Construction Management evolution and development

Schools of thought

Introduction

Construction management has encountered a number of schools of thought. Succeeding schools of thought about management modify and extend existing ones but not supersede them as they still continue to exercise sway over ways in which organizations operate. Construction management is a discipline comprising systematic approaches to control time, cost and quality of a construction project based on recorded research and experience.
Though construction management must have been applied in the construction of Egypt pyramids centuries ago, but the discipline of management is relatively new, and origins of modern management can be traced to the beginning of last century. At present, there is no such thing as a comprehensive construction management theory but rather theories about the management.
By tracing the development of management as a discipline, four major schools of thought can be recognized; Classical approach (1900), Human relations approach (1925), Systems approach (1950) and contingency approach (1975).

1- Classical Approach to Management:

1.1 - Scientific management

Introduced by Fredrick Winslow Taylor (1856-1917)
By scientific management Taylor meant the systematic observation and measurement of work which was intended to replace the traditional approaches to work based on rule-of-thumb, intuition, precedent, guesswork and personal opinion. Taylor's objective was to improve efficiency and his quest was to identify the "best way" of doing any job. Taylor argues that having established the best way of doing the job then management should select a 'first-class' man who has physical and intellectual qualities to achieve the required output and then systematically train him to use only the 'best way'. Taylor sought to separate the role of managing the work; i.e., planning and organizing, from the actual execution of the work

1.2 - Administrative management

Introduced by Henri Fayol (1841-1925)
Fayol's definition of management was in terms of five functions:

To forecast and plan: "Examining the future and drawing up the plan of action"
To organize: "building the structure, material, and human of the undertaking"
To command: "marinating activity among personnel"
To coordinate: "binding together, unifying and harmonizing all activity and effort"
To control: "seeing that everything occurs in conformity with established rule and expressed command"

Fayol introduced fourteen general principles of administrative management. The fourteen principles are:

Division of work: Specialization leads to greater productivity
Authority: the right of management to issue commands and take responsibility for their actions.
Discipline: employees should obey orders provided that management exercise good leadership.
Unity of command: an employee should only have one boss.
Unity of direction: people who work in the same kind of task must have common objectives.
Subordination of individual interest to general interest: achieving the objectives of the firm must take precedence.
Remuneration: the importance of pay as motivator is recognized.
Centralization and decentralization: the degree of each must be appropriate to the organization and the quality of its personnel.
Scalar chain: the creation of a hierarchy of command with the vertical flow of directions and responses is emphasized although properly controlled lateral communication is not ruled out.
Order: both material order and social order are essential for efficiency.
Equity: in running an organization a combination of kindliness and justice should be used in treating employees.
Stability of tenure: Fayol believed that successful businesses tend to have more stable management personnel.
Initiative: all personnel in an organization should be encouraged to use their initiative.
Esprit de corps: management should seek to maintain the morale of its employees and foster a team spirit.

1.3 - Bureaucratic Model

Introduced by Max Weber (1864-1920)
Weber was concerned with the way in which authority was exercised within organizations. Authority, where orders are voluntarily obeyed by those receiving them, was distinguished from power, which is the ability to force people to obey. Weber describes three types of organizations based on the way in which authority is legitimized. Charismatic form of organization in which authority is based on the personal qualities of the leader, traditional organizations in which the bases of authority are precedent and usage, and rational-legal in which authority stems from holding a particular position in the organization.

2- Human Relations Approach

The founder of the Human relations approach is widely recognized to be Elton Mayo, who undertook what became known as Hawthorne investigations that took place at Western Electric Company in Chicago.
Mayo concluded the following:

Man is basically motivated by social needs
Satisfaction at work derives from social relationships at work rather than from the work itself.
The work group itself exerts more influence on a worker than do incentives and controls used by management.
A manager will be effective only to the extent that he can satisfy his subordinate social needs.

Though Mayo's research methods were heavily criticized, the impact of the Hawthorne investigations on management thinking was considerable particularly the realization of the "Human factor" and the "Informal group"

3- Systems Approach

The key concepts of the systems approach evolved in response to a rapidly changing environment. It expanded on the previous schools of thought in two ways:

The focus of the systems Theory is the whole organization comprising a set of interacting sub-systems
The relationship between the organization and its environment is a central concern of the systems theory.

4- Contingency Approach

The most recent school of thought about management. It combines the other three approaches and states management actions cannot always relate either to general or unique circumstances but depend on contingency factors and circumstances. In other words, the way in which an organization organizes and manages its tasks is contingent on the circumstances in which it operates.

References:

Newcomb, R, Langford D and fellows, R Construction Management, volume I
Handy C, Understanding Organizations.

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