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In order to retain and motivate employees, organizations must respond to their expectations, both in terms of meeting formal aspects of their employment contracts and in addressing their less formal expectations of the employment relationship. Within the current human resources management (HRM) literature, these informal expectations are known as psychological contracts. This paper reports on research that explored psychological contracts within the construction industry. In‐depth interviews were held with more than 80 construction managers and professional staff who worked for five large UK contracting organizations. The interviewees were asked to describe their career histories, and to discuss any tensions between the personnel policies of their organizations and their personal career aspirations and expectations. It emerged that responsibility for human resource development (HRD) had been largely devolved to divisional and operational management. This led to HRD becoming fragmented and unresponsive, and to employees becoming disillusioned by their employers' failure to meet their expectations. It is argued that construction companies require a more sophisticated understanding of their employees' expectations of the employment relationship if they are to be retained in the long term.

A number of confusions within the area of performance assessment with regard to the use of terminology, and differing interpretations, regarding competence assessment are discussed. A significant difference between the US and UK approaches to performance assessment is identified as being the issue of behaviours. A hierarchy of terms and their specific meanings is proposed as a first step in addressing the identified confusions. A particular aspect of this hierarchy is its relevance to assessment based on behaviours and attitudes rather than simply on the results of functional analysis concerning a particular job. This has implications for the future direction of performance assessment in the UK, particularly with regard to identifying the differences between average and superior performance.

Growing emphasis on meeting client needs and improving project performance within the construction industry has led to increasing use of fully integrated “design and build” (D&B) construction project teams. Advocates of the D&B system contend that integrating design and construction this way leads to a seamless procurement process, improved team relationships, and a more efficiently delivered product. This article reports on research which explored the operational efficiency of such integrated project teams. The findings suggest that despite the benefits of integration, cultural and professional interfaces remain which impair team performance and undermine structural change management protocols. This effectively leaves the team operating as work‐groups in a similar way as they would under a traditionally procured contract, with the construction team excluded from the change management process. A methodology is proposed for exploring these discontinuities in detail, and addressing intra‐work‐group conflicts which threaten the continued development of D&B within the sector.

The feasibility and success of empowerment are to some extent determined by factors relating to the culture and structure of the industries within which organizations are embedded. The UK construction industry is an example that has a unique socio‐technical context, some aspects of which seem well‐suited to empowerment strategies. However, despite support for empowerment, it has not yet been universally embraced by construction organizations. Outlines the aspects of the industry that provide a suitable context for implementation of empowerment strategies. Suggests that, used selectively, it could play an important part in helping construction organizations to address increasing performance demands whilst mitigating the negative effects of the fragmented project delivery process. However, there remain many barriers to individual and team‐based empowerment strategies that require empirical investigation before the industry can benefit from their implementation.

It has been suggested that organisations with a better balance, or critical mass, of women would be more tolerant of difference and foster the inclusion of other women. This paper seeks to investigate whether a strategy of critical mass can really work in the engineering sector.

The data are based on research funded by the ESRC, and problematise critical mass theory through semi‐structured qualitative interviews and focus groups with female students from a range of engineering disciplines.

The findings demonstrate that women engineering students accept gender discrimination, view the industry positively, value their “novelty” status, and are critical of other women.

While these attitudes may be a result of women's assimilation into the existing engineering culture, they do little to further women's cause in engineering. Furthermore, it points to both the necessity, and difficulties, of transforming the engineering culture to ensure that the engineering professions are a place where women can not only survive but also thrive.

While previous research has addressed the critical mass of women in science, engineering and technology, this research critiques critical mass theory, not only because women continue to remain isolated within the sector, despite increasing numbers, but also because many women engineers reinforce the masculine culture within engineering.

