Main field of study – Leadership and Organisation
Degree of Master of Arts (60 credits) with a Major in Leadership and Organisation
Master Thesis with a focus on Leadership and Organisation for Sustainability (OL646E), 15 credits Spring 2016
Supervisor: Fredrik Rakar
Project managers’ communication skills
and stakeholder engagement in
sustainable construction projects
Ahmad Serhan
Asen Draganov
This thesis explores construction project manager’s perception about their stakeholder engagement with different communication skills during the phases of a project. As the construction industry is focusing on green building projects in recent years, the job of the project manager becomes more complex as he/she has to balance the interests of various stakeholders in order to create sustainable development within his/her project. Therefore this study is exploring how the project manager as a leader is communicating with the different stakeholders in order to
reach the sustainable goals of his/her project. For that matter primary data was collected via a questionnaire that was sent to project managers from different countries, that are working with projects focusing on implementation of sustainability in their projects and project managers that
are not focusing on sustainability in their projects. A comparison between the answers of the different project managers was made, in order to determine in each phase of the project, if there is a difference in the stakeholder engagement and use of communication skills, when it comes to
project managers working on construction projects with a focus on sustainable development. This study provides some indications to answer the questions regarding what communication skills a project manager should use and what stakeholder he should engage in each phase, in order to reach the sustainable goals of his project. Based on theories and our experience in the field we provide an explanation on an occurring pattern of the behavior of the project managers
Table of content
1. Introduction………. 1
1.1 The current situation of construction projects……….………... 1
1.1.1 Green building as a mean for sustainable construction projects... 2
1.1.2 Green Building and Sustainable construction ………..………... 3
1.1.3 Sustainable development………. 3
1.1.4 Sustainability challenges facing the construction industry ……….…... 4
1.2 Project manager’s skills in construction projects……….………….………... 6
1.3 Importance of communication through identifying the key stakeholders ……….. 8
1.4 Problem formulation………...…… 10
1.5 Purpose………...……… 11
1.6 Research Questions………...……….. 11
1.7 Methodology and philosophy of science and inference………...….. 12
2. Pre-understanding………...…… 13
2.1 Communication’s influence on the sustainability of a project………..………. 13
2.2 Stakeholders in construction projects………...……….………..……... 15
2.3 Project manager role in achieving sustainability…………..………...………... 20
2.4 Effective leadership in construction projects ………...………...………... 24
2.5 Project managers as leaders……… 25
2.6 Communication skills………. 26
2.7 Phases of a project……….. 28
3. Methods………...…...…… 29
3.2 Data coding, organizing and analysis………...…….. 31
3.3 Data reliability and validity………...……... 32
3.3.1 Reliability………...…………...…….. 32
3.3.2 Validity………...………. 32
4. Data Description………...……… 35
4.1 General Description for the sustainability awareness and the project implementation of sustainability………...……… 35 4.2 Description for aware and unaware sustainability respondents ………... 36
4.3 Phases comparison………...………... 42
4.4 Correlation description between stakeholders and communication skills in each phase of the project………...………….. 44 4.5 Individual responses capture for sustainability aware project manager and implementing sustainability in their project in each phase………...…………... 47 5. Data Analysis………...……... 49
5.1 Phases comparison analysis………...………... 49
5.2 Correlation analysis between stakeholders and communication skills in each phase of the project………...………….. 55 5.3 Analysis for the individual response capturing for the 13 project managers who are aware and implementing sustainability in their projects………...………... 59 6. Conclusion ………...……… 63
6.1 Results discussion………...……… 63
6.2 Summary of key findings………...………... 65
6.3 Further research………...…………... 67
References……….………... 69
List of figures
Figure 1: Some of the 60 countries that either has or developing green building assessment system.. 2 Figure 2: Stakeholders’ three categories……… 16 Figure 3: Communication skills framework……….. 27
List of tables
Table 1: General description for all the collected sample………. 35 Table 2: Description for the project managers with high sustainability awareness……….. 36 Table 3: Description for the project managers with low sustainability awareness………... 37 Table 4: Detailed description for project managers with high sustainability awareness in term of stakeholders involvement………..
41
Table 5: Detailed description for project managers with high sustainability awareness in term of the communication skills………...
41
Table 6: Significant and insignificant correlation between the stakeholders involvement and the communication skills used in each phase………..
46
Table 7: Individual highest responses for sustainability aware project managers implementing sustainability in their projects………...
48
Table 8: Interesting differences between the responses of the PM with high sustainability
awareness in term of stakeholders……… 50
Table 9: Interesting differences between the responses of the PM with high sustainability
awareness in term of communication skills……….. 50
Table 10: Individual responses capturing for the 13 PMs who are aware and implementing sustainability in their projects in term of stakeholders………..
59
Table 11: Individual responses capturing for the 13 PMs who are aware and implementing sustainability in their projects in term of communication skills………...
project manager’s role in achieving its goals. The construction industry is focusing on green building in recent years, due to increased awareness about the benefits of sustainable development from the perspective of various stakeholders. Additionally this section is highlighting the role of a project manager in addressing the challenges of sustainable
construction project, through effective communication with the various stakeholders. Following this, a problem, purpose and research question are presented.
1.1 The current situation of construction projects
In ancient Rome, architects defined the direction of architecture as building commodity, firmness and delight which is equivalent to usefulness, stability and beauty, but nowadays we must add a fourth direction or dimension which is harmony, which means to create balance between buildings and the building environment (Charles J. Kibert, 2012). For the last two decades there has been a significant effort in integrating sustainability to the building
environment, the resulting sustainable construction movement has gained stability and power. This movement nowadays is international in scope with about 60 national green building councils (fig. 1) that promote, develop, supervise and evaluate the performance of the
construction organizations against the environmental, economic and social requirements (Charles J. Kibert, 2012).
Figure 1. Some of the 60 countries that either has or developing green building assessment system
Charles J. Kibert, 2012. (p. 1)
Moreover, some localities currently are providing grants for matching funds to encourage green building, but on the other side grant programs focus on a measurable results, such as energy saving and LEED certification (Rebecca S., 2007).
