Normalization of deviance in the construction industry, a managerial perspective

Conference paper


Hajikazemi, S., Ahola, T, Aaltonen, K, Aarseth, W and Andersen, B (2019). Normalization of deviance in the construction industry, a managerial perspective. EURAM 2019: Exploring the future of management. Lisbon, Portugal 26 - 28 Jun 2019
AuthorsHajikazemi, S., Ahola, T, Aaltonen, K, Aarseth, W and Andersen, B
TypeConference paper
Abstract

Organizational factors such as complexity, weakness in organizational design and capabilities, optimism bias or strategic misinterpretation are often the most important drivers behind situations where conflicts, mistakes or disasters occur. It is the specific problem of teams normalizing unacceptable behavior which makes this phenomenon potentially damaging. This phenomenon has been referred to as “Normalization of Deviance” by Vaughan (1986), based on her study of the culture of NASA prior to the Challenger disaster. In a project management context, this term can be defined as the gradual process through which unacceptable project management practices or standards have become acceptable. As this behavior is repeated without catastrophic results, it gradually becomes the social or operating norm of the project group, organization (Pinto, 2014) or even industry. In these situations, people often accommodate, explain away or normalize discrepant cues of problems, because they are part of a system, routine or culture which unintentionally reduces mindfulness. This will all together prevent the organization from anticipating a wide range of crises. This study will investigate the project management practices within the construction industry which have become an acceptable part of the system, but in hindsight lead to overall poor performance of construction projects. This study will investigate the counterproductive managerial practices which overtime become embedded into the organizational culture, the characteristics which put construction project organizations in a position to fall into the slope of normalization of deviance and the contribution of sensemaking in overcoming conditions under which organizations fall into this slope.

Year2019
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Open
Publication dates
Print26 Jun 2019
Publication process dates
Deposited16 Jul 2019
Accepted20 Mar 2019
Permalink -

https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/item/86616

Download files


Accepted author manuscript
Final to be submitted.docx
License: CC BY 4.0
File access level: Open

  • 476
    total views
  • 391
    total downloads
  • 9
    views this month
  • 7
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

