A study on schedule management for BIM projects in the construction industry

There is an advance modelling tool that currently been pushed by the industry is BIM. BIM as known as Building Modelling Information is a computerized process that is used to design, understand and establish the key physical and functional characteristic of a building on a ‘virtual’ computerized model basis at its most basic level [4]. Basically the resulting model is a digital representation of the building which the data can be extracted and analyzed to generate information that can be used for decision making and enhance the process of delivering the building and the entire life cycle use of the building [4]. BIM implementation can help to improve the quality of project especially the schedule management. By implementing BIM into construction project, it can provides schedule visualization which can make the construction planning more efficient. Besides that, through the BIM model clash detection can be detected in the preconstruction phase which save a lot of time on rework during construction phase

Braking IS\u27s Revolving Door: A Study of Internal Labor Market Practices and IS Turnover

Turnover is endemic in Information Systems (IS). Turnover rates for IS professionals are estimated at more than double the averages for other business professionals, and are in excess of 25% for certain positions in many regions in the United States and other countries. The turnover problem is exacerbated by the increasing demand for IS work, the rapid evolution of information technology which quickly obsoletes IS skills, and extreme shortages for certain IS skills. Thus, recruiting, developing and retaining a skilled staff is a central managerial concern in IS. But, why is turnover so high and pervasive in IS? Are there organizational solutions that can be effective in reducing turnover? These questions are the focus of this study

The Threat-Rigidity Model of Professional Obsolescence and Its Impact on Occupational Mobility Behaviors of IT Professionals

This study examines how IT professionals cope with the threat of professional obsolescence. We adopt the threat rigidity model to explain the relationship between threat of professional obsolescence and occupational mobility. In addition, we argue that professional commitment moderates the relationship between the consequent cognitive coping mechanisms of threat and occupational mobility. We collected data from 192 IT professionals using a survey methodology for data collection. Initial results of the field study provide strong support for the threat-rigidity hypotheses with professional commitment moderating the relationship between the cognitive coping mechanisms and occupational mobility

Building the Applications Portfolio: A Process Analysis

The utilization of information technology (IT) throughout the organization’s value chain underlies many prescriptionsforthestrategicuseofIT. Inthisstudy,weexaminethediffusionofcomputerizationacross organizations’ business activities using a process approach. Contrasting expectations of the pattern of computerization of business activities over time are developed from traditional diffusion studies and from a body of work comprising more recent empirical studies of innovation adoption, learning theory, and economic theory. Process analysis of a sample of 215 organizations was conducted arid the results prompted a further exploratory maIysis to determine if there were process differences between high and low performing organizations

Threat of Professional Obsolescence and Mobility Intentions: The Mediating Role of Coping Strategies

This study begins a research program that examines how IT professionals cope with the threat of professional obsolescence. In answering this question, this study draws on theories of occupational stress, in particular the theory of conservation of resources (Hobfoll 2002; Hobfoll and Freedy 1993), to relate the threat of professional obsolescence with IT professionals’ coping strategies and their subsequent intentions to turnover and turnaway. Results from a sample of IT professionals are consistent with the theory of conservation of resources in that the threat of professional obsolescence is negatively related to direct action coping and is positively related to emotion focused coping. Extending the theory, we find that direct action coping is negatively related to turnaway intentions as hypothesized but contrary to hypothesis, emotion focused coping is positively related to turnover intentions. We conclude this study with the discussion of these results and propose future research directions

