Effective Construction Site Management: A Review
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 110, Issue 4
Abstract
The contribution of site management to the achievement of construction performance objectives is examined. Drawing upon existing empirical data and linking them with research findings in the social sciences, the writers argue that there is often insufficient attention paid towards the range of complex and interdependent variables that can influence construction site activity. As a consequence, the predictive capacity of such research is limited, and the recommendations often derived, particularly concerning appropriate managerial actions, often fail to account for significant variability in circumstances. The applicability of the concept of “leadership” to the construction site situation, and its relationship with key component variables are singled out for attention.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Barrie, D. S., Directions in Managing Construction, Wiley, New York, N.Y., 1981.
2.
Blake, R. R., and Mouton, J. S., The Managerial Grid, Gulf, Houston, Tex., 1964.
3.
Borcherding, J. D., “An Exploratory Study of Attitudes that Affect Human Relations in Building and Industrial Construction,” Department of Civil Engineering, Stanford University, Calif., 1972.
4.
Borcherding, J. D., “Improving Productivity in Industrial Construction,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 102, No. CO4, Paper 12595, Dec., 1976, pp. 599–614.
5.
Borcherding, J. D., “What is the Construction Foreman Really Like?,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 103, No. CO1, Paper 12783, Mar., 1977, pp. 71–85.
6.
Borcherding, J. D., “Participative Decision‐Making in Construction,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 103, No. CO4, Paper 13429, Dec., 1977, pp. 567–576.
7.
Borcherding, J. D., and Garner, D. F., “Work Force Motivation and Productivity on Large Jobs,” Journal of the Construction Industry, ASCE, Vol. 107, No. CO3, Paper 16508, Sept., 1981, pp. 443–453.
8.
Borcherding, J. D., and Oglesby, C. H., “Job Dissatisfactions in Construction Work,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 101, No. CO2, Paper 11390, May, 1975, pp. 415–434.
9.
Borcherding, J. D., Sebastian, S. J., and Samuelson, N. M., “Improving Motivation and Productivity on Large Projects,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 106, No. CO1, Paper 15272, Mar., 1980, pp. 73–89.
10.
Brayfield, A. H., and Crockett, W. H., “Employee Attitudes and Employee Performance,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 52, No. 5, 1955, pp. 415–422.
11.
Calvert, R. E., Introduction to Building Management, fourth ed., Butterworth, London, England, 1981.
12.
Carnegie, D., “Motivation at Work,” Building Technology and Management, 16, Nov., 1978, pp. 26–27.
13.
Clough, R. H., and Sears, G. A., Construction Project Management, second ed., Wiley, New York, N.Y., 1979.
14.
Fiedler, F. E., A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness, McGraw‐Hill, New York, N.Y., 1967.
15.
Fleishman, E. A., “Twenty Years of Consideration and Structure,” in E. A. Fleishman and J. G. Hunt (eds.), Current Developments in the Study of Leadership, Carbondale, Southern Illinois U.P., 1973.
16.
Ford, J., Jepson, M., Bryman, A., Keil, T., Bresnen, M., and Beardsworth, A., “Management of Recruitment in the Construction Industry,” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1983, pp. 76–82.
17.
Forster, G., Construction Site Management, Longman, London, England, 1981.
18.
Freeman, I. L., and Bentley, M. J. C., Quality Control on Building Sites, to be published.
19.
Fryer, B. G., “Management Development in the Construction Industry,” Building Technology and Management, Vol. 17, May, 1979, pp. 16–18.
20.
Greene, C. N., “Questions of Causation in the Path‐Goal Theory of Leadership,” Academy of Management Journal, 22, 1979, pp. 22–41.
21.
Hatchett, M., “Site Management—a Time for Rethinking,” The Institute of Building, Site Management Information Service Paper No. 41, 1971.
22.
Harris, F., and McCaffer, R., Modern Construction Management, second ed., Granada, London, England, 1983.
23.
Hazeltine, C. S., “Motivation of Construction Workers,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 102, No. CO3, Paper 12376, Sept., 1976, pp. 497–509.
24.
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., and Snyderman, B., The Motivation to Work, Wiley, New York, N.Y., 1959.
25.
Hinze, J., and Gordon, F., “Supervisor‐Worker Relationships Affects Injury Rates,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 105, No. CO3, Paper 14848, Sept., 1979, pp. 253–262.
26.
