Conflict management approaches used by South African construction project management professionals.

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the construction industry, conflict is almost considered ‘normal’. It is to be expected, given that construction is a diverse industry, involving many people from different trades, industries, and professions. At the same time, any single project will engage many parties, each bringing to the endeavour their own divergent objectives, interests, and needs. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of conflict situations within the construction project management environment. The research objectives were to assess the frequency and intensity of conflict, as well as to determine the present level of conflict management skills in use. In order to understand the many facets of conflict management and how they would be applicable to this study, a literature review was first undertaken into the emergence, causation, typology, and management of conflict. Then to achieve the research objectives, a descriptive methodology was used in order to collect data of a qualitative nature. An online questionnaire was developed and deployed to 625 participants with valid results received from 122 out 153 respondents. The findings of this study indicated that construction management practitioners experience conflict frequently and will likely have been involved in a conflict scenario within the past month, if not more recently. The results further indicated that practitioners generally believe that conflict stems from a lack of effective communication and complex ambiguous information, rather than from technical matters and difficult personalities. To deal with this, most practitioners have had to develop their own methods and techniques for managing conflict and regard having a positive mind-set as the most important attitudinal requirement. Furthermore, practitioners rank the skills of listening, questioning, and defining issues as the most important for effective conflict management. As an outcome of this study, construction practitioners are provided with some insights into the prevalence of conflict in construction projects and the motivation for better skills development in conflict management is provided. Finally, it is recommended that all contracting parties familiarize themselves with contractual documentation and attempt to hold workshops early on in projects in order to diffuse any adversity resulting from conflicting views and interpretations. The aim is to develop a mutual understanding around the raison d'être for the contract and to hopefully set a positive tone, under which it will be possible to manage towards mutually favourable outcomes for all parties involved in a project.