An Empirical Investigation of Contingent Workforce in Information Systems

INTRODUCTION Since the recession in the 1980s, U.S. corporations have been strategically acquiring, merging, restructuring, and downsizing. Such strategic adjustments are aimed at configuring leanandmean operations in response to the increasingly dynamic, competitive and uncertain business climate (ScottMorton, 1991). A direct consequence of these radical changes to business operations is the revolutionary change in the traditional employer employee working relationship. Pfeffer and Baron (1988) suggest that there is a trend toward taking the workers back out , in which organizations externalize a buffer of temporary workers against the core or permanent workforce. This externalization involves the use of contingent workforce where workers are physically transported out of the organization\u27s boundaries to perform their work; where the duration of employment becomes shorter and more flexible; and where workers are detached administratively with organizations reducing their internal control of workers. Recent literature suggests that externalization of the workforce has been particularly pronounced in information systems (IS). Many internal IS organizations have been undergoing continual downsizing of their traditional permanent workforce since the late 1980\u27s by outsourcing and contracting (Niederman and Trower, 1993; Korzeniowski, 1990). Molloy (1991) highlighted an increasing number of temporary executive IS jobs while Ryan (1991) observed that jobless IS workers are turning to contract work to tide over their midcareer crisis. Clearly, these trends have significant implications for IS human resource management. For example, IS careers, incentive structures, and mutual employerworker obligations will be affected radically by an increasing presence and use of contingent workforce in organizations. However, despite the changing nature of IS employment options and the importance of IS human resource management (Niederman, Brancheau and Wetherbe, 1991), there has been little systematic analysis of the nature, extent and antecedents of externalizing IS human resources in organizations. Our study is designed with two objectives: to provide an empirical analysis of actual trends in IS employment strategies and to derive an explanatory model predicting the choice of a particular IS employment strategy. Thus, the first set of issues examined concerns the forms and trends of alternative employment strategies in IS. We examine the following questions: what are the hiring options opened to both employers and workers in IS ? what is the trend in alternative employment strategies in IS since the 1980s ? We draw upon transaction cost economics to derive an explanatory model predicting the antecedents of IS employment strategies. The choice to use internal or external IS employment strategies can be framed as a classic make or buy decision of transaction cost economics, with respect to human capital inputs. Economists have often focused on costs inherent in various make or buy decisions. Coase (1937) originally theorized about the tradeoffs between transaction costs of external procurement and management costs of internal production. Demsetz (1988) argued that there are three different kinds of costs: production costs, exchange or transaction costs, and management costs inherent in any boundary outcome and that it is a combination of all three that is important in determining the make or buy decision. Williamson (1981) shifted attention away from distinguishing transaction and management costs, as these costs are difficult to measure operationally. Instead, in the context of labor factor inputs, he focused on the presence of particular job characteristics such as firm specificity of skills, high interdependency, difficulty in monitorability, and task complexity, emphasizing the burden of management and transaction costs when jobs are externalized. In effect, these job characteristics offer proxy measures of transaction costs. Thus, the second set of issues examined in this study concerns the kinds of considerations that play a role in boundary determination for IS labor. We examine the following questions: how do transaction costs determine IS labor boundaries ? what kinds of IS skill and job characteristics are associated with alternative employment strategies for IS labor

The Awareness Of ICT Implementation For Materials Management In Construction Projects

Construction materials usually constitute a major portion of the total cost in a building construction project. Despite the potential benefit of ICT, convincing construction organisations to embrace its use and implementation has proved a difficult task. This research seeks to identify the implementation of ICT in construction materials management processes and to investigate on the acceptance of contractors for ICT transformation to the materials management in construction projects. In relation to that, current constraints that are found hindering the acceptance of ICT in materials management processes are also identified. A triangulation research approach which consists of standard derived questionnaires, semi structured interviews with class A contractors and review of previous research were conducted. The findings from this research reveal that the implementation of ICT in the materials management for construction projects in Malaysia is at early stage. Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and handheld devices are found to be the common ICT tools adopted in the materials management processes. Meanwhile, there is only an average level of acceptance towards the transformation of ICT implementation in the construction materials management. The main barrier is found to be the cost involvement at the initial stage or overall implementation of ICT in the materials management processes. Finally, it can be concluded that there is a lack of awareness towards the ICT implementation of materials management in the construction projects