This chapter discusses the relevance of a community of practice (CoP) for a reflexive gender equality policy and reflects on the different approaches taken within TARGET. It is based on the literature on CoPs and structural change as well as on experiences in transferring this approach to the context of implementing gender equality plans (GEPs) within different types of research organisations. While the notion of the CoP was coined in the 1990s, literature on gender and such communities remained scarce until a recent wealth of research looked at the role played by inter-institutional CoPs in advancing structural change in research organisations. In this chapter, we examine whether and how an institutional CoP approach has been a useful vehicle for gender equality plan development and how the different configurations of internal and external stakeholders within the CoPs have impacted GEP implementation.

The concept of the learning organisation (LO) is associated with an advanced approach to human resource development (HRD) characterised by an ethos of self‐responsibility and self‐development. The learning climate that this engenders is supported by temporary organisational structures responsive to environmental change. The purpose of his paper is to present case study research of the HRD strategy, policy and practice of a large UK‐based construction contractor in relation to the concept of LO.

Empirical data for the examination of the “chaordic” LO were drawn from recent doctoral research that investigated a large UK‐based construction contractor's strategic human resource management practices.

The analysis suggests that the organisational project‐based structure and informal culture combine to form a “chaordic LO”. A “chaordic enterprise” comprises a complex organisation that operates in a non‐linear dynamic environment. However, it appears that this approach has evolved unintentionally rather than as a result of targeted strategic human resource management (SHRM) policies, which in turn reflects a genuine commitment to advanced HRD.

The findings render previous assertions that the industry fails to invest in its employees highly questionable. They suggest a need for further research to reveal how such approaches can be captured in replicate in the future.

There have been a number of significant research projects that have explored aspects of women’s under‐representation and underachievement within the UK construction industry. These have demonstrated that, given an appropriate level of knowledge and insight, women could be attracted to the sector in greater numbers. However, they have also suggested that if women are to remain in the sector in the long‐term, then efforts must be made to ensure an equitable workplace environment. Presents the findings of research that explored the attitudes of both male and female construction professionals to a range of equality measures. There was a significant difference between their responses to most of the measures, as men were opposed to initiatives that threatened the current culture of the industry’s operating environment. A strategy of selectively implementing measures with some degree of consensus between men and women is suggested. Measures to promote equality in construction must offer mutual benefits to men and women if they are to be successful.

The UK construction industry has significantly increased the number of women that it attracts, due to an active marketing campaign by the industry’s representative bodies. However, this initiative does not appear to have been based on sound empirical evidence that women professionals will be afforded equal opportunities once they have entered the industry. This article reports on a research project which explored women’s careers in construction. Interviews were held with over 40 matched pairs of male and female construction professionals in order to establish the gender differentiated influences on career progression within the industry. The analysis revealed a hostile and discriminatory environment for women, in which pressures created by the demanding work environment were compounded by overt resentment from male managers and colleagues. It is argued that women’s careers are unlikely to progress in parity with men’s until the male culture of the industry has been moderated.

The purpose of this paper is to report the empirical findings of a survey aimed to investigate the need to improve cross‐phase learning between design and construction. Through exploring the need to introduce a design‐construction feedback loop, combined with the barriers against its development, an expansion of knowledge surrounding the deficiencies of current practice is provided.

The paper reports the results from an online survey conducted in spring 2011 targeted at experienced personnel in the planning, design, construction and facilities management phases of healthcare infrastructure projects.

The current approach of detecting and correcting errors is significantly hindering the extent to which learning from previous experiences is taking place. It is shown that improved integration between design and construction is required in the form of improved feedback if continuous improvement in the areas of efficiency, quality, value and general learning from previous experiences/projects is to be achieved.

The focused population of this study limits the extent to which the findings can be generalised. However, it is viewed that this context is potentially one of the most complex and unique project participant arrangements to overcome. Therefore if the need and ability to share learning outcomes across such a complex arrangement can be achieved, then it may be easier within traditional arrangements.

The practical implications of moving away from single‐loop learning towards a double‐loop learning approach are provided.

This paper identifies that there is a distinct need for further efforts to be applied in the area of improving feedback between the phases of design and construction.