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The factor-element impact model is a normative, theory-based contingency model. It is concerned with iden-
tifying the factors that affect the success of total quality management (TQM) initiatives in construction
projects. This model is based upon organizational theory, utilizing an interactionist view of organizational
design. If TQM is to succeed, construction project teams should be formed with its implementation in mind.
The most important factors in¯ uencing the success of particular project team con® gurations are project char-
acteristics. Organizational characteristics of participating ® rms are also signi® cant. The contingency model
developed in this paper involves an iterative approach of designing construction project teams to minimize
negative effects on TQM. Guidelines are offered on how to apply the model, and two scenarios are presented
to illustrate its application.
Keywords: Project team, organization theory, total quality management (TQM), normative models
have not focused on the complete problem. He goes factors, such as weather. Construction is one of the
on to say that the focus should be on how to lead most regulated industries. Facilities must be built
people to develop a system that will continually according to code. Proper safety measures must be
improve the constructed product. In construction followed before, during and after construction accord-
projects, teamwork is not a choice but a necessity. ing to governmental acts and regulations. The industry
Therefore achievement of total quality in a construc- is traditionally fragmented, making implementation of
tion project is greatly dependent on the features of the TQM programmes particularly dif® cult. Certain
project team. industry norms, such as the practice of awarding
This paper addresses the issue of formation of projects to the low bidder, are also barriers in the way
construction project teams. The objective is to present of implementing effective TQM programmes in
a normative model based on accepted and validated construction (Grif® s, 1992).
theoretical constructs from the literature on organiza- Construction project teams are formed with people
tion theory. The model will be useful to the managers from several entities with diversi® ed ± and sometimes
of architectural, engineering and contracting (AEC) con¯ icting ± goals and interests. Owners, designers
organizations to build effective project management (architects and engineers), general and/or prime
teams by identifying factors affecting the success of a contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and vendors get
TQM programme in construction projects. In order to involved in the process of construction for a consider-
understand the dynamics involved with construction ably long period of time. As a result, the composition
project teams, the nature of construction projects needs of the team cannot remain static; it changes as
to be understood ® rst. construction progresses. This instability in project
teams makes the application of TQM particularly
dif® cult.
Unique features of construction projects
Barrie and Paulson (1984) noted:
Premise and organization of the paper
Construction is the process whereby designers’ plans
and speci® cations are converted into physical struc- The premise in this paper is that the main determinants
tures and facilities. It involves the organization and of success or failure of TQM programmes are organi-
coordination of all the resources for the project ± labor, zational factors. TQM is not merely implementing
construction equipment, permanent and temporary a few procedures, however radical they may be, but
materials, supplies and utilities, money, technology and
embracing a new philosophy. Hence the characteris-
methods, and time ± to complete the project on
tics of the organization play a prime role in how well
schedule, within the budget, and according to the stan-
dards of quality and performance speci® ed by the this philosophy is diffused in an organization. Concepts
designer. from organizational theory are therefore believed to be
germane to a model of TQM adoption.
In contrast to products of manufacturing, products of As stated above, each construction project is
construction are large in scale and varied in kind. Each different and unique. Deffenbaugh (1993) states it
product or facility has its own design, and a distinct succinctly:
process of production or erection. The product is, in
general, one of a kind, and the speci® c process is In reality, most projects are like a new company being
usually non-repetitive. Steps involved in the process formed to produce one unique product. The `new
are not always distinctly identi® able. Process segments company’ , if it embraces TQM philosophy, needs to
de® ne its mission, and success requires everyone to
overlap, and the links between them are often non-
work together to accomplish that mission.
uniform and non-standard. Measurement of progress
in terms of percentage of completion of construction Bennett (1985) mentions:
projects is dif® cult, and is often an arbitrary pro-
Project organizations consist of teams whose work must
cedure that frequently gives rise to disagreements and
be coordinated so that their combined actions achieve
disputes.
agreed objectives.
