Careers development in construction firms: application of Sun Tzu's Art of War principles

Abstract

Purpose

Career development involves how employees manage their career advancement. This study aims to investigate the relevance of Sun Tzu's Art of War to career development of construction professionals with the aim of suggesting strategies that may be adopted for career development.

Design/methodology/approach

The data collection technique was in‐depth interviews with 32 subjects who are Singapore‐based construction professionals. The subjects were asked 13 open‐ended questions which were developed based on the Art of War.

Findings

The main findings on the effective career development strategies are: outperforming peers by developing deep job experience and delivering excellent performance; adopting a team member posture before moving on to a team leader stance; handling office politics and conflicts effectively; maintaining flexibility and manoeuvrability in one's career; networking; and acquiring foreknowledge.

Research limitations/implications

The study is qualitative in nature, thus, the actual effectiveness of the recommendations for career development is not known. There may also be some more strategies undisclosed by interviewees as sharing them may cause them to lose their competitive advantage.

Practical implications

The effective strategies for career development are found. Construction professionals may adopt some military strategies that may help them in their career development.

Social implications

The relevance of military strategies to career development in construction firms suggests that career progression is akin to war, where winning is important and strategizing to win is necessary.

Originality/value

In this paper military strategies are mapped onto career development, and relevant career advancement strategies are identified.

Citation

Yean Yng Ling, F. and Yee Lee, S. (2012), "Careers development in construction firms: application of Sun Tzu's Art of War principles", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 173-191. https://doi.org/10.1108/09699981211206106