MBA summa cum laude graduate Mr Ashley Haridas.MBA Summa Cum Laude for Transnet Engineer
Professional Engineer and Acting Technical Director of Ports and Terminals at Transnet Capital Projects (TCP), Mr Ashley Haridas, has been awarded a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree summa cum laude.
“Root Cause Analysis of Project Gate Review Failures When Evaluated Against a Project Lifecycle Process Methodology. (A Transnet Capital Projects Case Study)”, was the title of his thesis supervised by Dr Muhammad Hoque of the Graduate School of Business and Leadership (GSB&L).
This study on project management will contribute immensely to the work of TCP - a specialist unit within Transnet that focuses on the development and execution of infrastructure projects on behalf of the Transnet Operating Division.
Having spent 15 years at Transnet, Haridas felt the need to gain an understanding of the root causes and factors influencing project gate review failures through an exploratory mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology. One of the main conclusions of his study was that the PLP methodology lacks support in the form of training, provision of sample documentation, standard templates and guidelines on how to prepare project deliverables. His study therefore makes recommendations in the form of a project management academy which focuses on training and other development initiatives for gate review panel members and project management resources.
A summa cum laude achievement while one is leading a team of over 100 multidisciplinary engineers and technicians and maintaining a healthy social and family life is a big achievement.
‘Support from my spouse was a critical success factor, but as an individual I was disciplined, dedicated and committed to spending an extensive amount of time in attending lectures, group work, individual study and research self-study time.’ He also attributed his success to the support of the academic staff at the GSB&L saying: ‘They were professional, supportive and well knowledgeable in their areas of specialisation.’
Haridas believes that his newly acquired knowledge from the MBA programme will complement his technical acumen by providing secondary competency skills on business principles, operations, relevant laws and regulations, trends and macro / micro economics.
The MBA is not the end of the road for Haridas as he is currently writing a PhD proposal for a study in the field of Project Management, Value Engineering and Systems Thinking.
He is also involved in various projects of Transnet including one on the New Durban Dug-Out Port at the old airport site for the provision of additional container, car and bulk liquid import and export capacity.