Svensson, I (2020) Change in public facilities management organisations: The connection between emotions, humans and objects. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 36th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-8 September 2020, Online Event, UK.
Abstract
Following a call to combine institutional work (IW) with sociomateriality this paper investigates how human and objects together perform IW, in public facilities management organizations (PFMOs) undergoing change and the results of this for the institution of public FM. Recently, governmental sustainability directives, together with a large building stock in need of measures, particularly in less advantaged city areas, put pressure on PFMOs in Sweden to change. However, as local governments lack necessary overview of their building stocks as well as the organizational capabilities to manage them as to meet current challenges this change process is postulated to be challenging. Findings are based on analysis of eight interviews and a workshop with nine participants that either work in PFMOs or in organizations cooperating with PFMOs. Findings show that PFMOs in Sweden are moving away from organizing their operations focusing on maintenance and facility management to become 'project-based organizations', responsible for extensive re-building projects and new construction. This has increased organizational complexity and put pressure on individual employees, especially project managers, resulting in insecurity and feelings of stress. To reduce these negative feelings, findings indicate that humans use different strategies involving objects, when purposely (trying to) create new practices i.e. to change. Different types of objects and heuristics become “hooks” to “hang” the insecurity on. Three distinct strategies and types of objects are presented: 'comfort blankets', future objects and sweeping concepts. The strategies and type of objects identified are likely to reduce insecurity and anxiety but hamper change in practice, thus maintain current institutionalized practices. Complementing previous research that has shown how agents engage in creating new or disrupting old institutions if the current situational order threatens their psychological wellbeing, it is argued here that agents may very well also engage in activities that maintain institutions.when their psychological wellbeing is threatened.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | facilities management; institutional work; organizational change; sociomateriality; work practices |
| Index terms: | workshop, complexity, building stock, facilities management, local government, agent, comfort, organizational change, organizational capability, work practice, anxiety, institutional work, Sweden, project-based organization, sociomateriality, heuristic, project manager, strategy, well-being, interview |
| Subjects: | profession, asset management, management, organization, occupational health and safety management, data collection methods, business, social theory, risk assessment, practitioner, Geography, sociology, construction type, systems engineering, mental health and wellbeing, administrative law |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Engineering Principles, Risk Management, Construction Technology, Geographical Context, Roles and Professions, Business Strategy, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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