1.1.1 Green building as a mean for sustainable construction projects
Due to the increased awareness about sustainability among stakeholders, green building certification (ex. LEED certifications) and eco-labels are becoming a necessity in construction projects, because they provide a core information about the quality and the performance of the project in relation to sustainability (Fuerst F et al., 2014). Using sustainable concepts and materials can help the construction companies in terms of having more freedom in the future to protect their buildings from future restrictions that might occur. Green buildings incorporate energy and water efficient technologies that are not available in traditional buildings. These
technologies create a healthier and more comfortable environment, as they utilize renewable energy, reduce waste and decrease heating and cooling expenses (Fuerst F et al., 2014).
1.1.2 Green Building and Sustainable construction
Green building stands for the quality and the attributes to which buildings are constructed using the conventions and techniques of sustainable construction. It also reflects a healthy
construction that designates a resource-efficient aspect via ecological concepts (Charles J.
Kibert, 2012). On the other hand the term sustainable construction is dealing with environmental, economical and social issues of the construction project within the building environment. In general it is about constructing a healthier building with a healthier environment, which takes into consideration an efficient resource plan and environmental design (Charles J. Kibert, 2012).
1.1.3 Sustainable development
The UN Brundtland Commission (1987) introduced a definition for sustainability that is widely spread and very often used. It defines sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present generation, without compromising those of future generations and without jeopardizing the natural ecological systems, which effects life on earth.
Sustainable development is still a very general concept and that is interpreted in different ways (Hopwood, Mellor, & O'Brien, 2005). In regard to sustainability in business, many different approaches can be found. Elkington (1997) simplified the definition in the context of any business, by introducing the triple bottom line concept (3BL). The concept consists of three pillars, defining sustainability in accordance with organisations’
economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice. Furthermore, the 3BL states that there is a need to create balance between these three pillars (Elkington, 1997). In the context of construction industry we are going to examine the sustainability challenges that are affecting the working environment.
1.1.4 Sustainability challenges facing the construction industry
Social challenges
Sustainability is an active factor in the social level having the capacity to provide access to good education, creating goodwill, improving community consultation and promoting interest in various fields (Said I. et al., 2010). The impact of the rising cost, which results from
sustainability integration in construction, should be taken into consideration as it affects the construction markets towards more expensive building. Which also leads to clients segregation in terms of the fact that sustainable building ca be for rich people only. In the same context the satisfaction of the end users cannot be negotiated, because it is important for the attainment of social sustainability (Said I. et al., 2010). Construction buildings are likewise part of our living environment, contributing to our living situations, social prosperity and health. This is why it is an important challenge to explore environmentally and economically with sound design and advanced mechanisms to guarantee that the construction industry is socially sustainable, healthy and affordable (Majdalani Z. et al., 2005). Thus the industry faces pressure to increase the sustainability of its work processes, which is to implement sound modifications and changes in the industry’s understanding of the societal and customer needs of society and practice changes in its management (Wilson I., Rezgui Y., 2013).
The guiding path for any responsible business should be to be profitable. Programs that work in the name of CSR and sustainability and ignore profits, lead to business failure, job losses etc. (Werther and Chandler 2011). The main question for Said I. et al. (2010), is how to sustain the construction industry as an economical driver, as long as construction is important to the economical growth of every country (Raynsford, 1999; Seaden & Manseau, 2001). In general to maintain an economical growth is a big challenge for construction projects.
Environmental challenges
Global warming is seen as a very important challenge for the construction industry that concerns the environment. It is significantly affecting the consumption of energy in term of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (Ortiz O. et al., 2009). Moreover, land use, acidification, crystallization, stratospheric ozone depletion, biological resources and human toxicity effects are common in the construction industry. The main effects of climate change are emissions of greenhouse gases (Ortiz O. et al., 2009). Long term effects from the greenhouse gases are considered to be one of the main reasons for the environmental problems and the severely competitive construction firms may find it tough to change their work process, in order to address that (Said I. et al., 2010). The construction industry also produce a gigantic amount of waste that pollute the environment. Reports by the Environmental Protection Department in Hong Kong shows that in 2006 the construction waste reached 29,884 tons per day (Robin C. & Poon C., 2009). This is a huge amount of waste that requires a separate sustainable project that will help its management. But what comes first to mind when a new construction idea pops up is the area it will consume in addition to the natural resources (Majdalani Z. et al., 2005). Buildings need cement and other building materials, some of which are extracted from quarries that need to be transported over long distances, which in return exerts pressure on the roads (Majdalani Z. et
al., 2005). In general construction leads to less green spaces and to more consumption of natural resources.
These challenges have a great impact on the success of construction projects. Therefore, the construction organizations need to assign very capable project managers that can address these challenges and lead the project to success using their technical, human and conceptual skills.
1.2 Project manager’s skills in construction industry
Project managers (PMs) have the goals of the project they are leading as their own. They posses certain skills and expertise that allows them to direct the project team towards a shared purpose within the organization. Change and complexity in dynamic environments are some of the everyday challenges they are facing. Furthermore, project managers are perceived to be leading diverse teams with little direct control over the team members (Cleland and Ireland, 2002).
In this section we are examining the role of project managers as managers. Moreover, we will examine the project manager's role from leadership perspective and the importance of motivating the individuals in the project team and creating an effective working environment in order the project team to meet its goals. In the context of project management, good leaders need to address the relationships within teams, communicate their values, and at the same time pay suitable importance to processes (Turner, 2006).
The skills of a good project manager are essential for managing the unexpected obstacles a team can face on a daily basis. A good project manager encounters obstacles and removes them from the path of his/her followers (Remarkable Leadership, 2007), but the project manager can encounter obstacles when trying to help his/her team. One of these common problems that a PM encounters when directing their teams is ineffective communication (PMI’s Pulse of the
Profession, 2013).
In construction projects, managers should be armed with different skills to establish successful communication that indicates what types of leaders he/she is. The survival of any project depends on the ability of a project manager to communicate with the team and with all
stakeholders included (Zulch B, 2014). Moreover, Zulch B. (2014) states that effective projects require three levels of communications: vertical communication or hierarchical communication, horizontal communication between colleagues and diagonal communication with the project stakeholders. Thus a leader or a project manager should adopt a leadership style that influence project success through effective and efficient communication with stakeholders. Project
managers need to be flexible throughout the project development phases which require different leadership communication skills.
