The document discusses the UK construction industry and whether it is traditionally adversarial. It provides background on the size and importance of the construction industry to the UK economy. It reviews literature that argues the industry is adversarial, with contractors undermining each other to gain benefits, creating a hostile environment. However, other sources propose collaborative working where all parties work towards shared goals, which could decrease adversarial behaviors. The document aims to clarify what adversarial means in this context, why the industry is seen as adversarial, and if perspectives have changed over time through various reports recommending improvements like collaborative working.

1. 1 UK Construction
Industry and
Adversarial
Issues
Finance and Core Skills
HASNYAN HAIDER
1599891

2. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
Executive Summary
The construction industry is vital to the UK economy and is one of the largest sectors. However for -
the last two decades the construction industry has been criticized for being adversarial. Contractors
exploiting other contractors and driving their own benefits forward at the expense of others has
created a hostile industry. The need to change has long been about but now the pressure is
increasing. Many solutions have been put forward to tackle this but the most optimal is
‘Collaborative Working’. If this method is implemented into the projects in this industry, contractors
and other participants are more likely to work together and achieve the same aims and objectives
and thus this should decrease the amount of adversarial behaviors in the industry.
Keywords:
Adversarial, Collaborative, Industry, Economy, Construction
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3. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
Contents
Executive Summary ..............................................................................................................................2
Keywords:..........................................................................................................................................2
Contents................................................................................................................................................3
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................4
List of Tables .........................................................................................................................................4
Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................5
Aims and Objectives .............................................................................................................................5
Literature Review ..................................................................................................................................5
Methodology ........................................................................................................................................6
Results
...............................................................................................................................................................7
What is Adversarialism
...........................................................................................................................................................7
Why is the UK Construction Adversarial
...........................................................................................................................................................7
Discussion
...............................................................................................................................................................8
How can this Change.........................................................................................................................8
Why is there a need for change
...........................................................................................................................................................9
Conclusions and Recommendations
.............................................................................................................................................................12
Reference List .....................................................................................................................................13
Appendices..........................................................................................................................................14
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4. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Construction Industry in the UK
Figure 1.2: UK Construction Import and Export
Figure 1.3: Benefits of Rethinking Construction
Figure 1.4: Project Performance
List of Tables
Table 1.1: Contractors and Objectives
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5. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
Introduction
The UK Construction Industry was traditionally said to be adversarial. What does that mean and
has this changed?
The UK construction industry is a complex system that is consistently expanding and growing. The
construction industry also plays a vital role in the UK economy and is one of the back bone industries
this country is built on. There are many specific sectors and variety of roles within the industry itself
which come together to make one of the UK’s largest sectors of economy. ‘It contributes almost £90
billion to the UK economy (or 6.7%) in value added, comprises over 280,000 businesses covering
some 2.93 million jobs, which is equivalent to about 10% of total UK employment’ (Department of
Business Innovation and skills. A, 2013).
As a consequence of this there are many different views and opinions on this sector. The industry is
traditionally criticised for being adversarial. This report will explain the meaning of this and whether
there has been a change or development.
Aims and Objectives
This report aims to clarify the meaning behind adversarial within the construction industry. Also to
review the reason to why it is traditionally said to be adversarial. Finally to give an opinion on
whether it still is adversarial while taking into consideration the different views and aspect to come
up with a conclusion on the matter.
Literature Review
The department of business innovation and skills (2013) stated that the UK construction industry
plays a vital role within the economy and generates a lot of profit and jobs for the UK. The vast
market in the modern day now exports and imports a lot of projects. This created a pressure in the
supply chain within the construction industry and with this pressure and the need for improving the
performance of the industry.
With this pressure on the industry came a lot of criticism, one of which was outlined by an
organisation called Genie Belt (2014) who conducted a study and found that the UK construction
industry is quite adversarial epically compared to the construction industries of other countries such
as the USA and France. Similarly Bishop D (2008) also argued that the UK construction industry is
adversarial, he believed that contractors exploit and undermine each other which has created a
hostile situation in the industry and has brought upon the distrust in projects.
Latham’s (1994) knew of a solution to this problem and that was to bring about a ‘win-win’ solution
for everybody. This meant that rather than one person benefiting and another losing out that
contractors should come to a mutual agreement where they both win. Thomas (2005) further
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6. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
expanded on Latham’s statement by agreeing with the basic concept, that a ‘win-win’ solution would
work however, there can be barriers and situations where other members of the project won’t win
in the same value as others.
