful sampling to obtain in-depth knowledge of problems under examination. The evaluation team shall take careful account of measurement instruments to ensure their technical aspects, reliability, validity, and avoidance of any possible bias. At the same time, instruments of the study are also appropriate to the study i.e. they are easy to use.

The evaluation team shall collect data from focus groups. This ensures that data collected have an in-depth presentation of issues under review. At the same time, the researcher ensured the confidentiality of the participants. The discovery approach, in the program, tends to be iterative as the study is interpretative. This method ensures that the team collects only relevant data to problems. The evaluation team shall also use interviews to understand learners’ and coaches’ impressions or experiences of the reading program.

Expected problems and means to overcome them

The possible problems related to processes of evaluation. For instance, the team may experience challenges related to describing certain problems due to links, and casual relationships with other problems and cause agents. Further, such cases may present difficulties and consume a lot of time during analyses. There are also cost-related issues.

To avoid these problems, prior planning and defining what is within the range of program evaluation may help avert some of them.

A critique of the recent evaluation

Description of the method of the most recent evaluation (What was done)

The methodology used revealed strong benefits to program coaches as the results for the main target group (learners) were equivocal. Only fifth-graders showed improvement in the test scores, second-and third-grade showed that fewer learners met the reading standard about control groups, and the results for fourth-grader were not available. This led to a recommendation for improved training and reinforcement. This was the first evaluation.

The second evaluation had an adjusted evaluation approach to hone the accuracy of the results. Still, the results revealed high levels of benefits to coaches and weaker gains for the learners than the control groups. This led the Programme Manager to doubt the results.

The evaluator used statistical methods for resolving data problems and improved the analysis of the program’s impact on reading skills. In doing this, the evaluator only focused on 10 schools in the second year of the program instead of all 17 schools.

The evaluator used open-ended questionnaires for data collection. The questions entailed both a qualitative and quantitative approach with surveys and interviews as methods of data collection. This method enables the evaluator to collects varied views from respondents.

The evaluator used the statistical significance of the effect size to authenticate results. However, we must note that when performing analyses of effects by relying on small sample sizes such significance tests can mislead and present wrong results. This is because statistical significance does not directly indicate the effect size. Instead, it works as the size of the sample, p (statistical significance) level, and effect size. This means the evaluator took the easiest means of looking at the directions of the results in terms of signs (<, >, and =) to establish the statistical meaning behind the results.

We must also note that the evaluator relied on published works of Borman and D’Agostino of 1996. This work determined the effect size as an effectiveness criterion by using a statistical formula based on 30 years of evaluation studies. However, the challenge is that such information on significance can cause problems during the practical interpretation of the results. This is because significance tests do not indicate the size of variations between different indicators (practical significance). At the same time, it is difficult to compare it across different studies.

Strengths and weaknesses of the last evaluation (Reliable results)

The evaluator’s method of analysis had some weaknesses. The report did not indicate how the evaluator arrived at such a criterion. Also, the evaluator did not perform site-specific analysis in the report. These aspects make such results lack authenticity; thus, unreliable. We have also noticed that, at some points, the evaluator did not perform analysis. Instead, she relied on assumptions such as “Is it reasonable to assume that the pre-and post-tests measure the same skills?”

To answer this question, the evaluator adopted a correlation criterion. For instance, “the correlation between pre-and post-tests was near or above 0.8, as was the case for the 2nd grade where pre-and post-tests were essentially the same, the evaluator interpreted the pre-to post-test change score as a gain score. However, in cases where the correlation coefficient was less than 0.8, the evaluator performed no analysis” (Source: Team Read B).

This idea of none reporting such results, and in some cases, specific results that the evaluator considered not statistically significant usually bring substantial cases of biases in the interpretation of results. Also, the evaluator assumed that only statistically significant results were essential for analyses, and results that had not significance were not necessary for analyses. This is the main weakness of the evaluation results.

There is also a problem with the data collection approach and sample representation. The evaluator did not take into account that qualitative and quantitative designs use different methods when selecting research participants. The evaluator could have used purposive sampling to collect in-depth information from coaches (qualitative study) and apply random sampling to gain quick information about learners’ experiences with the reading program (quantitative study). This is because coaches have specific views about the program and can form part of the focus group for valuable information.

The evaluation processes have strengths in the manner the evaluator performed technical analyses of data to derive conclusions, though interpretation was a challenge.

We have also noticed that the evaluator applied a mixed research design of both qualitative and quantitative design to collect rich information. This is a suitable approach to data collection as it enabled the evaluator to adjust research questions to fit the responses under a qualitative study.

Assume that the second-grade results are correct (recommendations for making the program even better)

The second-grade results show improvement for most readers. Thus, we can make recommendations that can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the reading program for other graders.

• The use of high school students to coach elementary learners is cost-effective and increases instructional time.
• The application of a strong coaching session across the whole group is effective.
• Foster a good relationship among coaches and learners.
• Placing more emphasis on comprehension than phonics.
• Enhancing good central management of the program.
• There should be a one-on-one approach to reading rather than focusing on the group as a whole.
• There should also be varieties of other instructional activities to support the reading culture.

How might the next evaluation be changed to make it far more useful for learning about and improving the Team Read program?

The next evaluation process must avoid the problems highlighted above. First, the evaluator must ensure that information collected is valid and reliable. This implies that the evaluator must conduct a pilot study to determine the reliability, validity, and acceptability of the study instruments and measurement. The use of focus group will also help the evaluator capture in-depth knowledge of what coaches’ opinions are about the program.

The evaluator must also take caution when deriving an effect size using a significance test. The established significance value shall guide the evaluator in making reliable assumptions about the study. At the same time, the evaluator must avoid assumptions and treatment of some tests as insignificant to the study as they have overall effects on results. Also, the evaluator must account for what the significance test fails to tell us in terms of differences among the values. This implies that such tests require a standardization of the differences and make comparisons with zero. This leads to a better interpretation and reliable results.

Works Cited

Lane, Fredrick. Current Issues In Public Administration. New York: Bedford/St Martian’s, 1999. Print.

Milakovich, Michael, and George J. Gordon. Public Administration In America. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2001. Print.

Introduction

Studies about specific regions are an exciting amalgamation of events and conditions. Such studies bring forth various aspects such as economic, social and political conditions (Pike 2007). United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country where one can find diversity in almost all walks of life. The country attracts investors from around the world and this has made it one of the pioneers in the rising economies of Middle East. The foundation for its improvement is based on the real estate business as a vital segment. It is believed to be one of the biggest contributors to the UAE economy; the government is investing billions of dollars each year in major ventures. It is expected that Dubai’s government is planning to devote 200 billion dollars towards construction projects before the end of 2025 (Abdelsalam & Gad 2009).

The title of the research as mentioned will be made of two parts, the first a general title for the research, which is ‘BLUE DESIGN MANAGEMENT’. The selection of this title is to show the reader that this research is to create and suggest a blue print on what is the best practice based on the literature, case studies and interviews, to manage a construction project from initiation stage till completion, hence the wording of ‘Design Management’ was used instead of ‘Project Management’ to showcase focus on the design side of the project and the design stages, let those be project charter preparation, preparation of concept design, getting customer approval, moving to design development with customer approvals all the way till beginning of execution, then the execution of the project till hand over, as it will elaborated in more detail in the body of the paper.

The second part of the tile; ‘A Comprehensive Model for Construction Project Success for Projects Sponsored by the Government in Dubai’ leads the paper to become more specific. Continuing from the first part of the title the reader shall be attracted to a specific research that will be related not only to a specific region but also to specific type of projects. The title suggests that the paper shall propose recommendations that elaborate and predict all the issues that might be faced by projects sponsored by the government and taking place in Dubai. Adding both parts of the title together will imply that the recommendations will relate to the design side of construction, and will clarify that design management is practiced from customers’ side hence the recommendations will relate more to the interests of customer (Bartunek, Rynes & Ireland 2006).

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the reasons of delays in the construction ventures (with more concern about the UAE projects) due to the design process. The study will also delve into the advantages of government sponsorship in projects. It is true that the design process plays an important role in the success and timely completion of any project. But we should not undermine the fact that there are various other reasons (such as lack of funds) as well that contribute towards the delays. It is advisable to first understand the prevailing construction scenario in the Middle East. One of the most important aspects of the slow progress and unfortunate venture exhibition in the current construction industry is the absence of incorporation between diverse restrains of design and construction (Aziz 2013). It is recognised that absence of reconciliation and coordination brings about issues of activity postpones and futile task communications in the present day construction industry. Different research studies have endeavoured to discuss the issue, for example delay analysis methods, patrons to venture delays particularly in the fast developing construction industry universe of Dubai and Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, no studies were discovered that broke down the explanation for postponement because of absence of design and coordination. This study especially keeps tabs on the explanations for construction venture postpones in the Middle East with its effect on incorporation issues.

The study will be theory testing, as it will look into the literature highlighting project success criteria and then evaluate how related that is to projects in Dubai. As highlighted by Mir and Pinnington (2014) literature related to Project Management practice shows a lot of advancement but yet project success has not critically improved.

Further it is seen slightly as theory building as it will propose recommendations to use for the same issue. As for the theoretical body of knowledge that the paper will be based on, will be Project Management Institute, focusing on project management process group and knowledge area mapping, project integration management, project stakeholder management and similar aspects (Project Management Institute 2013). A stakeholder is any gathering or person who can influence, or is influenced by, the accomplishment of an association’s intention (Freeman 2010). The term ‘stakeholder’ became known in the 1960s during studies being conducted at Stanford Research Institute. The studies suggested that in order to build up objectives, it is imperative for organisations and the concerned managers to understand matters related to stakeholders (Sinclair n.d.).

Research Question

‘What is the best practice to ensure government sponsored projects success?’

Research Aim and Objectives

The aim of this research is to undertake an investigation on what are the main drivers to lead for project success and come out with recommendations to be used to initiate government-sponsored projects to assure their success. The main research question is: ‘What are the recommendations to assure Government Sponsored Construction Project Success in Dubai?’

The research objectives that underpin the aim are:

1. To investigate current practice on how projects are initiated
2. To explore main reasons why construction projects funded by the government face so many obstacles.
3. To develop a measure on how project stakeholders are being involved in the life of the project
4. To examine the nature of engagement by the Government with a look to the local culture.
5. To reach recommendations tailored for Dubai on how to start construction projects sponsored by the government and assure its success during the project life cycle.

Literature Review

Looking at the literature and reviewing the articles that talk about project success, it is evident that project success is related to market share gain and more profit and growth (Shenhar et al. 2001). Project success is actually a theoretical perception. It is very difficult to judge the success or failure of a project (Chan, Scott & Lam 2002). Other articles discuss the project success with relation to proper management techniques and the further the project contract period is the further customer can arise to changes and hence more risk to the project success (Zou et al. 2014). One of the latest methods to increase chances of project success is benchmarking (Maire, Bronet & Pillet 2005). Several construction companies consider benchmarking as a quest for best practices (Lam, Chan & Chan 2007).

As there is always a number of project success criteria highlighted in the literature, all these criteria do not always align with what actually project success can mean when it comes to government-funded projects. To understand project success within the context of Dubai and specifically governmentally sponsored construction projects, the culture of the place needs to interfere. This phenomenal city (Dubai) is being led by its ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and it is crucial to understand that all projects funded by the government need to go through him for approval. A deeper look at the cultural influence shows it is very hard to question or argue decisions made by the ruler.

An example of a project that shows the importance of this research will be Dubai Metro project, were the Road and Transport Authority (government body) announced that the project launch shall take place on the 9^th of September 2009, with the first phase (Khaleej Times 2006). This announcement took place ahead of time and when it came to reality, the project was launched on that date but instead of launching the 29 stations of phase one, only 10 stations were launched (Ahmed 2009). This example shows the importance to understand how to actually ensure construction project success and why there is a need to understand project success, specifically for projects sponsored by the Government in Dubai and what would be the best recommendations to assure this success. Then, after analysing those and understanding the local practice, the proposed recommendations should assist all firms (public or private) those are dealing with government-sponsored projects and how to assure their success.

As implied within the title, the research topic is specific to the Construction sector and exclusively to Dubai within the United Arab Emirates, and further to construction projects sponsored by the government. The research gets specific as it searches for answers on the reasons why projects are not being delivered at their best, yet all governmental sponsored projects are announced on the media to be successful. Further the author has access to government sponsored project as of the nature of the work being done that relates directly to the Ruler of Dubai, and touches on this topic on a daily basis, and such a research will help in reaching a better solution to manage projects to assure project success.

Critical Success Factor

Critical Success Factor (CSF) is understood as those functions that are aimed at safeguarding the stakeholders’ interests while ensuring that the project is completed as per schedule (Yang et al. 2011). Recent projects have witnessed various changes and have become multifaceted and complex (Chan, Scott & Chan 2004). Davis (2014) suggests that the perception of CSF has gradually been changed and now it is being related to aspects such as environment and management. Different kinds of projects should have different stakeholder management; this will help in breaking the misconception that a single approach for stakeholder management can be applied to all sorts of projects. Like for instance, private projects give importance to sustenance in the construction industry while public projects are mainly based on ethical considerations (Yang et al. 2010). A proper understanding of a project’s CSFs can help in efficient allocation of time, workforce and finance (Chua, Kog & Loh 1999; Shen & Liu 2003).