To be or not to be: why do transaction partners in construction industry avoid formulating agreements into contract documents?
Chen, Y., Wu, Y., Hajikazemi, S., Yao, H. and Ebohon, O. (2022). To be or not to be: why do transaction partners in construction industry avoid formulating agreements into contract documents? CIB WBC 2022. RMIT, Melborune, Australia 27 - 30 Jun 2022
Sexism and Project Studies: The Case of Construction and Engineering Organizations
Hajikazemi, S. and Locatelli, G. (2021). Sexism and Project Studies: The Case of Construction and Engineering Organizations. European Academy of Management. Montreal 16 - 18 Jun 2021
Making Tomorrow a More Resilient Place: On Black Swans in The Project-Based Firm
Hajikazemi, S. and Walton, A.J. (2020). Making Tomorrow a More Resilient Place: On Black Swans in The Project-Based Firm. European Academy of Management. Dublin 04 - 06 Dec 2020
Normalising deviance in construction project organizations: a case study on the collapse of Carillion
Hajikazemi, S., Aaltonen, K., Ahola, T., Aarseth, W. and Andersen, B. (2020). Normalising deviance in construction project organizations: a case study on the collapse of Carillion. Construction Management and Economics. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2020.1804069
Overcoming barriers against interaction on innovation capabilities within and between smes
Hajikazemi, S., Ekambaram, A, Røstad, CC and Henriksen, B (2018). Overcoming barriers against interaction on innovation capabilities within and between smes. Moon, Ilkyeong, Lee, Gyu M, Park, Jinwoo, Kiritsis, Dimitris and Cieminski, Gregor von (ed.) IFIP WG 5.7 International Conference. Seoul, Korea 26 - 30 Aug 2018 Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99704-9_28
Analyzing electrical installation labor productivity through work sampling
Hajikazemi, S., Andersen, B and Langlo, JA (2017). Analyzing electrical installation labor productivity through work sampling. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. 66 (4), pp. 539-553. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-06-2016-0122
Downfall in the Oil Price; Challenges and Opportunities for the Construction Industry
Hajikazemi, S., Olsson, N, Ekambaram, A, Andersen, B and Langlo, JA (2017). Downfall in the Oil Price; Challenges and Opportunities for the Construction Industry. 9th Nordic Conference on Construction Economics and Organization. Goteborg, Sweden 12 - 14 Jun 2017
Value Co-creation through Early Warning Signs in a Project Setting
Hajikazemi, S., Razmdoost, K and Smyth, H (2017). Value Co-creation through Early Warning Signs in a Project Setting. European Academy of Management (EURAM). Glasgow, Scotland 21 - 24 Jun 2017
The Black Swan – Knowing the Unknown in Projects
Hajikazemi, S., Ekambaram, A, Andersen, B and Zidane, YJ-T (2016). The Black Swan – Knowing the Unknown in Projects. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 226, pp. 184-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.06.178
Remedies for Managing Bottlenecks and Time Thieves in Norwegian Construction Projects – Public vs Private Sector
Eik-Andresen, P, Landmark, AD, Hajikazemi, S., Johansen, A and Andersen, B (2016). Remedies for Managing Bottlenecks and Time Thieves in Norwegian Construction Projects – Public vs Private Sector. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 226, pp. 343-350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.06.197
Barriers against effective responses to early warning signs in projects
Hajikazemi, S., Andersen, B and Klakegg, OJ (2015). Barriers against effective responses to early warning signs in projects. International Journal of Project Management. 33 (5), pp. 1068-1083. https://doi.org/https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.01.002
The Early Warning Procedure in an International Context
Hajikazemi, S., Andersen, B, Eleftheriadis, R and Capellan, A (2015). The Early Warning Procedure in an International Context. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 194, pp. 85-95. https://doi.org/https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.122
Detecting Early Warning Signs of Delays in Shipbuilding Projects
Hajikazemi, S., Arica, E, Semini, M, Andersen, B and Alfnes, E (2015). Detecting Early Warning Signs of Delays in Shipbuilding Projects. Advances in production management systems. Tokyo 07 - 09 Sep 2015
Efficiency of project health checks (PHCs) as an early warning system in practice: a case study in Norway telecommunication industry
Hajikazemi, S. and Andersen, B (2014). Efficiency of project health checks (PHCs) as an early warning system in practice: a case study in Norway telecommunication industry. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. 7 (4), pp. 678-700. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-01-2014-0012
Identification of Early Warning Signs in Front-End Stage of Projects, an Aid to Effective Decision Making
Hajikazemi, S., Andersen, B and Krane, HP (2013). Identification of Early Warning Signs in Front-End Stage of Projects, an Aid to Effective Decision Making. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 74, pp. 212-222. https://doi.org/https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.03.011
Application of performance measurement as an early warning system
Hajikazemi, S. and Andersen, B (2013). Application of performance measurement as an early warning system. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. 6 (4), pp. 714-738. https://doi.org/https://www.doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-04-2012-0015
A Review on Possible Approaches for Detecting Early Warning Signs in Projects
Hajikazemi, S., Andersen, B and Krane, HP (2013). A Review on Possible Approaches for Detecting Early Warning Signs in Projects. Project Management Journal. 44 (5), pp. 55-69. https://doi.org/https://www.doi.org/10.1002/pmj.21360
A Conceptual Framework for Application of Performance Measurement as an Early Warning System in Projects, an Analysis on the Case of the London Ambulance Service Project
Hajikazemi, S., Andersen, B and Krane, HP (2012). A Conceptual Framework for Application of Performance Measurement as an Early Warning System in Projects, an Analysis on the Case of the London Ambulance Service Project. PMI® Research and Education Conference. Limerick, Ireland 15 - 18 Jul 2012
Preliminary Investigation of Project Success Criteria in Norway
Hajikazemi, S., Hussein, B and Ramazany, S (2011). Preliminary Investigation of Project Success Criteria in Norway. The 6th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Data Acquisition and Advanced Computing Systems: Technology and Applications. Prague 15 - 17 Sep 2011