‫ﺑﺴﻢ ﷲ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ اﻟﺮﺣﯿﻢ‬

The Islamic University-Gaza ‫اﻟﺠﺎﻣﻌﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﯿﺔ – ﻏﺰة‬

Deanery of Graduate Studies ‫ﻋﻤﺎدة اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﻌﻠﯿﺎ‬
Faculty of Engineering ‫ﻛﻠﯿﺔ اﻟﮭﻨﺪﺳﺔ‬
Construction Management ‫إدارة اﻟﻤﺸﺮوﻋﺎت اﻟﮭﻨﺪﺳﯿﺔ‬

Investigation of Factors Affecting Termination of

Construction Contracts in Gaza Strip

‫ﻓﺤﺺ اﻟﻌﻮاﻣﻞ اﻟﻤﺆﺛﺮة ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﮭﺎء اﻟﻌﻘﻮد اﻹﻧﺸﺎﺋﯿﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗﻄﺎع ﻏﺰة‬

Researcher:
Eng. Khalil Hamdan Abu Eed

Supervisor:
Dr. Nabil I. El Sawalhi

Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Science in Construction Management

The Islamic University of Gaza-Palestine

February, 2012
I
 Dedication

v Our parents to whom we owe too much.

v Every teacher who pays efforts to enrich our knowledge

along all the studying period.

v Our martyrs' souls, who offered themselves for the liberation

of Palestine.

v Every person who offers a useful science, a good deal, for the

sake of the Islamic nation.

II
 Acknowledgment

v I wish to express my profound gratitude to Dr. Nabil I. El Sawalhi for

his continued guidance, supervision, and comments throughout the

course of this research. He has been ever-present force in helping me to

mature as a student and as a researcher. His dedication to helping me

succeed is deeply appreciated.

v Grateful thanks to Gaza Contractor Union and all contracting

companies for their participation in fulfilling the questionnaire.

v Finally I would like to give my special thanks to my parents and family

whose patience and love, enabled me to complete this work.

III
 Abstract

Construction contracts are one of the high risky contracts because of its unique features
such as long period, complicated processes, unexpected environment, financial intensity
and dynamic organization structures.

The major objective of this research was to identify and investigate the factors affecting
the construction contracts termination in the Gaza Strip. Also, to check the current
situation for construction contracts termination in Gaza from contractor 's respective.

This research relied mainly on analytical, descriptive and field study methodologies.
And the questionnaire was designed in the light of the literature review and tested by
pilot study, and then it is applied on a sample of 73 contracting companies. The
collected data is manipulated by Excel and SPSS software using many statistical tools
such as, frequencies, percentile values, means and coloration coefficient tests.

The results show that most companies have an experience over than ten years exposed
to contract termination, which was referred to donors. Most of their employees were
satisfied about the administrative level of their companies and directors have the final
decision especially to regarding financial issues.

The results of analyzing 51 causes of contracts termination showed that the main cause
of termination are: closure, lack of resources, contractors bankruptcy or insolvent,
increment of material prices, lack of experience in the line of work, wrong cost
estimation, lack of capital, working at hot (dangerous) areas, low margin of profit due to
competition and difference of local currency exchange with contract currency. 40% of
the most important factors affecting the construction contracts termination are related to
financial issues while 30% of the most important factors are related to political issues.

This study recommended that the contracting companies should estimate cost of project
with proper way and should not increase the number of projects over the capacity of the
company. Documentation works should be applied widely in the industry, Contractors
are recommended to qualify technical staff with appropriate experience of the project.
The government must take the risk when the donors delay the debts of the contractors
and try to save a new resource or internal fund. The PCU should conduct continuous
training programs to contractors in this field (Construction contracts termination).

IV
 ‫ﻣﻠﺧص اﻟﺑﺣث‬
‫ﺗﻌﺗﺑر اﻟﻌﻘود اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻣن اﻟﻌﻘود اﻟﺧطرة ﺑﺳﺑب ﺗﻣﯾزﻫﺎ ﺑﺄﻧﻬﺎ ﻓرﯾدة ﻣن ﺣﯾث اﻟﻔﺗرة اﻟطوﯾﻠﺔ وﻋﻣﻠﯾﺎت‬
‫اﻹﻧﺷﺎء اﻟﻣﻌﻘدة و اﻷﻣور اﻟﻣﺎﻟﯾﺔ اﻟﻛﺛﯾرة و اﻟﺑﯾﺋﺔ اﻟﻣﺣﯾطﺔ و ﻛﺛرة اﻟﻣوظﻔﯾن ﻓﯾﻪ‪.‬‬

‫اﻟﻬدف اﻟرﺋﯾﺳﻲ ﻣن ﻫذا اﻟﺑﺣث ﻫو ﺗﺣدﯾد درﺟﺔ ﺗﺄﺛﯾر ﻫذﻩ اﻟﻌواﻣل ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻌﻘود اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع‬
‫ﻏزة‪ .‬وأﯾﺿﺎ ﺗﺣدﯾد اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﺣرﺟﺔ ﻣﻧﻬﺎ و دراﺳﺔ اﻟوﺿﻊ اﻟﺣﺎﻟﻲ ﻹﻧﻬﺎء ﻟﻠﻌﻘود ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘطﺎع ﻣن وﺟﻬﺔ ﻧظر‬
‫اﻟﻣﻘﺎول‪.‬‬

‫وﻗد اﻋﺗﻣدت ﻫذﻩ اﻟدراﺳﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻣﻧﻬﺞ اﻟوﺻﻔﻲ اﻟﺗﺣﻠﯾﻠﻲ وأﺳﻠوب اﻟدراﺳﺔ اﻟﻣﯾداﻧﯾﺔ‪ ،‬ﺣﯾث ﺗم ﺗﺻﻣﯾم‬
‫اﺳﺗﺑﯾﺎن ﻛﺄداة ﻟﻠدراﺳﺔ وذﻟك ﻓﻲ ﺿوء أدﺑﯾﺎت اﻟﺑﺣث وﻧﺻﺎﺋﺢ اﻷﻛﺎدﯾﻣﯾﯾن واﻟﺧﺑراء ﻓﻲ ﻣﺟﺎل اﻹﻧﺷﺎءات‪.‬‬
‫وﻗد ﺗم ﻋﻣل ﻋﯾﻧﺔ اﺳﺗطﻼع ﻟﻼﺳﺗﺑﯾﺎن ﺛم ﺗطﺑﯾﻘﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ‪ 73‬ﺷرﻛﺔ ﻣﻘﺎوﻻت ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة‪ ،‬وﻗد اﺳﺗﺧدم‬
‫اﻟﺑرﻧﺎﻣﺞ اﻹﺣﺻﺎﺋﻲ ‪ Excel Sheets‬و‪ SPSS‬ﻓﻲ ﻣﻌﺎﻟﺟﺔ اﻟﺑﯾﺎﻧﺎت وذﻟك ﺑﺗطﺑﯾق اﻟﻌدﯾد ﻣن اﻻﺧﺗﺑﺎرات‬
‫اﻹﺣﺻﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻛﺣﺳﺎب اﻟﻧﺳب واﻟﺗﻛرار واﻟﻣﺗوﺳطﺎت وﻣﻌﺎﻣل اﻻرﺗﺑﺎط‪.‬‬

‫و ﻗد أوﺿﺣت اﻟﻧﺗﺎﺋﺞ أن ﻣﻌظم اﻟﺷرﻛﺎت ﻟﻬﺎ ﺧﺑرة ﻛﺑﯾرة ﻓﻲ ﻣﺟﺎل اﻹﻧﺷﺎءات وﻗد ﺗﻌرﺿت ﺧﻼل ﻫذﻩ‬
‫اﻟﻔﺗرة إﻟﻲ إﻧﻬﺎء ﻋﻘود إﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻟﻬﺎ وأن اﻟﺳﺑب ﻓﻲ ذﻟك ﯾرﺟﻊ ﻟﻠﻣﻣوﻟﯾن‪ .‬و ﻣﻌظم ﻣوظﻔﯾﻬم راﺿون ﻋن‬
‫اﻟﻣﺳﺗوي اﻹداري ﻟﻠﺷرﻛﺔ و أن ﺻﺎﺣب اﻟﻘرار اﻟﻧﻬﺎﺋﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺷرﻛﺔ ﯾرﺟﻊ إﻟﻰ ﺻﺎﺣﺑﻬﺎ وﺧﺻوﺻﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻷﻣور‬
‫اﻟﻣﺎﻟﯾﺔ‪.‬‬
‫و أوﺿﺣت اﻟدراﺳﺔ ﺑﻌد ﺗﺣﻠﯾل ‪ 51‬ﻋﺎﻣل ﻣن اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﻣﺳﺑﺑﺔ ﻟﺗوﻗف اﻟﻌﻘود اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ أن أﻫم اﻟﻌواﻣل ﻫﻲ‬
‫اﻹﻏﻼق‪ ،‬ﻧﻘص اﻟﻣوارد‪ ،‬إﻓﻼس اﻟﻣﻘﺎول‪ ،‬زﯾﺎدة أﺳﻌﺎر اﻟﻣواد‪ ،‬ﻧﻘص اﻟﺧﺑرة ﻓﻲ ﻣﺟﺎل اﻟﻌﻣل‪،‬أﺧطﺎء ﻓﻲ‬
‫ﺗﻘدﯾر اﻟﺗﻛﻠﻔﺔ‪ ،‬رأس اﻟﻣﺎل ﻏﯾر ﻛﺎﻓﻲ‪ ،‬اﻟﻌﻣل ﻓﻲ اﻟﻣﻧﺎطق اﻟﺧطرة‪ ،‬ﺗدﻧﻲ ﻣﺳﺗوى اﻟرﺑﺢ وﺗﻐﯾر ﺳﻌر ﺻرف‬
‫اﻟﻌﻣﻠﺔ اﻟﻣﺣﻠﯾﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻧﺳﺑﺔ ﻟﻠﻌﻣﻼت اﻟﻣﺳﺗﺧدﻣﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻘود‪ .‬وﺗﺑﯾن أن ‪ %40‬ﻣن اﻟﻌواﻣل ذات اﻷﻫﻣﯾﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﯾﺔ‬
‫ﻧﺎﺗﺞ ﻋن اﻷﻣور اﻟﻣﺎﻟﯾﺔ ﺑﯾﻧﻣﺎ ‪ %30‬ﻣﻧﻬﺎ ﻧﺎﺗﺞ ﻋن اﻷوﺿﺎع اﻟﺳﯾﺎﺳﯾﺔ‪.‬‬

‫وﻗد أوﺻت ﻫذﻩ اﻟدراﺳﺔ ﺷرﻛﺎت اﻟﻣﻘﺎوﻻت ﺑﺗﻘدﯾر ﺗﻛﻠﻔﺔ اﻟﻌﻘود ﺑطرﯾﻘﺔ ﺻﺣﯾﺣﺔ وﻋدم زﯾﺎدة اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ ﻟدﯾﻬﺎ‬
‫واﺳﺗﺧدام ﻧظﺎم اﻟﺗوﺛﯾق ﻟدﯾﻬﺎ ﺑﺷﻛل أوﺳﻊ وﻋﻠﻰ أﺻﺣﺎب اﻟﺷرﻛﺎت ﺗﻌﯾﯾن ﻣوظﻔﯾن ﻣؤﻫﻠﯾن وذو ﺧﺑرة‬
‫ﻣﻧﺎﺳﺑﺔ‪.‬‬

‫ﻛﻣﺎ أوﺻت اﻟدراﺳﺔ اﻟﺣﻛوﻣﺔ أن ﺗﺗﺣﻣل اﻟﻣﺧﺎطر اﻟﻧﺎﺗﺟﺔ ﻣن ﺗﺄﺧر اﻟﻣﻣوﻟﯾن ﻓﻲ دﻓﻊ ﻣﺳﺗﺣﻘﺎت اﻟﻣﻘﺎوﻟﯾن‬
‫واﻟﺑﺣث ﻟﺗوﻓﯾر ﻣﺻدر ﺟدﯾد أو ﻣﺻدر داﺧﻠﻲ ﻟﻠﺗﻣوﯾل‪ .‬وأوﺻت أﯾﺿﺎ اﺗﺣﺎد اﻟﻣﻘﺎوﻟﯾن أن ﯾﻌطﻲ دورات‬
‫ﻟﺗدرﯾب اﻟﻣﻘﺎوﻟﯾن ﻋﻠﻰ اﻷﻣور اﻟﻣﺗﻌﻠﻘﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻌﻘود اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ وﺑﯾﺎن ﻟﻬم اﻟﻘواﻧﯾن واﻷﻧظﻣﺔ اﻟﻣﺗﻌﻠﻘﺔ ﺑذﻟك‪.‬‬

‫‪V‬‬
 Table of Contents
Dedication ……………...………………………………………………….……….… II
Acknowledgement …………………….……………………………….……...…...… III
Abstract ..………………………………………..…….…………………...…………. IV
Arabic abstract ……………………...……...………………………..…………..….… V
Table of Contents ……………………………….…...………………………..….……VI
List of Tables ………………….……………..…………………………………...…... X
List of Figures………………………………….……………….………......….….…. XII
List of Equations …………………………………………………….……...…….… XIII
List of Annexes……………………...………………………………..…………...… XIII
List of Abbreviations …………………………...……………………………....…....XIV

Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Construction industry and Palestinian economy ……………….…………..…1
1.2 The Nature of the construction industry and risk …………….……………..…3
1.3 Construction project termination in Gaza Strip …………..…….…………..…4
1.4 The contractor's organization …………………....……..……….…………..…5
1.5 Research purpose ……………………………………….……….…….…...…5
1.6 Research problem …….………………………………….………………....…6
1.7 Research aims …….……..……………………………….………………....…6
1.8 Research objective ………………….……..…………….…………..……....…6
1.9 Research limitation ……………...…….....…………….…………..….…...…6
1.10 Research methodology ……………...…….......……….…………..….…...…6
1.11 Outline contents of the thesis………………………………….….……….....…7

Chapter 2
Construction Contracts Termination
2.1 Background for contacts …………………..…………………….…………..…8
2.1.1 Definitions……………………………………………………….…………..…8
2.1.2 Essential elements of a valid contract…………………...……….…………..…9
2.1.3 Contract documents………………………………..…………….…………..…10
2.1.4 Construction project stakeholders……………………………….…………..…11

VI
2.1.5 Type of contracts……………………………..………………..….…………….12
2.1.6 Factors influencing the choice of the type of contract….……….………...….…13
2.1.7 Preparing for contract management and providing oversight…………...………13
2.2 Construction project overview……………………..…………….…………....…14
2.2.1 Project success overview ……………………..……..………….…………....…15
2.2.2 Project failure overview……………………..……………...….……..….…..…15
2.2.3 Warning signs that a construction projects is in trouble………..………..…..…16
2.2.4 Risk in construction project……………………..…………….……..…….....…16
2.3 Termination of construction contracts…………..………………………..…..…17
2.3.1 Types of termination…………..……………..…….………………………...…17
2.3.2 Ways of termination …………..……………………………….………..…..…18
2.3.3 When to terminate a project…………..………………………………….…..…20
2.3.4 Typical contractual grounds to terminate…………..…………...……….…...…21
2.3.5 Notice of termination…………..………………..……………………….…...…22
2.3.6 Steps to proper termination…………..…………………………….……………22
2.3.7 The effectiveness of termination on project…………..…...………………....…23
2.3.8 Available damages from termination …………..…………………………....…23
2.3.9 Why PM's ignore termination…………..………………………………..…...…24
2.3.10 Prevention of construction project failure or termination………..…...….......…25
2.4 Previous studies for construction contracts termination…………..…………..…27
2.5 Common causes of project termination (Failure) …..………..……….…..…..…35
2.6 The 6 steps guide to a smooth closure (termination) …..……….…….….…..…38
2.6.1 Completion …..……………………………………………………...…….....…38
2.6.2 Documentation…..…………….…………..………………………...…….....…39
2.6.3 Project systems closure…..…….………….………………………...…..…...…39
2.6.4 Project reviews…..…………….…………..………………………...…..…...…39
3.6.5 Disband the project team…..…………….…………..…….………...……....…40
2.6.6 Stakeholder satisfaction…..………………..………………………...……....…40
2.7 Impacts of project parties (Stakeholders) on project termination……….…...…41
2.8 Methods of disputes on construction projects…..…………………...……...…43

VII
Chapter 3
Methodology
3.1 Introduction…..…………….………….......…..………………………….……..…45
3.2 Research design…..…………….……….……..………………………….……..…45
3.3 Research method…..…………….……………..………………………….……..…47
3.3.1 Primary data…..…………….…………..……………………………...…..…..…47
3.3.2 Secondary sources…..…………….…………..………………………...……..…47
3.4 Population…..…………….…………..………………………….........………..…..47
3.5 Sample size determination…..…………….…………………....……….....…....…47
3.6 Research location…..…………….…………..…………………………...……..…48
3.7 Questionnaire design and contents…..………...…………………….…...….…..…49
3.8 Pilot study…..…………….…………..……………………..…………….……..…50
3.9 Response rate…..…………….…………..…………………….………...……....…50
3.10 Validity of the research…..…………….……………..……………….....……..…51
3.10.1 Content validity of the questionnaire……..…………...……………...…..…..…51
3.10.2 Statistical validity of the questionnaire ……..…..……...………......……...…...51
3.11 Reliability of the research……..…………………….......………………….…..…53
3.11.1 Split-Half coefficient method……..……………...…...……………...……....…53
3.11.2 Cronbach's coefficient alpha……..………….………...……………...…..…..…53
3.12 Data measurement……..…………………….………….…………….....……..…54
3.13 Data collection……..…………...……………………………...…..…...…........…55
3.14 Data analysis……..…………...………………………………..…..…...…........…56

Chapter 4
4. Results and discussion
4.1 First part: General information……..…………………………..…...…...……....…57
4.1.1 Type of work executed by the respondents……..…….…..…..…..…...……....…57
4.1.2 Company classification ……..…………………….…………..…..…...…..…..…57
4.1.3 Respondents' occupation……..…………...……….…………..…..…...…..……..58
4.1.4 Experience years of the respondents...………………………..…..…...……....…58
4.1.5 Experience years of the company…..…….…….……………..…..…...…..……..59
4.1.6 Volume during the last 10 year…..…………..………………..…..…...……...…60
4.1.7 Number of labors…..………….…………..…………………..…..…...……....…60

VIII
4.2 Second part: Evaluation the current situation in Gaza Strip……….…....…...….…61
4.2.1 Company exposed to unnatural termination of project………..…...….......……61
4.2.2 Number of projects expose to unnatural termination……….……....…..….….…62
4.2.3 Records of information about previous project terminated…….….…..…....……62
4.2.4 Benefits from previous information……….……………………......……………63
4.2.5 Who is the responsible for unnatural project termination in the company.....……64
4.2.6 Solving the resulting dispute from project termination ……………..….……..…64
4.2.7 Satisfaction about the administrative level in the company.…..….…………..…65
4.2.8 Who has the final decision in the company ……………..….…..……………..…67
4.3 Third part: Contracts termination factors……………..….…..……...………..……67
4.3.1 Main groups……………..….…..……..…..………..………..….……..…………67
4.3.2 IIR and ranking of sub-factors……………..….………..……….……..…...……67
4.3.2.1 Managerial group……………..….…..……..…..…………..………..….......…67
4.3.2.2 Financial group……………..………..…..………..………..………..….......…69
4.3.2.3 Political group……………..….…..……..………..………...………..….......…71
4.3.2.4 Environmental group……………..….…..……..…………..………..…........…72
4.3.2.5 Project characteristics group……………..….…..……..………..….....…….…74
4.4 The highest ten factors causes contracts termination……………..………..…...…76
4.5 The relationship among the highest important factors, main groups and some items
………………………………………………………….……………………..…...…..77
4.6 The situation of contracts termination in Gaza Strip……………..….......…...……83

Chapter 5
Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion.……..………………..……………………………..…..…...…..…..…84
5.2 Recommendations……..……….…………...…………………..…..….....……..…85
5.3 Proposed further studies…….....………………………………..…..….....……..…87
References…….....………………………………………...……..…..….........…..…88
Annexes…….....…………………………………………………..…..….....……..…97

