TOWARDS A SYSTEMIC CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT: A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR A FRAGMENTED INDUSTRY IN AFRICA
Main Article Content
Keywords
Infrastructure, construction, fragmented, system, system thinking
Abstract
In spite of the several attempts by African countries to address their infrastructure needs, and despite the enormous investments injected into infrastructural development, much has not been achieved. The central problem is that researches and development issues in the industry have not taken into consideration its fragmented nature and how this impacts on the efforts being put in place. Relying on the survey of literature review, this paper proposes a research agenda for the construction industries in Africa and other developing countries in which a concerted effort based on systemic approach should be used to address the problem. It is conceived that the research and development objective of the industry in Africa could be better achieved if it is considered as a system of fragmented components. This will provide a framework in which the General Systems Theory which will enable the application of laws and theories from other disciplines in the industry’s research and hence its development. The expected results is that improvements and developments programmes shall be focused on individual component parts whose interactions, if properly managed, will result in the development of the whole. In the process better and realistic results of infrastructural developmental agenda will be achieved
Article Metrics Graph
References
use in construction, Benchmarking, An International Journal. Vol. 11 No. 1, 2004. pp.
93-117.
Bertalanffy, W. V. (1956). General System Theory. General Systems, Vol.1, 1956, pp.1-10; as
in Midgley (2003). System Thinking, Vol. 1, pp. 36-51.
Boulding, K. E. (1956). General System Theory –The Skeleton of Science. Management
Science, Vol.2, pp. 197-208; as in Midgley (2003) System Thinking, Vol. 1, pp. 52-62.
Brundtland, G (ed) (1987). Our Common Future: The World Commission on Environmental
and Development, Oxford University Press.
Capra, F. (1982). The Turning Point: Science, Society and the Rising Culture. The Chascer
Press, Suffolk, UK.
Capra, F. (2003). The hidden connections. Flamingo, London.
Checkland, P (2000). Soft Systems Methodology: A Thirty Year Retrospectivea Systems
Research and Behavioral Science Syst. Res. 17, S11–S58 (2000).
Chung, H.W. (1999). Understanding Quality Assurance in Construction, a Practical Guide to
ISO 9000, e & FN Spon, NY.
CIB (1999). Managing Construction Industry Development in Developing Countries: Report
on the First Meeting of the CIB Task Group 29. Arusha, Tanzania, 21-23 September.
Rotterdam, as quoted in Ofori (2001), “indicators for measuring construction industry
development”, Building Research & Information, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp 40-50
Daellenbach, H.G. (2002). Hard OR, Soft OR, Problem Structuring Methods, Critical Systems
Thinking: A Primer. Unpublished Paper, University of Canterbury, NZ.
Du Plessis, C. D. (2002). Agenda 21 for Sustainable Construction in Developing Countries –A
discussion document.
Egan, J (1998). Rethinking Construction, Department of the Environment, Transport and the
Regions, http://www.construction.detr.gov.uk.
Flood, R.L. & Jackson, M.C. (1991). Creative Problem Solving: Total Systems Intervention.
Wiley, Chichester Flood, R. L., and Romm, N. R. A. (1996). Diversity Management, Wiley,
Chichester, UK.
Fox, A. (1966). Industrial sociology and industrial relations. Research Paper 3, Royal
Commissio on Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations, HMSO, London.
Forrester, J. W. (1971). Counterintuitive Behaviour of Social Systems. Theory and Decision,
Vol.2, pp.109-140; as in Midgley (2003) System Thinking, Vol. 2, pp. 94-117.
Fuenmayor, R. (1991b). The roots of reductionism: A counter-ontoepistemology for a systems
approach. Syst. Pract. 4, 419-447.
Hall, A.D. and Fagen R.E. (1956). Definition of System. General Systems, Vol. 1, pp.18-28; as
in Midgley (2003) System Thinking, Vol. 2, pp. 63-82.
Heyer, R (2004). Understanding Soft Operations Research: The methods, their application and
its future in the Defence setting. Australian Governement Department of Defence.
Defence Science and Technology Organisation. Command and Control Division
Information Sciences Laboratory DSTO-GD-0411. Published by DSTO Information
Sciences Laboratory PO Box 1500, Edinburgh South Australia 5111 Australia.
Hillebrandt, P. (1984). Economic Theory and the Construction Industry, second Edition,
Macmillan, London.
Jackson, M. C., and Keys, P. (1984). Towards a system of systems methodologies. Journal of
Operational Res. Soc. Vol. 35, 473.
Jackson, M. C. (1987). Present positions and future prospects in management science. Omega
Vol.15, 455.
Jackson, N., and Carter, P. (1991). In defence of paradigm incommensurability. Organisation
Studies 12, 109.
