Richard H. Neale

A grounded theory of women's career under-achievement in large UK construction companies

In response to impending skills shortages and changing employment patterns, the UK construction industry recently has made considerable efforts to attract more women to its professions. However, despite their increasing representation, there are indications that women experience difficulties in developing their careers within the industry. This research investigated the careers of men and women working for large construction companies, in order to establish the gender determined influences on womens career progression. A primarily qualitative methodology was employed for the research, in which career profiles were developed through ethnographic interviews with 41 matched pairs of male and female employees. This allowed the gender specific determinants of careers to be established across a range of different organizations, and from informants at different vocational and life-cycle stages. The analysis resulted in the formulation of a set of eight interrelated theoretical models, from which a theory of womens career development was constructed. The theory reflects the belief that the construction workplace is a competitive and conflictual environment, where women are overtly and covertly discriminated against by men, who use structural systems to undermine their participation. The women interviewed were found to have dealt with these barriers in a way which perpetuated existing work cultures. If reflected throughout the industry, this would suggest the existence of a self-fulfilling cycle of womens continued under-achievement. The paper puts forward the radical proposition that women should not be attracted to the industry unless steps are taken to moderate its exclusionary and discriminatory culture.

Client-led strategies for construction supply chain improvement

Recent research into the UK construction industry has identified various drivers for change and prominent among these is the need for better client leadership. The aim of this research was to examine the role of the client in securing a greater degree of supply chain integration. It used three diverse case studies to examine the association between clients, the environmental factors that affect their businesses, the procurement decisions made and the level of supply chain integration that can be achieved. The results of this research provide independent empirical support for some of the recommendations of the recently released Accelerating Change report and some practical amplification. Clients are shown to be key drivers of performance improvement and innovation and are the most significant factor in achieving integration in the supply chain.

Male and female perspectives on equality measures for the UK construction sector

There have been a number of significant research projects that have explored aspects of women’s under‐representation and underachievement within the UK construction industry. These have demonstrated that, given an appropriate level of knowledge and insight, women could be attracted to the sector in greater numbers. However, they have also suggested that if women are to remain in the sector in the long‐term, then efforts must be made to ensure an equitable workplace environment. Presents the findings of research that explored the attitudes of both male and female construction professionals to a range of equality measures. There was a significant difference between their responses to most of the measures, as men were opposed to initiatives that threatened the current culture of the industry’s operating environment. A strategy of selectively implementing measures with some degree of consensus between men and women is suggested. Measures to promote equality in construction must offer mutual benefits to men and women if they are to be successful.

Women’s careers in large construction companies: expectations unfulfilled?

The UK construction industry has significantly increased the number of women that it attracts, due to an active marketing campaign by the industry’s representative bodies. However, this initiative does not appear to have been based on sound empirical evidence that women professionals will be afforded equal opportunities once they have entered the industry. This article reports on a research project which explored women’s careers in construction. Interviews were held with over 40 matched pairs of male and female construction professionals in order to establish the gender differentiated influences on career progression within the industry. The analysis revealed a hostile and discriminatory environment for women, in which pressures created by the demanding work environment were compounded by overt resentment from male managers and colleagues. It is argued that women’s careers are unlikely to progress in parity with men’s until the male culture of the industry has been moderated.

Psychological contract expectations of construction project managers

The past 20 years have seen a period of fundamental change for many construction businesses as they have restructured, downsized, de‐layered, merged and de‐merged to survive turbulent markets and rapidly changing demand cycles. Such change places significant new pressures, challenges and constraints on the employer/employee relationship. This paper argues that these changes are likely to have reconstituted employee expectations of the less formal aspects of the employment relationship, known collectively as the psychological contract. Explores this inductive research which examines the psychological contract of 30 construction project managers.

Investigating personal safety at railway stations using “virtual reality” technology

Understanding fear of crime is a crucial dimension to the “designing out crime” debate, particularly in view of the “dark figure” of crime which remains largely unknown due to under‐reporting and under recording of incidents. On the railways, customer satisfaction surveys have consistently reported that although recorded incidents of crime and nuisance are relatively low, customers perceive their personal risks to be significantly higher, discouraging many from using rail transport. This study of a representative sample of railway stations on a network in South Wales, focuses on personal safety issues as explained using the theory of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED). The research project innovatively utilises interactive virtual reality scenes as the environmental stimuli to elucidate rich sources of data in terms of where passengers’ fears were located in and around the station and how service providers can make stations safer. Some basic design changes are briefly evaluated and recommendations for those who design and manage built environment facilities are discussed.