IX
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Percent change of value added for economic activities during 2010 compared
with 2009……………….……………………………………………………….....…… 2
Table 1.2 Construction Cost Index (CCI) by major groups in the West Bank, 2008-
2010……………….………..………………….…………..……….……………...…… 3
Table 1.3 Number of construction companies (2011) ……………….….….. ………… 5
Table 2.1 Summary of driven the factors affecting on termination…….…………..… 31
Table 2.2 Methods of disputes construction ………………....….……….…. ……..… 44
Table 3.1 Correlation coefficient alpha of termination construction contracts groups
……...…….…………………………………………………………………..…..…… 52
Table 3.2 Split-Half coefficient of termination construction contracts groups
……...…………….………..…………………..……………….……………...……… 53
Table 3.3 Cronbach's alpha and internal consistency ………………………..…..…… 54
Table 3.4 Cronbach's coefficient alpha of termination construction contracts groups
……...……………….…….…………………………..………….….…….…..……… 54
Table 3.5 Ordinal scales used for data measurement………………….……..…..…… 55
Table 3.6 IIR and ranking of main groups……………….…………………..……..… 55
Table 4.1 Volume of executed projects during the last 10 year………………..…...… 60
Table 4.2 Records of information about previous project terminated…..……...…...… 63
Table 4.3 IIR and ranking of main groups……………...…………………….......…… 67
Table 4.4 IIR and ranking of managerial sub-factors………………….……………… 68
Table 4.5 IIR and ranking of financial sub-factors……………….…………………… 70
Table 4.6 IIR and ranking of political sub-factors ……………….…………..…..…… 71
Table 4.7 IIR and ranking of environmental sub-factors……….…….………..……… 73
Table 4.8 IIR and ranking of project characteristics sub-factors……….…….……..… 75
Table 4.9 IIR, ranking and groups of highest ten factors causes contracts termination
…………..……………….…………………………………………………...…..…… 76
Table 4.10 The relationship between the main groups and the company experience
…………..……………….………………………………………………….....……… 77
Table 4.11 The relationship between the highest important factors and the company
experience ………………….……………………………………………….....……… 78
Table 4.12 The relationship between the main groups and the projects volume
…………..……………….………………………………………………….....……… 78

X
Table 4.13 The relationship between the highest important factors and the projects
volume ..…………...…….………………………………………………….....……… 79
Table 4.14 The relationship between the main groups and the number of contracts
termination ....……………….…………………...………………………….....……… 80
Table 4.15 The relationship between the highest important factors and the number of
contracts termination ..……………….………………………………………..……… 80
Table 4.16 The relationship between the main groups and satisfaction the administrative
level..……………….………………………………………………...…………..…… 81
Table 4.17 The relationship between the highest important factors and satisfaction the
administrative level . ..……………...………………………………………...…..…… 81
Table 4.18 The relationship between the main groups and who has the final decision
..……………….…………………………………………………...…………..……… 82
Table 4.19 The relationship between the highest important factors and who has the final
decision ..……………….…………..………………………………………….……… 82

XI
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Contribution of Economic Activities in Gross Domestic Product, (Gaza
Strip, 2010) …..………….…………………………………………..……….....……… 2
Figure 2.1: Major stakeholders………..……………………………………...……..… 11
Figure 2.2: The good practice contract management framework ……….....….……… 14
Figure 2.3: Project termination decision tree…………………….………….....……… 21
Figure 2.4: Stakeholders relationship……………...…………….…………...……..….42
Figure 3.1: Research summary…....................…………………….….……...…..….…46
Figure 3.2: Research location……………………….…...…………….….…..…..……49
Figure 3.3: Questionnaire response rate……………….………….….…..…….....……51
Figure 4.1: Classification of the respondents…………...……………..….……………57
Figure 4.2: Respondents' occupation…………………...………....….…..….…...……58
Figure 4.3: Experience years of the respondents………………….…...………….……59
Figure 4.4: Experience years of the companies………………………...…..…….……59
Figure 4.5: Number of labors…………………………….…….….…..……….....……61
Figure 4.6: Company exposed to unnatural termination of project…..…….........……61
Figure 4.7: Number of project expose to unnatural termination…..………...........……62
Figure 4.8: Benefits from previous information…..………....................................……63
Figure 4.9: Responsible for the unnatural project termination in the company …….…64
Figure 4.10: Solving the resulting dispute from project termination …..…………...…65
Figure 4.11: Satisfaction about the administrative level in the company ..…..…..…... 65
Figure 4.12: Who has the final decision in the company …..………...………....…..…66

XII
List of Equations
3.1 Equation 1: Sample Size…..………..………...………………..………...........……48
3.2 Equation 2: Spearman's rank correlation coefficient ..……...…………...........……58
3.3 Equation 3: The Importance Index Rate…..………………...…………...........……55

List of Annexes
Annex 1: Questionnaire (ARABIC) …..………..………...…………….….........……97
Annex 2: Questionnaire (ENGLISH) …..………..……...……...…………….......…104

XIII
List of Abbreviations
B.o.Q Bill of Quantity
CCI Construction Cost Index
CSFs Critical Success Factors
D&B Design and Build
DRTs Dispute Resolution Techniques
EPM Engineering Project Management
GMP Guaranteed Maximum Price
GNP Gross National Production
GDP Gross Domestic Product
IIR The Importance Index Rate
IT Information Technology
PCR Project Closeout and Review
PCU Palestinian Contractors Union
SRO Senior Responsible Owner
SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science
UAE United Arab Emirate

XIV
 Chapter 1

Introduction
This research identifies and investigates factors that influence the construction contracts
termination in the Gaza Strip. Understanding this mechanism may prevent their failure
in the future contracts.
In this chapter an introduction to the construction industry and the Palestinian economy
is highlighted. Also, the research problem, the research purpose, objectives, and
boundaries are to be explained.

1.1 Construction industry and Palestinian economy

Construction industry is one of the largest and most important industries in Palestine. It
holds a big share of the Gross National Production(GNP) and shares a large part of the
Palestinian market especially in the past few years. Although construction industry in
countries directs a very small amount of its revenues towards scientific research (Barrie
and Paulson, as cited in Abu Alqumboz, 2007).
Construction industry is a vital contributor to the Palestinian economy. It includes the
overall building community and consists of: owners, operators, and users; developers,
designers, contractors, fabricators, manufacturers and suppliers; regulators, codes and
standards organizations, building and fire safety officials, labor, financial organizations,
testing laboratories, educational institutions, and research organizations (Raufaste and
Callahan, as cited in Shoman, 2009).
The construction sector is a vital contributor to the Palestinian economy, it is a major
supporter of employment in Gaza Strip and contributes 10.8 % to employment directly
and 30 % indirectly by supporting related industries that work in production services to
support the construction industry. Following the breakout of the second Intifada in
2000, the construction and other majors industries were affected negatively as a result
of borders closures, this prevents the supply of critical material in all different
industrial, commercial sectors, cities and towns. Closures have badly affected the
construction industry and that has contributed to increasing the already high rate of
unemployment in Palestine (Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics – PCBS, 2004).

1
Table 1.1 Percent change of value added for economic activities during 2010 compared
with 2009 – Value added in $ million
Palestinian
% change
Territory
Economic Activity
Value Value % West Gaza
added added change Bank Strip
Agriculture and Fishing 293.2 360.0 22.8 17.2 34.6
Mining, manufacturing, electr. and water 747.7 706.6 -5.5 -5.7 -3.8
Construction 387.7 525.6 35.6 13.9 23.2
Wholesale and retail trade 566.5 634.7 12.0 11.9 12.7
Transport, Storage and Communications 421.0 446.5 6.0 5.7 12.9
Financial intermediation 269.1 297.2 10.4 11.9 2.2
Services 1157.5 1196.0 3.3 2.9 4.1
Public administration and defense 750.6 798.8 6.4 8.5 3.2
GDP 5241.3 5728.0 9.3 7.6 15.1
Source: (PCBS, 2011)

The GDP in the Gaza Strip had increased by 15.1%. Among economic activities,
Construction recorded the highest increase by 23.2% during 2010. In addition, the
Transport, Storage and Communications Activity had recorded increase in the value
added. The Agriculture Activity in the Gaza Strip had witnessed improvement by 34.6%
compared to 2009 while Mining and manufacturing reflected fallback (Palestinian
central bureau of statistics, 2011).
6% 9%
7%
22%
9%

8%

2%
3%
34%
Agriculture and Fishing
Mining, manufacturing, electr. and water
Construction
Wholesale and retail trade
Transport, Storage and Communications
Financial intermediation
services
Public administration and defense
Others

Figure 1.1: Contribution of Economic Activities in Gross Domestic Product, (Gaza

Strip, 2010)- (Source: PCBS, 2011)

2
The value added of the Construction Activity had increased by 35.6% in 2010 compared
to 2009. In addition, administrative records also showed a rise by 17.5% in the number
of building licenses issued in the West Bank for the year 2010. The prices of
construction materials rose by 1.6% compared to 2009 despite quantities of imported
cement reached 1.3 million ton in 2010 compared to 1.2 million ton in 2009. The year
2010 also witnessed a rise by 26.2% in the number of workers in construction activity to
reach 57 thousand workers in 2010. The average daily wage of a worker in the
Construction Activity is considered the highest among economic activities to reach NIS
117.4; while productivity rate reached USD$ 15,600.7 per worker (Palestinian central
bureau of statistics, 2011).
The Construction Cost Index had increased by 1.6% in 2010 compared to 2009.

Table 1.2 Construction Cost Index (CCI) by major groups in the West Bank, 2008-
2010.
Major Groups 2008 2009 2010
Raw materials 114.13 104.30 105.85
Hiring of equipment 119.61 131.11 137.28
Labor cost and wages 105.30 116.69 118.89
All- Items construction cost index 111.63 107.67 109.36
Source: (PCBS, 2011)

1.2 The nature of the construction industry and risk

The construction business, like any other business, is risky (El-Sayegh, 2008). Risk is
manageable, diminishable, transferable or acceptable but not ignorable(Lam et al.,
2007).
Risk! Construction projects have an abundance of it, contractors cope with it and
owners pay for it. The construction project industry is subjected to more risk and
uncertainty than many other industries. So it is required a multitude of people with
different skills and interests and coordination of wide range of disparate, yet
interrelated, activities ( Flanagan & Norman, 1993).
Construction projects are one-off endeavors with many unique features such as long
period, complicated processes, abominable environment, financial intensity and
dynamic organization structures and such organizational and technological complexity
generates enormous risks (Zou et al., 2007).

3
The construction contracting business has the second highest failure rate of any
business. (Clough and Sears as cited Enshassi et al., 2006 ). A contractor is at far more
risk than his counterpart in almost any other industry (Kangari, 1988).
Construction is difficult to comprehend fully because the relationships between the parts
are not always clear and the boundaries of the industry may be characterized as:
• It is fragmented,
• It is sensitive to economic cycles,
• There are extraordinary diversity of professions, specialists and suppliers,
• It is largely affected by external environments (Abu Mousa, 2005).

1.3 Construction project termination in Gaza Strip

Contract termination is a natural phenomenon in the construction industry. Termination
refers to contract work that will be ended or concluded with no intention of resuming in
the foreseeable future. It requires written procedures to protect the interests of the client
and the contractor. To be fair, procedures must make provision for the contractor to
recover actual direct costs for work completed, material purchased but not installed,
additional work required by the termination directives, and overhead and profit for such
expenses (Iyer et al., 2008).
Project termination as consists of two broad types: first, a natural termination when the
project goals have been met, and second, an unnatural termination when some project
constraints have been violated, performance is inadequate, or the project goals are no
longer relevant to some overall needs ( Spirer as cited in El Karriri, 2011).
In the Gaza Strip, there is evidence that the number of contractor's failure is increasing
rapidly. The result of projects failure is expected to either terminate or suspend the
projects which lead to large losses, dispute and claims. Most of construction projects in
the Gaza Strip are exposed to the contract termination since the Israeli siege on June
2007 which caused loss of project's profit, increasing cost and leading to managerial and
technical problems between project's parties ( El Karriri et al., 2011).
More than many other industries, construction industry is subject to more conflicts,
disputes and claims. Construction industry in Gaza Strip suffers from the
misunderstanding of dispute or claim resolution management, many factors affect the
development of dispute resolution. Over the last years, there has been a break down in
the relations between parties involved in the construction process. This has appeared

4
due to many reasons affecting the developing and the expansion of the construction
sector. One of them is construction contracts termination . Thus, this research is
important in order to determine the construction contracts termination factors affected
in the construction industry in Gaza Strip.

1.4 The contractor's organization

The Palestinian Contractors' Union (PCU) was established in 1994. It performs a
number of valuable services for its members such as classification procedures, follow
up and solving problems, improve industry cultures and habits, support inter-social
relationships between members …etc. (PCU, 2011).
The total number of the registered contractors in Gaza Strip is about 212 contractors.
Each contractor has more than one type of work categories obtaining them after passing
the classification requirements. Table 1.3 shows the distribution of the contractors
according to their classification of classes of work fields .

Table 1.3 Number of classification of classes construction companies (PCU, 2011)

Building Roads Water and Sewage
Classification No Classification No Classification No
Class Class Class
First A 25 First A 4 First A 27
First B 46 First B 17 First B 28
Second 81 Second 40 Second 28
Third 58 Third 35 Third 29
Fourth 24 Fourth 18 Fourth 21
Fifth 18 Fifth 57 Fifth 16
Total= 252 Total= 171 Total= 149

1.5 Research problem

The construction contracts are consider naturally dangerous. So, If it is not been dealt
with properly, It could lead to failure. This has mainly been happening in recent years,
especially in last five years where a lot of construction contracts were terminated
because of political or financial situation . There fore, It is very important to recognize
the factors which lead to termination, and to study the current situation in Gaza Strip to
avoid or mitigate termination.

5
1.6 Research purpose
This study will provide contractors by practical suggestions to deal with the
construction contract termination and improve the performance of contracting
companies in this field. The value of this research is seen through increased project
success, better relationship between the construction team, the contractors and owner
agency, fewer claims, and reduced overall project costs.

1.7 Research aims

The aim of this research is to mitigate the termination of construction contracts in Gaza
Strip.

1.8 Research objective

1. Identify key factors that may impact construction contracts termination.
2. Investigate the factors affecting the contracts termination according to the contractors
perspectives.
3. Identify the most important factors affecting termination .
4. Check the current situation in Gaza Strip for contracts termination.

1.9 Research limitation

This research included the following limitations:
1. The study included the identification and investigation of key factors that may
impact construction contracts termination in Gaza Strip.
2. Only contractors firms who are registered in the Palestinian Contractors Union-Gaza
Governorates, represent our population (The first three classes of contractors
classification).
3. The duration of research is from April 2011 to November 2011.
4. The data, to be collected, covers the last ten years.

1.10 Research methodology

The goals of the research are achieved through the following stages:
First stage: Literature review
Literature and previous research studies were reviewed to collect data about the
construction contracts termination and its components in details, the factors affecting

6
construction contracts termination, the different strategies to deal with these
construction contracts termination. And techniques developed to deal with termination.
Second stage: Field survey
Several meetings and discussions were held with experts in the construction field.
Hence, a structured questionnaire was designed and then distributed by direct contact to
contractors in Gaza Strip.
Target group is the first three classes of contractors classification.
Statistical analysis for questionnaires is analyzed using Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences (SPSS) and Excel Sheets. In order to verify the validity and reliability
of the study hypotheses, variables associations were tested. The important factors were
identified. Investigate the current situation in Gaza Strip.
Third stage: Results and conclusion
The outputs of this research are a questionnaire analysis and discussion . Finally, the
conclusion and recommendation of the study were drawn up.

1.11 Outline contents of the thesis

The thesis consists of five chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter has a general introduction to the subject of the thesis. It describes the
rational of the research, research objectives, and the outline of the research
methodology. The research scope and limitations, and the outline contents are also
stated in Chapter 1.
Chapter 2: Construction project termination
All the available information classified under relevant literature is discussed in this
chapter. The main topics stated in this chapter are: construction industry,
construction project termination, and construction risk, ….. etc.
Chapter 3: Methodology
This chapter defines the process of the methodology that will be applied through the
questionnaire.
Chapter 4: Results and Discussion
This chapter presents the results of the research and discusses it in details.
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
This chapter states the conclusions and recommendations.
References and Annexes.

7
 Chapter 2
Construction Contracts Termination
The definition, causes and symptoms, types of termination are to be explained in this
chapter. Also cure and prevention of contracts termination are to be illustrated.

2.1 Background for contacts

2.1.1 Definitions
A contract is legally enforceable agreement. An agreement is usually defined in terms
of an "offer" by one party and an "acceptance " of that offer by the other (Samuels,
1996).
Kawakye, (2008) define a contract as a legally binding agreement between two or more
persons. Legally binding means that the agreement will be enforced by the courts.

BPI, (2007) define the construction contract as a contract which places responsibility on
the construction contractor to perform as per the design developed by design staff
and/or by an independent architectural, engineering firm under a separate contract.
Construction contract is a contract specifically negotiated for the construction of an
asset or a combination of assets that are closely interrelated or interdependent in terms
of their design, technology and function or their ultimate purpose or use (Haider, 2009).

Gilbreath, (1986) as cited in (Dilts et al., 2006) defined a project as a series of tasks or
activities needed to achieve a specific objective within certain technical specifications,
within defined start and end dates, and subject to funding limits and resource
availability.
Iyer et al., (2008) define the termination of contracts as ending the contract work with
no intention of resuming it in the foreseeable future.
Balachandra and Friar (1997) define the termination as the discontinuation of a project
before it achieves its complete implementation.

The termination of a contract results in its end and neither party is required to continue
performance under it. However, once the contract is terminated, the parties may still be

8
entitled to damages based on the termination. The nature and amount of these damages
depends, again, on the way termination is treated in the construction contract (Wittbrodt
et al., 2009).
2.1.2 Essential elements of a valid contract
There are a number of essential elements required for a valid contract to be formed
a. Agreement
Agreement between the parties regarding the purpose, rights, obligations, and remedial
measures which the contract will create is essential. A written agreement is not a necessary
requirement, but in practice it is desirable to put the agreement in writing since it will
provide substantial evidence for the terms of the contract.
b. Offer and acceptance
An offer is a proposal by one party of its willingness to be legally bounded by the proposal
as soon it is accepted by another party (Kawakye, 2008).
An acceptance is full acceptance by party to whom an offer has been made (Kawakye,
2008).
In forming a contract, there must be an offer consisting of a definite promise from one party
to the other of his willingness to be legally bounded on specific terms and an unconditional
acceptance of those terms by the second party. An offer may be withdrawn before it has
been accepted and will be valid for a “reasonable” time if no time limit is imposed (Seid,
2008).

c. Considerations

Consideration is what each party contributes to the contract, or in other words, it is what the
parties put into and get out of the contract. Consideration must have some economic value,
but the law is not concerned with the value being inadequate (Seid, 2008).
.
d. The intention to be legally bounded

Although a legal contract necessitates agreement between the parties as to the rights and
obligations it will create, a mere agreement by it self will not be enforceable at law unless
the parties there to fully intend to be legally bounded by its terms and conditions. Hence,
the parties are required to form a contract enforceable at law if it is intended that the
contract is to be legally binding (Seid, 2008).

9
e. Genuine consent of parties
It is essential that the agreements must be free from misrepresentation, mistake, duress, and
undue influence and made with proper and genuine consent by the parties to it (Kawakye,
2008).
f. Legal capacity
Certain parties are either not allowed to enter into a contract or are restricted in some way
which includes minors, drunks, lunatics, and convicts under sentence. Corporate bodies,
such as limited companies and public authorities, can only make contracts within powers
contained in their memorandums of associations and persons signing contracts on behalf of
their organization should not do so unless they are specifically authorized to commit the
organization(Seid, 2008).

2.1.3 Contract documents:

They are words expressed orally or recorded in handwriting, typing or printing by the
parties.
In most construction contracts contract documents usually take the following forms.
1. Contracting requirements : These include contracting forms (agreement) and
conditions of the contract (general and supplementary conditions, or owner furnished
general or special conditions) as well as various named attachments and forms.
Revisions, clarifications, and modifications are changes applicable to the contract
documents such as addenda issued during the procurement process or change orders
issued during the course of the work (CSI, 2011).

2. Specifications : These include specific written requirements for the work.

Specifications define the quality requirements for products, materials, and workmanship
upon which the contract is based and establish requirements for administration and
performance of the project. They are generally written for each work result as sections
and organized by divisions using Master Format (CSI, 2011).

3. Contract drawings : These include large graphic illustrations of the physical

form of the work to be performed. The drawings are graphic representations of the
work upon which the contract is based. As the graphic documents usually contain
more than plan views, the preferred term is drawings rather than plans. They show the
quantitative extent and relationships of elements to one another (CSI, 2011).

10
2.1.4 Construction project stakeholders
Stakeholders are individuals, groups or organizations, institutions and others that are
actively involved in a project and whose interests may be positively or negatively affected
by the project execution (Seid, 2008).
Project stakeholders can be classified into two major groups: primary and secondary
stakeholders as shown in Figure 2.1. Primary stakeholders are those persons or groups of
the project team who have a contractual or legal obligation to the project team and have
responsibility and authority to manage and commit resources according to schedule, cost,
and technical performance objectives. These stakeholders can also be named as contractual
stakeholders. Secondary stakeholders are those who have no formal contractual relationship
to the project but can have strong interest in what is going on regarding the project. These
stakeholders can be participants on budgetary and financial agreements, business and
professional interests or relationships and they are also referred to as budgetary and
collateral stakeholders (Seid, 2008).

