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This study was conducted to identify, summarise, analyse and categorise mobile device applications (Apps), relevant to the construction industry and to explore their uses and exposure levels.

The research method involved reviewing literature and searching for Apps. The construction Apps were found by developing key phrases. These key phrases were used to develop search strategies, which were then used to find the construction Apps. The Apps found were categorised based on the similarity of their uses.

The 136 Apps identified were summarised, analysed, and categorised into 11 groups of distinct construction operations and tasks. The “Design and Drawing Apps”, “Measurement and Estimation Apps”, “Management Apps”, “All Round Apps” and “Construction Site Apps” recorded 29, 28, 26, 21 and 11 numbers of Apps, respectively. The Autodesk Sketchbook, GPS Field Area Measure, MagicPlan, Measure and TSheets were the top five in terms of the number of downloads. These Apps in terms of their exposure levels in the construction industry record 4.76%, 2.38%, 0.52%, 0.48% and 0.42%, respectively.

This paper provides a catalogue of the continuum of construction Apps for a wide variety of construction operations/activities which are available for construction professionals and provide guidance on their uses to assist in selecting appropriate Apps for specified operation/tasks/activities in the construction industry. Construction professionals may benefit from increased productivity, efficiency and ease of working.

It is generally considered that the old myths were a way of explaining the origins of the world and of humanity. They also played a vital role in uniting a society. Indeed the idea of the epic story is one which permeates history to such an extent that it can be considered to be omnipresent.

It is argued that this cohesive role remains crucial today and so myths remain relevant to us today. The design of the chapter is to show this relevance in business behaviour. This is explored through a consideration of corporate reporting.

It is demonstrated that these myths continue to be reinvented in modern form. For individuals these myths provide a source of strength and a sense of roots and values; they offer a mirror to reveal the source of our anxieties and the means by which they might be resolved.

In this chapter therefore the modern myths of the hero are explored in the context of managerial behaviour in organisations. In order to explore this there is a need first to consider the psychoanalysis of managerial behaviour before considering the mythic dimension of such reporting.

This paper demonstrates that organisational stories have a vitally important role in organisational cohesion and development.

The psychoanalytic approach provides an understanding which is not available through other methodologies.

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce – not even, in many cases, describing workers as assets! Describes many studies to back up this claim in theis work based on the 2002 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, in Cardiff, Wales.

This paper argues that the quest for meaning and the problem of suffering are in an irresolvable state of tension and that this tension remains of central importance in modernity and a prominent issue in the reconstruction of contemporary social theory and social science.

The approach focuses on an examination of the work of Max Weber and Emmanuel Levinas on issues of rationality and suffering bringing them into a productive dialogue and juxtaposition.

The work of Max Weber shows how practices of rationality in modernity are still haunted by the ethical call to responsibility that suffering incurs. The work of Emmanuel Levinas complements and reconfigures Weber’s framing of the issues involved and deepens the general point that a reconstructed social theory would incorporate the implications of suffering more deeply into its practices.

A social science and social theory oriented by an epistemological framework is inadequate to the ethical responsibility the presence of suffering invokes. A reconstructed social theory in an ethical framework calls for the best knowledge capable of being produced. As such, a nihilistic or disengaged pluralism, as well as a social science framed primarily by methodological concerns, is inadequate. What will be required is both critical examination of explicit and implicit assumptions of theory and research as well as active, engaged dialogical practices with alternative perspectives.

An engagement between Weber and Levinas is almost unprecedented, especially on issues rationality and suffering despite their shared perspectives. What Levinas offers the reconstruction of social theory today is explored.

It is well recognized that Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are important and popular ways of achieving corporate growth. Motivations include a search for monopolistic power and growth, desire to respond to a low level of profitability in the existing business portfolio, improvement of market position, filling out product line, protection of supply or distribution, gain of control, acquire what is available, to internationalize, or to reduce risk. However, M&A strategies are not risk-free, and arguably one of the CEOs greatest challenges. The last several decades have witnessed a surge of interest in top executives. The strategic choice ranks as one of the dominant roles and responsibilities of senior management. Executives’ experiences, values, and personalities greatly influence their interpretations of the situations they face and, in turn, affect their choices (Hambrick, 2007).

Over the past few years, sad stories of M&A failures have been reported and that can be attributed to poor synergy, bad timing, cultural issues, hubris, complexity, and ineffective strategic control mechanisms including poor due diligence process. M&A strategies require a series of choices made over time by actors at various organizational levels; therefore, it cannot be seen as an independent activity but as an integral part of the formal rational procedure as well as the cognitive process. Strategic cognition plays a very important role in the diagnosis of strategic issues and the formulation of problems (Schwenk, 1988). Pre-decision control mechanisms permeate all levels of strategic investments process to ensure that the investment decision aligns with organizational strategy (Alkaraan & Northcott, 2007). Due diligence processes are comprehensive appraisal of strategic investment opportunities undertaken by a prospective buyer, especially to establish its assets and liabilities and evaluate its commercial potential. Due diligence processes refer to verification, investigation, or audit of a potential deal or investment opportunity to confirm all facts, financial information, and to verify anything else that was brought up during an M&A deal or investment process.