However, when a project manager works with sustainability, his/her role becomes even more complex, because in relation to the triple bottom line (3BL) the social, environmental and financial aspects of a business need to be taken into consideration, so maximum economical value can be achieved (Elkington,1994). The same rule applies in the construction field, as sustainability adds another dimension to the already complex role of project manager, who has to balance the interests of various stakeholders, as well as find a way to realize the actual
construction of the building on time and in the frame of the initial budget, while considering various factors.
The different roles of a project manager have one thing in common and that is the fact that a project manager has to communicate with the different parties involved in the project, in order to reach the goals of the organization. Therefore it is important to describe why communication is important in a project.
1.3 Importance of communication through identifying the key stakeholders
In the context of the construction industry, the quality of communication plays a big role in the success of construction projects (Nielsen & Erdogan, 2007). This is supported by the fact that poor communication is identified by the project managers, as one of the most common project risks in construction (Ceric, 2014). Furthermore, poor communication in construction can cause lower performance and a higher turnover of staff (Dainty, Moore, & Murray, 2006). In the construction projects where the expenses are already higher than expected and the time is limited, communication can be neglected, as it can be seen as time consuming and as an unnecessary expense. However, communication difficulties during the projects can increase unnecessary expenditure and affect the time progress and quality of the outcome (Anumba, Baron, & Duke, 1997).
Communication is often described as crucial because it is the job of the project manager. This is supported by the fact that 80 percent of the manager’s time is spent on interpersonal
communication (Klauss and Bass, 1982). Furthermore, it is discussed the importance of inter-organizational differences. That is explained through that communication is most important in organizations and organizational segments that must deal with uncertainty, that are complex and that have a technology that does not permit easy reutilization. Complexity and uncertainty increases the need for communication. It is essentially the communication process of a PM with different stakeholders that effects the performance of the project. That is why it is essential for a PM to know which stakeholders to involve in his communication process during the different stages of a project.
Nowadays stakeholder engagement is quickly becoming a part of construction projects practices in order to deliver better project results. For example stakeholder identification is a critical component of the initial scoping phase and should occur before an engagement plan is formulated and consultations begin. As each stakeholder usually has their own interest in the project which may cause different priorities, conflicts and dramatically increase the complexity of the situation (Karlsen et.al, 2008). If a project manager learns how to manage the different stakeholder engagement processes it can help all stakeholders to reach the goal of the project that can be to increase quality of life, while decreasing negative environmental impacts and
increasing the economical sustainability of the project. Stakeholder engagement should therefore be taken as a core element of any “sustainable development” plan. Furthermore, the success of a construction projects relies on meeting the needs and expectations of stakeholders (Cleland, 1995). The ability of a project manager to manage relationships with stakeholders can help to deal with changing stakeholder needs. Furthermore, this ability will allow a PM to respond more efficiently to the difficulties that may arise or issues that need to be resolved. Therefore a project
is more likely to be successful in the long term, if it takes into consideration the needs of all stakeholders.
In order a project manager to be flexible with his/her communication with different stakeholders, throughout the phases of a project, he needs to possess certain skills that are going to help to convey the purpose/message/goal of the project.
Communications skills are essential for addressing the sustainable aspect of a construction project, because it is more complex. Therefore communication is essential for solving the sustainable challenges of a project. From the above mentioned it becomes central to discuss influence of communication in the sustainability of a project.
1.4 Problem formulation
We found that the construction industry is turning more and more towards green building and adopting sustainable solutions in their work processes. This turning over is due to the
increased awareness about the potential benefits from sustainable solutions in the long term (Fuerst F et al., 2014). Here comes the role of project manager in the construction project as a leader and coordinator to promote sustainable thinking within the building environment. In every project communication is incorporated throughout all stages in each process, as the job of a project manager is considered communicating (Klauss and Bass, 1982). Furthermore, we found communication as a key factor that affects the perception of sustainability among different stakeholders. Therefore in order to achieve the sustainable goals of a project, the project manager needs to successfully communicate the goals to the key stakeholders. But in order to do that he/she needs to possess skills on three levels of communication (Zulch B., 2014) that can
alter the perception of sustainability of the involved parties in relation to the project. Moreover, we believe that the communication skills that a project manager uses should be flexible
depending on the stakeholder.
From the literature we found plenty of information about the communication role of the project manager in the construction industry and for the relation between leaders and communication. But in terms of defining how project managers use communication to achieve the goals of a sustainable construction projects among different stakeholders, we found a gap in the practical information that explores this issue. Based on the aforementioned, the relation between the communication skills of a project manager with key stakeholders in sustainable construction projects and stakeholder engagement during the phases of a construction project has been identified as a research gap. Therefore we are analyzing this research gap further through a survey with project managers working on construction projects.
1.5 Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the essential communication skills that project managers use with key stakeholders to successfully incorporate sustainability within construction projects during the project phases.
1.6 Research Question
How are project managers engaging stakeholders and using communication skills to incorporate sustainability in a construction project?
1.7 Methodology, philosophy of science and research design
In line with our social constructivist perspective we have conducted a survey using a descriptive and explorative inference, to describe the influence of communication skills of a project manager on the sustainability of a construction project and to explore how
communication skills need to be adapted to the requirements/needs of the different stakeholders, throughout the phases of a project.
In line with our previous experience and observation within the field of communication in projects and construction projects, the aim and purpose of this research has been created based on our previous working experience in projects from the view of a project manager or just as a member of a project. Thus an inductive approach has been applied to guide the research in the paper.
According to 6 & Bellamy, the aim and purpose of a inductive research approach is to develop a statement from a position in which we have no real idea of what might turn out to be relevant, plausible or helpful to a subject (6 & Bellamy, 2012), which in this case will be to explain which are the communication skills in a sustainable construction project that are central to its success. We base our research design on a case study, as well as a quantitative data from our survey. Thus the analysis has been conducted based on primary data created through a systematic analysis of the response of project managers in construction industry, based on their experience with communicating sustainability in projects. A quantitative survey has been selected, due to our descriptive and explorative inference, which we are using to investigate the relation between communications skills and the sustainability of a project.
