A Survey of Organization Structures for Construction Site Offices in Macau

Abstract

Organization structure is the outcome of building up a system that make effective and systematic utilization of all resources and provide the perspective that how task allocation, coordination and supervision are directed to the accomplishment of organizational goals (Pugh 1990). Therefore it becomes an evaluation standard for management system of contractors and also projects. The aims of this study are to identify the organization structure type in construction site office and to find out the opinions to the influencing factors and expectations towards it in Macau. It is found that there is no significant disparities among the three types of organization structure and the nature of a project such as project size, project length and project type are critical factors, while project size is considered as most critical. The vital expectations to the organization structure in the site office are “simple and clear lines of duties and responsibilities”, “fast decision making”, “effective order delivery” as well as “better human resources arrangement” because of their close ties with work efficiency. A management tool is proposed for the selection of organization structure in the site office. Organization structures of contractors which are involved in casino project are investigated. Also organization structures for head offices of contractors in Macau are looked into through interviews.