Editorial

Citation

Finch, E. (2011), "Editorial", Facilities, Vol. 29 No. 11/12. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.2011.06929kaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Facilities, Volume 29, Issue 11/12

Outsourcing is becoming a ubiquitous phenomenon in the world of facilities management (FM). The situation in Italy is considered in the paper by Roberto Cigolini, Giovanni Miragliotta and Margherita Pero, in which they suggest three aspects of the outsourcing process. These include the size of the FM providers; their company culture and fit with clients; and the availability of management competencies. The authors describe a framework, based on an Italian survey that serves to overcome these suggested barriers to outsourcing. It recognises the opportunities for local actions and cross-company actions as a means of overcoming cultural and size constraints.

The paper by Eddie Chi-Man Hui, Hoi Tang Lau and Tareef Hayat Khan addresses a key question: “Just how important is property management on property prices?” Looking at the Hong Kong context, there is currently no licensing system for property companies (in common with many countries). ISO 9000 certification and HKMAQA are used as a proxy for measuring the quality of property management in the Hong Kong private development market. The study suggests that the quality of property management does indeed provide a key selling point. It also argues that such quality also impacts on the second-hand property market. Finally, the use of award schemes can bring attention to the wider public the achievements of the property profession and the buildings they manage.

The paper by Xianhai Meng reproduces a study on the use of performance measurement in the construction industry, turning their attention to the facilities management context. The paper contends that the Balance Score Card, key performance indicators (KPIs) and the Business Excellence Model are the most widely used in FM and indeed are the most successful. The paper provides a useful insight into current practice as well as enabling practitioners to understand the appropriate use of the techniques.

We return to Hong Kong in the study by Eddie C.M. Hui and Otto M.F. Lau in which the authors attempt to bridge the gap between theory and application in the field of refurbishment and rehabilitation. The “real option model” described by the authors provides a framework for gauging likely gains or losses in refurbishment schemes. In so doing, the model assists in determining the financial viability of a rehabilitation scheme in the context of risk. Undoubtedly this throws new light on a subject previously dominated by the concept of life cycle costing.

The subject of meaning and values in the workplace is the focus of attention in the final paper by Pritam Singh, Asha Bhandarker, Sumita Rai and Ajay K. Jain. It is suggested in the paper that little is known about human value preferences and how it affects people’s expectations in relation to the workplace. Using factor analysis and regression analysis a number of interesting recommendations emerge. The first of these is that, given the influence of individual values on expectations in relation to environmental attributes, organizations should seek to include “measurement of values” in any evaluation process. A further recommendation is that organizations should consider using value preferences to model work environments such that the needs of a newer generation of workers are addressed.

Edward Finch