Based on the three analyses and the successful interview with a
construction executive, I have come up with an action plan. This plan is meant
to incorporate the important ideas that have come to light through the
analyses, and that have been reinforced by the interview. The action plan will
seek to link these essential concepts with a method for incorporating them
into the operating procedure for a construction company. In doing this, the
goal is to produce a realistic, and usable set of guidelines by which these
ideas can be integrated into the everyday working fabric of the company. The
action plan will focus on the implementation of these key factors:
*
I have assumed the role of a CEO of a small to medium existing construction
company.
Purpose:
It is our belief that by embracing some of the innovative technological
advances that have recently occurred, we will be facilitating an atmosphere
within the company that nurtures growth while at the same time allowing us to
maintain a leading role in the construction industry. We are implementing this
plan in order to begin the process of integrating company systems with some of
theses chosen new technologies.
Action:
Following
is an outline of a plan that will eventually be put into action by the
division heads of each department. The owners of the company have set up these
goals. The details of the plan are to be worked out at a company retreat to be
held in two weeks. The department heads, along with all of the management team
from each department will be in attendance at this retreat. At the retreat, we
will divide into groups, based on department. Each group will apply this
outline to its own unique situation and will come up with specific
technologies to be used in order meet the needs of the company which are set
fourth in the outline. Through this collaboration, we hope to gain a consensus
on the individual needs of each department as they relate to technology usage.
This
plan will include:
o
data and voice communication
(field and office)
o
Internet based communication
(email, video conferencing, web pages)
o
Data
management (client, subcontractor, vender)
o
Standardization of job specific
project controls such as RFIs, Change Orders, Submittals, and Daily reports
o
Security
o
Accuracy
o
Job costing ability
o
Company-wide standardization of
accounting practices
The
preceding topics are meant to serve as an outline for initiating department
specific implementation of technological measures to deal with the areas of
interest shown.
Purpose:
The analyses and interview have
indicated a need for a well-organized and defined method for making decisions
within the company. Through the definition of this decision making process, it
is our intent to identify how critical, or strategic decisions will be made
within the company and to show how these will flow down through the management
to impact work-face activities.
Strategic decisions
are important to our industry for many reasons. For example, take the
following scenario:
“The
Internet revolution is barely under way in construction, but e-commerce
companies already are cutting fees charged to suppliers who sell materials and
other products through their systems. With some exceptions, the operators of
e-commerce exchanges say they are pushing fees down to 2% or lower, from as
high as 5% some had been seeking from sellers. The change is needed because of
resistance from suppliers of lumber and pipe and other commodities to paying a
percentage of their sales as a fee and either kissing the money goodbye or
burying the fee in their prices. In businesses where margins can be thin,
resistance to fees translates into reluctance to sell over the Internet” (Korman,
82).
This
situation represents one of many scenarios that we as a company are faced with
every day. We believe that ultimately the company will be faced with the task
of purchasing materials over the Internet. It is necessary for us as a company
to do some strategic thinking in order for us to best position ourselves to
use this change to our advantage. This scenario happens to be related to
technology, but the possibilities for other developments throughout the market
that could affect our business are limitless. Therefore, we need to have a
simple, well-documented system for allowing changes that may result from the
realization of some strategic issue in our future.
Action:
Upper Management has created this
chart in order to set up parameters that will govern the flow of information
resulting from critical strategic decisions through the proper channels in the
company. This is needed in order to assure that these paramount decisions are
routed through the correct channels within the company so as to assure maximum
efficiency in the implementation of the resulting changes. In order to achieve
this goal, it is first necessary to define the company organizational makeup
as seen in the following chart.
Now
that the company organization has been defined, we can examine the way that
the decisions will flow within the company structure.
Our Industry is one that is constantly changing. It is important for
there to be an established procedure for implementing decisions that are made
in order to better position the company to take advantage of these changes. It
is of the utmost importance that each employee in the company recognizes where
in this process they fall in so as to facilitate efficiency in communicating
and implementing company wide strategic changes. This process map is to be
included in the new hire handbook that is given to each new employee. Each
manager should be very familiar with this process and should be prepared to
answer any employee questions relating to the process.
Purpose:
It
has become overwhelmingly evident that employee retention is a critical issue
for us in the construction industry today. Employee retention can be a
complicated issue with many variables involved. One important part of employee
retention deals with compensation. Through our research, it has become
apparent that a comprehensive compensation program will ultimately serve to
help us retain employees. For take this quote for example, “management
specialists would do well to design incentive schemes based on the premise
that money is an effective and highly potent motivator” (Gupta, 1).
Obviously, through our research and our interview with a construction
executive, it became evident that many people believe in the value of
rewarding his employees for a job well done. Compensation is inevitably linked
to employee retention, but it is also strongly linked to employee motivation.
By attacking the problem of employee retention, through the installation of a
new employee compensation program, we will be able to effectively hold on to
our employees while at the same time motivating them to do their best work.
Action:
We
have put together this compensation program in order to address
employee retention within our company. This plan is to be implemented
immediately for all jobs that fall under the construction operations category.
Any employee that has questions or concerns about the new system should direct
them to his or her manager. The program is divided into three parts, base pay,
benefits, and incentives.
Purpose:
Through
our studies and research, we have found that skills involving communication are
extremely important. Furthermore, through our talks with executives from some of
the most successful construction companies in the nation, it has become very
clear that good meeting, presentation, and organizational skills are key to
success in our industry. Therefore, we would like to initiate a training program
based on theses key issues. The benefits to training our employees are numerous.
For example, it has been proven that training programs increase employee
motivation and retention, and that companies that train can ultimately expect
greater growth than companies not engaged in training. “Companies that
distinguish themselves in the way that they hire and train experience growth
rates of between 60% and 300% greater than their competitors” (Keating, 247).
Action:
In order to tie together the two important issues of retention and
communications, we will implement an employee-training program. The focus of
this program will be on communications skill, specifically those related to
conducting a meeting, presenting information, and organizing information within
our daily work schedules. These are all subjects that we feel, through
interviews with executives and research, are important to the well being of our
company and our employees.
Training overview
Gaining
expertise has traditionally been an on the job experience, meaning that it took
a lot of time. More industry employers today are seeking to identify employees
with managerial skills earlier in their careers. Most firms try to informally
nurture promising employees as opposed to giving them formal training.
Conversely, some employers are beginning to take note of the retention benefits
that formal training may offer and prospective employees are beginning to look
for formal training programs in the companies that they interview with. In order
to set up training programs, most firms need the help of consultants. As a
result, some companies are spending between 3% to 5% of their annual payroll on
training (Rosenbaum, 30).
Because we believe that training will allow us to enhance our overall
work experience, we want to incorporate these ideals into our company
atmosphere. In order to accomplish this, we will follow several simple steps.