Swan, W and Khalfan, M M A (2007) Mutual objective setting for partnering projects in the public sector. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 14(2), pp. 119-130. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose – The use of partnering has grown within the public sector of the UK construction industry. Central to partnering is the use of the partnering charter. The charter establishes the mutual objectives of the project team. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of objectives that are identified and the potential reasons for them. Design/methodology/approach – A number of partnering workshops have been undertaken through one of the University of Salford's Enterprise Units, the Centre for Construction Innovation. Each of these generated a workshop report, which captured the discussions during the day. These have been analysed in order to establish the different mutual objectives that have been identified for different projects. Findings – The results show that while the key issues of time, cost, quality and safety are still central to what teams identify as successful project delivery, issues surrounding management of relationships including external stakeholders, such as the public, are also prevalent. In addition, there is an increase in identified objectives surrounding sustainable development issues, covering social and environmental goals. Originality/value – The findings provide strong indications that construction is moving towards a more complex regime of objectives in the context of value procurement and partnering arrangements. The objectives identified by the different project teams show that construction projects are now considering both soft management issues and sustainable development as central to the successful delivery of projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; partnership; performance levels; public sector organizations; United Kingdom |
| Index terms: | project team, project delivery, construction industry, public sector, partnership, workshop, partnering, construction innovation, external stakeholder, construction project, methodology, public sector organization, sustainable development, United Kingdom, management issue |
| Subjects: | health safety and environment, Geography, production management, management, research methods, industry analysis, administrative law, partnership management, sociology, building construction, construction type, project delivery |
| Topics: | Procurement, Construction Technology, Stakeholder Management, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Legal Issues |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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