Martin Loosemore

Communication problems with ethnic minorities in the construction industry

Abstract Multi-culturism is an increasingly prominent feature of the construction industry. The managerial challenge of workforce diversity is enormous, not least, ensuring effective communication between the various cultural groups. This paper investigates the problems of managing employees with limited proficiency in the indigenous language of their workplace. It focuses upon the problems experienced in two English-speaking countries (Australia and Singapore) and upon interactions between English-speaking managers and non English-speaking operatives. It is concluded that English is often the minority language on site and confined to managerial level, yet there are few initiatives to alleviate the communication problems that can arise. A series of recommendations are made to help construction companies improve inter-cultural communication in their workforce.

Customer‐focused benchmarking for facilities management

Documents a research project which investigated the use of benchmarking in managing facilities. The research focused on a variety of sectors including health, education, hotels, defence and government enterprises. Depicts a fragmented facilities management profession that has an introspective, crude and unimaginative approach to measuring facilities performance. This arises from a poor understanding of the relationship between facilities and the core business objectives of the organisations that use them. Concludes that one of the biggest challenges for the profession is to develop a generic methodology to better understand this relationship. Without this, facilities managers will continue to perform a controlling rather managing function and to experience problems in demonstrating the commercial value of their role.

Construction project management in the Persian Gulf: inter-cultural communication

Abstract In an increasingly international construction market, communication problems will emerge as one of the most significant contemporary challenges facing construction project managers. An understanding of cultural diversity and the means of managing it will provide the ability to meet this challenge. This paper investigates the communication problems associated with cultural diversity between UK and Persian Gulf nationals on international construction projects. It concludes that there is a case for greater attention to cultural initiation programmes by UK construction companies wishing to operate efficiently in the Persian Gulf.

Responsibility, power and construction conflict

Responsibilities in construction projects are not entirely predetermined by construction contracts. Many emerge arbitrarily from the resolution of power struggles between opposing interest groups who are trying to minimize their exposure to an unexpected resourcing demand. These struggles contain the seeds of conflict because those with relatively little power tend to emerge with relatively high levels of responsibility. For the weak, this inequality causes financial strain, anxiety, resentment, frustration and malevolence.

The three ironies of crisis management in construction projects

Abstract The three ironies of construction crisis management are; at a time when effective communication is important it is less likely; at a time when mutual sensitivity between project members is important it is less likely; at a time when collective responsibility and teamwork are important they are less likely. This paper reports research which identified these ironies and concludes with practical advice to project managers who operate within hostile environments or crisis-prone organisations.

A grounded theory of construction crisis management

Construction crisis management research is in an exploratory state where contemplated questions are of more value than hasty answers. For this reason, this paper is more concerned with theory formulation than theory testing. More specifically, it derives a grounded theory of construction crisis management which forms a useful basis for future research. It does so from an investigation of the complex patterns of communication and behaviour which emerge in response to construction crises. The conclusion is that construction crisis management is about the effective control of social and behavioural instability and the conflict which arises out of it. However, effective crisis management is made difficult by the in-built defence mechanisms which construction crises appear to have. The grounded theory also is contrasted with current crisis management theory and thereby, the uniqueness of crisis management in a construction context is identified.

International construction management research: cultural sensitivity in methodological design

The process of globalization is occurring in the research community as well as in the business community and it is increasingly likely that collaborative research across national boundaries will be undertaken. This paper is concerned with the problems inherent in this process. More specifically, it focuses upon data collection, conceiving it as an act of communication. Models of communication are used to investigate problems of interaction between researchers and respondents of different cultural backgrounds and to help in the identification of culturally sensitive methodological strategies. The paper concludes that current criticisms of construction management research methods, which are being presented from a global perspective, are more relevant outside a western context.

Occupational stereotypes in the construction industry

An investigation of occupational stereotypes in the construction industry provides insights into the perceptions and expectations which different occupational groups have of each other. The results are valuable in the reduction of uncertainty, misunderstanding and conflict within construction projects and do not support the widely held view of institutionalized confrontational relationships. Instead, there appears to be a natural degree of goodwill underlying interpersonal relationships although it is delicate, precarious and easily destroyed by insensitive managerial practices.

Genderlect and conflict in the Australian construction industry

The Australian construction industry is male dominated and highly confrontational. Critical decision and concept mapping methods are employed to explore the connection between these two characteristics by contrasting the cognitive bases of judgement and communication used by male and female workers in hypothetical conflict settings. Results indicate that the Australian construction industrys genderlect is male‐centric and that this perpetuates the relatively high incidence of conflict. Women and men also behave differently in conflicts and in jobs that require them to engage in conflict and confrontation. Consequently, levels of conflict in the Australian construction industry could be reduced by increased female participation and feminizing communicative and behavioural responses to conflict.

The locus of control: a determinant of opportunistic behaviour in construction health and safety

Current research and practice in the field of risk management focus almost exclusively on the downside of risk, meaning that many opportunities for improved performance go unmissed. There is substantial evidence that opportunities demand a different management approach to problems and, that there is need to better understand this process. However, our understanding of opportunism has been hindered by the absence of research into the main forces that impede and drive opportunistic behaviour. This paper explores these forces and investigates one in particular – the locus of control (self perceived influence over decision‐making). This investigation is conducted in a health and safety context because this is an area of particularly poor performance in the construction industry, where the locus of control is especially relevant. The paper concludes that the overall locus of control is high in relation to health and safety issues. However, there is considerable discrepancy in perceived levels of influence between different occupational, gender and ethnic groups, which need to be addressed if the industry is to improve its performance in this area.