Introduction
The purpose of this research paper will be to discuss the techniques that are used in achieving effective communication within a project team by focusing on the commercial construction industry. The thesis statement for this research paper will therefore be “to identify techniques for achieving effective communication in the project management of a commercial building construction”.
To further understand the various concepts that will be covered in the research paper, the terms project and project management have to be defined.
A project is defined as a temporary activity that a company engages in that has a pre-defined start and end date. Projects are usually constrained by the time period needed to complete the project’s activities as well as the amount of money that will be needed to complete the project (Cleland and Ireland 25).
Projects are usually identified by the number of unique goals and objectives that are needed to bring about a beneficial change or add value to the operations of a company. They differ from normal business operations because they are repetitive and short term in nature.
For projects to be managed effectively, project management has to be introduced to ensure that the various activities of the project have been handled properly. Project management is defined as the planning, organizing and management of resources that are needed to successfully complete a project.
The most common approaches that are used to manage a project include the critical chain management technique, PRINCE2, event chain management, agile project management and process based project management (Haynes 3).
Project management in the construction industry involves developing goals and objectives that will be used to complete the activities of the construction process within the specified time frame and through the use of the allocated materials and resources.
Project management in construction of buildings involves managing and controlling the various activities of the building project until it is completed. It involves managing the construction project from the time the project is initiated to the time it is completed and also ensuring that the project delivery concepts have been incorporated into the project management exercise.
The role of the project manager during the construction process usually varies with the company contracted to do the construction work and it also depends on the annual revenue, availability of support staff and the complex nature of the building under construction (Levy 9).
Despite the various changes that are taking place in the construction industry, the role of the project manager has continued to remain the same with the main duties and responsibilities being to control work processes for the construction and also manage the costs that are associated with completing the works.
The role of the project manager in the project management of a construction project will also entail utilizing the proper techniques for assembling materials through the use of construction technology, establishing the most effective way of implementing the construction process, controlling the number of laborers who will be needed to complete the project and controlling the costs for the project’s funding to ensure that the endeavor is successful (Levy 10).
Techniques of Achieving Effective Communication
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (33), communication is termed to be the most important tool of achieving effective project coordination.
Coordination and communication are important activities that run concurrently with each other as coordination entails a broad range of project activities that are related to the management of people and resources while communication involves maintaining the flow of information so as to support the activities of the project.
Project communication is defined as the sending and receiving of important, critical or vital information that is appropriate to the various members of the project team. Project communication that is termed as positive involves the free exchange of accurate and relevant information to the various players of the project team in a timely, clear, honest and open manner (Morris and Pinto 133).
Achieving effective project coordination will therefore rely on the communication skills of the various participants as well as their ability to incorporate their individual communication techniques to the project.
The main people that are responsible for maintaining positive communication within a construction project include the project manager, project representative, design team leader, the construction manager, the project executive and the construction superintendent (American Society of Civil Engineers 33).
In the construction industry, effective communication is important as it ensures that the contractor saves on money and other valuable resources that are needed to complete the work on time.
Communication is also important in preventing coordination problems during the execution of the project’s works thereby ensuring that the various participants of the project are not frustrated or dissatisfied with the progress being made.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (36), various studies conducted on the success of most projects have identified poor communication amongst team members and lack of team coordination to be one of the major contributors of a project’s failure.
The studies also revealed that project owners who resorted to legal action because of unfulfilled project activities cited poor communication and coordination problems as the major cause of the project’s failure (American Society of Civil Engineers 36).
Therefore to reduce the occurrence of law suits and any other form of legal action on the part of the project owner, effective tools of communication need to be used to achieve project success.
There are different forms of communication that exist which can be used to facilitate the flow of information between all the participants of a project.
One of the techniques that can be used to achieve effective communication within a project team for a construction project includes direct communication where face-to-face meetings and consultations are used to address any problems or complications that might arise during the execution of the project.
Direct communication is an effective tool of handling communication within a project team and this can be attributed to its interactive nature which fosters brainstorming and creative problem solving. This technique of communication is also effective when relaying important announcements and decisions that pertain to the progress of the construction project (Curlee and Gordon 158).
Meetings are viewed to be one of the most important tools of coordinating the various phases or stages of a project. Site meetings which are one of the most commonly used communication tools during a construction project are effective in ensuring that the contractor, project manager, design developer, architect and quantity surveyor are satisfied with the ongoing progress of the construction.
