 A Systems and Contingency Analysis Applied to Construction Projects of Exceptional Architectural Design |
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| Table of Contents
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
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Chapter 6 -
Organizational Structure Summary / Influence in the Project Organization / The Importance of Core Groups / The Effects of Industry Role Designations / The Effect of Size on Organizational Structure and Design Quality / Technology and the Social Setting / Return to Index Page Influence in the form of expert power tends to be more prevalent on a project of exceptional design. The lead designer has a greater deal of influence on the project organization, in part due to his responsibility for the conceptual design work, and also because of a sanction, to some degree, from the client. It is important that a core group of key individuals be actively involved in the project for most of the project's duration. Coordination between groups in the project organization is often aided by a heavy reliance on standardized industry role designations. These role designations are detrimental on a project of exceptional design as they hinder the exchange of ideas, and limit the evaluation of alternate proposals. In addition, groups tend to develop their own goals; change becomes a threat; and a hierarchical control structure develops. The commercial environment within which most projects operate is an impediment to the lessening of industry role designations. The larger a project becomes, the less likely that exceptional design can be produced. This is in part due to the large scale processes involved, and the tendency for these processes to converge and standardize the design of all types of projects, whether of standard or exceptional design. In addition, larger projects will tend to rely more on standardization of design solutions and technological systems to reduce the level of uncertainty and requirements for information processing. It is proposed that the most effective organizational structure for large projects of exceptional design is a system of small groups that rely on mutual adjustment as a means of coordination. The organizational structure on a project of exceptional design will tend to be more salient in part because of the greater flexibility of technological systems that would be utilized, and the differentiated social settings that apply to many projects. Organizational structure can assist a project in being more efficient, but it is the underlying goals and values that will determine the effectiveness of the project. By itself, an efficient process is incapable of producing a project of exceptional design. Chapter 6 - Organizational Structure This chapter will look at different aspects of organizational structure. Influence, particularly in the form of expert power will be discussed. The importance of core groups is noted, and the effects of industry role designations are studied. A correlation is proposed between project size and design quality, and finally, the relationship between the technology employed and the social setting is briefly examined. Influence in the Project Organizations Influence by the control of desired resources and by shaping the normative system has been mentioned in the chapter on goal and value systems. Another type of influence that operates in a project organization is influence based upon specialized knowledge. Mintzberg [601] identifies three types of what he refers to as "expert power":
On projects of exceptional design, I would argue that primarily the latter two types of expert power are operative between the groups in a project organization. The more complex the project, whether technologically or by intrinsic design quality, the more I believe it will approach the latter form of decentralized expert power of the individuals actually performing the work, i.e. the "operators". On a project of exceptional design, the lead designer will have more influence over the project organization than would normally be the case on a project of standard design. This influence will be the strongest in the earlier stages of the project, as the design concept goes from the "unmeasureable" to the "measurable". After that point, at least in terms of expert power, influence will move to other groups within the project organization that are better able to resolve a particular situation. It should be noted however, that the lead designer may still retain a great deal of influence in the latter stages, not necessarily because of expert power, but more because of the sanction of the client organization. An example of this was given on the Kaufmann House (Fallingwater) designed by F. L. Wright, in the chapter on organizational goals. For a project of exceptional design to be successful I believe that a core group of individuals need to be actively involved in the project for a better part of its duration. In a study of individual organizations and their management of growth Normann [602] observed that the significant actors in an organization are its core group. He further goes on to postulate [603] that the core group is an embodiment of the company's growth idea. Applying Normann's postulates to a project organization, it can be argued that the core group carries the values, objectives, and sense of mission of the project group. The client organization and lead designer would form part of this group, in large part because of their establishing and/or interpreting the objectives and values of the project to the rest of the project organization. The level of technology employed, with its related factor of the the exercise of expert power by those who can master the technology, will be a determining factor, I believe, as to whom else would be an essential part of this core group. The Effects of Industry Role Designations Mintzberg [604], as previously quoted, has observed five coordinating mechanisms operating in organizations. One of these methods of coordination is standardization of skills. On construction projects, this means of coordination is used rather extensively. Generally there are a large number of well defined specialists in both the design and construction aspects of a project, ranging from architects, structural engineers, construction managers, electrical contractors, etc., each with fairly well defined roles. On many standard projects, it can be argued that coordination of efforts by specialization of skills works well, as on these projects, the individuals and groups know well the limits of their area, and they know the information that must be supplied to other groups in order that these other groups can coordinate their work. As an example of this, on many standard multiple story office buildings, the architect can produce a schematic design with little feedback from other groups. This design will contain sufficient information so that the structural and services engineers can perform their work in relative isolation, and with little feedback from the rest of the project organization. In turn, these engineers will produce just enough information so that specialist subcontractors, i.e. structural, civil, electrical, et cetera, can then plan and execute their work. This system, on a project of standard design works well because each group has sufficient knowledge of the overall building type so that the amount of interaction between groups to coordinate their work is significantly reduced. Were the above project not one of standard design, there would need to be a much higher level of feedback between all of the groups in order to ascertain feasibility, coordinate the work, and to execute the design concepts as intended. This feedback and coordination greatly increases the need for open communication between groups, and it highlights the increased importance of managing the information flow. On a project of exceptional design, I believe that established roles, and their traditional means of coordination, are detrimental to the project's objectives of achieving a design of exceptional excellence. In a somewhat parallel situation, Crosby [605] noted several trends in industrial organizations that I believe can be applied to construction projects, and which support the previous hypothesis. Some of these trends are:
