| Book Name: | Crisis Management in Construction Projects by Martin Loosemore |
| Category: | Civil Engineering Books |
| Language: | English |
| Format: | |
| Free Download: | Available |
Crisis Management in Construction Projects by Martin Loosemore, Ph.D. | PDF Free Download.
| Book Details : | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Pages | 181 |
| Format | |
| Size | 10.4 MB |
Crisis Management in Construction Projects by Martin Loosemore
Book Description:
Crisis Management in Construction Projects shows how to prevent crises on construction projects and, when crisis is inevitable, how to turn it to advantage. Based on a decade of crisis management research and consulting in the construction and engineering industries, Martin Loosemore provides lessons drawn from a wide range of high-risk industries. Adopting both a reactive and preventative focus, this book presents crises as opportunities for growth, defying the notion that crises are managerial failures to be avoided and suppressed at all costs. ””Crisis Management”” challenges readers to think about projects in new ways, using contemporary research from crisis management, risk management, psychology, and the behavioral sciences. Case studies provide an excellent vehicle for readers to examine others’ experiences and gain insight into their behavior during a real-life crisis. The topics include: Planning for Crises; The Dynamics of Crisis Management; Emergency Planning in Construction Projects; Crisis Managers as Social Architects; Lessons for Crisis Managers; and Creating an Optimistic Organization
Crisis Management in Construction Projects Contents
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Chapter 2: Planning for Crises
- Chapter3: The Dynamics of Crisis Management
- Chapter 4: Emergency Planning in Construction Projects
- Chapter 5: Crisis Managers as Social Architects
- Chapter 6: Case Study One
- Chapter 7: Case Study Two
- Chapter 8: Case Study Three
- Chapter 9: Case Study Four
- Chapter 10: Lessons for Crisis Managers
- Chapter 11: Conclusion – Creating an Optimistic Organization
Preface to Crisis Management in Construction Projects PDF
Political, economic, and social instability; depleted natural resources; increasing global competition; and rapid technological advances are making business increasingly unpredictable.
Unexpected problems are the norm rather than the exception and high-profile engineering disasters such as the Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway collapse in Kansas City in 1981 are merely the tip of the iceberg.
Risk theory suggests that for every reported crisis, the multipliers in terms of unreported incidents are enormous. For example, Smith (1996) indicates that for every fatality in the airline industry there are 10 major accidents, 30 minor accidents, and 600 near misses.
This book draws an important distinction between the day-to-day problems that constantly punctuate the lives of managers and the occasional crises.
Managing crises demands special attention because they hyper-extend organizational systems and personnel, posing managers with an extraordinary array of complex problems that can rapidly escalate into full-blown disasters.
This book is about preventing this from happening. One of the unique aspects of this book is its preventative and reactive focus.
This contrasts with traditional construction management texts that have been dominated by prevention strategies rather than strategies for dealing with crises when they occur.
While prevention is better than cure, it is increasingly unlikely that managers can create a crisis-free environment. This requires that organizations have reactive capabilities to deal with the unexpected. Another unique feature of this book is its focus on people.
This, too, is in contrast to traditional construction management texts, which are essentially scientific in their approach, being characterized by a plethora of bar charts, networks, and cash-flow graphs.
While these texts emphasize measurement, control, and universal prescription to reduce uncertainty, this book emphasizes thoughtfulness, flexibility, and the accommodation of uncertainty.
This alternative approach to construction project management is important because there has been precious little research into the human aspects of construction project management.
As Butterfield (1975) argues, “no field of thought can be properly laid out by men who are merely measuring with a ruler” (page 1).
Who is Crisis Management in Construction Projects PDF Written for?
Crises have no respect for professional boundaries, which makes this book relevant to all who manage construction projects. While it has a construction flavor, it draws lessons from a wide range of industries and should also be of wider interest.
Although this book is primarily designed for practitioners, it challenges the traditional assumption that theory and practice are incompatible.
Watson (1994) has shown how practicing managers intuitively develop, update, and draw on complex theoretical ideas in their day-to-day lives.
Although they may not be formal management theories, managers are essentially “practical-theorists” and the most effective of them recognize the value of theories as conceptual frameworks to guide their actions.
For this reason, this book marries an applied orientation with strategic and basic research elements.
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Author(s): Loosemore, Martin
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers, Year: 2000
ISBN: 0-7844-0491-7,9780784404911
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