Introduction
Construction is a field that requires efficiency and hard work. It is a field that has the potential to improve a nation’s economy by a great percentage (Keith 2008 p 3). This paper is literature review that seeks to give appropriate leadership skills for construction management. Effective ways for a construction manager to achieve success are given with its relation to customer satisfaction and employee performance. Roles and ethics that should be inculcated in management of a construction company are given to a fine detail.
Proper recommendations towards achieving this are also highlighted. The impact of proper and efficient leadership together with the consequential output is discussed at length. The Caledonian Construction Company manager was recently given a report saying that things are not the same way they were. He was told that there was poor retention of employees and performance was low thus affecting the company’s finances. This paper seeks to give solutions to such kind of problems affecting most construction companies. The solutions given are in relevance to high integrity and informative leadership. The solution given seek to improve on the following; employee performance, employee satisfaction and giving the customer quality services.
Literature review
In a construction company the manager holds the position to coordinate, plan and control the project from the start to finish. A construction manager is responsible to making sure that customer requirement are met to the later and ensuring that the project is financially possible according to the customers budget. A savvy construction manager should be well versed in matters of construction in order to give quality output (LLC 2014 p 80). During the undertaking of any project the construction manger is responsible to ensure the public is safe, employees are satisfied with the working conditions and the employees give the best performance (SAICE 2012 p 93). Management does not only entail giving orders and duties on what should be done but also includes good leadership skills that impact influence and at the same time generates respect for the person in charge (Adamchik 2002 p 38). A good manager should be able to bring out the best from his team and make relations at work conducive for every person.
Working in the construction industry involves working with different personnel each with a different skill set and a different way of thinking. Being a manager in this field requires flexibility and attending to the interests of all parties from the customer to the employees (Frost 2014 p 711). In a situation where several parties have vested interests a good manager is supposed to address the interests of all involved parties without compromising quality and causing mistrust. In her book, “on the edge the art of high impact leadership,” Alison (2011 p 102), states that a good leader should be tolerant, possesses the ability to work with different people, be able to learn quickly and develops strong channels for communication while building trust. From Alison’s statement it can be said that a good construction manager should exhibit all the named qualities in order to give a quality feedback to the customer. A manger in the construction industry finds working with several contractors a fact that demand patience, trust and integrity.
A good leader should be a good decision maker. His decision should be well informed and not speculative. Decision making in the construction industry is critical because all the decision made affect the community and the interested parties. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2014), many managers in construction projects like to work from the main office as opposed to working from the construction site. The bureau further states that it is paramount for construction manager to work from the project site because there daily and timely decisions about the project are made. By working from the project site the manager is able to assess the performance of his employees and respond quicker to emergencies. Most mangers shy away from consulting seeing it as demeaning to the position they hold. Decisions that are made after consultations most of the time bring out the best because the decisions attend to the interests of the customer, the customer and the employee (Mariko 2006 p 15). A savvy manager has impeccable leadership qualities that work towards improving the welfare of the company, customer and employees*. While making decisions a good leader does not do what is the norm but tries to be original and different hence having an edge over the other companies. He seeks to impact positive influence and rejuvenating his team’s morale. Huber (2002 p 7-8) state that a good leader has to be good in decision making, that is, one who makes informed and influential decisions. He needs to think before making a decision by collecting data over time to support his decision. If the decision is too difficult he does not feel embarrassed to consult and find another’s point of view.
Consistency in the construction industry should be given high priority. Consistency gives the customer an experience he can always relate to every time he seeks services from a particular company. Consistency can be seen through a number of factors like, quality, customer service, after sale services and the attending employees. Consistency in quality gives the customer a standard of what to expect every time he seeks service form a particular company. Customer service is considered to the way a customer is treated when he contacts the company. Provision of after sell services are good for a company because good rapport is created between the company and customer. A customer should not be given after sell services then on the next day the service is withdrawn. Proper handling of the customer with respects and modesty helps in creating amicable relationships between the customer and the company. This will help in maintaining the customer because he knows that he will be awarded the respect he deserves. The manger should make sure that his team observes proper ethics when dealing with a client.
Retention of employees is also important. Retention of employees is the ability of an organization to keep its employees. Retention of employees helps in maintaining the workforce in an organization. There should be a standard to show the hard working employees from the ones who do not put in much effort. Many things can lead to a company not retaining its employees. The factors include how much the employees are motivated, recognized for their hard work, payment and the relationship between the employee and the management. A good manager should seek to address the employees’ needs.
A good leader should know when to take credit and when to give credit. It is not always about you as the manager. Construction is a field that has many people working towards the same goal. A construction manager wills work with an architect and a contractor. Knowing how to give credit improves on the morale of workmates hence people give their best during a project. Lee (2014) conjures that everyone wants to be recognized at some point in time. By recognizing a person’s efforts trust is built and morale is improved. A good manager with good leadership skills should always recognize when members of his team do something nice. Awarding hard working employees raises the morale of a particular employee and increases the level of competency at the work place. Improving competency and morale means that the employees will remain working at the firm because they are encouraged and they find it as a conducive place to grow their careers.
