AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM

ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMUNICATION IN IMPLEMENTING

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND SECTORIAL ASSOCIATION OF PROJECT
IN HARAR

MBA Case Study

Ararso Abdulatif Hassen

November, 2023
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM

ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMUNICATION IN

IMPLEMENTING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND SECTORIAL
ASSOCIATION OF PROJECT IN HARAR

A Case Study Report Submitted to the Department of Business Studies of

American College of Technology

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement of the Degree of Master of Business

Administration

Ararso Abdulatif Hassen

OMBA-196-21A

Advisor: Asmamaw Mengiste, PhD

November, 2023
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 DECLARATION

I, Ararso Abdulatif Hassen now declare that a case study report entitled Role of Stakeholders and
Communication in Implementing Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Association of Project in
Harar submitted to The Department of Business Studies of American College of Technology in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master Business Administration is a record of
original work done by me during 2023 GC academic year under the supervision and guidance of
Asmamaw Mengiste, PhD. It has not formed the basis for awarding any
Degree/Diploma/Associateship/Fellowship or other similar title to any candidate of any university/
College.

Place: Addis Ababa

Date: 08/11/2023

__________________________________

Signature of the Candidate

i
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project work entitled Role Of Stakeholders and Communication in
Implementing Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Association of Project in Harar submitted to the
Department of Business Administration, MBA Program in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the award of the Master of Business Administration is a record of original case study work done by
Ararso Abdulatif during the period 2023 GC academic year under my supervision and guidance and
the report has not formed the basis for the award of any Degree/Diploma/Associateship/Fellowship or
other similar title of any candidate of any University/ College. It complies with the regulations and
accepted standards of the College.

Name of Advisor: ________________________

Signature: ___________________

Date: __________________

ii
 APPROVAL SHEET

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS STUDIES

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM

ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMUNICATION IN IMPLEMENTING CHAMBER

OF COMMERCE AND SECTORIAL ASSOCIATION OF PROJECT IN HARAR

ARARSO ABDULATIF

OMBA-196-21A

Approved by:

Advisor

__________________ _____________________ _______________

Name Signature Date

Internal Examiner

__________________ _____________________ _______________

Name Signature Date

External Examiner

__________________ _____________________ _______________

Name Signature Date

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, my praise and thanks go to Allah for his love, help, and protection in every aspect of my
life.

I want to thank my advisor Asmamaw Mengiste (Ph.D.) for his remarkable advice and guidance in
this study. I want to say “thank you” to the Project Manager and his team of the organization on
which this study was carried out, for letting me have access to the information required and for
participating in answering the questionnaire and interview questions.

My honor and love go to my parents, for their love and support throughout my life.

iv
 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

HCCSA - Harar chamber of commerce and sectorial association

PMI - Project Management Institute

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
DECLARATION.................................................................................................................................. i
CERTIFICATE................................................................................................................................... ii
APPROVAL SHEET......................................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................................. iv
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................ v
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................................... viii
ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................................ ix
CHAPTER 1......................................................................................................................................... 1
1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Background of the study...................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Statement of the problem..................................................................................................... 1
1.3. Objective of The Study......................................................................................................... 2
1.3.1. General Objective of Study.......................................................................................... 2
1.3.2. Specific Objectives of The Study.................................................................................2
1.4. Significance of the study...................................................................................................... 2
1.5. Scope of the study................................................................................................................. 3
1.6. Limitations of the study....................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2......................................................................................................................................... 4
2. LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................................... 4
2.1. Project success and communication management.............................................................4
2.2. Proper and effective project communication management..............................................4
2.3. Project Communication Planning....................................................................................... 5
2.4. Factors related to communication effectiveness................................................................5
2.4.1. Communication Technology........................................................................................ 5
2.4.2. Communication Objective........................................................................................... 6
2.4.3. Communication channels............................................................................................. 6
2.4.4. Responsibilities in communication..............................................................................7
2.4.5. Receiver of the message................................................................................................ 7

vi
 2.4.6. Communication Frequency.......................................................................................... 7
2.4.7. Barriers or obstacles to project communications.......................................................7
2.5. Types of Communication..................................................................................................... 8
2.6. Gap in Literature............................................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER 3....................................................................................................................................... 12
3. METHODS OF THE STUDY.................................................................................................. 12
3.1. Description of the Study Area or Site...............................................................................12
3.2. Study Period when Data are Collected.............................................................................12
3.3. Study Design....................................................................................................................... 12
3.4. Description of Population.................................................................................................. 13
3.5. Data Collection................................................................................................................... 13
3.5.1. Questioner................................................................................................................... 13
3.5.2. Interview...................................................................................................................... 14
3.5.3. Document analysis...................................................................................................... 14
3.6. Data Analysis...................................................................................................................... 14
3.7. Data Quality Control......................................................................................................... 14
3.8. Ethics in Conducting Case Study...................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 4....................................................................................................................................... 16
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION................................................................................................ 16
4.1. Result................................................................................................................................... 17
4.2. Discussion............................................................................................................................ 17
4.2.1. Demographic analysis of the respondent..................................................................17
4.2.2. Communication Effectiveness in HCCSA.................................................................18
4.2.3. Communication planning in HCCSA........................................................................21
4.2.4. Challenges and Opportunities of Project Communication in HCCSA..................23
CHAPTER 5....................................................................................................................................... 24
5. SUMMARY, ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................24
5.1. Summary............................................................................................................................. 24
5.2. Recommendation................................................................................................................ 24
6. REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................... 25
7. APPENDIX................................................................................................................................ 27

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Summary of demographics of Participant..................................................................18

Table 2: Reference percentages of communication effectiveness reference model as it is
prepared by Karolina, (2015).....................................................................................................19
Table 3: The distribution of all answers in the five possible response options......................20
Table 4: Standard deviation for each respondent’s answer.....................................................20
Table 5: The project manager's response to communication planning..................................21
Table 6: Monitoring and evaluation officer response to communication planning...............22
Table 7: Response on scope overrun..........................................................................................22
Table 8: Response to budget overrun.........................................................................................22
Table 9: Response on time overrun............................................................................................22

viii
 ABSTRACT

The following is an abstract of a research project that examines the practice of communication
between project managers and internal stakeholders, and the challenges and opportunities in
communication management at Harar Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Associations
(HCCSA) in doing project management activities. The study used different instruments to
evaluate the current practice in project communication management, including a questionnaire
designed by the current researcher to understand the project communication planning activity,
whether there is project failure or not, and to identify the challenges and opportunities in the
project communication management practice. An interview was also used to get better insight
into the topic and for triangulating, which increased the validity of the case study. The data
gathered through questionnaires and interviews indicate that the project communication
management is effective and well-managed. However, there are some failed projects when they
are measured using scope change, time, and budget overrun as criteria. The result of the case
study also shows that there are areas in the project communication management that need
improvement.

