Communication and governance in the building process

Abstract

Through a proposed interpretative framework the relationship between forms of transactional governance and type of information processing and communication media is analysed. Building projects are successfully completed through the development of federative mechanisms, such as cooperation, informal roles and rules, that complement and circumvent the hierarchical and formal provisions of standard contracts. At present there is a dislocation between the pattern of roles and rules advocated by standard contracts and that observed in practice. During the design and engineering process, federative mechanisms are supported by the exchange of qualitative and uncertain information through personal communication media such as group meetings and direct contacts. The focus of new information technologies should be broadened from controlling contractual compliance to facilitating communication and interaction among project participants.Building Process, Transactional Organizations, Contracts, Communication Factors, Information Technology,

Nigeria’s construction industry: barriers to effective communication

“…Empirical evidence from a previous study suggests that ineffective communication among stakeholders is a significant factor responsible for poor performance of construction projects (Atkinson, 2002;Ng et al, 2004). In a similar vein, Meng Pietroforte (1997) proposed a framework for analysing the contractual process and information requirement in the building process. It was revealed that differences in the perception of project team members and nature of information affects information flow.…”

Methods of coordination in managing the design process of refurbishment projects

“…As the design process has a large number of participants and a high degree of interdependence of building design, the demand for informal contact is increased ( Pietroforte, 1997 ). The uncertain nature of refurbishment projects requires an approach that is more fl exible.…”

Alignment between ICT and communication in construction projects

“…Conflicts of interests increase the importance of information as a source of power in negotiations and make people more secretive with it. Parties can manipulate information in their own favour (Loosemore, 1999;Pietroforte, 1997). The result can be a lack of open communication or sending unclear or uninformative messages.…”

“…In construction projects, efficient communication is often made difficult by the different frames of reference of its participants (Pietroforte, 1997). The different frames of reference are the result of the different professional background of the parties involved (Cheng et al, 2001;Moore and Dainty, 2001).…”

“…The result is a huge amount of information that has to be communicated (Dawood et al, 2002;Kornelius and Wamelink, 1998;Pietroforte, 1997). Communication in construction is therefore a matter of vital importance (e.g., Dawood et al, 2002;Mohamed and Stewart, 2003;Thorpe and Mead, 2001).…”