Figure 2.1: Major stakeholders

11
2.1.5 Type of contracts
As we define the contract before the contract is a legally enforceable agreement
between two or more parties with mutual obligations. And there are more types of it :

A fixed price contracts

A fixed price contract means that the contractor is to receive a lump sum amount,
which compensates the contractor for the cost performing the work, including labor,
materials and equipments as well as overhead and profit. Such contractors are also
referred to as stipulated price or lump sum contracts. Under these contracts, the owner
usually has no right to direct the contractor in the means and methods of construction
and has no right to inquire about the actual cost of performing the work. The contractor
will be entitled to keep any additional profit earned as a result of cost saving measures
but will also be responsible for overruns, subject, of course, to completing with terms of
the contract and provided no changes have been necessitated by the owner (Samuels,
1996).
Cost-plus contracts
A cost plus agreement usually requires that the contractors compensated by the owner
for the actual costs of construction, plus a fee that may be fixed or may vary with the
"cost of construction". In such agreement, it is imperative that the costs of construction
be accurately defined. This has been the source of many dispute, particularly regarding
overhead item. In cost plus contracts should generally allow meaningful involvement
by the owner in the details of construction, including means and methods (Samuels,
1996).
Unit price contracts
Unit price contract require that the owner pay a stipulated amount for each unit or
quantity of work performed. These contracts are common on road, building,
earthmoving and pipeline projects.
Although unit price contracts do not guarantee the final cost, they may be advantageous
for different reasons where the quantity of work may vary, requiring a contractor to bid
on a lump sum basis often results in contingency within the price to protect against the
risk of a quantity different from that estimated. Thus under a fixed price contracts, the
owner ends up paying a premium (Samuels, 1996).

12
2.1.6 Factors influencing the choice of the type of contract
• The appropriateness for providing an adequate incentive for efficient
performance by the contractor;
• The ability to introduce changes;
• The allocation of risks;
• The start and completion date of the project.

2.1.7 Preparing for contract management and providing oversight

Construction is a complex multi-stage process, and the stages must be appropriately
aligned and managed. The client that commissioned construction works must make
various multi purpose decisions at various stages of construction (Mitkus et al., 2007).

1. There is a planned transition from the tendering/contract award phase to the contract
management phase, and a handover to contract manager; the cost of contract
management is included in the business case and budgets.
2. Contract ownership is clear, with the budget holder, senior responsible owner (SRO),
and contract manager clearly defined; there is continuity of governance as far as
possible.
3. There are well defined processes and a clear contract management plan, with a focus
on outputs and a ‘whole life’ approach to performance.
4. Overall ownership of contract management across the organization is clear, with a
‘contract management senior responsible owner’ with responsibility for driving
organization-wide contract management performance.
5. Contract management processes are aligned with, among others, wider
organizational governance processes, operational boards, and risk structures.
6. Contract management issues and performance are reported through the governance
structure with senior level engagement.
7. Regular assessment and evaluation takes place to ensure that the cost of contract
management activities is justified and proportionate to the benefits obtained.
8. Knowledge management is embedded, capturing key data and lessons from contract
management process and experience both within the organization and more widely.
9. Professional contract management guidance is developed, or identified from external
sources, and made available to contract managers (NAO, 2008).

13
 Figure 2.2 : The good practice contract management framework (NAO, 2008).

2.2 Construction project overview

Projects have clearly become a central activity in most organizations and companies are
investing increasing resources in projects such as new product development, process
improvement, or building new services. Many studies have demonstrated, however, that
most projects do not meet time and budget goals, or fail to satisfy customer and/ or
company expectations. Yet, project success means more than just meeting time and
budget goals. It involves additional success dimensions such as business results or
preparing for the future (Sauser, 2009).

14
2.2.1 Project success overview
Dvir (2005) defined project success as the completion of an activity within the
constraints of time, cost, and performance. This was the definition used for the past
twenty years or so. Today, the definition of project success has been modified to include
completion( Dvir, D., 2005):
• Within the allocated time period;
• Within the budgeted cost;
• At the proper performance or specification level;
• With acceptance by the customer/user;
• With minimum or mutually agreed upon scope changes;
• Without disturbing the main work flow of the organization;
• Without changing the corporate culture.

2.2.2 Project failure overview

Kaminetzky (1991) as cited in Reddy et al. defines failures as “… a human act;
omission of occurrence or performance; lack of success; nonperformance; insufficiency;
loss of strength; and cessation of proper functioning or performance” A failed project is
usually defined as any project with severe cost or schedule overruns, quality problems,
or one that suffers outright cancellation.
Work on a project has stopped or slowed to the point that progress on the project has
stopped. Not all projects stopped are said to be terminated since some projects that have
slowed down considerably are also considered to have been terminated (EPM, 2011).
Basic factors in a Project’s failure include ( EPM, 2011):
• Wrong project manager chosen;
• Faulty designing ;
• Poor planning;
• Poor support for the project from top management;
• Costs and schedules exceeded;
• Project requirements met but business needs still unresolved.

15
2.2.3 Warning signs that a construction projects is in trouble
The Surety Information Office, which is an office that collects data on surety bonds in
the United States, has identified six broad warning signs that a construction company is
in trouble. They are as follows (Halim et al., 2010):
1. ineffective financial management system;
2. bank line of credit constantly borrowed to the limit;
3. poor estimating and/or job cost reporting;
4. poor project management;
5. absence of a comprehensive business plan;
6. communication problems.

2.2.4 Risk in construction project

Risk can be defined as any factor, event or influence that threatens the successful
completion of a project in terms of time, costs or quality (Medda F., 2007).
One way of classifying the risk is by identifying where control of the risk lies. This may
change during the life of the project. There are five classifications of risk according to
where control lies (IMCA, 2006):
1. External: Unpredictable
These are risks beyond the control of the individual or operator and are totally
unpredictable. They arise from external influences such as third parties, acts of god, etc.
2. External: Predictable but Uncertain
These risks are also beyond the control of individuals or companies. They are expected,
but to what extent? There is usually data to determine a norm or average, but the actual
impact can be above or below this norm. Bad weather is an example.
3. Internal: Technical
These are risks arising directly from the technology of the project work, of the design,
construction or operation of the facility.
4. Internal: Non-Technical
These are within the control of individuals or the operator and usually arise from a
failure of a project team to achieve its expected performance. They may result in
schedule delays, cost over-runs or an interruption to cash flow.
5. Legal: Civil and Criminal
Risks under civil law can arise from contractual arrangements, patent rights etc. Risks
under criminal law can arise under statute.

16
2.3 Termination of construction contracts
The termination of a contract results in its end and neither party is required to
continue performance under it. However, once the contract is terminated, the parties
may still be entitled to damages based on the termination. The nature and amount of
these damages depends, again, on the way termination is treated in the construction
contract (Wittbrodt et al., 2009).
It is vitally important that contractors and owners understand when and how a
termination can legally occur and how to handle such termination threats ( Brumback,
M., 2006).

2.3.1 Types of termination

Spirer as cited in El Karriri (2011) said there are two types of project termination
1. Natural termination.
2. Unnatural termination.
Natural termination: means that the aims of the project objectives have been attained.
Unnatural termination: means that work on the project has stopped because of the
project constraints have been violated or the project objective has become irrelevant to
the overall goals (EPM, 2011).
Termination can be for default or for convenience. As cited in Brumback, M., 2006
a. Termination for default
Both the contractor and the owner have a right to terminate for default.
1. Contractor’s termination for default
A contractor may terminate the contract for a material breach pursuant to A20 1 para.
14.1.1. This provision provides that a contractor may terminate the contract if the work
is stopped for 30 or more days through no fault of the contractor, for specified reasons
only, which include:
• issuance of a governmental stop-work order;
• an act of government such as declaration of national emergency;
• failure of prompt payment or failure to issue a certificate of payment with no notified
reason for the failure to issue such a certificate; or
• failure of the owner to show financial capability upon request.

Additionally, a contractor can terminate the contract for cause if it experiences repeated
suspensions, delays or interruptions of the work in the following delay situations:
17
• more than 100% of the total number of days scheduled for completion, or 120 days in
any 365 day period, whichever is less; or
• if work is stopped for 60 consecutive delays through the fault of the owner.
2. Owner’s termination for default
Pursuant to A20 I para 14.2.1, the owner can terminate for cause as well, if the
contractor materially breaches the contract in one or the following ways:
• persistently fails to supply enough properly skilled workers or proper materials;
• fails to make payment to Subcontractors for materials or labor in accordance with the
respective agreements;
• persistently disregards laws, ordinances, or rules, regulations or orders of a public
authority having jurisdiction; or
• otherwise is guilty of substantial breach of a provision of the contract documents.
Termination for cause must be for breaches which are “so material as in effect to defeat
the very terms of the contract.

b. Termination for convenience

Only the owner can terminate, or suspend, the contract for convenience, The contractor
is not vested with this right. With written notice, the owner can suspend the project for
convenience under 14.3.1. This power is completely discretionary with the owner,
However, in such a case, the contract sum and time are adjusted for increases caused by
the suspension, delay, or interruption.
Furthermore, the owner can terminate the contractor at any time for convenience under
14.4.1. Upon receipt of written notice, the contractor shall cease operations as directed,
take necessary actions to protect and preserve the work, and terminate all subcontracts
and purchase orders.
In the case of such termination for the owner’s convenience, the contractor shall be
entitled to receive payment for work executed, and costs incurred by reason of such
termination, along with reasonable overhead and profit on the work not executed .

2.3.2 Ways of termination

There are four fundamentally different ways to close out a project:
1- extinction,
2- addition,
3- integration,
4- and starvation (Meredith, 2000).
18
Termination by extinction: means the project has been successful and achieved its goals.
Like the new product has been developed and handed over to the client; or the building
has been completed and accepted by the purchaser. Projects terminated by extinction
may have been successful or unsuccessful (Dvir, 2005).
Termination by addition : means
• If a project is a major success, it may be terminated by institutionalizing it as a
formal part of the parent organization.
• When project success result in termination by addition, the transition is
strikingly different from Termination by extinction. Project personnel, property
and equipment are often simply transferred from the dying project to the newly
born division.
• The metamorphosis is accompanied by budget and administrative practices
based on standards procedures of the parent organization.
Termination by integration : means
• This method of terminating a project is the most common way of dealing with
successful projects, and the most complex. The property, equipment, material,
personnel, and functions of the project are distributed among the existing
elements of the parent organization (Dvir, 2005).
• The outputs of the projects become a standard part of the operating systems of
the parent or client.
• The following are the important aspects of project transition from project to
integrated operations.
1. Personnel;
2. Manufacturing;
3. Accounting/finance;
4. Engineering;
5. Information system/software;
6. Marketing;
7. Purchasing, distribution, legal etc;
8. Risk identification and management.

19
Termination by starvation: means
There is a forth type of project termination, although it is not a termination at all. It is
slow starvation by budget decrement.

2.3.3 When to terminate a project

(Project Planning & Control, 2011) cited the reasons when we terminate project as
follow:
1- Some questions to ask when considering termination:
• Has the project been obviated by technical advances?
• Is the output of the project still cost-effective?
• Is it time to integrate or add the project as a part of regular operations?
• Are there better alternative uses for the funds, time and personnel devoted to the
project?
• Has a change in the environment altered the need for the project’s output?
2- Reasons projects fail:
• Project organization was not required (Non-Projects and Pseudo-Projects)
• Insufficient support from senior management;
• Wrong person as project manager;
• Poor (or insufficient) planning;
• Lack of “Critical Success Factors”.

20
 Figure 2.3 : Project termination decision tree (EPM, 2011).

2.3.4 Typical contractual grounds to terminate

Termination clauses are a common forms feature in standard construction
contracts such as the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC). It is
usual for parties to set out the events upon which one or both parties may terminate the
contractual relationship between. Some of the typical reasons include (Article, 2008):
• when one party breaches certain terms of the contract (e.g. workmanship);
• when one party repeatedly fails to perform its obligations;
• when a specific event occurs, e.g. when a party becomes insolvent or has a
receiver or administrator appointed over its assets;
• when one of the parties exercise its discretionary right to terminate for its own
convenience;

21
 • when a prolonged suspension or force majeure type event occurs.
Figure 2.3 shows project termination decision tree

2.3.5 Notice of termination

If the contractor fails to cure the situation or provide a satisfactory explanation as
requested, the contract may be terminated. The Notice of Termination should contain
the following ( Texas Administrative Code):
1. The contract number, if any, and date of contract;
2. The effective date of termination;
3. Reference to the clause under which the contract is being terminated;
4. A concise, accurate statement of the facts justifying the termination;
5. A statement that the supplies or services being terminated may be re-procured and
that the contractor will be held liable for any additional costs incurred due to the
repurchase. Before including this statement, the contract should be reviewed to
determine whether the right is available under the contract.

2.3.6 Steps to proper termination

1. Contractor’s proper termination (Brumback, 2006)
Prior to termination, the contractor can elect to suspend the work if timely payments are
not made by the owner. This is a safer course of action than termination, and it allows
the owner a chance to cure.
If the contractor must terminate for cause, he must provide a 7 day written notice to the
owner.
2. Owner’s proper termination (Brumback, 2006)
Although not required prior to termination, the owner can elect to exercise its right to
stop work prior to taking the more drastic remedy of termination. The owner can stop
the work if it is not proceeding in accordance with the plans, and the contractor’s breach
is substantial. This is a recommended first step prior to termination. Further, the owner
can elect to carry out portions of the work itself, provided it follows the notice
requirements and gives the contractor an opportunity to comply.
Prior to termination, the owner pt give a 7 day written notice to the contractor.
After termination, the owner is permitted to choose any reasonable method for
completing the work and charge that cost to the defaulting contractor, whether or not
that method is the best method or the cheapest method.
22
2.3.7 The effectiveness of termination on project
The project termination constitutes a significant part in the total project, it is often
overlooked by project managers ( De, 2001). This not only prevents the executing firm
to claim the last portion of the contractual value of the project, but also develops
another series of effects, namely ( De, 2001):
• time over-run;
• cost over-run as a direct result of time over-run in most cases;
• tarnishing the image and credibility of the project team;
• locking up valuable human and other resources that could have been gainfully
utilized elsewhere;
• developing enormous stress on the project personnel.

2.3.8 Available damages from termination

Whenever a party breaches a contract, the non-breaching party is entitled to recover
some form of damages. In all contract actions, a breach entitles the other party to at
least nominal damages, and actual damages which they can prove. In the case of
termination, the actual damages must be shown to be the proximate result of the
termination (Brumback, 2006).
1. Contractor’s damages (Brumback, 2006)
If a contractor terminates the contract for cause, he is entitled to recover payment for
Work executed and for proven loss with respect to materials, equipment, tools, and
construction equipment and machinery, including reasonable overhead, profit and
damages.
Similarly, if an owner terminates the contract for the owner’s convenience, the
contractor is entitled to recover payment for Work executed, and costs incurred by
reason of such termination, along with reasonable overhead and profit on Work not
executed.
In the case of a subcontractor which has defaulted, the general contractor is entitled to
recover from that subcontractor any increased costs of completing the work from
defaulting subcontractor.
2. Owner’s Damages (Brumback, 2006)
For a contractor’s breach or an owner who terminates for cause, the owner’s damages

23
can be either the cost of repair/completion the difference in value from what was
contracted. In general, cost of repair is the proper measure of damages in a construction
case where the owner would not get what he bargained for unless he gets the repair,
replacement or completion. If the unpaid contract balance exceeds the costs of finishing
the work, the contractor should be reimbursed the difference. If the work to finish is
greater than the balance remaining, the contractor shall pay the difference to the owner.
(A201, para 14.2.4).
An exception to the cost of repair method of calculating damage exists, however, where
a substantial portion of the completed work would be destroyed to undertake the repair.
In that case, diminution in value may be used as the measure of damages instead,
provided the structure substantially conforms to the contract specifications. If, however,
the defects or omissions are major, such that the building does not substantially
conform, then the decreased value of the constructed building justifies the high cost of
repairs.

2.3.9 Why PM's ignore termination

The most direct reason that Project Closeout phase is neglected is lack of resources,
time and budget. Even though most of project-based organizations have a review
process formally planned, most of the times "given the pressure of work, project team
member found themselves being assigned to new projects as soon as a current project is
completed" (Newell, 2004). Moreover, the senior management often considers the cost
of project closeout unnecessary. (Sowards, 2005) implies this added cost as an effort "in
planning, holding and documenting effective post project reviews". He draws a parallel
between reviews and investments because both require a start-up expenditure but they
can also pay dividends in the future.
Human nature avoids accountability for serious defects. Therefore, members of project
teams and especially the project manager who has the overall responsibility, will
unsurprisingly avoid such a critique of their work if they can. As (Kerzner, 2001)
observe, "documenting successes is easy. Documenting mistakes is more troublesome
because people do not want their names attached to mistakes for fear of retribution".
Thomset (2002) compares project reviews with the ‘witch hunts’ saying that they can be
"one of the most political and cynical of all organizational practices where the victims
(the project manager and the team) are blamed by senior management". While he
identifies top management as the main responsible party for a failure, (Murray, 2001)

24
suggest that the project manager "must accept ultimate responsibility, regardless of the
factors involved". A fair-minded stance on these different viewpoints would evoke that
the purpose of the project review is not to find a scapegoat but to learn from the
mistakes.

2.3.10 Prevention of construction project failure or termination

YI et al. (2006) cited the factors to prevent the project failure or termination as follow:
1. Scientific identification and prediction of failure
Failure of construction business and management involves studies of various fields.
Only through multidisciplinary and multi-angle discussing, scholars can realize origins
of failures. Only based on comprehensive analysis of failure factors, they can build
scientific and rational prediction models, and obtain maximal prevention and treatment
with minimal cost (Wang 2002). In order to predict scientifically, many economic
methods should be used for reference. For instance, some fundamental methods in
contemporary Western economics are to analyze functions of economic variables, build
mathematical models, make decisions, and predict. Research of enterprise failure need
adopt this kind of methods to use mathematics and statistics to build prediction model
of failure.
Generally, backgrounds of enterprise failures are complicated, and they cannot be
explained with only one factor. It can be said that various factors produce one disease,
and one factor brings various diseases.
2. Evaluation of competitive abilities
It should be noted that all of failures of a construction enterprise could be attributed to
lack of competitive abilities. It is a normal phenomenon for a construction enterprise to
fail in market environment. In order to prevent failure, it is important to cultivate
enterprise competitive abilities of an enterprise. Competitive abilities of a construction
enterprise include three parts: marketing abilities, project management abilities and
innovation abilities (Yao, 2003).
A firm must be different enough to have a unique advantage over its competitors,
especially in a tough market (Arditi, 2000). Competitive abilities of enterprise are
critical to an enterprise, and these abilities also include abilities of manager. An
enterprise or a project has life, sometimes its life is longer, sometimes is shorter. It is
important for an enterprise or a staff to maintain health status. Consequently, evaluation
of competitive abilities is a crucial countermeasure to prevent failure for an enterprise.

25
3. Improving construction management qualities
Qualities are important for a project, an enterprise, or a manager. A manager should
emphasize enterprise’s qualities, and a staff should pay attention on his qualities.
Qualities of an enterprise, a staff and a manager are different. Therefore, it must be
emphasized that everyone should study in all life. Development of a construction
enterprise lies on development of employee’s abilities. Best method to improve qualities
of employee is to promote employee training and make him a talented person.
4. Independent professional inspecting and supervising
Business and management of a construction enterprise needs independent professionals
to supervise. For instance, cost engineers can evaluate exactly and budget prudently;
chief inspectors can supervise efficiently; registered structure engineer can calculate
accurately and save money; an independent construction professional can furnish full
time inspection and strong supervision should be provided to avoid ‘short cuts’ by
workers. Sometimes, improper construction designing will lead to waste. For instance,
if structural design is as secure as possible, it will construct a blockhouse instead of a
building. A construction enterprise should make use of certified professionals and
intermediary agencies. In business and management of construction, intermediary
agencies can be employed in many fields.
5. Adopting synthetic prevention measures for failure
Generally, without obtaining the goals, an enterprise fails. Failures will result in losses
of tangible assets and invisible assets. The first can be calculated by economic figures,
including losses of finance and material resources. Whereas, the latter cannot be
calculated by money, such as brand depreciating, enterprise culture is slack and strategy
is confusing (Wang, 2002). Failures will bring losses of social fortune and resource. It
means that social fortunes are collocated wrongly, and great deals of social wealth are
destroyed. It even will result in a mass of unemployment, accidents, disasters, crimes,
and so on.
In one word, losses brought by failure are various. It is necessary to analyze failures
from various fields and various angles, and adopt synthetic prevention countermeasures
to control failure accordingly.