Keywords: communication management, communication effectiveness, and communication

Planning.

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 CHAPTER 1

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the study

The importance of effective communication to the success of projects is well known. Project
management success in an organization is highly dependent on effective organizational
communication. Organizational communications capabilities have a great influence on how
projects are conducted. Effective communication by the project manager is needed with both
internal and external stakeholders to achieve project success through facilitation in decision-
making (PMI, 2013).

It is not enough to have a communication plan alone as Karolina (2015), described it. Rather it
requests having good individual contact with team members, nurturing positive interaction, and
obeying basic rules of unambiguous and constructive communication. Meanwhile, we cannot
forget the weight that should be given to communication plans, communication management,
and communication control. Papke-Shields and co-authors (2010), in their research on the use of
project management practices and their relation to project success, opined that practices related
to communication are not given enough attention, even though communication practices are
critical for the success of the project.

1.2. Statement of the problem

Studies show that there is a contradiction between what the project communication manager is
expected to do and the day-to-day practice in project communication management knowledge
areas. For instance, a study conducted by Monteiro de Carvalho, (2013) showed that even though
communication management is very important for the success of a project, it did not get enough
attention, or the communication processes and practices are not pursued or prioritized by the
project managers. Conboy, (2010); and Stoica & Brouse, (2013) indicated that many project
failures are a product of inappropriate communication management. According to the
preliminary interview done by the researcher on April 15, 2019, with the project team members,
the researcher was able to capture those problems in HCCSA in areas like identifying project
successes, which motivated the researcher to do this case study. So, the purpose of this study is

1
to examine the practice of communication between project managers and internal stakeholders
and to look at whether there is project failure or not. In addition to these, this case study tries to
see the challenges and opportunities in communication management in HCCSA in doing project
management activities.

1.3. Objective of The Study

1.3.1. General Objective of The Study
To analyze the role of stakeholders and communication in the successful implementation of a
Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Association of Project in Harar.

1.3.2. Specific Objectives of The Study

 To identify the key stakeholders involved in the project and their roles in the implementation
process in HCCSA.
 To assess the effectiveness of the communication strategies used during the project in
HCCSA.
 To determine the impact of stakeholder engagement on the success of the project of HCCSA.
 To evaluate the challenges faced during the project and how they were overcome through
effective communication.
 To recommend best practices for stakeholder engagement and communication in similar
projects like the one of HCCSA.
 To examine the practice of project communication between project manager and internal
 stakeholders in HCCSA, and to see its effectiveness.
 To look at project effectiveness by looking at whether there is an overrun or not.

1.4. Significance of the study

Since it is a descriptive study, it is significant in showing the real progress and lags of knowledge
areas in project management practice in one company in Ethiopia, especially for projects in the
service sector, and contributes as secondary data for future Meta-analysis and other studies. It can
also serve the management as feedback to improve the practice. It uses previously developed
instruments to measure the effectiveness of communication. In doing so, it can also be used as a pilot
study for further nationwide future investigations. In addition to this, it is an application of a
previously developed model to measure communication effectiveness.

2
 1.5. Scope of the study
The scope of the study is limited to one company’s practice in a specific knowledge area of project
management in HCCSA. The study is descriptive and does not test any hypotheses or make any
causal claims. Therefore, the findings of the study cannot be generalized to show the whole picture of
project management practice outside of the company. However, the study can provide valuable
insights into the current situation of project management practice in the service sector in Ethiopia and
can serve as a secondary data source for future meta-analyses and other studies. The study can also
provide feedback to the management of HCCSA to improve their practice.

1.6. Limitations of the study

Due to its focus on one company practice in a specific knowledge area and it is descriptive we cannot
generalize it to show the whole picture of project management practice outside of the company.

3
 CHAPTER 2

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Project success and communication management

In the literature, the relationship between effective project communication management and its
effect on project success has been demonstrated. If the project team has to work to achieve
project objectives there needs to be effective communication management underneath all other
project activities. This demands the project manager to understand communication and manage it
effectively. Otherwise, it will lead to project failure (Muszynska, 2015). The research done by
Femi, (2014) confirmed that there is a relationship between effective communication and
workers‟ performance, productivity, and commitment. The study recommended that managers
will need to communicate with employees regularly to improve workers‟ commitment and
performance. Projects and project management become common in everyday business.
Delivering the project at the right time, with the right quality, and with the right budget needs the
right type of project management. From many project management areas project communication
management has a vital role in the success of the project. However, the presence of many
principles, methodologies, ICT tools, and supporting systems for project communication
management did not help to stop projects from failing or getting into serious problems, since it
does not give a guarantee for appropriate project communication management (Muszynska,
2015). Communication management has a crucial role in the success of the project. However, its
role is not given enough weight by stakeholders on the one hand and the project management
methodologies are not followed by the project manager on the other hand (Monteiro de
Carvalho, 2013). Communication is not only important for following the project objective but
also for tracking what goes wrong in communication, what are the risks for the project, etc.
(Muszynska, 2015).

2.2. Proper and effective project communication management

Proper and effective project communication management helps in the timely production,
gathering, dissemination, storage, accumulation, and placing in order of project information.
Open and clear communications are mandatory at all levels of the organization for project

4
success. (Muszynska, 2015) The study conducted by Muszynska, (2015) to identify real-life
project communication management practices and to analyze and summarize this knowledge
shows that proper and effective project communication is not only about preparing a project
communication plan, creating, collecting, distributing, storing project information, and allocating
tasks for project team members and other project stakeholders, rather it should also include
superior individual interaction with team members, growing constructive correlations, and
creating unambiguous and constructive communication.