Morrell (2015) agreed with the previous statements and said that the best way that adversarial
behaviour can be reduced is through implementing collaborative working into projects. This would
influence participants and contractors to work together and towards the same objectives which
brings along long-term benefits. Similarly Kristen (2000) agreed and found that the best solution for
adversarialism within the industry was through coalition and team working within projects. However
she felt that the entire blame should not just be on the contractors but the clients. Seeing as they
play an influential role on the attitudes contractors have within projects.
The poor performance within the industry is common knowledge and has been for a long period.
Reports dating back to the early 1930’s to 60’s have all recognised and investigated into the future
short comings of the construction industry. Reports such as the Simon Report (1944) investigated
the influences and the effectiveness of how managing contracts can help the construction industry.
This report was seen as one of the first to criticise the industry but had little impact.
The Emmerson Report (1962) and the Banwell Report (1964) also criticised the construction industry
but instead came up with a solution to the problem, this was ‘team relations’ and the different forms
of contracts for the different types of work. Links to these report can be found in the appendices.
So even though reports were commissioned nothing drastically was put into action until the 90’s era.
This was the critical turning point in which change began to occur. Two significant reports helped
with this change, ‘The Latham’s Report 1994 and ‘The Egan Report 1998’.
The Egan’s report stated that ‘the construction industry in the UK has consistently performed in a
way that is thought to be wasteful compared to other industries’ (Egan 1998). The report came up
with a method for success which are the five drivers for change. These are committed leadership, a
focus on the customer, integrated processes and teams, a quality driven agenda and commitment to
people. Links to these reports can be found in the appendices.
Methodology
The methodological approach taken was to research different views, opinions, and discussions on a
controversial statement. This was a desk top study therefore there was hardly any opportunities at
the time to retrieve primary information. Most information retrieved was secondary and qualitative.
Some quantitative information was gathered from two government documents on the UK
construction industry. Most of the information however, was gathered from three books, one spoke
about collaborative working and the need for change, another spoke of the UK construction industry
its supply chain and scale and finally the last one spoke of the importance of client and contractor
relations.
Previous journals and reports already relating the topic were taken into consideration and helped
build up on the discussion. These helped voice opinions of individuals and groups and gave different
aspects in the sensitivity of the topic relating adversarial behaviour in the UK construction industry.
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7. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
Results
What is Adversarialism
Adversarial, is pertaining to or characterized by antagonism and conflict (Dictionary, 2015). In many
projects within the UK you will find the different disciplines disagreeing on specific matters, matters
which normally relate to money and decision making. This therefore is Adversarialism in the UK
construction industry.
It is common knowledge that in order for a project to be successful there must be a certain degree
of team work and coalition. The better the participants within a project interrelate the easier it will
be for them to achieve set objectives for the project. A certain level of interrelations must be
established within a project between different participants to help the projects performance.
Nonetheless, in the UK construction industry this aspect of the sector is often criticised and is in
need of improvement.
Adversarial behaviour within the construction can be dated back to the last two decades. In the
modern day this has become a serious concern and the performance of the British construction
industry is in question. In modern day construction projects it is believed to be a social norm where
adversarial forms of contracting is common and Contractors exploiting and undermining each other.
This has created to a hostile environment for project management and the need for a proposed
solution has become greater.
Why is the UK Construction Adversarial
Construction work is broad field, each project is different and unique it its own way. They can span
from a few days to several years but the basic principles of how they work are the same. Client’s
would normally decide their requirements and appoint contractors to take responsibility and meet
these requirements.
Depending on the scale of the project there can be many roles within the construction process;
there can be main contractors who have subcontractors and even temporary contractors for certain
stages of the project. With the vast number of layers within the process and the size of the supply
chain there are many opportunities for each contractor to drive their own return through the
structure of the production (Bishop, 2008).
Thus, adversarialism is a widespread of the construction industry, its stated that ‘given the
adversarial, low-trust environment that has dominated the construction sector for many years, a
considerable amount of correction is required if the correct ‘win-win’, high trust, team working mind
set is to take hold’ (Thomas, 2005).
It was stated that within projects there have been many conflicts and disagreements. It’s the same
story QS’s, Design Teams, PM’s and contractors all having a go at one another and disagreeing to a
stage where it can only be resolved in the courts. However, you will mainly find this in the UK
construction industry.
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8. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
A study was conducted on the cooperation within construction projects it was found that the US,
Denmark and France all have a better cooperation within their projects compared to that of the UK’s
(Genie, 2014).
It is thought to be due to the UK construction culture. Dating all the way back to the post war
regeneration period. The situation was created where nearly any potential construction client was a
monopoly, this also meant any party tendering for any of the works was an effective free market.
