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Article
Publication date: 2 February 2010

Paul Bowen, Keith Cattell, Peter Edwards and Ian Jay

This paper aims to investigate the nature and extent of value management (VM) practice by professional quantity surveyors in South Africa. The survey explores practitioners'…

3262

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the nature and extent of value management (VM) practice by professional quantity surveyors in South Africa. The survey explores practitioners' awareness and understanding of VM and the nature and extent of the use of VM techniques within their organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A web‐based, online questionnaire survey is employed to establish VM practice by South African registered quantity surveyors. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the survey response data.

Findings

The results suggest that, while VM (and more particularly its value engineering antecedent) is generally known among quantity surveyors in South Africa, it is less widely practiced. VM is seen predominantly as a cost reduction tool. This misperception, and the lack of awareness of the potential benefits of VM, must be remedied if quantity surveyors in South Africa are to provide clients with services that meet world's best practice standards. Quantity surveyors also need to know what those standards are.

Practical implications

Refresher courses in contemporary VM theory and practice are recommended, as well as exploration of the impacts on VM of other techniques such as risk, quality and environmental management.

Originality/value

The findings are important given the increasing globalization of construction services, especially given the international ties between designers, quantity surveyors and other built environment professionals.

Details

Facilities, vol. 28 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2011

Paul Bowen, Keith Cattell, Ian Jay and Peter Edwards

This paper seeks to investigate the nature and extent of value management (VM) practice in the South African manufacturing industry. It aims to explore engineers' and designers'…

2339

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to investigate the nature and extent of value management (VM) practice in the South African manufacturing industry. It aims to explore engineers' and designers' awareness and understanding of VM and the nature and extent of the use of VM techniques within their companies.

Design/methodology/approach

A web‐based, online questionnaire survey is employed to establish value management practice within the manufacturing sector. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the survey response data.

Findings

The results suggest that, while VM (and more particularly its value engineering antecedent) is generally known among engineers and designers in the manufacturing sector in South Africa, it is less widely practised. VM is seen predominantly as a cost reduction tool. This misperception, and the lack of awareness of the potential benefits of VM, must be remedied if the South African manufacturing industry is to remain competitive. The industry needs to adopt best practice VM techniques and standards.

Research limitations/implications

It has proved extremely difficult to obtain survey data from manufacturing organizations, resulting in a low response rate. While this is a limitation, the information sourced provides useful direction for future case study investigation.

Practical implications

Refresher courses in contemporary VM theory and practice are recommended, as well as exploration of the impacts on VM of other techniques such as risk, quality and environmental management.

Originality/value

Against a background of increasing globalization, the findings are important if the South African manufacturing sector is to remain competitive. The results provide pointers for future research using a case study method.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 49 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2010

Paul Bowen, Ian Jay, Keith Cattell and Peter Edwards

The purpose of this paper is to investigate value management (VM) practice by professional architects in South Africa. A primary aim is to test the assertion of Kelly et al. that…

1358

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate value management (VM) practice by professional architects in South Africa. A primary aim is to test the assertion of Kelly et al. that VM has “evolved to become an established service with commonly understood tools, techniques and styles.”

Design/methodology/approach

A web‐based, online questionnaire survey was employed to establish VM practice by South African registered architects. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the survey response data.

Findings

The results suggest that awareness of VM is not widespread among South African architects, and that its actual practice is minimal. Where VM was used on projects, it was invariably cost‐minimization driven in terms of both the project and the VM process itself. These findings are in direct conflict with the assertion of Kelly et al. There is also a mismatch between clients' value system key performance variables and objectives defined for VM studies. Use of VM for project brief facilitation is not widespread, and the integration of VM with risk and quality management systems is not pervasive. Where VM was undertaken, no attempt is made to benchmark VM activities against international standards.

Practical implications

Professional architectural associations in South Africa should adopt a proactive role in promoting the use of VM by architects; facilitated by continuing professional development programmes.

Originality/value

The originality of the research lies in determining the nature of, and extent to which, architects in South Africa practice VM.

Details

Construction Innovation, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2007

Stan Abraham and Brian Leavy

To find out, from the perspective of the authors of a well‐known textbook on strategic management, in what ways they think the field is changing.

1779

Abstract

Purpose

To find out, from the perspective of the authors of a well‐known textbook on strategic management, in what ways they think the field is changing.

Design/methodology/approach

Strategy & Leadership interviewed Arthur A. Thompson, Jr, A.J. Strickland III and John E. Gamble, the authors of the widely used textbook Crafting and Executing Strategy: Text and Readings, 15th edition (McGraw‐Hill/Irwin, 2006), to learn how they adapted the book to keep up with developments in the field.

Findings

Changes include:new analytical tools and ways of looking at strategy issues; new concepts and terms appear in the literature; companies encounter new or different kinds of strategic issues; and each new edition has to include the latest and best examples of “strategy in action.”

Practical implications

Sample practical suggestions: “A case can be made that a disproportionate amount of the research being published in today's “top tier” journals makes little difference to the practice of strategic management.” “To restore relevancy, business‐school deans and faculty must begin to place far higher scholarly value on research that truly advances the practice of management.” “I think we are now seeing a new trend, where more and more of the younger faculty lack training in the case method and are uncomfortable using it.”

