Vernali, R J (1992) The case of the California contractors state license board: A palette of conflict resolution strategies for the 1990s. DPA thesis, Golden Gate University, USA.
Abstract
The purpose of this case study was to analyze and evaluate the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB). The CSLB is the largest board in the Department of Consumer Affairs, and it regulates California's largest industry, the construction industry. The study was designed to determine if Alternative Dispute-Resolution strategies could be used to help this board improve consumer protection as well as create more effective regulation of the construction industry. The methodology included structured interviews with several groups of relevant principals in the public and private sectors. The literature review covered the powers of regulatory agencies, a history of the CSLB, mediation and arbitration, and dispute processing. The study examined the applicability of a whole range of dispute-resolution strategies to the CSLB's programs and operations. Many of these strategies are designed to facilitate dispute prevention rather than, as tended to be the case in the past, providing primarily for handling adversarial situations. On the basis of the study's findings, a number of recommendations were proposed to improve the functioning of the California Contractors State License Board--for the benefit not only of consumers but also of contractors and the California construction industry as a whole.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Brewer, L |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | arbitration; case study; conflict resolution; mediation; regulation |
| Index terms: | literature review, regulatory agency, strategy, interview, mediation, history, program, methodology, regulation, dispute, private sector, conflict resolution, case study, resolution, prevention, construction industry, arbitration |
| Subjects: | research methods, financial risk, architectural and construction history, data analysis and analytics, data collection methods, dispute resolution, conflict resolution, political science, administrative law, industry analysis, software systems, management |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Stakeholder Management, Governance, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Digital Applications |
| 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