To learn or not to learn from project monitoring feedback: In search of explanations for the contractor's dichromatic responses

Organizational learning (OL) seems to be a legitimate contractors' response to project monitoring feedback. However, findings from previous studies reveal that contractors' responses to feedback are mercurial and difficult to model by using conventional approaches. This study applies catastrophe theory to model the contractors' learning behavior in response to feedback. An industry survey was conducted in Hong Kong for data collection. To test the conceptual model, Cusp fit program was employed. The results indicate that not until they perform worse than the client's anticipation, the contractors may not practice double-loop learning as a response to the project monitoring feedback. Contractors' learning from feedback may be conditional. This study demonstrates a new approach to model a dynamic characteristic of the contractors' learning behavior.     

The effect of experience on contractors' competitiveness in recurrent bidding

This paper considers the relationship between bidding competitiveness, organizational learning and experience and it measures the effect of contractors' bidding experience on competitiveness in recurrent bidding, a notion that conceptualizes a continuous decision-making process in which experiential learning plays a key role. The data analysis demonstrates that contractors who bid more frequently over a six-year period are more competitive than contractors who bid occasionally. It is found that greater bidding competitiveness is positively correlated with the frequency of bidding attempts. An analysis of contractors' bidding performance on a pairwise basis supports this finding. Not only does the pairwise analysis show that the bidding competitiveness of experienced contractors who bid frequently is greater, but also that experienced contractors' bidding attempts fall within a relatively small competitiveness range when compared with that of contractors who only bid occasionally. A key finding of this paper is the existence of some experienced contractors, who may be perceived as being ‘experienced market players’, having the attribute of a more competitive and consistent bidding performance. This research should be useful to procurers looking to prequalify contractors on the basis of experience and to contractors in analysing their bidding performance and/or their competitors' bidding performance.     

Flow of estimating data in Sri Lankan building contractor organizations

When an estimator prices a bill of quantities, s/he collects, generates and assembles data (estimating data) for the purpose of establishing the cost of constructing the project. The data generated could be used by the contractor's subsequent management functions, and the use of estimating data in the contractors' post-tender management worthy of attention. Drawing information from ten case studies of the organization of Sri Lankan building contractors, this paper identifies the contractors': management functions; management tasks; and management groups. It also establishes the flow of estimating data within and between the management functions. These flows highlight the substantial burden of re-work in the post-tender use of data. It is argued that the current format and presentation of estimating data in Sri Lanka are the major causes for such re-work. However, it was found that any revolutionary change to the conventional format would not be welcomed by the industry. Any new proposal should be developed within the limitation of acceptability to conventional practice. The recommendation is that the ‘unit rate’ is broken down to its cost components of material, labour and plant. The breakdown of the unit rate would supply all the necessary data for direct use, thus reducing the re-work. Further research should be addressed to investigate the best format and structure of this breakdown.     

Imported but not delivered: the construction of modern domesticity and the spatial politics of mass housing in 1930s' Ankara

The social history of the ‘modern house’ in the early years of the Turkish Republic has predominantly been told as the story of the affluent. This group's residential, professional and entertainment culture became a prime marker of modernisation whereas Turkish architectural historians have limited their research largely to the ‘cubic style’ single family houses built for and by the upper and middle classes. But can these models explain the complexity of the ‘modern house’ in 1930s' Turkey? How did architectural layouts, when transferred to different social, cultural and spatial contexts, contribute to the production of gendered divisions? My article adopts domesticity, gender and class as a framework to identify the emergence of ‘indigenous’ forms of modern architecture and urbanism in early republican Ankara. Analysing the Workers' Houses Settlement (1938), I argue that although individual units were characterised by minimalised spatial configurations, the layouts significantly deviated from Western models. Furthermore, by appropriating localised building traditions and living with extended families, lower-income residents shifted the widely disseminated image of the middle-class ideal of domesticity imported from Central and Western Europe, which has become integral to Turkey's official discourse of modernism since the 1930s.     

