Project control as a technique for organisational efficiency: A case study of selected firms in Delta state, Nigeria

The focus of this study is to investigate Project Control as a technique for achieving organizational efficiency. Efficient Management of project demands that project should be executed according to specification. This further requires control in the areas of time, quality, and cost. Control enables project managers to check variances, and possible reasons for deviation. This work seeks to address the problems of operational inefficiency in terms of deviation from project cost allocation, project time allocation resulting to delay, and finally deviation from required quality. To achieve the set objectives from a population of 125 employees, a sample size of 96 respondents was gathered from two companies in Warri, Delta State, and analysed using percentage. Based on the analysis, the following findings emerged; Project control measures operational efficiency in the areas of time, cost and quality. In the face of the above findings, the study concludes that Time plays a major role in organizational performance. Consequently, absence of project schedule and proper time management will negatively affect organizational operational efficiency. The impact of project cost control cannot be overemphasized. Without cost control project goals may not be accomplished, as working out of the approved budget is detrimental. Quality control enables the comparison of performance against set standard, to correct possible deviation from project objectives. Also, the following recommendations emerged ‘in achieving success in project management, Project control should be a major concern of project managers. Suitable control plan should be formulated in advance, together with suitable information system to aid effective project control. More than that, project control in the area of cost, time and quality should be integrated in the managerial process to avoid deviations, and thus, achieving efficiency, and optimal performance.