Ama Lawani - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ama Lawani

International Journal of Project Management

International Journal of Hospitality Management

Sustainability

The concept of sustainability reporting is now an essential tool through which organisations demo... more The concept of sustainability reporting is now an essential tool through which organisations demonstrate accountability to their stakeholders. The increasing market pressure coupled with the awareness of the consequences of organisations’ activities suggests the need for organisations to report their sustainability credentials. Sustainability performance reports should provide adequate information on organisations’ social, economic, and environmental performance. However, the current process through which organisations communicate their sustainability performance to stakeholders is questionable and remains a significant concern. This study assessed the current state and direction of research on sustainability performance reporting by conducting a bibliometric literature review of peer-reviewed studies on sustainability performance reporting published between 1987 and 2022. The findings highlight the misconceptions between sustainability and CSR when reporting organisations’ sustaina...

The International Journal of Business and Management, Sep 30, 2016

Project Management Practices in Government Organizations of Developing Countries: A Systematic Re... more Project Management Practices in Government Organizations of Developing Countries: A Systematic Review 1. Introduction Since its inception more than 40 years ago, the concept of project management has gained popularity both in the private and public sector (Morris et al., 2012; Crawford and Helm, 2009). While private organizations seem to be more well-informed in utilizing project management practices, the situation is contrary in the latter setting (Rosacker and Rosacker, 2010; Wirick, 2011) plausibly due to the dissimilarity of both sectors. Project management was indirectly introduced into the public sector due to the demand for public organizations reforms by western governments (Baranskaya2007; Crawford, L. et al., 2003). An element in these reforms was the use of private business techniques (such as cost benefit estimates and performance indicators) to tackle government spending costs and improve efficiency in service delivery. This led various public organizations to embark on developmental projects as a means to improve accountability and organizational effectiveness in the public sector (Crawford and Helm, 2009; Arnaboldi, 2004). Some authors claim that other potential benefits of utilizing public projects include the creation of socioeconomic value through effective public service which consequently produces an environment that fosters investment and improves the standard of living of people in a society (Ofori, 2013; Graham and Englund, 2013). In view of this, the concept of project management in public organizations is promoted by various governments. Although, some developed nations such as UK and Australia have a record of achievement in managing government developmental projects (Klakegg et al., 2015), there is still the need for better understanding of project management practices that relate to public projects specifically in developing countries. Public organizations in various developing nations still struggle to understand and implement project management in public projects (Ika, 2012; Rwelamila and Purushottam, 2012; Muriithi and Crawford, 2003) with the expectation of deriving the benefits of delivering projects on time, on budget, within scope and delivering value to the public. The concept of project management has diverse but parallel definitions. It is described by the Association for Project Management as the application of tools, techniques, processes, methods and experience in achieving the desired purpose of a project (APM, 2012). In the same vein, PMI (2013) defines project management as an application of skills, knowledge, tools and techniques to project endeavours in order to achieve the project prerequisites. Kerzner (2013) adopts the definition of the classical approach to management to describe project management as planning, organizing, directing and monitoring of an organization's resources for a temporary purpose that will eventually achieve specific goals and objectives. In general, these definitions all describe project management as 'a

In project management, Front End Loading (FEL) is a core work process before project authorizatio... more In project management, Front End Loading (FEL) is a core work process before project authorization or sanction. This stage is where the extent of uncertainty is highest and if properly conducted with optimal decision making, it maximises the potential for project success. In UKCS oil and gas exploration and production, it is well known that projects can fall behind schedule, exceed estimated costs or result in spectacular failures. Extant research on decision making in project management has focused on classical analytical approaches, with less attention on more intuitive methods. This interview study is investigating how Senior Project Management Experts (SPME) in the upstream oil and gas industry make decisions during the Front-End Loading process. Adopting a cognitive task analysis approach, the aim is to examine how and when analytical and intuitive decision styles are used in the front-end stage of project management.

The aim of this paper is to present an overview of previous studies on Emotional Intelligence (EI... more The aim of this paper is to present an overview of previous studies on Emotional Intelligence (EI) in construction project management. The literature was surveyed to identify and describe the characteristics of previous studies of EI in the construction industry. Research themes and methods are reviewed in order to establish how EI of construction project managers are assessed. The findings indicate that majority of the studies applied a positivist methodology in investigating EI which may cloud the actual perception of the individual and consequently the relevance of the concept. Furthermore, the deficit of any alternative methodology may prevent elucidation of new informative ways to explain EI in a unique context such as construction. The study recommends the exploration of construction professionals' identities through their real life experiences by applying the grounded theory approach in order to better understand how EI can be developed and applied in construction project...

Qualitative Research Journal

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the critical realism (CR) philosophical viewpoint ... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the critical realism (CR) philosophical viewpoint and how it can be applied in qualitative research. CR is a relatively new and viable philosophical paradigm proposed as an alternative to the more predominant paradigms of positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism. This paper reviews the concept, its benefits and limitation. It goes further to provide an example of how CR is used as a philosophical and methodological framework with the systems thinking theory to applied qualitative research.Design/methodology/approachA study of project management challenges in a Nigerian government organisation is used to demonstrate a qualitative research approach, which includes a coding process and data analysis that is consistent with CR ontology and epistemology.FindingsCR focuses primarily on closed systems. However, a more accurate explanation of reality is obtained in addition to the identification of contextual causal mechanisms in the context o...

