Title: Managing large commercial projects with a tight schedule in China: a case study

Authors: Florence Yean Yng Ling, Jia Hui Tiong

Addresses: Department of Building, National University of Singapore, 4 Architecture Dr., 117566, Singapore. ' Jia Hui Tiong, RBS Coutts Bank Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #06–01, Singapore 048623, Singapore

Abstract: With China|s economic growth, more investments in built facilities are made and more foreign firms are expected to manage the construction of large and complex facilities. The aim of this paper is to identify the challenges that are faced in managing a large-sized commercial project in China and how foreign project managers resolve these problems. The case study research method is adopted and data are collected via in-depth interviews. The results show that the main problems are the schedule and budget overruns and poor workmanship and material quality. The strategies that are adopted to overcome these problems and the lessons learned are distilled from the case. These include obtaining a high commitment level from project team members, being more forceful in advising the owner, engaging privately-owned contractors (versus China|s state-owned enterprises) and treating contractors as partners instead of adversaries.

Keywords: project management; China; international commissions; foreign projects; commercial projects; project scheduling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPOM.2008.020030

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2008 Vol.1 No.1, pp.86 - 104

Published online: 21 Aug 2008 *

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