teamwork in civil engineering – past, present and future in civil... · chapter 1 introduction...

TEAMWORK IN CIVIL ENGINEERING – PAST, PRESENT AND

FUTURE

MARLENE CLARISSA THOMAS LIKUP

This project is submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering with Honours

(Civil Engineering)

Faculty of Engineering

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

2006

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my dearest supervisor, Madam Ting Sim Nee,

who has contributed greatly in my research on teamwork in civil engineering – past,

present and future. I am also extremely thankful to her invaluable guidance throughout

this research that has helped me tremendously in enhancing the quality of this study.

I should also like to express my appreciation to my parents who have been very caring

and supportive in my studies, and even gave some sound comments and suggestions

related to this research.

Lastly, many thanks are extended to the well-respected respondents who have given their

precious time and highly valued opinions on this research, and also to all my dear friends

who have generously given their assistance and support throughout my research.

iii

ABSTRACT

This study is about the past, present and future teamwork in the civil engineering

field. Since the topic of this study is very broad, the study will cover on organization

structures, teamwork, and Team Development Model (TDM). In the research on the

past organization structure of any civil engineering firm, it is found that majority

practiced functional organization, whereas now, more and more matrix organization

is practiced in the civil engineering organization structure. Nevertheless, in the past,

the organization structure had more flaws than the current organization structure, and

will keep on improving. The future organization structure is predicted to be either in a

projectized form or still in a matrix form. Meanwhile, the teamwork in the past is

found to be not as effective as the current teamwork practiced in the civil engineering

industry. In the future, it is anticipated that teamwork could be getting better and will

be done virtually at any time, any place and on any challenge. The method used for

my research is by doing background studies, SWOT analysis, then coming out with

results, discussion, recommendation and conclusion. Next, my research on the TDM

showed that this general model does not necessarily help in improving the team’s

performance therefore another TDM is developed to cater for the slight imperfections

of the general model. With the help of the new TDM, it should be able to assist the

team in attaining the optimum teamwork in the civil engineering world.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content Page

TITLE PAGE i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

ABSTRAK iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF TABLES x

LIST OF FIGURES xiii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 General 1

1.2 Definition of Team & Teamwork 4

1.3 Team Skills 6

1.4 Teamwork Organization Structure 8

1.5 Problem Statement 10

1.6 Aim & Objectives 12

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 General 13

2.2 Teamwork in the Past 14

vi

2.3 Teamwork in the Present 20

2.4 Organization Structure of Teamwork in the Present 23

2.5 Team Development 31

2.6 Selection of Team Members 39

2.7 Teamwork in the Future 42

2.8 Organization Structure of Teamwork in the Future 44

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 General 55

3.2 Background Studies 56

3.3 SWOT Analysis 57

3.4 Survey Questionnaire 58

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS

4.1 General 70

4.2 CASE STUDY 1: CONSULTANT A

4.2.1 Past Organization Structure 71

4.2.2 Past Teamwork 72

4.2.3 Present Organization Structure 72

4.2.4 Present Teamwork 73

4.2.5 Future Team, Teamwork & Organization Structure 74

4.2.6 How To Make Teams Better 75

vii

4.3 CASE STUDY 2: CONSULTANT B







4.4 CASE STUDY 3: CONSULTANT C







4.5 CASE STUDY 4: CONTRACTOR A







viii

4.6 CASE STUDY 5: CONTRACTOR B







4.7 CASE STUDY 5: CONTRACTOR B







CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Past Organization VS Present Organization 111

5.1.1 Strengths 112

5.1.2 Weaknesses 114

5.1.3 Opportunities 117

5.1.4 Threats 119

5.2 Past Teamwork VS Present Teamwork 120

ix

5.2.1 Strengths 120

5.2.2 Weaknesses 121

5.3 How to Make Teams Better 123

5.3.1 Improvements Required in the TDM 126

5.4 Recommendations 127

5.4.1 Proposed Changes in the TDM 128

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 131

6.1 Selection of the Optimum Organization Structure 132

6.2 Evolvement of Teamwork from Past to Present 133

REFERENCES 135

APPENDIX 138

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LIST OF TABLE

Table Page

2.1 What Employers Want 20

2.2 Systems Thinking Steps 51

2.3 Aerospace Team Map Element Definitions 52

2.4 Systems Thinking Steps and the TAI Team Map 53

4.1 SWOT Analysis on Past Organization Structure (Case Study 1) 71

4.2 Strengths & Weaknesses of Past Teamwork (Case Study 1) 72

4.3 SWOT Analysis on Present Organization Structure (Case Study 1) 73

4.4 Strengths & Weaknesses of Present Teamwork (Case Study 1) 74

4.5 Strengths & Weaknesses of Future Organization Structure

(Case Study 1)