26
2.4 Previous studies for construction contracts termination
The purpose of the contract is to establish the rights, duties, obligation, and
responsibilities of the parties and to allocate the risk . The acceptance of an obligation
or duty brings with it acceptance of commensurate risk, which is the risk of being
unable to fulfill the obligation or duty because of one 's own inadequate, incapacity,
inadvertence, or error, or because of interference from outside sources or events. But
with any contractual agreement the contract defines only the ground rules, the execution
of contract rests on good well, intent and relationship between the parties. ( Flanagan &
Norman, 1993).

Al-Hallaq (2003), in his thesis study illustrated that the cause of contractors failure are:
delay in collecting bids from clients (donors), closure, depending on banks and paying
high profits, lack of capital, cash flow management, lack of experience in the field of
work in Gaza Strip, absence of construction regulations, low margins of profit due to
competition, award contract to lowest price, and lack of experience in contracts.

Enshassi et al. (2006) in their paper explore the causes of contractor's business failure
in Palestine, and investigate their severity from the contractor's point of view. The
study's results shows that the main causes of business failure are delay in collecting debt
from clients (donors), border closure, heavy dependence on bank loans and payment of
high interest on these loans, lack of capital, absence of industry regulations, low profit
margin due to high competition, awarding contracts by client to the lowest bidder, and
lack of experience in contract management.

Anderson (2010) in her Assay titled " The top three causes of project failure " . She
shows that the common three causes are :
1- Lack of clearly designated project leader;
2- Lack of clear expectations and goals;
3- Communications challenges.

27
Belassi et al. (1996) in their paper grouped the success or failure factors into four areas
• Factors related to the project;
• Factors related to the project manager and the team members;
• Factors related to the organization;
• Factors related to the external environment.
The paper demonstrates the differences between the critical success factors and the
factors identified with the use of our scheme. Many critical factors, such as factors
related to projects manager s' performance, factors related to team members and
environmental factors, became apparent with this study. The results are encouraging, in
that practitioners support the use of this scheme for determining and analyzing critical
success factors and how systems respond to these factors and illustrate that project
manager s' managerial skills are the most critical factors while environmental factors
take the lead in construction.

Hamdia (2008), in his thesis study (Investigate of critical success factors for
construction sector in Gaza Strip) shows that the most notable findings of this
research were, about 71% of contracting companies in Gaza Strip have a clear
description of goals and mission, financial resources is the first Critical Success Factors
(CSF), the second CSF is owner satisfaction. In addition, Pricing polices CSF was the
third. Also the forth CSF was related to Managerial Skills for contractors. Furthermore,
cost control CSF was the fifth. Finally, Mission and Goal has the sixth one. He
recommended the necessity for contractors in Gaza Strip to be more interested in
strategic planning, to formulate and apply adequate CSFs; and contractors in Gaza Strip
must apply modern managerial approaches and scientific tools; as well as top manager
in contracting company in Gaza Strip shouldn’t concentrate efforts on financial issues,
but they are required to be interested in other topics as, human resource development,
owner satisfaction, and cost reduction.

Albert et al. (2001) in their study that aimed to identify a set of project success factors
for Design and Build (D&B) projects and examine the relative importance of these
factors on project outcome. Six project success factors (project team commitment,
contractor's

28
competences, risk and liability assessment, client's competences, end-user's needs and
constraints imposed by end users) were extracted from factor analysis of data provided
by 53 participants of public sector D&B projects through a questionnaire survey. Project
team commitment, client's competences and contractor's competences were found to be
important to bring successful project outcome from the multiple regression findings.
Contractor’s competences also contributed to project time performance. Project team
members should also recognize that time and cost performance as well as quality of
design and workmanship represents the key elements of overall success of D&B
projects. Practitioners are advised to focus on teamwork and partnering for successful
project completion.

Abu Mousa (2005), in his thesis study about gain understanding of 44 risk factors that
could face the building projects in Gaza Strip and also to investigate the effectiveness of
risk preventive and mitigate methods. The study illustrated that " The most important
risk factors are: financial failure of the contractor, working at hot (dangerous) areas,
closure, defective design and delayed payments on contract. On the other hand, owner
respondents concluded that the most important risk factors are: awarding the design to
unqualified designer, defective design, occurrence of accidents, difficulty to access the
site, and inaccurate quantities".

Kartam and Kartam (2001) in their paper present an attitude of typically large
Kuwaiti contractor towards construction risk. The paper is concerned with the
assessment and allocation risk as will as contribution of each risk type to project delay.
The paper also investigate the best contractual arrangements and the most effectives
approaches towards preventing or minimizing construction risk. The study illustrated
that " Financial failure has been consider to be the most significant risk category and a
contractors cloud suffer from in Kuwait".

El Karriri et al. (2011) in their paper show that the political factors and clients' related
factors like (Israel invasion, Imposed closure at Gaza Strip, clients bankruptcy, clients'
bad financial situation, and location of some projects at hot regions) were shown as a
part of the critical drivers for contract termination in construction projects.

29
Dvir (2005) in his paper examines the relationship between planning and preparing the
project termination and commission and project success. The paper suggests that
customer participation in the development process and final user preparations have the
highest impact on project success. Customer participation in the development process is
highly correlated with project efficiency (0.45), while final user preparations are highly
correlated with customer benefits (0.46).

De (2001) in his paper analyzes the key problems faced by project management
professionals in terminating projects in Indian Industry. The paper shows that
negotiating claims with clients, compliance of statutory requirements, receipt of the
final installment of payment, performance guarantee tests, and handling claims of
suppliers are the key problems faced by the project managers in India in terminating
projects.

Dilts et al. (2006) in their paper investigate the impact of job position or role, when
making the decision to cancel a project and the impact of different information
gathering activities, such as information scanning richness of media used, and diversity
of information sources by examining the perspectives of decision makers who have
cancelled or terminated a public sector project. Two decision-making roles are studied:
executives, those with the authority to start or cancel a project, and project managers,
those who direct the day-to-day operations of the project. The paper illustrate that in
project success or failure cannot ignore the impact of role.

Table 2.1 Summarize the factors affecting on construction contracts termination

30
 Table 2.1 Summary of driven the factors affecting on termination

El Karriri et al.
Enshassi et al
Kartam et al.

Abu Mousa,
Belassi et al.
Albert et al.
Anderson,

Al-Hallaq,
Dilts et al.
Hamdia,
(2010)

(2005)

(2001)

(2008)

(2001)

(2001)

(2006)

(2006)

(1996)

(2005)

(2001)

(2003)
Dvir,

De,
Group No.

Managerial 1
P Lack of experience in the line of work 1.1
P Company organization 1.2
P Frauds 1.3
P Neglect 1.4
P Inaccurate quantities 1.5
P Unmanaged cash flow 1.6
P Resource management 1.7
P Poor communication between involved parties 1.8
P Ability to put plans to work 1.9
P Ability to use computer in management 1.10
P Ability to work as a team 1.11
P Unclear goals 1.12
Financial 2

31
 P Low margin of profit due to competition 2.1
P Lack of capital 2.2
Difference of local currency exchange with
P contract currency
2.3

Client delay in the contractor financial 2.4

P payments.

P Contractors bankrupting or insolvent 2.5

P Evaluation of profit yearly 2.6
P Material wastages 2.7
P Ability to negotiating claims with clients. 2.8
P Increment of project size 2.9
P Average number of full time employees 2.10
Cost and time organization (cash flow and
P schedule )
2.11

Political 3
P Lack of clear expectations 3.1
Internal political troubles; as: rebellion, civil 3.2
P war, or disorder.

P Change in regulatory problems 3.3

P Increment of material prices 3.4

32
 P Banks policy 3.5
P Closure 3.6
P Lack of resources 3.7
P Difficulty to get permits 3.8
P Change in funding source 3.9
P Inflation in world 3.10
Environmental 4
P Adverse climate conditions 4.1
P Social environment 4.2
P Accounting and tax practices 4.3
P Working at hot (dangerous) areas 4.4
P National slump in economy 4.5
P Change in resources (people, materials, funds) 4.6
P No specialized arbitrators to help settle fast 4.7
P Acts of God (Natural disaster ) 4.8
P Fare of project position to company 4.9
Project Characteristic 5
P Change in the type of work 5.1
P Size & value 5.2
P Life cycle period 5.3

33
 P Increase size of projects 5.4
Wrong estimation for the total time of the 5.5
P project.

P Project position 5.6

P Change in overall project complexity 5.7
P Quality of work 5.8
P Wrong cost estimation 5.9

34
2.5 Common causes of project termination (Failure)
The UK Office of Government Commerce, (2005) cited the common causes of
termination of project as follow:
1. Lack of clear links between the project and the organization's key strategic priorities,
including agreed measures of success.
• Do we know how the priority of this project compares and aligns with our other
delivery and operational activities?
• Have we defined the critical success factors (CSFs) for the project?
• Have the CSFs been agreed with suppliers and key stakeholders?
• Do we have a clear project plan that covers the full period of the planned
delivery and all business change required, and indicates the means of benefits
realization?
2. Lack of clear senior management and Ministerial ownership and
leadership.
• Does the project management team have a clear view of the interdependencies
between projects, the benefits, and the criteria against which success will be
judged?
• If the project traverses organizational boundaries, are there clear governance
arrangements to ensure sustainable alignment with the business objectives of all
organizations involved?
• Are all proposed commitments and announcements first checked for delivery
implications?
• Are decisions taken early, decisively, and adhered to, in order to facilitate
successful delivery?
3. Lack of effective engagement with stakeholders.
• Have we identified the right stakeholders?
• Have we as intelligent customers, identified the rationale for doing so (e.g. the
why, the what, the who, the where, the when and the how)?
• Have we secured a common understanding and agreement of stakeholder
requirements?
• Does the business case take account of the views of all stakeholders including
users?

35
 • Do we understand how we will manage stakeholders (e.g. ensure buy-in,
overcome resistance to change, allocate risk to the party best able to manage it)?
4. Lack of skills and proven approach to project management and risk management.
• Is there a skilled and experienced project team with clearly defined roles and
responsibilities? If not, is there access to expertise, which can benefit those
fulfilling the requisite roles?
• Are the major risks identified, weighted and treated by the SRO, the Director,
and Project Manager and/or project team?
• Has sufficient resourcing, financial and otherwise, been allocated to the project,
including an allowance for risk?

Al-Hallaq (2003) illustrated in his study the causes of contractor's failure in Gaza Strip
are:
• Delay in collecting dibs from donors
• Closure
• Depending on banks and paying high
• Lack of capital
• Lack of experience in the line of work
• Cash flow management
• Segmentation of Gaza Strip
• Low margin of profit due to competition
• Lack of experience in contracts
• Award contracts to lowest price

Anderson (2010) in her Assay titled shows that the common three causes of project
failure are :
1- Lack of clearly designated project leader;
2- Lack of clear expectations and goals;
3- Communications challenges.

36
And the UK Office of Government Commerce, (2005) cited the common causes of
termination of project also as follow:

1. Too little attention to breaking development and implementation into manageable

steps.
• Has the approach been tested to ensure it is not 'big-bang' (e.g. in IT-enabled
projects)?
• Has sufficient time been built-in to allow for planning applications in Property
& Construction projects for example?
• Have we done our best to keep delivery timescales short so that change during
development is avoided?
• Have enough review points been built-in so that the project can be stopped, if
changing circumstances mean that the business benefits are no longer achievable
or no longer represent value for money?
2. Evaluation of proposals driven by initial price rather than long-term
value for money (especially securing delivery of business benefits).
• Is the evaluation based on whole-life value for money, taking account of capital,
maintenance and service costs?
• Do we have a proposed evaluation approach that allows us to balance financial
factors against quality and security of delivery?
• Does the evaluation approach take account of business criticality and
affordability?
• Is the evaluation approach business driven?

3. Lack of understanding of, and contact with the supply industry at senior levels in the
organization.
• Have we tested that the supply industry understands our approach and agrees
that it is achievable?
• Have we asked suppliers to state any assumptions they are making against their
proposals?
• Have we checked that the project will attract sufficient competitive interest?
• Are senior management sufficiently engaged with the industry to be able to
assess supply-side risks?

37
 • Do we have a clear strategy for engaging with the industry or are we making
sourcing decisions on a piecemeal basis?
• Are the processes in place to ensure that all parties have a clear understanding
4. Lack of effective project team integration between clients, the supplier team and the
supply chain.
• Has a market evaluation been undertaken to test market responsiveness to the
requirements being sought?
• Are the procurement routes that allow integration of the project team being
used?
• Is there early supplier involvement to help determine and validate what outputs
and outcomes are sought for the project?
• Has a shared risk register been established?

2.6 The 6 steps guide to a smooth closure (termination)

Maylor, 2005 groups the necessary activities into a six step procedure, which can differ
depending on the size and the scope of the project the project close out and it is very
necessary and important to a project (contract) when it is terminated:
2.6.1 Completion
First of all, the project manager must ensure the project is 100% complete. (Young,
2003) noticed that in the closeout phase "it is quite common to find a number of
outstanding minor tasks from early key stages still unfinished. They are not critical and
have not impeded progress, yet they must be completed". Furthermore, some projects
need continuing service and support even after they are finished, such as IT projects.
While it is helpful when this demand is part of the original statement of requirements, it
is often part of the contract closeout. (Rosenau and Githens, 2005) suggest that "the
contractor should view continuing service and support as an opportunity and not merely
as an obligation" since they can both learn from each other by exchanging ideas.
2.6.2 Documentation
Mooz et al (2003) defines documentation as "any text or pictorial information that
describe project deliverables". The importance of documentation is emphasized by
(Pinkerton, 2003) who notes that "it is imperative that everything learned during the
project, from conception through initial operations, should be captured and become an
asset". A detailed documentation will allow future changes to be made without

38
extraordinary effort since all the aspects of the project are written down. Documentation
is the key for well-organized change of the project owner, i.e. for a new investor that
takes over the project after it is finished. (Thompson, 2005) makes a distinction between
the documentation requirements of the internal and the external clients since the
external party usually needs the documents for audit purposes only. Despite the
uninteresting nature of documenting historical data, the person responsible for this task
must engage actively with his assignment.
2.6.3 Project systems closure
All project systems must close down at the closeout phase. This includes the financial
systems, i.e. all payments must be completed to external suppliers or providers and all
work orders must terminate (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2004). "In closing project
files, the project manager should bring records up to date and make sure all original
documents are in the project files and at one location" (Arora, 1995). (Maylor, 2005)
suggest that "a formal notice of closure should be issued to inform other staff and
support systems that there are no further activities to be carried out or charges to be
made". As a result, unnecessary charges can be avoided by unauthorized expenditure
and clients will understand that they can not receive additional services at no cost.
2.6.4 Project reviews
The project review comes usually comes after all the project systems are closed. It is a
bridge that connects two projects that come one after another. Project reviews transfer
not only tangible knowledge such as numerical data of cost and time but also the tacit
knowledge which is hard to document. ‘Know-how’ and more important ‘know-why’
are passed on to future projects in order to eliminate the need for project managers to
‘invent the wheel’ from scratch every time they start a new project. The reuse of
existing tools and experience can be expanded to different project teams of the same
organization in order to enhance project results (Bucero, 2005). Reviews have a holistic
nature which investigate the impact of the project on the environment as a whole.
Audits can also be helpful but they are focused on the internal of the organization.
Planning the reviews should include the appropriate time and place for the workshops
and most important the people that will be invited. Choosing the right people for the
review will enhance the value of the meeting and help the learning process while having
an objective critique not only by the team members but also from a neutral external
auditor. The outcome of this review should be a final report which will be presented to
the senior management and the project sponsor. (Whitten, 2003) also notices that "often

39
just preparing a review presentation forces a project team to think through and solve
many of the problems publicly exposing the state of their work".
3.6.5 Disband the project team
Before reallocating the staff amongst other resources, closeout phase provides an
excellent opportunity to assess the effort, the commitment and the results of each team
member individually. Extra-ordinary performance should be complemented in public
and symbolic rewards could be granted for innovation and creativity (Gannon, 1994).
This process can be vital for team satisfaction and can improve commitment for future
projects (Reed, 2001). Reviewing a project can be in the form of a reflective process,
where project managers "record and critically reflect upon their own work with the aim
of improving their management skills and performance" (Loo, 2002). It can also be
applied in problematic project teams in order to identify the roots of possible conflicts
and bring them into an open discussion.
Ignoring the established point of view of disbanding the project team as soon as
possible to avoid unnecessary overheads, (Meredith and Mandel, 2003) imply that it’s
best to wait as much as you can for two main reasons. First it helps to minimize the
frustration that might generate a team member’s reassignment with unfavourable
prospects. Second it keeps the interest and the professionalism of the team members
high as it is common ground that during the closing stages, some slacking is likely to
appear.
2.6.6 Stakeholder satisfaction
PMBoK (2004 ) defines that "actions and activities are necessary to confirm that the
project has met all the sponsor, customer and other stakeholders’ requirements". Such
actions can be a final presentation of the project review which includes all the important
information that should be published to the stakeholders. This information can include a
timeline showing the progress of the project from the beginning until the end, the
milestones that were met or missed, the problems encountered and a brief financial
presentation. A well prepared presentation which is focused on the strong aspects of the
projects can cover some flaws from the stakeholders and make a failure look like an
unexpected success.

40
2.7 Impacts of project parties (Stakeholders) on project termination
Nowadays, project management has become a key activity in most modern
organizations. Projects usually have a wide variety of objectives, involve numerous
internal and external actors, and are conducted in various activity sectors. Since 1980,
many academics and practitioners have agreed that human resource management
(HRM) is one of the most crucial elements of an organization's success (Belout et al.,
2004).
The project management identifies two requirements for an effective client–contractor
relationship. Firstly, contractor organizations must be customer-focused, in terms of
understanding and fulfilling the expectations of the client. This customer-focus
has been stated as a precursor to success . Secondly, client organizations must be
focused on understanding and accommodating the expectations of all stakeholders in the
supply chain, such as contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers and other team members,
with ‘‘project stakeholders’’ defined as ‘‘people or organizations who have a vested
interest in the environment, performance and/or outcome of the project . This focus on
other stakeholders will create ‘‘win-win’’ situations through trust, openness, teamwork
and shared goals (Bryde et al., 2005).
Stakeholders are individuals, groups or organizations, institutions and others that are
actively involved in a project and whose interests may be positively or negatively
affected by the project execution. They may also exert influence over the project and its
results. In short, they are claimants who claim ownership, who have rights or interests in
a project and its activities. Hence, every project is influenced and must be managed
from a perspective that goes beyond the basic relationship between customers and
companies that perform the project (Seid, 2008).
The pre-qualification of construction contractors is a very important step in project
procurement. Pre-qualification is the process of screening contractors. The selection of a
qualified contractor gives confidence to the client that the selected contractor can
achieve the project goals (El-Sawalhi, 2007).

The responsibility of project integration requires the project manager to perform three
key tasks. Firstly, the project manager has to implement an effective planning and
control system for all the project activities. Secondly, all communication links within
and outside the project need to be established and maintained. Finally, effective project
integration requires the project manager to act quickly to resolve internal and external
41
conflicts before they start to threaten project budget, scheduling and performance
specification (Ogunlana et al., 2002).

The employer plays the most important role within the construction process and
therefore, he is the most important party to the contract for without him there would be
no contract and no work for consultants and contractors (Seid, 2008). Figure 2.4 shows
the relationships between employer, contractor and engineer.

Owners of projects under construction have three common goals: completion of the
project at the lowest reasonable price, within a stated time, and to a specified quality
(Abubshait, 1994).

Owners’ competencies that affect project success include their capability in managing
projects, their understanding of project scope and being able to clearly articulate end-
users’ needs. Owners who have competencies such as being knowledgeable,
enlightened and having initiative would facilitate project-based integrated teams,
leading to higher project performance (Yng Ling et al., 2008).

Figure 2.4: Stakeholders relationship

42
2.8 Methods of the disputes on construction projects
Construction Disputes are generally complex with many interwoven issues involving
multiple claims and counterclaims, which arise mainly because of the uniqueness of the
construction contract itself. Furthermore, construction contracts have inherent
characteristics that render any disputes arising from them unique (Bunni, 2000).

One of the most reasons that can affect the completion of projects is disputes. It is
normal to have disputes in construction projects due to the related contract nature. The
procurement, execution and completion of construction and engineering contracts differ
from other contracts in many respects (Abu Rass, 2006).

In today's complex construction projects, resolving disputes has become an inevitable

part of a project manager’s work (Cheung, 1999). The methods of resolving disputes
range from informal negotiation to formal proceedings like arbitration and litigation.
Arbitration and litigation proceedings have proved to be time consuming and expensive.
In addition, these proceedings are often confrontational and require many hours of
unproductive effort (Cheung and Yeung, 1998).
The dispute is defined by Brown and Marriot “as a class or kind of conflict, which
manifests itself in distinct and justifiable issues. It involves disagreement over issues
capable of resolution by negotiation, mediation or third party adjudication” (as cited in
Yates, 2003).
There are numerous methods available in the international commercial world for
resolving disputes between two contracting parties. The most important methods are
litigation through the courts of a country and arbitration. The available methods
(techniques) that can resolve the construction disputes vary from formal to informal
methods. This formality depends on the degree of documentation of the technique
procedures and its resolution binding. Table 2.2 shows the methods of disputes
construction.