Critical stressors influencing construction estimators in Hong Kong

The main task of contractors' estimators is to predict the likely costs involved in executing a future project. This is an onerous job as any errors made can undermine project success and ultimately reduce the contractors' profit margins. The inherent uncertainty of most construction work, however, together with the often very short time periods involved, make errors unavoidable. Unsurprisingly, therefore, estimation is considered to be a very stressful business. To identify the nature of the stress involved, a survey of construction estimators in Hong Kong was conducted. Using correlation analysis, regression analysis and structural equation modelling, the relationships amongst the causes (stressors or stress factors) and effects (stress) were examined and a causal structural model developed. The results indicate work overload, role conflict, job ambiguity, and working environment to be the most critical stressors, with work underload and distrust being the main indirectly influencing factors. These results are similar to those of a previous study with site managers, suggesting that job ambiguity and work overload are the common problem in the construction industry. The study of the manageability of stress is expected to inspire other similar research involving other professionals in the construction industry. This is expected to be of particular significance in the long‐term development of stress management in the industry in general.     

Work goal orientation of construction professionals in Turkey: comparison of architects and civil engineers

The construction industry is a significant part of the global economy, affected by and affecting all dynamics of global competition. However, there seems to have been a limited amount of research conducted on differences between countries through the construction industry's culture. Such comparisons are crucial to identify the cultural factors that are likely to influence the competitive advantage of the Turkish construction industry at both domestic and international levels. Cultural similarities and differences in work goal orientation are compared between selected groups of professionals in the Turkish construction industry. We aim to provide information on the work goals of both civil engineers and architects involved with the construction sector in terms of occupation, gender and age, respectively. Hofstede's VSM question form was used to establish cultural profiles of the participants. The cultural dimensions of architects and civil engineers provide a sample picture of Turkish construction industry.     

The UK building education recruitment crisis: a call for action

There is a growing urge for a shift from ‘lowest-price wins’ to ‘multi-criteria selection’ practices in the contractor selection process. The rationale is to achieve best value (for money) for the client. Earlier investigations have found that the tender price (i.e. capital cost) still dominates the final selection decision despite increased emphases on the need for contractor selection based on ‘value’. This paper provides insights into the evaluation of contractors' attributes, particularly for project-specific criteria (PSC), that is, criteria against which tendering contractors may be considered. The importance attached by clients to the ‘lowestprice wins’ philosophy is also reported. The perceived importance of PSC (i.e. their influence on final selection choice) is determined through a structured questionnaire survey of UK construction clients. The results show an increasing use of PSC. It is also found that ‘lowest-price’ is not now necessarily the client's principal selection criterion, but rather, the realization that cost has to be tempered with evaluation of PSC in any attempt to identify value for money.     

Contractor financial prequalification using simulation method based on cash flow model

Although construction contractor prequalification highly prioritizes the financial capacity of the construction contractors, a special assessment of contractors' financial capacities has seldom been performed in the construction industry. Cash flows largely reflect a contractor's capacity to meet its financial obligations, this study assesses the credit qualities of construction contractors by using a cash flow based credit model (CFB credit model). The model uses historical continuously free cash flow to firm of construction contractors to simulate possible future cash flow paths. The credit quality scores of construction contractors are then assessed using the CFB credit model. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of assessment of the credit quality of construction contractors, and recommend the clients to adopt it in prequalification of the contractors' financial abilities.     

Contractor financial credit limits; their derivation and implications for materials suppliers

Current methodologies for ‘calculating’ contractors' credit limits (for supply of construction materials) are discussed and critically appraised. It is highlighted that credit limit imposition should be a function of a supplier's financial characteristics as well as potential debtors' probability of defaulting upon repayment. A conceptually new approach is presented to identify whether an additional contractor's trade results in a worthwhile gain in utility for the supplier. It is identified, inter alia, that (i) allowing very few contractors credit facilities that account for a large proportion of suppliers' potential profits, (ii) having inaccurate creditworthiness evaluation procedures, and (iii) operating on low targeted profit margins are the characteristics that inflict maximum financial risk upon materials suppliers.     