74

4.6 Future Trend of Team, Teamwork & Organization Structure

(Case Study 1)

75






(Case Study 2)

80

xi


(Case Study 2)

81






(Case Study 3)

88


(Case Study 3)

89






(Case Study 4)

95


(Case Study 4)

96




xii



(Case Study 5)

102


(Case Study 5)

103




(Case Study 6)

108


(Case Study 6)

108

5.1 Organization Structure & Teamwork –Past, Present & Future 122

xiii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1.1 Example of a functional organization 8

1.2 Example of a project organization 9

1.3 Example of a matrix organization 9

2.1 Primitive organization 17

2.2 Functional organization 17

2.3 A typical large consulting firm’s head office organization 27

2.4 A typical resident engineer’s organization structure 28

2.5 Team Development Stages 33

2.6 Tuckman’s initial model 36

2.7 The Punctuated Equilibrium Model of Group Development 38

2.8 The new organization structure 46

2.9 The Aerospace Team Map 52

5.1 Proposed Team Development Model 128

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL

As mentioned by Ricketts et al (2004), civil engineering is that field of

engineering concerned with planning, design and construction of natural resource

development, regional and local water supply and storm water facilities, waste

management facilities, transportation facilities, tunnels, buildings, bridges, and other

structures for the needs of people. Persons who are qualified by education and

experience and who meet the stated requirements for practicing the profession of civil

engineering are called civil engineers.

Hence, for the efficient execution of the various components (design and

construction) of a civil engineering project, a superior organization is highly

desirable. For example, in design, the various specialists required should form a

design team, to contribute their knowledge and skills to the project (Ricketts et al,

2004). That is why project management is essentially an organizational innovation,

which is the identification of a person or small team responsible for ensuring the

effective delivery of the project mission for the client.

2

According to Gray and Larson (2006), the definition of project management is

that, it provides people with a powerful set of tools that improves their ability to plan,

implement, and manage activities to accomplish specific organizational objectives.

However, what is a project? A project is a complex, non-routine, one-time

effort limited by time, budget, resources, and performance specifications designed to

meet customer needs (Gray and Larson, 2006). Civil engineering projects may be

considered to have four characteristics:

Projects come in various shapes, sizes, complexities and purposes.

Each project is unique.

Each project works through schedules and budgets to produce a

specified result.

The team of people involved in each project is diverse.

Each project goes through a project life cycle from its beginning to its final

completion. The stages in this life cycle according to Gray and Larson (2006) are:

1. Defining stage: Specifications of the project are defined; project objectives are

established; teams are formed; major responsibilities are assigned.

3

2. Planning stage: The level of effort increases, and plans are developed to

determine what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will

benefit, what quality level should be maintained, and what the budget will be.

3. Executing stage: A major portion of the work takes place – both physical and

mental. The physical product is produced (a bridge, a report, a software program).

Time, cost, and specification measures are used for control.

4. Delivering stage: Includes the two activities: delivering the project product to the

customer and redeploying project resources. Delivery of the project might include

customer training and transferring documents. Redeployment usually involves

releasing project equipment/materials to other projects and finding new

assignments for team members.

All these stages are critical to the completion of a project. However, some

projects might not even make it to the completion or even be a success. To succeed in

a project, how an individual or a group of people handle management is most

important.

Moreover, Babcock (1996) quoted from Baker, Murphy and Fisher (Anon 1),

the definition of project success as “If a project meets the technical performance

specifications and/or mission to be performed, and if there is a high level of

satisfaction concerning the project outcome among: key people in parent organization

(in which project is carried out), key people in the client organization, key people on

4

the project team, and key users or clientele of the project effort, the project is

considered an overall success.”

