Background of Aurecon
Question:
Discuss about the Project Management in Construction System.
Aurecon is a private company based on engineering, project management, design, management, planning, and consulting. It was founded in the year 2009 with the headquarters located in Australia and South Africa. They have a total of 80 offices spread in 27 countries with more than 7500 people. Aerocon was formed by merging the three engineering companies of Africon, Connell Wagner and Ninham Shand (Aurecongroup.com, 2018). All these companies were ranked among the top firms as they operated in both the public and private sectors. The popular projects of Aerocon Singapore are the sail at the marina bay and Fusionpolis at the one- north Business Park. The sail is a waterfront lifestyle apartment whereas Fusionopolis consists of different research organizations, high- tech companies, retail outlets and government agencies.
This report will consider the case of Aurecon in Singapore and the management challenges faced in that organization. the aim of this report was to solve the management challenge by selecting the suitable approaches. This report will consider the discovery of most up-to-date management thinking to help in identifying the highly advanced solutions. Not only the suitable approaches but also the strategies, which are not applicable, will be discussed.
The report has discussed about the management challenge that is prevailing in the Singapore market of Aurecon. The analysis of the internal and external factors of the company found out that although Singapore is an appropriate area for conducting business but there are certain management challenges. The company is experiencing challenges in the field of human resource management specifically in the knowledge management. This is known as human resource information system (Zhou, Goh and Li 2015). The other two areas of problem are lack of employee participation in sharing knowledge and employee motivation. Among these, the most prominent challenge is the shortage of skilled labor which will be described below.
As per Cannon and Hillebrandt (2016), shortage in skilled workforce is a raging issue in the engineering sector of Singapore and Aurecon was hit. The country has to rely heavily on the migration of human resources who will be suitable to work in the engineering sector of Aerocon. Engineers are a critical resource for effective management that includes the role of advanced technology and digitization. The demand for engineering talent and the designers or planners in the organization are able to use multi- disciplinary skills that are increasing in the private sector. Therefore, knowledge sharing has become important for carrying out different functions in the organization. However, management challenge is arising due to lack of employee participation and motivation (Walker 2015). They are not interested in sharing knowledge to add value to the organization. That is the reason why the managers are finding it difficult to attract new talents and as a result of that the market position of Aerocon was hampered. To shed light on this issue a list of research questions is provided.
The following research questions are set based on the challenges faced in attracting the required skilled labor in the construction and engineering sector with particular emphasis on the Aerocon Singapore.
- How organizational effectiveness can increase by attracting new talents within Aerocon Singapore?
- What are the issues faced by construction and engineering industry in drawing new talents?
- How will Aerocon gain a suitable market position by increasing capital knowledge?
Overview of Management Challenges in Aurecon Singapore
In the book ‘strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems’ by Robert D. Galliers and Dorothy E. Leidner, it is mentioned that the key aspects of strategic information management is associated with information system planning and strategy. The popular 7- S framework of McKinsey in this book has stressed on the market positioning. The authors have stated that the tendency for management to adapt to negativity is an outcome of previous bitter experience. Knowledge management has been considered as the contemporary function of the mangers and this concept has emerged due to knowledge being the major resource for an organization. This literature is suitable in the case of Aerocon Singapore because knowledge management is a critical issue in that organization and 7- S framework was regarded as one of the suitable approaches in this case (Galliers and Leidner 2014).
The article ‘Cultural Industries: Product–Market Characteristics, Management Challenges and Industry Dynamics’ by Mirva Peltoniemi has focused on the increasing importance of finance in the cultural interest. This paper has aimed at the rethinking the industries by limiting within the boundaries, characteristic features and the dynamics that follow. A future study framework was portrayed in this article for selection criteria and performance. The researcher of this study has created extreme uncertainty that might be faced by the managers. This is an appropriate literature review in this case as the particular topic deals with the challenges faced by the managers in their organization. It was found that the management challenges are not common only in engineering sector but also in cultural sector (Peltoniemi 2015).
In the article ‘Multi-level agile project management challenges: A self-organizing team perspective’ by Rashina Hoda and Latha K. Murugesan, the focus has been put on the self- organizing team that present a high level of autonomy. Project management activities are shared among the teams such as planning and estimation that influence daily project tasks. This study has recognized eight project management challenges, which was experienced by the team and the management. Instances include change in requirements, attaining cross- functionality, asserting autonomy in the organization. This is suitable in this case, as the Aerocon Singapore is a company based on project management and designing therefore similar issues can be associated with it (Hoda and Murugesan 2016).
It can be summarized from this literature review that the management challenges are not limited to engineering sector only and step have been taken by other industries for resolution. The strategies of VRIO, SWOT and PESTLE was used by other industries to analyze the issues. This report will consider other strategies and look out for their suitability.
