TITLE:
Impact of Remote Work on Project Management Cases from UAE Construction Sector
AUTHORS:
Mounir M. El Khatib, Salma Al Hashimi, Maitha Al Ketbi
KEYWORDS:
Remote Work, Virtual Technology, Project Management, Construction Industry
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Service Science and Management,
Vol.16 No.1,
February
16,
2023
ABSTRACT: The proposed study is coming at a time when companies have been facing
challenges in employing an effective business model in their operational
activities. In the UAE, the government proposed strict measures to curb
coronavirus spread by advocating for working-at-home policies. Companies with
no system architecture to adapt to the work-at-home guidelines were forced to
close down for a while. The three companies under this study, being
multinational companies, struggled greatly with the new directives. As a
result, the management of the three companies was left with no alternative but
to adopt a new strategic plan to remain stable. This study aimed at finding out
the key challenges and benefits associated with virtual team technology. The
result of this study is based on a combination of primary and secondary data
collection. The primary data collection was obtained via interviews with
officials from the three companies. On the other hand, the secondary data was
obtained from the comparative analysis of three companies already employing the
remote work strategy. This was coupled with the results obtained from past
studies in this field. Based on the preliminary results, the new strategy, as
predicted, would affect the operations of the company for a while before it is
fully embraced. Further, the study recommends that the three companies continue their innovative exercise on
effective alternative management strategies to run their projects during
this era of coronavirus pandemic and post-COVID-19.