However, as suggested by Ritz (1994), successful construction project

execution is virtually impossible unless you have an effective communication system.

Good construction managers with natural flair for human relations consistently had

better projects than those without it. Besides, the next most important human relations

problem area is the field team’s working relationships with each other and with the

rest of the company. Ritz (1994) also quoted that:

It takes everybody pulling for you, in addition to a good performance on your

part, to have a successful construction project.

Thus, to make it simpler, a project success is all about teamwork. Project and

teamwork are interrelated, that is a project depends on the people handling it, and the

people handling it depends on each other.

1.2 DEFINITION OF TEAM & TEAMWORK

Teamwork exists in every organization structure, be it formal or informal

structure. Without teamwork, an organization may not survive or strive to complete a

project. Therefore, it is essential to know that teamwork and organization are

5

interrelated, that is when there is no teamwork, there is no organization and vice

versa. Below are some definitions of team and teamwork.

Team: a) A distinguishable set of two or more individuals who interact

dynamically, interdependently and adaptively to achieve specified, shared and

valued objectives (Bower et al, Anon 2).

b) A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who

are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for

which they are mutually accountable (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993).

c) People working together in a committed way to achieve a common

goal or mission. The work is interdependent and team members share

responsibility and hold themselves accountable for attaining the results.

(http://web.mit.edu/ist/competency/guide/definitions.html, Anon 3)

d) Team is a group of people working together towards a common goal.

(http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/tt/t-articl/tb-basic.htm, Anon 4)

Teamwork: a) Co-operation between those who are working together on a task.

(http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=team

work&goquery=Find+it!&Language=ENG, Anon 5)

b) Teamwork implies the intention to work cooperatively with

others, working together as opposed to working separately or

competitively.

(http://www.gov.sk.ca/psc/MgmtComp/Teamwork.htm#Definition:,

Anon 6)

http://web.mit.edu/ist/competency/guide/definitions.html

http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/tt/t-articl/tb-basic.htm

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=teamwork&goquery=Find+it!&Language=ENG

http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=teamwork&goquery=Find+it!&Language=ENG

http://www.gov.sk.ca/psc/MgmtComp/Teamwork.htm#Definition

6

c) Cooperative effort by the members of a group or team to achieve

a common goal.

(http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry?id=T0073300,

Anon 7)

By reflecting on all the above, it can be seen how these definitions can be

applied to a project team responsible for a project.

1.3 TEAM SKILLS

According to Scott (Anon 8), there are three areas of skills necessary that a

team must acquire to carry out the process of management or project management:

Technical skills – The ability to use knowledge, methods, techniques,

equipment, etc (such as engineering, accounting, machining, or word

processing).

Interpersonal skills – The ability and judgment in working with and

through people. The skills include leadership, communications (verbal,

written, listening, presentation), selling, conflict management,

negotiation, facilitation, delegation, and team building.

Conceptual skills – The ability to understand the complexity of the

overall organization and manage the process. The skills are process,

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry?id=T0073300

7

planning, organizational, problem solving, financial, and time

management.

Furthermore, as a self-managing unit, a team has to undertake most of the

functions of a leader or project manager. According to Koontz (Anon 9), the

functions of project managers are as follows:

Planning involves selecting missions and objectives and the actions to

achieve them; it requires decision-making, which is, choosing future

courses of action from among alternatives.

Organizing is that part of managing that involves establishing an

intentional structure of roles for people to fill in an enterprise.

Staffing involves filling, and keeping filled, the positions in the

organization structure.

Leading is influencing people to strive willingly and enthusiastically

with the interpersonal aspect of managing.

Controlling is the measuring and correcting of activities of

subordinates to ensure that events conform to plans.

Babcock (1996) stated that the engineering manager is distinguished from

other managers because he or she possesses both an ability to apply engineering

principles and a skill in organizing and directing people and projects. He is uniquely

8

qualified for two types of jobs: the management of technical functions (such as design

or production) in almost any enterprise, or the management of broader functions

(such as marketing or top management) in a high-technology enterprise.

