Management of Projects and People: Leadership - Coursework Example

Management of Projects and People: Leadership Introduction Even though the global financial crisis has affected the construction or real e business a lot, many people believe that the current dip in construction business is only a temporary one and in near future itself the real estate sector will be back on track. Irrespective of developing or developed countries, construction activities is a major economic activity in all the countries. The worldwide annual expenditure for construction works is estimated around $3.4 trillion (Jackson, 2004, p.1). UK is one of the prominent countries in the world where heavy construction works are going on round the clock. The UK construction industry consists of over 250 000 firms employing 2.1 million people in a multitude of roles. Moreover, the UK construction sector contributed 9.2% of the nation’s GVA (Gross Value Added) in 2007 (BIS, 2009). Management and leadership styles are important in determining the success of any business activity and the construction sector is also not an exception. Successful construction managers are often measured by their ability to deliver a contract on time, to budget and at the agreed quality. To do this they require mastery of many of the leadership and management skills which are described briefly in this paper based on the UK construction industry. LEADERSHIP in the UK construction industry In a research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Building-CIOB, UK (2008) has reported that over 650 directors and managers in the construction industry were unable to name any influential leaders in the industry. The above research also suggests that construction companies are failing to provide adequate development of leadership potential particularly within larger companies where 18% are not progressing their leaders in any way, and 45% do not have a formal succession plan or leadership strategy (CIOB, 2008). The above study clearly indicates that UK construction industry leadership has certain problems compared to other industries in UK. Construction industry is totally a different industry compared to other industries. Construction industry requires leaders rather than managers. The role of a leader and a manager in a construction industry has lot of differences. As the construction projects become more and more complex, the construction management or the leadership also requires more changes (Jackson, 2004, p.1). Construction industry prospects are not stable and it undergoes severe fluctuations always. The construction leadership should aware of all these changes in the real estate market in order to manage the projects efficiently. The construction leadership in UK should implement different leadership theories in practice in order to make the construction activities more meaningful and effective in the UK context. Great man theory, Trait approach, Behavioural approach, Visionary theory, Contingency theory, Situational theory etc can be effectively implemented in the UK construction sector in order to improve the leadership qualities. Great man theory This theory suggests that leaders are born and not made. Moreover, it also assumes that great leaders will arise when there is a great need (Great Man Theory, 2009). Leadership definitely have certain inherited elements. For example, communication is an essential requirement for effective leadership. But communicative abilities are mostly inherent traits. Same way problem solving skills, logical decisions making, taking quick decisions etc are inborn traits mostly. It is necessary for a construction manager to communicate with the labours, suppliers, purchasers, etc and communication skills are necessary for such things. Some people may have good communication skills which are inherited in them. Such people can become effective leaders in construction industry. Moreover, a leader will act effectively when there is a great need. In other words, the pressure of the circumstances may bring the best out of the leader. Need is the mother of creation. Without need, no creation will take place. We often come across with many leaders who exhibit their true capabilities when complicated situations occur. Trait approach Leaders are effective or ineffective due to their personality traits because of their beliefs, values and ethics (What is the Personality Trait Approach To Leadership, 2008). Personality plays an important role in the shaping of a good leader. Some construction managers may not pay attention to the complaints of the workers whereas some others may exhibit enough patience in hearing and solving the labour complaints. In other words, some leaders are democratic in their approach whereas some others are totalitarian or autocratic in their leadership styles. Personality of the leader determines which type he belongs to. Behavioural approach The most widely recognized leadership theories have emphasized the importance of the behavioural approach to success of leadership. It is important in the relationships between leaders and their subordinates (Mosley, 1998). The leader should be capable of responding on the basis of the situations. Same responses may not be suitable for all the situations. The leader should be able to adapt quickly to the situations and customize his behaviours as per the demands of the situations. For example, in some cases, the leaders need to take democratic methods whereas in some other cases, instead of democratic approach, autocratic or aggressive actions may be more suitable. For example, in a construction site the workers may be of different type. Some workers may exploit the soft approaches of the leader and for such workers only the aggressive measure will yield the desired result. On the other hand, in order to manage, less complex labours the leader can use the democratic methods more effectively. Visionary theory Visionary management is a key issue for all organizations. It is a never-ending journey toward competitive advantage (Emerald, n. d). Leaders without proper vision cannot complete their missions. The leader should be a person who will be able to lead the workers from the front. The leader should have clear ideas about the purpose of each project and different characteristics of each project he manages. Moreover, a visionary leader anticipate or forecast future trends and based on that he will be able to take precautionary actions in advance. For example, the construction sector is undergoing drastic problems at present because of the recession and many people believe that the recession will be over in the near future itself. A visionary leader will prepare all the resources