Gardiner, P D (1993) Conflict analysis in construction project management. PhD thesis, Durham University, UK.
Abstract
This thesis concerns the management of conflict in construction projects. Theories of conflict and their outworking in practice are reviewed, with examples from the research data integrated where appropriate. A preliminary investigation of construction activities was carried out in collaboration with a series of construction clients, in which data collected formed the basis of a methodology that uses a process of hierarchical decomposition to classify and render the data suitable for subsequent analysis. In the main investigation, the relationship between the impact of conflict on construction projects and project management strategy is addressed, drawing on examples of conflict collected in semi-structured interviews with participants in nineteen construction projects. Conflict analysis, enhanced by a validation review with the interviewees, pointed to the existence of potentially damaging conflict embedded in all construction projects. The analysis also led to the identification of seven statistical associations and to the formulation of nineteen recommendations to construction clients. A questionnaire-based quantitative survey among independent organisations showed a positive response to the recommendations made. A cyclical model, derived from the research methodology, is outlined to enable project organisations to improve their project management strategy from project to project.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | collaboration; construction project; project organisation; client; interview |
| Index terms: | interview, survey, project organization, drawing, strategy, questionnaire, validation, methodology, construction project, collaboration, construction client, construction activity, research methodology, construction project management, investigation, project management |
| Subjects: | research methods, management, professional development, project management theory and practice, production management, organizational theory, technical documentation, construction operations, research design and methodology, data collection methods, practitioner |
| Topics: | Information Management, Project Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions, Design Practice, Site Management, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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