Unlike the manufacturing context, construction is
not a repetitive continuing process; `rework’ or Eccles (1981) uses the term `quasi-® rm’ to describe a
`repeated work’ is costly. It is dif® cult to apply statis- construction project team.
tical quality measurement programmes in the process The formation of the construction project team
of construction. The outcome of the construction therefore becomes a critical crucial activity. Essentially
process is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty. the problem becomes one of organizational design.
Construction is more vulnerable than manufacturing In order to gain an understanding of this process, orga-
processes to the effects and impacts of external nization theory is applied.
Project terms for TQM 459
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In the 2. Do it ± carry out the plan (identify targets, build
next section, TQM is brie¯ y discussed in general, control systems, implement on a small scale).
Deming’s and Juran’s TQM models are presented, and 3. Check what you did (what happened? did it
variations of them as applied to projects are discussed. work? what was learnt?).
Based on this examination, the element components of 4. Act to prevent error or improve the process
the model are identi® ed. After this, the organizational (adopt change, abandon if need be, run the
and contextual factor components of the model that cycle again).
affect TQM success are proposed. The project charac-
Clearly, this model is most relevant to a continuing
teristics that impact success of TQM are then presented.
process, such as manufacturing. Construction projects
In the following section, the components discussed in
have de® nite lifespans and cannot be characterized as
the previous two sections are integrated, and the factor-
continuous processes. Therefore the PDCA cycle may
element impact model is presented in the form of a con-
not apply to construction projects.
tingency matrix. How the model can be applied is
Rettig and Simons (1993) have proposed a variation
described, and scenarios are presented to illustrate it. In
of the PDCA cycle, which they found to be more
the concluding section, research directions are proposed
appropriate to managing computer software develop-
and implications for practice are discussed.
ment projects. The principles of this model, called
PADRE (plan, approve, do, review and revise, eval-
uate), can be applied to any project team, such as
Elements of TQM
construction. There is a great deal of similarity between
software development and construction projects. Both
TQM: a brief overview
use multidisciplinary project teams, employ a modular
As mentioned earlier, TQM means different things to approach (different system segments in software,
different people. This problem is not endemic to the subcontracting in construction), and encompass pro-
construction industry. A complete examination of this jects of varying degrees of risk, uncertainty and size.
problem is beyond the scope of this paper. For an However, while PADRE may be applied to manage a
excellent commentary, the reader is referred to project team for TQM, it does not provide any guide-
Hackman and Wageman (1995). line on how to form the project team in the ® rst place.
Hackman and Wageman critically analyse the
current state of knowledge and practice regarding
TQM, and conclude that TQM is a distinctive philos- Elements of a TQM process
ophy, with a core set of shared assumptions, but is
For a TQM process to be successful, certain elements
implemented in a wide variety of ways. Practice is often
must be present. These elements can be grouped under
in con¯ ict with the principles laid down by the
the headings environment, knowledge and skill, organi-
founding fathers of the movement, Deming, Juran and
zation, and system (Crosby, 1979).
Ishikawa. These principles are captured quite
succinctly by, among others, Oakland (1993) and Environment
Creech (1994). In his book The Five Pillars of TQM,
Establishment of a receptive environment throughout
Creech de® ned TQM as `a total approach to put
the project organization is critical to the success of
quality in every aspect of management’. He identi-
TQM. The main elements that are necessary for estab-
® ed product, process, organization, leadership and
lishing such an environment are commitment, awareness
commitment as the ® ve essential pillars of TQM.
and recognition. Management’s commitment towards
The principles proposed by Deming remain the
quality is not only essential, it must also be clearly
inspiration for all implementation models used in
communicated. Every member of the team should be
practice. A brief discussion of this model is provided
aware of this commitment and be concerned about
in the next section.
quality. For this to work effectively, management must
introduce motivational activities, such as recognizing
Deming’s model and rewarding team members for their contribution
and extra work for the success of the TQM process.