43
Table 2.2 Methods of disputes construction
Attributes of selected dispute resolution techniques (DRTs)
Dispute
resolution Definition of DRT Some attributes of DRTs
technique (DRT)
Strengths Weaknesses
Promotes Some parties may lack
Processes whereby two or
cooperation. negotiation skills.
more parties attempt to settle
Power balance is not
Negotiation what each shall give and take, Cost efficient.
assured.
or perform and receive in a
Promotes open
transaction between them.
process.
An impartial third party Encourages Process can be
attempts to keep com- Participation. expensive.
munication lines open, point High degree of
Participants may
out areas of agreement, Participant
Mediation lack skills.
encourage and assist control.
disputants to resolve their Helps create
A balance of power
differences using compromise alternative
not assured.
and negotiation. options
Results in
Win-lose outcomes
A process similar to litigation conclusive
possible.
but the decision of the decisions.
impartial third party may or Supported by
Arbitration
may not be binding depending established law Adversarial.
on the prior wishes of the and legislation.
disputants. Can be lengthy
process.
Conclusive
Involves courts and a neutral Costly.
Decisions.
Litigation third party that decides the
Supported by Win-lose outcomes
outcome based on law.
law. common.
Sources: (David et al., 2003)

44
 Chapter 3
Methodology
3.1 Introduction
This chapter details the methodology and procedures which are used in the field of
study. This chapter deals with the research method, research population and sample,
sample characteristics, pilot study, research tools, Internal Consistent Validity,
Questionnaire Reliability, as well as list of statistical procedure used in the study.

3.2 Research design

Research design is an action plan for obtaining answers to the questions being studied.
It is a method for getting from "here" to "there" where "here" may be defined as the
initial set of questions to be answered, and "there" is some set of conclusion or answers
about these questions. Between "here" and "there" a number of major steps may be
found including the collection and analysis of relevant data (Naoum, 2007).

In this research, The problem of the study (construction contracts termination)was

identified, then it was defined and the related objectives of the study were set.
Thoroughly a research proposal and a plan was done. The literature review was done
accordingly.

To collect data a questionnaire was designed as a mean of research through pilot study,
validity, and reliability.
The sample of study was collected, analyzed and discussed to get the results, conclusion
and recommendations.

All elements of the research in this chapter such as sample size, sample location,
validity and reliability ….etc. were explained and discussed in details.

Figure 3.1 summarizes the all the research phases.

45
 Topic Selection

Identify the
Problem
Develop Research Research Plan
Research Proposal
Plan
Define the
Problem

Literature Review
Establish
Objectives

Defining the factors

Interviews
affecting construction
experts &
contracts termination
contractors

Questionnaire Design

Pilot Study
Final Questionnaire

Questionnaire
Validity
Choosing the search sample
and size

Questionnaire
Reliability

Conducting Survey

Results Data Analysis and Discussion

Conclusion & Recommendations

Figure 3.1: Research summary

46
3.3 Research method:
This research used descriptive analytical method. Also primary and secondary data were
used.
3.3.1 Primary data
To analyze the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the contracts termination, it
has been depends on collecting the primary data by questionnaire ( see annexes 1,2) as a
main tool for the study, it saves time and effort. The questionnaire was designed
especially for this study and contains three parts:
1- Organization Profile and personal characteristics of the responses.
2- Evaluation of the current situation in Gaza Strip for project termination .
3- Project termination factors ( Managerial factors, Financial factors, Political factors,
Environmental factors, Project characteristic factors ).

3.3.2 Secondary data

To introduce the theoretical literature of the subject, the researcher used the following
data sources:
1. Books and references;
2. Periodicals, papers and master theses;
3. Palestinian statistic center and Palestinian contractors union;
4. Internet and its electronic versions.
3.4 Population
The population of this study is represented by contracting companies specialized in
the field of buildings and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and officially registered with
the national committee for contractors classification of the Palestinian contractors
union until 15/6/2011. The P.C.U in Gaza Strip divided the contracting companies into
five major categories depending on their size, capitals, executed projects, equipment
values, and qualifications of the technical staff .

3.5 Sample size determination

Wood and Haber (1998) defined the sampling as the process of selecting representative
units of a population for the study in research investigation. A sample is a small
proportion of a population selected for observation and analysis.

47
Statistical equations were used in order to calculate the sample size for the contractors.
Equation 3.1 was used to determine the sample size of the unlimited population.
(Creative Research Systems, 2001):
Z 2 × P × (1 − P )
SS =
C2 Equation 3.1
Where SS = Sample Size.
Z = Z Value (e.g. 1.96 for 95% confidence interval).
P = Percentage picking a choice, expressed as decimal, (0.50 used for sample size
needed).
C = Maximum error of estimation (9%)

1.96 2 × 0.5 × (1 − 0.5)

SS = = 118
0.092

SS
SSNew =
SS − 1
1+
POP
Where pop is the population = 190 match the proposed classes contracting
companies according to the PCU records (The first three classes).
118
SS New = = 73
118 − 1
1+
190
The total number distributed to contractors was 90 questionnaires.

3.6 Research location

The research was carried out in Gaza Strip, which consists of five governorates; namely
26 contractors from Gaza and North, 13 from the Middle Area, 23 from Khan-Younis
and 8 contractors from Rafah governorates. These five areas are considered the southern
governorates of the Palestinian territories as shown in Figure 3.2.

48
 30
27
23
25

Respondents s' No.

20
14
15
9
10

0
Rafah Khan-Yunis Middle Area Gaza and
North

Figure 3.2: Research location

3.7 Questionnaire design and contents

There are two types of research strategies namely quantitative research and qualitative
research (Naoum, 2007). Quantitative approaches seek to gather factual data and to
study relationships between facts and how such facts and relationships accord with
theories and the findings of any research executed previously (Fellows and Liu as cited
in Al-Najjar, J., 2008).
According to the review of literature and after interviewing experts the study tool was
developed, a questionnaire was designed in Arabic language (Annex 1), with English
version attached in (Annex 2). The questionnaire was provided with a covering letter
which explained the purpose of the study, the way of responding, the aim of the
research and the security of the information in order to encourage high response. The
questionnaire composed of three sections, as follows:
The first section is about the organization profile and personal characteristics of the
responses.
The second section is about evaluation the current situation in Gaza Strip for project
termination .
The third section is about project termination factors ( Managerial factors, Financial
factors, Political factors, Environmental factors, Project characteristic factors ).
In this research, a questionnaire with structural review is used for the data gathering.
Naoum (2007) summarized the main advantages of structural review as follows:

49
" The answer can be more accurate. The response rate relatively high (approximately
60-70%), especially if interviewees are contacted directly.

3.8 Pilot study

Drafting of a good questionnaire is a highly specialized job and requires great care,
skill, wisdom, efficiency and experience. No hard and fast rules can be laid down for
designing or framing a questionnaire.
These structured questionnaires should be based on a carefully prepared set of questions
piloted and refined until the researcher is convinced of their validity. Therefore the pre-
testing is an important stage in the questionnaire design process, prior to finalizing the
questionnaire. It involves administrating the questionnaire to a limited number of
potential respondents and other knowledgeable individuals in order to identify and
correct design flaws (Al-Najjar, 2008).
The Arabic version of questionnaire was to test the meaning of the questions and
making sure that the questions are clear and easily understandable without duplications
in the meanings. The test was made by distributing five drafts of the questionnaire. In
general, contractors agreed that the questionnaire is suitable to achieve the goals of the
study.

The following comments and some modifications have been done:

1. Some factors and sentences should be modified or represented with more details
2. Some factors were repeated more than one time with the same meaning. So, it
should be eliminated these repeated factors
3. Some factors and sentences should be modified in order to give clearer
meaning and understanding.
4. Some words and sentences need to be cleared

3.9 Response rate

The questionnaire was distributed to the 90 construction company's registered in the
Palestinian contractors union (PCU) , and 75 questionnaires were returned, which gives
83 % response rate but only 73 questionnaires were considered valid because they were
answered correctly as shown in Figure 3.3.

50
 Unreturned
questionnaire
17%

Returned
questionnaire
83%

Figure 3.3: Questionnaire response rate

3.10 Validity of the research
Burns and Grove (1993) define the validity of an instrument as a determination of the
extent to which the instrument actually reflects the abstract construct being examined.
There are two ways to evaluate instrument validity: content validity and statistical
validity, which include criterion-related validity and construct validity.

3.10.1 Content validity of the questionnaire

Content validity test was conducted by consulting five experts to evaluate the content of
the questionnaire. In general, they agreed that the questionnaire is suitable to achieve
the goals of the study. Important comments and some modifications have been done.

3.10.2 Statistical validity of the questionnaire

Statistically, to insure the validity of the questionnaire, two statistical tests should be
applied. The first test is criterion-related validity test (Spearman test) which measures
the correlation coefficient between each paragraph in one group and the whole groups.
The second test is structure validity test (Spearman test) that used to test the validity of
the questionnaire structure by testing the validity of each group and the validity of the
whole questionnaire. It measures the correlation coefficient between one group and all
the groups of the questionnaire that have the same level of similar scale (Abdal-Hadi,
2010).

Spearman 's rank correlation coefficient, like all other correlation coefficients, will take
a value between -1 and +1. A positive correlation is one in Which the ranks of both

51
variables increase together. A negative correlation is one In which the ranks of one
variable increase as the ranks of the other variable decrease. A correlation of +1 or -1
will arise if the relationship between the two variables is exactly linear. A correlation
close to zero means there is no linear relationship between the ranks (Altman, 1991).

n
1 − 6 ∑ d i
2

rs = i=1
(Gauthier, 2001) Equation 3.2
n 3
− n
where:
rs = Spearman's rank correlation coefficient

di = the difference in ranking between the usage and effectiveness of factors

n = the number of factors.

Table 3.1 Correlation coefficient alpha of termination construction contracts groups
No.
Correlation
No. groups of P-value
Coefficient
Items
1 Political Factors 12 0.617 0.000
2 Managerial Factors 11 0.362 0.001
3 Financial Factors 10 0.349 0.002
4 Project Characteristic Factors 9 0.132 0.013
5 Environmental Factors 9 0.502 0.000

As shown in Table 3. 1 for the questionnaire groups, the p-values are less than 0.05 or
0.01, so the correlation coefficients of all the groups are significant at α = 0.01 or α =
0.05. It can be said that the groups are consistent and valid to measure. This supports
achieving the main aim of the study.

52
3.11 Reliability of the research
3.11.1 Split-Half coefficient method
This method depends on finding Pearson correlation coefficient between the means of odd
questions and even questions of each field of the questionnaire. Then, correcting the
Pearson correlation coefficients can be done by using Spearman Braun correlation
coefficient of correction. The corrected correlation coefficient (consistency coefficient)
2r
is computed according to the following equation: Consistency coefficient =
r +1
(Murairwa et al., 2010)
Where
r is the Pearson correlation coefficient.
2r
The normal range of corrected correlation coefficient r + 1 is between 0.0 and + 1.0 .

Table 3.2 Split-Half coefficient of termination construction contracts groups

No.
Split-Half
No. groups of
Coefficient
Items
1 Political Factors 12 0.876
2 Managerial Factors 11 0.876
3 Financial Factors 10 0.707
4 Project Characteristic Factors 9 0.866
5 Environmental Factors 9 0.893

The normal range of corrected correlation coefficient (2r/r+1) is between 0.0 and +1.0.
As shown in Table 3.2, all the corrected correlation coefficients values are between 0.0
and +1.0. It can be said that according to the Half Split method, the termination
construction contracts groups are reliable.

3.11.2 Cronbach's coefficient alpha

This method is used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire between each field
and the mean of the whole fields of the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha is a measure of
internal consistency, that is, how closely related a set of items are as a group. A "high"
value of alpha is often used as evidence that the items measure an underlying (or latent)
construct (UCLA, 2011).

53
The normal range of Cronbach’s coefficient alpha value between 0.0 and + 1.0, and the
higher values reflect a higher degree of internal consistency(George and Mallery, 2003).
If the average inter-item correlation is low, alpha will be low. As the average inter-item
correlation increases, Cronbach's alpha increases as well (UCLA, 2011).

Table 3.3 Cronbach's alpha and internal consistency (Prabhala, 2011)

Cronbach's alpha Internal consistency
α ≥ 0.9 Excellent
0.9 > α ≥0.8 Good
0.8 > α ≥0.7 Acceptable
0.7 > α ≥ 0.6 Questionable
0.6 > α ≥ 0.5 Poor
0.5 > α Unacceptable

Table 3.4 Cronbach's coefficient alpha of termination construction contracts groups

Cronbach's
No. of
No. groups coefficient
Items
alpha
1 Political Factors 12 0.772
2 Managerial Factors 11 0.744
3 Financial Factors 10 0.626
4 Project Characteristic Factors 9 0.819
5 Environmental Factors 9 0.834

As shown in Table 3.4, the Cronbach's coefficient alpha was calculated for the five
groups of termination contracts and the results were in the range from 0.626 and 0.834.
This range is considered high and closed to the full value, which is +1.0. These results
ensure the reliability of the questionnaire.

3.12 Data measurement scale

In order to be able to select the appropriate method of analysis, the level of
measurement must be understood. For each type of measurement, there is/are an
appropriate method/s that can be applied and not others. In this research, ordinal scales
were used. Ordinal scale as shown in Table 3.5 is a ranking or a rating data that
normally uses integers in ascending or descending order.

54
Table 3.5 Ordinal scales used for data measurement
Item High Important Important Medium Low Very Low
Scale 5 4 3 2 1

The importance index rate compute as (Sambasivan et al., 2007) :

5n1 + 4n2 + 3n3 + 2n2 + n5
The Importance Index Rate (IIR) = Equation 3.3
5(n1+ n2 + n3 + n4 + n5 )
n1 = number of respondents who answered "High Important"
n2 = number of respondents who answered "Important"
n3 = number of respondents who answered "Medium"
n4 = number of respondents who answered "Low"
n5 = number of respondents who answered "Very Low"
The IIR was used to rank the different causes of construction contracts termination.
These rankings made it possible to cross-compare the relative importance of the factors
as perceived by contractors.
Table 3.6 IIR and ranking of main groups
No. Factor IIR Rank
1 Political Factors 81.29 % 1
2 Managerial Factors 79.40% 2
3 Financial Factors 78.08% 3
4 Project Characteristic Factors 74.03 % 4
5 Environmental Factors 73.08 % 5

The Table shows groups have high value of IIR located between (81.29 %) and
(73.03 %) as listed in the Table (3.6) it is denoted to the important and vital of these
groups and it affected to contract termination.

3.13 Data collection

Data was collected quantitatively by the study survey instrument which was the
prepared and piloted questionnaire. Collection of data from the study population sample
in the field took about sixty days at least. The average time for filling a questionnaire
was about 25 minutes.

55
3.14 Data analysis
The questionnaire quantitative statistical analysis was done by using Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Excel sheet. The analysis of data was done to
rank the severity of termination construction contracts in Gaza Strip. Ranking was
followed by comparison of IIR values within groups and for the overall contracts
termination.
The following statistical tests were done:
1. Frequencies and percentages.
2. Correlation coefficients to measure the validity of the questionnaire.
3. Half split method and Cronbach's coefficient alpha for questionnaire
reliability.
4. The importance Index Rate (IIR).

56
 Chapter 4
4. Results and discussion
This chapter aims to analyze and discuss the empirical data which are collected through
the questionnaire distribution.
The chapter is divided into three sections:
4.1 : General information;
4.2 : Evaluation of the current situation in Gaza Strip;
4.3: Project termination factors.

4.1 First part: General information

4.1.1. Type of work executed by the respondents
Each contractor can be classified in more than one field of work. So it is difficult to
prepare a complete separation to the contractors according to their fields of works (
Buildings, roads, sewage and water ).

4.1.2. Company classification

Figure 4.1 indicates the company classification, and the results show that their
classification is related to the subject of the study, that 35(47.95%) are first class,
31(42.46%) are second class and 7(9.58%) are third class. And shows the percentage
for every classes.

Classification of Company

Third class
9.58%
Second class
42.46% First class
47.95%

Figure 4.1: Classification of the respondents

57
This distribution indicates that little companies establish in construction field in the last
period because of the events occurred in Gaza Strip in the last decade like intifada,
closure and internal dispute. Otherwise, The classification system requirements which
lead to first class or second class is so easy.

4.1.3. Respondents' occupation

The distribution of the respondents' occupation, (Figure 4.2) shows that 14(19.17%) are
directors, 16(21.91%) are project managers, 35(47.94%) are site engineers and
8(10.95%) are office engineers.

35
35
16 30

Respondents s' No.

25
14 20
8 15
10
5
0
Office Site Project Director
Engineer Engineer Manager

Figure 4.2: Respondents' occupation

It is clear that site engineers have got the highest percentage 47.94%. This gives an
indication that the site engineers know all the elements of the project e.g. ( materials,
labors, market,…etc) because they usually work in the site. So they get a good
confidence to answers all questions. It is becoming common in Gaza Strip to have
a project manager in companies.

4.1.4. Experience years of the respondents

Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of
some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or
event.
Figure 4.3 illustrates that 12(16.43%) of the respondents have an experience from 1 to
3 years, 6(8.21%) respondents from 3 to 5 years, 21(28.76%) respondents from 5 to 10

58
years and 34(46.57%) of them have an experience more than 10 years. And shows
experience years of the respondents.

From 1 to 3
years 16.43%
More than 3
to 5 years
Over 10 years 8.21%
46.57%

More than 5
to 10 years
28.76%

Figure 4.3: Experience years of the respondents

This distribution illustrates that respondents with an experience more than 10 years have
the highest percentage (46.57%) and it indicates the contractors bring in engineers who
work with the contractor in previous project and who has more experience.

4.1.5. Experience years of the company

Experience of a company is measured by the number of years worked in construction
field and it differs from year to year. Figure 4.4 shows that 9(12.32%) of the companies
have an experience from 1 to 3 years, 5(6.84%) are from 3 to 5 years, 20(27.39%) are
from 5 to 10 years and 39(53.42%) of them have an experience more than 10 years.

From 1 to 3
More than 3
years 12.32%
to 5 years
6.84%
Over 10 years
53.42%
More than 5
to 10 years
27.39%

Figure 4.4: Experience years of the companies

59
This distribution illustrates that companies with experience more than 10 years have the
highest percentage (53.42%) and it indicates that little of companies established in the
last 10 years.

4.1.6. Volume during the last 10 year

As illustrated in Table 4.1 the executed projects with value less than $1 million are 20
projects during the last ten years, 30 projects are from $1 to $2 million,11 projects are
from $2 to $3 million and 9 projects are more than $ 3 million.

Table 4.1 Volume of executed projects during the last 10 year

Less than $1 From $1 to From $2 to More than $
Volume
million $2 million $3 million 3 million
Frequencies 22 31 11 9
Percentage 30.13% 42.46% 15.06% 12.32%

This Table illustrates that companies volume during the last 10 years with value less
than $1 million has the highest percentage (42.86 %). It also indicates that most of the
companies are of small size and most of the executed projects are small size. This is
mainly because of the unfavorable political and economical situation in Gaza Strip last
10 years.

4.1.7. Number of labors

As shown in Figure 4.5 (The distribution of the number of labors), The results show that
26(35.61%) are Less than 10, 24(32.87%) are from 10 to less than 15, 12(16.43%) are
from 15 to 20 and 11(15.06%) are more than 20.

60
 26 30
24
25

Respondents s' No.

20
11 12
15
10
5
0
More than 20 From 15 to From 10 to Less than 10
20 15

Figure 4.5: Number of labors

This distribution illustrates that the number of labors less than 10 and from 10 to 15
have the highest percentage (32.87 %), and (35.61 %) respectively. It indicates the small
size of the companies and the small size of the executed projects also.

4.2 Second part: The evaluation of the current situation in Gaza Strip

4.2.1 Company exposed to unnatural termination of project

Figure 4.6 (The distribution of company exposed to unnatural termination of Project),
shows that 63 say Yes and 10 say No.

63
70
60
Respondents s' No.

50
40
10 30
20
10
0
No Yes

Figure 4.6: Company exposed to unnatural termination of project

61
This illustrates that most of the companies in Gaza Strip have suffered from projects
termination. And may be traced to the political issues in year 2007.

4.2.2 Number of projects expose to unnatural termination

Unnatural termination means that work on the project has stopped because of the project
constraints have been violated or the project objective has become irrelevant to the
overall goals. Figure 4.7 (the distribution of the number of project exposed to unnatural
termination), illustrates that 47(74.60%) are from 1 to 3, 15(23.81%) are from 3 to 5,
1(1.59%) is from 5 to 10 and 0(0%) is more than 10.

