Browsing by Author "Wium, J."
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- ItemImpact of discounted professional fees on the risk exposure of civil and structural engineering services consultants in South Africa(South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 2018-03) Okonkwo, P. N.; Wium, J.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The abolition of mandatory fee scales and the prevalence of lowest-cost bidding for the procurement of consulting services in South Africa have seen engineering services consultants compete based on price for engineering contracts. Discounts benchmarked against ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa) professional fees guidelines demanded by clients have resulted in declines in professional fees over the years. The capacity to deliver professional services that are of such high quality that it meets the client's expectation, professional and ethical standards when working at low fees is one of the biggest challenges facing consulting professionals today. This research studied the risks encountered by civil and structural engineering services consultants and the impact of discounted professional fees on their risk exposure. The study included a review of literature, discussions with practising engineers and a questionnaire survey of 23 practising consulting engineers representing small, medium and large consulting engineering firms. A key finding of this study is that discounted fees accentuate several project level risks and create organisational level risks for the consulting engineering professional. The implications of these are discussed, and recommendations for improving the industry put forward.
- ItemThe megaproject sponsor as leader(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2018-11-9) Louw, W.; Wium, J.; Steyn, H.; Gevers, W.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The importance of the sponsor role, including its contribution to the success or failure of a project, is widely recognised in the project management literature. References to the sponsor’s leadership, and the substantial component it represents in the profile of the sponsor, are equally prevalent in the literature reviewed. A megaproject is a large-scale, complex venture that typically costs US$1 billion or more, takes many years to develop and build, involves multiple public and private stakeholders, is transformational, and influences millions of people. Executive sponsors are primarily allocated to projects of strategic importance that are complex, carry a considerable degree of risk, and are very visible. A megaproject is thus entitled to a sponsor from the executive (most senior) ranks within an organisation. Rather than joining the debates on complexity and leadership in the project management literature, this paper explains how leadership theories are used to identify instruments that can assist in the assessment of the leadership style and traits/attributes of a sponsor. A framework is then proposed to identify assessment instruments to evaluate the leadership style and leader traits/attributes of a project sponsor.