Diversity and Performance in Singapore’s Construction Industry

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Problem Statement
Organizational Behavior Issues in This Case
Possible Theories Relevant to the Case
Organizational Behavior Challenges in the Case Study
Personal Opinion/Recommendations
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Singapore is one of the most advanced countries in the world, with most of its industries, such as manufacturing, finance, accommodation, and commerce, flourishing. However, one of the country’s biggest industries, construction, is still in recession. While the overall productivity of Singapore grew by 4.5% in 2017, construction is one of the industries which has still been underperforming by not reaching its set performance targets (Won et al., 2020). To improve the industry, the government has had to step in with improvements in technology and research; however, this alone has proven not enough to rejuvenate the ailing sector. Singapore is ethnically diverse, with the major ethnic groups being Chinese, Indian, Malay, and others (Won et al., 2020). Therefore, this study focused on how workforce diversity can be used to achieve project productivity performance in the construction industry. This study will summarize a research paper by Won, D., Hwang, B., and Chng, S. J., titled “Assessing the effects of workforce diversity on project productivity performance for sustainable workplace in the construction industry,” placing a special focus on organizational behavior.

Problem Statement

This research seeks to identify the potential benefits that a more diverse workforce can bring to the construction industry in Singapore. The main objectives which could help the researchers solve this problem are:

Identifying and assessing the critical factors that affect workforce diversity
Evaluating the impact of a diverse workforce on construction project productivity
Propose effective recommendations which can support diversity in the construction industry

Organizational Behavior Issues in This Case

Productivity is one of the main organizational behavior issues highlighted in this case study. Productivity involves meeting organizational or industry goals and ensuring that everything is on track. Some of the main causes of productivity losses are understaffing, distraction from work, and poor leadership (Won et al., 2020). The construction industry in Singapore has failed to achieve its set goals and is still in a recession which shows that these issues must be addressed.

In this case, the other organizational behavior issue is the lack of teamwork. Teamwork is essential in the construction industry and especially in an ethnically diverse society, because it involves bringing employees to work together to achieve a common goal. Due to the many ethnically diverse people in Singapore, sometimes interaction and sharing of knowledge may be challenging, hindering teamwork (Won et al., 2020). In this case, lack of teamwork results from having culturally diverse ethnic groups in Singapore and poor communication channels. Additionally, people from different ethnic backgrounds may lack trust in one another, interfering with the information and knowledge-sharing process.

The Singapore construction industry has still been affected by high turnover rates. This is whereby young employees leave work in high volumes, leading to challenges in replacing them and affecting productivity. Hiring new personnel takes time and resources and may delay some of the projects, affecting the overall project performance (Won et al., 2020). High turnover is brought by the highly competitive jobs in other industries, such as manufacturing, accommodation, and finance, which has made many workers change their jobs. This shows that the construction industry has to be competitive enough to secure enough workers in the country.

Possible Theories Relevant to the Case

Effective leadership is essential for the success of functions that involve collaboration. According to the trait leadership theory, one way of increasing the worker’s efficiency would be by improving their methods and techniques (M. Alkadash & Nadam, 2020). Workers are a resource that the leaders can manipulate to provide desired results in a well-structured manner. Therefore, one of the ways that the management can consider the worker’s affairs would be by ensuring that they improve the methods and techniques of doing work. The trait theory assumes that leaders are born with traits that enable them to improve their employees’ work through clear comprehension of tasks, self-confidence, ability to provide innovative solutions, and alertness to other people’s needs (M. Alkadash & Nadam, 2020). This type of leadership would be essential in solving some problems, such as high turnover, because the leader can foresee and address workers’ issues, making them more satisfied.