2. Pre-understanding
In this section we are presenting theories that are supporting the purpose of this study and are contributing to the analysis of our data. Furthermore, we are examining who are the
stakeholders that the project manager is trying to engage in the different phases of a construction project and what communication skills he/she is using to accomplish that. Also, we are
presenting theories on the effect of communication on the sustainability of a project, stakeholder engagement theories, leadership theories that are further defining the role of a project manager in construction projects and explanation on the phases of a project.
2.1 Communication’s influence on the sustainability of a project
Good project managers are trained to have good oral and written communications skills in order to set clear directions and achieve unity and positive attitude in the team. Sustainability is an important aspect of our lives. That is why more project managers are setting sustainability as a goal of their projects. They contribute to that by integrating sustainability into their
corporate communication, marketing, annual reports and their actions (Silvius, 2015). The sustainable development of a team that can last and learn how to deal with obstacles on their own is also dependent on communication. Effective project management communication can lead to both personal and professional development. Team leaders will be influenced by the coaching and counseling skills of the team leader and when the team leader is a positive role model. These insights can help employees improve their own communication skills. Strong team
According to Grensing Pophal (2011), we have a tendency to avoid conflict, and by learning how to respond to conflict in positive ways, both employees and companies can benefit.
Nowadays stakeholder engagement is quickly becoming a part of construction projects practices in order to deliver better project results. For example stakeholder identification is a critical component of the initial scoping phase and should occur before an engagement plan is formulated and consultations begin. As each stakeholder usually has their own interest in the project which may cause different priorities, conflicts and dramatically increase the complexity of the situation (Karlsen et.al, 2008). If a project manager learns how to manage the different stakeholder engagement processes it can help all stakeholders to reach the goal of the project that can be to increase quality of life, while decreasing negative environmental impacts and
increasing the economical sustainability of the project. Stakeholder engagement should therefore be taken as a core element of any “sustainable development” plan. Furthermore, the success of a construction projects relies on meeting the needs and expectations of stakeholders (Cleland, 1995). The ability of a project manager to manage relationships with stakeholders can help to deal with changing stakeholder needs. Furthermore, this ability will allow a PM to respond more efficiently to the difficulties that may arise or issues that need to be resolved. Therefore a project is more likely to be successful in the long term, if it takes into consideration the needs of all stakeholders.
In order the idea of sustainability to be accepted by all stakeholders it needs to be communicated how it will contribute to the interests of the company (Deloitte & Touche, 1992). After all sustainability is not just something nice to do for the people and the environment, but also needs to be aligned with the economic purpose of the business. According to the Triple Bottom Line, the social, environmental and financial aspects of a business need to be taken into consideration,
so maximum economical value can be achieved (Elkington, 1994). Only through effective and thorough communication can these aspects be addressed properly and play a role in achieving a sustainable solution for the business. Therefore in the context of sustainability it is essential to successfully communicate the goal of a project, because a sustainable project has to be accepted by all stakeholders as profitable in a financial sense, so communication is even more essential when it comes to sustainable projects.
2.2 Stakeholders in construction projects
According to Werther and Chandler (2011), stakeholders have been identified as key elements of an organization’s environment and can affect and are also affected by the
achievement of the organization’s objectives. To illustrate that they divided the stakeholders into three categories: organizational (employees, project managers, shareholders), economical
(suppliers, clients, end users, competitors) and societal (government, regulators) see fig.(Werther & Chandler, 2011). In the construction industry the project manager needs to communicate effectively in order to reach the goals of the project. However, he or she has to consider different aspects and approaches when communicating with the key stakeholders. In this section, we will identify the organizational, economical and societal stakeholders of a construction organization, that can benefit the most from effective communication with the project manager and we will give examples, by describing their characteristics and what the project manager has to consider when communicating with them.
Figure 2. Flow of communication within different stakeholders
Communication to team (Within the organization/ Organizational stakeholders)
The communication skills of a project manager are critical for ensuring the success of the team effort, whether the team is charged with coming up with a new product or service, making
improvements, or planning an event. Strong team communication skills can help build
relationships, ensure the creation of new ideas (Contemporary Project Management, 2011).Team members can only benefit through coaching and counseling.
Teams come in many different configurations and are tasked with performing different types of objectives. A project manager may encounter different type of competent subordinates, but in order to ensure an effective team performance from them, he or she has to know them very well (Cox et al., 1991). A project manager has to know how to manage cultural differences. The knowledge of the different cultural backgrounds of the project manager’s followers can ensure an advantage when directing the team. After all a good leader knows his/her followers strengths and weaknesses, so he or she can get the most of their competencies in a project.
According to Caproni (2011), good project managers enhance communication across cultures not by stereotyping, but by paying attention to potential cultural differences in communication, which can contribute to the development of a sustainable team. That way they show respect, avoid misunderstandings and build common ground. Caproni (2011) also argues that men and women have different communication styles, like for example men are more likely to express themselves directly and women are more likely to do it indirectly.
Communication to clients (Economical stakeholders)
Studies on communication in the construction industry are usually focused on the briefing of the goals of the project and construction processes. During these processes, builders often experience changes in information that can create misunderstanding and distort the time frame (Higgin and
Jessop, 1965). On the other hand building clients and users sometimes are presented unclear visualization techniques (Barrett and Stanley, 1999) that can cause confusion and building clients and architects rely on implicit cost information that quantity surveyors gave them (Bowen and Edwards, 1996).
The aim of communication is to ensure that the receiver reacts in the way the sender expects (Feldberg, 1975). E-mail and web-based communication through the internet are the most common way for fast and easy exchange of information, but they have limited opportunities to influence receivers' responses. That is why the constant use of technologies for communication, may become a threat to receivers who are unable to respond immediately due to lack of
knowledge, time and manpower to complete work.
Clowes (2000) argues, that lack of information is a significant factor, which contributes to poor management of maintenance activities. Furthermore, in building maintenance projects, a lack of knowledge sharing and poor communication between different parties can cause problems, such as allocating the right problem to the right contractor and simultaneous handling of data (Ali et al., 2002). Having these factors in mind, communication to clients is central, in order to
understand and set clear goals of a project, that will meet the expectations of clients.
Communication to suppliers (Economical stakeholders)
Construction projects are dependent on the quality and price of the materials that are provided by outside suppliers. For example if the wood, nails, bricks, concrete etc. are not according to the necessary specifications of the building, it can lead to quality control problems. Furthermore, if
the materials from outside suppliers are delivered late, are in short supply or of poor quality, then the price of the project may rise from the original prediction, the project will be delayed and it may lead to failure.
