Analysis of the Multi-organisation Nature: The Bam Housing Reconstruction Organisation

Abstract

When system elements include organisations, the complexities of their formation and implementation are greater. The sociotechnical delivery system of a reconstruction programme connects system elements, including organisations that in nature, size and internal arrangement might be different, but through the system formation, their activities are (or must be) integrated towards the objectives of the reconstruction. This delivery system is, in fact, a mega system, a concept which has also recently emerged within the literature on construction management. This chapter analyses main considerations and features related to the multi-organisational nature of the sociotechnical system of housing reconstruction programme in the Bam case that influenced the programme performance and its longer-term effects. The research makes a case that auto-adaptation within a multi-organisational delivery system of the reconstruction programme is necessary but not sufficient. The case exemplifies the need for balance between auto-adaptation and overall strategic supervision of the programme as a whole. The workflow as an attribute of organisational configuration had a multiple importance as both the production chain and simultaneously the standardisation force of the coordinating mechanism. Dynamics of power balance between organisations and their internal motivations were influential. The engagement of influential local and national organisations which had role in housing development in normal situations in the programme contributed to sustaining improvements after the reconstruction period, transferring lessons from reconstruction to the normal housing development situation.