Abstract

The ongoing study was executed to examine how the outcomes of the study are impacted by the project planning, the case of UK’s construction industry is considered. For the data collection process the employees working in the construction industry were utilized. Quantitative analysis technique is employed so as to examine the collected data, this is done so to analyse the data in detail. The research philosophy which is employed is positivistic research philosophy. An effort has been made so to compare the results of the ongoing study with the results of the prior studies. This comparison with the prior researches is done so to bring conformity in the results. In the end it has been concluded that there exist a positive correlation between the project planning and the project outcomes.

 

 

Acknowledgement

For the completion of the dissertation, I am thankful to my teacher and the supervisor whose unflinching help and supervision has helped me in effectively completing the dissertation. Secondly I am grateful to my parents, who have always supported me and made me strong enough to fight through the life toughest task. I am also grateful to all the people who have helped me in completing this dissertation.             

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

This dissertation is about the factors affecting the project planning and its resultant impact on the project outcomes. In the current chapter a roadmap will be set for the rest of the research. The chapter covers the background of the research, problem statement, the scope and aims and objectives of the research to draw a clear picture so that the reader gets an idea what the research is going to cater.

1.2 Research Background

Project planning is normally defined as: “the strategic efforts deployed by the owner, think tank of any organization to tackle the specific risks of the project. Project planning is the phase during which the owner or the think tank decides that what would be the resources employed in situations of risk”(CII 1995: p 6). Planning can be regarded as the initial stage of the project in which the organization fabricates choices to be made during the execution of the project. The stage of planning before the project may include below mentioned aspects of the project:

• Definition
• Scope
• Planning’s framework 

Under the heading of definition the nature of the project would be defined, in the scope the process by which the project is opted can be illustrated. According to Merrow and Yarossi (1994) in order to make any project successful, this is the essential step and it is fruitful too.

Defining and mentioning scope of the project is an important aspect of the project planning phase. This is witnessed that when the planning of the project would be done efficiently, it would ultimately cut the costs of the project, and it would for sure make the project more successful. Gibson and Hamilton (1994) are of the view that if the project is efficiently planned and prepared than it benefits the organization financially as well. Project schedule plans is one essential aspect which has been highlighted during the project planning process. This holds significance for the reason that it is that section of the planning which explains why all that planning is necessary and what role the planning can play in a project. A researcher who presented a model of unfreezing named as Ginzberg (1979) stated that the first and the foremost important step of the unfreezing model is scheduling and proper planning.

Kolb and Frohman’s (1970), consulting process model views the planning as a two directional phase of their model. The planning process has four phases which are as formulation, conceptualization, detailing, and evaluation.

In the construction industry planning of the project has gained much of the attention. Those projects which focus on the planning are most of the times successful. Mencheset al. (2005) stated that the planning before the beginning of the project eventually turns into higher rates of benefits i-e financial benefits. Those projects have a high rate of success which emphasize on the planning. It is a well-known fact, in the business world today that the project’s successful accomplishment depends heavily on the project’s effectual planning.

In the current study literature would be there to examine the relation between the two variables i-e outcomes of the project and the planning of the project, generally t