Contingency Leadership Theory

Like the other industries, the construction industry is fast changing and therefore needs a leader who makes decisions based on current situations. Contingency theory is a type of leadership that is based on making leadership decisions based on the situation that is faced. This model makes leadership more flexible and can easily adjust to changing trends (M. Alkadash & Nadam, 2020). According to this model, contingent leaders are more relationship and task-oriented and have situational control. This type of leadership can address various challenges, such as productivity, whereby when performance productivity goes down, the leader can establish the cause quickly and address it.

Organizational Behavior Challenges in the Case Study

Various organizational behavior challenges in this case study have dragged Singapore’s construction industry’s productivity. One of the main issues is the cultural and ethnic differences between the people in Singapore. While diversity can be beneficial in increasing productivity, sometimes it may still have drawbacks, especially if it is not well utilized. Singapore is ethnically diverse, implying that people from different ethnic backgrounds are likely to interact in the construction industry. This may pose challenges that can decrease production due to language barriers and lack of trust (Won et al., 2020). When people from different ethnic backgrounds meet, they are likely to experience a language barrier because of the differences in national languages and mother tongues. Additionally, language and cultural barriers are likely to weaken social ties, which will, in turn, diminish their trust in one another. The main effect of this challenge will be difficulties in information and knowledge exchange which will affect the overall performance of the construction project productivity.

Another organizational issue facing the construction industry in Singapore is skill and education. Lack of adequate skills and education has impacted the construction industry negatively through lack of training provided to the employees, inspection delays, shortage of skilled workers, and incomplete technical specifications (Won et al., 2020). Singapore is an immigrant-seeking country and has seen an increase in the number of unskilled workers coming from developing countries and joining construction. Unqualified and unskilled workers affect productivity negatively by bringing inspection delays and incomplete technical specifications (Won et al., 2020). In addition, the construction industry involves mostly contractual work; therefore, contractors do not invest heavily in training their employees, leading to a pool of less-qualified workers. Sometimes when the supervisors are unskilled, they are incompetent leaders who lead to detrimental activities such as delayed inspections, underutilization of resources, inability to meet deadlines, and poor quality work. Therefore, having unskilled workers or supervisors can lead to significant challenges in the construction industry, affecting the quality performance of the construction industry in Singapore.

The other organizational challenge is age and experience in the construction industry. The main challenges with age and experience are a high job turnover rate, a shortage of experienced labor, and unrealistic deadlines that cannot be met. The construction industry is labor-intensive and requires experienced personnel to achieve the best results. Although the older generation may be willing to stay in the industry for a long, the younger labor force records high turnover rates as they seek new jobs in other industries. Such a volatile young generation workforce is very dangerous and can negatively impact productivity. Hiring costs are relatively high in Singapore, so a high turnover will likely translate to a high hiring cost, raising the overall construction price.

Personal Opinion/Recommendations

Singapore is a very competitive workplace whereby other industries, such as finance and manufacturing, attract a large workforce. Most of these industries are well-paying, which implies that using good salaries alone cannot address the issues relating to poor construction productivity. Therefore, to utilize the highly diverse ethnic background, the construction needs to come up with other incentives that will likely attract people to the construction industry. These may include insurance coverage, good interaction skills, employee training, collaborative organizational culture, and a supportive work environment for all ethnicities.

Conclusion

This study has highlighted various organizational behavior issues affecting the Singapore construction industry, including productivity, lack of teamwork, and high turnover. However, through the use of trait and contingency leadership, I may be able to overcome these issues. The organizational behavior challenges identified in this case study are cultural and ethnic differences, skill and education, and age and experience. However, with a good leadership strategy and well-thought-out incentives, the construction industry in Singapore can flourish again and become a high income to the national productivity.

References

M. Alkadash, T., & Nadam, C. (2020). The correlation between leadership competency and project success in construction industry in Thailand. International Journal of Intellectual Human Resource Management (IJIHRM), 01. Web.

Won, D., Hwang, B., & Chng, S. J. (2020). Assessing the effects of workforce diversity on project productivity performance for sustainable workplace in the construction industry. Sustainable Development, 29(5). Web.

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