Management Assignment 2

1. ARC411 - Management In The Built Environment
Assignment No 2
Teams and Team Working
Tom Cully

2. Contents
1.0 Team Interaction
1.01 An example of how the design team are usually organised
1.02 Motivation
1.03 Organisation Structures
1.04 Managing Under performance & Counselling
1.05 Why is team work important
Appendices
Appendix A - Members of the Design Team
Appendix B - Leadership

3. 1.0 TEAM INTERACTION & MANAGEMENT THEORIES
1.01 An example of how the design team are usually organised
Usually in a design team the client would begin to organise the design team by contacting an
architects practise. Some practices will consist of architects, architectural technologists and
quantity surveyors, whilst other practises may just be one discipline. The architects/technologists
will then start putting their heads together to produce ideas and start the drawing package. In a lot
of scenarios each individual member of the design team will be from a different practise (walker,
2015, p.259) so will require coordination which will usually be the role of the architect (see
appendix A for further information on roles of the design team).
1.02 Motivation
In a design team a project requires all members of the team to work together. If one team member
is not performing as they should, then the whole project could fall apart. There are a few
motivational techniques that can be used to steer the project back onto the right track. The first
technique is to offer the poorly performing team member more money. A good example of this is
that if a certain team member has more than one project on the go, then the extra money boost
might encourage them to put a particular project to the top of their priorities. 'Extrinsic motivation is
related to tangible rewards such as salary and benefits. Intrinsic motivation is related to
psychological rewards such as the opportunity to use one's ability, a sense of challenge and
achievement, Phycological rewards can usually be determined by individual managers' (Mullins
2016, p.223). The opposite of offering a good reward is to threaten an employee with job loss. For
example an architect has appointed an mechanical engineer to identify what ventilation is required
in a building, but the mechanical engineer keeps avoiding it, so the architect can threaten to fire the
mechanical engineer and find another company (Warr. P, 2002, p.17). Possibly the most important
motivation for a member of the design team is the project itself. Once completed a building will be
open for the public to see, so the design team should take pride on the design and construction of
the building
A popular theory for motivation is illustrated in Maslow's heirachy of needs as shown in image 1.
Maslow stated that 'people are motivated to achieve certain needs and that some needs take
precedence over others' (McLeod, 2007). In accordance with Maslow's heirachy of needs This
means that there are 5 basic levels of motivation and you can only achieve the top level of
motivation once you have completed the other four levels of motivation, starting with survival,
safety, healthy relationships, esteem & Self-acualization.
Image 1 - Maslows Heirachy of needs

4. 1.03 Organisation Structures
In the construction industry an organisations pyramid structure will generally be a tall organisation.
A managing director will have authority over the company with directors to find and allocate work to
their employees. In some cases of larger organisations, this could be split down further with team
leaders in the next chain of command, who will lead a project but will also have control of a team of
less experienced workers that they can delegate work to. This works well because it allows the
more advanced employees to focus on difficult tasks whilst allowing the less skill full employees
the chance to gain experience. (Rollinson, 2008 p.502) mentions that having a structure divides the
tasks of a whole organisation into manageable chunks and allocated them to different people that
are to be responsible for the completion of that task. A flatter organisation would be less effective
because over a large number of projects one person can not be expected to manage all of the
tasks that people below are working to achieve. It needs sub-directors to spread the workload.
Below is a typical organisation structure hierarchy for an architectural firm.
1.04 Managing Underperformance & counselling
Underperformance of different members of the design team can be caused by a number of
reasons. This can be difficult to manage because not all the members of the design team will be
from the same company. For example the architect’s and technologists may come up with a
fantastic fully functioning design, but when they pass it onto the mechanical & electrical engineers
they fail to meet the deadline. This could be because the M&E have prioritised another job, or they
are struggling with technical issues, or they are just plain lazy. For the architect to manage this they
would need to communicate with the M&E engineers to find out why the delay is being caused.
The problem can then be analysed and together a solution can can be identified. It may be helpful
to provide additional deadlines as a goal to work towards. Performance has shown to be higher
when goals are higher and people are committed to achieving that goal (Miles, 2012. p.130). This
should then be monitored further until the problem has gone away.
Within an organisation this can be a easier to deal with. If an employee is underperforming, the
problem can usually be identified by the team leader or a colleague and then reported to the team
leader. The team leader can provide the support needed. First an open relationship must be
established between the team leader and the employee. Then trust and respect can be
communicated between them making the process easier for the pair. It is important for the team
Image 2 - Typical design team heirachy

