Managing stakeholders in epcm projects in Africa by Western project managers

Due to a number of issues - political, social, historical, personal contexts, and technical - large EPCM companies find it difficult to manage projects stakeholders properly in Africa. The Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management projects (EPCM) are complex, customised, and produce highly unique products. Project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) highlights that projects and the workforce are generally temporary in nature. Literature reviews and media reports show that EPCM projects are poorly managed in Africa by Western companies. Some of these problems are caused by a gap between companies and projects in Africa. To take up these challenges, this paper presents a research methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative (observation and survey of practising project managers) working in large EPCM projects, to understand local stakeholders' needs and the iterative improvement of communication directly upon projects. Multi-method research technique was used for this study. The paper shows the practical feasibility of the management approach using field observation. The field observation provides evidence that the qualitative approach is well suited to support the development and implementation of effective and efficient mechanisms in large projects. The research has revealed that stakeholders should be effectively integrated in the organisation management processes to improve project success. The research makes a significant contribution to stakeholder management by presenting how Western project managers should manage stakeholders in EPCM project in Africa.