The 7S strategy of Mckinsey is used as an organizational analysis tool to evaluate and supervise the changes in the internal environment of the organization (Hughes, Champion and Murdoch 2015). The 7-S in the framework signifies structure, system, strategy, style, staff, skills, and shared values. This model can be used by Aerocon Singapore to improve their organizational performance and find out the modifications that might change the future of the company. By implementing this model in the organization, it will be helpful to make amendments in the specific processes during merger or acquisition to consider the best strategy for implementation.
Analysis of Management Challenges in Aurecon Singapore
On the other hand, there are limitations of this framework such as the external environment lacked in this particular framework. This model did not describe the concept of performance or effectiveness. These are the two limitations of this model, which might restrict its implementation in the Aerocon Singapore organization.
According to Lavender (2014), this strategy refers to the creation of a new market space by the company in order to make the competitors inappropriate as it helps in defining new consumer value by reducing the costs. This new market space was significant as the blue ocean in this model. It has used numerous methodologies, tools and frameworks to originate the strategies of Blue Ocean. This model can be helpful in linking the overall system of the organizational activities with the strategic choice of differentiation and reduced cost. By using this framework, Aerocon Singapore will be able to focus on a bigger picture, which is beyond the existing demand. It will help the organization to set standard in the market by achieving high profit margin. It will be able to create brand equity for long term.
On the other hand, there are few disadvantages of this framework such as if this framework is not implemented properly then there is a chance that market complacency can be promoted. There is a probability that the blue ocean might turn into Red Ocean, which competes in the existing market space. Moreover, as it is an intermediate strategy is why there is no assurance that the Aerocon Singapore will get the benefits (Mok, Shen and Yang 2015).
Proposed recommendations/ proposalsAccording to de Carvalho, Patah and de Souza Bido (2015), Porter’s generic strategy signifies that the relative position of a firm within the industry evaluates if its profitability is more or less than the industry average. The basic of this profitability for long term is sustainable competitive advantage. The two basic categories of competitive advantage include low cost and differentiation. These two basic kinds of competitive advantage if mixed with the scope of activities can attain three general strategies. The firms are eager to achieve the strategies that are cost leadership, differentiation and focus to attain average performance in the industry. Out of these three, focus has two varieties, cost focus and differentiation focus. By implementing this strategy, Aerocon Singapore will be able to achieve competitive advantage in the market.
On the other hand, Kaiser, El Arbi and Ahlemann (2015) have contradicted that there are few criticisms about this framework. As it is a hybrid strategy, therefore the business were conducted without being struck in the middle. Moreover, one of the three strategies, cost leadership is unable to sell the products itself. Again, price was used only sometimes to differentiate therefore it might be a challenge for the Aerocon Singapore. The ultimate factor of differentiation will help in increasing the sales volume instead of charging a premium cost. In addition to these, there are other criticisms such as superseding of generic strategy framework by competence based strategy framework. There are a number of limitations but still the model can be effective for the evaluation and analysis of competitive advantage sources.
Literature Review on Management Challenges
TOWS matrix helped in thinking about the strategies of the whole organization, a specific department or the team. Kumaar et al. (2016) has stated that this matrix will also be helpful in thinking about the marketing campaign, a process or individual skills and experience. Although it sounds similar to SWOT but there is a difference between the two. SWOT evaluates the internal environment of the organization whereas TOWS analyzes the external environment. This matrix will be helpful in determining the strategic alternatives to gauge the threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths of the external environment of the organization. In addition to that, the TOWS matrix is also effective in finding the goal of the organization on a long- term basis. If Aerocon Singapore implements this matrix in their organization then they will be able to reduce the weaknesses and increase the opportunities.
On the other hand, Pousette and Törner (2016) has argued that there are few limitations of using TOWS matrix, which can be considered before implementing it in the organization. The matrix only considers the external environment of the organization and not the internal environment. Therefore, it is a drawback on the part of this model and Aerocon Singapore need to consider this before implementation. Moreover, the process will be conducted on a regular basis in order to make it effective, which is not possible always. This tool of analysis needs the support of other tool such as SWOT analysis or others to be efficient in the operation of the organization.
The issue of labor shortage is becoming a challenge for the growth of industries in Singapore and the recreating of economy to deal with the stress. Due to lack in domestic labor, there is need for hiring skilled foreign labors. The firms are also adopting other methods such as making investments to build advanced technology and make efficient business processes. The issue of lack in skilled workers has spread all over for instance, Randy Strauss, the owner of Strauss Construction in Amherst, Ohio mentioned that the major issue in the industry is the cost and availability of labor. Again, in a research carried out by Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America it was found out that the construction industry is actually very strong and healthy. His firm has continued to expand to be in line with the demand of service. However, growth in the construction industry would have become healthier if there were more skilled workforce (Smol et al. 2015).
