Olukayode, Olukemi Temitope (2020) Sustainable construction compliance: Recommending a transformational leader for sustainability policies supervision in the United States construction industry. DBA thesis, Northcentral University, USA.
Abstract
City leaders, particularly in urban areas, are faced with the lack of sustainable construction (SC). Sustainable construction activities are responsible for promoting environmental friendliness by diverting over 80 million tons of waste from landfills. Sustainable construction has grown significantly in the last 10 years, yet most sustainable buildings turnout not certified for not fully complying with SC policies and practices. This qualitative research focused on gaining insight into the role of a leader to supervise compliance with SC under a separate office from project management in the United States. Leadership theories and styles were utilized to frame the study and streamlined to one, transformational leadership. Transformational leaders are regarded as environmentalist and have community-focus trait. This qualitative holistic multiple case study of purposeful sample of fifteen project managers from sustainable building companies in New York with one or more USGBC LEED certified projects, was conducted with questionnaire and data analyzed on Qualtrics platform. The study's research questions were constructed to guide responses to determine if appointing a supervisor to monitor compliance will improve the achievement of SC projects and identify the adverse effects if not appointed. Findings indicated that most construction organizations have ongoing supervision of compliance in SC projects, but not formalized under a separate office from project management. Activities in SC projects are subject to missed steps when compliance is monitored under the same office as project management. Good work quality, environmental friendliness, and long-term benefits are secured in the implementation of SC activities compared to traditional construction projects. Lack of separation of compliance supervision from project management office continues to cause SC projects not to be certified once completed. Suggested practical applications included formalize the role of a leader under a separate office from project management for compliance supervision, training for workers, mitigate higher costs, engage reward system, identify and manage stakeholders, and emphasize awareness of corporate social responsibility among members of the organization. Future research suggestions included extensive focus on SC organizations across the United States, and study with a sample of individuals involved with the day-to-day functions of providing LEED certifications for SC projects.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Butler, Robin and Allen, Brian |
| Index terms: | construction organization, traditional construction, platform, case study, project manager, corporate social responsibility, supervisor, implementation, construction industry, project management, supervision, transformational leadership, reward system, New York, compliance, United States, certification, sustainable construction, landfill, sustainable building, urban area, qualitative research, questionnaire |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, administrative processes, project management theory and practice, management, control systems, research design and methodology, data collection methods, profession, heritage and conservation, digital design, sustainable construction, Geography, health safety and environment, urban form and morphology, contractual arrangements, practitioner, waste management, organization |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Digital Applications, Urban Studies, Design Practice, Organizational Design, Contract Administration, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions, Project Management, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Sustainability, Procurement |
| 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