Balancing employee needs, project requirements and organisational priorities in team deployment

The ‘people and performance’ model asserts that performance is a sum of employee ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO). Despite extensive evidence of this people–performance link within manufacturing and many service sectors, studies within the construction industry are limited. Thus, a recent research project set out to explore the team deployment strategies of a large construction company with the view of establishing how a balance could be achieved between organisational strategic priorities, operational project requirements and individual employee needs and preferences. The findings suggested that project priorities often took precedence over the delivery of the strategic intentions of the organisation in meeting employees’ individual needs. This approach is not sustainable in the long term because of the negative implications that such a policy had in relation to employee stress and staff turnover. It is suggested that a resourcing structure that takes into account the multiple facets of AMO may provide a more effective approach for balancing organisational strategic priorities, operational project requirements and individual employee needs and preferences more appropriately in the future.

Understanding employee resourcing in construction organizations

In recent years the literature on employee resourcing has consistently advocated the importance of adopting a holistic, strategic approach to employee deployment decision making rather than adopting a reactive needs‐based approach. This is particularly problematic in construction where the multi‐project environment leads to constantly changing resource requirements and to changing demands over a projects life cycle. This can lead to inappropriate decisions, which fail to meet the longer‐term needs of both construction organizations and their employees. A structured and comprehensive understanding of the current project team deployment practices within large construction organizations was developed. Project deployment practices were examined within seven case study contracting firms. The emergent themes that shaped the decision‐making processes were grouped into five broad clusters comprising human resource planning, performance/career management, team deployment, employee involvement and training and development. The research confirms that a reactive and ad hoc approach to the function prevails within the firms investigated. This suggests a weak relationship between the deployment process and human resource planning, team deployment, performance management, employee involvement and training and development activities. It is suggested that strategic HR–business partnering could engender more transparent and productive relationships in this crucial area.

An application of regression analysis to quantify a claim for increased costs

This paper is a case study of the use of multiple linear regression analysis to quantify a claim for extra payment to a subcontractor for work on a substantial construction earth-moving project. The basis of the claim was that the client and main contractor required the work to be executed in ways other than that originally planned by the subcontractor, reducing efficiency and so increasing costs. The authors of this paper represented the earth-moving subcontractor in a legal arbitration, in which this application of multiple linear regression analysis was fundamental to quantifying the amount claimed in the case. The analysis determined the time required to perform earth-moving tasks, based on a set of explanatory variables, using data sets recorded on-site. The same equation was then applied to the plan of work used for the tender and was used to show that the comparative efficiency between tender and actual was as low as 25%. The claim was successful, and the calculations described in this paper were used to quantify a total additional payment of approximately £;380 000.

Incorporating employee resourcing requirements into deployment decision making

Employee resourcing is the process of matching human resource capabilities to the strategic and operational needs of the organization. This is exceptionally problematic in project-based organizations due to the competing priorities of the project, the individual employee, and the wider succession needs of the organization. This article presents the findings of research examining the human resource management practices that form the key components of the resourcing process. These included, inter alia, human resource planning, recruitment and selection, team deployment, performance management, and human resource administration. Current practices were examined in seven leading construction firms, all of which faced dynamic resourcing priorities. Within an inductive methodology, semistructured interviews were carried out with senior executives, human resource management (HRM) specialists, senior operational managers, and project-based staff. Based on a synthesis of the promising practices extracted from the case-study organizations, an innovative approach to project resourcing was developed that aims to balance organizational, project, and individual employee requirements. Team deployment resides at the center of resourcing process for the project-based organization as it determines the success of the project, which in turn determines the competitiveness of the organization. Long-term planning and employee involvement enable team deployment to integrate with other elements of HRM effectively and thus help to balance the organizational strategic priorities, project requirements, and individual employee needs and preferences.