Construction management

Essay Question: Write a 2-3000 word essay critically analyzin" rel="nofollow">ing two related strategic in" rel="nofollow">initiatives in" rel="nofollow">in a construction firm of your choice. An in" rel="nofollow">initiative is a discrete, practical activity designed to implement a broader strategic goals. Both in" rel="nofollow">initiatives should be directed at the same firm level strategic goal. For example, Health and Safety is a strategic goal; a target of zero accidents is an in" rel="nofollow">initiative; similarly, sustain" rel="nofollow">inability is a strategic goal; sourcin" rel="nofollow">ing FTC timber or reportin" rel="nofollow">ing on client reduction to clients are in" rel="nofollow">initiatives. ----- Identify a strategic goal and evaluate the implementation of two in" rel="nofollow">initiatives designed to address that goal. Do the two in" rel="nofollow">initiatives address the goal? What aspects do they address? What do they leave out? What challenges does the implementation of the in" rel="nofollow">initiatives pose for the firm? In your view, are the two in" rel="nofollow">initiatives likely to deliver on the strategic goal; why or why not? ---- Essay Guidlin" rel="nofollow">ines: To complete the essay your will need to: 1. Select an Architectural, Engin" rel="nofollow">ineerin" rel="nofollow">ing or Construction firm for your case study. 2. The firm can be of any kin" rel="nofollow">ind, but it will need to publish annual reports to do this assignment. 3. The construction sector in" rel="nofollow">includes four different, but related in" rel="nofollow">industries. In general, construction sector firms can be classified as engin" rel="nofollow">ineerin" rel="nofollow">ing consultancies, construction firms and material and product suppliers. In addition there are a range of associated professional services. Make sure that you are clear on what kin" rel="nofollow">ind of firm you have selected and their relevant market. 4. Identify a strategic goal and two related in" rel="nofollow">initiatives An in" rel="nofollow">initiative is a practical measure which has been designed to implement and meet the strategic goal. The two related in" rel="nofollow">initiatives should address different aspects of the same problem or challenge. For example, employee development is a strategic goal; apprenticeship schemes and mentorin" rel="nofollow">ing day are two in" rel="nofollow">initiatives. 5. Use the firms own Annual Reports and CSR/Sustain" rel="nofollow">inability reports to identify the two in" rel="nofollow">initiatives. 6. Research the issue which the goal (and in" rel="nofollow">initiatives) has been developed to address. To research the issue you will need to look outside of firm documents to sources about the sector as a whole. 7. Research the goal and the two in" rel="nofollow">initiatives and evaluate them Thin" rel="nofollow">ings to consider in" rel="nofollow">include: - The fit of the strategic goal which you have selected with the firm’s values, history, commitments, other goals etc. - The challenge of implementation. What issues will implementation of the in" rel="nofollow">initiatives in" rel="nofollow">involve? - What impact are the two in" rel="nofollow">initiatives likely to have? Who will they effect? How? What problems would you expect to arise? What issues will the firm need to address to make sure that the in" rel="nofollow">initiatives are successful? etc Students may use these headin" rel="nofollow">ings or develop headin" rel="nofollow">ings which better reflect the content of the section.  Title. The essay MUST have a title which reflects the content of your essay. Please note: an essay is NOT an exam question, do NOT use the assignment brief or essay question as your title.  Introduction. The in" rel="nofollow">introduction describes your topic and tells the reader what you are goin" rel="nofollow">ing to do. It ends with a summary of your main" rel="nofollow">in poin" rel="nofollow">int (in" rel="nofollow">in this case, your evaluation of the firm’s implementation of a strategic goal)  Background. Describe the problem or issue which the firm is addressin" rel="nofollow">ing with its strategic goal. This may in" rel="nofollow">include the political, social and economic context s and other sector level in" rel="nofollow">information  Firm – describe the firm which you have selecgted. Focus on those features which are relevant to evaluate the implementation of the strategic goal. This may in" rel="nofollow">include firm values , its organization and structure, its stakeholders etc. Do NOT provide general in" rel="nofollow">information about the firm which is un-releated to the topic of your essay. If you take in" rel="nofollow">information from the annual report, make sure that you reference it and that you analyse it critically (remember, the annual report is was written for a particular audience and is designed to put the firm in" rel="nofollow">in the best light possible, don’t present it as fact, unless there is supportin" rel="nofollow">ing evidence).  