The centrepiece of TQM is continuous improvement
represented by the PDCA (plan± do± check± act) cycle. Knowledge and skill
The cycle is always depicted as a circle to emphasize
Every employee must possess the appropriate knowl-
a never-ending process. Its components are:
edge and skill. Not only should they be knowledgeable
1. Plan what is to be done (e.g. identify top about their own trade or discipline, they should also
priority, objectives and quality indicators). understand the underlying principles of TQM. The
460 Ahmad and Sein
main elements grouped under this category are training The context of a construction project is particularly
and education, quality principles and problem-solving skills. amenable to this perspective of organizational design,
Every employee should be given the opportunity to because a construction project involves multiple orga-
learn and be provided with appropriate training to be nizations, all facing varying degrees of uncertainty.
able to participate effectively in the TQM process. Bennett (1985) states:
Current understanding does not allow best project
Organization
organizations to be calculated. It is possible, however,
A key concept of the TQM philosophy is that functional to identify consistent links between types of project and
boundaries are irrelevant, because problems cross func- three idealized patterns of project organizations.
tional lines. Committees and teams must be formed,
The three patterns described by Bennett are:
mainly of the cross-functional variety, to coordinate
programmed organizations, which relate to standard
activities of various individuals belonging to different
construction; professional organizations, which relate
departments, and must be given responsibility and
to traditional construction; and problem-solving orga-
authority to run the TQM process. The main elements
nizations, which relate to innovative construction.
in this group are quality-steering committees and quality
While this paper is not concerned primarily with the
improvement teams. Plans must be made, priorities
speci® c categories of project organization proposed by
established, resources designated, changes communi-
Bennett, the idea of having different project organiza-
cated, and progress evaluated. Random execution of
tions to suit variation in type of projects is a central
these tasks by various individuals or groups, operating
theme in this paper.
independently, will result only in con¯ icting objectives,
In the rest of this section, the organizational factors
overlap, missing information, lost time and wasted
that are crucial in this perspective are introduced and
effort.
described. These factors are grouped under two clus-
System ters. The ® rst cluster groups project team contingency
factors, i.e. those that offer choices in forming a
Systems are needed to establish methods of measure-
construction project team. The second cluster groups
ment, to focus attention on improvement issues, and
TQM success-impact factors, i.e. those that have
to formulate ways to take action. Corrective action,
important implications for TQM success, but do not
measurement and goal setting are considered as the main
depend on the alternative choices of the contingency
elements of systems. According to Crosby (1979),
factors.
corrective actions should provide systematic methods
of resolving forever problems that are identi® ed;
measurement should provide a display of current and
Project team contingency factors
potential non-conformance problems in a manner that
permits objective evaluation and corrective action; While several factors fall under this cluster, four of the
goal setting should turn pledges and commitments most important ones are considered here: structure,
into action, by encouraging individuals to establish control systems, leadership style and values.
improvement goals for themselves and their group.
Structure
Research into complex forms established for the
Organizational factors
management of project work has been based upon a
contingency framework for the study of organizational
Principles of organization theory
structures (Bresnen, 1990). Organizations can be
As has been argued in the introductory section, imple- mechanistic or organic. A mechanistic type of organi-
mentation of TQM requires an initial step of building zation is characterized by jobs that are narrow in scope,
the right construction project team. This problem is ® xed and speci® c roles, clear lines of authority, well-
one of organizational design, which is a complex known rules and procedures, a repetitive and program-
process. Classical designs, based on functional special- mable decision-making and planning process, and an
ization and hierarchical control, no longer meet today’ s objective reward system. An organic organization, by
needs; a more ¯ exible and holistic approach, called the contrast, has broadly de® ned jobs, ¯ exible and dynamic
interactionist view, is more appropriate (Robey, 1994). roles, diffuse channels of authority, few rules and
The latter view proposes that organizational structure procedures, a changing, ¯ exible and non-program-
should evolve to respond to changes in the environ- mable decision-making and planning process, and a
ment. One way to create an evolving organization is subjective reward system (Robey, 1994).
