The design and construction of buildings is a lengthy and expensive process, and those who commission buildings are continually looking for ways to improve the efficiency of the process. In this book, the second in the Building in Value series, a broad range of topics related to the processes of design and construction are explored by an international group of experts. The overall aim of the book is to look at ways that clients can improve the value for money outcomes of their decisions to construct buildings. The book is aimed at students studying in many areas related to the construction industry including architecture, construction management, civil engineering and quantity surveying, and should also be of interest to many in the industry including project managers, property developers, building contractors and cost engineers.

Even though project-management researchers have become increasingly interested in factors that may have an impact on project-management effectiveness, their efforts fall short of addressing the "human factor." And, unfortunately, many project-management scholars are largely unaware of the I/O psychology literature--relying, for example, on outdated models of motivation and team development. On the other side, I/O psychologists who research groups and teams often ignore the contextual influences--such as business sector, project type, placement in the organizational hierarchy, and project phase and maturity--that have a crucial impact on how a project will unfold. In this volume, a cross-disciplinary set of editors will bring together perspectives from leading I/O psychology and project-management scholars.