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Joyce Adu |
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2004 STUDENT MEDAL WINNER
Project Manager, Capability Planning & Governance, Centrelink
 Joyce Adu has project management experience across a number of industries including government, construction and education. Joyce has served in a number of roles in the areas of strategic management, corporate governance and research. She is currently a Business Manager in the Capability Planning and Governance Unit in Centrelink. Prior to this, she managed the development of Centrelink’s Portfolio/Program Management Framework. She has also worked for a number of years in the Construction Industry as a Quantity Surveyor (Building Estimator).
Joyce holds a Bachelor of Science (Building Technology), Graduate Certificate in Personal Management and Master of Project Management. She has researched on ‘communication in the delivery of projects in multicultural environments’ for her doctorate in the University of Technology under the supervision of Professor Lynn Crawford, Assistant Professor Jacob Oluwoye and Mr Gerard de Valence. This research has received both the NSW Chapter and National Student Medals from the Australian Institute for Project Management. Some of her publications are listed below with more articles being prepared for publication from her research.
Her areas of expertise, qualifications, publications and summary of the aims and findings of her PhD thesis have been outlined below.
Areas of Expertise
Joyce’s expertise covers a variety of different areas including:
• Portfolio/Program/Project Management – development and implementation of Portfolio/Program/Project Management including benefit realisation framework for consistent corporate application
• Strategic Planning – development of corporate strategic plans based on environmental scanning & research, analysis, synthesis and evaluation of information in the business environment
• Corporate Governance - development of governance models, processes, guidelines and frameworks
• Project Management Support - design and implementation of project support structures and processes, including working alongside project managers and their teams, providing mentoring and coaching for more effective project delivery
• Project Management Training - development of customised project management training and delivery of seminars and workshops on specific aspects of project initiation, planning, delivery and finalisation.
• Project communication –research into and development of intercultural communication competence model to promote project manager effectiveness in multicultural environments Qualifications & Achievements
• Master of Project Management, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
• Cert. (Managing IT Projects), George Washington University, USA
• ITIL Foundation Certification
• Graduate Certificate (Personal Management), Sydney Institute of Technology, Australia
• BSc (Hons) Building Technology, University of Science and Technology, Ghana
• Winner of the national and state AIPM student medals for research into project management
Publications and Conferences
Adu, J., Clark, B., McLarty, M., Hayes, M., McCarron, B., (2004) ‘Towards Project Portfolio Management in Centrelink’, Conference Proceedings, Australian Project Management Institute Conference 2004, Perth, Australia.
Adu, J. and Divall, G. (2003) ‘Project Management, the Centrelink Experience’ Australian Project Manager, 23(4) 27-28.
Adu, J., Oluwoye J., Divall, G., McCarron, B. (2003) ‘Enterprise Project Management in the Australian Public Sector’ Conference Proceedings, 3rd World Project Management Week, Gold Cost, Australia.
Adu J., Oluwoye J. (2000) ‘Cross Cultural Communication Impact in the Delivery of large Multinational Projects’, Conference Proceedings, Inaugural World Project Management Week, Cairns, Australia.
Research: Communication in the Delivery of Projects in Multicultural Environments
The thesis investigates Australian project managers’ intercultural communication competence and their training requirements. The study examines the cultural factors influencing intercultural communication and explores how communication can be made effective in the multicultural project environment. The study is set within the context of project management competence, which has been an area of significance since the mid 1990s.
Based on a survey, preceded by focus group discussions and personal interviews, the study concludes that a slight majority of Australian project managers have a need for intercultural communication skill development to strengthen their competence in the area. However, this need is to a lesser extent project managers with long project management experience, experience with multicultural projects or formal project management qualifications to be competent in intercultural project communication than those without such profiles. Project managers consider training in intercultural communication, delivered in a practical and interactive manner, as a priority especially in the areas of interpersonal skills, cultural awareness and communication skills. Participants also confirmed host national, local industry and organisational cultures as the three key sources of cultural influence on communication in the project environment. Finally, while different perspectives is a key challenge to communication in the multicultural project environment, intercultural communication can be made effective when project managers i) demonstrate a number of attributes, in particular patience and active listening; ii) make use of various strategies during multicultural project delivery, including the use of clear and simple language, local mentors and team agreed communication standards; and iii) opt for face to face mode of communication in preference to other modes. The study recommends a stronger focus on intercultural communication in project manager education, training and competency assessment in the accreditation process.
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