The construction industry could enormously benefit from the young graduates starting their profes... more The construction industry could enormously benefit from the young graduates starting their professional journey well equipped with the necessary ethical principles. This study mainly intended to see if there is a relationship between the personalities of construction engineering students and their views of ethics in the construction industry. It evaluated their perceptions of ethical practices in the industry along with their reactions to an unethical scenario of cost inflating payment games in a company. A total of 127 students from across three universities, University of Kansas, Arizona State University and University of North Carolina at Charlotte, participated in the study. The results showed that the students’ views of ethical principles are indeed related to some of their personality descriptors.
AbstractThe best-value (BV) procurement method has been increasingly used by owners in the contex... more AbstractThe best-value (BV) procurement method has been increasingly used by owners in the context of design–bid–build (DBB) project delivery. The objective of this study was to determine whether a...
The construction trades seek strategies to overcome the labor shortages currently affecting the m... more The construction trades seek strategies to overcome the labor shortages currently affecting the marketplace. One innovative tool that has gained increased attention is the application of human dimension assessments from the social sciences to the construction trades. For example, this study utilized three human dimension measures – assessments of personality, emotional intelligence, and behavioral tendencies – in the context of project managers (PMs) in the sheet metal and air conditioning trades. This preliminary study assessed 42 PMs from across the United States. The direct supervisors of each PM completed a detailed performance review which was then used to identify the absolute top performers “cream of the crop” from this nationwide pilot study. Analysis revealed several statistically significant differences between the Top-Performing PMs and the remaining participants. Such information is beneficial to the specialty trades in several ways: First, moving toward a nationwide ben...
The construction industry is an industry that relies heavily on labor and skilled personnel. Whil... more The construction industry is an industry that relies heavily on labor and skilled personnel. While workforce shortage is currently increasing due to current market conditions and shifting demographics. Innovative human resource management practices, such as the use of human factor measurements should be developed to overcome the current and future challenges. The study developed a Human Factor (HF) instrument with three components: personality inventory, emotional intelligence, and behavioral measurement. 182 participants within four job roles Project Managers (PMs), Field Leaders (FLs), Estimators (ESTs), and Detailers (VDCs) from the sheet and metal contractors have taken the HF instrument. Comparison results showed that the four job roles have several differences in HF, including FLs had higher Modesty than PMs; FLs had lower Openness to Experience than VDCs; FLs had higher Greed-Avoidance, lower Fairness, and lower Inquisitiveness than ESTs; PMs had higher Dependence, higher Sen...
International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 2021
The implementation of alternative project delivery methods (APDMs) in the architecture, engineeri... more The implementation of alternative project delivery methods (APDMs) in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has increased in recent years. Yet implementation of these methods requires an organizational change effort. One of the challenges facing organizations that are implementing organizational change initiatives is employee resistance to change. The aim of this study was to investigate AEC employees’ reactions to the adoption of APDMs and to examine the methods used to communicate the APDM adoption to employees. To achieve the aim, survey responses were collected from 140 respondents across AEC owner organizations in the United States. Results indicate that employees in AEC owner organizations react favorably to adopting a change in their project delivery systems. Results further reveal that increasing the use of organizational change management (OCM) practices is related to decreased employee resistance to change. Surprisingly, employee reactions do not mediate the relationship between OCM practices and APDM adoption. The findings also indicate that the most effective ways to disseminate change messages to employees are presentations, on-the-job support, and meetings. The findings of this study may be useful for change practitioners in which employees’ reactions toward the changes in project delivery methods are more supportive than resistive to change.
International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 2020
Public institutions seek to maintain their built-environment assets by allocating sizable budgets... more Public institutions seek to maintain their built-environment assets by allocating sizable budgets to small construction projects that renovate or expand upon existing facilities. Small building pro...