to ® rst focus on its activities and processes. The struc- Traditionally, construction project teams have been
ture should then emerge around those processes. mechanistic in nature and have required speci® c and
Project terms for TQM 461
® xed roles. For example, an electrical contractor technologies, and may have different time orientations,
performs a speci® c set of standard tasks and nothing (short term vs long term). A further cause of con¯ ict
else. While this fosters specialization and ef® ciency, it in a construction project is interdependence between
may also lead to a narrow view of the project’s goal. the different organizations. In a building project, for
Creative problem solving may be hampered by such example, sequential interdependence exists between
speci® c and ® xed roles. Both impact negatively on the electrical contractor and the structural contractor
TQM elements. Therefore, in a construction team that because the former cannot begin work until the latter
implements TQM, roles have to evolve and be ¯ ex- has completed a signi® cant portion of the work. Any
ible. This is especially true for cross-functional teams. rework may result in interference with one’s goals by
The application of TQM therefore requires a move the other. Even where the tasks are relatively inde-
away from a mechanistic to a more organic form. pendent, such as those of electrical and air conditioning
However, organic structures result in a loss of authority contractors, pooled interdependence exists, because
and control (Robey, 1994). Thus a project team is the whole work cannot be completed unless each
pulled in two directions, one dictating control and the has completed its part. TQM requires much cross-
other dictating effectiveness in implementing TQM. functional work, which may result in con¯ ict.
Therefore the composition of a project team is crucial. Hence con¯ ict resolution becomes a crucial factor
Robey presents task uncertainty as a contingency in in the success of TQM. One point needs to be empha-
determining the appropriate type. Citing research ® nd- sized; con¯ ict does not have entirely negative conno-
ings, he proposes that a more mechanistic structure is tation. It provides an opportunity to discuss problems
appropriate for low task uncertainty, while under high that may be genuine. An appropriate leadership style
task uncertainty, an organic structure is appropriate. is essential. On the surface, a democratic style may
appear to be more appropriate.
Control systems
To conform to organizational norms and required Values
behaviour, control systems are implemented by organi- An organization’s value set can range from one extreme
zations. Such control systems can be formal (with of stability and risk aversion to the other extreme of
bureaucratic rules), market (use prices in internal innovation and risk taking (Kast and Rosenzweig,
markets) or clan (use trust and common values). 1974). In a construction project, the presence of
Construction projects represent internal markets (sub- multiple organizations results in multiple values. An
contractors are paid by contractors), and market con- architect may be more risk taking than a structural
trol may seem to work best (for example, withholding engineer; electrical contractors may value ef® ciency
payment to conform behaviour or output). Within each over effectiveness, while the interior designer may have
sub-unit, formal control systems are employed. the opposite value. Different organizations may have
However, to implement TQM, a more shared perspec- varying degrees of af® nity to innovation. The compo-
tive is needed between the sub-units, and so a clan sition of the project team will re¯ ect the team’ s values.
control may be preferable. Because this is the most ¯ ex- These goals and values will in turn affect the TQM
ible control system, careful selection of the project team elements. For example, an innovative and risk-seeking
and then proper socialization of the team members to team is more likely to implement TQM than a risk-
the team’ s goals and values is essential (Robey, 1994). averse team that values stability and tradition.
This is especially true in construction projects, because
team members may change during the life of a project.
TQM success-impact factors
Once again, task uncertainty determines which control
system is more appropriate. These factors ± culture, management beliefs about TQM
and management attitude towards empowerment ± pertain
Leadership style to construction project teams and have important
Leadership styles can range from autocratic, task- implications for the success of TQM. However, they
oriented and driven with desire for certainty at one do not have implications for the formation of project
extreme to democratic, relationship oriented with a teams. In other words, whatever choices are made
high degree of tolerance for ambiguity at the other regarding project teams, these factors will have an
extreme (Kast and Rosenzweig 1974). This factor impact on the success of TQM.
affects the decision-making process, and is particularly
important in con¯ ict resolution. Con¯ ict can easily Culture
arise in a construction project because several different Robey (1994) de® nes culture as `the pattern of shared
organizations are involved. These organizations have assumptions that aid a group in dealing with basic
different ± and often divergent ± goals, use different problems of internal operation and external adaptation’ .