The relationship between workers at the work place determines a lot. In construction most differences come up while working at site. The relationship between the manger and his employees should be good in order for him to execute his duties well. Communication helps a big deal in maintaining good relations among work mates. The manager should be able to solve conflicts without favor or bias. As a leader a good manager should know how he or she is viewed in the organization (Othman 2013 p 95). A good leader needs to know the company’s scorecard and how he or she is perceived by his peers and constantly monitors how his team perceives them (Brandon & Seldman 2007 p 46). A good manager should always know how to maintain and uphold image and reputation. By maintaining open communication with his team and peers a good leader is able to find out the corporate buzz and know what is happening in the company. Good interpersonal relations will lead to better cohesion in the work place hence reducing misunderstanding.
Construction is a business that has a lot of money hence the issue of integrity arises. A company’s finance may be at risk if ethic and integrity are not in play. A savvy manager needs to work with ethics, always doing the right thing and advancing his or her career through moral standards (Summers 2005 p 117). As a manager in construction dealing with many people at once during a project is normal but this people can be maintained only by trust. A good leader should make people trust in his ideas and know that he never takes unfair advantage over unknowing customer or colleagues. He should be known as trustworthy and honest in order to secure projects that involve a lot of money. A good leader should always give performance and integrity at the same time. Management of money at the company also requires accountability and integrity. The company should be able to realize a profit and not a loss. The work of the manager is to ensure that the company secures tender for construction and is in full operation to realize its potential. A leader should be transparent in matter of money so that the organization knows what amount of money was used in projects and how much profit was realized afterwards.
Image is also important to a construction manager. A construction manager should cultivate an image of power and influence. Dealing with investors and other stake holders a good manager needs to look the part. It is said that first impression matters and for a construction manager it is all that counts. In construction most project cost a lot of money and the only way to convince at first impression is if you look the part of a manager. Looking the part means paying attention to your body language and actions making sure you don’t give out wrong signals to a potential investor or client. To make this happen a good manager with good leadership skills should make time to attend meeting with his seniors and making sure he is noted by giving his point of view. He should be able to take initiative to dispel any mistrust and cultivate communication while practicing ethics, fairness and firmness.
In construction especially in projects that are involved with a lot of money sabotage is common. People who are not straight forward may want to sabotage a person for personal gain or for the money. Sabotage is mostly propelled by high levels of competency among personnel in the organization. Sabotage can also be between two organizations competing to win over a project. A good leader should seek to remove all elements of sabotage from his team. Giving proper advice and enhancing proper ethics in his team helps create an environment that is sabotage free. RM. Say that competition among individuals is high for resources, titles, and decision making. A good leader avoids sabotage and finds a way to avoid such acts. A good leader gives firm response to acts of sabotage and shows he can handle himself in case he is attacked by any. Firmness and an image of integrity help in warding off schemes of sabotage.
Conclusion
As revealed by the various case studies, Caledonian construction organization based in central Scotland has some degree of controversy concerning the form of leadership. This has greatly influenced the overall performance. It is important to note that, the success of any organization rest heavily on the prompt management skills and the compatibility of its structure. The main purpose of the construction management is to conform to the given standards and requirements. These purposes indicate how the management role is significant for the successful implementation of quality work within the organization. In construction management, leaders need to continually understand that they are the main part of the dynamics of change process.
Recommendation
As observed, the realization of the intended construction project brings together diversity of people and other stakeholders. The project manager’s responsibility should be mainly to manage the financial, technical and other schedule requirements of the project. He/she should carry out these exercises in a manner that that will bring the project within the budget, technical quality and time limit provided. Subsequently, the project manager is ultimately responsible for the productivity of the team. Therefore, it is recommended that the manger should get focused and concerned basically with the reduction of variations by developing quality systems. This is because; mangers with strong positive influence have substantial leadership competence. In order for the company to realize the positive kind of change, three main ideal efforts must be put in place. These efforts include; procedural planning, visionary leadership and inductive learning to the team. In real sense, the change would involve the participation of all these types.
The change may proceed as informal, inductive and implicit depending on the progress through planning, vision and learning. This will require the individual managers and cooperate at the unit to acquire and possess sufficient commitment and skills. The ideology of successful leadership should also be considered as a collective phenomenon that requires total organization commitment. The manager in the organization also needs to view management as a natural part of organization growth that requires collaboration with the entire team. This trend will ensure that essential processes of construction in the organization are implemented. The mangers must also ensure that they champion new ideas and sustain them within the organization. It is important for leaders to understand for the organization management to accept some of the critical objectives and preferences that are provided by other team members. In case these recommendations are seriously taken by the company, it is virtually noticeable that a great success will be realized.
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