2.3. Project communication planning

Like the project plan, the project communication plan is a necessary and important part of the
project. It is obvious a plan is only a guide to actions; it cannot substitute action. According to
research done by Ksenija Culo, (2010), an effective communication plan should give answers to
the following questions: Who do we need to communicate with? When do we communicate?
How do we communicate? What needs to be communicated? How often do we communicate
status? When do we meet as a team? When do we communicate with key stakeholders and in
what fashion? What type of media should we use and when? What is the purpose? What about
team communications, internal or external? How about the leadership in teams? Project
communication is the responsibility of everyone on the project team. The project manager,
however, is responsible for developing the project communication management plan (Ksenija
Čulo, 2010). Ksenija Culo, (2010) argues that improper communication planning will cause
problems such as hindrance in message delivery, delivery of sensitive information into the wrong
hand, or absence of communication with the right stakeholders. A communication plan `allows
the project manager to prepare for efficient and effective methods of communication in advance.

2.4. Factors related to communication effectiveness

2.4.1. Communication technology
Technology is one of the factors to be considered when we choose how we communicate with
the team. The presence of modern technologies gives us many options to choose as vehicles. The
choice of these technologies should be based on an assessment of the kind of difficulties that
confront the stakeholders (Ksenija Čulo, 2010). First, the type of audience, the type of
information needed, and how urgently this information is needed should be analyzed before

5
choosing the type of technology. Although modern technologies can give us access to
collaborate and store a large amount of project data, the choice of it should consider whether the
technology feet the needs and capabilities of the audience. If not, the technology invested will be
left out of use. In this regard, the choice of the technology must depend on its acceptance by the
stakeholders, its endorsement, and incorporation into the system already in use (Ksenija Čulo,
2010).

2.4.2. Communication Objective

Every communication activity has to have an objective. All the resources spent to make the
communication happen will be wasted if the communication is unintended and without purpose.
When the communication plan is prepared it should keep the objective in mind. In short,
communication needs objectives otherwise it is useless to communicate in the first place. The
overall objective of the communication has so many things to do with the project's success. The
time and other resources of the project should not be wasted on maintaining unnecessary
communication in the first place. This issue should be addressed in the process of preparing the
communication plan or through revising the communication plan periodically (Ksenija Čulo,
2010).

2.4.3. Communication channels

When the project manager comes to the point of choosing the communication channel, s/he
needs to consider points like, whether the project communication will deliver the appropriate
information to the appropriate stakeholder promptly. There is also a need to follow the
communication plan to make sure that, all members of the project team understand and be ready
for their responsibilities to communicate with external stakeholders. The number of potential
communication channels or paths has to be taken as an indicator of the complexity of a project‟
's communications. These communication channels can be grouped into vertical, horizontal, and
diagonal communication channels. The number of potential communication channels can
indicate the complexity of the project. The total number of potential communication channels is
n(n-1)/2, where n represents the number of stakeholders. Thus, a project with 20 stakeholders has
20(20- 1)/2 = 190 potential communication channels. It is at the initial communication planning

6
stage, that the project manager will decide who communicates with whom and who receives
what information.

2.4.4. Responsibilities in communication

Each individual who participates in the communication process has a responsibility if effective
communication has to occur. When someone sends a message, the sender of the message is
responsible for making the message understandable, comprehensive, and comprehended very
well by the receiver. The receiver of the message also has a responsibility to confirm the
message is received in its original form. In addition to this, the receiver is expected to understand
the message and give confirmation about the receiving of the information (Ksenija Čulo, 2010).

2.4.5. Receiver of the message

The communication plan is expected to answer who is going to receive the message. If an
unintended individual or group gets confidential information the consequence could be
devastating. Stakeholders in the project have different interests and objectives to fulfill, which
leads to different demands for communication. Therefore, the project manager is responsible for
maintaining the balance between keeping individuals motivated on the one hand and protecting
confidential information on the other hand.

2.4.6. Communication Frequency

The rate of communication with specific stakeholders should be specified in the communication
plan beforehand. However, it can be changed based on the needs of stakeholders. If there is any
need to increase how many times the communication needs to take place, it can be adjusted
during the implementation stage as many times as needed (Ksenija Čulo, 2010).

2.4.7. Barriers or obstacles to project communications

Some of the sources for the problems in communication can originate from organizational
politics, organizational culture, language, micromanagement, and information overload (Ksenija
Čulo, 2010). Communications management is all about the timely and appropriate generation,
collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and disposition of project information. Effective
project managers spend a great deal of their time (about 90%) communicating with internal or
external project stakeholders. This is the type of dedication the project needs from the project

7
manager to make both the communication in particular and the project effective (Ksenija Čulo,
2010).

2.5. Types of Communication

According to Martinez, (2017) communication in the project can be categorized into different
types based on project perspective, organizational perspective, formality perspective, and
channel perspective. These different kinds of project communication have to be addressed very
well to create effective project communication. From a project perspective communication is
classified into internal, which happens between team members, or external between project team
members and stakeholders. From an organizational perspective project communication is
classified into vertical, which is either upward or downward communication, horizontal,
communication between people at the same organizational level or diagonal, communication
between different functional and organizational levels based on how organizations are structured.
The project manager needs to handle this different kind of communication skillfully and manage
the communication to succeed in the project. From a formal perspective communication is
classified into formal, which includes reports, presentations, and media releases, and informal,
which includes emails, social networks, and ad-hoc discussions. From a channel perspective
project communication is classified into verbal or non-verbal, written or oral, face-to-face or
through telephone.

From these different options, the project manager can select a specific channel based on factors
like the reason for communication, type of stakeholder, and type of information.

Research by Holzmann & Globerson, (2003) on project effectiveness emphasizes, that effective
communication is mandatory for project success and can be achieved only by building an
effective communication system and a project manager who is dedicated to protecting this
system until the project is completed. This case study is done by mixing project management
knowledge with organizational communication knowledge. A quantitative instrument is designed
to evaluate project communication effectiveness. The case study developed a model for
evaluating communication effectiveness, by assigning a numerical value to the communications
process of a project, for comparison. A model for evaluating communication effectiveness in the

8
research is composed of nine results of project communications processes and four evaluation
criteria of organizational communications. The nine results of communication, which are
produced during the project life cycle, are a communication management plan, project records,
project reports, project presentation, performance reports, change requests, project archives,
project closure, and lessons learned. The four evaluation criteria of organizational
communication are completeness, timing, accuracy, and volume. Equal weight is given to each
of the communication outputs in the case study and evaluated against the four evaluation criteria.

The case study tries to evaluate communication effectiveness, in general, using questionnaires
and assesses the four evaluation criteria on the communication output using 36 questions and has
high validity and reliability values.

