Planning For Claims: An Ethnography of Industry Culture

Rooke, JA, Seymour, D and Fellows, R 2004, 'Planning For Claims: An Ethnography of Industry Culture' , Construction Management and Economics, 22 (6) , pp. 655-662.

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Abstract

Claims by contractors for additional payments have been identified by commentators as a major source of difficulty in the industry. Ethnographic research with industry members reveals some key features of planning practices that underlie such events. Claims are sometimes planned at tender stage and sometimes during the course of a project. One practice at tender stage is a pricing technique that minimizes the tender price while maximizing the out-turn cost of a contract by exploiting mistakes in the bill of quantities. Another is the programming of work to maximize its vulnerability to delay. More reactive techniques may be employed during the course of the project, often to make up for an unanticipated increase in costs. These and other similar practices may be reported as features of an integrated culture, defined in such a way as to encompass activity and reject Cartesian dualism. The unique adequacy requirements of methods are suitable criteria for the evaluation of such reports. The claims culture arises from economic conditions in the industry, which include low entry barriers and competitive tendering. However, removal of these conditions alone cannot guarantee that the practices will cease.

Item Type:	Article
Themes:	Subjects / Themes > H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD0028 - 0070 Management. Industrial Management Subjects / Themes > T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) Subjects / Themes > H Social Sciences > HM Sociology Built and Human Environment Subjects outside of the University Themes
Schools:	Schools > School of the Built Environment Schools > School of the Built Environment > Centre for Urban Processes, Resilient Infrastructures & Sustainable Environments
Journal or Publication Title:	Construction Management and Economics
Publisher:	Routledge Taylor Francis
Refereed:	Yes
ISSN:	0144-6193
Depositing User:	H Kenna
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2007 10:27
Last Modified:	16 Feb 2022 07:49
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/643

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