Jenkins, G.M. (1969). The Systems Approach. Journal of Systems Engineering, Vol. 1, pp. 3-
49; as in Midgley (2003) System Thinking, Vol. 2, pp. 175-231.
Koskela, L. (2000). An exploration towards a production theory and its application to
construction, Espoo, VTT Building Technology, p.296, VTT Publications; 408.
Koskela, L. and Howell, G., (2002). The Underlying Theory of Project Management is
Obsolete, Proceedings of the PMI \Research Conference, 293-302.
Kumaraswamy, M. M. (2006). Accelerating Construction Industry Development Journal of
Construction in Development Countries, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 73-96.
Kumaraswamy, M., Lizarralde, G., Ofori, G., Styles, P. and Suraji, A. (2007). Industry-Level
Perspective of Revalue Construction: Focus on Developing Countries. CIB Priority
Theme –Revaluing Construction. AWO65 ‘Organisation Management of Construction
Perspective. CIB Publication 313.
Latham, M. (1994). Constructing the team, Joint Review of Procurement and Contractual
Arrangement in the United Kingdom. Design, Drawing and Print Services.
Midgley, G. (1997). Mixing methods: Developing systemic intervention. In Mingers, J., and
Gill, A. (eds.), Multimethodology: The Theory and Practice of Combining Management
Science Methodologies, Wiley, Chichester, UK, pp. 249–290.
Mingers, J., and Brocklesby, J. (1996). Multimethodology: Towards a framework for critical
pluralism, Systemist 18(3), 101.
Munro, I. & Mingers, J. (2002). The use of multimethodology in practice, results of a survey
of practitioners. Journal of the Operational Research Society 53: 369-378.
Ofori, G. (2000). Challenges of Construction Industries in Developing Countries: Lessons from
Various Countries, Conference Paper, Challenges Facing Construction Industries in
Developing Countries, 2nd International Conference on Construction in Developing
Countries: Challenges facing the construction industry in developing countries 15-17
November 2000, Gabarone, Botswana
Ofori, G. (2001). Indicators for Measuring Construction Industry Development in Developing
Countries, Building Research & Information, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp 40-50
Fuenmayor, R. (1991b). The roots of reductionism: A counter-ontoepistemology for a systems
approach. Syst. Pract. 4, 419-447.
Robert, J-M., Lizarralde, G., Moulet, L., Davidson, C.H., Nie, J-Y and Da Sylva, L. (2006).
Finding out: A System for Providing Rapid and Reliable Answers to Questions in the
Construction Sector. Journal for Construction Innovation, Vol. 6, No.4, pp. 250-261.
Shen, G.Q.P. (2006). Ensuring Value for Money: A Value Management Approach to Managing
Multiple Stakeholders in briefing Process, Clients Driving Innovation: Moving Ideas
into Practice (12-14 March, 2006 Cooperative Research Centre (CRC0 for Construction
Innovation).
Simon HA. (1960). The New Science of Management Decision. Harper and Row: New York.
Simon HA. 1977. The New Science of Management Decision (revised edn). Prentice-Hall:
Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Torlak, G. N. (2001). Reflections on Multimethodology: Maximizing Flexibility,
Responsiveness, and Sustainability in Multimethodology Interventions through a
Theoretically and Practically Improved Version of Total Systems Intervention (TSI).
Systemic Practice and Action Research, Vol. 14, No. 3. pp. 297-337.
Warren, L. & Adman, P. (1999). The Use of TSI in Designing a System for a University IS User
Support Service. Systems Research and Behavioral Science 16: 351-358.
World Bank (1994). World Development Report 1994: Infrastructure for Development, World
Bank, Washinton, D.C
Zimring, C. (2008). Facility Performance Evaluation (FPE) Whole Building Design Guide.
www.wbdg.org/resource/fpe.php. Accessed, 15/09/08.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
The Journal of Construction Project Management and Innovation (JCPMI) is committed to the principles of Open Access publishing and upholds the ethos of freely disseminating research findings to enhance knowledge and understanding within the field of construction project management and innovation.
In accordance with our commitment to open scholarly communication, all articles published by JCPMI are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC). This licensing agreement allows others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the original author and source are credited. The license also ensures that authors retain copyright over their work while allowing the wider community to access, use, and build upon the content.
The terms of the CC BY-NC license are designed to facilitate the following:
- Attribution: Users must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. This can be done in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses the user or their use.
- Non-Commercial: Users may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- No Additional Restrictions: Users may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
By publishing with JCPMI, authors agree to these terms and ensure that their work is accessible and reusable under the conditions of the CC BY-NC license, thereby contributing to the ongoing exchange of knowledge and information in an Open Access environment.
Creative Commons CC Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License