Constructing learning: adversarial and collaborative working in the British construction industry
Abstract
This paper examines two competing systems of organising the construction process and their consequences for learning. Under the adversarial system, contractors compete solely on price, risks are shifted onto those next in line and disputes are institutionalised through complicated, but inevitably incomplete, contracts. However, under collaborative working the costs and risks of the project are shared and the parties involved communicate openly and freely, often in the absence of tightly specified contracts. The move from the former to the latter represents a shift towards a climate in which problems are shared and solved regardless of where they occur in the productive system (a process conceptualised as ‘knotworking’ in the literature). The paper argues that such learning theories and policy pressures from above fail to take adequately into account the heavy hand of history and the importance of understanding the nature of the productive systems in which ‘knotworking’ is expected to occur. Both are important in understanding the fragility of collaborative working across the stages and structures of the construction production process which place limits on making ‘knotworking’ an habitual and commonplace activity.Citation
Constructing learning: adversarial and collaborative working in the British construction industry 2009, 22 (4):243-260 Journal of Education and WorkPublisher
Taylor and FrancisJournal
Journal of Education and WorkAdditional Links
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13639080903290355Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
1363-90801469-9435
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/13639080903290355