needed for the future actions. Contingency theory “Contingency theories are a class of behavioural theory that contend that there is no one best way of leading and that a leadership style that is effective in some situations may not be successful in others” (Contingency Theory, 2009). As mentioned earlier in the behavioural approach part, contingency theory demands actions based on the situations from the leader. In a construction site normally people from different parts of the world are working especially in the current globalized era. This workforce may be form different social, economical and cultural backgrounds. Moreover, the educational levels also may be different. The leader must consider all such domains before formulating his strategies. Situational theory The situational leadership model enables a leader to identify a task, set goals, determine the task maturity of the individual or group, select an appropriate leadership style, and modify the style as change occurs (Waller et al, 1989). Situational leader adapt more quickly to any situations. They are working mainly based on the situations rather than the theory learned from the classrooms. Their leadership styles and approaches will be situation dependent. Same leader may exhibit different styles of leadership in different situations. Practicalities of implementing Leadership in a construction environment Because of the complexities in managing a construction project, the practicalities of implementing suitable and effective leadership in construction site is important. The leader may be forced to interact with different people from different cultural social and economical backgrounds. The project manager or leader should have multitasking. “The construction manager will plan, direct and budget a construction project as well as handle any issues which arise during the job” (The Role of a Construction Manager, 2009) The construction leader or manger needs do many things at a time because of the complexities of his profession. He has to manage the project from the design process through the acquisition of land, negotiation with suppliers and purchasers, management of the labour force etc. Centralised authority is necessary for the construction manger to execute his multitasking functions efficiently (Sears et al, 2008, p. 15) Problem solving skills are another essential requirement of the leadership in a constructions site. Because of the heavy and diverse responsibilities, a construction manager might be forced to encounter with many problems at a time. For the success of his profession he should solve all the problems as quickly as possible in an effective manner. Apart from the above skills, the leader in a construction site should be punctual, and technology savvy person. He should show punctuality in his work style which will motivate the workers to follow the same approach in their works also. He should be aware of all the new technological developments in order to implement such things to reduce the cost factor and to reduce the human effort needed for the construction. Pros and Cons of implementing leadership theories in a construction environment The implementation of proper leadership theories will motivate the workforce in the construction industry. Situational theory, behaviour approach etc can help the construction managers to fine tune their strategies suitable for the workforce. The awareness of various leadership theories can make the managers capable of dealing with all type of problems arising in the construction sector. Most of the labourers working in construction sites are uneducated. It is difficult for the construction managers to implement the leadership theories primarily based on their academic knowledge. In other words, practical dimensions of the academic theories need to be studied properly before implementing it in the construction sites. Moreover, construction sector normally consists of diverse workforce from different parts of the world and a single leadership theory may not be suitable in construction industries. In other words, more than one leadership theory might be required in construction field because of diversity in workforce. Conclusions UK construction industry is suffering from the lack of good leadership styles. Change is happening everywhere and construction industry also not an exception. The success of a construction leader or manager lies in how quickly and effectively he adapts with different situations and different management styles. It is not possible to manage the construction workforce using a single management style. A combination of different management or leadership styles is required in a construction site like that of the UK References 1. BIS,( 2009),Construction, Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/sectors/construction/index.html 2. CIOB, (2008) CIOB Expose Lack Of Leadership In Construction Industry, Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://www.build.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=83041 3. Contingency Theory,( 2009) Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/contingency_theory.htm 4. Emerald (n.d), A visionary management model, Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=841990 5. Great Man Theory, (2009), Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/great_man_theory.htm 6. Jackson Barbara, (2004), Construction Management JumpStart Publisher: Sybex (October 25, 2004), http://www.amazon.com/Construction-Management-JumpStart-Barbara-Jackson/dp/0782143369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261659083&sr=8-1#noop 7. Mosley Alisa L, (1998), A Behavioral Approach to Leadership: Implications for Diversity in Todays Organizations Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=L2Phf6Xm83nqGBV2Lwh8JyvhkMqK4DgNbG5QGtFRQyDJpTvcbPp4!427650703!-152422671?docId=5001503282 8. Sears Keoki S, Sears Glenn A. Clough Richard H. (2008), Construction Project Management: A Practical Guide to Field Construction Management Publisher: Wiley; 5 edition (April 25, 2008) http://www.amazon.com/Construction-Project-Management-Practical-Guide/dp/047174588X/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261715489&sr=8-11#noop 9. The Role of a Construction Manager(2009), Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/career-tracks/the-role-of-a-construction-manager.html 10. What is the Personality Trait Approach To Leadership, (2008), Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://work911.com/leadership-development/faq/personality.htm 11. Waller DJ, Smith SR, Warnock JT (1989), Situational theory of leadership Retrieved on 1 January 2010 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2589352 Read More