462 Ahmad and Sein
For example, the Japanese business culture is charac- Shrednick et al., 1992). Changing the way tasks are
terized by lifetime employment, collective decision accomplished and focusing on customer needs requires
making and responsibility and holistic concern. By con- enhancement of employee roles and responsibilities.
trast, the American business culture has the character- This dictates that employees be empowered to make
istics of short-term employment, individual decision decisions and have access to information not available
making and responsibility and segmented concern. before. Many members of management may feel that
Culture is re¯ ected in rites, such as enhancement employees are not prepared to handle these additional
(recognition of accomplishments) and renewal (learn- responsibilities. They may also feel threatened by
ing programmes). Robey goes on to state that organi- empowered subordinates. For example, in a construc-
zational cultures exert profound in¯ uence over their tion project, a contractor’s employee may require a
members and affect other organizational processes. For minor change in the layout and request the engineer’s
example, they affect managerial attempts to alter orga- representative, who is technically quali® ed, to do so.
nizational climate, regulate behaviour of new members, Without TQM, this individual may not have the
facilitate communication, and aid in the integration of authority to make this change, and must wait for the
various sub-units. It is apparent that the culture of the approval of the request to come through from the engi-
project team will affect the TQM elements. For exam- neer’s of® ce. With TQM, this representative may have
ple, certain forms of culture may be more successful in been empowered to make the required change. Will
fostering a climate for applying TQM. A culture that the subcontractor and the project management team
places importance on enhancement rites is more likely feel that there is a need for such empowerment, and
to implement awards and recognition successfully ± a that the employees are knowledgeable enough to
key TQM element. On the surface, a culture that incor- handle this responsibility? The success or failure of
porates the Japanese and American models [Theory Z, TQM depends on a positive answer.
proposed by Ouichi (1981)] may appear to have a more
favourable impact on these elements. Culture cannot be
changed in the relatively short lifespan of a project
Summary
team; it will be inherent in the project team. Therefore
it is crucial that attention should be paid to cultural In the sections above, two groups of project team
issues when a project team is formed. factors that determine whether TQM can be successful
in a construction project were discussed. The ® rst
Management beliefs about TQM group, contingency factors, offers alternative choices
that can be made in forming a project team. These
Many TQM initiatives have failed, or have failed to
choices are not categorical, but may fall along a
sustain continuous improvement, because top
continuum. The extreme choices and possibilities are
management never fully embraced or understood the
shown in Figure 1.
TQM philosophy (Hayden, 1992). Rather, some prin-
ciples were introduced, teams formed and methods
implemented, only to be abandoned after a measure
of success had been achieved. Hayden (1992) lists
several `false starts’ used by well-meaning senior Extreme Possibilities
Factors
managers, which led to the failure of TQM initiatives. Continua
TQM requires continuous change, and is an unending
process. It is possible only through top management
commitment. Similarly, middle management has to Structure Mechanistic Organic
embrace TQM principles as well. If they do not buy
into it, implementation of such radical concepts as
cross-functional teams is impossible. Construction Control System Formal/Market Clan (trust)
projects are known for compartmentalized sub-units.
The necessity of spanning the boundary between, say, Leadership
subcontractors, is often not considered by top and Style Autocratic Democratic
middle management of the various sub-units.
Stability Innovative
Values Risk Averse Risk Taking
Management attitude towards employee empowerment
Employee empowerment, which stems from the TQM
principle of `respect for people’ , has been identi® ed as Figure 1 Project team contingency factors with extreme
the most important element in TQM (Juran, 1988; possibilities
Project terms for TQM 463
IMPACT
project characteristics. For example, to implement
Project Team
TQM successfully, management must have a positive ACTION Contingency Factors
attitude towards employee empowerment, no matter For desired TQM impacts Structure
what type of project it is. appropriate choices Control Systems
must be made Leadership Styles
Values
T
AC
I MP
Project characteristics
Formal/Market
In this section, the concepts discussed in the previous
Risk Averse
Uncertainty: Low
Democratic
Mechanism
Risk Taking
Clan (trust)
Innovative
Autocratic
Organic
Stability
Type of Owner: Public
sections are integrated to synthesize the normative Type of Contract: Fixed Price
Size: Medium
factor-element impact model. It is proposed that it can
be used to formulate principles to build construction
Environment
Commitment 0 ++ 0 0 0 0 0 0
project teams. Shown in Figure 2, it is based on the
Awareness 0 ++ 0 0 0 0 0 0
interactionist view of organizational design, and is
Recognition 0 ++ 0 0 0 0 0 0
essentially a contingency model. The choices made are
Training &
pertaining to the team factors impact on TQM ele- Education
0 0 0 0 0 + 0 +
Knowledge
and skill
Quality
ments in a positive, negative or neutral manner. These
TQM Elements
0 0 0 0 0 + 0 +
Principles
choices are primarily made depending on project char- Problem
0 0 0 0 0 + 0 +
Solving Skills
acteristics that themselves impact on TQM elements. Quality
Organization
Steering 0 + 0 + – ++ 0 ++
Thus the impact on a speci® c TQM element is jointly Committee
determined by project team factors and project char- Quality Teams – ++ – ++ – ++ 0 ++
System
Measurement ++ 0 ++ 0 0 0 ++ 0
project, but may be neutral or positive for another type.