There are two ways in which stakeholder management may be improved: a) proper communication and laying down common goals, b) objectives (Jergeas et al. 2000). The solution to effective stakeholder management is proper communication (Bakens, Foliente & Jasuja 2005; Young 2006). Communication also plays an important role during project briefing in which the expectations and requirements of stakeholders are understood (Yu et al. 2006). Additionally, Winch (2002) suggests that a useful method of successful stakeholder management is to device ways to persuade adversaries to supporters. This is done by incorporating requisite changes in the mission of the project. A healthy relation with the stakeholders is a must and as such, such a relation (between project and its stakeholders) is a source to effective stakeholder management (Aaltonen, Jaakko & Tuomas 2008).

Among the stakeholders, project manager is one of the crucial ones whose proficiency has a direct impact on all the stages of a project (Belassi & Tukel 1996). The project manager is authorised (by virtue of the project charter) to use resources towards successful project completion (Project Management Institute 2004). A project charter has all relevant details of the project. It also includes obligations of the responsible people (owner, PM and the central team) for project completion (Kloppenborg 2012). On the contrary, Ahadzie, Proverbs & Sarkodie-Poku (2013) believe that considered theoretically, there is no defined role of a project manager. Whereas, literature on housing construction shows that the main role of a project manager is to ensure that the interests of the customer are safeguarded and at the same time, the project achieves success (Formoso, Tzotzopoulous & Liedtke 2002; Ling 2003). The owner of a project has a great impact on the performance of a project. He has the capability to influence the outcome of a project (Kloppenborg, Manolis & Tesch 2009).

Causes of Project Delays

Many projects in the UAE are heading towards delays or cancellation. The quantum of construction undertakings wiped out and/or delayed in the United Arab Emirates rose to $170 billion in August demonstrating that the battered land division in the Gulf state is still far from recuperation.

The expansion of 13%, contrasted with the past month, is uncovered in the Mena Construction Projects. It additionally demonstrates that the UAE explained 56% of the sum scratched off or deferred activities for the principle local markets. It is not peculiar that retractions in the UAE identify overwhelmingly with real estate. The UAE’s property blast came to an end in 2008. The house costs in Dubai plunging by up to 60% compelled numerous promoters to relinquish ventures.

Nakheel, the Dubai visionary of the Palm islands, was constrained to dispose of up to AED 78.6 billion (US$ 21.4 billion) of its land possessions because of a property emergency, consistent with a bond plan (Fattah & Sharif 2011).The Citi report included that undertakings drop and hold over the primary Mena advertises slipped to $1.69 trillion in August from $1.7 trillion in July. In other markets Saudi Arabia has included $81 billion of preparatory undertakings to its pipeline since July, while Kuwait has ventures worth $20 billion in the early phases of construction and Qatar has $2 billion. Kuwait and Qatar additionally have ventures worth $20 billion and $2 billion separately that are in preparatory phases of construction. Conversely, UAE indicated a $12 billion decrease in preparatory tasks to $118 billion (Reuters 2011).

Delay in projects is bound to have an effect on the recovery process. A work stoppage in Abu Dhabi’s construction business could startle speculators and crease any juvenile recuperation in Dubai’s fumbling land business sector. Abu Dhabi has pushed back the handing over of major ventures like Louvre and Guggenheim museums. For consultants, some who had relied on Abu Dhabi to counterbalance the fall of Dubai’s property showcase in late-2008, the stalling of government-funded projects is a basis of concern. Abu Dhabi is being reasonable from a budgetary outlook; however this will have a huge effect not just on Abu Dhabi but simultaneously on Dubai as well.

This choice will likewise have a major effect on the construction area. There are not many people who work in Abu Dhabi and as such, the rents may experience a downfall. This will obviously have an effect on Dubai. It won’t be useful for the land area in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. According to Kerr et al. (2013), some of the most common causes of project delays are material delays, material variations, and force majeure.

In order to understand the causes of delay in construction projects in Dubai, the researcher conducted an interview in which 50 contractors, 50 consultants and 50 customers were requested to participate. The interview included open ended questions so that the interviewees had freedom of expressing their respective concerns. The interviews gave the following results:

Delay Aspects Due to Customers

The explanations for postponement from the customer alone could be more paramount than those from the advisor and the builder in light of the fact that choices made by the customer fundamentally influence others.

A-1 Unrealistic Control Duration

Customers are searching for a quick profit for their speculation. In Dubai and other emirates, it is ordinary for a customer to specify a finished plan date during which expert may not evaluate plans effectively. This comes about that outline has a great deal of progressions throughout construction.

A-2 Lots of Interim Totals and Main Expenditures

Customers dependably jump at the chance to abandon some irrelevant things in the BOQ. This anticipates the builder from appraising such things at the required instant. As a result, when the portions of this bill are given (at exceptionally later stage), the work programme will be aggravated and the prevailing contractor will find troubles in realising the focus of the task.

A-3 Appointment of Sub-Contractors and Vendors

Generally, customers are inclined towards their own particular sub-foremen and/or vendors for some specific function. They regularly educate the foremen straightforwardly through the expert to enter the subcontract understanding dependent upon constrained conditions that may not suit the primary contractor for example a progressed instalment, term, punishments, submittals and approbations. In the event that the fundamental contractor rejects these terms, clashes will happen and postponement will advance until a last understanding is marked between those included gatherings.

A-4 Customer’s Eccentric Payment to the Main Contractor

Defer in regularly scheduled instalment from the customer fundamentally bothers the builder’s money stream. This in turn influences the instalments to sub-builders, who are committed to buy material from suppliers. Venture execution will be subsequently influenced monetarily. This probably will have great negative impacts on the venture performance and the venture might become overdue Williams (2003). The builders claim that most of the delays are caused by contractors and labourers (Assaf & Al-Hejji 2006). In order to file a claim with the builder, the contractor has to follow the terms and conditions mentioned in the contract. Details pertaining to the increased cost and extended time, along with supporting documents should be submitted in order to escalate the claim process. As per the UAE’s ‘Civil Procedure’s Code, disputes (in UAE) pertaining to claims of delayed projects are usually resolved by conciliation, negotiation, settlement, or legal action (Zaneldin 2006).

Key Causes From the Consultant

The consultants in Dubai are hesitant to decline potential requisition and accompany an approach of “we are dependably primed to plan your activity”. The outline business settings are frequently over-burdened because of quick advancement in construction in the city. The majority of them don’t have sufficient time and absence of adequate administration, which influences the nature of the work and subsequently thought about the foremen’s exhibition (Odeh & Battaineh 2002).

B-1 Incomplete Drawings

Provided that the customer solicitations an impossible due date for design, great edges of lapses will show up in the activity drawings and particulars. Clashes frequently show up between drawings from distinctive teaches. This is acknowledged as a postponement variable from the advisor side.

B-2 Delay in Approval of Documents

The consultant finds it very tough to endorse certain documents produced by the contractor (like technique proclamation or details). It is accounted for that the contractor can seldom get the support from the advisor in Dubai.

B-3 Unfinished Contract Papers

The Consultant has the complete right to issue updates, rectify the oversights in the drawings and the disparities in the agreement papers in the better interests of the customer. However the specialist’s site staffs does dependably not have certainty in issuing guidelines until they talk about with their top supervisors. The builder frequently can’t gain directions about those errors in time.

B-4 Rectifications in Drawings and Specifications

A few architects, who are on the payroll of the advisor don’t have sufficient encounters in design hones. A few issues in the design can’t be discovered until the contractor asks about them in the construction. It takes a breather for region to sanction new outline results, case in point.

B-5 Length of Inspection Process

Specialists assess the activity to verify that the activity meets the required benchmark of excellence. This work is done by qualified designs and powers. However due to absence of the masters, a few activities could be assessed on time.

Key Causes From the Contractor

As shown in Figure 3, the greater part of the activity defers variables in Dubai construction activities are credited by the builder.

C-1 Preparing the Method Statements

Venture director may as well make definite strategy proclamations. A large portion of them in Dubai venture don’t have enough time to plan for strategy articulations as they frequently have to assume more than one part (e.g. site chief and amount surveyor).

C-2 Financing Project by the builder

The point when builders gain progressed or regularly scheduled instalment from the customer, the greater part of them might utilise the cash to back other critical or more beneficial activities. It frequently advances to the issues, for example lack of material, postponed instalment to sub-foremen, and so on.

C-3 Organisational Chart

Venture chief might as well bring about an adequate human asset administration. On the other hand, because of absence of specialised staff and time restrictions, the greater part of job vacancies can’t be sufficed by people having the needed expertise.

C-4 Inside and Outside Communication

It is very crucial for builders to be in touch with members of the venture (Yu et al. 2007). Such communications should be clear and precise (Modesto & Tichapondwa 2009). Vocabulary also plays an important role in communication (Leigh 2008). While in Dubai, construction members could hail from diverse nations, misconstruing around them regularly happens in light of the distinctive social foundations.

C-5 Mistakes Through the Progress of the Venture

The local real estate industry is a popular destination for labourers in the UAE – the larger part of the labourers is from South Asia. Such labourers don’t have any proper knowledge and moreover, have very little of experience. This frequently expedites unfortunate workmanship. There are times when specific jobs have to be done again in order to get endorsed from the QC.

Miscellaneous Causes

Postponement are a major issue endured by the majority of the construction undertakings in Dubai whilst the explanations for postponement and the strategies to evade postpones or moderate the effects of postponement are still not completely comprehended by undertaking members. This exploration examined the particular operational environment of Dubai construction ventures and examined the root sources of the postponement donated by the major undertaking members.

Unlike different nations or districts, the construction undertakings in Dubai confront numerous exceptional tests, for example the interesting social, high construction modelling and quality prerequisites, short of workforce, and worldwide construction groups. These imperatives make the explanations for postponement unique in relation to different nations. Case in point, doubtful task length of time, numerous temporary totals and prime take, designation of sub-builders and suppliers, customer’s unpredictable instalment to the essential contractor and varieties are the top five explanations for postponement committed by the customer. Fragmented drawings, postpone in support of records, inadequate contract reports, updates in drawings and particulars, and term of review system are the major reasons donated by the advisor. Planning the technique proclamations, badly financed task, improper conglomeration administration, unsmooth outside and inward correspondences, and botches in construction are the top reasons committed by the builder.

In light of the conclusion of this examination, further examination will be led on how each group may as well control their root sources of venture defers. All the more particularly, this incorporates the control of social effects, the agreement and coordination with assigned sub-builders and suppliers and the accommodation of FIDIC states of contract. The last one has been of concern to a large portion of the venture members and it is essential to further examine at the time when it is utilised within Middle East.

The Architecture Design Process

Arranging and executing New Product Development (NPD) undertakings is a testing task. This stems to a limited extent from questionable matter in their conduct – case in point, in the length of time and conclusion of their constituent exercises or in the accessibility of assets to perform these exercises. This paper is spurred by the speculation that building outline methods might be designed to be vigorous, i.e. to convey worthy results regardless of questionable matter, and that this could cause venture administrators to convey their undertakings on time and on plan. A methodology’s structural engineering assumes a significant part in figuring out its conduct. A few creators have talked over how outline process architectures could be adjusted to better manage doubt and thus to be more vigorous. This existing research falls into two classes. In the first class, creators keep tabs on giving informative structures and categorisations of the courses in which framework power could be broke down and made strides.

Suspicions

The examinations are dependent upon a procedure modelling skeleton which permits transform span to be computed from the lands of unique undertakings and the structure of informative data streams between assignments.

This system is known as the Applied Signposting Model (ASM). In review, the ASM is dependent upon the accompanying suspicions:

• The request of endeavouring assignments is administered by qualified information streams, such that an undertaking is endeavoured quickly that all its forerunners are finished.
• Tasks may be conceivable to execute simultaneously given the informative content stream demands.
• Then again, this may be restricted by asset accessibility – if two undertakings are prepared to begin however both go after the same asset, then one must be chosen and endeavoured first.
• Task choice approaches represent which undertaking is endeavoured when more than one undertaking is conceivable to begin yet they can’t be executed in parallel because of asset restrictions.
• Tasks are autonomous throughout execution. In different expressions, an undertaking’s sum term and asset utilisation are resolved around then it is begun and can’t be affected by consequent occasions.
• Tasks might have numerous conceivable yield situations. The point when the undertaking is finished, a solitary yield is chosen consistent with coherence specified in the assignment definition case in point, an assessment undertaking may “flop” with a specified recurrence). This permits stretching and emphasis. Various different surmises represent the conduct of the model according to improve. On the other hand, since the tests reported in this paper don’t test cycle these suspicions are not examined here.

A design is a result of one’s thought or vision, which is then, as far as structures are concerned, changed into a deductive or masterful example from which items are determined for the development of an activity to help a holder or the society. The design of a structural segment is performed through the utilisation of modest standards of math, material science, and building frequently with dependence of distinguished industry handbooks. For a structure to be practical, it might as well have repetition and have the ability to oppose an orderly downfall situation as set forward in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Standard ASCE 7.