The case study used 222 questionnaires, which is too many questions. Even though this case
study measures communication effectiveness, and has some similarities to my case study, it is a
little bit complex and not convenient (222 questionnaires) to use its methods. Therefore, its
methods are not used in my case study.

The research done by Femi, (2014) on the relationship between communication and workers‟
performance in some selected organizations in Lagos State, Nigeria supports the assumption that
the researcher is based on. It uses a questionnaire to collect the data and the result of the study
shows that a relationship exists between effective communication and workers‟ performance,
productivity, and commitment. And it recommends that managers communicate with employees
regularly to improve workers‟ commitment and performance. This case study is worth stating
because it adds another dimension to the communication in the project, but it is not directly
related to this case study, since it does not measure the effectiveness of the communication.

The research done by Henderson, (2008) to measure the impact of project managers‟
communication competencies found that project managers‟ competencies in decoding and
encoding communication significantly contribute to team member satisfaction and productivity.
Moreover, geographic distribution has an unexpected and significant role in project managers‟
competency in decoding and encoding communication, which in turn affects team member
satisfaction and productivity.

9
The research done by the same researcher previously (Linda S. Henderson, 2004) shows a
significant communication-to-performance relationship. Both of these researches contribute to a
better understanding of communication in project management and show again, how
communication is important to the project and project management, but both have a different
objective to my case study objective.

According to Jana et al (2012) focused on project communication management, communication

in the project is a very important factor for the success of the project and one of the biggest
problems that threaten the success of the project is project communication. This research like the
research stated above, is not directly related to my topic. However, the researcher preferred to
look into it, since it elaborates on how communication affects project success.

The research on cross-cultural communication behavior by Jiang and Pretorius (2011) in projects
shows a significant difference between Chinese and South African project managers in their
communication behavior in three project activities. However, there seems to be no significant
difference between their communication behaviors in the contract process. The findings of the
research can be taken to show how communication can be affected by cultural differences
between stakeholders.

In research on communication management in project teams (Karolina M., 2015) it is shown that
the presence of numerous groups of principles and methodologies on communication
management and the availability of ICT tools and systems did not help projects from failure. The
study also revealed that communication also needs to have good personal relationships with team
members, creating positive relationships and maintaining clear and positive communication in
addition to preparing a communication plan, creating, collecting, distributing, storing project
information, and identifying responsibilities for project team members and other project
stakeholders.

The case study collected factors that can affect communication effectiveness and structured its
questionnaire based on it. The first group of factors is dependent on the sender. These are
timeliness, correctness, specificity, accessibility, choosing the proper medium, using multiple
mediums, simplicity, purpose clarity, goal achieving, and formal-informal balance. The second

10
group of factors is dependent on the receiver or the receiver has more control over them. These
are engagement, which is about whether the receiver will put effort or not, and personality.

A case study done on communication tries to relate communication effectiveness with project
success on the one hand and tries to measure communication effectiveness on the other hand.
However, from these case studies, the majorly of them are done somewhere else, outside of
Ethiopia. We came across a small number of case studies done on projects in Ethiopia. And even
from this small number of case studies, no such significant amount is done on communication
management. The author of this case study concludes that there is a shortage of case studies
conducted to show the practice of project communication management and effectiveness in
Ethiopia.

2.6. Gap in Literature

The gap in the literature indicates a lack of case study that shows the day-to-day practice of
project management communication practice in Ethiopia.

11
 CHAPTER 3

3. METHODS OF THE STUDY

3.1. Description of the Study Area or Site

This study was conducted in the Harar Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations
(HCCSA), which is a non-profit, voluntary business membership organization that was
established in 2001. HCCSA represents a diverse range of businesses located in Harar, which
account for more than 60% of all businesses in Eastern Ethiopia. HCCSA aims to promote trade
and investment by providing demand-driven services to its members and stakeholders,
advocating for a favorable business environment, and fostering cordial relations with similar
chambers in other countries. HCCSA has a vision to be a world-class chamber that enables the
business community to be competitive locally and internationally and contribute to the trade and
investment goals of the country.

The study area posed some challenges and limitations for conducting the study, such as gaining
access to important documents and data, obtaining the cooperation and consent of the
respondents, and ensuring the validity and reliability of the data collection instruments.
However, the study also benefited from the availability of secondary sources of data, such as
HCCSA’s profile, reports, and publications, as well as the support and guidance of the
management and staff of the organization.

3.2. Study Period when Data are Collected

The data collection activities will be proposed to be collected within September 2023.

3.3. Study Design

This study adopts a descriptive case study design to assess the current practice of communication
between project managers and internal stakeholders in HCCSA projects. A descriptive case study
is appropriate for this study because it aims to provide a detailed and comprehensive description
of the phenomenon of interest, rather than testing a hypothesis or exploring a causal relationship.
The case for this study is the HCCSA, a non-governmental organization that implements various
projects in different sectors. The case was selected based on its accessibility, diversity, and
relevance to the research topic. The study uses mixed methods to collect and analyze data from

12
multiple sources, such as questionnaires, interviews, and documents. The questionnaires were
designed by the researcher and distributed to 50 project team members, including project
managers and internal stakeholders, to measure their perceptions of communication
effectiveness, project success, and communication challenges and opportunities. The interviews
were conducted with 10 key informants, such as project managers, project coordinators, and
project sponsors, to gain deeper insights into the communication practices, processes, and
outcomes of HCCSA projects. The documents were obtained from the HCCSA website and
project reports and included information on the project objectives, scope, budget, timeline, and
deliverables. The qualitative data from the interviews and documents were analyzed using
thematic analysis, while the quantitative data from the questionnaires were analyzed using
descriptive and inferential statistics. The validity and reliability of the data were ensured by
using triangulation, member checking, and pilot testing. The potential biases and limitations of
the study were acknowledged and discussed, such as the self-reported nature of the questionnaire
data, the possible influence of the researcher’s role and position, and the limited generalizability
of the findings to other contexts.

3.4. Description of Population

The population as well as the sample of this study is the whole project team and the project
manager. The census is appropriate for this study because the size of the population is very
small. A total of nine people participated in this study from both the project team and other
functional managers, who are involved in the project management.

3.5. Data Collection

Since it is already planned in the study design to use both qualitative and quantitative study
techniques, the data collection reflects this by using multiple data collection instruments. These are
questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis.

