Control and emergence: The paradox of construction management

The dominant discourse on the management of the construction is rooted in an assumption of control which is reflected in the predominance of procedures, schedules and programmes. The understanding that lies behind that discourse is of linear cause and effect systems. This thesis challenges this understanding by exploring the paradox which arises when these linear reductionist assumptions are applied to a situation which is, in reality, messy, unpredictable and non-linear. In this study I reflect on this paradox drawing on my own experience, and that of my colleagues, in the industry, and explore how the construction process may be seen as a self-organising and emergent process. Starting from the foundations of the dominant discourse in the scientific management and human relation schools, this study reframes the construction process from a complexity science perspective. This perspective draws on the work of Kaufmann (1985), on the behaviour of non-linear complex adaptive systems and their demonstration of a self-organising emergent nature at the edge of chaos, and Stacey (1996) in mapping this process in organisations. From this point of view, I have re-interpreted the construction process in a way which encompasses the intuitive, non-linear and qualitative way in which managers deal with the unpredictable situations that they face on a daily basis. Applying a complexity science perspective reveals the construction process as the interaction of networks of complex adaptive systems. Focusing on the estimating, planning, design and risk management aspects of construction shows that solutions are emergent from the function of an interactive non-linear process. In the lived experience, contained in the narratives of construction managers, we see that construction projects are also emergent phenomena where creative and novel solutions are found close to the edge of chaos. A complexity perspective provides an understanding of the existing process that puts the paradox of control and emergence into context. Through this understanding we can recognise and accept the unpredictable and emergent nature of the industry and embrace, within the dominant discourse, the use of non-incremental, non-linear, intuitive processes to seek to novel solutions.