International Journal of Construction Management

International Journal of Project Management

International Journal of Hospitality Management

Sustainability

The concept of sustainability reporting is now an essential tool through which organisations demo... more The concept of sustainability reporting is now an essential tool through which organisations demonstrate accountability to their stakeholders. The increasing market pressure coupled with the awareness of the consequences of organisations’ activities suggests the need for organisations to report their sustainability credentials. Sustainability performance reports should provide adequate information on organisations’ social, economic, and environmental performance. However, the current process through which organisations communicate their sustainability performance to stakeholders is questionable and remains a significant concern. This study assessed the current state and direction of research on sustainability performance reporting by conducting a bibliometric literature review of peer-reviewed studies on sustainability performance reporting published between 1987 and 2022. The findings highlight the misconceptions between sustainability and CSR when reporting organisations’ sustaina...

The International Journal of Business and Management, Sep 30, 2016

Project Management Practices in Government Organizations of Developing Countries: A Systematic Re... more Project Management Practices in Government Organizations of Developing Countries: A Systematic Review 1. Introduction Since its inception more than 40 years ago, the concept of project management has gained popularity both in the private and public sector (Morris et al., 2012; Crawford and Helm, 2009). While private organizations seem to be more well-informed in utilizing project management practices, the situation is contrary in the latter setting (Rosacker and Rosacker, 2010; Wirick, 2011) plausibly due to the dissimilarity of both sectors. Project management was indirectly introduced into the public sector due to the demand for public organizations reforms by western governments (Baranskaya2007; Crawford, L. et al., 2003). An element in these reforms was the use of private business techniques (such as cost benefit estimates and performance indicators) to tackle government spending costs and improve efficiency in service delivery. This led various public organizations to embark on developmental projects as a means to improve accountability and organizational effectiveness in the public sector (Crawford and Helm, 2009; Arnaboldi, 2004). Some authors claim that other potential benefits of utilizing public projects include the creation of socioeconomic value through effective public service which consequently produces an environment that fosters investment and improves the standard of living of people in a society (Ofori, 2013; Graham and Englund, 2013). In view of this, the concept of project management in public organizations is promoted by various governments. Although, some developed nations such as UK and Australia have a record of achievement in managing government developmental projects (Klakegg et al., 2015), there is still the need for better understanding of project management practices that relate to public projects specifically in developing countries. Public organizations in various developing nations still struggle to understand and implement project management in public projects (Ika, 2012; Rwelamila and Purushottam, 2012; Muriithi and Crawford, 2003) with the expectation of deriving the benefits of delivering projects on time, on budget, within scope and delivering value to the public. The concept of project management has diverse but parallel definitions. It is described by the Association for Project Management as the application of tools, techniques, processes, methods and experience in achieving the desired purpose of a project (APM, 2012). In the same vein, PMI (2013) defines project management as an application of skills, knowledge, tools and techniques to project endeavours in order to achieve the project prerequisites. Kerzner (2013) adopts the definition of the classical approach to management to describe project management as planning, organizing, directing and monitoring of an organization's resources for a temporary purpose that will eventually achieve specific goals and objectives. In general, these definitions all describe project management as 'a

In project management, Front End Loading (FEL) is a core work process before project authorizatio... more In project management, Front End Loading (FEL) is a core work process before project authorization or sanction. This stage is where the extent of uncertainty is highest and if properly conducted with optimal decision making, it maximises the potential for project success. In UKCS oil and gas exploration and production, it is well known that projects can fall behind schedule, exceed estimated costs or result in spectacular failures. Extant research on decision making in project management has focused on classical analytical approaches, with less attention on more intuitive methods. This interview study is investigating how Senior Project Management Experts (SPME) in the upstream oil and gas industry make decisions during the Front-End Loading process. Adopting a cognitive task analysis approach, the aim is to examine how and when analytical and intuitive decision styles are used in the front-end stage of project management.

The aim of this paper is to present an overview of previous studies on Emotional Intelligence (EI... more The aim of this paper is to present an overview of previous studies on Emotional Intelligence (EI) in construction project management. The literature was surveyed to identify and describe the characteristics of previous studies of EI in the construction industry. Research themes and methods are reviewed in order to establish how EI of construction project managers are assessed. The findings indicate that majority of the studies applied a positivist methodology in investigating EI which may cloud the actual perception of the individual and consequently the relevance of the concept. Furthermore, the deficit of any alternative methodology may prevent elucidation of new informative ways to explain EI in a unique context such as construction. The study recommends the exploration of construction professionals' identities through their real life experiences by applying the grounded theory approach in order to better understand how EI can be developed and applied in construction project...

Qualitative Research Journal

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the critical realism (CR) philosophical viewpoint ... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the critical realism (CR) philosophical viewpoint and how it can be applied in qualitative research. CR is a relatively new and viable philosophical paradigm proposed as an alternative to the more predominant paradigms of positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism. This paper reviews the concept, its benefits and limitation. It goes further to provide an example of how CR is used as a philosophical and methodological framework with the systems thinking theory to applied qualitative research.Design/methodology/approachA study of project management challenges in a Nigerian government organisation is used to demonstrate a qualitative research approach, which includes a coding process and data analysis that is consistent with CR ontology and epistemology.FindingsCR focuses primarily on closed systems. However, a more accurate explanation of reality is obtained in addition to the identification of contextual causal mechanisms in the context o...

International Journal of Construction Management