Organisational culture profiles of construction enterprises in China

The vast economic growth in China in the past decade has brought forth opportunities for the development of its construction industry. However, the construction industry in China has been criticised for poor performance and low effectiveness in terms of quality and profitability in the face of challenges and uncertainties resulting from the fast changing economic environment. Given that organisational culture plays a significant role in work performance and effectiveness, the apparently low effectiveness of the construction industry may be related to the culture of the contractors' organisations. The culture–effectiveness (C‐E) relationship has received increased attention in organisational research and the aim of the study is to develop a culture–effectiveness model of the contractors' motivated behaviour towards performance. Results of cluster analysis of the culture profiles of Chinese construction enterprises show that hierarchy and clan cultures are dominant and that culture profiles of Chinese contractors may vary in different geographical regions.     

The propensity for employee participation by electrical and mechanical trades in the construction industry

Using the four input-output tables compiled in Turkey to date, the aim of this paper is to examine the construction sector's role in the Turkish economy and analyse its relationships with the other sectors of the national economy. Analysis results show that the share of construction in Gross National Product (GNP) and National Income (NI) tend to increase whereas the GNP share of manufacturing is relatively stable and that of services tend to increase after an abrupt decrease in 1985; backward linkage indicators and output multipliers, as well as forward linkage indicators and input multipliers of construction industry are stable; and finally, direct and total construction inputs from manufacturing show relative stability and those from services tend to increase in recent years. These findings point out the similarities between the Turkish construction industry and some advanced industrial countries (AICs) like Japan and Italy showing signs of growing ‘maturity’ of the Turkish economy.     

开拓水业国际工程咨询与承包市场应关注的问题

充分利用国内外资源,发挥我国水行业在技术、人才、建设和运营管理方面的优势,开拓水行业的国际工程咨询及国际工程承包市场是今后水业发展的一个方向,而解决好相关的问题和规避风险是顺利进行水业国际工程咨询与承包的关键。     

Construction project risks: further considerations for constructors' pricing in Hong Kong

Construction project risks affect contractors' tender price. A host of factors influencing tender prices were identified and the importance of these factors evaluated by making use of the data collected in a postal questionnaire survey conducted to the ‘Buildings’ contractors in Hong Kong. Out of 60 factors identified, the availability of required cash, uncertainty in costs estimates, urgent need for work, past experience in similar projects and contract size are considered most important. The need for work and the amount of experience are similar to those factors affecting bidding decisions of top UK contractors. The findings suggest that in the upward adjustment of tender prices, the large‐size contractors are more concerned with the uncertainty in costs estimates while the medium‐ and small‐size contractors care more about no past experience. In the downward adjustment of prices, the large size of the contract is the main factor affecting the pricing of the large‐ and medium‐size contractors while the urgent need for work is the main drive for the small‐size ones. There are significant differences between the contractors' perceptions of the importance of the risk factors. This is consistent with differing attitudes towards bid mark‐up decisions of the large‐ and medium‐size contractors in Singapore.     

Ottoman and Turkish Orientalism

Since the early decades of the 19th century, Turkey has undergone successive programmes of modernisation that have closely identified reform with Westernisation and its implied European ‘success and superiority’ over Turkish culture. Here Edhem Eldem reveals both the external and internal dynamic of Turkish Orientalism, which has proved such a complex multilayered process with an enduring influence on how Turkish society and elites view themselves today. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Historical narratives as strategic resources: analysis of the Turkish international contracting sector

The Turkish contracting sector has an enviable reputation for operating in high-risk international markets. The sector’s ability to respond to market instability could meaningfully be construed as sectoral-level capability. We aim to demonstrate how history can be mobilised in a formalised “strategy text” to create a strategic narrative on the sectoral level. The Geography of Contractors as published by the Turkish Contractors Association (TCA) ostensively portrays the strategic development of Turkish international contractors over four decades. Such quasi-historical narratives are routinely mobilised for the purposes of creating a shared memory on the sectoral level. The chosen strategy text draws from multiple narrative fragments derived from past experience to generate a strategic agenda for the future. The representation given to multiple voices reflects the pluralistic nature of strategy making praxis. The overarching strategy narrative reflects a performative intent in legitimising some practices whilst discrediting others. Narrative analysis demonstrates the way in which actors, actions and events are positioned within a plot structure, with direct implications for the enactment of future strategic practices. The findings suggest that strategic actions can only ever be identified in retrospect and that such arguments are always made with an eye on the future.     

