MSc Thesis Interview Prelude

I would like to thank you for agreeing to contribute to my thesis research by means of (a) guided
interview. Below is a brief introduction to set the scene ahead of the interview. Please do not feel
obliged to read this or any other material ahead of the meeting, this is purely for interest only.

In fact I would ask that no specific research is carried out for the interview but that approx. 1 hour is
made available for a series of questions. Some questions will be deliberately open type, some with
options and some open for your own comments and opinions. Most questions will be related to fit-
out project delivery and centred on the role of the ‘Delivery Manager’.

Due to varying industry terminology this role will be generically used for all lead managers
responsible for project delivery e.g. Site, Construction, Project(,) and Contracts Managers etc. The
questions will also be general enough to apply to different levels of responsibility i.e. site delivery
managers or overseeing project level directors.

All information and answers given will be kept in the strictest confidence and no individual or
company names will be included in the final thesis. I would like to thank you in advance for your time
and look forward to meeting you at the interview.

Interview Prelude

Human behaviour is a much-studied subject across a number of different scientific disciplines. Whilst
it is accepted people make thousands of decisions everyday consciously and unconsciously, it is
often overlooked that people are also emotional entities. It is widely proposed by various
psychological fraternities that the decision making process requires people to ‘weigh up’ many
factors as they consider a decision and interact with others. It can be argued that part of the
‘weighing up’ process includes to name but a few; upbringing, life and professional experiences,
social and professional expectation, bias, rationality and cognitive ability some of which are often
summarised into the subject of the thesis – Emotional Intelligence (EI).

The final thesis will explore previous research and investigate the relevance of just some of these
psychological traits under a general banner of Behavioural and Emotional Intelligence. I intend to
apply this concept into a Construction Management environment, specifically the fast paced and
often intense industry sub-sector of interior fit-out.

Generally the project-based nature of the industry brings, or rather forces different people together
with different goals and motivations for relatively short and often intense periods of time. Often a
construction project is viewed, organised(,) and measured as a linear technical process resulting in
an end product. According to many academics however viewing the construction project as a
technical system, leaves the subjective human behavioural elements ignored against rigid processes.

In 1920 Edward Lee Thorndike developed the construct of ‘Social Intelligence’ where he defined this
as ‘the ability to understand and manage men, women, boys and girls into acting wisely in human
relations’. Since then many researchers and academics have developed this concept(,) however it is
psychologist Daniel Goleman that built on such theories significantly to become the father of
modern EI as we know the concept today. In 1995 he published what is still considered by many to
be his ground-breaking book ‘Emotional Intelligence’ and in 1998 ‘Working with Emotional
Intelligence’. His aim was to provide an alternative measure of intelligence to that of the traditional
IQ test by introducing Emotional Quotient or EQ. Goleman brought an emotional facet to intelligence
assessment rather than simply determining good, bad, wrong(,) or right like the IQ model. Although
many subsequent researchers continue to modify, Goleman’s root concept remains evident today.

How applicable and prevalent the Emotional Intelligence concept is in a project delivery
environment, will be the subject of thesis investigation.