From 5 to 10
More than 10
1.59%
From 3 t o 5 0.00%
23.81%

From 1 t o 3
74.60%

Figure 4.7: Number of projects expose to unnatural termination

This distribution clarify that little number of projects exposed to unnatural termination
or little projects were executed by companies in this period because the events occurred
in Gaza Strip like intifada, closure, internal dispute and others.

4.2.3 Records of information about previous terminated project

Table 4.2 shows that the records of information for previous terminated project and the
results show that 33(52%) say yes always , 23(37%) say sometimes and 7(7%) say no.

62
Table 4.2 Records of information for previous project terminated
Yes,
Volume Yes, always No
sometimes
Frequencies 33 23 7
Percentage 52.00% 37.00% 11.00%

This is denoted that the contractors records and keep the information, reasons, data and
reports which leads to termination to benefit from its in the future so we find little
projects will expose to termination as mentioned before.

4.2.4 Benefits from previous information

Figure 4.8 (The distribution of benefits from previous information) and the results show
that 49(77.78%) say yes always , 14(22.22%) say sometimes and 0(0%) say no. And
illustrates the percentage.

Yes,
sometimes No 0.00%
22.22%

Yes, always
77.78%

Figure 4.8: Benefits from previous information

This is denotes that the contractors get benefit from their previous information in the
future to avoid projects termination.

63
4.2.5 Who is responsible for the unnatural project termination in company
As shown in Figure 4.9, 6(9.5%) are contractors, 15(23.8%) are owner, 39(61.9%)are
donors and 3(4.7%) are project manager.

54
60

50

Respondents s' No.

40

30
13
20
5
1 10

0
Others Site engineer Project Director
manager

Figure 4.9: Responsible for the unnatural project termination in company

This distribution shows that the donors have the highest value 61.90%. Most of the
projects in Gaza Strip funded by external donors who support according to political
agenda or for human aids. Projects need to be funded internally.

4.2.6 Solving the resulting dispute from projects (contracts) termination

The dispute is defined as a class or kind of conflict, which manifests itself in distinct
and justifiable issues. It involves disagreement over issues capable of resolution by
negotiation, mediation or third party adjudication. Figure 4.10 illustrates that 47(74.6%)
are negotiation, 10(15.87%) are mediation, 5(7.94%) are arbitration and 1(1.59%) is
litigation.

64
 Arbitration Litigation
7.94% 1.59%

Mediation
15.87%

Negotiation
74.60%

Figure 4.10: Solving the resulting dispute

This show that the contractors and owners understood the situations and events
surrounding them which cause projects termination and solve resulting dispute in
friendly way .

4.2.7. Satisfaction about the administrative level in company

As shown in Figure 4.11 the contractors is satisfied about the administrative level in the
company that 28(38.36%) are very satisfied, 39(53.42%) are satisfied, 6(8.22%) are
neutral and 0(0.00%) are unsatisfied.

Not satisfy
Neutral 8.22% 0.00%
Very satisfy
38.36%

Satisfy 53.42%

Figure 4.11: Satisfaction about the administrative level in company

65
Management is very important for any thing e.g. money, works, time, material and etc..
This distribution illustrates that most of the employee are satisfied or very satisfied
about the administrative level about their company. This shows that most of the
companies in Gaza Strip are small and they need easy and simple managerial science.

4.2.8. Who has the final decision in company

The best way to make a complex decision is to use an effective process. Clear processes
usually lead to consistent, high-quality results, and they can improve the quality of
almost everything we do. Figure 4.12 illustrates the distribution who has the final
decision and the results show that 54(73.97%) are the director, 13(17.81%) are project
managers, 5(6.85%) are site engineers and 1(1.37%) is others.

54 60

50

Respondents s' No.

40

30

13 20
5
1 10

0
Others Site engineer Project Director
manager

Figure 4.12: Who has the final decision in company

This is show that the person who has the final decision is the director because he owns
the company. He who has the money has the decision. In Gaza Strip companies most of
managerial issues goes back to project manager and financial issue goes back to
director.

66
4.3 Third part: Contracts termination factors
4.3.1 Main groups
Table 4.3 IIR and ranking of main groups
Factor IIR Rank
1. Political Factors 81.29 % 1
2. Managerial Factors 79.40% 2
3. Financial Factors 78.08% 3
4. Project Characteristic Factors 74.03 % 4
5. Environmental Factors 73.08 % 5

As mentioned before, the main groups of factors affecting the project termination were
managerial group, financial group, political group, environmental group, and project
characteristic factors. As illustrated in Table (4.3), the IIR and ranking of each group is
listed above. The most severe group of factors that causes project termination was
political group of IIR 81.82 %. It is not strange, because all of sectors in Gaza Strip are
affected from this group (Closure, internal dispute, shortage and expensive materials,
Funds and ….etc.) The last important group of factors that causes project termination
was environmental factors with IIR 73.08 %. Because Gaza is a small area comparison
with other areas in the world, and has nice weather. It also has a stable tax and
accounting system, and experienced labors.

The Table (4.3 ) shows that groups have high value of IIR located between 81.29 % and
73.08 % as listed in the Table (4.3) related to the important and vital of these groups
and it affects the projects termination.

4.3.2 IIR and ranking of sub-factors

4.3.2.1 Managerial group
Management today combines creative, business, organizational, analytical and other
skills to produce effective goal-oriented results! Some of the key functions in
management includes learning to delegate, planning and organizing, communicating
clearly, controlling situations, motivating employees, adapting to change, constantly
innovating and thinking of new ideas, building a good team and delivering results which
are not just figure -bound but results that also focus on overall growth and development.

67
There are 12 sub-factors under the managerial group and results show the highest value
is "Lack of experience in the line of work " and the lowest value is "Ability to use
computer in management".

Table 4.4 IIR and ranking of managerial sub-factors

Factor IIR Rank
1. Lack of experience in the line of work 88.00 % 1
2. Inaccurate quantities 84.00 % 2
3. Unmanaged cash flow 82.57 % 3
4. Neglect 82.29 % 4
5. Resource management 81.43 % 5
6. Unclear goals 80.00% 6
7. Ability to put plans to work 79.14 % 7
8. Frauds 78.86 % 8
9. Company organization 76.57 % 9
10. Poor communication between involved parties 75.43 % 10
11. Ability to work as a team 75.43% 10
12. Ability to use computer in management 69.14 % 11

Table (4.4) shows that the respondents group ranked “Lack of experience in the line of
work." in the first position with importance index (I.I = 88 %). No wonder that the
experience of work is one of the effective factors to the success and failure of projects
because lake of experience of work may lead to cost overrun which resulting to coping
with labors, materials, equipment and method statement of work in suitable manners so
more instruction in site more time and more cost, then cost overrun and project
termination.
The experience of work is important especially for directors, site engineer, estimator,
labors, supervision engineer about contracts, plans, specifications, site ,regulations,
materials and markets because they are the main elements to make work continue in the
site. So it is not strange to take the highest value in its group. This findings are
supported by Kartam (2001) and Al-Hallaq, (2003).

As shown in Table (4.4) the respondents ranked “Inaccurate quantities." in the second
position with importance index (I.I = 84 %). The accurate quantities for materials and

68
every thing belongs to work items is very important to estimate cost . Any defect in
one it leads to cost overrun to projects because it affected the project budget, profit and
quality of works. So quantity surveyors and estimators have a good experience,
accurate. They also develop their skills, and know the execution methods and materials,
equipment prices and rent respectively.

Table (4.4) shows that the respondents ranked “Ability to use computer in
management" in the last position with importance index (I.I = 69.14 %). Computers
used in construction management work is very beneficial because it save effort and
time, more accurate and fast. But in Gaza Strip the ability to use computers in
management is not important because most of works in companies can be done without
the use of computers and they use models for reports, check list, material delivery,
…etc. . But some institutions and companies use computers for some work like
payments, monitor cost, scheduling projects and some important reports. This result
matches Al-Hallaq, (2003) and Enshassi et al., (2006).

The Table (4.4) shows that all sub-factors have high value of IIR in managerial groups
located between 88.00 % and 69.14 % as listed in the Table (4.4) it is denoted to the
important and vital of these sub-factors and it affected the projects termination.

4.3.2.2 Financial group

The IIR of each of the sub-factors of the financial group is presented in Table 4.5 in a
descending order. Rank of each factor is also listed. Contractors bankrupting or
insolvent and Lack of capital had the highest IIR respectively. While, Ability to
negotiating claims with clients and Average number of full time employees had the
lowest rank in the same group. This group contain 11 sub-factors affected to
construction contract termination.

69
Table 4.5 IIR and ranking of financial sub-factors
Factor IIR Rank
1. Contractors bankrupting or insolvent 90.00 % 1
2. Lack of capital 86.57 % 2
3. Low margin of profit due to competition 84.57 % 3
4. Difference of local currency exchange with contract currency 84.57 % 3
5. Client delay in the contractor financial payments 84.00 % 4
6. Cost and time organization (cash flow and schedule ) 77.57 % 5
7. Evaluation of profit yearly 76.00% 6
8. Material wastages 73.43 % 7
9. Increment of project size 68.57 % 8
10. Ability to negotiating claims with clients 67.14 % 9
11. Average number of full time employees 66.57 % 10

Table (4.5) illustrates that the respondents ranked “Contractors bankrupting or

insolvent." in the first position with importance index (I.I = 90 %). Bankrupting or
Insolvency means that the inability to pay one's debts as they fall due. This factors it
very important in any project because the contractor must have the monetary capability
to starts any project to buy any things belongs to it e.g. bid documents, bonds, materials
and etc.. So bankrupting make him not able to buy the materials, rent equipment, pay
salary, wages of his staff and his commitment towards subcontractors, suppliers and
banks like execution and maintenance bonds .Which leads to project termination. This
result is supported by El Karriri et al., (2011) and Enshassi et al., (2006).

The respondents ranked “Lack of capital." in the second position in importance index
(I.I = 86.57 %). As you see the second factor also related to money.lack of capital for
contractor means buy and execute a small project with little profit, coping with staff
have little experience to save and reduce cost of project and bad quality. So money is
the backbone for any project execution because it means materials, equipments,
experience, good profit, high quality to project findings. This result matches
Al-Hallaq, (2003).

Table (4.5) shows that the respondents ranked “Average number of full time
employees." in the last position in importance index (I.I = 66.57%). The contactor is
considered successful in his work if he saves it for company because contractors has full

70
time employees with permanent salary make the work continue with high quality
because it makes them comfortable, ingeneric and active towards their work and
company. In our companies in Gaza, the contractor has a main staff contain one
engineer, one surveyor, one monitors or two, two or three skill labors and two or three
labors in general. If work needs more employees, it attracts them with daily and
monthly wages to specific period. So this factor take the lowest value in finance group
from respondents. Hamdia, (2008) supported this finding.

The Table (4.5) shows all sub-factors have high value of IIR in finance groups limited
between 90.00 % and 66.57% as listed in the Table (4.5). It is denoted to the important
and vital of these sub-factors and it affected to project 's termination.

4.3.2.3 Political group

This group contains ten sub-factors and IIR for sub-factors are 73.71,90.57, 89.43,
82.57, 81.71, 78.00, 76.00, 74.57, 73.43, 92.86 respectively in percentage.
The political environment includes all laws, institutions and government agencies that
influence or restrict individuals or organizations in the society.
Any situation of the political risk assessment to the project should have been envisaged,
evaluated and planned, the stakeholders of project have their own agenda and
preferences, gives some idea of the potential political problems that may occur .

Table 4.6 IIR and ranking of political sub-factors

Factor IIR Rank
1. Closure 92.86 % 1
2. Lack of resources 90.57% 2
3. Increment of material prices 89.43 % 3
4. Difficulty to get permits 82.57 % 4
5. Internal political troubles; as: rebellion, civil war, or disorder 81.71 % 5
6. Lack of clear expectations 78.00 % 6
7. Change in regulatory problems 76.00% 7
8. Banks policy 74.57 % 8
9. World inflation 73.71 % 9
10. Change in funding source 73.43 % 10

71
Table (4.6) illustrates that the respondents ranked “Closure." in the first position with
importance index (I.I = 92.86 %).One of the important and vital things in construction
industry in Gaza Strip is crossing because it is the only way to get all of construction
material and equipment. Any closing for the crossing, most of construction material
will not be available in the markets, which lead to termination if the period of closing is
very long. To overcome this problem the contractor must store the requested material
and instruments if it possible when he received the site to continue and complete the
project. This finding is supported by El Karriri et al. (2011), Abu Mousa, (2005) and
Al-Hallaq, (2003)

Table (4.6) shows that the respondents ranked “Lack of resources." in the second
position with importance index (I.I = 90.57 %). As discussed and explained in the
previous factor of closure if it closed the construction material and equipment will not
be available in the market of Gaza Strip especially it is exposed to injustice siege last
five years ago. This may make some material not available and if it will found its cost
will be very high. Which cause cost overrun and termination for some projects. This
result matches with Abu Mousa, J. (2005) and take the fifth important factor position in
Enshassi et al. (2006) from nine factors.

As shown in Table (4.6) the respondents ranked “Change in funding source." in the last
position with importance index (I.I = 73.43%). Because of unsuitable situation in Gaza
Strip to closing crossing, new governments, second intifata some of donors stop their
funds for projects. The owner will look for a new donors or internal funds to complete
the projects or substitution the contractor for his cost overrun. So contractor ranked this
factor in the last position. This result take the eighth important factor position in
Dilts et al. (2006) from thirteen factors.
The Table (4.6) shows all sub-factors have high value of IIR in political groups located
between 92.86 % and 73.43 % as listed in the Table (4.6) it is denoted to the important
and vital of these sub-factors and it leaded to projects termination.

4.3.2.4 Environmental group

The project environmental directly affects the project and who manages it. Project is not
carried out on a vacuum they are influenced a wide range of stakeholders and issues.
e.g. : markets, economical cycle, regulations and others. Contractors must have a
through understanding to project environmental which may be changing continually

72
shifting the goal posts. The IIR of each of the sub-factors of the financial group is
presented in Table 4.5 in a descending order, contain 11 sub-factors affected to
construction contract termination.

Table 4.7 IIR and ranking of environmental sub-factors

Factor IIR Rank
1. Working at hot (dangerous) areas 86.29 % 1
2. National slump in economy 82.29% 2
3. Change in resources (people, materials, funds) 79.43 % 3
4. Acts of God 74.00 % 4
5. Adverse climate conditions 73.43 % 5
6. Accounting and tax practices 71.71 % 6
7. Social environment 71.14% 7
8. No specialized arbitrators to help settle fast 66.29 % 8
9. Fare of project position to company 53.14 % 9

Table (4.7) shows that the respondents ranked “Working at hot (dangerous) areas " in
the first position with importance index (I.I = 86.29 %).In Gaza strip the areas near or
close to the borders are very dangerous areas because it is closed Israeli fire and
repeated attacks so the work in this areas is very dangerous to director of company. one
of staff could be killed, destroy, delay and break down the works and the arriving to the
project became difficult and suspension in some times. The contractor may work in
specified hours in the day which cause more time leads to more money and then cost
overrun if the contractor doesn't take it in his mind. This finding matches with Abu
Mousa, (2005) .

Table (4.7) clears that the respondents ranked “ National slump in economy " in the
second position with importance index (I.I = 82.29 %).The economy for any country is
represented the important factors to develop and progress it, the construction sector
effected by the economy in direct affect because slump in economy instability in
construction material and equipments, stopping the country growth and develop and
fluctuation and changes in the local currency all of this things affected to works of
project . It is advised in this state to avoid cost overrun and project termination the

73
donor must fix the cost of national currency to local currency. This finding supported
by and Al-Hallaq, (2003) and take the third position when factors ranked.

Table (4.7) illustrate that the respondents ranked “ Fare of project position to company
" in the last position with importance index (I.I = 53.14 %). Gaza strip consider a small
area comparison with other areas in world and the distance between its towns is short.
But in the first half in the last decade before the Israeli width draw from Gaza the strip
suffered from checkpoints spread a long Gaza main road. Which make difficult
transportation for persons and materials. In the second half Gaza is freed and this factor
becomes unimportant and less affected to projects works. This finding take the first
position in Abu Mousa, (2005).
The Table (4.7) shows all sub-factors have high value of IIR in environmental groups
squeezed between 86.29 % and 53.14 % as listed in the Table (4.7) it is denoted to the
important and vital of these sub-factors and it affected to projects termination.

4.3.2.5 Project characteristics group

There are 6 sub-factors under the project characteristics group related to time, cost,
place and type of project. Wrong cost estimating take the first position while change in
the type of work take the lowest value.
Expansion projects cause a variety of changes, all of which present different
managerial, legal, and financial challenges. Expansion means that new employees will
be hired who will be looking to the top management of the company for leadership,
additional capital will be required, creating new responsibilities to shareholders,
investors, and institutional lenders.

74
Table 4.8 IIR and ranking of project characteristics sub-factors
Factor IIR Rank
1. Wrong cost estimation 88.00 % 1
2. Increase number of projects 76.57% 2
3. Quality of work 76.29 % 3
4. Life cycle period 75.43 % 4
5. Wrong estimation for the total time of the
74.86 % 5
project
6. Size & value 72.00 % 6
7. Change in overall project complexity 71.71% 7
8. Project position 65.43 % 8
9. Change in the type of work 65.43 % 9

As shown in Table (4.8) the respondents ranked “ Wrong cost estimation " in the first
position with importance index (I.I = 88.00 %).
The preparation of cost estimations is one of the most important activities in
construction. Since estimates are made at the beginning of projects, they are based on
incomplete information. Most of construction companies doesn't have the suitable ways
to make estimating to their projects in correct manner. So before the contractor makes
any estimation, he must Read contract documents very well, and know about
construction techniques, and be familiar with typical job conditions, construction
products, fluctuation and changes in the local currency etc.. And to make a correct cost
estimation you must estimate the direct field cost, the field indirect cost, the office costs
and the profit and contingency. Any mistake, the project would suffer throughout the
duration due to the lack of funding or companies may go bankrupt or project
termination. The result take the sixth important factor position in El Karriri et al. (2011)
(2006) from sixteen factors.

Table (4.8) clears that the respondents ranked “Increase number of projects " in the
second position with importance index (I.I = 76.57 %). Increase number of project
isn't a healthy case for company if the contractor can't coordinate among these projects
because he scattered work and money, brings unskilled labors and staff to complete the
shortage of his staff to work in projects, which leads to increase the period of work,
increase work repeating, increase overheads to projects and bad quality. So the suitable

75
 number of projects to company capability is useful to production, progress of work with
experience to staff and best quality. This factor has the fourth value Al-Hallaq, (2003).

The respondents ranked “Change in the type of work " in the last position with
importance index (I.I = 65.43 %). The type of work in Gaza Strip doesn't influence to
companies because most projects in Gaza isn't very difficult and complex. They are of
four types of projects which are building, roads, sewage and water, and electro
mechanic and rarely you find projects different to these types. So various of projects
with skill contractor staff don't influence by quality and project progress and
termination. This factors has the third value in Enshassi et al. (2006).
The Table (4.8) shows all sub-factors have high value of IIR in project characteristics
groups limited between 88.00 % and 65.43 % as listed in the Table (4.8) it is denoted
to the importance of these sub-factors and it leads to projects termination.

4.4 The highest ten factors causes contracts termination

Table 4.9 IIR, ranking and groups of highest ten factors causes contracts termination
Factor Group IIR Rank
1.Closure Political 92.86 % 1
2.Lack of resources Political 90.57% 2
3.Contractors bankrupting or insolvent Financial 90.00 % 3
4.Increment of material prices Political 89.43 % 4
5.Lack of experience in the line of work Managerial 88.00 % 5
6.Wrong cost estimation project charact. 88.00 % 5
7.Lack of capital Financial 86.57 % 6
8.Working at hot (dangerous) areas Environmental 86.29 % 7
9.Low margin of profit due to competition Financial 84.57 % 8
10.Difference of local currency exchange with
Financial 84.57 % 8
contract currency

Table 4.9 illustrates that the highest ten factors cause project termination from 51 sub-
factors listed under five main groups, which are ranked according to their severity of
causing project termination.

76
 40% of the highest causes are listed under the financial group, while 30% of them are
listed under the political group. And also illustrate that the highest factors is " closure "
with IIR= 92.86 % that means construction material and equipments are not available in
the markets which leads to project termination if the period of closure is long. In the
second is lack of resources with IIR= 90.57 % while the contractors bankrupting or
insolvent was the third critical factor with IIR= 90.00%. and the last three critical
factors are working at hot (dangerous) areas, low margin of profit due to competition
and difference of local currency exchange with contract currency respectively.

4.5 The relationship among the highest important factors, main groups
and some items
Kurskal Wallis test (A non-parametric test used to compare three or more independent
groups of sampled data) is used to check the relationship among the highest important
factors, main groups and some items.
If The P- value is less than 0.05 there are a relationship between them and if it more
than 0.05 there are not relationship between them.

