Adapting Johari’s window to resolve construction disputes

Purpose – Conflicts or disputes are common occurrences in the construction industry. They can be simple, easily resolved or complex requiring extended conflict resolution mechanisms. If not resolved early, conflicts can degenerate, impact progress and cause delays. Therefore, the Johari window or model can be used as a mediation tool during a technical session to resolve emerging construction disputes. The model presents four quadrants of which the second and third quadrants are referred to as the blind or façade areas. Any individual in the team acting at variance with others can either, ignorantly or deliberately, be identified as being in either of these two quadrants and helped through persuasive interactions. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how technical sessions, a tool of mediation, can be used to resolve construction conflicts easily. Design/methodology/approach – The case study method of qualitative research was adopted. It demonstrates how technical sessions were used to resolve the conflicts hindering the progress of two construction projects. The principles of qualitative document analysis were followed to analyse the qualitative data collected from the project archive, minutes of site meetings and reports of the technical sessions. Findings – The findings revealed that one contractor and one project architect acted in the blind area, while the second project architect acted in the façade pane of the window. Their actions had led to delays in the projects. Originality/value – The technical sessions facilitated in identifying the project actors responsible for the “blind” and “façade” actions that affected the progress of the two building projects. When the challenges were resolved substantially, the projects continued. This suggests that if technical sessions are held early in managing project conflicts, they can ameliorate delays, resolve disputes, restore relationships and accelerate project delivery.