Depending on the complexity of the project, managing contractor and supplier relationships can take a lot of the project manager’s time. It is something that a good project manager needs to learn how to do, because it involves a sophisticated skill set like negotiating, managing conflicts and other interpersonal skills.
Usually the buying firm engage in supplier development efforts to improve the performance or capabilities of its supplier (Krause et al., 1998), which are important to examine because of their impact on the buying firm’s performance and competitive strategy (Krause et al., 2000, Wagner 2006a).
Some of the supplier development activities include supplier evaluation and feedback, supplier training, sharing and transfer of employees from one firm to another and other related activities (Monczka et al., 1993, Wagner 2006b). It is important to note, that these activities incorporate various forms of communication. The explicit part of communication is easily codified and exchanged, while the tacit one is complex and more difficult to convey (Daft and Lengel, 1984; Fulk and Boyd, 1991; Prahinski and Benton, 2004; Sako, 2004).
Communication to the government (Societal stakeholder)
Project managers that are working in heavily regulated environments like the construction industry, have to deal with government regulators and departments. These can include all or some levels of government from municipal, provincial, federal to international.
2.3 Project managers roles in achieving sustainability
As we already discussed the PM in sustainable construction projects, has a very complex role, because in relation to the 3BL (Elkington, 1994), he has to balance the interests of various stakeholders, which adds extra responsibilities to his role. Therefore, we are examining the project manager’s role in construction projects using the 3BL to examine his/her responsibilities from the environmental, social and economical perspective of a sustainable project.
a- Project manager’s role in achieving environmental sustainability
Sustainability indicators in environmental dimension need to be improved and used in order to target environmental and energy considerations. Among the environmental challenges
considered in the construction industry the operation phase is the most significant. This is because of the higher environmental loads emitted into the atmosphere, due to the high-energy requirement for HVAC, domestic hot water and lighting (Said I. et al., 2010). Thus the project manager should contribute during the operation phase of any construction building. This is mostly achieved by evaluating properly the energy requirements for HVAC depending on climatic conditions and the behavior patterns of citizens. Moreover, the project manager should be applying construction codes and other environmental policies which improve sustainability in
the building sector in this specific phase of construction (Ortiz O. et al., 2009). There is a need for new actions to be carried out to handle the illogical usage of natural resources by the construction activities. Precautionary measures should be taken into consideration in the operation processes, so that future generations will have rational amount of natural resources (Said I. et al., 2010). According to Majdalani Z. et al., (2005), project manager collaboration with academic institutions, research and development initiatives are important, as long as it may utilize technological innovative tools to find better solutions for several environmental problems. It is helpful when project managers revise the conditions of the rating systems of their projects, because it is significant to provide conformity with good rating (Delnavaz M., 2012). However, it is admitted that green building should be considered as a process more than a product, because of the life cycle that will be perfect in setting out clear sustainable objectives for the project itself. Project manager’s practices such as coordination, building commissioning, documentation, etc are considered to be the focus of Green Globs and this is why project managers should have a core role in keeping the harmony between the process and practices (Delnavaz M., 2012).Taking into consideration the awareness of the stakeholders toward sustainability, the green building market is growing nowadays. In accordance the role of constructors with focus on the impact of their construction management practices is brought into light. In addition, the Innovation and Design was identified and considered as a potential opportunity for constructors to become preferred and “value-added”. Thus there is a requirement from the project managers of construction projects, to define their role in achieving the objectives of a project and to adjust their construction practices to fit with the environmental challenges. It is considered that when equipped with this knowledge, constructors can contribute to the success of the LEED®-NC projects and position themselves favorably in this rapidly growing construction market (Syal M.
et al., 2011). Referring to Delnavaz M. (2012), project management should take into
consideration the life cycle of a sustainable building and their impact during the design and the the creation of a healthier and more energy efficient product. The project manager needs to focus on creating a well-integrated solution during the whole lifecycle, from planning till operation with new renewable materials and innovative technologies that are aligned with the environment. For that reason an integrated approach is important in the green building process, through
implementing an integrated design and operators, along with the need for the stakeholders of the construction project to collaborate in designing the project (Delnavaz M., 2012).
b- Project manager’s role in achieving social sustainability
It is essential for project managers to apply social sustainability assessment framework in their working processes and strategies within urban construction projects. It should accomplish different purposes that alter with the type of the project, social and cultural context (Colantonio A., Dixon T., 2009). Furthermore, Colantonio and Dixon (2009), advise to integrate social responsible investment policies in the building environment, urban regeneration and to develop monitoring system that add a valuable scheme for determining the significant dimensions of sustainability in an effective way. Another important issue that is considered by Delnavaz M. (2012), is the potential pollution that results from the construction activities, which concerns the society, especially those who are not considered as a direct stakeholder like the neighborhood for example ( noise, vibration and vaporous discharge are the most significant issues the
neighborhood experiences). For minimizing this potential pollution, the risks should be identified and the action should be taken (Pitt, Tucker, Riley, & Longden, 2009). The main contractor and project manager should assure, that the pollution from construction activities is minimized by defining certain strategies that takes the society into consideration (Delnavaz M., 2012).
c- Project manager’s role in achieving economical sustainability
The project manager’s main objective within the economical dimension of a certain business, is to increase its profit. In line with the sustainable implementations, it should also minimize the cost. This can happen when the environmental and economical sustainability issues are considered during the project design phase. In the same can, the satisfaction of the customers or the economical stakeholders are hard to be adjusted, because it is important for the
achievement of social sustainability (Said I. et al., 2010). From another view companies, individuals and organizations run business for the sake of making profit. Correspondingly there is a broad interest for the cost indications of sustainable construction and the urgency to balance economic and environmental factors in their practices. Main problems include the costs for owners and developers of managing more complex planning and building control systems, that directly raise the cost of the design and construction stages, the cost for industry to take up to new building technologies and for users for obtaining or renting buildings constructed by higher standards (Majdalani Z. et al., 2005). In addition to that, green building in the construction industry refers to the energy saving and operation of engineering cost management and therefore, can be integrated into the economic benefits of green buildings. This is where Majdalani Z. et al. (2005) highlight the life cycle cost model and suggests to be used by project managers, in order to improve this benefit. Introducing the life cycle cost model into project management, enables the ability to manage the stresses of construction cost. To conclude in building projects
investment decision phase, should integrate sustainable development concepts into the economic dimension, which is infiltrated by management decision-making process (Yan Z., 2015).