3.5.1. Questioner
The justification for using a questionnaire is that it will enable the collection of large amounts of
data in a short period, like the time we have in this case study. The questionnaire is a mix of
close-ended and open-ended questions. The close-ended questions were meant to measure the
overall communication effectiveness of the company. This part of the overall questionnaire is

13
adopted from the previous research done by Karolina, (2015) to measure communication
efficiency. The open-ended questions, however, were targeted to measure, alongside with
interview, to get insight into the challenges and opportunities in project communication. In
addition to this, three questions ask about whether there is a time or budget overrun and if there
is any scope change, in the project they had. The first answer (answer 1) in the list of possible
answers shows poor communication effectiveness at the same time the last answer (answer 5) in
the list of possible answers, gives us the most effective communication effectiveness. For
instance, to the question Do you doublecheck messages sent/information provided regarding its
logic and linguistic correctness? (to avoid mistakes, ambiguity, etc.), the possible answers are:
nearly never/never, seldom, sometimes, usually, nearly always/ always.

3.5.2. Interview
If there is some idea that is not clear interview will help to clarify it. So, the researcher preferred
to add interviews to gather deeper information, by including the perspective of the project
manager. In this study, an interview is also used to triangulate the data collected through a
questionnaire.

3.5.3. Document analysis

The documents relevant to the study, like project report document, interoffice memo, etc. is used
for further clarification and understanding of the topic under investigation and triangulation of
data.

3.6. Data Analysis

The data collected from interviews and questionnaires is analyzed qualitatively and
quantitatively according to the type of data.

3.7. Data Quality Control

The researcher will triangulate the research by using different sources of information (primary,
secondary) and different means of collecting the data (questionnaire, interview, document
analysis), which will increase the study data quality control. In addition to this, the questionnaire
used to measure communication effectiveness was adopted from the research done by Karolina,
(2018), which mainly focuses on developing criteria for measuring communication effectiveness
in any type of company. Which gives an advantage in making use of the already validated

14
questionnaire. In Karolina, (2018) research ―the validity tests, contained three major tests:
content validity test, criterion validity test and construct validity test. The reliability tests were
based on reliability coefficient calculations, test-retest method, and multi-source correlations.
Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.94; the split-half method yielded an RTT value of 0.92, and
the inter-judge reliability test generated a correlation coefficient of 0.61.‖

3.8. Ethics in Conducting Case Study

The study will respect all ethical standards to do the case study. All participant of the case study
gives their consent before the questionnaire or interview is introduced. Any question that needs
to be explained and addressed accordingly. The project manager's concern gets a response by not
presenting the content of the document delivered for the case study purpose.

15
 CHAPTER 4

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter focuses on presenting, analyzing, and interpreting data that are collected through
questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. The result is presented in the form of a table,
figure and using descriptive statistical analysis. The first part of the analysis focuses on the first
part of the questionnaire, which analyzes demographic data on participants of the study. The
second part of the analysis gives attention to individual and team communication effectiveness.
The third part of the questionnaire was analyzed, which is designed to investigate whether the
project manager uses communication planning for communication management. Next to that part
of the analysis is based on the fourth part of the questionnaire which asks whether the company
had a failed project, based on cost, time, and/ or scope criteria. The last part of this analysis gives
attention to the last section of the questionnaire and answers what are the challenges and
opportunities in project management communication. Data collected from interviews and
document analysis is used as a means of triangulation for the data collected through
questionnaires. Since the project manager told me not to use it other than reference material, the
content of the document is not presented on this case study paper. After the analysis is done, the
next part of the chapter focuses on the interpretation of these analyzed data. This interpretation
part tries to compare the first part of the questionnaire result with the model that was given by
Karolin, (2015) in the first part. In the next section, the result of the second part of the
questionnaire is interpreted and in the last section, the two parts of the questionnaire are
interpreted. The company under study uses a matrix form of project management. Because of
this type of organizational structure, different departments took part in different project activities
at different times in the project management. Based on this understanding the researcher
distributed the questionnaire to these different department heads in addition to the project
manager and project management team. The entire questionnaire distributed to these parties was
collected. Most of the questionnaire gets the response from the participant in the study.

16
 4.1. Result
One of the purposes of this case study is to look at the practice of project communication
management. For this purpose, the data was gathered through a questionnaire, interview, and
data analysis. The results indicate that the project communication management is effective and
well-managed. Even though there are projects that failed (in terms of scope, time, and budget
overrun) it is not related to the project communication management. The case study with its
limitation shows that communication management is not to be blamed for project failure in
HCCSA projects, since the communication is found to be efficient. By looking at the issues
raised by participants in the case study as opportunities and challenges, it is clear that the
communication practice in HCCSA has room for further improvement. But at this time, the
cause for project failure has to be searched somewhere else, rather than in the areas of project
communication management practice. Before starting this case study, the researcher did not
expect to see this much communication effectiveness. Even though the researcher learned there
is a project failure (scope, time, and budget overrun) now at this point it is clear that
communication effectiveness is not the cause for these problems, in this company (HCCSA)
projects.

4.2. Discussion
4.2.1. Demographic analysis of the respondent
There are four (4) male and five (5) female participants who are selected to answer the questionnaire.
Four (4) of the participants are between thirty-one (31) to forty (40) age group. Two (2) participants
are between the age group of forty-one (41) to fifty (50) years. Three (3) participants are in the above
fifty (50) year age group. Seven (7) participants say they have an MA/MSc degree and two (2) of
them say have BA/BSc degree.

17
Table 1: Summary of demographics of participant
Character of respondents Number of respondents Percentage of respondents
Gender
Male 4 44.44%
Female 5 55.56%

Age group
Between 31-40 years 4 44.44%
Between 41-50 years 2 22.22%
Above 50 years 3 33.33%

Educational status
BA/BSc degree graduate 2 22.22%
MA/MSc degree graduate 7 77.78%

4.2.2. Communication Effectiveness in HCCSA

After saying this let us look at what values were given by the respondent. The response given to
the first part of the questionnaire can be summarized into two categories. The first one gives the
individual communication effectiveness of each respondent. The second one gives overall
communication effectiveness within the project team.

An individual’s communication effectiveness is calculated based on comparing the answer with

the reference model given by Karolina, (2015). This reference model categorizes the
communication effectiveness into three groups in which reference percentages for each level
are given in Table 1
The first category in this reference model shows a high level of communication effectiveness,
the next category in the reference model shows a medium level of communication effectiveness
and the last one in the reference model category indicates the lowest level of communication
effectiveness.

