Search results

In the quest for better construction workforce management, this chapter explored the background of workforce management and related theories, models, and practices. Through a review, the chapter provided meaning to the concept of construction and workforce management. The chapter concluded that while the construction industry worldwide is important to the economic growth of the countries where it operates, the industry’s management of its workforce is challenged by several problems. These problems include the nature of the industry, skill shortage, unhealthy working environment, and poor image of the industry, among others. Also, while the construction industry is rich in diversity, this has been a major source of problems for workforce management. The chapter further revealed that to improve workforce management and attain better-performing construction organisations, careful recruitment, effective training, providing a safe working environment, putting policies to promote diversity, and ensuring innovativeness, among others, are essential.

On the one hand, there is a long tradition of approaching management control and innovation as opposites that prompt organisational tensions. On the other hand, recent studies have shown that management control may foster innovation and promote innovative behaviour. At the same time, both these perspectives focus on innovation management, and discussions regarding the role of management control in innovation leadership are conspicuously absent from the literature. In this chapter, we analyse how innovation leaders use management control in two service companies. We demonstrate that, in contrast to innovation managers who employ management control systems primarily for planning, monitoring, and evaluation purposes, innovation leaders use management control for advocacy, engagement, and visibility.

Creating a mindset for research, including the development of professional research skills and critical thinking, is of the utmost importance in preparing students for the business world. To help faculty with this mindset, we discuss novel approaches for incorporating professional research and interactions into the undergraduate classroom, although the recommendations can apply to the entire curriculum. We describe three scenarios where our recommendations might apply – research/financial, tax, and accounting information system courses. Using a professional accounting research course and a financial course as examples, we start out broadly discussing a practitioner-coauthored professional case study approach that is applicable to any course, at any level. We then present a capstone undergraduate tax research course followed by an introduction of a specific project in an accounting information systems course. We include suggested syllabi, projects, and assessment rubrics throughout the discussion.

This chapter discusses the proposed integrated sustainable road infrastructure project implementation (ISRIPI) model and its constructs and sub-constructs, as well as public participation (PP), climate change response (CCR), and stakeholder management (SM). CEEQUAL was the most comprehensive rating system, with 11 criteria. Lim (2009) and Ugwu and Haupt (2007) were the most thorough studies examining sustainability models for infrastructure projects, focussing on social and cultural sustainability (SCS), economic sustainability (ES), environmental sustainability (EnS), institutional sustainability (IS), health and safety (HS), project management (PM), resource utilization and management (RUM), and engineering performance (EP). The Brundtland Report and Rio Summit defined social sustainability as the right to a decent standard of living, social justice between generations, within generations, and around the world. Thin (2002) showed social justice, unity, investment, and safety as aspects of society. Rosenström et al. (2006) defined social qualities as objects that make people happy. Cultural sustainability is access to cultural assets for current and future generations, and cultural legacy is the collection of physical signals passed on from the past to each civilization and, by extension, to all humans. EnS seeks to reduce the environmental impact of road infrastructure projects. Sustainable road infrastructure project implementation (SRIPI) must consider PM issues such as delivery system, risks, duration, performance assessment, sustainability clauses, and contract type. Quality control systems must be set up to ensure the optimum utilization and management of resources in SRIPI. EP criteria measure sustainable road infrastructure projects’ (SRIP) durability, quality, resilience, adaptability, functionality, carrying capacity, and robustness. This research developed an SRIPI model based on the models of CEEQUAL, Lim (2009), and Ugwu and Haupt (2007). The hypothesized framework consists of 37 SRIPI factors, including SCS, ES, IS, HS, PM, RUM, EP, CCR, PP, and SM. It projected the analytical authority of these constructs in the success of SRIPs to test whether the realization of SRIPI outcomes depends on the supposed indicators of the variables. SRIPI is a multidimensional structure composed of 11 latent variables, derived from literature review and Delphi study findings.

The CEEQUAL certification system promotes sustainable development (SD) principles in infrastructure construction, with 12 categories of criteria and indicators. ENVISION assigns 60 points to five categories, while Green Guide is divided into seven classifications. SD certification requires 11 requirements, including an ecological assessment procedure, life-cycle costing assessment, quality control plan, noise mitigation plan, waste management plan, pollution prevention plan, low impact development, pavement management system, site maintenance plan, and educational outreach. SD certification technique provides 8 critical criteria, 153 standards, 17 stringent prerequisites, and 8 categories of points. Culp (2011) developed a grading system to incorporate SD principles into infrastructure projects; Shen et al. (2011) explored significant assessment parameters for the SD of infrastructure projects using the fuzzy set method; Lui and Cui (2012) studied SD frameworks for building projects, Montgomery et al. (2014) and Lim (2009) identified 77 major SD indicators based on a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, and the Transport Division of New South Wales established a Transportation Project Sustainability Framework to ensure the long-term viability of their transportation network and the continuous improvement of their environmental and sustainability performance. Assah Amiril (2014) revealed a global network of 27 SD criteria produced by professionals, for-profit and non-profit organizations, divided into five groups: ecological, financial, sociological, engineering, asset use, and project management. The most important details in this study are that 57 indicators were categorized into eight types, weighted according to their respective impacts, and the influence of each component on SD was evaluated using a 100-dimensional scale. This study investigated the eight criteria and the impact of three additional criteria (public participation, climate change response, and stakeholder management). This chapter examined the criteria and indicators of SD criteria and indicators for road infrastructure development in developing countries. The most important findings are that the CEEQUAL, Ugwu, Haupt, and Lim models are the most comprehensive theoretical models of SD requirements for infrastructure design, and that all frameworks and models promote the sharing, promotion, and acknowledgement of SD concepts.

