A survey of project management techniques in Retail outlet development at the Westgate centre

Abstract

This study surveyed the use of project management techniques in the retail outlets development in Kenya. The study was done in the new Westgate Shopping mall in Westlands Nairobi. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. Data was analyzed through a combination of both descriptive and inferential statistics. To facilitate data collection drop-and-pick later method was largely employed, but where possible, personal interviews were used. The first study objective was to establish the extent of using project management techniques, thus various techniques identified from literature were listed for the respondents to gauge appropriately. Respondents were required to use a Likert scale to rank the various purposes. The second objective was to establish the benefits that accrue as a result of project management adoption by retailers. Various project management aspects were listed, and the respondents indicated their importance on a Likert scale The study found out that most tenants were aware of some of the project management techniques. This was due to their long years experience in the development of retail outlets. However, not all techniques were understood by the tenants. The study further revealed that there was need for a concerted effort to train most retail outlet practitioners in project management techniques. This is because there are benefits that result from the use of these techniques. The study revealed the use of project management techniques in retail outlets development. Project Management techniques are used by retail store owners and managers to plan the establishment of new retail outlets to a great extent. All retailers should adopt these techniques to save enormous resources that are wasted when projects fail.