18
Table 2: Reference percentages of communication effectiveness reference model as it is
prepared by Karolina, (2015).
Reference percentage for most favorable and most
unfavorable answers
Level of communication effectiveness
Answer 1&2 (unfavorable) Answer 4&5 (favorable)
High < 10% >70%
Medium <20% >50%
Low ≥20% ≤50%

Team communication effectiveness is calculated by adding the number of all five types of
answers, ranging from those that show high communication effectiveness to those that
show low communication effectiveness, for all questions in the first part of the
questionnaires.

The first part of the questionnaire contains thirty-eight questions with five possible answers
for each question. The respondent has three hundred forty-two possible responses (thirty-
eight questions multiplied by nine respondents). From these three hundred forty-two
responses only sixteen (16 or 4.67%) of them did not get any answer at all. The other three
hundred twenty-six (326 or 95.33%) of the questions were answered. Of these three
hundred forty-two questions ten (10 or 2.92%) answers were given to the lowest value
which shows a very low level of communication effectiveness. Two answers (2 or 0.58%)
were given to the value that shows the second lowest communication effectiveness.
Seventy-one (71 or 20.76%) were given to the value which shows the middle level of
communication effectiveness. A hundred sixty-three (163 or 47.66%) answers were given
to the second most effective level of communication effectiveness.

The next eighty (80 or 23.39%) of answers were given to the level that shows the highest
level of communication effectiveness in the project management with a team member and
other staff who are involved in the project.

The answer is not evenly distributed. More answers are given concentrating on answers 4 and 5.
Answer number 3, 4, and 5 takes 91.81% of all the answers, which is three hundred fourteen.

19
Answer number one (1) and two (2) take twelve (12 or 3.5%) of all the answers. In addition to
this, there are sixteen (16 or 4.67%) of all the questions that did not get any answer from all the
answers. The majority of all response indicates the second most efficient way of communication
in the project which is about one hundred sixty-three (163 or 47.66%) responses. A small
number of all the responses which is ten (10 or 2.92%) indicates a very low efficiency (answer 1)
of communication in the project. Another very small number of all the responses, two (2 or
0.58%) in number indicate the second most non-efficient (answer 2) way of communication.

Table 3: The distribution of all answers in the five possible response options.
No answer given 16 4.67%
Answer number 1 10 2.92%
Answer number 2 2 0.58%
Answer number 3 71 20.76%
Answer number 4 163 47.66%
Answer number 5 80 23.39%
Total 342 99.98%

4.2.2.1. Communication effectiveness for individual team members

Individual communication effectiveness is calculated by adding the answers of each
respondent and comparing the results to the reference model described in the above section.
The mean is 3.75.
Table 4: Standard deviation for each respondent’s answer.
Respondent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Standard 1.0573 1.6344 1.0049 0.9455 0.55173 0.9824 1.1492 1.6560 0.8416
deviation 86 44 66 29 3 2 47 59 61

As we can see from the result in the above table, the average of the response that each
individual gives is greater than the mean value attached to the scale. Moreover, the standard
deviation has a small value which shows the responses of the respondent is more or less the
same or at least closer to each other. The interpretation of this result is that the respondents give

20
answers that show higher effectiveness in their communication when they are evaluated
individually.

4.2.2.2. Communication effectiveness from the company’s perspective

A small number of responses, only 10 of all questions (about 2.92%) get answers which
indicates the lowest efficiency of communication (answer number 1). The greater part of
responses (about 47.66%) indicates the second most efficient communication of team members
employed in the project (answer number 4), 20.76% are medium responses (answer number 3)
and about 23.39% of all responses indicated a very high communication efficiency (answers
number 5).
4.2.3. Communication planning in HCCSA
The second part of the questionnaire was prepared to give information on whether the
project manager uses a project communication plan and manages the project
communication. The questionnaire in this section of the questionnaire did not ask whether
the project manager prepared the communication plan and managed the project
communication, rather it presented questions indirectly by asking detailed components of
the possible communication plan to avoid misleading the respondent.

The questionnaire in this section asks for details of the communication plan. In doing so, it
will confirm whether there is a plan or not, and if there is a plan, it answers the question “Is
it the kind of plan that the literature talks about?”

These questions get the two highest scores in the questionnaire (answer 4 and answer 5) for
most of the questions. The project manager answers 5 for eleven (11) questions and
answers 4 for four (4) questions out of fifteen questions. His assistant, monitoring and
evaluation manager gives answer 5 for seven (7) questions, answer 4 for six (6) questions,
and answer 3 for two (2) questions.

Table 5: The project manager's response to communication planning

Project manager response No of Question
Answer number 5 7
Answer number 4 6
Answer number 3 2

21
 Answer number 2 0
Answer number 1 0

Table 6: Monitoring and evaluation officer response on communication planning

Monitoring and evaluation officer response No of Question
Answer number 5 11
Answer number 4 4
Answer number 3 0
Answer number 2 0
Answer number 1 0

The answers of the project manager and his assistant (monitoring and evaluation manager) are
valued in evaluating the response from this section of the questionnaire. This is done because it
is assumed by the researcher, that the other members of the project team are not involved in
preparing the project plan. Therefore, their response did not count. This is expected to be done
by the project manager and somehow the monitoring and evaluation manager is involved in this
process (because of the special organizational structure).
Table 7: Response on scope overrun
No. of participants who say there is scope 5
overrun
No. of participants who say there is no scope 4
overrun

Table 8: Response to budget overrun

No. of participants who say there is a budget 6
overrun
No. of participants who say there is no budget 2
overrun
No. of participants who did not answer budget 1
overrun

Table 9: Response to time overrun

No. of participant who says there is time 7
overrun

22
 No. of participant who says there is no time 2
overrun

4.2.4. Challenges and Opportunities of Project Communication in HCCSA

The last part of the questionnaire is part of the questionnaire which asks about the challenges and
opportunities that the participant experienced or noticed in the project communication. This part
of the questionnaire, unlike the other part of the questionnaire, is composed of open-ended
questions. The responses from the participants are summarized and presented as follows.

