Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Construction teams are usually complex, interdisciplinary and temporary, and, as such, the need for effective communication is crucial. However, published data regarding the manner in which individuals interact within the temporary project team is scarce, with little other than anecdotal evidence available.

Recognizing this gap, Communication in Construction Teams provides a comprehensive overview of the literature on interpersonal communication and delivers a critical review of various research methods previously used in and outside the construction management field. Making use of Bales' interaction process analysis (IPA), a tool used successfully in many fields to collect interaction data, the text investigates the link between successful projects and the effectiveness of communication, finding that participants in the construction process exhibit regular patterns of interaction and, most significantly, that there are different patterns of interaction associated with successful and unsuccessful projects.

Putting forward a number of practical suggestions to assist all actors involved in construction projects, this insightful publication will be of interest to researchers in the fields of building design and construction management.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. x)
• 1 The social life of construction projects (p. 1)
• Communication (p. 3)
• The construction team (p. 5)
• Interaction during construction projects (p. 8)
• Researching communication during live projects (p. 9)
• Further reading (p. 12)
• 2 Construction communication research (p. 13)
• Group development within the temporary project team (p. 17)
• Communicating to achieve project objectives (p. 19)
• Construction communication research (p. 21)
• Professional engagement and procurement (p. 27)
• Construction meetings (p. 28)
• Misunderstandings and conflict: The nature of interaction (p. 31)
• 3 Group interaction research (p. 36)
• Multidisciplinary groups and organisational communication (p. 37)
• Group development and group norms (p. 43)
• Bales' interaction process analysis (p. 47)
• 4 Group participation and interaction (p. 54)
• Leadership and participation (p. 56)
• Task and relational interaction (p. 58)
• Social influence and persuasion (p. 71)
• Group performance and outcomes (p. 83)
• Summary (p. 84)
• 5 Collecting communication data from construction projects (p. 86)
• Observing interaction (p. 87)
• Quantitative observation with qualitative explanation (p. 88)
• Clarifying, classifying and coding communication acts (p. 95)
• Preliminary testing of data collection methods (p. 100)
• Testing Bales' IPA: The pilot study (p. 103)
• Research method (p. 115)
• Use of the IPA method (p. 117)
• Data processing and analysis (p. 118)
• Coding and analysing Bales' IPA (p. 119)
• 6 Interaction data from construction meetings (p. 122)
• Results: Case study 1 (p. 122)
• Results: Case study 2 (p. 128)
• Results: Case study 3 (p. 131)
• Results: Case study 4 (p. 135)
• Results: Case study 5 (p. 139)
• Results: Case study 6 (p. 142)
• Results: Case study 7 (p. 146)
• Results: Case study 8 (p. 149)
• Results: Case study 9 (p. 152)
• Results: Case study 10 (p. 156)
• Summary of observations (p. 159)
• 7 Team interaction characteristics (p. 162)
• Interaction norms of construction progress meetings (p. 162)
• Comparison of findings with previous studies (p. 171)
• Discussion of team interaction characteristics (p. 178)
• Summary (p. 180)
• 8 Successful and unsuccessful project outcomes (p. 181)
• Different levels of interaction analysis (p. 181)
• Socio-emotional and task-based interaction (p. 182)
• Positive and negative socio-emotional interaction (p. 184)
• Analysis of Bales' 12 categories (p. 187)
• Successful and unsuccessful project outcomes: Relationships between categories (p. 212)
• Contractor's representatives and interpersonal interaction (p. 213)
• Summary (p. 222)
• 9 Discussion of the findings (p. 224)
• Participation in site-based progress meetings (p. 224)
• Differences between interaction in successful and unsuccessful projects (p. 231)
• Summary: Task-based interaction categories (p. 234)
• Interaction of contractor's representatives (p. 235)
• 10 Conclusions and recommendations (p. 240)
• Typical management and design team meeting interaction (p. 241)
• Conclusion: Hypothesis 1 (p. 243)
• Conclusion: Hypothesis 2 (p. 245)
• Limitations and recommendations (p. 246)
• Revaluing communication in construction teams (p. 249)
• Communication as a critical success factor (p. 251)
• Recommended reading (p. 252)
• Appendix 1 Definition of communication acts attributed to Bales' IPA categories (p. 253)
• Appendix 2 Observer reliability: Test results (p. 263)
• Appendix 3 Data collection sheet (p. 268)
• Appendix 4 Number of meetings observed (p. 271)
• Appendix 5 Communication models developed from this research (p. 272)
• Bibliography (p. 275)
• Index (p. 295)

Author notes provided by Syndetics