Critical Success Factors and the Performance of Projects in Agro-chemicals and Food Company Limited, Kenya
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Date
2021
Authors
Morogo, David Kipchumba
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The success of projects in all organizations is determined by the increasing importance of proper
identification and management of its critical success factors. Considering the direct relationship
between reaching projects’ objectives and the long term development of an organization, aspects
regarding projects’ success and the success factors of projects have been the main concern by
project managers because achieving projects’ objectives in compliance with constraints of cost,
time and performance has been a great challenge. The general objective of this study was to
investigate the influence of critical success factors on the performance of projects in Agrochemical
and Food Limited in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to examine the
influence of communication, stakeholder involvement, resource allocation and project leadership
on performance of projects. The theories guiding the study was Mcclelland’s achievement
theory, resource based view theory and stakeholder theory. This study will use descriptive survey
research design. The unit of analysis was Agro-chemical and Food Limited in Kenya. Stratified
sampling method was used and the respondents were selected using simple random sampling
method. The accessible population was 95 respondents comprising of 10 project managers and
85 project team managers. The sample size was 48 respondents comprising of 5 project
managers and 43 project team members. Primary data was collected using questionnaires.
Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation
and presented in form of tables, pie-charts and bar-graphs. Inferential statistics such as
correlation analysis and multiple regressions will be used to determine the relationship between
variables. The study established that communication, stakeholder involvement, resource
allocation and project leadership had a positive and significant influence on project performance.
The study concluded that communication is a vital element of a well-managed project. Effective
communication results in all involved in the project understanding what is being
communicated. Involving the stakeholders in project management helps early detection and
resolution of issues. If the stakeholders feel that their inputs are valued and implemented they
will have a positive perception regarding the project. Proper allocation of resources increases the
effective use of resources available across the organization to maximise their utility. Allocation
of resources helps managers to bring together more productive and effective project teams and
workgroups and enables them to appraise their schedules and easily estimate resource
availability in real-time. Leadership in project plays a vital role in the success of a project as they
oversee specific projects ultimately designed to make progress toward strategic planning
objectives. The recommended that the organization should also ensure that it keeps regular, clear
and complete communication with all the concerned stakeholders as they will need regular
updates, a project manager must manage the influence of all the stakeholders in relation to the
project requirements to ensure a required output and take care of the interests of the stakeholders
balancing the requirements of the project. Project managers need to build a proper plan of how,
when and why these resources will be allocated and distributed for the entire project lifecycle
before, during and after the project. Project manager should make sure they control risk and
minimize uncertainty, maximize the effectiveness of communication within the team by being
prepared to lead.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Project Management) of Kenyatta University, June, 2021
Keywords
Critical Success Factors, Performance of Projects, Agro-chemicals, Food Company Limited, Kenya