工程管理专业英文文献.docx

工程管理专业英文文献.docx

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工程管理专业英文文献

LanguageasaResourceinProjectManagement:

ACaseStudyandaConceptualFramework

NunoA.Gil

Abstract—Thisstudyshedslightonhowprojectmanagerscanuselanguageasaresourceforcommunicatingwithlocalcommu・nitiesandstakeholdersalik罠andprotectthekgitimacvoftheirdecisionsandactions・Theverbalaccountsproducedbyaseniorprojectmanagementteamareexaminedin-depth.TheaccountsaddresstheclaimsraisedbyresidentsaffectedbytheexpansionoftheHeathrowairport.Thecontextforthetalk-in-interactionisoneofconflictinginterests:

thepromoterundertakesactionstomitigatetheimpactsoftheconstructionworks・butsomeidentsfeelFrustratedthatthebusinesscangrowattheexpensesoftheirwelfare.Thefindingsrevealthatmanagerstendtoacknowledgeallclaimsevenwhenperceivingtheylacklegitimacy.Theanalystsofthewordsandphrasingintheconversationalturnsthatformtheaccountsreveakthrettones_aring・assertive,andapologetic—thatmanagersuseintentionallytoframelinRuisticallytheacknowledgements・Thestudydiscusseshowthetonesfitwiththeextenttowhich,first,managersconsiderthattheclaimsarefactuallycorrect,fair,andpreciseasopposedtounfair,exaggerated,oropportunistic;andsecond,managersfindtechnicalorinstitutionalreferencesavailableforconstructingtheaccounts・1（akodiscussestheeffectsofcongruence—orthelackofit—betweenwhatmanagersmeantosayaboutwhattheprojectteamwilldo・whatmanagersactuallysay,howlistenersinterpretwhatwassaid,andwhattheprojectteamactuallygetsdone・

IndexTerms—Comniunicatio1anguage,legitimacy,localcom・munities,projectstakeholder・

I.Introduction

P

ROJECTSaresocioteclinicalenterprises,andtechnicalknow-howaloneisinsufficienttobringaprojecttosuccessfulcompletion.Thispremisemakesconiinumcationskillscentraltoprojectmanagement,aswellasabehav-ictalcompetencethatprofessionalassociationsrequireforcertifiedprojectmanagers[36],[52],Communicationhasalsolongdeservedattentionintheprojectmanagementliterature.Gaddis*[27]seminalarticleexhortsprojectmanagerstoinvestinlearningtocommunicateadeqviately.Italsonotesthatfranknessandintegrityarekeyfeamresofcommunicationwhendiscussingthefuture.Subsequentliteratureontheso-calledsoftsideofprojectmanagement—thatembodiesLechler's[39]dictum"whenitcomestoprojectmanagement,it'sthepeoplethatmatter"—hassincethensoughttofleshoutseminalideas（e.g„[12],[13],and[51J）.

ManuscriptreceivedDecember2,2008;revisedMarch31.2009andMay9.2009;acceptedJune24,2009.DateofpublicationOctober6,2009;dateofcunent^-ersionJuly21,2010.Rev诧xvofthismanuscriptwasarrangedbyDepanxnentEditorJ.K.Pinto.

TheauthorisxvxththeManchesterBusinessSchool.TheUniveisityofManchester,ManchesterMl56PB,U.K.（e-mail:

nuno.gil@mbs.ac.uk）.

DigitalObjectIdentifier10.1109TEM.2009.202S327

Onesubsetofthisliteraturehasfocusedonthecominunica・tionskillsnecessarytoeffectivelymanagestakeholdersexternaltoprojects.Thisliteraturehasfocusedonmanaginglocalcom-munities,media,andotlierconstituencies（e.g„environmental・istsandp代servauoms（s）affectedbylarge-scalelnfrastmctiireprojects[58],[66].Thetheoryisunderdeveloped,butthesuesarewellunderstood.Attheonset,projectmanagersneedtodevelopapublicrelationsplanabouthowtodealviththepublicandmedia,andtodividethecommunicationworkloadamongtheteainmembers[66].Tobeeffective,projectmanagersneedtobuildcoalitionsandcommunicationchannelswiththeaffectedgroups,managetheirexpectations,listentotheircon・cerns.keepthemup-to-dateonprojectprogress,attendpublicmeetings,andparticipatemcommunityaffairs[3],[12].Theyalsoneedtoforeseeandforestallemergentissues,preparedetailedresponses,andrespondquicklytomisleadingmfbrniationthatcirculatesabouttheproject[51],[66].

Collectively,theseactionshelpprojectmanagerstomaketheaffectedgroupsgamconfidenceandtrustintheprojectteam[58],Theseactionsmayalsobringontheaffectedgroupstoseetheprojectasanopportunitytoimprovetheirwelfareratherthanathreattovestedinterests[58],Indoingso.man・agersprotectinstitutionallegitimacy,ie.thepublicperceptionthattheactionsareproperandappropriate,ratherthannegligentandirresponsible[61].Butthesearechallengingtasksbecausethepublicthatstandstogamfromtheprojectisnotnecessarilythesamethattheprojectaffectsmost[66].Howprojectman・agerscanuselanguagetocomiimmcateeffectivelywithexternalstakeholdersaffectedbytheprojectsoastoprotectlegitmiacyisthequestionattheheartofthisstudy.