All these responsibilities can be very taxing in terms of time and money for the PM and the organization. That is why organizations are trying to hire experienced PMs that have developed their skills over time and know how to lead by example in order to get the most out of their team.
2.4 Effective leadership in construction projects
Leaders are needed in different projects to give directions, inspire their followers and create teamwork in order to address these challenges (Adair, 2002). In a construction project, the project manager has a distinctive role as a leader, since he has the responsibility to drive the whole project team towards its goals and objectives with the use of limited resources supplied (Toor and Ofori, 2008).
According to Sheard and Kakabadse (2004), the leadership roles of a leader vary along with Tuckman’s (1965) stages of the team development process:
forming-storming-norming-performing-adjourning. Construction project teams also follow this basic linear sequence of the team development stages (forming-storming-norming, performing-adjourning) most of the time, despite some specific situations where this sequence could be deviated (Cornick and Mather, 1999; Senaratne and Hapuarachchi, 2009).
These explanations can be related to situational leadership theory. As said by Northouse (2007), situational leadership which was developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1969) focuses on
leadership in situations where different situations demand different kinds of leadership. The situational leadership theory suggests that even though there could be a specific leadership role which is required per each stage based on team behaviors, it has a possibility of deviating due to various situational factors.
Since construction work requires team efforts, leadership should have great impact on the performance of construction work (Odusami et al., 2003). As stated by Cornick and Mather (1999), motivating team members to perform to the best of their ability and inspiring them to co-operate, is a major key to success in the management of a construction project. They further explain that, with the rise of "project management" as a required service in construction, this task falls to the appointed project manager, who is required to be the leader.
2.5 Project managers as leaders
Leadership is considered as a social influence controlled through communication to deal with a certain situation to achieve goals (Galvin et al., 2014). Moreover, Galvin et al. (2014) stated that project managers in different fields require a specific leadership style in order to execute their project effectively and successfully. On the other hand each leader uses certain management’s techniques to execute the project management process. “Effective Leaders are
differentiated from other leaders through the exercise of a relatively small range of skill or competence areas” – (Dulewicz & Higgs, 2005, pg. 106).
In general, the project manager can be practical and effective through exercising analytical thinking skills, fitting to different type of projects and environments, and being elastic to a provocative environment that is confronting project managers to produce significant results. Despite the type of industry, leadership styles and skills determine the person, the leader and the success and effectiveness this leader will have in their projects (Galvin et al., 2014).
2.6 Communication skills
Zulch B. (2014) stated that effective projects require three levels of communications: vertical communication or hierarchical communication, horizontal communication between colleagues and diagonal communication with the project stakeholders.
According to Barrett (2006b), these skills expand from core strategy development, effective writing and speaking to using these skills in more complex situations. Furthermore, as a project develops, the project manager will have to improve his/her core communication skills, in order to become more effective in communication with the different stakeholders. Barrett (2006b)
emphasizes that as manager advances to higher levels in the organization; the communication becomes more complex and more demanding. However, the framework is not meant to suggest a hierarchy, which is why it is presented as spiral (see fig. 3).
These skills are explained as follow:
Core communication - the core skills that the project manager should have at the core. All effective communication depends on the core skill at the centre of the spiral and they are the individual skills of the leader. Examples for core communications skills include strategic writing and speaking. Good project managers need to know how to structure and write documents and how to correspond with the stakeholders using email, telephone or in person. Depending on that they will make good and clear proposals or reports and we will be seen as leaders based on their ability to make oral presentations.
Managerial communication skills or the competencies that are build based on the core skills and more involved in managing and interacting with others. If a project manager is capable in applying these communication skills in a project, he will be able to better interact with individuals and manage groups. An example for effective managerial
communication is the ability of a project manager to listen. This skill is essential for managers, because they need to pay attention to what others are saying
.
Corporate communication skills that is more complex and deals with the internal and external stakeholders. Communication becomes even more complex when managers move into position where they have to communicate with internal and external
stakeholders. These skills might be best explained as the ability of a project manager to be a leader. Effective communication depends on leadership’s style for leading the team and external stakeholders. Project managers’ leading shapes them as the face of the project to the public (Barrett, 2006a:5).
Figure 3. Leadership communication framework Barrett, 2006a:5
As we already discussed Project managers needs to be flexible throughout the project
development with their use of different communication skills (Zulch B., 2014). Which means that he needs to know exactly at which phase of the project he needs to use the most effective communication skills for the situation and to know which stakeholder to engage.
2.7 Phases of a project
Projects are characterized by a set of process that also includes sub-processes, which need time and results in deliverables and often some tasks need to be done before others. Moreover, different resources are needed for each task. These processes are classified and arranged
depending on its task description and deliverables into phases (Cobb, A. T. 2012). Cobb (2012) categorized the project phases into five stages as shown below:
1-Project Initiation: the phase in which a project’s key stakeholders first meet to specify the blueprint of a project.
2-Project Launch: the phase in which the real work on the project is start.
3-Project Planning: the phase in which very precise and complicated planning is done to achieve a wide range of project specifics, resulting in the generation of a project schedule and plan. 4-Project Execution: the phases in which tasks are assigned to team members and most of the project’s work is done. Including monitoring and controlling.
3. Methods
In this chapter we are giving an overview of the specific methods that we used in the study to gather the necessary data that will address the purpose of this research. In this chapter we are describing the in details the methods that we used and will provide an overview of the nature of the data that was collected.
3.1 Data creation and collection
The population frame for the study consists of project managers who are working in the construction industry from different countries (Sweden, Africa, UAE, KSA, Lebanon, Qatar, Canada, and UK). We developed a questionnaire for them, which aimed to examine what communication skills they are using with what stakeholders, during each of the 5 phases of the project. Project managers in the study were asked about their awareness regarding sustainability and if their projects are implementing sustainability or not. Depending on the awareness
regarding sustainability and the implementation of sustainability in projects, project managers are expected to show us what are the stakeholders they engage and how do they use their
communication skills during the five phases of the construction project. According to Hair et al. (2006), at least from 1 to 10 respondents are required for a sample study. However, we received 26 responses from project managers on our survey, which is considered sufficient. Before
sampling we divided the responses into homogeneous groups (high awareness PM group and low awareness PM group) or in other words stratified sampling is used.