This then lead to the exploitation, clients therefore tried to reduce costs, especially at the costs of
the contractors (Genie, 2014).
It was argued that the nature of interrelationships determines the overall performance of that
project. Each individual effects the overall outcome, this article also went on to include that each
individual must be satisfied within a project and must have a certain level of satisfaction from the
work they do to perform optimal enough for a successful project. However, this article also argued
that there are two levels of satisfaction for each participant within a project.
Level one is just the basic satisfaction each participant has themselves towards the work, the second
level is the work others produce for the project. This therefore means that for an individual to be
fully satisfied to a specific level where they can work optimally and most efficiently for the project’s
success, they need to be satisfied with their own performance and the performance of others within
the project. This concluded that work co-operation is a vital aspect for project success and that
harmonious work relations are needed to reduce the overall adversarialism (Kristen 2000).
Discussion
How can this Change
The challenges faced in today’s construction industry is how to tackle the problem, it’s easy enough
to enforce the ‘win-win’ situation but not everyone will agree. It has been agreed by many that the
way forward is collaborative working. Collaborative working within the projects enable everyone to
agree on the same objectives and aims and help each other achieve them. This has the potential to
promote more knowledge and learning within the industry and will enable long term benefits.
Clients trying to reduce costs and contractors trying to produce work, thus the stalemate. But can
this change? It is believed that everyone within a project all share the same objective, which is to
achieve a successful outcome. With an overall objective of success it can be done, but then again
different teams also have their own objectives.
These are stated below:
Table 1.1: Contractors and Objectives
Client Will be happy if he gets a building which is finished on time, is up to the
quality required and is, of course, within budget.
Design Team and
Consultants
Will be happy if they secure their fees for the projects and if the Client and
project team wants to work with them again.
Contractors and sub-
Contractors
Will be happy if they get paid on time, secure a good profit and ensure
that the project team, their workers and most importantly, the Client,
wants to work with them again.
Other Parties Will be happy if they complete a project, and were a part of a team, that
they can all be proud of.
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9. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
(Genie, 2014)
Chris Blythe the chief executive of CIOB stated that change is impossible to achieve without the wide
collaboration of the industry. In 2014 the Commission published a report on collaboration for change
called the ‘Edge Commission Report on the Future of Professionalism’. This report concludes that
there is a pressure for change and it can be achieved. The main points to take into consideration are:
• Ethics and the public interest, and a shared code of conduct
• Education and competence
• Research and a body of knowledge
• Collaboration on major challenges, including industry reform in the interests of a better offer to
clients, climate change and building performance (Morrell, 2015)
With the change of professionalism and the pressure for more collaboration within the industry this
will help reduce adversarialism.
Conversely it is not so easy to implement into the industry due to the barriers. One barrier that has
been recognised for the implementation of collaborative working is at the beginning stage of the
project. The client plays a vital role in the project and the client’s attitude towards the work and
method it is carried out. It was noted that if the client’s attitude was not that influential on the
contractors then collaborative working would not be as affective. If however the client emphasises
the importance of collaborative working at the beginning stages of the project then the contractors
are more likely to implement this method into the project.
There is also another barrier with this outcome as not all clients are even able to provide the support
needed to implement and influence the project for collaborative working to succeed (Bishop, 2008).
Why is there a need for change
The UK construction industry is continuingly growing, there are many drivers for growth, such as
foreign markets. The global and domestic opportunities arising in construction calls for a capable
workforce to provide the performance needed.
The construction industry plays a vital role in the UK economy, so the success of the industry is
required. This table below shows the technology advantages in construction for different countries.
Figure 1.1: Construction Industry in the UK
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10. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
(Department of Business Innovation and skills. A, 2013)
So the UK does have the technological advantage when it comes to most of the other countries,
along with this advantage the UK also exports many services to other countries.
Figure 1.2: UK Construction Import and Export
(Department of Business Innovation and skills. A, 2013)
With the UK exporting services and having a lead on other countries within the industry there is a
larger pressure for performance and results from the industry. This could then lead to a lot of
criticism if they do not perform to a specific standard.
This can be related to the issues surrounding adversarial performances. So due to these statistics it is
easy to see why there is a need for change. The change is necessary for the industry and will bring
many benefits to the economy.
A study was conducted to see the ways in which construction could be improved overall in the UK.
One of the main issues highlighted in the interviews and reports was the effects of behaviour within
projects.
