Nanayakkara, L (2004) The motivation of masons in the Sri Lankan construction industry. PhD thesis, University of Reading, UK.
Abstract
The management of present day construction projects is becoming increasingly complex and challenging due to many factors. To meet this challenge it is of the utmost importance to provide efficient management throughout projects. This research is an empirical study to human resource management (HRM) in the Sri Lankan construction industry. The research focuses on the particular roles that staffing, employee development and rewards has on the motivation of masons in the Sir Lankan construction industry. The structured interview was chosen as a main research instrument for data collection. 90 masons and 30 supervisors were randomly selected from 10 construction sites within the Sri Lankan construction industry. The study's findings show that the supervisors and masons in the construction industry in Sri Lanka are aware of the supposed advantages of staffing, employee development and the rewards of a HRM approach. However, these characteristics have yet to play a significant role in the motivation of Sri Lankan supervisors and masons. The contextual application of these three strategies will improve motivation of the Sri Lankan construction workforce. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on motivation and also presents a HRM framework for improving the motivation of supervisors and masons in the Sri Lankan construction industry (SLCI). The implementation of this HRM framework could give a new dimension and benefits to the SLCI. If successfully implemented this same framework, could be applied in other industries such as manufacturing and defence after it has been tailored to fit such industries. It could also be used in other developing regions similar to Sri Lanka.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction project; construction site; human resource management; manufacturing; workforce; employee; mason; roles; motivation; interview; Sri Lanka |
| Index terms: | construction industry, implementation, supervisor, dimension, Sri Lanka, empirical study, mason, becoming, body of knowledge, construction project, motivation, human resource management, construction site, strategy, interview |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, practitioner, work location, psychology, health monitoring assessment and metrics, knowledge management, contractual arrangements, research methods, management, production management, Geography, philosophical process, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Procurement, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Project Management, Site Management, Human Resources, Roles and Professions, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Information Management |
| 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