Training, motivation, and performance: The case of human resource management in construction projects in Mashhad, Iran

Abstract An enterprise’s productivity is closely correlated with its people and strategies; therefore, a forceful human resource management system is the most valuable asset of the current century construction companies. Purpose/design/methodology/approach Based on a combination of literature review and questionnaire surveys, this paper explores the execution of construction workers training and motivation methods in HRM practices by the survey respondents’ companies and the effects on the companies’ performances. The research was conducted by sending 120 sets of questionnaires to the nominated companies and firms in Mashhad, Iran. A quantitative research approach was adopted requiring the development and dissemination of a questionnaire survey. The analysis method in this research is mainly descriptive and the type of investigation is co-relational study. Findings The research exposes some barriers in the training and motivation of the construction workers and provides solutions for the government and companies in Iran. Also, it reveals the effects of unskilled labour on the quality of construction projects in Mashhad. Research limitations/implications Future research should be under taken to address how companies and governments adapt to and shape the environmental and organizational settings in such a way that the context optimally stimulates workers motivation and participation in training courses and effects on increasing the quality of construction.

[1]  Graham Winch,et al.  The growth of self-employment in British construction , 1998 .

[2]  Heymann Ao Award of Excellence. , 1995 .

[3]  Päivi Tynjälä,et al.  How do HRD practitioners describe learning at work? , 2004 .

[4]  Robert A. Baron,et al.  Human resource management and entrepreneurship: some reciprocal benefits of closer links , 2003 .

[5]  Sally Sambrook,et al.  A Critical Time for HRD , 2004 .

[6]  Da Ruan,et al.  A study of enterprise human resource competence appraisement , 2005, J. Enterp. Inf. Manag..

[7]  Ariane Hegewisch,et al.  Between hard and soft HRM: human resource management in the construction industry , 1996 .

[8]  Montgomery Van Wart Handbook of Training and Development for the Public Sector: A Comprehensive Resource. First Edition. , 1993 .

[9]  Ani Raiden,et al.  Human Resource Development in Construction Organisations: An Example of a "Chaordic" Learning Organisation?. , 2006 .

[10]  A. Wild,et al.  The unmanageability of construction and the theoretical psycho‐social dynamics of projects , 2002 .

[11]  Mohammad Mokhtari,et al.  Prediction of Aftershocks Distribution Using Self-Organizing Feature Maps (SOFM) and Its Application on the Birjand-Ghaen and Izmit Earthquakes , 2003 .

[12]  Jim Stewart,et al.  Understanding Human Resource Development A Research-based Approach , 2001 .

[13]  A. K. W. Jayawardane,et al.  Construction Productivity Management , 1998 .

[14]  Eddie W.L. Cheng,et al.  A rewiew of transfer of training studies in the past decade , 2001 .

[15]  W. Duncan A GUIDE TO THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE , 1996 .

[16]  Liang-Hsuan Chen,et al.  Using an HRM pattern approach to examine the productivity of manufacturing firms – an empirical study , 2003 .

[17]  J. D. Jong,et al.  How leaders influence employees' innovative behaviour , 2007 .

[18]  D E Neil Award of Excellence. , 1993, Operative dentistry.

[19]  Richard A. Swanson,et al.  HRD theory, real or imagined? , 1999 .

[20]  Edieal J. Pinker,et al.  Optimizing the use of contingent labor when demand is uncertain , 2003, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[21]  David A.J. Simmonds,et al.  Developing “new commons” between HRD research and practice: Case studies of UK universities , 2007 .

[22]  Jaap Scheerens,et al.  HRD and Learning Organisations in Europe , 2002 .

[23]  J. Colquitt,et al.  Toward an integrative theory of training motivation: a meta-analytic path analysis of 20 years of research. , 2000, The Journal of applied psychology.

[24]  Debra A. Laverie,et al.  Using Job Satisfaction and Pride as Internal-marketing Tools , 2002 .

[25]  Philip James,et al.  Employee development programmes , 1996 .

[26]  S. Keoki. Sears,et al.  Construction Project Management , 1972 .

[27]  Peter J. Smith “Modern” learning methods: rhetoric and reality – further to Sadler‐Smith et al. , 2002 .

[28]  Achintya Haldar,et al.  Some lessons learned from post‐earthquake damage survey of structures in Bam, Iran earthquake of 2003 , 2005 .

[29]  M. Berberian,et al.  Patterns of historical earthquake rupture in the Iranian Plateau , 1999, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[30]  A. Dainty,et al.  Human Resource Management in Construction Projects: Strategic and Operational Approaches , 2003 .

[31]  T. Maurer,et al.  Investigation of perceived environment, perceived outcome, and person variables in relationship to voluntary development activity by employees. , 1994, The Journal of applied psychology.

[32]  Brian H. Kleiner,et al.  Human resources issues in the construction industry , 2001 .

[33]  Wei‐Tao Tai Effects of training framing, general self‐efficacy and training motivation on trainees' training effectiveness , 2006 .

[34]  Michael Morley,et al.  Re-dimensionalising boundaries in the theory and practice of Human Resource Development , 2006 .

[35]  Keith Davis,et al.  Personnel Management and Human Resources , 2017, Introduction to Arts Management.

[36]  Bart Jahn McGraw-Hill's Best Practices for Housing Construction , 1995 .

[37]  J. A. Jong,et al.  HRD tasks of first‐level managers , 1999 .

[38]  George Ofori,et al.  Flexibility, labour subcontracting and HRM in the construction industry in Singapore: can the system be refined? , 1997 .

[39]  Achintya Haldar,et al.  Seismic response analysis of steel frames with post-Northridge connection , 2005 .

[40]  Yan Wang,et al.  Sources of China's Economic Growth, 1952-1999: Incorporating Human Capital Accumulation , 1999 .

[41]  Mohsen Ghafory-Ashtiany,et al.  Earthquake Activity and Hazard Mitigation in Iran , 1997 .

[42]  Mei-I Cheng,et al.  Competence, competency and competencies: performance assessment in organisations , 2002 .

[43]  James Jackson,et al.  Surface expression of thrust faulting in eastern Iran: source parameters and surface deformation of the 1978 Tabas and 1968 Ferdows earthquake sequences , 2003 .

[44]  Steffanie L. Wilk,et al.  Investigation of the factors that influence employees' participation in development activities. , 1993 .

[45]  Koen Dewettinck,et al.  Future Challenges for Human Resource Development Professionals in European Learning-Oriented Organisations. , 2001 .

[46]  Darren Short 2004: a significant year for research-practice links in HRD , 2004 .