Human factor related challenges of marketing construction business enterprise

Abstract: Marketing is acknowledged as a necessary business management function but its application in construction is intensely hindered by some human factors in the construction industry. The paper is aimed at identifying the specific human factors in the construction industry that hinder marketing adoption and implementation in construction and to initiate further debate on this important but Cinderella subject. It uses literature review as a method to identify, summarize, synthesize and show the gaps in the existing research knowledge on human factors affecting Marketing Performance (MP) of Construction Businesses (CB). Factors such as marketing skills, manpower, attitude towards and conception of marketing hinders greatly on MP of CB. Construction marketing researchers must focus attention on the human factors that affect construction marketing. Educational consultants, curriculum developers and training institutions will find the paper useful in revising existing curriculum to reflect current trends in the management of construction business enterprise

Colleges as agents for construction innovation - a case study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to highlight the low level of adoption of innovative products in the UK and to illustrate, through a case study, an investigation into the potential for UK further education colleges (FECS) to extend their existing activity and develop a role as independent centres for specialist knowledge of innovative products. Design/methodology/approach - Two surveys were employed to test assumptions which had been previously published by Government departments (Departments of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform [BBERR] and Trade and Industry [Dti]) focused on the level of knowledge and experience of construction SMEs regarding innovative products and processes. Six colleges collaborated and successfully bid for funding to test their ability to deliver a wider role in the construction community. Each appointed a full-time fully funded adviser to research, collect and diffuse information about a specific specialist area. Findings - The results indicate that there is evidence of the need for independent sources of information about innovative products. The colleges have shown their ability to build knowledge and capacity to offer independent advice. The outcome indicates, however, that without an effective business case and the commitment of senior college management teams the sustainability of the role is unlikely

Marketing Construction Business: Problems, Prospects and Strategies

Many construction enterprises still often fail to realize that marketing entails more than just playing with few  isolated promotional tools, such as distributing brochures, advertising, promotional  videos, which they often employ without following a structured marketing plan formulated in line with the organization’s aims and objectives. Such ad hoc approach to marketing in the construction industry has resulted in an uphill struggle with little to no success. This paper identifies the problems that has led to the ad hoc approach to marketing in the construction industry and examines the prospects for improving the situation. It discusses the strategies to be adopted to improve the effectiveness of implementing marketing in the management of construction business. The study adopts descriptive research design and the  use of literature review as a method to identify, summarize and synthesize extant literature on construction marketing  to show why the need exist for marketing in the management of construction business. The paper finds that gaps exist in existing construction marketing research knowledge in general and Ghana in particular. There is the need for scientific research which focuses on development of frameworks or models to guide the marketing of construction businesses in developing countries. Construction enterprise owners, construction marketing/management researchers, construction education curriculum developers and managers of construction business organizations will find this paper useful. Future research work must focus on developing construction industry specific frameworks or models   to guide the marketing of construction businesses

Marketing Construction Business: Problems, Prospects and Strategies

Many construction enterprises still often fail to realize that marketing entails more than just playing with few  isolated promotional tools, such as distributing brochures, advertising, promotional  videos, which they often employ without following a structured marketing plan formulated in line with the organization’s aims and objectives. Such ad hoc approach to marketing in the construction industry has resulted in an uphill struggle with little to no success. This paper identifies the problems that has led to the ad hoc approach to marketing in the construction industry and examines the prospects for improving the situation. It discusses the strategies to be adopted to improve the effectiveness of implementing marketing in the management of construction business. The study adopts descriptive research design and the  use of literature review as a method to identify, summarize and synthesize extant literature on construction marketing  to show why the need exist for marketing in the management of construction business. The paper finds that gaps exist in existing construction marketing research knowledge in general and Ghana in particular. There is the need for scientific research which focuses on development of frameworks or models to guide the marketing of construction businesses in developing countries. Construction enterprise owners, construction marketing/management researchers, construction education curriculum developers and managers of construction business organizations will find this paper useful. Future research work must focus on developing construction industry specific frameworks or models   to guide the marketing of construction businesses

Knowledge collaborative incentive based on inter-organizational cooperative innovation of project-based supply chain