1. The relationship among the highest important factors, main groups and company years
of experience.

Table 4.10 The relationship between the main groups and the company experience
No.
Significant
No. groups of P-value
or Not
Items
1 Political Factors 12 0.285 Not
2 Managerial Factors 11 0.821 Not
3 Financial Factors 10 0.371 Not
4 Project Characteristic Factors 9 0.349 Not
5 Environmental Factors 9 0.697 Not

77
Table 4.11 The relationship between the highest important factors and the company years
of experience.
Significant
Factor Group P-value
or Not
1.Closure Political 0.217 Not
2.Lack of resources Political 0.096 Not
3.Contractors bankrupting or insolvent Financial 0.698 Not
4.Increment of material prices Political 0.242 Not
5.Lack of experience in the line of work Managerial 0.694 Not
6.Wrong cost estimation project charact. 0.117 Not
7.Lack of capital Financial 0.447 Not
8.Working at hot (dangerous) areas Environmental 0.100 Not
9.Low margin of profit due to competition Financial 0.115 Not
10.Difference of local currency exchange
Financial 0.759 Not
with contract currency

There is no relationship between the company years of experience and the main groups
and most important factors as illustrate in tables 4.10 and 4.11.
Due to the changing political situation in Gaza Strip in this period, Most of the company
need renewable information and data. These companies uses employees of their own
e.g. engineers, project mangers, etc. to overcome such circumstances.

2. The relationship among the highest important factors, main groups and projects
volume.

Table 4.12 The relationship between the main groups and the projects volume
No.
Significant
No. groups of P-value
or Not
Items
1 Political Factors 12 0.476 Not
2 Managerial Factors 11 0.198 Not
3 Financial Factors 10 0.293 Not
4 Project Characteristic Factors 9 0.887 Not
5 Environmental Factors 9 0.423 Not

78
Table 4.13 The relationship between the highest important factors and the projects
volume
Significant
Factor Group P-value
or Not
1.Closure Political 0.370 Not
2.Lack of resources Political 0.295 Not
3.Contractors bankrupting or insolvent Financial 0.102 Not
4.Increment of material prices Political 0.704 Not
5.Lack of experience in the line of work Managerial 0.223 Not
6.Wrong cost estimation project charact. 0.028 Significant
7.Lack of capital Financial 0.495 Not
8.Working at hot (dangerous) areas Environmental 0.759 Not
9.Low margin of profit due to competition Financial 0.607 Not
10.Difference of local currency exchange
Financial 0.004 Significant
with contract currency

As shown in tables 4.12 and 4.13 there is no relationship between the company volume
and the main groups and most important factors. Because of most of construction
companies in Gaza Strip are small size, a lot of companies execute small and local
projects. Therefore, Two factors had relationships. First, cost estimation which leads to
project termination if it isn't taken properly ( To consider material price, overhead,
profit and risk factors). Secondly difference of local currency exchange with contract
currency which is very important because most of the projects were funded from abroad
and there is a big difference between local and foreign currencies sometimes occurs
because of unsuitable political situation.

79
3. The relationship among the highest important factors, main groups and number of
contracts termination.

Table 4.14 The relationship between the main groups and the number of contracts
termination
No.
Significant
No. groups of P-value
or Not
Items
1 Political Factors 12 0.180 Not
2 Managerial Factors 11 0.300 Not
3 Financial Factors 10 0.809 Not
4 Project Characteristic Factors 9 0.592 Not
5 Environmental Factors 9 0.498 Not

Table 4.15 The relationship between the highest important factors and the number of
contracts termination
Significant
Factor Group P-value
or Not
1.Closure Political 0.090 Not
2.Lack of resources Political 0.230 Not
3.Contractors bankrupting or insolvent Financial 0.686 Not
4.Increment of material prices Political 0.499 Not
5.Lack of experience in the line of work Managerial 0.721 Not
6.Wrong cost estimation project charact. 0.601 Not
7.Lack of capital Financial 0.753 Not
8.Working at hot (dangerous) areas Environmental 0.451 Not
9.Low margin of profit due to competition Financial 0.522 Not
10.Difference of local currency exchange with
Financial 0.627 Not
contract currency

There were not a lot of projects in this period because of the events occurred in Gaza
Strip like intifada, closure, civil war and others and little projects is awarded to most
companies, Therefore, There is no relationship between the number of project expose

80
 to unnatural termination and the main groups and most important factors as shown in
tables 4.14 and 4.15.

4. The relationship among the highest important factors, main groups and satisfaction of
`the administrative level.

Table 4.16 The relationship between the main groups and satisfaction of the
administrative level
No.
Significant
No. groups of P-value
or Not
Items
1 Political Factors 12 0.226 Not
2 Managerial Factors 11 0.276 Not
3 Financial Factors 10 0.362 Not
4 Project Characteristic Factors 9 0.376 Not
5 Environmental Factors 9 0.780 Not

Table 4.17 The relationship between the highest important factors and satisfaction of the
administrative level
Significant
Factor Group P-value
or Not
1.Closure Political 0.947 Not
2.Lack of resources Political 0.895 Not
3.Contractors bankrupting or insolvent Financial 0.340 Not
4.Increment of material prices Political 0.316 Not
5.Lack of experience in the line of work Managerial 0.247 Not
6.Wrong cost estimation project charact. 0.829 Not
7.Lack of capital Financial 0.055 Not
8.Working at hot (dangerous) areas Environmental 0.146 Not
9.Low margin of profit due to competition Financial 0.131 Not
10.Difference of local currency exchange with
Financial 0.636 Not
contract currency

81
 Tables 4.16 and 4.17 show there is no relationship between the satisfaction of the
administrative level and the main groups and most important factors. that most of the
companies in Gaza Strip are small, local and need simple administration skills.
Therefore, It is very easy to control their activities and employees and solve their
problem easily and fast.

5. The relationship among the highest important factors, main groups and who has the
final decision

Table 4.18 The relationship between the main groups and who has the final decision
No.
Significant
No. groups of P-value
or Not
Items
1 Political Factors 12 0.086 Not
2 Managerial Factors 11 0.138 Not
3 Financial Factors 10 0.180 Not
4 Project Characteristic Factors 9 0.126 Not
5 Environmental Factors 9 0.299 Not

Table 4.19 The relationship between the highest important factors and who has the final
decision
Significant
Factor Group P-value
or Not
1.Closure Political 0.638 Not
2.Lack of resources Political 0.933 Not
3.Contractors bankrupting or insolvent Financial 0.243 Not
4.Increment of material prices Political 0.051 Not
5.Lack of experience in the line of work Managerial 0.815 Not
6.Wrong cost estimation project charact. 0.254 Not
7.Lack of capital Financial 0.258 Not
8.Working at hot (dangerous) areas Environmental 0.980 Not
9.Low margin of profit due to competition Financial 0.809 Not
10.Difference of local currency exchange
Financial 0.389 Not
with contract currency

82
In most of the construction companies the final decision goes back to the directors as
mention before, Therefore, he always thinks very deeply in any decision in order not to
affect his company because of wrong decisions. So there is no relationship between who
has final decision and the main groups and most important factors as clear in tables 4.18
and 4.19.

4.6 The situation of contracts termination in Gaza Strip

The construction industry is an important part of the national and state economies. In
order to continue to be a successful part of that economy, owners and contractors must
have a clearer understanding of their rights, duties and obligations to each other now
and for future projects (Wittbrodt et al., 2009).

The construction contracting business has the second highest failure rate of any
business, exceeded only by restaurants (Clough and Sears as cited Enshassi et al., 2006).

The results of the study of the situation of construction contracts termination in Gaza
Strip in the last ten years are: Most of our companies work in several types of works
like building, roads and sewage and water, with classification degree first or second,
their experience more than ten years, the average volume of executed projects annually
is located between 1 to 2 million dollars, the number of permanent employees in the
companies located between 10 to 15 or less than ten, (86%) of companies exposed to
construction contract termination and the number of contracts terminated are located
between 1 to 3 contracts, most of the ( 62%) refer to the termination to the donors and
they solve the dispute resulting from contracts termination by negotiation, most of
companies make documentation for problems which face it to benefit from it in the
future, (92%) of employees satisfied or very satisfied about the administrative level in
their companies, the person who has the final decision in the company is directors
(73.97%) especially in the finical issues and the project mangers or site engineers in
managerial issues. The most critical factors causes project termination in Gaza Strip are
closure, lack of resources, contractors bankrupting or insolvent, increment of material
prices, lack of experience in the line of work, wrong cost estimation, lack of capital,
working at hot (dangerous) areas, low margin of profit due to competition and
difference of local currency exchange with contract currency.

83
 Chapter 5
Conclusion and Recommendations
This chapter includes the conclusions, practical recommendations that may prevent or
even reduce construction contracts termination, and proposed additional studies in the
subject in the future.
5.1 Conclusion
Most of construction companies work in several types of works like building, roads
and sewage and water, with classification degree first or second. Their experience more
than ten years, the average volume of executed project in annually is located between 1
to 2 million dollars. The number of permanent employees in the companies located
between 10 to 15 or less than ten.

Around 86% of companies exposed to construction contract termination and the number
of contracts terminated are located between 1 to 3 contracts. Most of the contracts
termination ( 62%) refer to the donors. Negotiation is method to solve the resulting
dispute from contracts termination. Most of companies make documentation for
problems which used to proof their rights.

92% of employees were satisfied or very satisfied about the administrative level in their
companies. The person who have the final decision in the company is directors (74%)
especially in the financial issue and the project mangers or site engineer in managerial
issues.

The most important factors causes project termination are:

• Closure;
• Lack of resources;
• Contractors bankrupting or insolvent;
• Increment of material prices;
• Lack of experience in the line of work;
• Wrong cost estimation;
• Lack of capital;
• Working at hot (dangerous) areas;
• Low margin of profit due to competition;
84
 • Difference of local currency exchange with contract currency.

40% of the most important factors affecting the construction contracts termination are
related to financial issue while 30% of the most important factors are related to political
issue.

The findings obtained from correlation test between groups and the mean is a strong
positive relationship. It can be said that the groups are consistent , valid, reliable to
measure.
The test mad to find relationships between the company independent factors and
termination that there is a significant relation between wrong cost estimation and the
project volume and difference of local currency exchange with contract currency and
the project volume.

5.2 Recommendations
a. For Government
1. The government must take the risk when the Donors delay the dibs of the contractors
And try to save a new resource or internal fund.

2. The government have award contracts to the most suitable estimated cost and not
necessarily to the lowest bidder.

3. The government is recommended to connect the contract price with index because of
changeable political conditions.

4. The contract clauses should be modified and improved to meet the impact of closure
and siege of Gaza Strip and not to allocate the whole impacts on the contracting
companies. These contracts are supposed to make companies make profits.

5. The government and donors must coordinate and cooperate with contractors. In
addition, they must support contracting sector as a fundamental component of
Palestinian economy.

85
b. For Contractors Union
1. The contractors union should conduct continuous training programs with co-
operation with the Islamic University to improve managerial and financial practices to
explain the internal and external factors affecting the construction industry.

2. The contractors union should be defend the interests and good the PCU members,
maintain the tradition and honor related to practicing construction contracting
profession and assist in solving the disputes arising between and among members and
others.

3. The contractors union should clarify the rights of for PCU members, regulations and
laws related to construction industry when they exposed to contracts termination.

c. For Contractors
1.Top management must positively react to changes of managerial and financial
polices.

2. Contractors are recommended to have qualified and quantified technical staff with
appropriate experience of the project in order to be able to follow the different
technical and managerial aspects of the project. The staff will be more effective if it is
consisted of enough numbers of engineers, technicians, and foremen, so the
responsibilities would be shared between all of them.

3. Documentation works should be applied widely in the industry. In addition,

contractors are requested to keep computerized historical data of finished projects. This
may help in rights reservation and to be an information source for future comparison.

4. The contracting companies should prepare effective cost estimate and should not look
to increase the number of projects that cannot be controlled by its staff.

5. The contracting companies should be more interested with conformance to project

contract, specification, drawings and others to overcome disputes, time, cost and quality
problems.

86
5.3 Proposed further studies

1. The factors affecting the construction contracts termination studied from contractor 's
respective only. So it is important to repeat this study and take and add owner and donor
respective and comparison among them.

2. This study was conducted during the ongoing siege Gaza Strip. It is better to repeat
this study in usual environment to compare to what extent the impact of siege has on
contractors.

3. It is necessary to repeat this research every 5 years to observe the new trends of
contractors.

4. There is a need to model and modeling applications of the causes of construction

contracts termination that help in termination prediction.

87
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96
 ‫‪Annex 1‬‬
‫ﺑﺳم اﷲ اﻟرﺣﻣن اﻟرﺣﯾم‬

‫اﻟﺟﺎﻣﻌﺔ اﻹﺳﻼﻣﯾﺔ – ﻏزة‬

‫ﻗﺳم اﻟﻬﻧدﺳﺔ اﻟﻣدﻧﯾﺔ‬

‫إدارة اﻟﻣﺷروﻋﺎت اﻟﻬﻧدﺳﯾﺔ‬

‫إﺳﺗﺑﺎﻧﺔ‬

‫ﺣول دراﺳﺔ اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﻣؤﺛرة ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻌﻘود اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة ﺑﺷﻛل ﻏﯾر طﺑﯾﻌﻲ‬

‫وذﻟك ﺟزء ﻣن اﻟﺑﺣث اﻟﺗﻛﻣﯾﻠﻲ ﻟﻧﯾل درﺟﺔ اﻟﻣﺎﺟﺳﺗﯾر‬

‫ﻓﻲ إدارة اﻟﻣﺷروﻋﺎت اﻟﻬﻧدﺳﯾﺔ‬

‫اﻟﺑﺎﺣث ‪ /‬م‪ .‬ﺧﻠﯾل ﺣﻣدان أﺑو ﻋﯾد‬

‫اﻟﻣﺷرف ‪ /‬أ‪.‬د‪ .‬ﻧﺑﯾل اﻟﺻواﻟﺣﻲ‬

‫ﯾوﻧﯾو ‪2011‬‬

‫‪97‬‬
 ‫إﺳﺗﺑﺎﻧﺔ‬

‫ﺣول دراﺳﺔ اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﻣؤﺛرة ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة ﺑﺷﻛل ﻏﯾر طﺑﯾﻌﻲ‬

‫اﻟﺳﺎدة اﻟﻣﻘﺎوﻟون اﻟﻣﺣﺗرﻣون‪................................ /‬‬

‫اﻟﺳﻼم ﻋﻠﯾﻛم ورﺣﻣﺔ اﷲ وﺑرﻛﺎﺗﻪ‬

‫ﻧﺷﻛر ﺗﻌﺎوﻧﻛم وﻣﺳﺎﻫﻣﺎﺗﻛم ﻓﻲ ﺗﻌﺑﺋﺔ ﻫذا اﻻﺳﺗﺑﯾﺎن اﻟذي ﯾﻌﺗﺑر ﺟزء ﻣن اﻟﺑﺣث اﻟﺗﻛﻣﯾﻠﻲ ﻟﻧﯾل درﺟﺔ‬

‫اﻟﻣﺎﺟﺳﺗﯾر ﻓﻲ إدارة اﻟﻣﺷروﻋﺎت اﻟﻬﻧدﺳﯾﺔ ‪ .‬ﻣن ﺧﻼل اﻹﺳﺗﺑﺎﻧﺔ ﻧرﺟو اﻟﺗﻌرف ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﻣؤﺛرة‬

‫ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة ﺑﺷﻛل ﻏﯾر طﺑﯾﻌﻲ ﺧﻼل اﻟﺳﻧوات اﻟﻌﺷر اﻟﻣﺎﺿﯾﺔ‪.‬‬

‫آﻣﻠﯾن أن ﯾﻧﺗﺞ ﻋن ﻫذﻩ اﻟدراﺳﺔ اﻟﺗﻘﻠﯾل ﻣن ظﺎﻫرة إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة ﺑﺷﻛل‬

‫ﻏﯾر طﺑﯾﻌﻲ واﻻﺑﺗﻌﺎد ﻋن ﻣﺳﺑﺑﺎﺗﻬﺎ‪.‬‬

‫وﺗﺗﻛون ﻫذﻩ اﻻﺳﺗﺑﺎﻧﺔ ﻣن اﻷﺟزاء اﻟﺗﺎﻟﯾﺔ‪:‬‬

‫‪ .1‬اﻟﺳﯾرة اﻟذاﺗﯾﺔ ﻟﻠﺷرﻛﺔ‪.‬‬

‫‪ .2‬ﺗﻘﯾﯾم واﻗﻊ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة‪.‬‬

‫‪ .3‬اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﻣؤﺛرة ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة ﺑﺷﻛل ﻏﯾر طﺑﯾﻌﻲ‪.‬‬

‫اﻟﻣﻌﻠوﻣﺎت اﻟواردة ﻓﻲ اﻻﺳﺗﺑﯾﺎن ﯾﺗم اﻻﺳﺗﻔﺎدة ﻣﻧﻬﺎ ﻟﻐرض اﻟﺑﺣث اﻟﻌﻠﻣﻲ ﻓﻘط وﻟن ﺗﻧﻘل ﻷي ﺟﻬﺔ‬

‫أﺧرى‪ ،‬وﯾﺗم اﻟﺗﻌﺎﻣل ﻣﻌﻬﺎ ﻛﻣﻌﻠوﻣﺎت ﻣﻧﻔﺻﻠﺔ ﻋن ﻣﺻدرﻫﺎ وﻟن ﺗﺳﺗﺧدم ﻷي أﻏراض أﺧري‪.‬‬

‫ﺷﺎﻛرﯾن ﻟﻛم ﺣﺳن ﺗﻌﺎوﻧﻛم ‪،،،‬‬

‫اﻟﺑﺎﺣث ‪ /‬م‪.‬ﺧﻠﯾل ﺣﻣدان أﺑو ﻋﯾد‬

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‫إﺳﺗﺑﺎﻧﺔ ﺗﻬدف إﻟﻰ دراﺳﺔ اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﻣؤﺛرة ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة ﺑﺷﻛل‬

‫ﻏﯾر طﺑﯾﻌﻲ‬

‫ﻓﻘرة )أ( ‪ :‬ﻣﻌﻠوﻣﺎت ﻋﺎﻣﺔ ﻋن اﻟﺷرﻛﺔ‬

‫‪ .1‬اﺳﻢ اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ )اﺧﺘﯿﺎري(‪------------------------------------------------------------------ :‬‬

‫□ طﺮق‬ ‫□ ﻣﺒﺎﻧﻲ‬ ‫‪ .2‬ﻧﻮع اﻷﻋﻤﺎل اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻘﻮم ﺑﮭﺎ اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ ‪:‬‬

‫□ ﻛﮭﺮ وﻣﻜﺎﻧﯿﻚ‬ ‫□ ﻣﯿﺎه وﻣﺠﺎري‬

‫‪ .3‬درﺟﺔ ﺗﺼﻨﯿﻒ اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ ﺣﺴﺐ ﺗﺼﻨﯿﻒ اﺗﺤﺎد اﻟﻤﻘﺎوﻟﯿﻦ‪:‬‬

‫□ درﺟﺔ ﺛﺎﻟﺜﺔ‬ ‫□ درﺟﺔ ﺛﺎﻧﯿﺔ‬ ‫□ درﺟﺔ أوﻟﻰ‬

‫□ ﻣﺪﯾﺮ ﻣﺸﺎرﯾﻊ‬ ‫□ ﺻﺎﺣﺐ اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ‬ ‫‪ .4‬وظﯿﻔﺔ ﻣﻦ ﯾﻘﻮم ﺑﺘﻌﺒﺌﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺒﯿﺎن‪:‬‬

‫□ ﻣﮭﻨﺪس ﻣﻜﺘﺐ‬ ‫□ ﻣﮭﻨﺪس ﻣﻮﻗﻊ‬

‫□ ﻣﻦ ‪ 5-3‬ﺳﻨﻮات‬ ‫‪ .5‬ﻋﺪد ﺳﻨﻮات اﻟﺨﺒﺮة ﻟﻤﻦ ﯾﻘﻮم ﺑﺘﻌﺒﺌﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺒﯿﺎن ‪ □ :‬ﻣﻦ ‪ 3-1‬ﺳﻨﻮات‬
‫□ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ‪ 10‬ﺳﻨﻮات‬ ‫□ ﻣﻦ ‪ 10-5‬ﺳﻨﻮات‬

‫‪ .6‬ﻋﺪد ﺳﻨﻮات اﻟﺨﺒﺮة ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎل اﻟﻤﻘﺎوﻻت ﻟﻠﺸﺮﻛﺔ ‪:‬‬

‫□ ﻣﻦ ﺛﻼث ﺳﻨﻮات إﻟﻲ ﺧﻤﺲ ﺳﻨﻮات‬ ‫□ ﻣﻦ ﺳﻨﺔ إﻟﻲ ﺛﻼث ﺳﻨﻮات‬
‫□ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ﻋﺸﺮ ﺳﻨﻮات‬ ‫□ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻤﺲ ﺳﻨﻮات إﻟﻰ ﻋﺸﺮ ﺳﻨﻮات‬