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11. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
Behavioural issues within projects have been identified as important and thus the need for positive
improvements. Interviewees recognised contractors and project managers as having a key role
within the positivity of a project. Project managers therefore have a correlation between project
performances. (Department Of Business Innovation and Skills. B, 2013)
The chart below shows what the interviewee’s said would help improve construction performance
overall. The majority concluded integration within the workforce and collaborative working.
Figure 1.3: Benefits of Rethinking Construction
(Department Of Business Innovation and Skills. B, 2013)
There is a need for change for the future of the construction industry, it has been researched that in
the modern day projects too many participants within a project are working towards their own
objectives rather than the objectives of the entire project. This leads to certain individuals obtaining
their own objects being disregarding the objectives of others (Kristen 2000).
pg. 11

12. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
This is due to the vision of individuals, many people argue that those individuals who only wish to
obtain their own objectives and only have short term vision, which means gaining small success by
achieving just their own objectives. If however, they had the long term vision most would realise
that if they obtain the overall objectives of the project rather than their own this would make for a
better work force, a more successful project outcome and would possibly lead to more business
opportunities for these individuals for the future. This does not only benefit the individual but the
entire construction industry as well.
Figure 1.4: Project Performance
Latham once encouraged participants within the construction industry to strive towards a ‘win –
win’ solution. This was basically where all the participants within a project would aim to obtain the
same goals thus leading everyone to satisfaction. By obtaining the overall objectives and with the
same goals in mind this would then satisfy not only the participants working in the project but the
clients. This would eventually lead to more employment by the clients for the industry (Latham,
1994).
Conclusions and Recommendations
As it has been outlined adversarial behaviour has been an issue for a long time within the UK
construction industry, but as the industry is now growing and expanding year by year the pressure
for improvement has risen, especially as resources are being exported from the country. We can
agree that the main solution for this problem is to implement more collaborative working within
projects, with more team working between contractors. In addition, clients should take some
responsibility due to their vast influence in projects not just contractors.
It has been realised that if contractors and participants work together to achieve similar aims and
objectives this would create a better and more efficient work force with a more successful outcome
for the project. Therefore with this development there would be more long term benefits for both
businesses, clients and the UK economy.
pg. 12
Contractor
Organisation
Performance
attributes
Objectives
Project
Performance
Roles within Project
Coalition
Contractors
Performance
Client
Performance
Contractor
Performance

13. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
Reference List
1. Bishop, D., Felstead A, Fuller A, Jewson N, Kakavelakis K, Unwin L, (2008), “Learning as
Work”, Teaching and Learning Processes in Contemporary Work Organisations, (13), pp 2 –
17.
2. Department Of Business Innovation and Skills. A, (2013), An Economic analysis of the sector.
London: BIS.
3. Department Of Business Innovation and Skills. B, (2013), Supply Chain Analysis into the
Construction Industry. London: BIS. No 145.
4. Dictionary, (2015) , ‘Adversary’, [Online], Available from:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/adversarial, [Accessed on 18/10/2015]
5. Egan, J., (1998), ‘Rethinking Construction’, [Online], Available from:
http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2014/10/rethinking_construction_report.pdf, [Accessed on 15/11/2015]
6. Genie Belt, (2014), ’The Nature of UK Construction is Adversarial’, [Online], Available from:
http://blog.geniebelt.com/2014/04/the-nature-of-uk-construction-is-adversarial, [Accessed
on 18/10/2015]
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14. UK Construction Industry and Adversarial Issues
7. Kristen, P., (2000), The performance of the project coalition in the UK construction industry,
a conceptual optimisation model, 2, (2), pp 104-110.
8. Latham, M., (1994), “Constructing the team”, Final report of the government/industry review
of procurement and contractual arrangements in the United Kingdom construction industry,
HMSO, Department of Environment, London.
9. MORRELL, P., (2015), Collaboration for change: The edge Commission Report on The Future
of Professionalism. [Online], Available from: http://www.edgedebate.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/05/150415_collaborationforchange_book.pdf. [Accessed on 2/10/
2015]
10. Thomas, G., Thomas, M., (2005), Construction Partnering and Integrated Team working,
Oxford: Blackwell.
Appendices
1. Simons Report (1944) Link:
http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Simon_Report
2. Banwell Report (1962) Link:
http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Banwell_Report
3. Emerson Report (1962) Link:
http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Construction_industry_reports
4. Egan Report Rethinking Construction link:
http://constructingexcellence.org.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2014/10/rethinking_construction_report.pdf
5. Latham’s Report (1994) link:
http://www.cewales.org.uk/cew/wp-content/uploads/Constructing-the-team-The-Latham-
Report.pdf
pg. 14