Substitutes for Leadership and Unionized Construction Carpenters
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 118, Issue 2
Abstract
A construction foreman's inability to supervise his workers properly is thought to be a cause of the declining cost‐effectiveness of the construction industry. It may be, however, that there are characteristics about carpenters and their work environment, described as substitutes for leadership, that negate the ability of the foreman to influence satisfaction and performance. This paper identifies 11 potential substitutes in the construction work environment. Leader behaviors, satisfactions, performance, and role ambiguity and conflict items are also identified and adapted for use in a questionnaire. The subject population is the membership of a carpenters' district council for a major Midwestern metropolitan area. Many statistical relationships were found, indicating the existence of substitutes for leadership in the unionized carpentry environment. The two most powerful substitutes for leadership in construction carpentry were: (1) ability, experience, training, and knowledge; and (2) closely knit cohesive work crews. Areas of future research for leadership in construction are identified and discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Applebaum, H. A. (1981). Royal blue: The culture of construction workers. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, N.Y.
2.
Borcherding, J. D. (1977). “What is the construction foreman really like?” J. Constr. Div., ASCE, 103(1), 71–85.
3.
Bresnen, M. J., Bryman, A. E., Ford, J. R., Keil, E. T., Beardsworth, A. D., Jepson, M. A., and Wray, K. (1984). “Effective construction site management: A review.” J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 110(4), 420–436.
4.
Bresnen, M. J., Bryman, A. E., Ford, J. R., Beardsworth, A. D., and Keil, E. T. (1986). “Leader orientation of construction site managers.” J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 112(3), 370–386.
5.
Bryman, A., Bresnen, M., Beardsworth, A. D., Ford, J., and Keil, E. T. (1987). “The concept of the temporary system: The case of the construction project.” Research in the sociology of organizations, vol. 5, JAI Press, Greenwich, Conn., 253–283.
6.
“First and second level supervisory training.” (1982). Construction Industry Cost Effectiveness Project Report A‐4, Business Roundtable, New York, N.Y.
7.
Hinze, J., and Kuechenmeister, K. (1981). “Productive foreman characteristics.” J. Constr. Div., ASCE, 107(4), 627–639.
8.
Howell, J. P., and Dorfman, P. W. (1981). “Substitutes for Leadership: Test of a Construct.,” Academy of Management Journal, 24(4), 714–728.
9.
Howell, J. P., and Dorfman, P. W. (1986). “Leadership and substitutes for leadership among professional and nonprofessional workers.” J. Appl. Behavioral Sci., 22(1), 29–46.
10.
Jago, A. G. (1982). “Leadership: Perspectives in theory and research.” Mgmt. Sci., 28(3), 315–336.
11.
Kerr, S. (1977). “Substitutes for leadership: Some implications for organizational design.” Organizational and Administrative Sci., 8, 135–146.
12.
Kerr, S., and Jermier, J. M. (1978). “Substitutes for leadership: Their meaning & measurement.” Organizational Behavior and Human Perf., 22, 375–403.
13.
Lemna, G. J., Borcherding, J. D., and Tucker, R. L. (1986). “Productive foreman in industrial construction.” J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., ASCE, 112(2), 192–210.
14.
Maloney, W. F., and McFillen, J. M. (1984). “Unionized construction workers and their environment.” Technical Report #1, Univ. of Michigan, Ctr. for Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., Ann Arbor, Mich.
15.
Maloney, W. F., and McFillen, J. M. (1985). “Open shop construction workers & their work environments.” Technical Report #2, Univ. of Michigan, Ctr. for Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., Ann Arbor, Mich.
16.
Maloney, W. F. (1991). “Employee involvement in construction.” Source Document No. 63, Constr. Industry Inst., Univ. of Texas, Austin, Tex.
17.
Stinchcombe, A. L. (1959). “Bureaucratic and craft administration of production: A comparative study.” Administrative Sci. Q., 4(2), 168–187.
18.
Strauss, G. (1958). “Unions in the building trades: A case study.” Univ. of Buffalo Studies, 24(2), 63–102.
19.
Yukl, G. A. (1989). Leadership in organizations. 2nd ed., Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 118 • Issue 2 • June 1992
Pages: 332 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 ASCE.
History
Published online: Jun 1, 1992
Published in print: Jun 1992
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.