Purpose: Within project-based supply chain inter-organizational cooperative innovation, the achievement of project value-adding reflects by factors such as project-based organizational effect level, the relationship between project cooperative innovation objectives etc. The purpose is to provide a reliable reference for the contractor reasonably allocate the effect level and resources between the knowledge input and innovation stage and realize the knowledge collaboration for project-based supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the assumption of equal cooperation between project-based organizations, from the view of maximizing project value-adding and the relationship of effect cost between knowledge input and innovation stage in consideration, the knowledge collaborative incentive model for project-based supply chain inter-organizational cooperative innovation was established, and solved through the first-order and second-order approach, then the digital simulation and example analysis were presented. Findings: The results show that, the project management enterprise resorted to adjust project knowledge collaboration incentive intensity and implemented knowledge input-innovation coordinative incentive strategy, not only could achieve project value-adding maximization, but also could realize net earnings Pareto improvement between project management enterprise and contractor. Research limitations/implications: To simplify the knowledge flow among project-based organizations, the knowledge flow in the model hypothesis is presented as knowledge input and knowledge innovation stage, thus it may affect the final analysis results. Originality/value: In construction project practice, knowledge is become more and more important to achieve project value-adding. The research can provide a theoretical guideline for the project-based organizations, such as the contractor, the owner, especially how to utilize their core knowledge.Peer Reviewe

The Use of Enterprise Systems in a Malaysian Company: A Social Integration Perspective

Among recent enterprise systems (ES) research, not much attention and focus have been given to the use and management of ES. Thus, we will examine the daily operations of ES from the social integration (SI) perspective. The main purpose is to understand the influence of SI mechanisms in ES application. We adopt an interpretive case study approach, using 40 interviews with employees from a company with 10 years of experience in the management and application of ES. Based on our findings, we have identified three social integration mechanisms- relational reformation, structural reformation and cognitive construction that had influenced the transformation of individual knowledge and expertise to achieve efficient and effective use of ES

IDEF5 Ontology Description Capture Method: Concept Paper

The results of research towards an ontology capture method referred to as IDEF5 are presented. Viewed simply as the study of what exists in a domain, ontology is an activity that can be understood to be at work across the full range of human inquiry prompted by the persistent effort to understand the world in which it has found itself - and which it has helped to shape. In the contest of information management, ontology is the task of extracting the structure of a given engineering, manufacturing, business, or logistical domain and storing it in an usable representational medium. A key to effective integration is a system ontology that can be accessed and modified across domains and which captures common features of the overall system relevant to the goals of the disparate domains. If the focus is on information integration, then the strongest motivation for ontology comes from the need to support data sharing and function interoperability. In the correct architecture, an enterprise ontology base would allow th e construction of an integrated environment in which legacy systems appear to be open architecture integrated resources. If the focus is on system/software development, then support for the rapid acquisition of reliable systems is perhaps the strongest motivation for ontology. Finally, ontological analysis was demonstrated to be an effective first step in the construction of robust knowledge based systems

Using a knowledge management evaluation framework for improving an ERP system - a Hong Kong construction industry case study

Organisations need to rely on leadership, information support and human capital in order to ensure a knowledge advantage over their competitors. Knowledge management (KM) provides organisations with sustainable competitive advantage, because it becomes extremely difficult for an organisation to cut expenditure and increase revenue by simply reengineering its business model. Project delivery and success has been traditionally viewed and measured as management of a three-legged stool, with the legs defined as cost, schedule and quality. However, KM can be linked to success by organisations becoming more effective as well as being more efficient.This paper uses a KM framework, the Knowledge Advantage (K-Adv), developed initially for use by construction organisations. It assesses the impact of leadership and its supporting information communication technology infrastructure on the ability of people (by effectively creating, sharing, disseminating and using knowledge) to facilitate sustainable competitive advantage.A case study that is presented is based upon the experience of a leading construction company using an Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system to demonstrate the effectiveness of KM from a cost management business unit perspective. Results are evaluated using a capability maturity model (CMM) - that forms the core of the K-Adv tool - to help improve processes that meet the needs of the organisation operating in a highly dynamic business environment. The case study is part of a broader doctoral research project that uses action learning to facilitate and measure ERP improvement.<br /

Plan de gestión para la ejecución, monitoreo y control del Proyecto “Construcción del Edificio de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Universidad Estatal a Distancia” de la empresa constructora Estructuras S.A.

Proyecto de Graduación (Maestría en Gerencia de Proyectos) Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Área Académica de Gerencia de Proyectos, 2016.In 2015, the construction of the Research and Development Building for the Universidad Estatal a Distancia was granted to Estructuras S.A. Enterprise, through the international tender number EDU-UNED-4-LPI-O-2015LPI-000001, on which basis stablises a set of requirements that make indispensable the application of project management tools. Estructuras S.A. is an organization with experience in the construction sector. However, it does not have standardized practices in project management. This graduation’s final project proposes a Management Plan for the construction project execution, based in the analysis of the enterprise actives related to management project, and the requirements stablished by the tender. The management plan comprises 11 knowledge areas or subject groups, which are, integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, stakeholders, occupational security and, environment. Based on the analysis results, it develops in each area templates or procedures, with the objective of make easier the tasks and solve the requirements established for the project execution.Estructuras S.A