Search results

A literature review suggested that conservation refurbishment work was perceived by design professionals to be inherently more risky than new‐build projects. The objective assessment of risk items helps ameliorate its impact. The results of a large questionnaire‐based survey evaluating specialist design consultants’ risk identification and management approaches are presented. The risk management approaches of specialist design consultants are divergent, reflecting their professional philosophies, educational programmes and experience. Further differences emerge according to practice size and contract value. Particular attention is paid to the responses considering contingency pricing, project budget forecasts and extensions of time. Results suggest that client education via briefing and consultants’ wider use of confidence limits can help improve the management of risk.

A previous paper (Vol. 16 No. 3) examined the potential contribution of derivative products to the mitigation of some of the problems and risks associated with direct property investment. This paper analyses the property‐related derivative products that have been developed. Particular attention is paid to the products developed by Barclay de Zoete Wedd ‐ property index certificates (PIC), property index forwards (PIF) and property index notes (PIN) ‐ and property basket warrants issued by Goldman Sachs and SBC Warburg. It is argued that institutional attitudes to derivatives are key to their success. Previous research on this issue is reviewed. It is concluded that the development of PICs has “broken the ice” with investors and should generate increased interest in and use of derivative products in the property sector by UK and overseas institutional investors.

The University of Michigan's Information Technology Division, with the help of 21 corporate partners, created a city‐wide multivendor information network to support the EDUCOM'89 conference. This article discusses the origins of InfoNet; describes the system as the users experienced it; looks behind the scenes at how it was developed; and summarizes what was learned from creating the system on a tight timeline.

This paper focuses on the dismissal of two Australian managing directors/CEOs after a relatively short tenure in office. Despite the fact that one was an insider and the other was an outsider, they were both selected to lead two of the largest corporations in Australia. Power and political influence played a vital role in their dismissal. Both CEOs attempted to take charge of their organizations, but failed to take the power and influence of the board into account. Implications and recommendations for executives are outcomes of the paper.

To give an overview of the papers contained in this Special Issue.

Looks at how each of the papers reflects the theme of the Special Issue, “Complexity and IT design and evolution”.

The collection of papers in this Special Issue addresses complexity, drawing on multi‐faceted, multi‐theoretical lines of inquiry.

Frameworks from complexity science, institutional theory, social science, philosophy, and recent thinking in science and technology studies (STS) are used as theoretical lenses to conceptualize and analyze complexity in IS and to offer ways to mitigate it.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent and nature of use of formalised risk management tools and techniques by UK design consultants – chartered architects and chartered building surveyors – in conservation refurbishment projects.

Following a review of risk management literature, a detailed questionnaire is prepared and considered by a focus group. Post‐revision, nearly 700 postal questionnaires are distributed to chartered architects and chartered building surveyors specialising in conservation work in the UK. The questionnaire contains Likert‐scale and closed‐end questions. Response data is analysed using SPSS software.

The results highlight the divergent approaches employed by UK chartered architects and chartered building surveyors specialising in conservation refurbishment work, suggesting that a harmonised risk model would be appropriate and should be developed.

The results make an important contribution to understanding the dynamics within this under‐researched area of professional activity.

In the increasingly hostile operating environment, corporate real estate (CRE) executives are beginning to recognise the importance of sustainability within their freehold property portfolios. To assist in decision‐making, external valuations are regularly commissioned. The purpose of this paper is to examine the practical difficulties associated with incorporating sustainability criteria in the valuation methodology as valuation outcomes inform CRE decision‐making at strategic and tactical levels.

This paper takes the form of a detailed and critical literature review.

It is widely acknowledged that sustainability has become a key driver of many business decisions. Corporate entities can achieve a considerable range of tangible and intangible benefits from sustainable real estate in their freehold portfolios. While substantial progress has been made toward understanding the dynamics of the sustainable real estate market, the valuation of such assets is rather hampered by the comparative difficulties in achieving consensus regarding the sustainable criteria and how they should be objectively assessed.

The paper contributes to the broader appreciation of the theoretical and practical difficulties associated with identifying and assessing appropriate sustainable criteria. Importantly, the paper highlights the need for greater understanding of the criteria in the evolving valuation methodology framework.

The paper aims to offer a contribution to the development of conservation scheme management by examining some of the ethical dilemmas that are commonly encountered in conservation projects.

The approach is a detailed and critical review of existing literature and recent policy direction.

A practitioner's response to the various dilemmas will not only need to be conditioned by the codes of conduct of the various professional institutions but also through the explicit recognition of the very different set of ethical dilemmas that are encountered in conservation projects.

The paper contributes to the broader appreciation of the ethical dilemmas that may be encountered in contemporary conservation practice. The paper can inform conservation consultants, administrators, specialist trades, educators and the non‐specialist reader.

This paper has three principal aims: to briefly consider the term “depreciation” in the context of property values; to critically review the term “obsolescence” and two of its distinct forms; and to highlight the practical difficulties in pricing obsolescence using inflexible methodologies in a market place that is subject to evolving criteria.

The paper critically reviews existing literature and advice from international professional bodies.

The general conclusions are that despite the need to be more explicit in valuations, current methods are unable to address such detail. The guidance and advice offered by professional bodies need to be thoroughly revised. It is hoped that the progress being made in methodology will be incorporated in directed guidance to practitioners.

The paper offers an applied examination of an issue that has an impact on many aspects of contemporary real estate consultancy services.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the background issues that influence the level of central government funding of the care and maintenance of the provincial Anglican medieval cathedrals in England.

The paper presents a detailed review of the evolving government policy and funding agency practice. The paper critically examines the levels of financial support provided to specific cathedrals since the introduction of the Cathedral Repairs Grant and the Funding to Cathedrals schemes.

Since 1990, central government, via English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund, has offered a comparatively modest level of financial support for the care and maintenance of provincial medieval cathedrals. Yet this funding is balanced by an increased bureaucratic process that ironically increases the cost of care. The budget for grant aid is being reduced annually, ceiling levels to grants are imposed regardless of the cost of the work and previously successful applicants are being excluded from future bidding rounds. More public funds should be available for the care programmes and the support should be more real than rhetorical.

The paper contributes to the broader appreciation of the funding system for the care and maintenance of the cultural built heritage under an evolving financial regime based on efficiency reviews. The paper highlights the longer‐term implications of the increased bureaucratic system.