Finally, enveloping these two categories are the parent Goal Setting ++ – ++ – 0 0 ++ 0
(AEC) organizations, whose characteristics in¯ uence Impact Scale: ++, Positive; +, Weak Positive; 0, Neutral; –, Weak Negative; ––, Negative.
in this type of project, improvement or deterioration of choices can adversely impact on the TQM elements
the TQM environment is not dependent on the choices for this kind of project.
of project team factors. However, a slight improvement
in the environment can be expected if an organic struc- Environment. Leadership style and values do not have
ture is chosen over a mechanistic one. The improve- any impact on the TQM elements grouped under envi-
ment is slight because of the restraining effects imposed ronment. This is not different from what we have found
by the project characteristics. in Scenario 1. It can be concluded that these two team
factor choices cannot have any impact on the TQM
Knowledge and skill. The impacts of project team environment regardless of the type of project. (Note
factors, structure and control system on knowledge that leadership style and values are not really options
and skill are neutral for this type of project. The that can be chosen, but can be imposed or introduced
impacts of leadership style and values are, however, in a team by choosing team members with appropriate
expected to turn to positive with a switch from inclinations.) The other two project team factor choices
traditional to non-traditional choices, although the ± structure and control system ± are important, how-
traditional choices do not necessarily impact negatively. ever, and can have signi® cant impacts on the TQM
With a democratic leadership style, knowledge and skill environment. Non-traditional choices of these two fac-
is expected to improve slightly. Again, project charac- tors are expected to have strong positive impacts on the
teristics will not allow a signi® cant improvement. If, TQM environment for this kind of project.
however, values of the project team can be character-
ized as risk-taking and innovative as opposed to risk- Knowledge and skill, organization and systems. Here,
averse and stability-seeking, signi® cant improvement in non-traditional team factor choices are essential for
knowledge and skill can be expected despite unsuit- improved knowledge and skill, an effective TQM
able project characteristics. organization and an ef® cient system. For Scenario 2
type projects, characterized by a high degree of uncer-
Organization. Establishment and functioning of tainty, freedom from excessive rules and procedures
quality steering committees and teams will be posi- promotes effective TQM. It is important to recognize
tively affected with non-traditional team characteris- that, for this kind of project, a mechanistic structure
tics. Note, however, that for this kind of project, or a formal control system does not provide a matching
negative impacts on TQM organizational elements are combination. A mismatch is likely to result in nega-
rather weak with traditional team factor choices. tive impacts on the TQM elements.
Risk Averse
Uncertainty: High
Democratic
Mechanism
Risk Taking
Clan (trust)
Innovative
Autocratic
Commitment –– ++ –– ++ 0 0 0 0
Quality
TQM Elements
–– ++ –– ++ –– ++ –– ++
Principles
strong negatives; the impacts are either neutral or weak Problem
–– ++ –– ++ –– ++ –– ++
negative. Solving Skills
Quality
Organization
Steering –– ++ –– ++ –– ++ –– ++
Scenario 2 Committee
Quality Teams –– ++ –– ++ –– ++ –– ++
In this scenario, a hypothetical but realistic project for
Corrective
construction of a large privately-owned oil-re® nery Action
–– ++ –– ++ –– ++ –– ++
System