‫‪ .7‬ﻣﻌﺪل ﻗﯿﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ اﻟﺘﻲ ﯾﺘﻢ ﺗﻨﻔﯿﺬھﺎ ﺳﻨﻮﯾﺎ )ﺑﺎﻟﺪوﻻر(‪ □ :‬أﻗﻞ ﻣﻦ ‪ 1‬ﻣﻠﯿﻮن □ ﻣﻦ ‪ 1‬إﻟﻰ ‪ 2‬ﻣﻠﯿﻮن‬
‫□ ﻣﻦ ‪ 2‬إﻟﻰ ‪ 3‬ﻣﻠﯿﻮن □ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ‪ 3‬ﻣﻠﯿﻮن‬

‫□ ﻣﻦ ‪ 10‬إﻟﻰ ‪15‬‬ ‫□ أﻗﻞ ﻣﻦ ‪10‬‬ ‫‪ .8‬ﻋﺪد اﻟﻌﺎﻣﻠﯿﻦ اﻟﺜﺎﺑﺘﯿﻦ ﺑﺎﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ‪:‬‬

‫□ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ‪20‬‬ ‫□ ﻣﻦ ‪ 15‬إﻟﻰ ‪20‬‬

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 ‫ﻓﻘرة )ب(‪ :‬ﺗﻘﯾﯾم واﻗﻊ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة‪.‬‬

‫‪ .1‬ھﻞ ﺗﻌﺮﺿﺖ ﺷﺮﻛﺘﻜﻢ ﻹﻧﮭﺎء ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ ﺳﺎﺑﻘﺎ ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻏﯿﺮ طﺒﯿﻌﻲ ؟‬
‫ﻻ‬ ‫ﻧﻌﻢ‬

‫إذا ﻛﺎﻧﺖ اﻹﺟﺎﺑﺔ ﺑﻨﻌﻢ‬

‫‪ .2‬ﻣﺎ ھﻮ ﻋﺪد اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻌﺮﺿﺖ ﻟﻺﻧﮭﺎء ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻏﯿﺮ طﺒﯿﻌﻲ ﺳﻨﻮﯾﺎ؟‬
‫ﻣﻦ ‪ 5-3‬ﻣﺸﺎرﯾﻊ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ ‪ 3-1‬ﻣﺸﺎرﯾﻊ‬
‫أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ‪ 10‬ﻣﺸﺎرﯾﻊ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ ‪ 10-5‬ﻣﺸﺎرﯾﻊ‬

‫‪ .3‬ھ ﻞ ﺗﺘ ﻮﻓﺮ ﻟ ﺪى اﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴ ﺔ ﻣﻌﻠﻮﻣ ﺎت ﻣﻮﺛﻘ ﺔ ﻋ ﻦ أﺳ ﺒﺎب إﻧﮭ ﺎء ﻣﺸ ﺎرﯾﻊ ﺳ ﺎﺑﻘﺔ ﺑﺸ ﻜﻞ ﻏﯿ ﺮ‬

‫طﺒﯿﻌﻲ؟‬
‫ﻻ‬ ‫أﺣﯿﺎﻧﺎ‬ ‫ﻧﻌﻢ ‪،‬داﺋﻤﺎ‬

‫‪ .4‬ھﻞ ﺗﺤﺎول اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﻔﺎدة ﻣﻦ اﻷﺧﻄﺎء اﻟﺴﺎﺑﻘﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ أدت ﻟﺤ ﺪوث إﻧﮭ ﺎء اﻟﻤﺸ ﺎرﯾﻊ اﻟﺴ ﺎﺑﻘﺔ‬
‫ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻏﯿﺮ طﺒﯿﻌﻲ؟‬
‫ﻻ‬ ‫أﺣﯿﺎﻧﺎ‬ ‫ﻧﻌﻢ ‪،‬داﺋﻤﺎ‬

‫‪ .5‬إﻟﻰ ﻣﻦ ﺗﻌﺰو ﺗﻮﻗﻒ اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻨﺘﮭﻲ ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻏﯿﺮ طﺒﯿﻌﻲ ؟‬

‫اﻟﻤﺎﻟﻚ ‪.‬‬ ‫اﻟﻤﻘﺎول‬
‫ﻣﺪﯾﺮ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‪.‬‬ ‫اﻟﻤﻤﻮل‬

‫‪ .6‬ھﻞ ﺗﻢ ﺣﻞ اﻟﻨﺰاع اﻟﻨﺎﺗﺞ ﻋﻦ إﻧﮭﺎء اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ ﻋﻦ طﺮﯾﻖ ؟‬

‫اﻟﺘﻔﺎوض اﻟﻤﺒﺎﺷﺮ‪.‬‬
‫اﻟﺘﻔﺎوض ﻋﺒﺮ وﺳﯿﻂ‪.‬‬
‫اﻟﺘﺤﻜﯿﻢ‪.‬‬
‫اﻟﻤﺤﻜﻤﺔ‪.‬‬

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 ‫‪ .7‬ھﻞ أﻧﺖ راض ﻋﻦ ﻣﺴﺘﻮى إدارة اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ ﻟﺪى ﺷﺮﻛﺘﻜﻢ ؟‬
‫ﻏﯿﺮ راض‬ ‫ﻣﺤﺎﯾﺪ‬ ‫راض‬ ‫راض ﺟﺪا‬

‫‪ .8‬ﻣﻦ ھﻮ ﺻﺎﺣﺐ اﻟﻘﺮار اﻟﻨﮭﺎﺋﻲ ﻓﻲ إدارة اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ؟‬

‫ﻣﮭﻨﺪس اﻟﻤﻮﻗﻊ‬ ‫ﻣﺪﯾﺮ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‬ ‫ﺻﺎﺣﺐ اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ‬
‫ﻏﯿﺮذﻟﻚ‪ ،‬وﺿﺢ ‪...........................‬‬

‫ﻓﻘرة )ج(‪ :‬اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﻣؤﺛرة ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة ﺑﺷﻛل ﻏﯾر طﺑﯾﻌﻲ‬
‫ﻓﻲ اﻟﺟدول اﻟﺗﺎﻟﻲ ﻫﻧﺎك ﻋدد ﻣن اﻟﻌواﻣل اﻟﻣﻬﻣﺔ اﻟﻣؤﺛرة ﻋﻠﻰ إﻧﻬﺎء اﻟﻣﺷﺎرﯾﻊ اﻹﻧﺷﺎﺋﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗطﺎع‬
‫ﻏزة ﺑﺷﻛل ﻏﯾر طﺑﯾﻌﻲ ‪ ،‬اﻟرﺟﺎء اﺧﺗﯾﺎر درﺟﺔ اﻷﻫﻣﯾﺔ اﻟﺗﻲ ﺗراﻫﺎ ﻣﻧﺎﺳﺑﺔ ﺑوﺿﻊ إﺷﺎرة"‪ "P‬ﻟﺗﻌﺑر‬
‫ﻋن ﻣدى اﻷﻫﻣﯾﺔ‪.‬‬
‫درﺟﺔ اﻷھﻤﯿﺔ‬
‫ﻏﯿﺮ ﻣﮭﻢ ﺟﺪا‬

‫ﻏﯿﺮ ﻣﮭﻢ‬

‫ﻣﮭﻢ ﺟﺪا‬

‫اﻟﻌﻮاﻣﻞ اﻟﻤﺆﺛﺮة‬
‫ﻣﺘﻮﺳﻂ‬

‫ﻣﮭﻢ‬

‫أوﻻ ‪ :‬ﻋــــــﻮاﻣــــﻞ إدارﯾﺔ‬

‫‪ .1‬اﻟﺨﺒﺮة ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎل اﻟﻌﻤﻞ‬
‫‪ .2‬ھﯿﻜﻠﯿﺔ اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ وﺗﻨﻈﯿﻤﮭﺎ‬
‫‪ .3‬اﻟﺴﺮﻗﺎت‬
‫‪ .4‬اﻹھﻤﺎل‬
‫‪ .5‬أﺧﻄﺎء ﻓﻲ ﺣﺴﺎب اﻟﻜﻤﯿﺎت‬
‫‪ .6‬ﺳﻮء إدارة اﻟﺘﺪﻓﻖ اﻟﻨﻘﺪي ﻟﻠﻤﻘﺎول‬
‫‪ .7‬ﺳﻮء إدارة اﻟﻤﻮارد‬
‫‪ .8‬اﻻﺗﺼﺎﻻت اﻟﺴﯿﺌﺔ ﺑﯿﻦ أطﺮاف اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‬
‫‪ .9‬ﻗﺪرة إدارة اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ وﺿﻊ ﺧﻄﻂ ﻋﻤﻞ‪.‬‬
‫‪ .10‬ﻗﺪرة إدارة اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ اﺳﺘﺨﺪام اﻟﺤﺎﺳﻮب ﻓﻲ اﻹدارة‪.‬‬
‫‪ .11‬اﻟﻘﺪرة ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﺿﻤﻦ ﻓﺮﯾﻖ ﻋﻤﻞ‬
‫‪ .12‬ﻋﺪم وﺿﻮح اﻷھﺪاف‬

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 ‫ﺛﺎﻧﯿﺎ ‪ :‬ﻋــــــﻮاﻣـــــﻞ ﻣﺎﻟﯿﺔ‬
‫‪ .1‬ﺗﺪﻧﻲ اﻟﺮﺑﺢ ﺑﺴﺒﺐ اﻟﻤﻨﺎﻓﺴﺔ‬
‫‪ .2‬رأس اﻟﻤﺎل ﻏﯿﺮ ﻛﺎﻓﻲ‬
‫‪ .3‬ﺗﻐﯿﺮ ﺳﻌﺮ ﺻﺮف اﻟﻌﻤﻠﺔ اﻟﻤﺤﻠﯿﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻨﺴﺒﺔ ﻟﻠﻌﻤﻼت‬
‫اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺨﺪﻣﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﻘﻮد‬
‫‪ .4‬ﺗﺄﺧﯿﺮ اﻟﻤﺎﻟﻚ ﻓﻲ دﻓﻊ اﻟﺪﻓﻌﺎت اﻟﻤﺎﻟﯿﺔ ﻓﻲ وﻗﺘﮭﺎ‬
‫‪ .5‬إﻓﻼس اﻟﻤﻘﺎول‬
‫‪ .6‬ﻧﻈﺎم ﺗﺮﺳﯿﮫ اﻟﻌﻄﺎء ﻋﻠﻰ اﻗﻞ اﻷﺳﻌﺎر‬
‫‪ .7‬ﺣﺴﺎب ﻓﻮاﻗﺪ اﻟﻤﻮاد‬
‫‪ .8‬ﻗﺪرة اﻟﻤﻘﺎول ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﻔﺎوﺿﺔ اﻟﻤﺎﻟﻚ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﻄﺎﻟﺒﺎت‬
‫‪ .9‬زﯾﺎدة ﺣﺠﻢ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‬
‫‪ .10‬ﻋﺪد اﻟﻌﻤﺎل اﻟﻤﻮﺟﻮدون ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻮﻗﻊ ﺑﺪوام ﻛﻠﻲ‬
‫‪ .11‬ﺗﻨﻈﯿﻢ اﻟﻮﻗﺖ واﻟﺘﻜﻠﻔﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﺸﺮوع ) اﻟﺘﺪﻓﻖ اﻟﻨﻘﺪي و اﻟﺠﺪول‬
‫اﻟﺰﻣﻨﻲ(‬
‫ﺛﺎﻟﺜﺎ ‪ :‬ﻋــــــﻮاﻣـــــﻞ ﺳﯿﺎﺳﯿﺔ‬
‫‪ .1‬ﻋﺪم وﺟﻮد ﺗﻮﻗﻌﺎت واﺿﺤﺔ ﻟﺪى اﻟﺸﺮﻛﺔ‬
‫‪ .2‬اﻟﻤﺸﺎﻛﻞ اﻟﺪاﺧﻠﯿﺔ ﻣﺜﻞ اﻻﻧﻘﺴﺎم واﻟﺘﻮاﺻﻞ ﺧﺎرﺟﯿﺎ‬
‫‪ .3‬ﺗﻐﯿﺮ اﻷﻧﻈﻤﺔ واﻟﻘﻮاﻧﯿﻦ اﻟﺪاﺧﻠﯿﺔ ﻟﻠﺒﻠﺪ‬
‫‪ .4‬اﻟﺰﯾﺎدة ﻓﻲ أﺳﻌﺎر اﻟﻤﻮاد‬
‫‪ .5‬ﺳﯿﺎﺳﺔ اﻟﺒﻨﻮك‬
‫‪ .6‬إﻏﻼق اﻟﻤﻌﺎﺑﺮ‬
‫‪ .7‬ﻧﻘﺺ اﻟﻤﻮاد ﻣﻦ اﻷﺳﻮاق اﻟﻤﺤﻠﯿﺔ‬
‫‪ .8‬ﺻﻌﻮﺑﺔ اﻟﺤﺼﻮل ﻋﻠﻰ ﺑﻌﺾ اﻟﺘﺼﺎرﯾﺢ‬
‫اﻟﻼزﻣﺔ ﻟﻠﻌﻤﻞ‬
‫‪ .9‬ﺗﻐﯿﺮ ﻣﻤﻮﻟﻲ اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﻄﺎع‬
‫‪ .10‬اﻟﺘﻀﺨﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ‬
‫راﺑﻌﺎ ‪ :‬ﻋــــــﻮاﻣـــــﻞ ﺑﯿﺌﯿﺔ‬
‫‪ .1‬أﺣﻮال اﻟﺠﻮ اﻟﻤﻨﺎﺧﯿﺔ اﻟﻤﻌﺎﻛﺴﺔ‬
‫‪ .2‬اﻟﺒﯿﺌﺔ اﻻﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﯿﺔ ﻟﻠﺴﻜﺎن ﺑﺎﻟﻘﺮب ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‬
‫‪ .3‬اﻟﻨﻈﺎم اﻟﻀﺮﯾﺒﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺒﻼد) اﻟﻘﻮاﻧﯿﻦ ‪ ،‬ﻧﻈﺎم اﻟﻤﺤﺎﺳﺒﺔ‬
‫اﻟﻀﺮﯾﺒﯿﺔ ‪ ،‬اﻟﻔﺎﺗﻮرة اﻟﺼﻔﺮﯾﺔ‪ ...‬اﻟﺦ(‬
‫‪ .4‬اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻨﺎطﻖ اﻟﺨﻄﺮة)ﻣﺠﺎورة ﻟﻤﻮاﻗﻊ اﻟﺠﯿﺶ‬
‫اﻹﺳﺮاﺋﯿﻠﻲ(‬
‫‪ .5‬ھﺒﻮط ﻓﻲ اﻟﺤﺎﻟﺔ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدﯾﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺒﻼد‬

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‫‪ .6‬ﺗﻐﯿﺮ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻮارد ) اﻟﻤﺎل و اﻟﻤﻜﺎن و اﻟﻤﺼﺎدر اﻟﺒﺸﺮﯾﺔ(‬
‫‪ .7‬ﻧﻘﺺ اﻟﻤﺤﻜﻤﯿﻦ اﻟﻤﺨﺘﺼﯿﻦ ﻓﻲ ﺣﻞ اﻟﻨﺰاﻋﺎت اﻟﮭﻨﺪﺳﯿﺔ‬
‫‪ .8‬أﻋﻤﺎل ﻏﯿﺮ ﻣﺘﻮﻗﻌﺔ )رﯾﺎح ﺷﺪﯾﺪة ‪ ،‬زﻟﺰال‪(....،‬‬
‫‪ .9‬ﺑﻌﺪ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﻋﻦ اﻟﻤﻘﺮ اﻟﺮﺋﯿﺴﻲ ﻟﻠﺸﺮﻛﺔ‬
‫ﺧﺎﻣﺴﺎ‪ :‬ﻋــــــﻮاﻣـــــﻞ ﺗﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﺑﺎﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‬
‫‪ .1‬اﻟﺘﻨﻮع ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ ) ﻣﺒﺎﻧﻲ و طﺮق و‪(...‬‬
‫‪ .2‬ﺣﺠﻢ وﻗﯿﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‬
‫‪ .3‬طﻮل ﻓﺘﺮة ﺣﯿﺎة اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‬
‫‪ .4‬زﯾﺎدة ﻋﺪد اﻟﻤﺸﺎرﯾﻊ ﻟﺪى اﻟﻤﻘﺎول‬
‫‪ .5‬ﻋﺪم ﺗﻮﻗﻊ ﻓﺘﺮة اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻣﻨﺎﺳﺐ‬
‫‪ .6‬ﻣﻜﺎن اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع‬
‫‪ .7‬اﻟﺘﻐﯿﺮ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻌﻘﯿﺪات اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ) ﻓﻨﯿﺔ‪ ،‬إدارﯾﺔ ‪(...،‬‬
‫‪ .8‬ﺟﻮدة اﻟﻌﻤﻞ اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻮﺑﺔ‬

‫‪ .9‬ﻋﺪم ﺗﺴﻌﯿﺮ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﺻﺤﯿﺢ‬

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 Annex 2
A questionnaire aims to investigation of factors affecting on termination of
construction projects in Gaza Strip

Part A : Organization Profile

1. Name of company ( Free) : ------------------------------------------------------

2. Type of work executed by the respondents

□ Buildings □ Roads
□ Sewage and Water □ Electro mechanics

3. Classification of your company

□ First class □ Second class □ Third class

4. Distribution of the respondents' occupation

□ Director □ Project manager
□ Site engineer □ Office engineer

5. Experience of the respondents

□ From 1 to 3 years □ More than 3 to 5 years
□ More than 5 to 10 years □ Over 10 years

6. Years of experience in the line of work

□ From 1 to 3 years □ More than 3 to 5 years
□ More than 5 to 10 years □ Over 10 years

7. Volume during the last 10 years

□ Less than $1 million □ From $1 to $2 million
□ From $2 to $3 million □ More than $ 3 million

8. Number of labors
□ Less than 10 □ From 10 to less than 15
□ From 15 to 20 □ More than 20

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Part B : Evaluation the current situation in Gaza Strip

1. Is your company exposed to unnatural termination of project?

□ Yes □ No
If the answer is Yes

2. Number of project expose to unnatural termination

□ From 1 t o 3 □From 3 t o 5
□ From 5 to 10 □ More than 10
3. To whom you refer the unnatural project termination ?

□ Contractor □ Owner
□ Donor □ Project manager
4. How you are solving the resulting dispute from unnatural project termination ?

□ Negotiation □ Mediation
□ Arbitration □ Litigation
5. Benefits from Previous Information?

□ Yes, always □Yes, sometimes □ No

6. Records of Information for Previous Project terminated

□ Yes, always □Yes, sometimes □ No

7. Are you satisfy about the administrative level of your company?

□Very satisfy □ satisfy □ Neutral □ Not satisfy

8. Who has the final decision in project management in your company?

□ Director □ Project manager □ Site engineer □ Others

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Part C : Project termination factors ( Please tick "P" to importance degree to the
following like you see )

Important

Important

Very Low
Medium
High

Low
Item

1. Managerial Factors
1. Lack of experience in the line of work
2. Company organization
3. Frauds
4. Neglect
5. Inaccurate quantities
6. Unmanaged cash flow
7. Resource management
8. Poor communication between involved parties
9. Ability to put plans to work
10. Ability to use computer in management
11. Ability to work as a team
12. Unclear goals
2. Financial Factors
1. Low margin of profit due to competition
2. Lack of capital
3. Difference of local currency exchange with contract
currency
4. Client delay in the contractor financial payments.
5. Contractors bankrupting or insolvent
6. Evaluation of profit yearly
7. Material wastages
8. Ability to negotiating claims with clients.
9. Increment of project size
10. Average number of full time employees
11. Cost and time organization (cash flow and schedule )

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3. Political Factors
1. Lack of clear expectations
2. Internal political troubles; as: rebellion, civil war, or
disorder.
3. Change in regulatory problems
4. Increment of material prices
5. Banks policy
6. Closure
7. Lack of resources
8. Difficulty to get permits
9. Change in funding source
10. World inflation
4. Environmental Factors
1. Adverse climate conditions
2. Social environment
3. Accounting and tax practices
4. Working at hot (dangerous) areas
5. National slump in economy
6. Change in resources (people, materials, funds)
7. No specialized arbitrators to help settle fast
8. Acts of God
9. Fare of project position to company
5. Project Characteristic Factors
1. Change in the type of work
2. Size & value
3. Life cycle period
4. Increase number of projects
5. Wrong estimation for the total time of the project.
6. Project position
7. Change in overall project complexity
8. Quality of work
9. Wrong cost estimation

107