If there should arise an occurrence of a construction, the engineer is the inventor of the structure for its useful and tasteful shape and has the avocation to facilitate the design handled by held specialists. The designer is comparative to a symphony guide directing the performers to the consummation of a fulfilling occasion for the general population. In the outline of a task the designer runs his or her specialists to an efficacious undertaking. The engineer audits and accomplishes the customer’s system for space designation and utilisation. In conjunction with the space necessities, the designer gets ready different exterior plans incorporating window sorts and divider materials for the customer’s survey and approbation. Based upon the directions from the customer, the draftsman gets ready draws or alternately drawings to exhibit to the proper specialists for his or her survey and execution into the design procedure. Every specialist is an authorised expert in his or her particular field. The structural specialist is answerable for the outline of the floor confining frameworks, their backings, and establishments. The mechanical architect is answerable for the warming and ventilation frameworks, electrical and pipes necessities, and life-security frameworks.

Skyscraper office edifices might require a lift expert whose finesse is modifying the number and time span for individual’s development and identified gear. The civil designer, otherwise called the site specialist, is answerable for the site reviewing and seepage, access streets, and stopping prerequisites. On certain undertakings there may be supplemental particular specialists, for example geotechnical, acoustical, window/façade, lift, research centre, arranging, and impact designing to help the designer for the specific needs of the undertaking.

Understanding Between Parties

Preceding the execution of a design or beginning of development function, an assertion between gatherings is entered which portrays the commitments and obligations of every gathering together with the extent of work allotted to every gathering.

Drawings and Specifications

The drawings and details involve the records from which the contractor will manufacture the structure.

Drawings

Drawings envelop the structural, common, structural, and mechanical callings, and are the method of passing on diagrammatic definite parts of the design parts of a structure.

Building Drawings

Structural drawings pass on the stylish and useful parts of the task, and incorporate the fiery breakout evaluated arrangement of the structure, inhabitancy, exiting prerequisites, and conformance to the Americans Disabilities Act (ADA). These drawings usually hold the under mentioned:

Title/cover sheet: notwithstanding the title of the undertaking, it typically designates the undertaking foot shaped impression, area, and range scope concerning the sum property region, nexus plan, the correct north shaft, venture plan north shaft, appropriate nearby construction regulation references, characterisation of the assembling for inhabitancy and fire rating, and a record of advisors.

Elevations: A pictorial perspective of every veneer of the assembling demonstrating windows, entryways, and so forth.

Assembling areas: An itemised sectional view through the fabricating taken typically in the venture north-south and east-west heading.

Areas and parts: A bigger scale dimensional itemised presentation of relevant development parts, their interface associations with different materials.

Civil Engineering Drawings: Common designing drawings demonstrate site and venture areas, vehicle receptiveness, geology, site seepage, and perhaps view necessities, despite the fact that this angle may be performed by an authorised scene draftsman instead of the undertaking planner.

Structural Drawings: Structural drawings demonstrate the design burdens and appropriate raising code criteria, and characterise the structural confining frameworks and their backings and establishments. These drawings will hold the accompanying:

Establishment plan: Generally attracted to 1/8 = 1ft 0 in scale, demonstrating the sort of backing establishment chose for the constructing structure incorporating the needed soil bearing limits, heights, extents, cement qualities, and fortifying steel.

Encircling arrangements: Generally attracted to 1/8” = 1′ 0” scale, demonstrating the needed floor and top encircling frameworks which incorporate the areas of segments, areas and sizes of the floor deck (pieces), help beams/girders or trusses. These drawings will ordinarily show section loads, bar responses, and part minutes where pertinent. These burdens might incorporate mechanical gear; lift sheave pillar responses, lift underpin truss responses, and so forth.

Section schedule: A plain lattice of the constructing segments demonstrates sizes and weights of steel and cement sections with the presupposed strengthening steel. Likewise, the burdens on a designated section at every floor level, the section join area with change in section estimate (if material). Base plate sizes (for steel sections), fortifying dowels for section docks, strengthening steel for cement segments, and the sum load of the sections on the establishment are additionally demonstrated.

Rises: Showing the design of edge dividers, shear dividers, part sizes of trusses or vertical supporting frameworks demonstrating constrains in the parts together with finish minutes (when appropriate).

Segments and common details: Drawn to a bigger scale and extents, demonstrating point by point interfaces with the encompassing materials or parts.

Mechanical Drawings: Mechanical drawings designate the warming, ventilating, and air-conditioning frameworks, electrical conveyance necessities, fire and security frameworks, sprinklers and fundamental pipes necessities. These drawings will usually hold the ventilation work sizes and areas and will designate needed openings in the structure for their ways. Design Drawing Phases. The most well-known plan attracting procedure is five different stages.

1. Concept plan Sketches (CS): The modeller, usually in show with the structural designer, starts a design which in a few cases may require exchange structural confining frameworks, dependability, and constructability plans. This stage ordinarily constitutes 10 percent of the sum exertion for the proposed undertaking and comprises of arrangement extents, general section areas, and building characteristics incorporating plausible front materials. This informative content is exhibited to the holder in the manifestation of expert outlines or drawings, and periodically incorporates a rendering of the activity.
2. Preparatory Design (PD): Upon regard of the Cs by the holder, the outline enters the preparatory stage, wherein a chose plan is produced into a more outlined extension with the structural and mechanical experts. In this stage, blueprint details for materials and their utilisation in the development are noted from which preparatory plans for financing necessities, booking and development are determined. The finish of this stage typically is recognised as 25 percent of task plan finish and is put forth in the type of hard-lined drawings (CAD) acting for the premise of the activity.
3. Design Development (DD): Once the PD has been approved, the project seems to be in motion. The structural frameworks are concluded; the mechanical prerequisites are demarcated; the veneer and inner part completions are chosen and fused; and the venture cost evaluations are all the more solidly designated (Doloi 2011). The closure of this stage is currently 50 percent of venture plan fulfilment.
4. Construction Document (CD): After the indispensible supports from the possessor, the venture enters the last design stage wherein all the controls of the outline crew are in the phase of concluding and specifying their work to 100 percent finishing of the plans, to be primed for offers. Then again, regarding the sum activity, the closure of this stage speaks for 75 percent of the aggregate design. The remaining 25 percent is allocated to the “development stage” otherwise called the development organisation stage. There are ventures that end at the “development record stage.” Therefore, coordination of the activity drawings around the design orders is totally vital wherein the designer or design, as the prime design expert, expects the intelligent part of heading the group. Specialised particulars are concluded in this stage by every order and are included to the general conditions incorporating offer shapes for circulation to prospective qualified bidders. After the design offer records are discharged for offering and ensuing addenda, if any, are issued, the design parcel of the activity is lacking nothing, and the task enters the development organisation stage.
5. Construction Administration stage (CA): When an agreement is marked by the manager, or bureau approved to follow up for sake of the possessor, for the development of the undertaking, the outline record terminology is updated to development reports or once in a while called a set of acclimated records.

This refinement is made since the agreement for the development of the undertaking may have conditions or exemptions to the design archives.

In the development organisation stage the prime originator audits the builder’s submittal of shop drawings, supplies and material particular submittals; performs site appearances; goes to gatherings with builders; reacts to the contractor’s solicitation for request for information (RFI); and issues elucidation portrays and manager launched updates to the venture.

It is paramount to note that there are numerous scenarios, especially on government-generated ventures, wherein the venture development government stage is performed by an additional outline crew or by a legislature bureau, for example the Department of State or the General Services Administration.

Specialised Specifications

Part 1—General

Comprises of the general depiction of the extent of work for the area, or exchange, for which the determinations are composed.

Records pertinent codes and norms

Records and depicts the needed submittals, e.g., shop drawings and building counts for things composed by the builder; item details; ensure or warrantees.

Characterises the builder’s quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) systems

Part 2—Materials

Depicts the materials to be utilised as a part of the development

Depicts the supplies to be utilised as a part of the venture

Part 3—Execution

Creation necessities and conditions

Material conveyance and security before utilisation

Introduction techniques and tolerances

Testing necessities throughout creation and introduction of specified things

Particulars are and ought to be ready by the undertaking design trains in particular for the specific activity and not submitted as an off-the rack thing.

Shop Drawings

Shop drawings reflect the builder’s grasping and translation of the development archives for the creation and instatement of the different segments utilised within the development of the undertaking. These drawings are definite to demonstrate the succession of gathering of different parts of the venture, and its last structure or position inside the venture.

Shop drawings are submitted to the design crew for audit preceding the true creation or get together of development segments since time is of the force. Defers in support of shop drawings might affect upon the development calendar and further deferral different exchanges to proceed their function.

The fabricator incorporates a most extreme remittance of fourteen (14) days in his calendar for the reappearance of shop drawings. [Note: If the designer or the structural specialist does not take serious note of these points throughout the offer duration, at that point the architect or the engineer should maintain the above or take the danger of appropriating a deferral asserts from the contractor.]

The usually acknowledged adaptation is that the structural engineer of record (SER) is answerable for the whole structure and its segment parts unless the creator explicitly gives sufficient informative data (i.e., strengths; incorporating responses and minutes) on the agreement reports and teaches the builder (detailer) to accept the authority regarding the design of certain designated associations or alternately parts.

The methods and techniques for development, which for the most part incorporates the accompanying:

• Underpinning of existing nearby structures
• Outline of formwork for cement development
• Propping, shoring, and restoring of cement function
• Development stacks encroached on the structure throughout development
• Makeshift propping of the structure throughout development for wind and other parallel burdens
• Stacks encroached on the structure throughout development, for example cranes, space, and interim supplies loads

Architect’s and Engineer’s logs

It is vital for the outline crew to secure a progressing record of the venture for conceivable guarantees started by the contractor or even guarantees by the design group because of contractor’s slips or holder’s progressions. The engineer’s and structural architect’s documentations, frequently implied as logs, for an undertaking are essentially comparative. These logs ought to be composed and looked after in a protected and secured region. In spite of the fact that the expressions “review” and “testing” are utilised synonymously within the development field, they have dissimilar parts in the assembling scene.

Examinations throughout development are solicited to be performed straight by an enlisted expert build or by an architect under the supervision of an enrolled expert designer. A review of the process throughout the project progress is a prerequisite of the International Building Code.

Field associations ought to be checked by the testing bureau, comparative to structural steel examination necessities, since ordinarily associations of structural steel either are catapulted on the other hand welded.

Structural parts presupposing bearing cushions might as well to review for area, size, and positioning.

Structural Steel

High-quality jolts ought to be weighed as per ASTM A325/490.

Note that slip-discriminating catapulted associations require exceptional thought.

Timber

Size, area, and types of the parts ought to be checked.

Generally, Uncommon Associations, Darting, and Nail Designs Require Assessment

The architecture design process might be classified into the following stages: schematic outline, outline advancement, presentation and assessment, item improvement and construction archives, offering, and management of the construction. In the schematic outline stage the general aspects of the fabricating are secured. Noteworthy issues are distinguished, and starting design choices are made. Throughout the design improvement stage the particular character and aim of the whole activity are depicted. The presentation and assessment stage is an iterative process throughout which recommendations are exhibited for survey by a customer, audit board, or outline jury, and outline choices are settled. Taking after the regard of the design, parts are produced and construction records are prepared. These may be a blend of working drawings and composed determinations which serve as a lawful depiction of what is to be assembled. As the construction archives close finishing, they are discharged for offering, and a contractor is chosen. The last stage of the outline methodology is the one in which the engineer manages the construction, deciphering progressions and judging performance.

All through the greater part of these stages, engineers end up performing a mixture of assignments, extending from the most inventive to the utterly unremarkable. Workstations were acquainted with the compositional calling with the trust that they might free planners of the commonplace, manual errands, and help in the administration of informative data. Utilisation of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) has developed through the decades. It has helped in the computerisation of assignments and in the administration of qualified data, particularly in the later stages of the outline procedure.

Notwithstanding, Cad has had small affect on the prior stages of design. In this manner, there is a focus in the design procedure when planners and planners must make a mental jump from representations and examine models to Cad representations in two or three extents. Deliberations are almost always made to hearten the advancement of Cad frameworks to empower their utilisation by designers prior in the outline methodology. An imperative essential for the expanded acknowledgement and utilisation of Cad is an interface which will permit modellers to make and cooperate with their computerised outlines all the more naturally. Virtual Reality (VR), maybe the most propelled of three-dimensional interfaces, has much potential for improving the way draftsmen and architects connect with their computerised models.

VR has been proposed as a suitable new instrument for modellers and originators. It is distinguished that the vast majority of these profits (and ensuing utilisation of VR by the outline callings) will happen just after further progressions of the innovation. Notwithstanding, the particular progressions that are needed can just be distinguished and actualised after impressive utilisation of the innovation. This iterative cycle of utilisation, appraisal, overhaul, and utilise comes about as a part of devices which are more qualified to the occupation. The strategy for updating devices by watching how they are utilised is a normal one around ergonomists and human elements experts. The justification is that fulfilled customers are best equipped to suggest and survey updates.

Blueprint to Initiate Government Sponsored Projects

The outline of edifices requires the reconciliation of numerous sorts of informative content into a stylish, suitable, and sturdy structure. A reconciled design process incorporates the engaged and proceeding investment of customers and neighbourhood parts, code authorities, manufacturing technologists, builders, cost specialists, common designers, mechanical and electrical specialists, structural architects, particulars masters, and advisors from numerous specific fields. The best structures come about because of constant, ordered joint effort around all players.

The reconciled design process empowers project personnel to function together from the activity beginning to improve results that have numerous profits. The following blueprint has been adapted from the WBDG Aesthetics Subcommittee (2012).

