Competencies for a manager to execute retail logistics projects in the Cape metropolis

Abstract

Project management is a scarce skill in South Africa and the failure rate of projects in the country is very high. Many projects are initiated for purposes of enhancing the companies’ operations as well as the way people do things but it is unlikely for all projects to be successful due to different aspects that contribute to project failures. South Africa’s retail industry has experienced exponential growth over the past years, hence the study focused on retail logistics projects with the expectations that this study will improve the success rate of retail logistics projects. The research objectives are to identify the types of the tasks performed in the retail logistics departments, to identify the competencies required to effectively lead in that environment as well as to identify the competencies relevant for the execution of retail logistics projects. The study will significantly contribute to the retail industry by highlighting the competencies needed from managers that will enable them to execute retail logistics successfully. It will also contribute to the retail industry by understanding the roles of managers in retail logistics departments. The mixed research methodology has been selected for this study as it enables the use of the different methodologies simultaneously. This provides depth and breadth on the understanding of the phenomenon understudy. The targeted population will be retail logistics employees, including senior managers and middle managers. The probability sampling method was utilised to select the relevant respondents. Respondents were given a questionnaire which was divided in to three sections. Section A was the Biography, Section B - Likert scale as well as Section C – Open ended questions. The respondents were made aware of withdrawing from the study if they felt uncomfortable as it was not compulsory for them to respond to the questionnaire. Data analysis was done on excel which enabled the researcher to use illustrations that would make the answers meaningful.