Many of the above trends noted by Crosby can be seen on construction projects, and are reinforced by the distinct task specialization imposed. The degree to which task barriers interfere with a project of exceptional design will depend to a great extent, I believe, on the degree of uncertainty in the project, and the concomitant need for exchange of ideas, and open communication. As has been previously argued, the degree of uncertainty is influenced by the technology employed, and also by the underlying goals and values of the project, and the degree to which these goals and values are quantitatively transmitted to the project organization. On a project of exceptional design, if the structuring of organizations by role designation were lessened, which in a commercial environment can be difficult to achieve, I believe that the project organization is then influenced towards becoming more of an organic matrix organization. As has been argued, this will increase the cost of coordination, but it allows for a greater flow of information, and more effective interaction among the project organization. While these added costs would not be worth the benefits received on projects of standard design, they are worthwhile, to an extent on projects of exceptional design. The degree to which these additional cost are acceptable is defined, I believe, by the underlying value system of the project. The Effect of Size on Organizational Structure and Design Quality In the chapter on technological systems, it has been argued that, holding all other variables constant, increasing the size of a project will increase the level of uncertainty. As a corollary to this, the larger the project becomes, the more intricate the organizational structure becomes in order to cope with the greater amount of uncertainty and information processing. It is my belief that the larger a project becomes, the less likely that a project of exceptional design can be executed. In a discussion on the effects of the industrial age, J. K. Galbraith [606] postulated that highly organized societies, both capitalist and socialist, tend to converge due to the large scale processes that our industrial age requires. Applying this concept to larger scale construction projects, it could be postulated that the processes at work on a large scale project, whether of exceptional design or standard design, will tend to converge the project to a design that was adequate, but not exceptional, due to the large scale processes that projects of this size require. Mintzberg [607] has noted that the larger the size of the work unit, the greater the use of standardization as a mechanism for coordination. Applying this concept to construction projects, it can be inferred, that were all else equal, the larger the project the more the pressure to use standardized design solutions and standard technological systems. In their analysis of successful companies, Peters and Waterman [608] have noted that the most effective companies had a lean staff and a simple organizational form. Mintzberg [609] has noted the correlation between a small work unit size and the greater use of mutual adjustment, due to the interdependencies of complex tasks. Extending this hypothesis, it can be argued that the most suitable organizational method for a large complex task would be a system that allowed for mutual adjustment between smaller groups. However without the imposed application of this organizational strategy, the project will tend to use standardization as a method of coordination. Therefore, for large projects of exceptional design, it can be argued that one of the strategies that should be adopted is the use of smaller work units, with mutual adjustment as a primary form of coordination. The larger the project becomes, the more that is has to interact with the external environment. The chapter on external environment proposes the theme that the external environment at large contains goals and values that are contrary to the execution of projects of exceptional design. Technology and the Social Setting I believe that the structuring of the project organization is important from a process point of view for the successful realization of a project of exceptional design. Udy [610] in a comparative analysis of organizations has observed that the more differentiated the social setting, and the more flexible the technology, the more salient the organizational structure becomes. This observation can apply to projects of exceptional design. With regards the options of technology, there are generally more choices of technological means that could be used on a project of exceptional design than would normally be considered for a project of standard design. With regards the social setting, for both exceptional and standard projects, Western society is a pluralistic society, with different groups competing to further their own interests. Udy goes on to note [611] that the more complex the technology and/or the greater the pressure from the social setting, the greater will be the emphasis on administration. Projects of exceptional design will tend to have more complex technologies, and greater pressures from the social setting. This latter point is argued more fully in the chapter on the external environment. In summation of the above, with regards technology and the social setting, a project of exceptional design will have a greater emphasis on the administrative controls, and the organizational structure will have more salience, than for projects of standard design. The importance of the organizational structure towards the realization of a project of exceptional design is important more for the establishment of the managerial process by which the project organization operates. However, organizational structure by itself can not make the difference between a project of exceptional versus standard design. Child [612] has postulated that organizational structure can only make a limited contribution to organizational effectiveness. While the organizational structure can contribute to the efficiency of the project organization, it is the underlying goals, values and objectives of the project that will determine the project organization's effectiveness. In a business environment Drucker [613] has noted that is is "not intuition, but a clear, simple and penetrating theory of the business that characterizes the truly successful enterprise..." Ohmae [614] in a book on business strategy noted the prime importance of determining the critical issue, i.e. towards getting the basic concepts correct. It is my belief that an emphasis on process, without the proper emphasis on goals, values and objectives, will negate the possibility of achieving a project of exceptional design. William Caudill, one of the founding partners of the American architectural and engineering firm CRS, has written [615] that the underlying emphasis of their firm was to put process first, and to accentuate services. He went on to note that "few masterpieces" would be created by this method, but that the product of the firm would be of consistently high quality. The work of this firm reinforces this emphasis, with the exception that to date, an architectural masterpiece has yet to be produced by this firm. |
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