The Integrated Design Process

This most important stage regularly incorporates a necessities appraisal: It can depict existing space use, gauge sensible spatial and specialised necessities, and land at a project around which a design methodology could be initiated. For critical undertakings, a construction director and a draftsman ought to be locked in to direct the necessities appraisal; it might likewise be suitable for this group to prepare an expert coordinate that places single plan exercises in setting. Regardless of a task’s extension, exploration and customising is a significant first stage in advancing an auspicious outline.

Criteria for choice might incorporate the customer’s natural inclination for a particular structural dialect, the supplier’s encounter with the manufacturing sort, or, with the approach of satisfactoriness necessities, a competitor’s capacity to realise high natural exhibition in notable or new structures.

In conference with a crew that incorporates a builder, designers, scene designer, natural visual planner, specialist, practicality expert, and different authorities, the designer or prime specialist secures centre outline standards. The design group likewise might transform elective calculated methodologies to the customer’s necessities, and design to picture the exchange. Such inferences are intended to animate considered, possibly to depict the last result. Note the significance of the crew organisation at this stage: full contribution of crew parts is basic, as distinctive bits of knowledge can avert exorbitant updates as time rolls on. Ceaseless coordinated effort between stakeholders likewise assists counteract unmanageable oversights.

Bit by bit a design rises that exemplifies the diversions and prerequisites of all members, while additionally gathering general region necessities and budgetary parameters. They demonstrate site area and conglomeration, general fabricating shape, appropriation of system, and a framework of segments and frameworks to be outlined or specified for the last consequence. Contingent upon the span of the task, it is frequently functional to have an expense gauge performed as of right now.

Plan Construction expands the scale of attention. More excellent part is created for all parts of the raising, and the community oriented process proceeds with the modeller or prime advisor expediting the different benefactors. The finish of this stage is a point by point plan on which all players concur and may be asked to close down.

The advancement of Contract Documents includes deciphering the Design Construction qualified data into arrangements suitable for evaluating, allowing, and construction. No set of contract reports can ever be impeccable, yet top notch could be attained by examination, responsibility to the introductory system needs, and cautious coordination around the specialised specialists on the outline group. Choices press on to be made at this stage, however updates in extension will come to be more unmanageable once valuing has started; updates to the agreement records additionally welcome disarray, mistakes, and included expenses, in spite of the fact that new engineering like Building Information Modelling is starting to synchronise references for all plan group parts. Require assesses by an estimator may be made as of right now, before or synchronous with offering, with a specific end goal to guarantee agreeability with the plan and to check the offers. Offers taken right now may be utilised as a foundation for selecting a developer.

Originators and different parts of the crew must remain completely included. Choices at one time made might require elucidation, suppliers’ qualified information must be surveyed for agreeability with the Contract Documents, and substitutions must be assessed. Assuming that updates influence the operation of the constructing, it is particularly significant to include the user/customer in their survey. Customer prerequisites might change, too, and instituting those adjustments require wide counsel around the experts and sub-advisors, new evaluating, and consolidation into the Contract Documents and the fabricating.

The design group is answerable for guaranteeing the raising meets the prerequisites of the Contract Documents. In the interim, victory at gathering the prerequisites of the definitive project might be surveyed by the construction administration crew or third gatherings in a methodology known as commissioning. Here the full go of capacities in the assembling is assessed and the outline and construction crew might be called upon to make updates and modification as wanted.

After the fabricating is completely operational, it is regularly convenient to direct a Facility Performance Evaluation (FPE) to survey how the assembling meets the definitive and developing necessities for its utilisation. (This may be reputed to be a post-inhabitancy study, despite the fact that FPEs are acknowledged to be more thorough.) Such informative data is particularly of service when further construction of the same sort is pondered by the same customer. Errors might be avoided and victories rehashed.

This outline depicts the standard operation of the coordinated task crew. To guarantee the best effect, all the involved people must adhere to the below mentioned standards:

1. Clear and constant correspondence
2. Rigorous meticulousness
3. Active coordinated effort around all crew parts all through all stages of the task

The Integrated, Multidisciplinary Project Team

Multidisciplinary group members can prove to be helpful in coming forward with pioneering and best possible resolutions to various kinds of issues (Marquez et al. 2011). Productive coordination of multidisciplinary information could be accomplished through group’s ability to perform functions that cross the usual work boundaries and communicate with multiple proficient and social groups. Such boundaries have been categorised into three groups: project action, project knowledge and project social (Ratcheva 2009). Such boundaries assist team members to understand varied knowledge perceptions. It is very essential for an efficient leadership group to be focussed on the success of a project. Also, the job engaged to characterise the venture tracks, deal with workshops, take care of the logistics, and so on, should not be considered to be insignificant (Esterman et al. 2007). Such an understanding and commitment cannot be achieved in an indiscriminate way and needs a lot of centred consideration from a leadership group, as well as the person (leader) who personifies a centre of attention.

Group Members, in a procedure such as this, may incorporate the following:

The Owner’s Representative must represent the manager and be ready to dedicate the time to completely support, shield, clear up, and improve the manager’s diversions. This individual may originate from inside the conglomeration charging the activity or may be enlisted as an expert.

The Construction Manager is procured on a charge premise to confirm the logistics and expenses of the construction procedure. This individual might be an engineer, a general contractor, or counselling Construction Manager. It is useful for this individual to be included from the starting of the task. The Architect enactments as the lead in generally raising tasks facilitating sub-experts, requesting and championing the system, welcoming group include at correlated minutes, and guaranteeing agreeability with the plan. To that impact, in a few cases the draftsman enlists some or the sum of the sub-specialists. Thereafter, he or she gives logically more exact and nitty-gritty inferences for the manifestation of the result and maintains the handling of the agreement archives. The draftsman ordinarily partakes in the construction stage of the task, surveying consistence with the agreement records through examinations, submissions endorsements, and assessments by the sub-advisors. The draftsman supports in the assessment of solicitations for instalment by the maker and different experts.

The Civil Engineer is vital for comprehension the area, soil, and administrative parts of any construction activity; unanticipated contribution is fundamental and the civil specialist is habitually contracted straight by the manager ahead of time of the design group. The common architect arranges his or her own particular contract reports and surveys work agreeability with the agreement reports.

The Landscape Architect is regularly part of the common designer’s assets, yet can likewise be included as an autonomous advisor. In either case, the scene planner ought to be included at a young hour in the undertaking to evaluate characteristic frameworks, how they will be influenced by the task and the most ideal courses to oblige the venture to those frameworks.

Counselling Structural, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers might be locked in by the designer or they may be locked in independently by the holder. They are answerable for a fabrication’s structural, warming, ventilating, and ventilating frameworks, and additionally the force, indicator, and brightening parts of the undertaking. Every produces his or her own particular divides of the agreement reports and ought to be included in surveying the separate part of the work for consistence with those records.

Particular Consultants ought to be included as wanted by the exceptional prerequisites of the task. These may incorporate particulars scholars, materials and part experts, tolerability specialists, specialists, ecological visual architect, and specialised masters in fortes like kitchens, varying media frameworks, materials taking care of, and stopping. The size, unpredictability, and specialisation of the undertaking will prescribe the sorts of supplemental specialists who will be wanted. Like all supporters to the incorporated design process, their recommendations and necessities ought to be joined at the most punctual stages of outline.

Results

Forthright Lloyd Wright implied this procedure as “natural plan” – he utilised the expression to imply the essential relationship in great construction modelling between the parts and the entire and announced it the designer’s commitment to guarantee consistency at each level of part.

Designers furnish the realistic and composed representations which permit foremen and subcontractors to change notions and plans into physical actuality. How successfully and effectively this conversion happens, depends expansively on the nature of the outline and documentation furnished. Tragically, builders are very frequently supplied with undertaking documentation that is inadequate, clashing or incorrect, in this manner needing illuminations to be furnished by the planners. The point when this is the situation, the Request for Information (RFI) procedure is for the most part used to formally acquire the qualified information illuminations would have done well to permit construction to proceed. To guarantee advancement is not upset, it is essential that the qualified data needed is supplied to the contractor proficiently and at once. However the RFI methodology is quite wasteful, because of the high extent of non-worth including deferrals which happen in acquiring the vital qualified data.

A progressing examination of the conveyance and qualified data stream forms inside construction ventures has highlighted the RFI process as a specific issue range. One of the major points of this examination has been to characterise and categorise the explanations why RFIs are issued and to quantify not just their degree and yet the different portions identifying with their transforming.

Preparatory comes about of this examination infer that an examination of both the drawing registers and the RFI procedure can furnish pointers of outline and documentation insufficiency and general undertaking exhibition. The investigation of two careful investigations (construction ventures) is incorporated and issues for further examination are distinguished.

Recounted proof in Australia infers that in the course of the last 10-15 years, there has been a diminishing in the level of nature of design and documentation being furnished to builders. It is likewise guaranteed that this has expedited a relating diminishment in construction prepare proficiency, showed by expanded levels of builder RFIs, outline updates, outline coordination issues, varieties and improve, with comparing builds in undertaking organisation workload for the different venture faculty.

As the nature of the design and documentation has a major impact on the general exhibition and productivity of construction ventures, a technique for evaluating outline and documentation insufficiency was considered essential. As the RFI methodology is essentially used to illuminate lacks of determination in the reported qualified data supplied, a dissection of this procedure furnishes an establishment for improving a technique for surveying plan and documentation quality and general duty display.

At the same time what is design and documentation quality? The point when recognising design quality, a great design will be viable (i.e. serve the reason for which it was expected) and constructible with the best conceivable economy and security. But whilst the design itself ought to be “viable”, it additionally ought to be imparted viably through the documentation (i.e. drawings, determinations, and so on.). The point when documentation quality is acknowledged, various criteria confirm the level of value:

• Timeliness -being supplied when needed in order to stay away from deferrals;
• Accuracy -free of blunders, clashes and inconsistencies;
• Completeness -giving all the qualified information needed;
• Coordination -careful coordination between outline restrains; and
• Conformance -gathering the necessities of exhibition models and statutory regulations

In this way, the nature of the outline and documentation procedure can essentially be demarcated as: The capability to furnish the contractor with all the informative data would have been wise to empower construction to be done as needed, productively and without prevention.

As the outline and documentation process has such a major bearing on the general exhibition of the finished task, a system to evaluate the nature of the outline and documentation methodology is likewise liable to furnish a marker of likely general undertaking exhibition.

Exhibition Indicators

As demonstrated above, it is recommended that the investigation of undertaking drawing and RFI registers can furnish exceptional markers of the nature of the outline and documentation transform furnished on construction ventures, by highlighting regions of insufficiency.

Drawing Registers

As the general nature of the documentation issued all through a task influences venture productivity, a modest investigation of the drawing registers gives an exceptional beginning implication of territories of likely documentation insufficiency. An investigation which highlights both the progressions in the amount of single contract drawings issued and the amount of updates made, permits correlations between ventures and the design controls included. In spite of the fact that the activity acquirement framework utilised on every task will have a huge impact on the effects accomplished, this might be considered when surveying the information gathered.

RFI Process

An examination of the RFI methodology furnishes an improved pointer of the general nature of the design and documentation transform by quantifying the degree of the insufficiencies in the reports and their relative intensity. Examining the volume of RFIs in connection to contract esteem and venture term furnishes an evidence of the degree of outline and documentation insufficiencies, whilst an evaluation of the reaction times to these RFIs furnishes an evidence of their intensity. In spite of the fact that the RFI procedure is utilised by builders and sub-foremen for a mixture of purposes, its essential capacity is to formally ask for extra informative content, or elucidations to existing informative data, in connection to how the venture is to be developed to meet the venture prerequisites. Because of the wide mixture of undertakings for which RFIs are utilised, just the examination of these essential RFIs – ordered as informative content illuminations – ought to be utilised to confirm the markers of the general nature of the design and documentation prepare furnished on every task.

Data Collection

The research method that will be followed in this paper will be Qualitative. The data will be collected mainly through the use of observations, interviews, verbal accounts, and face-to-face. The interviews will be the very important tool as it will focus on practicing experts on the topic from the market in the region. The selection of the qualitative method is because of the nature of the topic, further as the research will be theory testing then theory building (model building) it will need to use expert opinion on the topic. Following the philosophy of realism all the data will need to be real and related to the specific topic in hand, which is very specific to a certain sector, as mentioned construction, then to a specific region, Dubai. Following this methodology will involve inductive approach, starting from observations on how the project success is actually measured from the literature then from the reality in the practice in Dubai, then analysing the pattern of what is really success and what is not, then creating a tentative hypothesis through the findings and coming up with initial conclusions, the actual theory will be through the building of the model on how to reach the best practice to assure project success.

As mentioned, main data will be through interviews, the targeted interviewee will have to be involved in practice in Dubai in construction with government sponsored projects. Some of the options are: Engineers Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Meraas development, Emaar, Rand Transport Authority (RTA), and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). All of the previously mentioned projects sponsored by the government, either directly or indirectly – and by indirectly it means that the government is either the main source of funding the project or the brief and program is set by the government – mainly the government is the customer. Further, some other sources that could be interviewed will be from the opposite side; no developers and consultants who are working for the developers. Some of thesis candidates are Hopkins Architects, Robert Matthew and Stirrat Johnson-Marshall (RMJM), Atkins Middle East, Studio Altieri, Arif and Bintoak and Cracknel. What will be interesting in this data collection is that it will have three different perspectives that will be cross checked to conclude the findings from the view of the customer, consultant and contractor. Then the findings will be tied to reach what is best for all the three sides.

