Jørgensen, B; Emmitt, S and Bonke, S (2004) Studying cultural issues: The implementation of facilitated process-orientated cooperation. In: Khosrowshahi, F (ed.) Proceedings of 20th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2004, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
Movements advocating lean construction and other initiatives based on improving production and cooperation have gained momentum. Similarly the construction business is faced with broad support for closer and less rigid working relationships within the supply chain. This is set against the dominating subcultures anchored within individual trades and professions that appear to constitute a barrier to the adoption of process-orientated forms of cooperation. As part of a pilot study for an ongoing Ph.D. study a large construction project in Denmark was monitored, observing and subsequently analysing the actions of the members of a contracting organization in the process of implementing process facilitation. The ethnographic research was instrumental in helping to illustrate the disparity between intention, current norms and culture. Despite broad understanding of, and support for, the new production and cooperation principles the members of the project organisation failed to make full use of the techniques applied. This appeared to be the result of a mismatch between overall aims and various cultural interpretations of procedures. The research was also useful in identifying some of the softer issues surrounding the implementation of lean tools and methods and was instrumental in helping to shape the ongoing doctoral work, which is investigating the interaction between (lean) design and construction.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cooperation; process facilitation; culture; lean construction; social systems |
| Index terms: | profession, cooperation, lean construction, interaction, disparity, movement, mismatch, implementation, design and construction, norms, contracting organization, Denmark, social system, large construction project, project organization |
| Subjects: | Geography, practitioner, health behaviours and lifestyles, building construction, social theory, psychology, engineering problems, institututions, sociology, organizational theory, behavioral psychology, contractual arrangements, social justice |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Site Management, Procurement, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Ethics, Organizational Design, Research Practice, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
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