In today's rapidly evolving market, effective organizational change adoption has become a core co... more In today's rapidly evolving market, effective organizational change adoption has become a core competency of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms in order to maintain their competitive advantage. Firms that more effectively manage organizational change adoption can position themselves as early adopters and are able to expend less resources in making the transition. The objective of this study was to collect a global sample of organizational change initiatives across the AEC industry in order to identify whether specific change management practices have a direct relationship with successful change adoption. Based on a data sample of 237 organization-level change initiatives, the results of this study establish that there are definitive-and learnable-change management practices that AEC firms can implement to increase the success of their change initiatives. The global data sample within this study is a meaningful contribution to the AEC literature, which is primarily consists of case-based studies that are limited to a single type of organizational change event. Further, this study contributes practical action steps for industry professionals to more effectively manage the adoption of new technologies, management strategies, and business practices within their organizations Research Details
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 2021
PurposeThe Project Management Body of Knowledge recommends the use of issue logs as a best practi... more PurposeThe Project Management Body of Knowledge recommends the use of issue logs as a best practice to minimize the potential project cost and schedule growth. Although the broader topic of project control has been widely studied in the construction literature, the specific application of issue logs has remained relatively understudied. This study aims to analyze the extent and consistency with which construction teams utilize issue logs and the corresponding project performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA dataset of 5,635 individual issues was gathered from the final issue logs of 881 small building projects delivered via the design–bid–build method. Differences between groups were determined using the Kruskal–Wallis H test with post hoc testing via the Mann–Whitney U test with pairwise comparison.FindingsThe results showed that, on average, project teams who used issue logs to a greater extent achieved a 3.1 to 4.3% reduction in cost growth and a 5.3 to 12.3% reduction i...
The architecture, engineering, and construction industry is introduced to a lot of innovations in... more The architecture, engineering, and construction industry is introduced to a lot of innovations in various areas such as technology, management process, and business structure. The industry is rapidly adopting changes to cope with the current market. Many change initiatives fail to achieve their intended outcomes due to multiple barriers such as employee resistance to change. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between various employee reactions to change initiative and successful adoption of that change, using a continuum of eight observable employee reactions. The study collected a data set of 447 cases of organization-wide changes from AEC firms across North America. The results showed that a more favorable employee reaction to change is positively correlated with successful adoption of change. Further analysis considered each reaction separately to find which behavioral responses are most associated with successful change adoption. A key finding was that reactions of reluctant compliance, passive avoidance, and lack of participation were most strongly associated with negative change adoption. This leads to an interesting contribution for practitioners, because this finding suggests that organizations may need to be wary of these more subtle behavioral reactions than more overt opposition, argumentation, obstruction, and undermining actions.
The construction industry could enormously benefit from the young graduates starting their profes... more The construction industry could enormously benefit from the young graduates starting their professional journey well equipped with the necessary ethical principles. This study mainly intended to see if there is a relationship between the personalities of construction engineering students and their views of ethics in the construction industry. It evaluated their perceptions of ethical practices in the industry along with their reactions to an unethical scenario of cost inflating payment games in a company. A total of 127 students from across three universities, University of Kansas, Arizona State University and University of North Carolina at Charlotte, participated in the study. The results showed that the students’ views of ethical principles are indeed related to some of their personality descriptors.
AbstractThe best-value (BV) procurement method has been increasingly used by owners in the contex... more AbstractThe best-value (BV) procurement method has been increasingly used by owners in the context of design–bid–build (DBB) project delivery. The objective of this study was to determine whether a...
The construction trades seek strategies to overcome the labor shortages currently affecting the m... more The construction trades seek strategies to overcome the labor shortages currently affecting the marketplace. One innovative tool that has gained increased attention is the application of human dimension assessments from the social sciences to the construction trades. For example, this study utilized three human dimension measures – assessments of personality, emotional intelligence, and behavioral tendencies – in the context of project managers (PMs) in the sheet metal and air conditioning trades. This preliminary study assessed 42 PMs from across the United States. The direct supervisors of each PM completed a detailed performance review which was then used to identify the absolute top performers “cream of the crop” from this nationwide pilot study. Analysis revealed several statistically significant differences between the Top-Performing PMs and the remaining participants. Such information is beneficial to the specialty trades in several ways: First, moving toward a nationwide ben...
The construction industry is an industry that relies heavily on labor and skilled personnel. Whil... more The construction industry is an industry that relies heavily on labor and skilled personnel. While workforce shortage is currently increasing due to current market conditions and shifting demographics. Innovative human resource management practices, such as the use of human factor measurements should be developed to overcome the current and future challenges. The study developed a Human Factor (HF) instrument with three components: personality inventory, emotional intelligence, and behavioral measurement. 182 participants within four job roles Project Managers (PMs), Field Leaders (FLs), Estimators (ESTs), and Detailers (VDCs) from the sheet and metal contractors have taken the HF instrument. Comparison results showed that the four job roles have several differences in HF, including FLs had higher Modesty than PMs; FLs had lower Openness to Experience than VDCs; FLs had higher Greed-Avoidance, lower Fairness, and lower Inquisitiveness than ESTs; PMs had higher Dependence, higher Sen...
