Construction management contracts: law and practice

The context of construction management (CM) reveals that this method of procurement is as much a management philosophy as a contract structure. It is important to consider legal and contractual issues in this context. The interplay between management and law is complex and often misunderstood. Before considering specific issues, the use of contractual remedies in business agreements is discussed. In addition, the extent to which standardising a form of contract detracts or contributes to the success of projects is also considered. The dearth of judicial decisions, and the lack of a standard form, render it difficult to be specific about legal issues. Therefore, the main discussion of legal issues is centred around a recently completed research project which involved eliciting the views of a cross-section of experienced construction management clients, consultants and trade contractors. These interviews are used as the basis for highlighting some of the most important legal points to consider when setting up CM projects. The interviews revealed that the advantage of CM is the proximity of the client to the trade contractors and the disadvantage is that it depends on a high degree of professionalism and experience; qualities which are unfortunately difficult to find in the UK construction industry

SUPPLY MANAGEMENT: CONCEPT AND PRACTICE

Demand and Price Analysis,

Constituting best practice in management consulting

This paper offers critical reflections on the construction and propagation of ‘best practice’: a concept which has become increasingly important in the business world and in civic life more generally. Focusing upon the activities of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) we offer an analysis of the awards process instituted to applaud ‘best practice’ in the arena of consulting. Departing from existing academic representations of the advice industry which generally exclude this trade body from the analytical frame we consider the role which the MCA performs in the field of consulting. Situating the MCA’s attempt to constitute best practice within the work of Bruno Latour we argue that this construct depends upon the mobilization of an extended network of allies, advocates and spectators whose interactions have been written-out of academic analysis. The paper concludes by proposing the need for further research designed to explore, both, the heterogeneity and the porosity of the networks that construct, convey and applaud key knowledge products such as ‘best practice’

Outcomes for youth work : coming of age or master’s bidding?

Abstract Providing evidence in youth work is a current and important debate. Modern youth work has, at least to some degree, recognised the need to produce practice information, through its various guises, with limited success as requirements and terminology have continually changed. In Scotland, the current demands for youth work to “prove” itself are through a performance management system that promotes outcome-based practice. There are some difficulties with this position because outcome-based practice lacks methodological rigour, is aligned with national governmental commitments and does not adequately capture the impact of youth work practice. This paper argues that youth workers need to develop both a theoretical and methodological approach to data collection and management,which is in keeping with practice values, captures the voice of the young person and enhances youth work practice. Youth work should not be used as a mechanism to deliver the government’s policies but be liberated from centralist control to become a “free practice” so that some of the perennial problems, such as democratic disillusionment, partly caused by this “performance management industry”, can be effectively dealt with. The generation of evidence for youth work should enable it to freely investigate and capture its impact, within the practice, based on the learning that has taken place, the articulation of the learners’ voice with the most appropriate form of data presentation

A Guide to Integrated Pest Management for Brassica - Insect Pest, Disease, Virus, Nematode and Weed Control

This guide outlines the key issues that should be considered in relation to the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for brassica crops on a whole of crop basis. The guide addresses the key control methods and their rating in an IPM system for the major insect pests, disease, virus, nematode and weed control. The guide should be used in conjunction with the posters; “Brassica crop protection products – A guide to potential impacts on beneficials” and the “Best Practice IPM – Overview”. The guide should also be used alongside other publications such as the, “Field Guide to – Pests,Diseases and Disorders of Vegetable Brassicas

Management of Phytophthora cinnamomi for biodiversity conservation in Australia: Part 2. National best practice guidelines

Disease in natural ecosystems of Australia, caused by the introduced plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi, is listed as a key threatening process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The Act requires the Australian Government to prepare and implement a threat abatement plan for nationally coordinated action to mitigate the harm caused by P. cinnamomi to Australian species, particularly threatened flora, fauna and ecological communities. The .National Threat Abatement Plan for Dieback Caused by the Root-Rot Fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi. (NTAP) was released in 2001 (Environment Australia, 2001). The NTAP is designed to promote a common understanding of the national threat P. cinnamomi poses to biodiversity in Australia. This project, funded by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH), is one of the most significant actions to be implemented from the NTAP to date. The project has two major components: * to review current management approaches and identify benchmarks for best practice * the development of risk assessment criteria and a system for prioritising management of assets that are or could be threatened by P. cinnamomi. The project outputs are presented in a four-part document entitled Management of Phytophthora cinnamomi for Biodiversity Conservation in Australia: Part 1 - A Review of Current Management Part 2 - National Best Practice Guidelines Part 3 - Risk Assessment for Threats to Ecosystems, Species and Communities: A Review Part 4 - Risk Assessment Models for Species, Ecological Communities and Areas. A model of best practice was developed which encompasses all the components necessary for an informed and integrated approach to P. cinnamomi management, from strategic through to on-ground management. The current document (Part 1 . A Review of Current Management) thoroughly reviews the approaches to P. cinnamomi management in Australia within the context of the best practice model

Comprehensive Medication Management: Implications for the Patient and Pharmacist

Since 1979, state pharmacy practice laws have begun to allow pharmacists to provide advanced levels of care in collaboration with prescribers. These might be termed medication therapy management, collaborative practice, comprehensive medication management and other variations. Invariably, pharmacists working closely with prescribers and patients in care of chronic disease have achieved dramatic results including improvement in surrogate markers, decreased rates of secondary large organ disease, decreased mortality, decreased hospitalizations, and as a result decreased spending.1-28 This paper will discuss the profound impact of advanced practice models on patient care and the health care system, the current status of New York’s collaborative drug therapy management law, the comprehensive medication management proposal in Governor Cuomo’s fiscal year 2018 Budget bill, and its potential impact on morbidity and mortality when applied to chronic disease

What UK graduate employers think they want and what university business schools think they provide

This is tha authors' PDF version of an article published in International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy© 2009. The definitive version is available at www.inderscience.comThis paper evaluates the increasing focus on the development of students' competencies and skills for management, in university business schools. The debate suggests that deeper understandings, concerning the role of managers are being sacrificed at the hands of an instrumentalist/technicist agenda focusing on competencies and skills. The paper adds to the discussion by scrutinising and applying theory from the literatures of occupational practice, knowledge and learning. Data is presented from sixty four job advertisements stipulating the competencies and skills required of applicants and which illustrate the premium put upon personal practice knowledge. By taking a critical management perspective students can begin to understand the social context and power-based nature of management practice in the workplace. While universities may try to further fulfil the 'narrow', industry-led, competency focus, early indications suggest that universities may possess a good deal of freedom in designing pedagogies supportive of a critical agenda

Crisis management as a critical perspective

Purpose: This paper draws on the authors experience of teaching a crisis management module within a range of MBA programmes in the UK, EU and USA. A key characteristic of the module was its development as a means of critiquing conventional approaches to management education. The paper details that experience. Design/methodology/approach: It reviews the literature on management education that has been critical of prescriptive and ‘toolkit-based’ approaches to MBA education. Findings: An approach to a crisis management course is shown to provide a means of challenging dominant theoretical and practical approaches to management. Practical implications: The paper identifies challenges and personal and academic benefits for educators and students when engaging with critical perspectives and critical pedagogies. Originality/value: Through introducing the notion of crisis management, the paper discusses the importance of challenging theory and practice and creating within students, an appetite to challenge the dominant paradigms of conventional teaching and business practice