The primary data was collected through questionnaire survey and distributed online via emails to project managers. Project managers were notified in the emails that their answers are kept
anonymous. The main purpose of the survey is to know what are the stakeholders project
managers engage and what are the communication skills the project managers use during the five phases of the construction project. Also, we wanted to compare the results between project managers who are aware about sustainability and implementing sustainability in their projects and those who are aware and not implementing sustainability. The questionnaire is divided into 6 sections. A 6-point Likert scale is used in each question. Responses ranged from 0-2 were
considered low (awareness, implementation, engagement or use) and others ranged from 3-6 were considered high (awareness, implementation, involvement or use). Regarding the variables, the stakeholders’ definitions were adopted from Werther and Chandler (2011), the
communication skills from Zulch (2014) and the phases of the project from Cobb (2012). The first section of the survey is examining the level of sustainability awareness for project managers in construction projects. Also, it examines the level of implementation of sustainability in the current projects they are directing. Sections from 2 till 6 explore the level of involvement (high or low involvement) of the stakeholders (organizational, economical and societal) and the communication skills used (high or low use) in each phase of the construction project (phase 1: Project Initiation, phase 2: Project Launch, phase 3: Project Planning, phase 4: Project Execution and phase 5: Project Closing).
In the survey we gave a brief definition for many concepts (i.e. Sustainability, organizational stakeholder, economical stakeholder, societal stakeholder, core communication, managerial communication and corporate communication) in order to share the same understanding and to make sure that all project managers have a similar and a common background. Moreover, we provide a brief definition for the phases of the project in the survey.
3.2 Data coding, organizing and analysis
Data coding is done in order to decide whether the gathered information can be categorized in a way that is relevant to the research question (6 & Bellamy, 2012). For our database this means we will collect all information that is relevant to Project managers that are aware about sustainability in their projects and will divide them in two groups. The first group will be project managers that are implementing sustainability in their projects and we will compare them with the other group that is project managers that are not implementing sustainability. We will look at project managers’ communication skills with different
stakeholders throughout the five phases of a project and we will see if there is difference. It is important that we standardize data in a way that makes results comparable. On our 6-point Likert scale the answers that are ranging between 0-2 will be considered with low value to the relation of our research question and the questions between 3-5 will be with high value to our research question and thus will be the ones that we will focus on.
Data organization deals with how data is managed to make it more accessible and easier to analyze (6 & Bellamy, 2012). The information that we gathered from our survey will be stored in our own data matrix in excel format. In later stages of the thesis we will tabulate results to
facilitate analysis and interpretation.
Data analysis refers to the manipulation of data to answer the research question (6 & Bellamy, 2012). Our quantitative data will be analyzed using SPSS for the correlation analysis between the
communication skills and the stakeholders. Also, excel data analysis tools will be used for the comparison between the different groups of PMs, in order to create an overview on the differences in the communication processes of a PMs focusing on implementation of sustainability and PMs that are not focusing on the implementation of sustainability in their projects.
3.3 Data reliability and validity 3.3.1 Reliability
According to 6 and Bellamy (2012), reliability is related to how we measure what we are interested in. Thus, a reliable system would be that one that every time it is used on the same data, it provides the same measure. As a result, in the above paragraphs, we have made concrete all of the process of data collection and analysis to make this research reproducible and reliable.
3.3.2 Validity
Validity is considered the degree to which our statements approximate to truth (6 and Bellamy, 2012). In order to measure if we are collecting what is relevant to our study, the validity of our primary data can be analyzed on four different levels along the research:
Construct validity: deals with the question if measurements correspond to their theoretical concepts (6 & Bellamy, 2012). For example, to make sure each of the performance items are latent indicators of the underlying concept performance, we will first run a factor analysis.
Measurement validity: refers to the extent that these measurements allow us to attribute values (6 & Bellamy, 2012). Since our data comes from trustable sources and we use recognized statistical techniques, we don’t consider this as an issue.
Internal validity: address the extent to which we can show that something we claim is really true (6 & Bellamy, 2012). The size of our sample is 26 respondents, which clearly is not big enough to make a specific conclusion based on our results. However, our study is explorative and as such, we observe the general perception of PMs on how they operate in their entire project. This is something normal and shouldn’t make a big difference, as the PMs are trying to follow a pattern that is working the best for them in most cases. This will give us a good ground to compare the results and using theories, to come up with a good interpretation of the reasons behind the behavior of our respondents, even though we are limited by a smaller sample. Nevertheless we wish to stress that we hold a critical attitude towards these sources at all times.
External validity: is concerned with the fact whether findings also hold true in other settings and contexts (6 & Bellamy, 2012). While our goal is to demonstrate the effect of communication skills and stakeholder engagement of PMs on sustainable development in general, in practice we will be limited by the companies in certain countries and the different project they operate. To ensure validity all over the research, we chose to retrieve information from companies in different locations across the world (Sweden, Africa, UAE, KSA, Lebanon, Qatar, Canada, UK) working in the construction industry. By choosing different sources we also assure that our data will not be affected by particular views of the researchers. Because we are aware that our research involves the
use of the perception of PMs on how they usually operate, we look at them with a high level of criticism, to assure that they are valid and reliable before being used by us.
1. Data Description
In this chapter we are describing the data that we collected from our questionnaire and we divide the results in groups based on the level of awareness and focus on implementation of sustainability in the PMs’ projects. Furthermore, we are using SPSS to check the level of correlation between the communication skills and the stakeholders in each of the 5 phases of the construction projects and whether the correlation is significant or not. Finally we are doing individual check-up on the most picked answers from the respondents that are focusing on implementing sustainability in their projects.
4.1 General description for the sustainability awareness and the project implementation of sustainability (table 1 & 2)
The total number of respondents or project managers who answered the survey was 26. 23 have high awareness regarding sustainability (answers varied from 3-5) and only 3 respondents answered that they have a low awareness (answers varied from 0-2).
