Haizelden, J; Marasini, R and Daniel, E (2019) An analysis of diversity management in the construction industry: A case study of a main contractor. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 35th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2019, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
In recent times there is an increasing argument for diversity and inclusivity in work places. Although the construction industry is moving forward to improve diversity, there is still a long way to create a more inclusive workforce. Not only are there legal requirements, there is also a moral and business case for managing diversity. It has been speculated that improving diversity and reaching out to wider talent pools could help improve the skills shortage that is currently affecting the industry. However, there is limited evidence to substantiate this claim in the construction industry context.A theoretical framework was developed through the review of the literature. A case study of one of the top ten major contractors in the United Kingdom has been carried out to see the extent to which the company is applying the diversity management requirements. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with senior management mainly Director, HR Manager and Diversity Manager to understand their current approach to manage diversity, document analysis and observations. The focus areas of diversity management included are recruitment, training and equal pay. Following these interviews, a questionnaire was issued to all employees of the company to identify if the approach taken from senior management is working.The case study findings highlight that there are policies and tools in place to comply equality legislation and to improve and enhance diversity. There is a positive attitude to implement and maintain steps to improve diversity with some incentives. However, the results of the questionnaire survey reveal that the main contractor lacks diverse workforce as the employment of women or ethnic minorities; majority of women in the organisation are on lower level positions. There is limited evidence to quantify the productivity improvements, nevertheless majority of the respondents believed that diverse workforce enhance productivity.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | diversity management; construction; equality; women; ethnic minorities |
| Index terms: | manager, main contractor, legislation, interview, case study, document analysis, productivity, employment, United Kingdom, survey, ethnic minority, women, evidence, questionnaire, construction industry, business case, recruitment |
| Subjects: | strategic project management, legal systems, data science, practitioner, data collection methods, evaluation and assessment methods, industry analysis, sociology, demography, Geography, management |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Legal Issues, Urban Studies, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management, Business Strategy |
| 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