International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 2021
The implementation of alternative project delivery methods (APDMs) in the architecture, engineeri... more The implementation of alternative project delivery methods (APDMs) in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has increased in recent years. Yet implementation of these methods requires an organizational change effort. One of the challenges facing organizations that are implementing organizational change initiatives is employee resistance to change. The aim of this study was to investigate AEC employees’ reactions to the adoption of APDMs and to examine the methods used to communicate the APDM adoption to employees. To achieve the aim, survey responses were collected from 140 respondents across AEC owner organizations in the United States. Results indicate that employees in AEC owner organizations react favorably to adopting a change in their project delivery systems. Results further reveal that increasing the use of organizational change management (OCM) practices is related to decreased employee resistance to change. Surprisingly, employee reactions do not mediate the relationship between OCM practices and APDM adoption. The findings also indicate that the most effective ways to disseminate change messages to employees are presentations, on-the-job support, and meetings. The findings of this study may be useful for change practitioners in which employees’ reactions toward the changes in project delivery methods are more supportive than resistive to change.
International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 2020
Public institutions seek to maintain their built-environment assets by allocating sizable budgets... more Public institutions seek to maintain their built-environment assets by allocating sizable budgets to small construction projects that renovate or expand upon existing facilities. Small building pro...
In today's rapidly evolving market, effective organizational change adoption has become a core co... more In today's rapidly evolving market, effective organizational change adoption has become a core competency of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms in order to maintain their competitive advantage. Firms that more effectively manage organizational change adoption can position themselves as early adopters and are able to expend less resources in making the transition. The objective of this study was to collect a global sample of organizational change initiatives across the AEC industry in order to identify whether specific change management practices have a direct relationship with successful change adoption. Based on a data sample of 237 organization-level change initiatives, the results of this study establish that there are definitive-and learnable-change management practices that AEC firms can implement to increase the success of their change initiatives. The global data sample within this study is a meaningful contribution to the AEC literature, which is primarily consists of case-based studies that are limited to a single type of organizational change event. Further, this study contributes practical action steps for industry professionals to more effectively manage the adoption of new technologies, management strategies, and business practices within their organizations Research Details
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 2021
PurposeThe Project Management Body of Knowledge recommends the use of issue logs as a best practi... more PurposeThe Project Management Body of Knowledge recommends the use of issue logs as a best practice to minimize the potential project cost and schedule growth. Although the broader topic of project control has been widely studied in the construction literature, the specific application of issue logs has remained relatively understudied. This study aims to analyze the extent and consistency with which construction teams utilize issue logs and the corresponding project performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA dataset of 5,635 individual issues was gathered from the final issue logs of 881 small building projects delivered via the design–bid–build method. Differences between groups were determined using the Kruskal–Wallis H test with post hoc testing via the Mann–Whitney U test with pairwise comparison.FindingsThe results showed that, on average, project teams who used issue logs to a greater extent achieved a 3.1 to 4.3% reduction in cost growth and a 5.3 to 12.3% reduction i...
The architecture, engineering, and construction industry is introduced to a lot of innovations in... more The architecture, engineering, and construction industry is introduced to a lot of innovations in various areas such as technology, management process, and business structure. The industry is rapidly adopting changes to cope with the current market. Many change initiatives fail to achieve their intended outcomes due to multiple barriers such as employee resistance to change. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between various employee reactions to change initiative and successful adoption of that change, using a continuum of eight observable employee reactions. The study collected a data set of 447 cases of organization-wide changes from AEC firms across North America. The results showed that a more favorable employee reaction to change is positively correlated with successful adoption of change. Further analysis considered each reaction separately to find which behavioral responses are most associated with successful change adoption. A key finding was that reactions of reluctant compliance, passive avoidance, and lack of participation were most strongly associated with negative change adoption. This leads to an interesting contribution for practitioners, because this finding suggests that organizations may need to be wary of these more subtle behavioral reactions than more overt opposition, argumentation, obstruction, and undermining actions.
Uploads
Papers by Brian Lines