Making a risk-based bid decision for overseas construction projects

The globalization of international construction markets provides tremendous opportunities for contractors to expand into new foreign markets. However, entry decisions for international construction markets are very risky and more difficult than those for domestic markets, due to the wide variety of uncertainties and complexities associated with the international construction domain. This paper focuses on developing and testing a ‘risk-based go/no-go decision-making model’ for contractors who wish to expand into international construc5 tion markets. The go/no-go decision model applies the cross-impact analysis (CIA) method to assess the various uncertainties associated with international construction. This research draws significant findings regarding the benefits of this go/no-go decision model from experimental studies involving 56 participants.     

Repackaging the poor? Conceptualising neoliberal reforms of social rental housing

This paper considers the need for conceptual renewal in comparative housing research. Since the mid-1990s, Kemeny’s model of ‘unitary’ and ‘dualist’ rental markets and Harloe’s classification of ‘mass’ and ‘residual’ social housing provision have been repeatedly recycled in comparative studies of ‘social’ and ‘public’ housing provision. Amidst international neoliberal policy mobilities, their models based on liberal welfare regimes wield particular power. Conceived during neoliberal cutbacks of public services, Kemeny’s ‘dualist’ rental market and Harloe’s ‘residual’ model of social housing similarly depict state-subsidised rental housing provision as bureaucratic, and targeted to the poor. Despite empirical change, these models are still used to describe liberal welfare regimes, and to theorise international policy convergence. Based on a review of recent market-oriented reforms of state-subsidised rental housing provision in the US, Australia and England; original neoliberal ‘sites of production’, this contribution asks whether these conceptual models still reflect the empirics. Findings diverge from the models, undermining their assumptions about how neoliberal reforms progress.     

基于波特钻石模型的中国建筑业国际竞争优势分析

简要介绍我国承包商在国际工程承包市场的现状,运用波特钻石理论分析我国建筑业在要素条件、需求条件、相关支持产业、企业战略结构和竞争以及机遇和政府等六个方面的国际竞争力水平,就如何进一步提高产业竞争力给出六个方面的建议。     

DÉJ[Agrave] VU: MEMORY IN ARCHITECTURE

It was Walter Benjamin's fundamental insight that all experience is technological, that the term ‘technology’ designates the artificial organization of perception. and that architecture, as the locus of modern experience, is the vehicle of this organization of perception. Against the current technologies of ‘virtualization’ and assimilation of architecture to the media image industry, this essay turns to Walter Benjamin's notion of media and speculates on the relation between building and photography—as the old new media—to advance the possibility of viewing architecture as a form of ‘media’ in the organization of perceplion. From a psychoanalytical reading of the notion of ‘photography.’ the argument proceeds with the Benjaminian thesis that at the beginning of our modernity, ‘photography’ is the foundation forthe constitution oj the psychic-origin of technology Tbeessay concludes with the proposition that, after Benjamin, any speculation on ‘media theory’ in architecture must lake up a psychoanalytical framework in order to theorize the relation of technology to the human psyche. It is on this relation that we must locate Benjamin's legacy for contemporary criticism.     

The use of global strategies by British construction firms

A two‐stage qualitative case study, and Yip's conceptual framework, are used to examine the extent to which British construction firms have adopted ‘global’ strategies. In the first stage industry experts provided evidence on the forces driving global strategy. In the second stage executives from eight internationally active firms described how they have responded to those forces. Results indicate that the forces driving globalisation, at least for traditional contracting activities, are not strong. Evidence shows that most firms operating internationally organise ‘multi‐locally’ and make little use of globally integrated strategies. However, firms that have moved into ‘higher value‐added’ construction activities have a greater propensity to integrate some aspects of their strategy on a global basis.