| dc.description.abstract | When speaking of project performance, historically, improvements in practice have been
held in higher regards than improvements in management theory. Yet, it is argued that
enhancement in practice cannot be achieved without improved theory. This research investigates
and compares Management by Results (MBR) and Management by Means (MBM), as two
primitive and competing conceptualizations of management underlying prevailing project
management and control systems. The Earned Value Method (EVM) and the Last Planner System
(LPS) are found to be based on MBR and MBM view respectively. According to existing literature,
the LPS, as a MBM-based system, is claimed to be more efficient in comparison with EVM in cost
and schedule performance. Yet, more quantitative research is required to be carried out in this area.
This research starts with a comprehensive structured literature search of MBR and MBM-based
control and management systems in terms of cost and schedule performance with the aim of
figuring out which system is more appropriate to today’s construction projects with a high level of
complexity and uncertainty and where tasks are highly interdependent. Structured literature review
and three different statistical data analyses are used as the methodology of this research. The data
of over seventy construction projects is statistically analyzed in order to test the research
hypothesis that the LPS, as a project planning and control method, positively influences the project
performance in terms of cost and schedule. The results display that projects implementing the LPS
are superior to projects with traditional management method in terms of schedule performance,
yet, there is no significant difference between their cost performance. | en |