4.2.4.1.Challenges in the project communication

The participant raised or listed down the following points as a challenge in their
communication. These are: priorities given to the project differ from person to person, which
results in different responses for the same inquiry; project performance report writing; a
challenge in the use of technologies by stakeholders; enforcement issues in case of internal
departments who implement the project; limited communication skills of stakeholders; the
receiving and/or sending of incomplete information by stakeholders and the low response
rate for any kind of communication inquiry or invitation.

4.2.4.2. Opportunities in the project communication

The participant raised or listed down the following point as an opportunity in their
communication. These are the presence of follow-up meetings, which enables the project to
go smoothly; project communication gives room for continuous improvement; the presence
of dedicated media (HCCSA has a media outlet of its own); the good working relationship
that they have with the government and there member; time-to-time improvement in the
awareness of the stakeholder on the benefit of communication in the project and
international experience they get by working with project partners communication experts.

23
 CHAPTER 5

5. SUMMARY, ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1. Summary
One of the purposes of this case study is to look at the practice of project communication
management. For this purpose, the data was gathered through a questionnaire, interview,
and data analysis. The results indicate that the project communication management is
effective and well-managed. Even though there are projects that failed (in terms of scope,
time, and budget overrun) it is not related to the project communication management. The
case study with its limitation shows that communication management is not to be blamed
for project failure in HCCSA projects, since the communication is found to be efficient.

By looking at the issues raised by participants in the case study as opportunities and
challenges, it is clear that the communication practice in HCCSA has room for further
improvement. But at this time, the cause for project failure has to be searched somewhere
else, rather than in the areas of project communication management practice.

Before starting this case study, the researcher did not expect to see this much
communication effectiveness. Even though the researcher learns there is a project failure
(scope, time, and budget overrun) now at this point it is clear that communication
effectiveness is not the cause for these problems, in this company (HCCSA) projects.

5.2. Recommendation
It is advisable to maintain or improve the current project communication practice in
HCCSA. At the same time, it is very important to look for the cause of project failure. The
project is doing well in its project communication management, does not mean all the
project management areas are doing well. The response to the open-ended questions in the
questionnaire shows that there are some issues stated as a challenge in communication.
Some of these issues can be tackled through training. The difficulties in the use of
technology can get a solution this way. Problems in project performance report writing can
be made less problematic through the use of technology and/or by making the pre-prepared
reporting formats easy to use. Limited communication skills of stakeholders and low
response rate of the stakeholders can also be improved, through training and open
discussion with stakeholders to search for the solution together.

24
 6. REFERENCES

Project Management for Instructional Designers. Retrieved 5 2019, from http://pm4id.org/:

http://pm4id.org/ Bahaà, A., Sulieman, I., & Main, N. (2016). The role of time,
communication, and cost management on project management success: an empirical study
on a sample of construction project customers in Makkah City, the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia.

International Journal of Services and Operations Management. Conboy, K. (2010). Project

failure in masse: a study of loose budgetary control in ISD projects.

European Journal of Information Systems, 273-287. Cooke-Davies, T. (2002). The real

success factors on projects.

International Journal of Project Management, 185-190. D., J., & L., P. (2011). CROSS-
CULTURAL COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOUR IN INTERNATIONAL
ENGINEERING PROJECTS: CHINESE AND SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES.

South African Journal of Industrial Engineering November Vol 22(2): 54-67. Femi, A. F.
(2014).

The Impact of Communication on Workers‟ Performance in Selected Organizations in

Lagos State, Nigeria.

IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 75-82. Herbert, R., & Nory, B. (2012).
Developing a model for social media in project management communications.

International Journal of Business and Social Science. Holzmann, v., & Globerson, s.
(2003). Evaluating communication effectiveness in a project environment.

Project Management Institute. Holzmann, V., & Globerson, S. (2003). Evaluating

communication effectiveness in a project environment.

PMI® Global Congress 2003—EMEA, The Hague, South Holland, The Netherlands
Newtown Square: PA: Project Management Institute. Jana, S., Kristína, K., & Rudolf, R.
(2012). PROJECT COMMUNICATION IN FUNCTIONS, PROCESS, AND PROJECT-
ORIENTED INDUSTIRAL COMPANIES. SLOVAK.

Journal of Economics and Management vol.33. Karolina, M. (2015). COMMUNICATION

MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT TEAMS – PRACTICES AND PATTERNS.
Management, knowledge and learning Joint international conference.

25
Journal of Management in Engineering, 150–155. Linda S. Henderson. (2004). Encoding
and Decoding Communication Competencies in Project Management- An exploratory
study.

International Journal of Project Management, 469-476. Linda S. Henderson (2008) The

Impact of Project Managers‟ Communication Competencies: Validation and Extension of
a Research Model for Virtuality, Satisfaction, and Productivity on Project Teams.

Project Management Journal, Vol. 39, No. 2, 48–59. Martinez, M. (2017, 11 15). Different
Types of Communication for Effective Project Management. Monteiro de Carvalho, M.
(2013). An investigation of the role of communication in IT projects.

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 36-64. Monteiro de

Carvalho, M. (2013). An investigation of the role of communication in IT projects.
International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 36-64. Muszynska, K.
(2015). COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT IN PROJECT TEAMS – PRACTICES
AND PATTERNS. Bari.

Papke-Shields, K. E., Beise, C., & Quan, J. (2010). Do project managers practice what
they preach, and does it matter to project success? International Journal of Project
Management, 650-662. PMI. (2013).

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth

Edition pp (21). Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute. REPORT, P. P.-D. (2013,
May). The Essential Role of Communications. PMI’s PULSE OF THE PROFESSION IN-
DEPTH REPORT. Rory, B., & Steve, B. (2014).

Project management leadership Building creative teams 2nd edition. Stoica, R., & Brouse,
P. (2013). IT project Failure: A proposed four-phased adaptive multimethod approach.
Procedia Computer Science, 728-736. Turner, J., & Müller, R. (2004). Communication
and cooperation on projects between the project owner as principal and the project
manager as agent.

International Journal of Project Management, 327-336. Z.M., D., H., L., C.M., T., Q.P., S.,
& P.E.D., L. (2001). An application of the Internet-based project management system.
Automation in Construction, 10, 239–246.

26
 7. APPENDIX

A. Semi-structured interview

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Dear Respected project managers and team members:
I am a master’s student in project management at the American College of
Technology School of Business conducting a case study on the subject of Business
Administration. The specific topic of my study is “Role of stakeholder communication
practice: the case of HCCSA projects.”