1.4 TEAMWORK ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

There are three basic forms of organization structure found in most

companies. They include functional (Fig. 1.1), project (Fig 1.2), and matrix (Fig. 1.3).

Below are examples of the three organization structures, respectively.

Fig. 1.1 Example of a functional organization Source: Tang et al, (2003). Modern Construction Project

Management. 2nd ed. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

GENERAL FOREMAN

FOREMAN

(CONCRETING)

FOREMAN

(LABOURERS)

FOREMAN

(STEEL)

FOREMAN

(FORM WORK)

TUNNEL ROAD BUILDING

9

Fig. 1.2 Example of a project organization Source: Tang et al, (2003). Modern Construction Project

Management. 2nd ed. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Fig. 1.3 Example of a matrix organization Source: Tang et al, (2003). Modern Construction Project

Management. 2nd ed. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University

Press.

GENERAL MANAGER

CO

NC

RE

TIN

G G

AN

G

FO

RM

WO

RK

GA

NG

ST

EE

L G

AN

G Same as

left hand

side

Same as

left hand

side

FOREMAN

(LABOURERS)

FOREMAN

(ROAD)

FOREMAN

(BUILDING)

FOREMAN

(TUNNEL)

GENERAL FOREMAN

FOREMAN

(TUNNEL)

FOREMAN

(BUILDING)

FOREMAN

(ROAD)

CO

NC

RE

TIN

G G

AN

G

LA

BO

UR

ER

S

ST

EE

L G

AN

G

FO

RM

WO

RK

GA

NG

Same as

left hand

side

Same as

left hand

side

Functional responsibility

Pro

ject

resp

on

sib

ilit

y

10

1.5 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Indeed the key to a successful project is by having a good and high

performing team. However, it is very difficult to have a dynamic, efficient, and high-

performance team. The challenges and problems arising in the civil engineering

teamwork vary, depending on the culture and structure of the organization. Certainly,

there are quite a number of common challenges and problems that are usually faced

by the team members. They include:

Members who do not show up or show up unprepared.

Members who do not participate.

Members who wants to do everything themselves.

Members waste time by off-task talk.

Members doing unfair share of the work.

Members who dominate the conversation.

Ineffective decisions and decision-makings.

Conflict among team members.

Lack of commitment by some team members.

Difficulties in scheduling meeting.

Lack of clear agenda.

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These challenges and problems, more often than not lead to conflicts and

disputes among team members. Hence, the question is how we can make our team

good and effective.

Successful teamwork is difficult to achieve. To be able to work together, a

team must be organized first. For efficient teamwork, clear planning, roles, rules of

conduct and good decision-making are necessary. The team leader will need to know

which tasks should be undertaken in common, and which should to be allocated to

individuals or subgroups based on disciplinary expertise and skills, and also how

these tasks can be coordinated. Without good team and teamwork, the project success

would be at stake. Thus, it is essential for the team leader to choose the appropriate

organization structure for the team. However, the question is the current organization

structures adequate for a civil engineering project to be a success?

Furthermore, in order for teamwork to be effective, building a good team that

understands the project’s objectives and goals is essential to produce good and high

performance outputs. That is the team needs to develop a good understanding of the

problem statement and the output that the client expects at the end of the project.

Besides, team members need to be clearly mandated by their organizations and be

given the time and resources to make their contributions to the team. Nonetheless, the

current team development models need to be reexamined in order to obtain the

optimum performance from the team.

12

1.6 AIM & OBJECTIVES

This study examines on the teamwork model available in the civil engineering

industry from past, to present, and to the future. This study covers on the aspect of

organization structures and team development.

Since there have always been challenges and problems arising in teamwork,

thus, the aim of this study is to examine whether the team model and the teamwork

model are suitable for the civil engineering environments. The objectives are:

To define teamwork in civil engineering.

To analyze past teamwork and team organization structure.

To analyze present teamwork and team organization structure.

To study the evolvement of teamwork from past to present.

To look at the strengths and weaknesses of the current team structure.

To look at the weaknesses, if any, of the team development model (TDM) in

civil engineering available currently.

To project what is the future trend of team, teamwork, and organization

structure, and also to improve on the current team model, if necessary.

teamwork in civil engineering – past, present and future in civil... · chapter 1 introduction...

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