This chapter explores the influence of due diligence processes on strategic investment decision-making (SIDM) processes. Further, it provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Furthermore, the chapter adopts a strategic perspective on M&A, particular attention has been paid to the influence of due diligence and other related strategic control mechanisms on SIDM processes.

The challenges confronting the Nigerian construction industry which led to the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) practice were evaluated in this chapter. It was discovered that the Nigerian construction industry is confronted with fragmentation and poor information management. The stakeholders within the Nigerian construction industry proposed the adoption of SCM to overcome the fragmentation and other shenanigans facing the industry. This chapter revealed that construction supply chain (CSC) practices within the Nigerian construction industry focus on waste elimination by adopting the lean concept. The focus on the lean concept could be attributed to the numerous research related to lean or the enormous waste emanating from the Nigerian construction industry. Regardless of the emphasis on lean, the Nigerian CSC is still confronted with fragmentation and heavy waste generation. Thus, this chapter proposed the adoption of principles and technologies driven by the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is a paradigm shift for the management of CSC in the country. It was discovered in this chapter that Nigerian construction supply stakeholders had not embraced the technologies and principles of the 4IR. The failure to adopt the technologies driven by the 4IR is attributed to the absence of a CSC model that depicts the management of CSC in alignment with the 4IR. This chapter called for developing a SCM model for the Nigerian construction industry in tandem with the principles and technologies of the 4IR.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are arguably one of the CEOs greatest challenges, and there is a critical need to get these decisions right. It is clear that no single theory is adequate to describe or inform how M&A are evaluated in uncertain conditions, but there are several that offer partial explanations or at least contribute toward our understanding of how managers can deal with the uncertain environment and assess the likely risks associated with M&A. The literature suggests how relevant theories might be aggregated to make sense of strategic investment decision and investment appraisal techniques in an organizational context and considers the implications for further research in this important area of M&A. This chapter focuses on strategic investment appraisal, and draws together a variety of theoretical perspectives, especially from the field of psychology, which may be unfamiliar to both scholars in and practitioners.

This paper is based upon the initial findings of a CIMA research project into the way in which corporate performance measurement systems are influenced by the use of shareholder value management techniques. It compares and contrasts the techniques in use in a sample of 10 companies that either explicitly use shareholder value techniques also known as Value‐Based Management (VBM), or explicitly do not use such techniques. The analysis undertaken is based upon the finding of semi‐structured interviews with company representatives which formed the first part of the data collection process of the project. The analysis traces the interactions between corporate objectives, decision making criteria, performance measurement systems and executive incentive schemes in order to develop an understanding of the effects of such shareholder value techniques upon corporate behaviour. The literature reviewed suggests that the other aspects of the planning and control system should be aligned with the corporate objectives whether a company has adopted VBM or not. Therefore this research contributes new evidence on the use of VBM techniques in the UK and also more generally on whether VBM and non‐VBM companies internal planning and control systems are aligned.

The authors aims to use stigma theory to predict and test a model wherein a person’s stage of pregnancy influences their workplace outcomes associated with pregnancy concealment behaviors.

The authors tested the model using two separate survey studies, examining these relationships from the perspectives of both the pregnant employees and their supervisors.

The authors find support for the model across both studies, showing that concealment of a pregnant identity predicts increased discrimination, but only for those in later stages of pregnancy.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine how one’s stage of pregnancy impacts identity management outcomes. This is important given that pregnancy is an inherently dynamic stigma that becomes increasingly visible over time.

Sustainable construction practices are strongly correlated with a profitable and competitive construction industry, improved client satisfaction and efficient use of resources. However, due consideration is not being given to sustainable construction practices in Nigeria. Therefore, this study aims to identify the unsustainable construction practices on construction sites, the barriers to sustainable construction and possible strategies to improve sustainable construction in Nigeria.

A questionnaire survey of 50 construction sites was conducted with construction professionals on the sites as the specific target, out of which only 43 construction sites have at least a construction professional present at the site. Forty-three filled questionnaires from the respondents were used for descriptive (mean score, standard deviation and charts) and inferential analysis (t-test and Kruskal–Wallis) in this study.

The study shows that a large percentage (75%) of construction professionals in Nigeria are aware of sustainable construction. The descriptive and inferential analysis showed a disparity in the ranking of the 12 unsustainable practices, 14 barriers and 11 strategies among the respondents. Five unsustainable practices (“negative externalities”, “excess energy”, “unsustainable technologies”, “non-management of health and safety of workers” and “material waste”), six barriers to sustainable construction (“absence of historical data and exemplary projects on which construction professionals can build and learn from”, “lack of professional to handle the task”, “poverty and low urban investment”, “lack of urban and construction policy”, “lack of awareness” and “lack of technical know-how”) and three strategies to improve sustainable construction practices in Nigeria (“cooperation, partnership and participation”, “protection of biodiversity and conservation of natural resources” and “sustainability assessment system”) were found to be significant.

The study offers significant insights into the construction industry unsustainable practices, barriers to sustainable construction, as well as strategies for improving sustainable construction practices. These insights can be applied to other developing countries with an emphasis on geographical differences.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the recent studies in Nigeria that explored the context of sustainable construction in the construction industry by providing insights into the unsustainable construction practices, barriers and strategies to improve sustainable construction in Nigeria.