Bresnen, M and Swan, J (2002) Understanding the implementation of new management initiatives in the construction firm. In: Greenwood, D (ed.) Proceedings of 18th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2002, Northumbria, UK.
Abstract
There has been a proliferation in recent years of new management initiatives in the UK and other construction industries, many of which have been associated with calls for transformations of culture within the firm and within the industry more generally. Yet, despite these initiatives, very little research has been conducted that has focused specifically on the mechanisms and processes by which such initiatives are implemented and how these are affected by factors associated with the complexity of project work and organization. This paper sets out to add to knowledge in this area, by reporting on ongoing research in the UK designed specifically to focus upon the challenges of implementation and the problems of attempting to diffuse knowledge about new ways of working throughout the construction firm. The paper presents a discussion of the factors likely to influence the management of change in the construction industry and reports on the early stages of a research project designed to investigate the impact of new management initiatives.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | human resource management; knowledge management; managing change; organizational culture |
| Index terms: | complexity, knowledge management, organizational culture, implementation, construction industry, management of change, transformation, construction firm, human resource management |
| Subjects: | business, organization, contractual arrangements, professional development, management, industry analysis, systems engineering, sociology |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Human Resources, Procurement, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Information Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here