CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Team building is not just about putting together human resources and then deploying them on a project. It is the creation of a winning and collaborative spirit among team members so that they can work efficiently and in harmony with each other to achieve project goals. Team building process is probably the most neglected aspect of project management (Lewis, 1998). Many Project Managers in the UAE construction industry underestimate the importance of team building in their projects and believe that if they can control time, cost, and quality in a project, then the success of the project is guaranteed. At times, project managers neglect or mismanage the human resources allocated to their projects, and this ultimately impacts time, cost and quality constraints of their projects significantly. They fail to realize that human resource is just as important as the three constraints (time, cost and quality) for the successful delivery of a project. Indeed, it can bridge the gap that often exists between these three criteria. Successful project managers recognize the importance of people because they know that without people, no project would exist in the first place (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). Team building is essential to successful project delivery and long-term sustainable project management. Project management in true terms is about effective use of principles of microeconomics, i.e. effective utilization of available resources for successful completion of a project. A project team is a collection of individuals with different needs, backgrounds, and expertise. Teams are cross-functional, which is a characteristic of matrix and project management organizations (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). The project team members are like engine parts and when they work in harmony and close coordination, better results are achieved. This is so because each team member is able to visualize the ‘bigger picture’ of the project’s vision and resource utilization becomes more efficient and effective. Envisioning a ‘winning team’ requires a clear understanding of the stages a project team goes through in a project. There are five stages in the team development life cycle: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning or mourning (Moxon et. al. as stated in Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). During the ‘forming’ stage when the team members are brought together, their morals are high as they have been ‘chosen’ for the project; their commitment level is also high but the team efficiency is moderate as they are unaware of team dynamics. During the ‘storming’ stage team members start evaluating other team members’ views and challenge those that they don’t agree to with their own views, often causing a stir in the team. This leads to a reduced motivation and lowered efficiency of the team. During the ‘norming’ stage, the team starts to collaborate and respect others’ views despite their preconceived notions, leading to an open dialogue among the team members, resulting in an increased efficiency and increased team moral. During the ‘performing’ stage, there is an established trust and respect for each other’s views, resulting in high performance efficiency. Finally, during the ‘adjourning’ or ‘mourning’ stage when the project is near completion, there are two possibilities. The first is a high efficiency and performance of the team because of mutual bonding and harmony they’ve achieved during the project as a result of a good team building approach. Contrary to this, the second scenario is a reduced efficiency and low team morale because the team members don’t know what’s ahead for them in the future and they are sad about breaking up of the mutual bonding that was formed during the project and/or just because of a bad team building approach. This research work therefore focuses on team building practice in the delivery of construction projects.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Construction project teams are developed as soon as they enter into a new project. The goal is for a team to showcase its desirability of cooperative relationships through project performance. To ensure construction teams successfully complete their projects, it is necessary for construction companies to promote, measure, and evaluate their teams’ effectiveness. By all means, it is a challenging task to perform, but there are underlying reasons why construction companies need an effective measurement system for teams. As stated by Mohrman (1995), measurement of individual performance is still the focus of most research, and many appraisal and reward systems, despite the increase in team usage. According to Cantu (2007), some of the reasons for an effective measurement in teams are based on the probability that the more effectively a team functions, the more benefits they are likely to realize from the work team structure. Team structures alone are not sufficient to create successful developments in workplace efficacy, quality, productivity, and employee attitudes. In addition, cost related to supporting work team structure would help provide a return on investment (ROI) as viewed by the stakeholders.

When it comes to construction projects, the one thing that is of highest importance is the good collaboration between the people working on the job site… or in other words, quality teamwork. There are few groups that are always included in the work groups for the construction project: designers, architects, engineers, investors and contractors. The team members must share the vision to complete the project effectively and efficiently before the deadline. Combining the interests of every work group together is the ultimate goal of the project.

Important to mention is that bringing people together will not automatically make them effectively work as a team. That is why, before you even start the project, you have to select the team members. This study seeks to evaluate team building practice in the delivery of construction projects.

1.3 Research Objectives

The main thrust of the study is the impact of team building practice in the delivery of construction projects. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. To ascertain the extent to which organizational competitiveness and effectiveness are better achieved by teamwork than by individualism.

2. To determine the relationship between the team effectiveness factors and the project performance aspects on individual and team levels.

3. To determine the role of team effectiveness in construction project teams on the overall construction team and project performance.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What is the extent to which organizational competitiveness and effectiveness are better achieved by teamwork than by individualism?

2. What relationship exists between the team effectiveness factors and the project performance aspects on individual and team levels?

3. What is the role of team effectiveness in construction project teams on the overall construction team and project performance?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study contributes to the body of knowledge relating to project management and organizations, specifically on teams and team practices. Besides focusing on the performance aspects of the construction project, it is also predicted this study will assist project managers and construction team leaders in understanding what factors contribute to create an effective project team. The development of surveys to assess the level of team effectiveness in construction project teams adds significance to the available metrics for evaluating projects. The developed assessments tailored for construction teams can help identify the areas for improvement, as well as obtain valuable input from the owner on the overall team performance, based on the assessment of the project’s performance aspects.

On the other hand, this manuscript is anticipated to stimulate other project.com.ng/list-of-project-and-materials/">researchers to continue investigations pertaining to team effectiveness in construction project teams. From an academic viewpoint, this study will help balance group literature by examining team effectiveness and its role in contributing to team performance, and, thus, project success.

From a managerial perspective, this study will help top management and project leaders to improve their understanding of the relationships among team effectiveness and team performance. Consequently, they will know how to develop an effective project team by targeting specific team effectiveness factors and motivate their colleagues to work together to become a highly effective team.