The main problems that is predicted in data collection will be having access to interviewees and time constraints. The first limitation will be controlled as the author is working in one of the mentioned companies and works in close ties with the others, allowing for access and trust to high profile people that are leading in the mentioned topic. As for the time constraints this will have to be controlled through time management and planning with coordination.

Data Analysis

Data will be analysed while following the methodology and will be inductive hypothesis. Following the research question, aims and objectives, data analysis should reason the findings, draw conclusions from all observations and come up with the hypothesis. Data analysis will follow all the observations found through the interviews and will come up with the main cause and driver for project success (relating to the topic) then using these findings and theories that are carried out by the practitioners and specialists it will assist in driving the model. Further when the model is in the creation, the interviewees can feed in directly and give feedback on it to develop it further, taking it from a tentative hypothesis to a theory.

In the perspective of contractor, generally basic deferral variables were: shop drawings, instalment delays, and updates in place and plan. From the advisor’s perspective, huge explanations behind deferrals were: cash issues, absence of brisk choice making by the holder, and an absence of acquaintanceship between subcontractor plans. From the possessor’s point of view, the elements initiating deferrals were: slips in framework plan, administration issues in task holder conglomeration, and absence of skilled labour. Three variables were generally significant: money stream challenges and monetary issues, issues with acquiring allow from diverse powers and government firms, and level offer score framework.

A questionnaire was designed for the interview. The respondents included 50 consultants, 50 contractors and 50 customers. The questions pertained to the reasons for delay in projects. The data obtained from the interviews was consolidated; the results are described below:

Owner/Customer Related Factors

Seventeen owner/customer identified postponement components were incorporated in the interview survey. Consistent with the overview outcomes, the most essential postpone consideration from the manager’s outlook is the unexpectedly poor results from the least bidders. Consistent with the review members, the other crux considers identified with the owner/customer which are bringing about deferral issue are: postpones in advancing instalments by the manager, Inadequate unanticipated arranging of the venture, defers in the endorsement of contract submittals to the manager, defers because of a moderate choice making methodology of the holder, and plan updates by the manager. The respondents accept that deficient accessible utilities on location and botches in soil examination are the minimum impacting elements in reason defers.

Aspects Pertaining to the Contractors

The agreement identified components were comprised of more than 20 postponement components where ‘delays in the sub-contractor’s work’ with essential list 45. The number (quantity) 74 was highlighted as a top generally basic component bringing about time overwhelm in the Dubai development segment. Add up to 46 out of 98 members (47%) chose profoundly imperative alternative on the statute scale. Thus, unfortunate capability aptitudes and experience, unfortunate arranging and planning, deficiency of qualified designs, postpone in readiness of shop drawings, and money stream issues confronted by the contractor were stacked up as afterward five explanations for postponement consistent with their particular significance lists.

Consultant Related Factors

Because of a high level of effect (47%), delay in regard of shop drawings with most astounding essentialness record (i.e. 34.23) was picked as the most impacting component around 11 postponement variables identified with the specialists.

What’s more, outline progressions, unfortunate and lacking capability of supervisory staff, documentation issues, also nonattendance of crux workforce were stacked up as afterward four significant issues that bring about postponing the development ventures in Dubai. Then again, consistent with the advisors, outline lapses and unfortunate conveyance and coordination by the advisor architect have less significance in deferring the ventures.

External Factors

There were aggregate 12 outer variables likewise incorporated in the poll to see their effect on the development ventures. It was uncovered that the ‘non usage of expert development contractual management’ and ‘rise in the costs of the materials’ with their separate records 37.97 and 37.93 were the generally noteworthy outer variables initiating defers in Dubai development segments. Numerous other outside components for example not making a difference deliberate building techniques, postpones in determining contractual issues, budgetary nearby also worldwide conditions, and clashes around builder, possessor and specialist were likewise stamped as an basic outside components bring about deferrals.

The study was led to discover the most vital variables bringing on postponement openly fabricating undertakings in Saudi Arabia. In examining the postponement variables from the points of view of the development members, the most noteworthy mean normal (34.54) indicates that great amounts of postponement are happening because of the builders. The next most elevated average normal (31.22) of postponement variables is speaking for an owner/customer as second generally affecting development party bringing on postponement. Likewise, advisor identified variables and outside elements were having slightest mean midpoints 29.51 and 24.39 respectively.

With a specific end goal to recognise postpone figures with most elevated effects on the development undertakings in Dubai, the analyst endeavoured to rank every one of the 63 postponement variables without ordering them in any class. It was discovered that top 10 elements bringing on postponement are: (1) Low exhibition of the least bidder contractor in the Government Tendering framework, (2) postponement in sub-foremen function, (3) unfortunate capability, abilities and knowledge of the contractor’s specialised staff, (4) unfortunate arranging and planning of the undertaking by the contractor, (5) postponement in advancement instalments by the holder, (6) deficiency of qualified designs, (7) postponement in arrangement of shop drawings (8) money stream issues confronted by the contractor, (9) insufficient unanticipated arranging of the activity, and (10) non-use of expert development contractual administration.

Ethical Issues

There are a number of ethical issues that have been considered throughout the process of this research. The researcher ensured that no plagiarism is done for the referred literature; this has been the basis of the research in order to make it a proper academic paper. But more importantly, care has been taken not to fall through the trap of observations that will lead to conclusions that might not be as accurate and conclusive as required. This point will be controlled through assuring transparency, confidentiality, voluntary and impartiality (Biggam 2011). Further, the researcher has ensured assure that no cultural harm is allowed. As this research will relate to a certain region and will touch upon cultural factors, these need to be expressed and conveyed without any bias and/or any strong opinions that might be prejudiced or unfair. Further, care has been taken so as to safeguard the sentiments of the society.

Conclusion

Dubai presents a unique set of circumstances where the construction business works. Variables, for example quick construction in construction, tight construction plan, special building characteristics, the contribution of worldwide foremen and advisors, multinational work strengths, interesting society and religion, promptly accessible venture, and blended contracts and conditions create specific effects on construction venture advance. With the effects of these variables, postponement is a normal issue for construction ventures in Dubai. This exploration plans to distinguish the most significant explanations for postponement in Dubai construction ventures. A serial of survey overview and meetings were led to investigate every undertaking member’s commitments to the explanations for postponement. The outcomes show that the major explanations for postponement differ from the improbable undertaking term, assigned sub-foremen, and the society sways.

During the past couple of years, Dubai has seen a striking construction in its investment furthermore social improvement. Major social improvement ventures are secured by both open and private areas, which incorporate lodging tasks, doctor’s facilities, schools and instructive establishments and different utilities. Given its social foundation, acquirement framework and operational situations, the blasting assembling and construction industry is confronting numerous remarkable tests which influence venture advance. For instance:

Numerous expansive ventures were launched in the recent years. Such improvements appeal high calibre, not just in the kind of work and construction materials but also in outline for a high standard of living. The outline, construction and administration of these tasks are testing to the neighbourhood construction industry.

Since the indigenous associations regularly don’t have the capabilities to plan, construction or administration these undertakings, remote associations are included in all the industry segments. They carry the state of craft construction innovation and administration methods, in any case, a considerable lot of them are included in contractual claims and debates with undertaking postponement and cost overwhelm.

There are countless construction firms that are unable to finalise huge scale or fair estimated tasks. They frequently postpone their work because of the restricted assets. It is astounding that these associations are effortlessly influenced by the variance of the business.

Due to the high requesting industry, the greater part of the construction companies are excessively burdened by taking a bigger number of activities than what they are capable of. The incalculable number of activities is frequently beyond their ability and the result is delay in projects.

The workforces utilised in tasks are of varied nationalities, which carry diverse conventions, standards, propensities, religions. For illustration, the religious occasions incorporate sacred Friday for Muslims, Sunday occasion for Christians, and customary occasions and celebrations for Indians. The expatriate labourers prove to be a substantial brunt to the real estate market.

There is a requirement for experienced workers and expertise in the local business. Numerous associations endure from the high turnover of skilled technicians, builds and labours. The effect is truly extreme throughout the high season of construction period.

A majority of the expatriate labourers are from south Asia and as such, they cannot sustain the harsh climate. This regularly decreases the output and delays venture advancement. Hence, the function programmes from the customers or the foremen need to be checked by encounter organisers to incorporate smoking season alteration keeping in mind the end goal to keep away from being over confident in programme.

In Dubai, the agreement dialect is dependably the local language, Arabic. The majority of the undertaking members like to talk and compose in their own particular dialect without utilising qualified translators. This influences the communication, advancement and nature of function. Utilising the Arabic dialect in the agreement archives is an essential issue and a large portion of the construction associations have not determined this issue.

Law of Sharia, systems and conventions for work license and visa provision and other nearby regulations (e.g. provision for construction or enter grants) could create basic effects on undertaking advance. For instance, the construction work in Free Economic Zone (FEZ) needs uncommon licenses which are under the control of the FEZ.

There is a legitimate prerequisite for outside associations to structure “associations” with local associations with a specific end goal to qualify to bid for construction projects, and this applies to sub-contracting divisions as well. As a result, there is regularly a distinction in the working systems and frameworks worked by remote and indigenous associations, and likewise, in partnership firms. The scenario is exacerbated in construction where there are numerous parties included in an activity. Consistent with the legislature regulations, the UAE national must have no less than 51% portion of the joint step which authorise them to settle on prompt and critical choices, if clashes climb between collaborators. It is not simple to change a neighbourhood friend’s choice in the event that it has been affirmed. This can antagonistically influence the work advancement in construction ventures.

Given such a mind-boggling construction scenario, it is not astounding that many tasks are postponed. Venture members are included in extended contractual cases and difference of opinions, frequently determined either by intervention, critical bargain or lawful forms. This paper presents the result of an examination activity which expects to distinguish the essential explanations for activity delays in Dubai construction venture and to categorise these aspects with reference to the effects upon the activity finish time as well as the parties involved.

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Abstract

Real Estate Industry in UAE has been experiencing growth of 20% per annum. As demand for housing increases, the industry strives to meet the demand by rolling out multimillion apartment projects such as the one in the Greens at Emirates Golf Club, Dubai.

However, such big projects may not meet their goal, especially when response from end users is negative. Fortunately, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Dubai (RERA) has been mandated by the government to regulate this industry and review customer concerns.

In the last one year, occupants of the newly completed multimillion-dollar apartment project in The Greens have registered to RERA on the billing system on water and electricity consumption. This prompted RERA to commission an inquiry into the planning of this apartment. Interestingly, the body established some faults in the planning blueprint. Due to confidentially, I have chosen to call it Project X.

Thus, this research treatise attempts to review the question explicitly; how do bad planning affects the outcome of a project? Qualitative research methods are adopted and recommendations made from the findings. The findings supported literature review, which suggested that bad planning leads to end-user dissatisfaction since success of a project is determines by end-users’ perception on satisfaction level.

Introduction

Planning determines customer satisfaction and perception on success of a project. Planning process involves incorporation of different views of stakeholders into a single unit outcome expected to reflect these views with precision. However, the overall success is determined by end users who are the target consumers of the project.

Quality of service delivery and tailoring customized demands for potential service users determine final perception placed on the project. Therefore, planners often strive to meet demands of the market with the cost constraint. Despite their measure variables of success, actual success is determined by perception of final consumers.

Thus, this research treatise attempts to explicitly establish the relationship between bad planning and success of the final outcome of a project form the customer satisfaction and perception angle. Besides, the research will review findings and make independent recommendations on the research topic.

Background of research

Recently, the topic of utility and service charges has become a hot debate amongst the residents of apartment complexes in Dubai. Many people pay utility bills that do not reflect their actual consumption of electricity and water.

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Dubai (RERA), which is the sector responsible for these matters, had to step in and find out the root cause of this problem. After requesting to have a look at documentations of the planning phases of apartment complex projects, they have discovered that a mistake was made during the planning process of most of the apartment complexes within the Emirate (Deulgaonkar 2012).

This mistake was that there was no separate electricity or water meter installed in each of the apartments in the complex, which means that the entire electricity and water consumption of all the residents was measured by one meter then the bill split between water and electricity consumption.

Reflectively, it is out of order to fully and categorically assert that planning is the backbone of the success of a project. Research suggests that project planning and project success have a ‘cause and effect’ relationship (Lipovetsky et al. 1997).

This relationship is simultaneous and cannot operate independently of the other. Moreover, Dvir claim that “planning is considered a central element of modern project management” (Dvir, 2005, p. 200). Project success lies upon proper planning and proper execution. A mistake in planning can result in multiple problems arising not only during the project lifecycle, but also after the project is completed (Fishbein 1967).

Mochal (2003) states that

It’s very helpful to have an agreed upon and consultative set of project management procedures that are used to manage the project. These will include how the project manager will manage scope, issues, risks, communication, the work plan, etc.

Again, the key is to define these all upfront to manage expectations better. For instance, if you define and get agreement on the procedure for approving scope change requests, you should have a much easier time managing change once the project begins (Mochal 2003, p. 1).

Research problem

This research will deal with the problem of how a mistake in the initial planning phase of an apartment complex construction project in The Greens at Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, has produced a long term negative effect on the residents of that complex. For confidentiality reasons, the project will be referred to as project X.