As a project manager and team member performing in the chamber of commerce, you
have practical experience and knowledge that you can share with the advancement of
the project management profession. Hence, your response and participation in this
interview will be extremely valuable in understanding core project managers‟ day to
day-to-day practice. Meanwhile, all of your responses will be kept confidential and
will be used only for this study. Participants‟ names will not be published, or
recorded, or provided to others.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to participate. If you have an interest in the
final results of the study, contact me via E-mail and I will provide you with a
complementary summary.
Again, thank you for your participation.

Interview Guide
For project manager
1. How essential is a project communication plan for the success of a project?

2. Do you think that we should always write a communication plan for our
projects irrespective of their size?
3. Please describe whether you have a communication plan or not.

4. Please answer the following question only if you have a communication plan.

5. Please elaborate on what is included in your communication plan. What are the
inputs?

6. Would you tell us what you will use, to prepare your communication plan?

27
 7. When do you begin your communication plan, if you have one?

8. Do you manage your communication plan?

9. How do you manage your communication plan?

10. What are your tools and techniques to plan, manage, and control your
communication?

11. How do you control your communication with stakeholders?

For project team member

1. Have you noticed any communication gap between the project manager and
his/her team? If your answer is yes, please explain it.
2. Have you noticed any communication gap between the project manager and
external stakeholders? If your answer is yes, please explain it.
3. Do you think there is a relationship between communication and project
success?

If your answer is yes, please explain it.

4. Are you expected to report to the project manager? If you say yes, how often?
In what format? And how detailed it is?
5. Do you have any direct communication with stakeholders? If you say yes,
please explain it.
6. When do you get information about the next phase of your job from the project
manager?

7. How frequently do you communicate with the project manager and project
team?

8. Is there any standard to which information is to be communicated, including

language, format, content, and level of detail?
9. Is there any guideline for reasons, in the distribution of information?

10. What are the time frame and frequency for the distribution of required
information and receipt of acknowledgment or response, if applicable?
11. Who is responsible for communicating the information?

12. Who is responsible for authorizing the release of confidential information?

28
13. What are methods or technologies used to convey the information, such as
memos, emails, and/or press releases?
14. Are there any resources allocated for communication activities, including time
and budget?

15. What is the escalation process identifying time frames and the management
chain (names) for escalation of issues that cannot be resolved at a lower staff
level?
16. What are the methods for updating and refining the communications
management plan as the project progresses and develops?
17. Do you have a Glossary of common terminology in your communication?

18. Do you have flow charts of the information flow in the project, workflows
with possible sequence of authorization, list of reports, meeting plans, etc?
19. Do you have any communication constraints usually derived from a specific
legislation or regulation, technology, organizational policies, etc?
20. Are there any guidelines and templates for project status meetings, project
team meetings, e-meetings, and e-mail messages?
Thank you for your participation

29
B. Questionnaire

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Dear Respected project managers and team members:
I am a master’s student in project management at the American College of
Technology conducting a case study on the subject of project management. The
specific topic of my study is “Assessing internal project stakeholder communication
practice: the case of HCCSA projects”.

As a project manager and team member performing in the chamber of commerce, you
have practical experience and knowledge that you can share with the advancement of
the project management profession. Hence, your response and participation in this
interview will be extremely valuable in understanding core project managers‟ day to
day-to-day practice. Meanwhile, all of your responses will be kept confidential and
will be used only for this study. Participants‟ names will not be published, or
recorded, or provided to others.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to participate. If you have an interest in the
final results of the study, contact me via E-mail and I will provide you with a
complementary summary.
Again, thank you for your participation.

Kind Regards

30
Part I: Demographic characteristics of the respondents and general background

1. Sex: a. Male b. Female

2. Age: a. 21-30 b. 31-40 c. 41-50 d. above 50

3. Current academic qualification: a. Ph.D. b. MA/ MSc

c. BA/ BSc

d. Diploma e. High School completed

If other, please specify----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Position in the organization:

a. Top management b. Middle management c. Project manager

d. please write if you have other than the

above-----------------------------------------------.
5. Service year in the organization -------------------------------------
Part II: Questions on Project Communication Management
Effectiveness
Neither agree or disagree (3)
Strongly disagree (1)

Strongly agree (5)

T/L
Disagree (2)

Agree (4)

1 Do you make sure to send/provide only up-to-date information?

31
 2 Do you check promptly if the recipient received and acknowledged the
message you sent/provided?

3 Do you make sure that the information available to the stakeholders is

up-to-date? (on Webpages, intranet, wiki)

4 Do you double-check messages sent/information provided regarding

their logic and linguistic correctness? (to avoid mistakes, ambiguity,
etc.)

5 Do you use spell/grammar-checking tools? (especially when writing

messages in a foreign language)

Part III: questions on project communication plan preparation

Neither agree or disagree

Strongly disagree (1)

Strongly agree (5)

T/ Which of the following information is included in your
L communication plan?

Disagree (2)

Agree (4)
(3)
1 Stakeholder communication requirements
2 Information to be communicated, including language, format,
content, and level of detail;

3 Reason for the distribution of that information

4 Time frame and frequency for the distribution of required
information and receipt of acknowledgment or response, if
applicable
5 The person responsible for communicating the information;
6 The person responsible for authorizing the release
of confidential information;

7 Person or groups who will receive the information;

8 Methods or technologies used to convey the information, such as
memos, e-mail, and/or press releases;

9 Resources allocated for communication activities, including time

and budget;

32
 10 Escalation process identifying time frames and the management
chain (names) for escalation of issues that cannot be resolved at
a lower staff level;

11 Method for updating and refining the communications

management plan as the project progresses and develops;

12 Glossary of common terminology;

13 Flow charts of the information flow in the project, workflows
with possible sequence of authorization, list of reports, meeting
plans, etc.

14 Communication constraints are usually derived from a specific

legislation or regulation, technology, and organizational policies,
etc.
15 Guidelines and templates for project status meetings, project
team meetings, e-meetings, and e-mail messages.

Part IV: Questions on project failure

1. Do you have time to run in projects? Yes No

2. Do you have a budget overrun in projects? Yes No

3. Do you have scope changes in projects? Yes No

Part V: Questions on challenges and opportunities in project communication
1. What are the challenges in your project communication? Please write them in
the space provided.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------

2. What are the opportunities in your project communication? Please write them
in the space provided.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------

33