Construction is one of the most challenging industrial environments for effective people management. It is characterised by geographically dispersed projects, production-oriented management styles, long working hours, high levels of staff turnover and employment practices grounded in the traditional 'personnel' paradigm. The employee resourcing function - recruitment, selection and deployment - is largely reactive and intuitive, and fails to draw on the longer-term benefits of strategic human resource management (SHRM). This book explores the challenges inherent in employee resourcing in-depth. It provides insights into the strategic considerations and operational approaches adopted by large construction organisations in deploying their human resources. It presents an improved framework for informed SHRM-style decision-making derived from an extensive study conducted within eight major construction organisations. This book provides a valuable resource for both students and practitioners interested in evaluating and improving current organisational practice.

Construction is one of the largest and most people-intensive industrial sectors. In many countries, however, construction is also one of the most highly criticized in terms of its employment practices and industrial relations. People and culture are too often seen as variables that must be manipulated in the cause of improved productivity. This important new work provides an essential corrective to the current literature by focusing on people and culture rather than sector efficiency. It presents the latest thinking from a diversity of perspectives derived from a major ESRC seminar series and invited contributions from leading researchers. Its interdisciplinary approach draws together industry and research and is international in its relevance. Through several multidisciplinary themes, People and Culture in Construction: explores the industry's labour market and the major influences on employment patterns examines how to improve the image and reality of the construction sector as an employer looks at the forces shaping the industry and implications for its stability considers the current composition of the workforce and the potential impacts of workforce diversification analyzes the impact of government targets and policies on construction working practices and culture investigates how to address the skills shortfall currently affecting the industry's performance.

Construction is one of the most challenging industrial environments for effective people management. It is characterised by geographically dispersed projects, production-oriented management styles, long working hours, high levels of staff turnover and employment practices grounded in the traditional 'personnel' paradigm. The employee resourcing function - recruitment, selection and deployment - is largely reactive and intuitive, and fails to draw on the longer-term benefits of strategic human resource management (SHRM). This book explores the challenges inherent in employee resourcing in-depth. It provides insights into the strategic considerations and operational approaches adopted by large construction organisations in deploying their human resources. It presents an improved framework for informed SHRM-style decision-making derived from an extensive study conducted within eight major construction organisations. This book provides a valuable resource for both students and practitioners interested in evaluating and improving current organisational practice.

The construction process, right through from planning and design to use and demolition, has a major impact on society. Traditionally, concern has been focused on its environmental impact and the quest for sustainability, but this has now extended into the wider remit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Essentially, this means that businesses must act (voluntarily) in a socially ethical manner by developing a policy that encompasses the core principles enshrined by CSR.

A unique presentation on a topic of emerging importance, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Construction Industry is essential reading for all built environment undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as well as CEOs and senior managers within construction businesses who may be about to embark on developing a CSR strategy.

Communication within project-based environments presents special challenges. Many of the problems that develop in construction projects are a result of both the temporary and inter-disciplinary nature of project teams. Each player having a different employer complicates the situation further. problems, featuring a number of examples related to the construction industry. Several non-typical perspectives on the process of communication are introduced, to encourage the reader to think about communication in a new way. 'Thinking with diagrams', for example, is useful for those such as architects who work primarily with visual communication media. This can be contrasted with the 'visual perception' approach, which emphasises the rational and scientific aspects of human biology. The combination of different perspectives highlights the diversity of communication problems facing those working within project-based environments.

The construction process, right through from planning and design to use and demolition, has a major impact on society. Traditionally, concern has been focused on its environmental impact and the quest for sustainability, but this has now extended into the wider remit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Essentially, this means that businesses must act (voluntarily) in a socially ethical manner by developing a policy that encompasses the core principles enshrined by CSR.

A unique presentation on a topic of emerging importance, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Construction Industry is essential reading for all built environment undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as well as CEOs and senior managers within construction businesses who may be about to embark on developing a CSR strategy.

The construction industry as a workplace is commonly seen as problematic for a number of reasons, including its worrying health and safety record, the instability of its workforce, and the poorly regulated nature of the sector. It is surprising therefore, that the sector and its working practices remain so under-theorised.

Now though, there is a growing interest in and awareness of the utility of an ethnographic approach to the construction industry. Ethnographic Research in the Construction Industry draws together in one volume a set of expert contributions which demonstrate how social science perspectives, rooted in ethnographic research on construction sites and with construction workers themselves, can generate fresh insights into the social, cultural and material ways that the industry and conditions of work in it are experienced and played out.

Each chapter develops discussion on the basis of an ethnographic case study to examine how theoretically informed ethnographic research can help us understand industry problems, and can challenge common perceptions of the construction industry. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, geography and organization studies, as well as those from the built environment and related applied fields.