Research questions

Research questions for this project are listed as;

1. What are the short term problems occupants of the apartment at the Greens Emirates Golf Club experience with the billing system?
2. What are the long term problems the occupants of the apartment at the Greens Emirates Golf Club project to experience in the future when correctional measures are not taken?
3. What are the suggestions of the participants on the billing problem in project X?
4. What are the recommendations of the RERA on the problem of project X?

Research aim

The aim of this research is to examine how bad planning affects the outcome of project X.

Research objectives

Research objectives encompass the expected results and focal point of the research in order to merge hypothesis and actual results. The following are the objective of project X.

1. To explore how project planning and project success are related to each other.
2. To investigate the case of project X.
3. To suggest solutions to solve the problem of project X

Rationale of research

This research will explore how proper project planning leads to project success. It will also use the case of project X to show how bad planning results in mistakes that may not necessarily show while the project is undergoing, but are visible and have a serious effect on stakeholders after the project is completed.

Besides, the project attempts to identify specific concerns, possible reasons for the oversight in project planning, and assumptions made by planners in this multi million apartment project.

Research hypotheses

There are lots of researches existing on the relationship between project planning and project success but mainly are done by identifying the success measures of project organizations and developers, not its end-users. I will be focusing more on the point of view of the end-users of a project with the aid of my case study, project X. My hypothesis for this assignment is: How bad planning affects the outcome of a project.

Literature rewiew

Project planning is by far the most important phase in the project management life cycle. It is easy to plan a project but the challenge comes in how to “correctly” plan that project in order to meet all objectives and goals.

A study conducted by Dvir (2005) and Shenhar et al. (2001) shows that many projects were considered failures because they “failed to produce actual benefits to the customer” (Shenhar 1997, p. 8) although they were perfectly executed as per the project plan.

This shows that when setting goals and objectives in the planning stage, project managers tend to focus mainly on solving problems that can only be seen at the time of project completion rather than on situations that may arise sometime in the future to final consumers of the project end product.

People measure the success of a project according to their point of view (Shenhar et al. 2001). Some projects can be forecasted as failure by their developers, but can turn out to be widely successful amongst the customers, and vice versa.

Organizations measure success by meeting budgets, deadlines, and technical specifications of their project whereas customers call a project successful when their needs are fulfilled and their satisfaction is achieved. Pidd and Robinson (1998) assert that:

The definition of success is based on a four stage model of changing perceptions and it assumes that success is not a simple binary variable, but can vary considerably throughout the life of a project. To keep your projects from ending up in this gray area (or in the failure range), you must avoid making the single biggest project management mistake: inadequate project definition and planning (Pidd and Robinson 1998, p. 200).

Therefore, determinant of project success on the side of the consumers or uses of the final product rely on what they define as a value against monetary use. It is important to reflect on consultative planning to incorporate needs and customize demands of the stakeholder or intended uses of a project. In a residential apartment project, utilities contribute substantially in the classification of satisfaction against monetary expenditure.

Customers across the business globe demand satisfaction against value of their money. Comfort and accuracy in design determine satisfaction level. When purchasing or renting an apartment, a potential customer will review maintenance cost, utility reliability, and cost of using the utilities such as electricity, water, internet, among others.

According to Mochal (2003), as painful as it is to define the project while it is in progress, it’s still preferable to ignoring the problem. The first option may end up causing rework, resulting in additional cost and a later delivery date. However, ignoring the problem may end up making the entire solution irrelevant or obsolete as soon as it is delivered (Mochal 2003, p. 1).

Quality and authenticity of services besides durability and comfort of an apartment is important and largely determine consumer satisfaction (Oliver 1980). In business, consumers rarely complain when satisfied. However, since money is involved, customers always demand quality. Consumers rely heavily on experience to evaluate quality of service and reliability of billing equipment used.

When expectations fall below the perceived quality, satisfactory level will be lower in the ideal perception. Service delivery must, therefore, align to consumer expectation since consumption decision is often controlled by consumers’ perception on a service. Olatoye and Araloyin assert that:

Services have become more and more important factor for organizations. Most service providers’ depends on performing the services correctly but also others find services as an important means of differentiation and creating better customer satisfaction.

The problem facing many real estate agents is how to meet their client’s taste, retain them and be able to gain competitive advantage over others. There is need to know what the consumers actually value so as to meet their needs and probably retain them (Olatoye and Araloyin 2011, p. 140).

Thus, the outcome of a project should strive to create conducive atmosphere in the interaction chain so as to make views of customer important. Therefore, “developing a better understanding of the perspective of the concerned consumer and devising strategies to increase their service quality. This will give the consumer satisfaction and also encourage repeat business” (Olatoye & Araloyin 2011, p. 140).

Research methodology

This is a systematic but comprehensive method of data collection, grouping, and analysis in order to scientifically apply to reason from the analyzed data. As a matter of fact, the result of this process combines outcome, purpose of the research, and actuality.

As stated by Kothari (2004), a blue print is transformed into a research design through series of operational study aimed at drawing a factual outcome comprising of evidence backed claims.

In project X, qualitative analysis will be adopted to incorporate a systematic investigation in line with a specific phenomenon approach. The actual scenario is then analyzed through mathematical, statistical, and computational modus operandi (Kothari 2004).

Research approach

This research would be conducted using a qualitative case study approach. I chose the qualitative approach rather than a quantitative because the scope of the research is focused, subjective, and dynamic and discovery oriented. The qualitative approach is better suited to gain proper insight on the situation of the case study.

Besides, qualitative data analysis is more detailed than quantitative one. Moreover, this approach will create room for further analysis using different and divergent tools for checking the degree of error and assumptions limit (Dvir et al. 2003).

Data to be gathered will be regarding

• How correct planning is important for projects to succeed.
• How success is measured by both organizations and customers.

Selection of the Empirical Context and Research Participants

Since I am unemployed, I approached the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Dubai (RERA) and asked to be permitted to interview experts in planning evaluation, and those who were selected as members of the ad hoc committee to investigate into complains registered by occupants of apartments in project X. Their opinion and finding would support my hypotheses.

I conducted one-to-one interviews with subject matter experts in the field and analyzed the findings. I have been keen following the development in media station of faulty utility equipment and exaggerated bills to people living in the apartments under project X.

Thus, this formed the rationale for my choice of experts in the real estate industry who have been on the receiving end of the heated debate. In accomplishing this motive, I have opted for a ‘one-on-one interview method’ as a means of conducting the primary methods of collecting information.

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority in Dubai (RERA) is a government regulatory body on real estate development industry. The body has the best experts who have adept knowledge in real estate planning and review quality assurance on the side of consumer satisfaction.

From the body, I was accorded support and an introduction letter to interview willing experts within the industry. The ‘one on one interview’ comprised of open ended questions directed towards the main hypothesis of how bad planning affect the outcome of a project in the real estate industry.

The reason for use of open ended but directive questions was to get an expertise opinion on how planning mistake influence customer satisfaction in the real estate industry.

Interviews conducted comprised of eight experts across the regulatory body who were involved in the inquiry over complaints presented by occupants of apartments in project X. Criteria for selection depended on willingness to give an interview and availability of each target interviewee.

The participants comprised of four committee members of the ad hoc commission of inquiry instituted by RERA on project X, two experts in customer satisfaction assurance, and two real estate planning reviewers. Their period of employment in KERA varies from two years to ten years.

As part of confidentiality agreement, I have intentionally withheld their names and respective positions since the interview requested for their independent opinion which may not align to the position of KERA on errors in planning of project X besides findings from the commission of inquiry.

Data collection

Adopting semi-structured open-ended questions interview, data collection through one-on-one interview took a period of six days. The choice of one-on-one interview was based on the rationale of gaining insight on feelings, opinion, and experiences besides official findings of the ad hoc committee. Moreover, the semi-structured interviews give room for further probe depending on nature of data collected (Mugenda & Mugenda 2003).

The process of a one-on-one interview involves scheduling a meeting between each informant at a time. As a matter of time, this method is easy to apply and allow direct interaction with the informant. Besides, these meetings are not complex to arrange since each of them involves the informant and the interviewer.

In addition, the interviewer has full control of the interview process and likely to get first-hand information with minimal biases. Moreover, the researcher is in a position to seek further clarification on specific ideas and responses given within the interview time. From responses gathered, one-on-one interview makes it easy to scribe clear responses that answer the questions asked.

One-on-one semi-structured interviews allow for presentation of open-ended questions which attract diverse open ended answers. This is a plus on side of the interviewer who will have an opportunity to gather expansive answers as the respondent has freedom of speaking widely on problem statement.

In the process, the respondent may in fact, provide an insight into a forgotten aspect of the study aim. The introduction letter from the HR of RERA enabled me to interact with members of staff in this regulatory authority freely.

Besides organizing an interviewing room, the HR officer at RERA gave me a list of the most appropriate respondents from which I managed to convince eight to participate in my project. Besides, the HR officer gave me a research paper on similar topic from their archive.

This was helpful since I was in a position to review and understand background of the research problem and its current position. Besides, from the archive report, I was in a position to make a comparison between interviewee’s reply and past reply on more or less the same topic. My own experience as a tenant in our rented apartment helped me to clearly ask intelligent and deep questions on effects of poor planning.

In addition, the company of the HR officer made it easy to win confidence of the participants when seeking an audience with them. Since I accorded the research project professional seriousness, the willing respondents gave reliable, credible, and informed responses to questions asked.

Data Analysis

Data collected through one-on-one interviews were scrutinized in detail. The analysis intended to identify evidence supporting the claim that bad planning affects the success of a project outcome. Though open-ended, each question asked was comprehensive to ensure that respondents had an opportunity to give deep and answers that provide an insight into research problem solution.

Transcription was then done to each of the recorded interview processes. For each response, from each participant, the recorded transcripts were perused to coin relevant and most appropriate response. Factually, instances of divergent or convergent opinions by one or more respondents were marked appropriately (Silverman 2010).

Expected findings

After going through some of the literature, I expect to find that project X is facing its issue because it did not put a lot of consideration to customer satisfaction when planning the project.

Projects managers must focus on customer satisfaction as much as, focusing on meeting project management goals and objectives. I found that sometimes, project managers get too absorbed with meeting goals set within the project management field and forget that the reason behind their project is actually to satisfy its end-users.

Findings and Discussion

Despite professional planning and approval from RERA, mistakes often occur in real estate plan execution and lead to oversight in parts which may look negligible and seriously affect end user’s budget. The participants are from the regulatory body and 50% of them involved in the ad hoc committee inquiry on customer dissatisfaction with planning of project X.

The entire participants had similar answers to QUESTION 1 and stated that short term problems experienced by occupants of apartments in project X were exaggerated utility bills on water and electricity consumption.

Specifically, the participants drawn from the ad hoc committee stated that this problem was as a result of installation of a single meter unit to bill two utility services; that is water and electricity. Therefore, service would read the meter and charge recorded value for water and electricity independently.

QUESTION 2 attracted mixed reaction with Interviewee 5 who had a different view on long term effect of planning negligence on project X. If the fault in utility meter is not corrected, seven participants suggested that occupants of these rental apartments may move to other apartments.

However, Interviewee 5 opines that this is negligible since occupants of project X apartments were well financially endowed and liked the exclusive environment. In addition, he opines that there will be no long term problem since the ad hoc committee had made a recommendation to planners of project X to overhaul single-unit meter and replace it with independent meters for it utility service.

In answering QUESTION 3, Interviewee 1, Interviewee 2, Interviewee 3, and Interviewee 4 who were in the ad hoc committee of inquiry on project X , suggested an overhaul of the meter system and replacement with an independent one for each utility bill.

Specifically, Interviewee 3 stated that the problem experienced by occupants of project X apartments was as a result of an oversight in planning despite the fact that this project targeted choosy clients.

Interviewee 5 and Interviewee 6 from customer satisfaction assurance department recommended for compensation of affected occupants by utility provision services by offering free water and electricity for a specified period of time and changes are made. However, they suggested that this would be a public relations exercise.

The two planning experts, that is, Interviewee 7 and Interviewee 8 establishment of professional approval and consultative planning between the planner and end-user who in fact, had paid for the apartments before completion. In addition, they opine that the single-unit meter should be replaced with independent utility meters for water and electricity.

QUESTION 4 attracted similar response from participants who were aware of the recommendations made by the ad hoc committee. All stated that RERA recommended review of the plan to incorporate independent utility billing meter for water and electricity consumption.

Interviewee 6 added that the process of modifying the plan and actualizing changes was to be done in presence of the authority representatives and costs passed to planner and developers.

Summary of the Findings

All the participants shared a common stand on effect of poor planning and oversight on success of project X apartments. As projected in the review of literature, it is apparent that incorporation of a single utility measurement bill for more than one utility service has diverse effects on end-users who complained of exaggerated billing rates. Consultation with the staff of RERA identified the effects of poor planning of project X on end-users as follows:-

1. Customer dissatisfaction (I 7, I 8).
2. Extra cost on the side of customers (I 1, I 2,I 3,I 4, I 5,I 6).
3. Inconveniency in utility service delivery (I 1, I 2, I 3, I 4, I 5, I 6).
4. Extra costs on side of developers due to modification after completion (I 6).
5. Inconveniency on end users during the modification period (I 5, I 6).

