The Interrelationships between Organisational Structure, Culture and Commitment: An Australian Case Study

Abstract

Successful construction project often stress the importance of team relationship, project environment and senior management commitment. However, it is generally accepted that the construction industry has stronger preference of distrust rather than full benefit of cooperation. Numbers of studies have point out there needs to be a culture shift and change of attitude. In order for a turn around, partnering, alliancing and relational contracting have been popular choices of project delivery systems since the twentieth century. In the research domain, the impact of culture and organisation on project performance is becoming an increasingly important topic for the establishment of a sound partnering or alliancing approach to projects. However, the efficacy of alliancing has so far produced mixed results. This paper details the interrelationships between culture, structure and commitment in an organisation. It further reports findings of a research currently taking place in Australia, where the perceptions of professional personnel and mismatches are found in both organisational structuring and organisational culture developed in the organisation. Based on the research findings, this paper outlines the framework of fundamental elements for successful relational contracting, where emerging lessons which come from the research are also presented.