Trends in Expectations about Duties and Responsibilities of Construction Managers

Abstract

This paper discusses the findings of a study conducted under the direction and supervision of the ASCE Committee on Management Practices in Construction (MPIC) to investigate the expectations of the parties involved in the construction process including designers, general contractors, subcontractors, owners, construction managers (CMs), and educators, relative to construction managers’ duties and responsibilities. Statistical analysis was conducted to investigate if consensus exists among the parties and to highlight the agreements and disagreements between them. The findings were compared against the findings of an identical study also commissioned by MPIC 10 years before this study was performed. This study raises awareness among project participants about the fact that they should reconcile their differences and have a common understanding of CM duties over all phases of the construction project since general agreement over CM duties makes CM scope negotiations all the easier.