Conclusion

Literature review on this topic drew a clear picture of support of research problem before carrying out actual research. As a matter of fact, the finding of this research affirmed literature review validity. The findings revealed that poor planning affects satisfaction level on the side of end users who would always want value for their money.

Due to bad planning, neglecting billing meter specification has resulted in series of protests forcing RERA to form a committee of inquiry. The finding of this committee revealed that concerns raised by occupants of project X apartments were genuine. “There is need to know what the consumers actually value so as to meet their needs and probably retain them” (Olatoye & Araloyin 2011, p. 140).

The participants confessed that success of a project entirely depends on consultative planning since what matter is not the blueprint, but end user’s satisfaction level against expectations. The findings by the ad hoc committee supported Olatoye and Araloyin study on effective planning in real estate industry and success as perceived by end-users.

As revealed by participants, installation of single-unit meter instead of an independent one for each utility service has made the rather successful multimillion-dollar project rejected by end-users who hand to incur costs beyond their consumption.

Among effects of bad planning on success of a real estate project as perceived by end-users include customer dissatisfaction, extra cost on the side of customers, inconveniency in utility service delivery, extra costs on side of developers due to modification after completion and inconveniency on end-users during the modification period.

Recommendations

As confirmed in the research findings and literature review, it is necessary to carry out consultative planning in order to meet demands of customers since success of a project is dependent on customer satisfaction level against their expectation. Thus, I would recommend the following for the study:

1. Proper planning should be carried out to include utility equipment and other fittings in the real estate industry.
2. Consultative planning should be adopted to incorporate views of the entire stakeholder before commencement of a project since its success will depend on end-users’ perception (Nicosia 1966).
3. A project plan should be flexible to accommodate adjustments which may be recommended after completion.
4. Project planner should incorporate research finding of the RERA body on customer views and expectations before transforming a plan into a structure.

Areas of future research

The focus of this project was based on end-user satisfaction measurement variables. The research was entirely based on determinant of end-user satisfaction level based on their perception.

Thus, little is mentioned on the cost constraints and planning rationale on the side of planners. Hence, further study should be carried out on to incorporate cost constraint and planning rationale before making an inclusive conclusion.

Reference List

Deulgaonkar, P 2012, “RERA blames chiller cost for service fee hike”, Emirates 24/7. Web.

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In a series of radio broadcasts, the BBC has termed the growth and spread of the internet as a ‘virtual revolution’. From the fledgling computer technology barely forty years ago, to the largest infrastructural outlay of all time, the internet remains to be a true wonder of our time. Indeed, a fitting description for this point in time this point in time will the information age. The internet continues to make possible services that were beyond the wildest dreams of man barely a hundred years ago. In the famous Greek myth of Achilles, he had a weakness. He was vulnerable at his heel. This aptly describes the situation the internet infrastructure finds itself in today.

There is an ever-increasing demand for internet connections through IP, but there is a lack of corresponding IP addresses to meet this demand. The world is approaching an imminent depletion of the IP addresses all internet devices need in order to connect to the web. This is because of capacity limitations of communication protocol- IPv4-which provides the language of communication among internet-connecting devices. The development of a new protocol, IPv6 is complete and it is now taking over from IPv4. There are myriad issues surrounding this change.

Technical issues with IPv4

IPv4 is one of the marvels of the internet. Its capacity to provide a communication platform for the internet right from inception, to the mindboggling communication network it has now become, remains to be a true technological wonder. IPv4 “has remained almost unchanged since its inception in the late 1970’s” (Comer, 2006, p. 562). Since the internet went global, it has been growing at an alarming rate. It has steadily seen one hundred percent growth every nine to fifteen months.

However, IPv4’s time is running out because of unforeseeable limitations that are inbuilt, key of which is the 32-bit configuration. Other limitation it has include security limitations and the need for a vast number of additional protocols that were required over time to upgrade its performance over the years, making its administration complicated. At the time of its introduction, the internet was a very small network mainly used for research.

It was under experimentation for military and government and educational uses. At the time, mainframes were still in vogue and no PCs existed. Foretelling the future of this fledgling technology and the traffic volumes it would generate barely 40 years down the line was impossible. Mun and Lee (2005, p.1) attest that, the “current status of IPv4 is beyond imagination of the initial motivation to create it”.

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) coordinates the allocation of the IP addresses globally. “Specifically, IANA allocates and maintains unique codes and numbering systems that are used in the technical standards (“protocols”) that drive the Internet” (IANA, 2010). 151 million addresses were still available for assignment for general use as at September 2010. This is in a context of very high demand. “The world’s IP address consumption rate peaked earlier this year at a new all time high of an equivalent rate of 243 million addresses per year” (Huston, 2010). This means that we are looking at a time lime of months before the depletion of the entire pool of available IP addresses available for allocation. IANA works through five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) through which it assigns IPs for distribution.

The adoption, in the early eighties of IPv4 as the sole communication language for all devices connected to the internet in the US, made it emerge as the common communication protocol for the entire world as the internet grew. It continues to be the major protocol in use today for this purpose after it proved resilient and easily adaptable to new developments. Comer (2006, p.562) observes that, “The longevity of version 4 shows that the design is flexible and powerful”. Its simple design has proved very helpful since all that has been required to upgrade communication systems has been new protocols built to work on the IPv4 platform.

The designers of IPv4 used a 32-bit configuration. At the time, “a 32-bit address space was more than sufficient” (Comer, 2006, p.562). This provided a possible upper limit of -two to the thirty-second power – possible IP addresses. This was excessively radical for its time because in the context, it was difficult to imagine that there would be that many mainframes all connected to the internet to use up the IP address space provided by IPv4. Comer (2006, p. 562) observes that at the time, “Only a handful of organizations used a LAN, and none had a PC”.

However, the quick advent in the next few years and popularity of the PC changed all that. This change from that time stretching to the sheer number of internet-connected devices currently in use has out stretched IPv4’s potential. “These days we are turning on in excess of 200 million new internet services every year, and today we’ve used up most of the 4.4 billion addresses that are encompassed by the IP protocol” (Huston, 2010).

However, “the most significant demand on the technology does not arise from added network connections, but from additional traffic” (Comer, 2006, p.9), due to changing user patterns. The traffic patterns change seasonally depending on applications in demand at any one time. For example, “when users begun to browse information using services like the World Wide Web traffic increased dramatically” (Comer, 2006, p9). Comer (2006, p.9) adds that, “later when file sharing became popular, traffic patterns changed again”. In addition to this, many devices connect to the internet on their own right and require an IP as a stand-alone location.

Cell phones have literally blown away any chance of IPv4 remaining the main internet communications protocol. Comer (2006, p.562) warns that, “If each cell phone is assigned an IP address, addresses will be exhausted quickly”. This has put pressure on the available IP addresses and it seems certain that the currently available IPs will run out within the next two years if the current assignment trend remains. New internet markets in developing countries especially in Asia drive the demand for IP addresses, coupled with the introduction of newer devices in the markets. The Asia Pacific regional registry (APNIC) has noted this.

Huston (2010) says, “At the current level of demand APNIC would completely exhaust its address pools by the end of 2011, or at best in early 2012. In addition, the new devices each require its own IP to be part of the global internet. This has necessitated the development of a new protocol – IPv6.

IPv6 will alleviate some of the shortcomings of the IPv4 protocol. It has a 132-bit configuration, which promises innumerable IP allocations, increasing the current capacity of IPv4 by a factor of at least a billion. Beijnum (2006, p.2) states, “the most obvious and most important advantage of IPv6 is that the addresses are longer, which makes for a much, much larger address space”. “The actual number of individual addresses possible with 128-bits goes beyond numbers anyone except astronomers and particle physicists are familiar with” (Beijnum, 2006, p2). This means that the demand expansion for IP addresses by new devices such as phones to be recognized as IPs will be adequately met and IPv6 is anticipated to serve the internet needs of the world for at least 50 years.

However, “The question of how to partition the IPv6 address space has generated much discussion” (Comer, 2006, p.574). In the same discussion, Comer (2006, p.574) identifies, “two central issues: how to manage address assignment and how to map an address to a route”. “Unlike the current internet, which uses a two-level hierarchy of network prefix (assigned by an ISP) and a host suffix (assigned by an organization), the large address space in IPv6 permits a multi-level hierarchy or multiple hierarchies” (Comer , 2006, p. 574). This presents new challenges in devising a hierarchy of authority.

IPv6 will provide better routing for datagram since it has a longer address space enabling optimization of identification functions. Optimized of security features occurs under IPv6. This optimization is only an option in IPv4. Additional benefits of IPv6 are that it, “supports new features while enhancing enhances others, including-end to-end connectivity, plug and play autoconfiguration, built-in security, mobility, multicast and support of larger data packets” (Martínez, 2010, p.32).

IPv6 will not give us a system of inexhaustible IPs. It also has an upper limit, which we will exhaust with time. In this regard, it is a stopgap measure and not a permanent solution to the IP space problem. Work on the next generation protocol must begin in earnest during the implementation of IPv6 to avoid in the future a similar scenario to what we are facing now. Predictions point to a highly connected world with an extremely high number of internet connected devices all over the globe.

Since IPv6 promises better functionality, its uptake requires fast tracking in order to realize its potential. The protocol’s design should be for the long haul with possibility of interoperability with the next generation protocol. Massey et al identify routing scalability problems as one of those that IPv6 does not solve, but in fact, its deployment has the potential to make things worse. They say, “IPv6 removes the address shortage problem, however its deployment may potentially further exacerbate the routing scalability challenges facing us today” (Massey et al, 2007). They propose a solution they consider simple and effective which is to, “separate globally routable addresses (GRA) from globally deliverable addresses (GDA)” (Massey et al, 2007).

Status of IPv6Deployment

The uptake of IPv6 stood at 15 percent of available allocations by 2006. Comer (2006, p. 547) says, “Only 15% of address space has been assigned at present.” There are a number of factors responsible for this. The key factor is compatibility. The two protocols are really two different languages and as such, devices programmed to operate in IPv4 cannot communicate with devices on IPv6 directly. IPv6 lacks backward compatibility with IPv4. Mitigation measures envisaged to tackle this problem include “tunneling and translation” (Mun & Lee, 2005, p4), to allow for a transitional period where both IPv4 and IPv6 will be used in tandem before transition to IPv6 is completed.

Tunneling makes it possible for IPv6 nodes to operate inside an IPv4 network and to communicate with each other. On the other hand, translation makes it possible for communication between IPv4 and IPv6 nodes. The motivation for the deployment of these two mechanisms is the fact that the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 will not take place in a day, but will be a gradual process over time. There will be need to ensure IPv6 nodes can communicate with each other and that all other nodes can communicate.

An IPv6 node that is able to communicate with both IPv4 and IPv6 nodes operates as a “dual stack” system. This means that depending on the communication input or destination, the node will prioritize one of the two protocols to enable it communicate with a peer. Several tunneling systems are available for different needs. Initially, IPv6 nodes will be communicating via tunneling to IPv6 nodes in an IPv4 network. As IPv6 network develops and as the phasing out of IPv4 nodes happen, the network will become primarily IPv6. At this point IPv4 nodes will now communicate over IPv6 networks. This stage will happen during the final stages of the transition from IPv4 to IPv6.

Network Address Translation (NAT) works by using a single IP to represent entire network, usually private networks. It translates all IP communications from its network into a single public domain IP; hence, someone outside of that network must communicate through it or receive communication via a translator. Within the network, sub-domains are used. This works to create a secure environment for the private network since it has a single gate through which it communicates with the rest of the world. This makes its administration easy and suspicious activity is easily recognized and dealt with. It also effectively reduces the number of IPs required to meet the needs of that particular network.

The result is availability of IPs for other users. Its use came in as a security measure so that private networks could communicate securely over public networks but in recent times, it has played a significant role in reducing the impact of IP space depletion. Despite its usefulness for the moment, NAT has its limitations. Huston, (2010) says, “Our experience suggests that address sharing only works up to a point, then it breaks everything badly”. He goes on to add that NAT is “at best a short term stop gap measure, and is not a sustainable option that is an alternative to IPv6” (Huston, 2010).

“Network providers in Asia seems to be especially interested in IPv6 deployment” (Dunmore, 2005, p4). The reason is that Asia joined the internet revolution slightly later than the west, they therefore have fewer IPv4 addresses, and address shortage will affect the region most, as they have the fastest growing demand for IP addresses. “This has led to some governments declaring their support for IPv6” (Dunmore, 2005, p4). Japan has some of the strongest IPv6 uptake strategies in the world. Mun and Lee (2005, p.5) observe that, “Japan is especially strong in experiments on combining consumer appliances with IPv6”.

The switch is slowest in Europe and America, since the use of IPv4 is widespread, and the switch will be most expensive in these regions. “In North America, the networking hardware vendors, such as CISCO and Juniper have successfully introduced IPv6 equipments into the market” (Mun & Lee, 2005, p.4). In addition, “operating systems such as Linux and Windows, also support IPv6 in their latest releases” (Mun & Lee, 2005, p.4) There is evidence of institutional support for IPv6 uptake in Europe. “The deployment of IPv6 in Europe has been boosted by the Framework Programmes of European Commission” (Dunmore, 2007, p.4)

Uptake of IPv6

Transition from IPv4 to IPv6 will be slow and will take a number of years. This is because of the sheer number of devices that are currently online operating on the IPv4 platform. The entire technical world is bracing for a period where the two protocols will operate side by side as IPv4 is gradually phased out as IPv6 becomes the dominant protocol. The following factors promote the uptake of IPv6. The features promised by IPv6 are superior in many ways to those of IPv4. IPv6 satisfactorily solves the key problem of address space providing a new lease of life to IP address allocation.

