Management Theories and Methods in Construction Projects - Essay Example

Task The problem at hand can be easily solved utilizing the very basic theories of human resource management. The various concepts and theories ofhuman resource management which can be utilized for solving this issue are explained in the following paragraphs. Leadership A leader is a person who guides its organization towards the established targets and goals. The job of the leader is to assume the frontline role in an organization and teach the employees and workers, through examples, the path to success. The job of the leader is very extensive and requires him to work in a lot of capacities. The leader has to lead the team and train them at the same time. A true leader is supposed to find out the root causes of issues and solve them in a way which is thoroughly acceptable to various individuals involved (Nicholas, 1990). In the current scenario, the sub-contractor team is not working properly because of the lack of motivation in them. It is the job of the leader to identify this issue and devise a strategy to motivate the team and boost their morale. Leaders must have high degree of emotional intelligence for identifying the hidden aspects of the issues and for finding out solutions to them. Understanding the mindset of employees and workers is very important because it aids the management in catering for the employees. the needs theory clearly explains how a leader can take control of a scenario and achieve the maximum output. In the current scenario, the mindset of the subcontractor team should be analyzed thoroughly for identifying the problem (Goleman, 1998). Maslows theory of motivation provides the leaders with an easier way of attending to the employees. Since the sub-contractor has gained other contracts with the organization as well, he might have achieved his personal targets already and that is why he is not interested in ensuring quality work. The style theory asserts that managers have different styles of leadership and their employees often respond to each theory differently. The leader in this case first identified the issue, after that there is a simple talk with the sub-contractor in order to help improve on efficiency. As the construction site manager, my responsibility is to convince the sub-contractor about the benefits of working efficiently (Linstead, Fulop & Lilley, 2004). A true leader should be able to convince the employees, workers and sub-ordinates that individual and personal targets can only be achieved if the project is successful. The delays and inefficiency of one team is detrimental for itself at the end of the day because the project has to be complete somehow or the other, and if a certain team does not meet deadlines, they will be pushed to meet them. Moreover the financial losses caused by the delays and poor quality will also be channelized towards the subcontractors involved in the project; therefore the wrongdoer is the biggest sufferer in the end. Once a leader is able to develop this sense among the employees that personal targets can only be achieved through the success of the whole project, most of the issues are solved automatically. The trait theories come in handy here because the personal traits of the employees have to be identified and catered for if output is to be maximized. In the present scenario, the subcontractor team must be told about the loss that they will suffer if delays are caused and quality is not maintained (Fryer, 2004). This can be done through small awareness sessions with the team in which the site manager should communicate directly with all the members of the team. Direct conversation with the workers ensures greater impact on their minds and thus a positive working atmosphere is promoted. Importance of Teams and Interaction A team is defined as a group of people with full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job or project. Team composition is very important for the successful working of a team and also for the success of the project. A team comprising of individuals with diverse skills and technical expertise can work very effectively. When team members are interdependent on each other for various different tasks the bondage between them is increased resulting in a very healthy and positive working environment resulting in success of the team as a whole. While making teams for various tasks in a project, the participation of various people from various departments must be ensured for smooth running of the project (Lencioni, 2002). In the current scenario, the teams should have been formed by merging people from other site operating teams with the frame subcontractor team and similarly people from the frame subcontractor team should also be assigned to other teams as well. Such a formation of teams ensures an interactive working environment at the project site in which individuals can effectively cooperate with each other (Parker, 2008). By following this approach the division of the teams is not based on the various components and tasks of the project, and each individual is more aware about his own responsibilities for the success of the project. It is true that the frame subcontractor team will consist of the workers and employees supplied by the sub-contractor, however it is the duty of the site manager to put the resources to best use and thus some people from this team should be assigned to other teams and people from other teams should be incorporated in the frame subcontractor team. In this way the site manager can very effectively stop the trade unions and other negative activities from emerging at the work site. Multi-disciplinary and multi-departmental teams also promote healthy cooperation between individuals and also provides with the opportunity to learn new skills and practice the art of working in teams (Harris, 2003). The proper composition of teams stops issues from being emerging. In the current scenario, if the teams would have been composed by intermixing, an interactive and productive environment would have been created which allows each and every individual to utilize his abilities in the best possible manner for personal as well as organizational benefits. As the members of the frame subcontractor team do not interact with other workers and employees at the project site, they can consider themselves to be marginalized and thus are involved in negative practices. So an interactive and friendly working environment is imperative for the success of the project (West, 2004). Organizational Culture Organizational culture is defined as a set of thoughts and implications shared by a group of people on the basis of established moral values and ethics creating an environment (Frost, 1985). It is directly related to working environment in any company and an ideal working environment is the one in which the employees and staff respect the traditions and moral values of their colleagues. An organizational culture based on the principles of morality and cooperation creates the best working environment (Mullins, 2007). Lack of interaction among the people of various departments and teams in a project can have deteriorating affect on the whole project. The subcontractor team might be thinking themselves to be treated as aliens in the company. A good organizational culture is the one in which the organization owns the employees and workers and consider them to be an asset. Each and every individual in the project is very important for the success of the project. Thus the members of the frame subcontractor team should be given importance by indentifying their role in the working of the project and they must be made fully aware about their role in the project. Motivation Motivation always comes from the targets and objectives a person of a group of individuals set for them. Lack of motivation can be considered as the prime cause of the issue emerged at the construction site. The members of the subcontractor team should own the company as the company owns its employees and therefore a working environment is ensured in which the collective success is deemed as the gateway to individual development (Christiansen, 2000). In the current scenario, there is a lack of motivation among the members of the frame subcontractor team. This lack of motivation can be removed by making the members of the subcontractor team more aware about the working environment making them own the organization and once a worker starts owning the organization, he is more concerned about the success of organization and thus is motivated for ensuring organizational success. Workers must correlate their personal targets with the organizational targets for ensuring a highly motivated and productive individual (Morris & Pinto, 2007). Can you please talk about in the above paragraph in these theories: Theories of Human Resource Management The theory x and theory y of human resource management are thoroughly applicable to the current scenario. Presently the members of the subcontractor team are not working properly and do not interact with other people on the project; this can be due to an approach based on the theory x. Following theory x can prove to be detrimental for the whole organization and the project because considering workers as inherently lazy and slow destroys a positive organizational culture and thus productivity and efficiency is affected. On the other hand, following the theory y can give solution to the current problem. According to theory y, the workers and employees like working but for that they need a proper working environment and extensive incentives. Now it is the job of the site manager and the leaders to find out the problem being faced by the members of the subcontractor team and to address their concerns (Zeigenfuss, 2002). According to the theory y, a good manager should create a working environment where the employees can work to the fullest of their capabilities and for that the psychological analysis of the employees of the organization is very important (Torrington, Hall & Taylor, 2010). Conclusion The conclusion of the whole discussion is very simple and straightforward. The issue is not very complicated and a good manager should solve the issue without forcefully implementing any order on the team members of the subcontractor team. The correct way of going about it is conducting a psychological analysis of the workers, identifying their demands and personal targets and correlating these demands and personal targets with the success of organization and the project. When the individuals are convinced about the impact of the success of project on their own life, such issues are automatically resolved. References Cheverton P., Foss B., Hughes T & Stone M., (2005) Key Account Management in Financial Services: tools and techniques for building strong relationships with major clients, Kogan Page Publishers pp. 28 Christiansen J. A. (2000), Building the Innovative Organization: management systems that encourage innovation, Palgrave Macmillan Frost P. J. 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