For site meetings to be effective, they have to be well planned and coordinated to reduce the amount of time spent by the project team in deliberations and discussions. Meetings that are conducted through teleconferences are also effective tools especially when one of the participants of the project team is in a remote location (American Society of Civil Engineers 39).
Other types of meetings that are used by the project team for effective communication include status review meetings which are used to identify problems and action items needed for the project, technical design review meetings which involve reviewing the technical specifications of the owner of project with the current progress being made (Gido and Clements 380).
Written communication is another tool of achieving effective communication within a project team for a construction project. Written communication involves memos, E-mails, letters, reports and other important documents that are deemed to be valuable for the transmission of relevant information without necessarily calling for a meeting or engaging in teleconferencing activities.
The most common documents that are used for communicating in the written format include contractual agreements, conditions of contract for the project, bills of quantities, transmittal letters, schedules of drawings and project specifications. Written communication is important especially for documentation purposes so as to mark the various milestones of the project (Kendrick 246).
Delegation is another effective tool that is used by project teams to sustain communication within a construction project. Delegation empowers the project team members to accomplish their individual objectives by granting them the necessary authority to make important decisions and also to make decisive actions that will be needed to achieve the expected results of the project.
Through delegation the various members of the project team are given targets by the project manager which they have to achieve with relation to their work scope and the allocated time and resources. The project team has to ensure that they utilize these resources appropriately so as to achieve tangible results for their assigned areas of responsibility and also maintain proper levels of accountability (Gido and Clements 315).
Interactive communication is another important tool that can be used for achieving effective communication within a project. Interactive communication involves two or more parties who are engaged in multidirectional communication channels so that they can be able to exchange ideas, opinions and comments.
The most commonly used techniques for interactive communication include videoconferencing or teleconferencing where the project team members have a meeting over the telephone or through video links to discuss the progress of the construction project.
Face-to-face meetings are also a form of interactive communication used to ensure that members of the project team have relayed their fears and concerns on the progress of the project (Heldman 216).
Audio conferencing is also another form of interactive communication that is used to ensure that the project team is achieving its goals and objectives. Audio conferencing is a fully automated service that involves the use of a phone connected to several audio devices where the calls are scheduled via a web-based front-end. This is an important tool for most meetings conducted in the board room setting or in a conference hall.
Audio conferencing offers live communication for the project team members who might be in dispersed or remote locations (Gupta 7). Effective presentations can also be used to achieve communication within the project team where the team members develop presentations that provide relevant information to the project (Kliem 127).
Presentations have been described as effective tools for communication because they offer a visual representation of the various parts of the project. By diagrammatically presenting the construction progress of a commercial building, the project manager, contractor, design developer and site manager can be able to see how far the building has progressed from the time construction began to the current status.
Visual representations can also be able to help the project team decide whether the current visual design of the building matched the desired or expected results (Kliem 127).
Content management systems, groupware and collaborative workspaces are other techniques that can be used for project management communication. Such networks or systems allow members of a project team to communicate with each other regardless of their geographical locations.
Content management systems and collaborative work spaces facilitate the sharing of information which ensures that there is effective communication amongst the various members of the project team. These techniques also allow project team members to discuss the progress of the project and also seek for clarification and feedback when various issues arise during the project execution (Gido and Clements 394).
Reports are also useful techniques that can be used to enhance communication within the project team where the types of reports used for a construction project include progress reports and the final report. Progress reports are used to relay the project accomplishments to the owner of the project where the team members provide information on whether the progress made has achieved the project’s objective.
Progress reports usually cover a specified period known as the reporting period which could be between a week, a month or a quarter of the year (Giddo and Clements 388).
Final reports on the other hand relay the results of the project and are used to determine whether these results are consistent with the objectives and goals of the project. Final reports are usually prepared once the project has been completed or abandoned and are used to address or identify any inconsistencies in the completed works (Pritchard 185).
Conclusion
The thesis for the research paper has dealt with identifying the various techniques that are used for achieving effective communication in a project team. The tools and approaches that are used by various project team members have been discussed as well as their effectiveness in achieving the desired levels of communication in projects such as those for construction.
The study has revealed that effective communication sustained through the various forms of communication is an important activity because it reduces cases of dissatisfaction, conflicts of interests and any law suits which might be caused as a result of ineffective project communication within the project team.
Works Cited
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