Firm Strategy and Initiatives – describe the firm’s strategic goal which you have selected and the two in" rel="nofollow">initiatives which you have selected. (NOTE: the background section should discuss the issue in" rel="nofollow">in general, this section should discuss the problems it poses for the firm, firm level drivers and the firm’s way of seein" rel="nofollow">ing it and addressin" rel="nofollow">ing it  Discussion – evaluate the implementation of the strategy, drawin" rel="nofollow">ing on in" rel="nofollow">information in" rel="nofollow">introduced in" rel="nofollow">in the previous sections. It is NOT usual to in" rel="nofollow">introduce new in" rel="nofollow">information in" rel="nofollow">into the discussion section. Extra poin" rel="nofollow">ints will be granted for students who use the different approaches discussed in" rel="nofollow">in class to evaluate the in" rel="nofollow">initiative. These in" rel="nofollow">include: Rational Plannin" rel="nofollow">ing, Market positionin" rel="nofollow">ing, Resource Based Views, Dynamic Capabilities, Strategic Human Resource Management, Corporate Sustain" rel="nofollow">inability (Corporate Social Initiatives, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance, Environmentalism) Please note all of these approaches are both descriptions of what firms do and prescriptions of what they could or should do to succeed. Make sure you are clear about which aspect you are usin" rel="nofollow">ing as you write!  Conclusion – conclude the essay with your answer to the essay question. For extra credit, identify poin" rel="nofollow">ints for further research and recommendations to the firm Sources Please note that the corporate report will not provide all of the in" rel="nofollow">information which you need to write the essay. It’s your job to research the the issue and the firm. Relevant sources in" rel="nofollow">include the firm’s website, Buildin" rel="nofollow">ing Magazin" rel="nofollow">ine and Construction News, government and in" rel="nofollow">industry reports (try searchin" rel="nofollow">ing on Construction Information Service - CIS) and academic articles (try searchin" rel="nofollow">ing on the ARCOM website) All claims (in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">information taken from annual reports) MUST be referenced. All direct quotes must be referenced with a reference AND page number or in" rel="nofollow">indication of the webpage, URL and date it was consulted. All images and diagrams must be referenced. The first word of an in" rel="nofollow">in-text citation MUST match the first word of the correspondin" rel="nofollow">ing bibliographic reference at the end. The bibliography MUST in" rel="nofollow">include every rererence cited and be in" rel="nofollow">in alphabetical order. For the purposes of this essay, you can cite textbooks. Do not cite lecture notes or slides. Formattin" rel="nofollow">ing For the font, use 12 pt. 1.5 or double-spacin" rel="nofollow">ing 2.5 margin" rel="nofollow">ines Assessment Criteria Research (knowledge and in" rel="nofollow">information about issues raised in" rel="nofollow">in the essay, breadth of sources consulted, use of sources) 30% Coherence and Scope (essay poses a problem/question and develops an argument in" rel="nofollow">in response; discussions are relevant to the question and build on one another; essay follows proposed structure; content of each section corresponds to the headin" rel="nofollow">ings) 20% Critical Analysis (demonstrates in" rel="nofollow">independent thought; evaluates sources and in" rel="nofollow">incorporates evaluation in" rel="nofollow">into discussion , relates case study to themes in" rel="nofollow">in the module and uses criticisms of theories to critique the in" rel="nofollow">initiative) 30% Presentation, Referencin" rel="nofollow">ing and Bibliography (professional, clean presentation, relevant poin" rel="nofollow">ints referenced; in" rel="nofollow">in text citations supported by bibliographic entry; referencin" rel="nofollow">ing formatted usin" rel="nofollow">ing the Harvard style) 20% NOTE: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THE REFERENCING USED SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE FOR ME, AS A STUDENT, SO THAT I CAN CHECK FROM WHERE YOU GET THE INFORMATION