5. leader to be a good listener and allow the employee and time to work out for themselves what the
situation is. However it is also important to be firm, for example setting deadlines for the situation to
be addressed. If the deadlines are not met then warnings need to be issued and further monitoring
as required. If work quality levels still do not increase then unemployment will need to be a
consideration.
1.05 Delegation
In any organisation if just one person took on the workload of a whole company then that person
would be exhausted. Therefore it is important that team leaders spread out the work evenly. Some
advantages of delegating is that, it provides other employees with the opportunity to develop their
skills and have a go at different tasks which will also motivate the employee by making them think
that they are progressing up their career ladder. Delegating also has advantages for the manager,
as it enables them to function effectively by being able to focus, to complete a number of tasks at
the same time with less effort.
However there are some disadvantages to delegating. Chief among these being that the team
leader is still responsible for the work, even if it was delegated to someone else. This means that
the team leader still has to check any work before it gets sent to to an external party. Also
delegates may not be up to the challenge which means that training will be required and may not
be worth the effort in the short term. When delegating work a leader might feel that they don't have
time to explain how to do a job, it would be much quicker to do it themselves (Luecke. A 2009. p.4).
While this is true in the short term, each time an employee repeats this task they will get quicker
and quicker in the long run making the teaching process worth a leaders time.
For an employer to be able to delegate work effectively to it’s employees a few steps need to be
followed to ensure that the process runs smoothly. Firstly the employee’s are being held
responsible for the work that they have been delegated and so it is important that they are shown
some trust and respect to do what they have been asked. Communication is the key to success on
matters of delegating. The task must be explained clearly in detail to the employee with all the
correct required information provided at the correct time. Finally a definite deadline should be set
so that employees know what they are working towards and can manage their time effectively.
1.06 Why Is Team Work Important
Team working is important in the construction industry because there are many people with
different expertise that need to be included within a project. As mentioned earlier in section 1.01,
there will usually be architects, technologists, quantity surveyors, M&E engineers & structural
engineers all working together to complete a job. If these people do not communicate and work as
a team then mistakes will be made and costs will be added. One example could be that an
architect designs a building that requires three columns on the north elevation to support an
overhanging roof, but do not check with the structural engineers that this will be able to support the
building, until the end of the project. This could potentially cause the design to start from scratch
adding further delays to the project.
Individuals may initially find it difficult to work together as a team. This could be down to lack of
communication, change of mindset or clash of personalities. To make a team work well together it
is important that each member of that team has the relevant skill set required, commitment,
communication and has clear goals to strive towards. For a leader to organise the makings of an
effective team it is important to think about employing people with not only the right skills but the
right attitude for the job and providing efficient ways to communicate between team members. To
further develop the effectiveness of a team performance regular training should be provided,
encouragement should be given, new challenges & opportunities should be made

6. Appendix A - MEMBERS OF THE DESIGN TEAM
1.1 Architect
The role of the architect is to discuss the objectives, requirements and budget of a project to come
up with a working design; Architects will consult with other professionals about design; assess the
needs of a building and the buildings end use and advise the client on the their thoughts about the
project
1.2 Architectural Technologist (AT)
Architectural technologists (AT) often work alongside architects to establish contract procedures
and administration off work. AT’s have a deep understanding of the latest construction technology
and can translate their ideas into clear, accurate drawings that a contractor will be able to interpret
when on site. They draft out drawings that will be developed into elevations, section details, door
schedules, room elevations etc. The AT needs to be able to produce precise and accurate details
so that a bill of quantities and the specifications can be drawn up.
1.3 Client
The client is the person who the project is carried out for. The client will come up with the idea of
building something, employ the designers to design the building and the contractors to carry out
the work. The client is also responsible for basic duties under CDM (Construction Design &
Management Regulations 2007) regarding health and safety.
1.4 Quantity Surveyor (QS)
Quantity surveyors (QS) accurately calculate the amount of materials needed to build the project
as well as the cost. They prepare a bill of quantities creating a record of all the materials required
and identify all of the information necessary to produce a specification of the works. The QS will
then advise the architect & client on the cost of the job, check tenders and evaluate any costs as
work proceeds.
1.5 Structural (SE) And Mechanical & Electrical Engineers (M&E)
Structural engineers (SE’s) calculate the design of load-bearing elements of a building & ensure
that each component is designed to safely withstand all of the loads that are imposed on the
building. SE’s tend to work for the client but communicate directly with the architect to inform and
advise the design and installation of structural elements as the construction moves forward. They
work very closely with the architectural technologist and the principal contractor;
Building services engineers (M&E) design and implement a range of items into a building that
improve the quality of the building. The effective use of heat, light, acoustics and other electrical
appliances applied to a building have seen significant improvements in recent years and many of
these items such as lifts, escalators, air conditioning and heating and ventilation systems, should
be integrated into the design at an early stage to avoid conflicts later on.

7. Appendix B - Leadership
Leadership can have a large impact on the way that a team works and thinks, in many
organisations leadership is seen as something that everyone should have, and the absence of a
leader is the absence of organisation itself (knights & willmott, 2011, p.132). Effective leadership
includes being able to listen as well as respect the opinions of other members of the design team,
sharing any relevant information at the right time and knowing when to delegate work to others and
when to leave other members to get on with the task at hand. Leaders can take on an authoritative
approach, where they set tasks and deadlines and expect the work to be completed. On the other
hand there is a softer approach that leaders can take that involve more discussion and listening to
the employees opinions and only after that distributing tasks and agree the deadlines.
References
Mullins. L, 2016. Management & Organisational Behaviour. 11th Edition. Italy:L.E.G.O
McLeod, 2007. Maslows Heirachy of Needs. 16.02.2017. Available from: http://
www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Rollinson. D, 2008. Organisational behaviour & analysis. 4th Edition. Gosport. Ashford Colour
Press
Miles. J. Management and Organisation Thoery. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Luecke. A 2009. The Busy Managers Guide to Delegation. USA. American Management
Association
Walker, 2015. Project Management in Construction. 6th Edition. India: SPi Publisher Services.
Knights & Willmott, 2011. Organizational Analysis Essential Readings. China, RR Donnelley.
Waar. P, 2002. Psychology at work. 5th Edition. London, the penguin group
Crowther & Green, 2004. Organisational Theory. London, Chartered Institute of Personnel and
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