THE EFFECT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE – THE CASE OF NGOs IN AFGHANISTAN

Abstract

Nowadays, most of the non-profit organizations are managing projects in a very complex environment. Development of new products, implementation of new policies and outsourcing, proper system of implementation and development are considered as the key project initiatives of an organization. For this purpose, implementation of projects in business entities is undertaken through various practices of project management which are carried out by different project managers every day. The capability to successfully complete the project is considered as the achievement of organizational performance. Cost, time and quality are considered as most important objectives which are important in all projects and all these factors are important to consider for analyzing the success of any project. In order to fulfill the purpose of this research, a questionnaire was adopted from previous research studies and then distributed to employees of NGOs that were working at various hierarchical levels. In total, 260 questionnaires were distributed to those employees who were working at top management level, middle management level, and low management level in targeted NGOs operating in Afghanistan. In total, 260 survey forms were distributed among the respondents whereas out of 230 returned questionnaires, 210 were retained for data analysis. The questionnaires were also used in establishing which project management practices significantly influence organizational performance and measured time, cost and quality performances of projects of the organization leading to greater organizational performance. Analysis of the impact of project management practices on organizational performance was done using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) data analysis using SPSS 20 and AMOS version 23 to determine the relationship between the significant project management practices and organizational performance. The key findings from the research were that it was important to link the various project management practices to realize successful completion of projects leading to better organizational performance. It was also discovered that all project management practices were found to be significant to realize better organizational performance however project cost management followed by project scope management were the most significant. Time performance lagged behind whereas the cost and quality performance trends were generally as expected and very important in realizing improved organizational performance. The study showed that engaging in project management practices had a positive impact on organizational performance as benefits accrued improved organizational performance. The study finally provided recommendations for improvement in project management practices and more organization performance metrics recently developed in other research works like benefit to end users, benefit to national infrastructure should be included for performance x measurement. Recommendations were also made on areas for further studies on adoption of project management practices in all sectors in addition to the NGOs.