The construction sector is one of the most complex and problematic arenas within which to manage people. As a result, the applicability of much mainstream human resource management (HRM) theory to this industry is limited. Indeed, the operational realities faced by construction organizations mean that all too often the needs of employees are subjugated by performance concerns. This has potentially dire consequences for those who work in the industry, for the firms that employ them and ultimately, for the prosperity and productivity of the industry as a whole. In this new edition of their leading text, Andrew Dainty and Martin Loosemore have assembled a collection of perspectives which critically examine key aspects of the HRM function in the context of contemporary construction organizations. Rather than simply update the previous edition, the aim of this second edition is to provide a more critical commentary on the ways in which the industry addresses the HRM function and how this affects those who work within the industry. To this end, the editors have gathered contributions from many of the leading thinkers within construction HRM to critique the perspectives presented in the first edition. Each contributor either tackles specific aspects of the HRM function, or provides a critical commentary on industry practice. The authors explain, using real-life case studies, the ways in which construction firms respond to the myriad pressures that they face through their HRM practices. Together the contributions encourage the reader to rethink the HRM function and its role in defining the employment relationship. This provides essential reading for students of construction and project management, and reflective practitioners who are interested in theoretically informed insights into industry practice and its implications.

Construction is one of the largest and most people-intensive industrial sectors. In many countries, however, construction is also one of the most highly criticized in terms of its employment practices and industrial relations. People and culture are too often seen as variables that must be manipulated in the cause of improved productivity. This important new work provides an essential corrective to the current literature by focusing on people and culture rather than sector efficiency. It presents the latest thinking from a diversity of perspectives derived from a major ESRC seminar series and invited contributions from leading researchers. Its interdisciplinary approach draws together industry and research and is international in its relevance. Through several multidisciplinary themes, People and Culture in Construction: explores the industry's labour market and the major influences on employment patterns examines how to improve the image and reality of the construction sector as an employer looks at the forces shaping the industry and implications for its stability considers the current composition of the workforce and the potential impacts of workforce diversification analyzes the impact of government targets and policies on construction working practices and culture investigates how to address the skills shortfall currently affecting the industry's performance.

Communication within project-based environments presents special challenges. Many of the problems that develop in construction projects are a result of both the temporary and inter-disciplinary nature of project teams. Each player having a different employer complicates the situation further.This book offers practical guidance on possible solutions to communication problems, featuring a number of examples related to the construction industry. Several non-typical perspectives on the process of communication are introduced, to encourage the reader to think about communication in a new way. 'Thinking with diagrams', for example, is useful for those such as architects who work primarily with visual communication media. This can be contrasted with the 'visual perception' approach, which emphasises the rational and scientific aspects of human biology. The combination of different perspectives highlights the diversity of communication problems facing those working within project-based environments.

The construction industry as a workplace is commonly seen as problematic for a number of reasons, including its worrying health and safety record, the instability of its workforce, and the poorly regulated nature of the sector. It is surprising therefore, that the sector and its working practices remain so under-theorised.

Now though, there is a growing interest in and awareness of the utility of an ethnographic approach to the construction industry. Ethnographic Research in the Construction Industry draws together in one volume a set of expert contributions which demonstrate how social science perspectives, rooted in ethnographic research on construction sites and with construction workers themselves, can generate fresh insights into the social, cultural and material ways that the industry and conditions of work in it are experienced and played out.

Each chapter develops discussion on the basis of an ethnographic case study to examine how theoretically informed ethnographic research can help us understand industry problems, and can challenge common perceptions of the construction industry. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, geography and organization studies, as well as those from the built environment and related applied fields.

The construction sector is one of the most complex and problematic arenas within which to manage people. As a result, the applicability of much mainstream human resource management (HRM) theory to this industry is limited. Indeed, the operational realities faced by construction organizations mean that all too often the needs of employees are subjugated by performance concerns. This has potentially dire consequences for those who work in the industry, for the firms that employ them and ultimately, for the prosperity and productivity of the industry as a whole. In this new edition of their leading text, Andrew Dainty and Martin Loosemore have assembled a collection of perspectives which critically examine key aspects of the HRM function in the context of contemporary construction organizations. Rather than simply update the previous edition, the aim of this second edition is to provide a more critical commentary on the ways in which the industry addresses the HRM function and how this affects those who work within the industry. To this end, the editors have gathered contributions from many of the leading thinkers within construction HRM to critique the perspectives presented in the first edition. Each contributor either tackles specific aspects of the HRM function, or provides a critical commentary on industry practice. The authors explain, using real-life case studies, the ways in which construction firms respond to the myriad pressures that they face through their HRM practices. Together the contributions encourage the reader to rethink the HRM function and its role in defining the employment relationship. This provides essential reading for students of construction and project management, and reflective practitioners who are interested in theoretically informed insights into industry practice and its implications.