Asaproxyforresearchingthisquestion,tinsempiricalstudyexaminesnvdepthverbalaccountsproducedthroughouttheteractionbenveenaseniorprojectmanagementteamandrq）re-sentativesofthelocalcomniunitiesaffectedbytheconstructionworksforanewairportterminal.Thesettingisthe£4.2billion（2006prices）Terminal5（T5）projectatHeathrow,aprivateportownedbyBritishAirportsAuthority（BAA）.TheanalysisdepartsfromElsbach's[22]workonhowfirmsuseaccounts（whichencompassexplanations,justifications,proclamationsofinnocence,useofenhancements,andentitlements）soastoprotectinstitutionallegitunacy.Elsbachidentifiestwolinguisticformstoframetheaccounts:

acknowledgementsanddenials,andtwotypesofcontenttoconstnicttheaccounts:

referencestoinstitutionalandtechnicalpractices.

001S-939152（500©2009IEEE

Somewhatsuiprismgly,thefindingsrevealthat“denials”[22]and"silence"[32]whenresidentsmakeclaimsarehardlyanoptionfortheprojectnianagementteam.Rather,theacknowledgementoftheissuesatthecoreoftheclaimsemergesasanalmostnecessaryconditiontotalkpeopleintobelievingthattheprojectteamiscommittedtomitigatethedetrimentalimpactsoftheproject.Managersappeartointentionallyacknowledgetheissueseveniftheyperceivethattheclaimshavelowlegitimacymthesensethattheymaybefactuallyincorrect,opportunistic,orexaggerated.Inlightofthisconstraint,thefindingssug・gestthatthetoneoftheacknowledgements,i.e.,theattitudeconveyedthroughthechoiceofwordsandphrasing,becomescriticaltofittheacknowledgmentstotheperceivedlegitnnacyoftheclaimsandtothecontentavailableforconstructingthemanagers'accounts.Groundedontheanalysisoftheempiricalfindingsfromthiscasestudy,thisstudyproposesaconceptualframeworkaboutthestrategicuseoflanguageasaresourcetomanagelocalcommunitiesandexternalstakeholdersalike.

Theremainderofthepaperisstructuredasfollows.First,theworkmconiinuxiicationforprotectinglegitunacyisdiscussedinSectionII.ThentheresearchmethodsandsettingaredescribedmSectionIII.SectionIVanalysestheverbalaccounts,andSectionVdiscussesdiefindmgs.Finally.SectionVIpresentstheimplicationstopracticeandtheory,andSectionVIIdiscussesthelmntationsandopportuniuesforfutureresearch.

II.CommunicationandLegitimacy:

InFirmsandProjects

Organizationsareeagertocommunicatetoprotectmstitii・tionallegitimacy,andmaintainapositivereputationinthepubliceyeandmtheeyesoftheactorsthatcaninfluencetheirfate[59].Thisisespeciallysoforlargefirms,whicharemorelikelytobethetargetofinstitutionalactors[18].Theseactors,suchasmediaandinterestgroins,createcoerciveandnormativepressuresforconformitytopublicexpectations,aswellasanarenainwhichfirmscanbuildlegiuinacy[22].Funisthatfoiltomeetexpectationsunderlinetheirmstimtionallegitimacy,andcompromiseprospectsofgrowthandexistenceduetolawsuits,regulatorchanges,andboycotts[25],[32].

Variousstudieshaveuncoveredstnicturesthatfirmscreatetocomimuiicateandprotectinstitutionallegitimacy、namely^rorkmimpressionmanagenient（e.g.,[22]）.issuesmanagement（e.g.,[10],[18],and[34]）,publicaffairs（eg.,[32]and[53]）,andmorerecently,corporatecommunication[14].The“boundaryspanning'、role[45]ofthesestructuresishvofold.Ontlieonehand,theybuildbridgestohelpnianagersunderstandtheoutsideworld,andlearnhowthefirmcanadaptsoastomeetorexceedregulatorrequirementsandconformtoexpectations[45].Ontheotherhand、theyworkasabufferthatmanagersusetoinsulatethefirmfromexternalinterference,ortoengagemadvocacyandadvertisingforuifiuencmgpolicy,regulation,andsociopoliticalexpectations[45].

Onestreamofthisliteraturefocusesontheverbalaccountsthatthesestructuresproducetoprotectinstitutionallegitimacy.Elsbach's[22]studyoftheaccountsproducedbytheCaliforniaCattleIndustryrevealstwobroadlinguisticframingsandtwotyp亡sofcontents.Accountscanbeframedasacknowledgementsordemals.Adenial（"itdidnothappen''）attemptstoseparatethefirmfromthecontroversialevent,whereastheacknowledgement（"werecognizethenegativeevent,but**）recognizesit,buttriestoattenuatenegativeperceptions.Theacknowledgementscanbemoreeffectivetomducepositive代・actionsbecausetheyseemlessdefensiveandmoreconcernedwiththepublicneedsthanthedenials[41].Thecontentmayincludereferencestotechnicalormstimtionalpractices.Thetechnicalreferencesstressefficiencyandeffectivenessinorganizationalperformance,conveyingrationalityandvalidity[22].Theinstitutionalrefdencestononnauve.andsociallyendorsedpracticesandgoalsimprovethecredibilityandbelievabilityoftheaccounts.Theinstitutionalreferencescanbemoreeffec