Public involvement, climate change reactions, stakeholder management, and stakeholder management have all been identified as weaknesses in sustainable road infrastructure development (SRID) inquiry. Most scholarly studies on sustainable infrastructure development (SID) are undertaken in advanced countries, while limited academic studies on the SID in third-world countries cite challenges impeding utilization. This chapter examines the conceptual holes in the SID model and aims to solve three identified gaps: public participation, climate change response, and stakeholder management. The inclusion of highlighted challenges is based on the belief that successful SRIP implementation would be impossible without public participation and climate change adaptation. Public participation is essential for the efficient implementation of SID. It allows stakeholders and everyone affected by infrastructure projects to participate in discussions, recognizing possible problems and creating solutions. International organizations, such as the World Bank, have embraced the concept of public participation as a need for effective project implementation. In underdeveloped countries, most infrastructure projects exclude the general populace, so public participation should be seen as a vital variable in the effective implementation of SRIP in poor countries. Arnstein (1969) proposed an eight-stage stepping ladder for citizen involvement from exploitation through consultation to citizens in control. Information is the cornerstone of all types of engagement, and the mildest kind of real involvement is a meeting when project participants voice their concerns and opinions. Co-creation and co-choice are rare in industrialized countries, and the issue of involvement has become a concern. Notification and attendance are prerequisites for meaningful participation, which can begin when the public is given the opportunity to express their opinions. Players are seen as social establishments or gatherings having the power to influence the fate of the organization, and an evaluation of the players is needed to determine whom to include. Participation in projects boosts decision-making efficacy and sufficiency by widening the information base, encouraging innovation, and fostering public acceptance of methodologies. Stakeholder engagement can increase the speed and quality of strategic decision-making. The key takeaways of the chapter are that public participation in road infrastructure projects should have a say in decisions concerning activities that affect their lives or occupations, should take into account the people’s history, cultural, natural, political, and sociological foundations and should be involved in the following ways: initiated early in the life cycle, organized and well-arranged, phased and improved, non-partisan professionals, learning about members’ traits and interests, and focussing on contentious subjects. Public engagement in SRIP implementation must be efficient and well-managed to be successful. Public participation is essential for SRID.

A Delphi study was conducted to identify the critical variables of successful implementation of sustainable road infrastructure projects (SRIPs) in developing countries, determine the reasons for the various viewpoints held by infrastructure development professionals, determine what motivates and pushes the infrastructure sector to pursue sustainability, and determine the factors that could impact the implementation of a project for sustainable road infrastructure. Expert feedback was used to determine values for these metrics and indicators, and most of the panellists reached a consensus on the final decision. Statistical methods were used to determine whether there was a general agreement with respect to the statements and questions asked. The findings of the study were presented alongside its overarching principles. The most important criteria for SRIP implementation were socio-cultural sustainability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and engineering performance, with little consensus on environmental sustainability and public participation. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the most crucial determinants of effective SRIP implementation in low-income nations. Interquartile deviation (IQD) values ranged from 7.0 to 8.1, but IQD values varied from 2.00 to 3.00. Thirty-one environmental sustainability indicators were assessed as important or very important, with 26 out of 30 having IQD values between 0.00 and 1.00. Six sub-attributes were deemed extremely significant and four important when experts examined institutional sustainability, with no consensus on the final four indications (IQD 1). Fourteen of twenty-one Public Participation Indicators were deemed ‘major’ by panellists for SRIP implementation, with consensus among experts. Ten factors contribute to diverse perceptions of sustainability, with only 2 deemed crucial and 18 deemed important. The four most essential indicators of successful SRIP implementation are VHI: 9–10). The other seven criteria were crucial because their median scores were between 7.00 and 10. The Delphi survey explained why various individuals in the infrastructure industry have divergent views on what it means to be sustainable. Twenty-one factors were identified as contributors to divergent perspectives on sustainability among infrastructure industry stakeholders. The Delphi survey also established the factors that affect the success of SRIP implementation in low-income countries, leading to the development of the conceptual SRIPI model.

The aim of this chapter is to describe a four-type model of organisational structures and to discuss two cases, Embrapa and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, as well as additional cases at SAM-Research and the centre for shared medical support services established at the University of Bologna.

These cases should help readers understand the importance of designing distinctive, tailored-made support services while keeping these structures flexible for further adaptation under unforeseen changes.

The chapter concludes by stressing the role of institutions to steadily invest in the design of these tailored support structures and in personalised training for their support staff.