From Hierarchy to Team—Barriers and Requirements in Relation to a New Organisation of Building Sites

Sidse Buch¹ & Dag Sander²

Abstract

The transition from a hierarchical organisation of building sites to a team-based organisational structure calls for a change in management style and a new approach to people. The middle manager becomes the pivotal point in the change process, playing a key role in terms of ensuring successful change. If the middle manager is not willing to leave his or her previous role as a planner and controller to become an active coach who pushes developments in the right direction, all change attempts will by all accounts fail. Change management will be a key concept in the new understanding of building site organisation. All parties involved in the building process and in the building industry certainly need to break away from set patterns of behaviour and fixed attitudes. This article illustrates problems related to a shift from hierarchical to team-based organisations, outlining specific knowledge about team-based management. It describes the new roles of middle managers and crews and formulates training requirements.

Keywords

Changed organisational structure, Middle manager role, Lifelong learning, Change management,Autonomous crews

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Reference

Buch, S. & Sander, D. 2005. From Hierarchy to Team—Barriers and Requirements in Relation to a New Organisation of Building Sites, 13th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , 363-374. doi.org/

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