IPv6 will simplify somewhat operations and management of the protocol since, “Many additional protocols are needed for operation of IPv4”, (Mun &Lee, 2005). There will be no more need for these additional protocols. Additional benefits of IPv6 are “auto configuration, simplified header format, interoperability, integrated security, and route optimisation for mobile terminals” (Mun & Lee, 2005, p.7).

Newer devices released to the market are coming with IPv6 capabilities. This will make the uptake quicker and more efficient. As Dunmore (2005, p4) reports, “Between 2000 and 2004, the vast majority of operating systems and router vendors implemented IPv6”. The development of suitable transition mechanisms are also serving to promote the uptake of IPv6. No devices will end up locked out of the internet because of the differences in the two protocols. This will allow for a smooth transition to IPv6, which should be complete when the IPv4 device and system replacements take place with time, as they age.

Currently, there is no real pain in using IPv4; hence, there the motivation to switch is still low among ISPs and other vendors. In fact, it appears expensive and inconvenient for parties to switch now! The real pain will surface as soon as available IP allocations run out. For the moment, the uptake is slow. A number of factors inhibit the uptake of IPv6. Since the switch from IPv4 to IPv6 is not an easy one, there has been an attempt to develop several methods to increase the effective addresses available for allocation under IPv4. These include, “Network Address Translation (NAT) and Classless Inter Domain Routing (CIDR)” (Mun & Lee, 2005, p.xiii).

These methods have provided useful intermediate solutions to the address problems but with it have come a degree of false security in IPv4 thereby reducing the urgency for conversion to IPv6. The methods are short-term and cannot solve the address problem to any significant extent. The second inhibitor for IPv6 uptake has been financing. The cost of transition is not any one person’s responsibility and seems, currently, to be at the mercy of market forces. Consensus on who will meet the cost of transition does not exist yet.

The business case for Deploying IPv6

There are several costs associated with Deployment of IPv6. Gaffin (2007, p.21) identifies these costs to “consists of a mixture of hardware, software, labor and miscellaneous costs”. ISPs offering internet service to large pools of consumers are poised to bear the largest costs associated with the switch to version six, while individual users will bear very little or none of the costs. The deployment of IPv6 on commercial basis is a factor of the demand for it.

The costs of transition are huge while the demand for it, especially in the US, is still commercially low. The ISPs therefore lack the incentive to transit in any meaningful scale until demand justifies such a move. Gaffin (2007, p.27) contends that, “ISPs have little incentive to incur any major additional costs; as such, in the short term, most ISPs are likely to continue testing IPv6 and offer limited IPv6 connectivity as requested”.

Gaffin however goes on to identify the minimum conditions for successful commercialization of IPv6. He says, “As more hardware and software become IPv6 compatible through cyclical replacements, continued standardization by IETF, and testing by many parties, these ISPs will probably be in a position to recoup the investment costs associated with IPv6 service” (Gaffin, 2007, p.27). Currently, the demand for IPv6 is not significant enough to justify widespread commercial investment. ISPs who make the switch cannot do it cost effectively yet. The high cost of installation of IPv6 routers and supporting equipment remains a barrier to its uptake. Nevertheless, the demand for address spaces will eventually reach the critical limits required to increase the demand sufficiently for IPv6.

Deployment Strategies and Solutions

The involvement of governments in the deployment of IPv6 cannot be understated. Governments through various measures have the capacity to catalyze the deployment of IPv6 in their countries. Some of these incentives are tax related. For instance, “the Japanese government gives tax cuts to companies for buying IPv6 equipment” (Mun & Lee, 2005, p.5). Other areas for using incentives can be in the actual implementation of IPv6 in their networks.

There were plans by the US department of Defense to “convert its network to IPv6 by 2009” (Mun & Lee, 2005, p4). Government support for IPv6 will lead to favorable policies, which the rest of industry can use to enhance uptake. Regional efforts in the deployment of IPv6 if pursued, may promise better compliance and quicker adoption of IPv6. It will bring with it possibility of enable pooled procurement for IPv6 equipment required for the infrastructural outlay to support IPv6 by ISPs in the region. Tariffs on the equipment and provision of support services for the region by a common body will be easier to negotiate.

Setting up a joint regional commission to oversee the transition can be part of that effort. The nature of the upgrade is such that no one wants to move out first while no one also wants to remain too far behind. Moving out among the first people could isolate a user while being left too far behind may end up with the same consequence. Regional efforts will guard against both scenarios, as the commission will coordinate implementation to ensure the transition is as minimally disruptive as possible.

The critical success factors for IPv6 uptake

Demand for IPv6 is likely to be the most significant success factor for its deployment. An appreciation of the need to deploy IPv6 exists across the board, yet, since IPv4 is still doing a good job, demand has not grown to the required critical levels. The institution of measures to increase demand is required urgently. Vegoda (2009), asserts, “Demand can be generated”. This needs to include very visible campaigns by governments and by regional international organizations such as IETF to highlight the superiority of IPv6 and in so doing, to generate sufficient interest in it to produce the demand levels required for successful commercial large-scale deployment of the new protocol.

There is need to sensitize industry players of the dangers of subtle comfort in IPv4, and to portray the inevitability of the switch to IPv6. The comfort is akin enjoying a boat ride near a waterfall and not fretting about it. This image should spur them into action, to become compliant.

The second success factor will be widespread availability of IPv6 compatible equipment. This is already taking shape as more and more manufacturers have been including IPv6 capabilities in newer equipment, in anticipation of the switch. Through relevant bodies such as the FCC, such requirements should be made to ensure that all IP requiring equipment are IPv6 compatible. With the anticipated boom of internet connectivity in emerging markets such as China, the need for IP addresses will grow and with it demand for IP addresses, which in turn will make the adoption of IPv6 inevitable. It will be easier to make the switch if devices are already IPv6 compatible compared to a situation where they are not.

Most electronic equipment become obsolete in a few years as newer technologies emerge and as such, the uptake of IPv6 will occur in a shorter span of time, not longer than the average lifespan of electronic devices. China needs to be involved aggressively in the enforcement of IPv6 equipment, since china has had some of the most relaxed manufacturing standards yet it is becoming the world industrial hub, manufacturing most of the world’s electronic equipment. The good news is that China took a lead in the adoption of IPv6 through the Chinese Next Generation Internet (CNGI) way back in 2001, and with a little encouragement and support, it will produce the required IPv6 compatible equipment.

The third success factor is a strong regulatory environment provided by governments the world over giving deadlines for the implementation of key aspect of IPv6 uptake. This will inform procurement laws that can stop importation of non-IPv6 compliant network equipment, and will discourage the manufacture of such equipment in manufacturing countries. The US Department of Defense is leading the fray in this respect because it “requires IPv6 support from network equipment suppliers” (Vegoda, 2009.)

In addition, the EU has started to get stringent. Vegoda, (2009) notes that, “EU Communication suggests members make sure contract renewals include IPv6 support” The internet has generally been a free world devoid of regulation. It is however not good for it at the moment to continue unchecked in the IPv6 matter because it may face imminent collapse or develop numerous technical problems if governments do not move with speed to enforce policies that will encourage IPv6 uptake. Just as governments had to step in to enact legislation to control content posted and exchanged on the internet, such as controls on pornography and dangerous information for instance how to build explosives, there is need to view this transition as a process that requires heavy mediation and will not succeed on its own except with government support. This kind of involvement does not have to be direct control but can take softer forms.

These forms include ensuring all government functions undertaken on the internet are under the IPv6 platform, and that all equipment procured is compatible with the new format. Governments in many countries have the capacity to finance equipment upgrade for state run ISPs, or to provide financial supports by incentivizing commercial banks to provide financing to privately owned ISPs for IT backbone infrastructure upgrades.

Commercial incentives like tax breaks are options for consideration to promote the acquisition and use of IPv6 network equipment. These incentives should aim at reducing the financial impact of the transition on IPS’s and other vendors. Ensuring sound financial policies and strong financial support for IPv6 compliance will greatly help in the uptake of IPv6. Advice from experts on internet economics may provide insight into business models that can provide sufficient profits from upgrading to IPv6 especially if those models have some form of support from governments, regional authorities, and internet regulators.

The end users must be involved in the process for upgrading, even though they will incur the least cost. They determine the demand and so they form the primary movers for this process. If there is sufficient information and motivation to demand IPv6 services then the providers will respond to the demand and will greatly increase the uptake of IPv6. Large institutions require incentives, which can be by bringing to their attention the security benefits that IPv6 offers compared t IPv4. Since IPv6 through IPSec has better security guarantees, large institutions will likely opt for IPv6 since security is one of their most serious concerns in the internet.

Future scenarios

In the near, future internet, IPv6 will be the protocol that carries the online traffic. IPv4 must give way to the new order. The transition will be costly, maybe inconvenient and difficult, but necessary. A failure to transit will be catastrophic. It may lead to extreme adaptation measures such as IP theft and IP speculation, and this will render the internet unreliable for the worlds collective communication needs. New ideas for coping will emerge from different parties, and a black market for IPs would be one of the possible results of such a process. Failure to implement IPv6 will slow down the growth of the internet and may cause tension in the world.

The internet is a basic need in society today and hence anything that limits access will be termed as an affront on civil liberties. There will be an increased prospect of ‘internet activism’, where countries with low IP allocations will begin to fight for a larger share of allocations.

Internet based businesses will be affected. Technical services providers such as web designers and programmers will see a reduced volume of business since only clients with already existing IP allocations will be able to bring business to them. Their growth prospects will stagnate. Network and end user equipment manufacturers will suffer a hit too since no one will buy equipment if they are unable to take part in the internet. The internet provides many of the world’s jobs and a collapse of the internet because of no space for expansion of IPs will lead to loss of numerous jobs and numerous job opportunities. Collaboration in research that is currently growing between many institutions in different nations will suffer heavily.

In an extreme adaptation measure, lack of IPs may necessitate nationalization of the internet, and capable countries or regions may decide to develop their own protocols for use within their regions, to assign to themselves the IPs they need for their uses. Zones such as Asia and China have a well-developed work force to develop the protocols they will need in a nationalized or regionalized internet. This will reverse many gains that world has been able to get because of the liberalized internet where any two people can communicate from whatever points of the world with a fair degree of equality. Totalitarian states will use this to their advantage.

This will be the death of the internet as a global network without walls. A fitting analogy will be the mythical tower of Babel. After a confusion of languages occurred at the tower, its construction could not proceed and soon thereafter, their civilization collapsed, and all people went their own way.

On the contrary, if the implementation of IPv4 goes on successfully, it will provide a new boom for the internet. With the issues of address space sorted, new devices can join the internet to good effect for the entire human race. It will provide much needed facilitation for India and China’s emergence as world economic powers. Africa will have the opportunity to join the international community in this growth. Developed economies in the west will enjoy labor and population stability.

This will be the result of the availability of jobs online, which immigrants seek. The result will be the stemming of immigration, whose chief driver is the search for opportunities. With a growing internet, there is a better chance of world peace. Totalitarian regimes will have fewer levers to use to control their populations and so there will be corresponding increase in civil liberties all over the world.

The opportunity to manufacturer IPv6 compliant network and end use equipment will be a big boom for business. Network specialists will also see a growth in demand for their services, and new technologies will emerge to take advantage of the new protocol. New gadgets made and added to our ever-growing list of equipment that use internet technology will hopefully lead to a rise in quality of life. Since IPv6 is also limited in its future life, work on the next protocol will lead to a new wave of research into a better futuristic protocol that should not bear an upper limit to number of IPs it can support. This research effort will bear international fingerprints as programmers and internet specialists from India and China and possibly all over the world get a chance to contribute to the technical operations of the internet.

Adoption of IPv6 promises the world more than just many more IP addresses. It sits on issues such as world peace, political stability, and an open human society where civil liberties continue to grow, a culture of international cooperation and development in commerce, research and governance, and a vastly improved quality of life for all human beings.

References

Beijnum, I. V. 2006. A Practical Guide to configuring IPv6 for windowsXP, MacOS, FreeBSD, Red Hat Linux, Cisco Routers, DNS, and BIND, Zebra, and Apache 2. Apress: Berkley CA.

Comer, D. E. 2006. Internetworking with TCP/IP Vol. 1 Principles, protocols and architechture, 5^th edn. Pearson prentice hall: New Jersey.

Dunmore, M. (ed). 2005. An IPv6 deployment guide: 6net consortium. Web.

Gaffin, J.C. 2007. Internet protocol 6. Nova science publishers: New York.

Huston, G. (2010) “IP address exhaustion in 12 easy questions”. Web.

IANA (2010) “introducing IANA”. Web.

Leo VEGODA, (2009) ICANN, IPv6 deployment overview. Web.

Martínez J.P. (2010) IPv6: legal aspects of the new internet protocol. Euro6ix. Web.

Massey, D Wang, L. Zhang B.& Zhang, L. 2007. A scalable routing system design for future internet. Web.

Mun, Y. & Lee, H. K. 2005. Understanding IPv6. Springer science + business media: New York.