Hinze, J., and Keuchenmeister, K., “Productive Foreman Characteristics,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 107, No. CO4, Paper 16720, Dec., 1981, pp. 627–639.
27.
House, R. J., and Dessler, G., “The Path‐Goal Theory of Leadership: Some Post‐Hoc and A Priori Tests,” in J. G. Hunt and L. L. Larson (eds.), Contingency Approaches to Leadership, Carbondale, Southern Illinois U.P., 1974.
28.
House, R. J., and Mitchell, T. R., “Path‐Goal Theory of Leadership,” Journal of Contemporary Business, Vol. 5, 1974, pp. 81–94.
29.
Ivancevich, J. M., “The Performance to Satisfaction Relationship: A Causal Analysis of Stimulating and Non‐Stimulating Jobs,” Organisational Behaviour and Human Performance, Vol. 22, 1978, pp. 350–365.
30.
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. D., and Rosenthal, R. A., Organisational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity, Wiley, New York, N.Y., 1964.
31.
Kellog, J. C., Howell, G. E., and Taylor, D. C., “A Hierarchy Model of Construction Productivity,” Journal of the Construction Division, Vol. 107, No. CO1, Paper 16138, Mar., 1981, pp. 137–152.
32.
Kerr, S., Schriesheim, C. A., Murphy, C. J., and Stogdill, R. M., “Toward a Contingency Theory of Leadership Based Upon the Consideration and Initiating Structure Literature,” Organisational Behaviour and Human Performance, Vol. 12, 1974, pp. 62–82.
33.
Larson, L. L., Hunt, J. G., and Osborn, R. N., “The Great Hi‐Hi Leader Behaviour Myth: a Lesson from Occam's Razor,” Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 19, 1976, pp. 628–641.
34.
Laufer, A., and Jenkins, G. D., “Motivating Construction Workers,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 108, No. CO4, Paper 17508, Dec., 1982, pp. 531–545.
35.
Lanler, E. E., III, and Porter, L. W., “The Effect of Performance on Satisfaction,” Industrial Relations, Vol. 7, No. 8, Oct., 1967.
36.
Logcher, R. D., and Collins, W. W., “Management Impacts on Labour Productivity,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 104, No. CO4, Paper 14235, Dec., 1978, pp. 447–463.
37.
Lowin, A., and Craig, J. R., “The Influence of Level of Performance on Managerial Style: An Experimental Object‐Lesson in the Ambiguity of Correlation Data,” Organisational Behaviour and Human Performance, Vol. 3, 1968, pp. 440–458.
38.
Maloney, W. F., Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 106, No. CO4, Dec., 1980, pp. 618–622.
39.
Maloney, W. F., “Motivation in Construction: A Review,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 107, No. CO4, Paper 16711, Dec., 1981, pp. 641–647.
40.
Marino, C. C., “Restrictive Work Practices: A Management Problem,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 107, No. CO1, Paper 16089, 1981, pp. 73–87.
41.
Maslow, A. H., “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Psychological Review, Vol. 50, 1943, pp. 370–396.
42.
Nystrom, P. C., “Managers and the Hi‐Hi Leader Myth,” Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 21, 1978, pp. 325–331.
43.
Pelz, D. C., “Influence: a Key to Effective Leadership in the First‐Line Supervisor,” Personnel, Vol. 29, 1952, pp. 209–217.
44.
Roberts, J. M., Construction Management: An Effective Approach, Reston, Va., 1980.
45.
Roethlisberger, F. J., “The Foreman: Master and Victim of Double Talk,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 23, 1945, pp. 283–298.
46.
Samuelson, N. M., and Borcherding, J. D., “Motivating Foreman on Large Construction Projects,” Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE, Vol. 106, No. CO1, Paper 15276, Mar., 1980, pp. 29–36.
47.
Sims, H. P., “The Leader as a Manager of Reinforcement Contingencies: an Empirical Example and a Model,” in J. G. Hunt and L. L. Larson (eds.), Leadership: The Cutting Edge, Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, 1977.
48.
Stogdill, R. M., “Personal Factors Associated with Leadership: A Survey of the Literature,” Journal of Psychology, Vol. 25, 1948, pp. 35–71.
49.
Thompson, P. A., Organisation and Economics of Construction, McGraw‐Hill, London, England, 1981.
50.
Vroom, V., Work and Motivation, John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y., 1964.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 110 • Issue 4 • December 1984
Pages: 420 - 436
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 ASCE.
History
Published online: Dec 1, 1984
Published in print: Dec 1984
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.