Table 1. General description for all the collected sample.
Regarding the 23 sustainability aware project managers (who are our target group), 13
from 3-5) and the rest 10 respondents have low or zero implementation of sustainability in their projects (answers varied from 0-2).
Table 2. Description for the project managers with high sustainability awareness.
4.2 Description for aware and unaware sustainability respondents
Description of respondents that are unaware of the concept of sustainability (3) (table 3)
In our survey we got only 3 respondents in total that are not aware about sustainability and not implementing it in their projects. The majority of this group said that they are highly involving all the stakeholders in the 5 phases of the project. Similarly, the majority said that they are using highly all the communication skills during the 5 phases.
Tables 3 . Detailed description for the project managers with low sustainability awareness in term of the
stakeholders involvement and the communication skills they use.
Description for the 23 respondents that are aware of the concept of sustainability (tables 4 & 5)
Sections from 2 till 6 of the survey is studying the stakeholders’ involvement level and
communication skills use through the 5 phases of the project. First we took the only sustainable aware project managers’ answers, then we separated the stakeholders’ involvement from the communication skills and listed them in tables showing the difference based on if the project managers are implementing sustainability or if they are not.
From table 4:
During sustainable projects Organizational stakeholders are highly involved through the 5 phases of the project. While for un-sustainable projects, Organizational stakeholders are highly involved
during phase 2, 3, 4 and 5. The Economical stakeholders are highly involved through the 5 phases of the project. While for un-sustainable projects, Economical stakeholders are highly involved during phase 1, 2, 3 and 5.
And the Societal stakeholder are highly involved during phase 1 and 5 of the project. While for un-sustainable projects, societal stakeholders are highly involved during phase 1, 2 and 5. From table 5
In sustainable projects Core communication skills are highly used during the 5 phase of the project. While in un-sustainable projects, Core communication skills are highly used during phases 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the project. In both sustainable and unsustainable projects, Managerial communication skills are highly used during the 5 phases of the project. And the Corporate communication skills are highly used during the 5 phases of the project. While for un-sustainable projects, they are used during phases 1, 2 and 5 only.
Comparison between the 13 project managers that are extensively implementing sustainability in their projects and the 10 project managers that are not implementing sustainability to a high degree
The 13 project managers, which are working on projects with sustainability as their target, are involving stakeholders from all the three categories of throughout all 5 phases of a project that are the organizational, economical and societal stakeholders.
The majority of the 13 respondents that are extensively implementing sustainability into their project, answered that the Organizational stakeholders are involved in their communication throughout all 5 phases. However, the majority of the 10 project managers that don’t have
sustainability as the focus of their project, answered that the they are not communicating that much with the Organizational stakeholders during the Initiation phase that is phase 1, while in the other 4 phases the organizational stakeholders are involved to a high degree in
communication with the project managers.
The majority of the 13 respondents that are extensively implementing sustainability into their project answered that the Economical stakeholders are involved in their communication throughout all 5 phases. However, the majority of the 10 project managers that don’t have sustainability as the focus of their project, answered that the they are not communicating that much with the Economical stakeholders during the Execution phase that is phase 4 of the project, while in the other 4 phases the economical stakeholders are involved to a high degree in
communication with the project managers.
The majority of the 13 respondents that are extensively implementing sustainability into their project, answered that the Societal stakeholders are not that much involved in their
communication throughout the Launching phase, Planning phase and Execution phase, that are the phases 2, 3 and 4 respectively, of a project. Still according to the 13 respondents that have sustainability as their focus in their projects, during the Initiation phase and Project closing phase, that are the phases 1 and 5 respectively, the Societal stakeholders are involved to a high degree in the communication of a project manager. However, the majority of the 10 project managers that don’t have sustainability as the focus of their project, answered that the they are not communicating that much with the Societal stakeholders during the Launching phase and Execution phase, that are the phases 3 and 4 respectively, of a project. Nonetheless the 10
respondents answered that they are communicating extensively with the Societal stakeholders during the Initiation phase, Planning phase and Project closing phase, that are the phases 1, 2 and 5 respectively, of a project.
Regarding the communication skills that the project managers are implementing during the 5 phases of a project, the 13 respondents that are extensively implementing sustainability into their project, answered that they are implementing all 3 communication skills that are Core,
Managerial and Corporate communication skills, throughout the 5 phases of a project. On the other hand, the majority of the 10 respondents that don’t have sustainability as the focus of their project, answered that they are not using that much core communication skills during the
Execution phase, while in the other 4 phases they are extensively using Core communication skills to interact with the different stakeholders during the project.
When it comes to the Managerial communication skills, the majority of both groups have answered that they consider them vital for their projects and that they use them during all 5 phases of the project.
Finally the Corporate communication skills are not considered integral by the 10 respondents in the Planning phase and Execution phase, which are the phases 3 and 4 respectively, of a project. Nonetheless the 10 respondents answered that they are using Corporate communication skills during the Initiation phase, Planning phase and Project closing phase, which are the phases 1, 2 and 5 respectively, of a project.
Table 4. Detailed description only for the project managers with high sustainability awareness with high and low
implementation of sustainability in their projects in term of stakeholders involvement.
Table 5. Detailed description only for the project managers with high sustainability awareness with high and low
4.3 Phases comparison between the PMs that are implementing sustainability and the PMs not aware about the concept of sustainability
In this section we make a comparison between the project managers that are aware of the concept of sustainability and are implementing extensively sustainability in their projects (13) and the project managers that are not aware about sustainability and are not focusing at all on
implementing it in their projects (3). The comparison is made based on the respondents answers for their behavior in regards to communication during the different phases of a project. That is why we divide the results in the different phases of a construction project.
Phase 1 - In this phase the majority of the respondents from both groups are extensively using Core, managerial and corporate communication skills while communicating with stakeholders from all 3 categories.
Phase 2 - In this phase the majority of the respondents from both groups have answered that they are using extensively all 3 communication skills, while interacting with stakeholders from all 3 categories.
Phase 3 - In this phase the majority of the respondents from both groups have answered that they are communicating extensively with the Organizational and Economical stakeholders, while the 3 respondents that are not aware about sustainability and are not trying to implement it are also
