Burt, R; Redden, L and Yantis, A (2022) Identifying communication knowledge and skills for construction management graduates using content analysis of entry level job descriptions from the southeast United States. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 38th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2022, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.
Abstract
An analysis of 53 entry level job postings from companies recruiting from a large construction management program in the southeast United States was conducted to identify the communication knowledge and skills required of graduates. Content analysis was used to determine not only the frequency of certain words, but also the context in which words were used. Results identified the most frequently used words related to communication tools were meetings, drawings, submittals, documents, contracts, and reports. Selected results for the type of "meeting" identified "project" and "weekly" as the most frequent types of meeting, with "minutes" being mentioned after meeting in a third of the observations. "Attending" or "participating" in meetings were the most frequently observed action verbs. Additional results of the keyword-in-context analysis of the remaining communication phenomenon provide useful information for identifying the knowledge and skills construction management graduates need as they transition into industry.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | communication; documentation; education; graduate attributes; human resource management; knowledge; recruitment; skills |
| Index terms: | submittal, recruitment, documents, program, documentation, content analysis, human resource management, drawing, United States |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, technical documentation, professional development, Geography, software systems, management |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Geographical Context, Information Management, Human Resources, Design Practice, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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