Communicating in dynamic conditions: How do on-site construction project managers do it?

A great many of today's construction projects are characterized by high levels of dynamics, namely, the combined effect of complexity, uncertainty, and speed. Managing projects under such conditions is difficult and challenging, and the question is asked: How do managers do it? Aspiring to answer this question, ten excellent on-site construction project managers were systematically observed during one workweek each, within an extensive study that examined their performance in their dynamic management environments. The structured observation and documentation and the analysis that followed them enabled us to characterize the managers' work and exposed their unique modes of operation through which they consistently excel in their work. Among many aspects addressed by the said study, this paper focuses on communication and, using various measures, examines the intensiveness and extensiveness of communication performed by the PMs in the broad context of their work. The study found that the on-site construction PMs were strongly oriented toward verbal communication of information (during nearly 80% of their activities and time); they spent a major portion of their workdays in meetings (during 60% of their activities, and of which nearly 80% were unplanned); and they showed clear preference for interacting informally with no more than one or two other persons (during 93% of their activities and 88% of the time). The unique knowledge base resulting from this study constitutes a potential contribution for practitioners who are required to function in similar dynamic work environments, as well as for students, teachers, and researchers of construction management.