The bureaucratization of the project manager function: The case of the construction industry

Project management work has been widely portrayed as something representing a post-bureaucratic form of organizing. However, some authors contest this view and claim that the professionalization of the project management function implies an adherence to, or even a rediscovery of, conventional management wisdom. This paper presents a study of how project managers in the production phase of construction projects, known as site managers, conceive of their work as becoming increasingly concerned with administrative matters. The study suggests that the critique of project management work, in terms of being less aimed at creative and innovative activities and more concerned with administration, needs to be further explored and debated.