Finally, team belonging is another powerful motivator in construction workers. According to Bart [45], workers feel more motivated when they belong to a team where they are free to make suggestions, because the feeling of participating in a group is one of the basic needs of the human soul. Nesan and Holt [27] note that teams are especially motivated when they are given the opportunity to ‘‘self-manage”. This situation ‘‘allows participation among the group members, while the group as a whole is given increased responsibility for decision making”. A related concern is that of cultivating good relationships among all the members of an organization.
Accordingly, the success of a construction organization largely depends upon the quality and morale of its people [47]. Thus, human assets are becoming the most important wealth of an organization if they are adequately nurtured and their potential is efficiently developed. Companies should ensure that all learning achievements by their staff are recognized by publicity, appropriate promotion, and reward [48].
Many cases can be found that show successful construction organizations making use of the principles of training and motivation in HRM practices. According to Kopochinski, 2000, Leonard, 1998, Palmeri, 1999, Krizan, 2000, and Lubka and Kleiner, 2001, the successful secret of construction organizations in the US, such as S.J. Amoroso, BE&K, Centex Corporation, TD Industries, Webcor Builders, and Thompson–McCully, is their terrific employees and the utilization of training and motivation practices [49], [50], [51], [52] and [53].
5. Research questions
Mashhad is the second largest city in Iran in terms of population and area. Also, it is located in the area with the highest risk of earthquakes [54]. There are various construction projects like residential, official, recreational, entertainment, religious, and hotel buildings. Thus, the results of this study have a significant impact on construction projects of Iran and can be used and developed to other countries as well. Accordingly, the objective of the study is to determine the answers for these questions:
1.
Are the HRM practices in training labour used by construction firms in Mashhad, Iran?
2.
Is there any damage to the construction projects in Mashhad because of using unskilled labour?
6. Methodology
The purpose of this research is to find out whether training and motivation of labour could play a significant role in increasing the quality of construction projects especially in Mashhad. The research variables are: quality of construction (dependent variable) and training and motivation (independent variables). Because of the large number of companies which were chosen for this research (120), and difficulties of face to face interviewing, a quantitative research approach of developing and disseminating a questionnaire survey was used. In addition, a questionnaire survey was utilized due to the population of this research being too difficult to be quantified, as the main targeted respondents would include all personnel who have direct managerial experiences in the construction field.
The research was conducted through structured questionnaires that were sent to the particular ‘‘qualified” respondents. The respondents were approached through their companies and firms, which were registered in the Khorasan Civil Engineering System Organization (KCESO). According to the statistics report of KCESO, 332 companies were registered as qualified companies. The companies were ranked by the number of engineers, project managers, and/or architects who were on the board of the company. The companies with 14 or more of those people got the top grade (1.75). These companies allowed participation in designing, building, managing, and consulting of any kind of residential, commercial, hotels, industrial, and official buildings in Mashhad. Regarding KCESO statistics, 120 companies were registered as the top grade companies. The research chose these groups of respondents as qualified because of their direct participation in construction projects. For more credibility and exhaustivity, the research investigates the problem through covering different aspects from various viewpoints of the people involved in the construction industry (contractor, developer, consultant, and project management companies).