TECHNICAL PAPERS
Nov 1, 2006

Only Dynamics Can Absorb Dynamics

Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 132, Issue 11

Abstract

A study conducted in Israel, among ten excellent on-site construction project managers (PMs), examined the ways in which they cope with the dynamic project environment of the modern construction site (complex, uncertain, and fast). Empirical data gathered by means of structured observations led to the development of the Star Model, which offers a multidimensional description of the dynamic patterns of the managers’ activities, namely, their managerial dynamics. In addition, characterization of the level of environment dynamics with which managers were required to cope in their work, led to the identification of a tentative relationship between contextual conditions that characterize the project environment and the level of managerial dynamics practiced by the managers. This tentative relation, which basically suggests that managers should adapt their level of managerial dynamics to the level of dynamics they find on-site, apparently holds one of the keys to the managers’ excellent job performance.

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Published In

Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 132Issue 11November 2006
Pages: 1167 - 1177

History

Received: Dec 13, 2005
Accepted: May 4, 2006
Published online: Nov 1, 2006
Published in print: Nov 2006

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Authors

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Dory Telem
Project Manager, Plaza Centers Poland, Belgijska 11/2, Warsaw, Poland; formerly, Ph.D. Student, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
Alexander Laufer
Professor, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
Aviad Shapira, M.ASCE [email protected]
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel; presently, Visiting Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Dr., Madison, WI 53706 (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]

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