In another case, multiple Utah general contractors have agreed to the statement by the previous speaker by adding the information that the place has labor shortage. The great recession was one of the cause behind the shortage in workforce and the young people are not finding the work as glamorous as others are. The Big- D construction company in Utah is trying to resolve this issue by attracting new talents towards this field. He has mentioned that a willing and motivated individual ha the scope to make good money in this sector. That is the reason why, they are one among the few companies that pay the total health care costs of the employees in addition to the funding of their health savings accounts (Kassem, Dawood nd Chavada 2015).
Management Approaches and Strategies to Address Management Challenges
Construction companies will need to think differently to deal with the issue of labor shortage. For instance, Blueprint Robotics is a company that excels in building apartments and commercial properties in Baltimore, United States by using assembly line approach. This company has used robotic to finds an alternative to labor shortage. They used this innovative concept to fill the gap created due to lack in workforce.
Conclusion
It was concluded from this report that the issue of lack of talent pool in the construction industry is significant all over the world. Specific examples have been used to shed light on this issue and the steps taken by the managers to resolve it. The statement of different managers of construction industry helped in bringing out the causes that might have led to the shortage in skilled workforce. The research questions were set by aligning with the objectives of the Aerocon Singapore. The merits and demerits of the probable strategies found out the effectiveness in the specific organization. Review of previous literature found out more about this issue in other industries and the steps taken to mitigate it.
References
Aurecongroup.com. (2018). Projects in Singapore. [online] Available at: https://www.aurecongroup.com/projects/by-location/singapore [Accessed 13 Mar. 2018].
Cannon, J. and Hillebrandt, P.M. eds., 2016. The management of construction firms: Aspects of theory. Springer.
de Carvalho, M.M., Patah, L.A. and de Souza Bido, D., 2015. Project management and its effects on project success: Cross-country and cross-industry comparisons. International Journal of Project Management, 33(7), pp.1509-1522.
Demirkesen, S. and Arditi, D., 2015. Construction safety personnel’s perceptions of safety training practices. International Journal of Project Management, 33(5), pp.1160-1169.
Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E. eds., 2014. Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge.
Hoda, R. and Murugesan, L.K., 2016. Multi-level agile project management challenges: A self-organizing team perspective. Journal of Systems and Software, 117, pp.245-257.
Hughes, W., Champion, R. and Murdoch, J., 2015. Construction contracts: law and management. Routledge.
Kaiser, M.G., El Arbi, F. and Ahlemann, F., 2015. Successful project portfolio management beyond project selection techniques: Understanding the role of structural alignment. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), pp.126-139.
Kamsu-Foguem, B. and Abanda, F.H., 2015. Experience modeling with graphs encoded knowledge for construction industry. Computers in Industry, 70, pp.79-88.
Kassem, M., Dawood, N. and Chavada, R., 2015. Construction workspace management within an Industry Foundation Class-Compliant 4D tool. Automation in Construction, 52, pp.42-58.
Kumaar, A.N., Deventhiran, K., Kumar, M.S., Kumar, M.M. and Suresh, R., 2016. A study on targeted relationships between contractors and consultants in construction industry. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 9(16).
Lavender, S., 2014. Management for the construction industry. Routledge.
Mok, K.Y., Shen, G.Q. and Yang, J., 2015. Stakeholder management studies in mega construction projects: A review and future directions. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), pp.446-457.
Othman, A.A., Abd Rahman, S., Sundram, V.P.K. and Bhatti, M.A., 2015. Modelling marketing resources, procurement process coordination and firm performance in the Malaysian building construction industry. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 22(6), pp.644-668.
Peltoniemi, M., 2015. Cultural industries: Product–market characteristics, management challenges and industry dynamics. International journal of management reviews, 17(1), pp.41-68.
Pousette, A. and Törner, M., 2016. Effects of systematic work preparation meetings on safety climate and psychosocial conditions in the construction industry. Construction management and economics, 34(6), pp.355-365.
Smol, M., Kulczycka, J., Henclik, A., Gorazda, K. and Wzorek, Z., 2015. The possible use of sewage sludge ash (SSA) in the construction industry as a way towards a circular economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 95, pp.45-54.
Sousa, V., Almeida, N.M. and Dias, L.A., 2014. Risk-based management of occupational safety and health in the construction industry–Part 1: Background knowledge. Safety Science, 66, pp.75-86.
Walker, A., 2015. Project management in construction. John Wiley & Sons.
Zhou, Z., Goh, Y.M. and Li, Q., 2015. Overview and analysis of safety management studies in the construction industry. Safety science, 72, pp.337-350.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