Originality/value

The authors have watched strategic management literature develop and have a unique perspective on how the teaching of strategy has evolved.

Details

Strategy & Leadership, vol. 35 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1087-8572

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2018

Mohammed Aboramadan

From one year to another, more researchers join in the ever-growing field of interest of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Nevertheless, the literature on NGOs management is…

1677

Abstract

Purpose

From one year to another, more researchers join in the ever-growing field of interest of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Nevertheless, the literature on NGOs management is not as rich as what has been developed for private companies and bodies in the business world. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for managing NGOs effectively.

Design/methodology/approach

Reviewing the literature on NGOs management from different areas, the paper proposes a conceptual framework.

Findings

The paper provides a conceptual framework on how different management functions are involved in a mutual framework for managing NGOs.

Research limitations/implications

The author needs to empirically test the suggested framework using qualitative and qualitative techniques.

Originality/value

The author’s perspective on NGOs management is a subject of great interest for different NGOs stakeholders including: donors, communities, volunteers, managers and policy-makers.

Details

Journal of Global Responsibility, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2041-2568

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1990

Kenneth Traynor and Susan C. Traynor

Discusses the role that predictive fiction serves as a resource inlong‐range consumer marketing planning. Evaluates a case illustrationcomparing the scenarios depicted in two…

Abstract

Discusses the role that predictive fiction serves as a resource in long‐range consumer marketing planning. Evaluates a case illustration comparing the scenarios depicted in two major works of predictive fiction in the categories of consumer behaviour, consumer goods, environment, law, family, leisure, sex roles, technology and psychological factors. Offers guidelines for selecting and analysing the content of relevant literary works, and how to incorporate the results into consumer marketing planning process.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2015

C.I. Jay and P.A. Bowen

The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic and comprehensive historical perspective of the evolution of value management, and to illustrate the impact that value analysis…

3808

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic and comprehensive historical perspective of the evolution of value management, and to illustrate the impact that value analysis can have on innovation within organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of published material from credible sources describing the evolution of the value management methodology, and a desktop analysis of 35 documented value management case studies illustrating the role of value management in innovation.

Findings

Published descriptions of the evolution of value management are incomplete and fragmented. A holistic and comprehensive historical perspective of value management as a value-adding methodology is provided. Mapped against a model for innovation, value management is shown to contribute substantially to innovation within organizations across a variety of contexts. Value management is currently evolving into a powerful approach to strategic planning.

Practical implications

This paper illustrates the contribution of value management to innovation across a variety of industries and contexts.

Originality/value

The paper provides a holistic and comprehensive historical perspective of the evolution of value management as a methodology, and demonstrates by mapping selected case studies onto a model of innovation impact, that the method is a powerful and versatile approach to obtaining innovative solutions to organizational problems.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 March 2018

Ian Y. Blount, Jay Seetharaman and Trevor L. Brown

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of program strategy on the implementation of the efficacy of a procurement set-aside program at the state level.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of program strategy on the implementation of the efficacy of a procurement set-aside program at the state level.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines the impact of program implementation strategy across two administrations considering the most compelling alternative arguments for what drives agency purchasing through contracts with MBEs.

Findings

The results of mixed effects linear regression models on the procurement expenditures of 70 state agencies in Ohio from 2008-2015 show significantly higher rates of procurement expenditures with MBEs under the Kasich administration.

Originality/value

These results provide support for the argument that changes in program implementation strategy led to substantive increases in the use of MBEs by state agencies in Ohio.

Details

Journal of Public Procurement, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1535-0118

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

David Buchbinder

The growing public anxiety towards the end of the twentieth century that men were “in crisis” was articulated in popular-cultural texts. The purpose of this paper is to examine…

1666

Abstract

Purpose

The growing public anxiety towards the end of the twentieth century that men were “in crisis” was articulated in popular-cultural texts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the TV family sitcom Modern Family, in order to explore the ways that it constructs the masculine post-9/11.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach used is that of cultural studies, a field which draws together theorisation and analytical methods from a variety of disciplines.

Findings

Despite the variety of family structures represented in the series Modern Family, its narratives continue to foster traditional notions of patriarchal power. However, the presence of alternate versions of “family” and “masculinity” suggests an awareness of other possibilities.

Practical implications

This paper may model to its readers a way of approaching and analysing other popular-cultural texts for their representations of masculinity.

Social implications

An understanding of the dynamics of masculinity and its alternative forms of masculinity may be likely to have a material impact in the social sphere.

Originality/value

By drawing together theory and analytical approaches from a variety of relevant disciplines, the paper demonstrates that, in the wake of the events of 9/11, there are twin impulses simultaneously to adhere to a familiar, dominant notion of masculinity, yet to propose alternate forms of the masculine.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1983

R.G.B. Fyffe

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and…

11006

Abstract

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and economic democracy, which centres around the establishment of a new sector of employee‐controlled enterprises, is presented. The proposal would retain the mix‐ed economy, but transform it into a much better “mixture”, with increased employee‐power in all sectors. While there is much of enduring value in our liberal western way of life, gross inequalities of wealth and power persist in our society.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 3 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

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