Strategic Management Applied to International Construction

Front Cover
Thomas Telford, 2003 - Business & Economics - 290 pages

The past 50 years has seen a steady increase in the number of construction businesses operating on a global basis. However, in recent years, there has been a total transformation of the international business market into more of an integrated holistic community and this transformation can be put down to three key developments:

  • The first and most dramatic has been the improvement of communication systems, including satellite technology and the development of computer information technology.
  • The second is the manner in which international trade has developed since the Second World War. The establishment of the United Nations and associated bodies (such as the World Health Organisation) was the first step in encouraging nations to work together to solve world problems. Since then, governments have set up a number of organizations to help develop and regulate the world economy and international trade.
  • The third and most recent development has been the realization that most of the world’s resources are finite and will not support current rates of economic and industrial growth indefinitely.

Strategic Management Applied to International Construction has been specifically written to provide a broad coverage of the knowledge required to address strategic issues relating to the business of construction on a global scale. Unlike previous books in this area, it is not biased towards practice in any particular country. Instead, it provides knowledge that is universally applicable and this knowledge is supported by a series of case studies of leading consultants, contractors and suppliers of products, materials and construction equipment to highlight current best practice by organizations in America, Japan and Europe. Supporting the text are numerous diagrams, charts and tables to help visualize the key issues.

Strategic Management Applied to International Construction will be an excellent reference work for practitioners across all construction related disciplines who are seeking to supplement their strategic business knowledge and expertise in the broad spectrum of international construction. The book will also be essential reading for postgraduate students studying construction management and for undergraduates who are studying specialist options, or who have selected subjects related to international construction as a final year dissertation topic.h

 

Selected pages

Contents

Foreword
1
Preparation for entry into international construction
9
List of figures
12
Factors for assessing the physical environment
18
List of profiles and case studies
20
International trade and the nature of international
29
Dispersion of world trade
30
International trade
35
Project cycle
126
Influencing factors on the exchange rate
132
International management culture
139
Cultural hierachy pyramid
140
Plot of cultural dimensions of 15 nations contained
150
International human resource management
159
National influences on management policies and style
160
Human resource manpower planning process
167

Top global contractors 1994 and 2001
42
Case studies
46
Summary
55
Corporate strategy
59
Porters five forces model of industrial competitiveness
60
Different types of global strategy
66
Business risk assessment model
79
Marketing competitive advantage and procurement
89
Foreign market entry decision process
91
Traditional procurement process
102
PFI
108
International construction finance
117
Relationships between the factors influencing the cost
121
Degree of employee involvement
173
Organization structure and management systems
181
Initial stages of international expansion
183
Matrix project structure
189
Rich picture diagram of the interrelationships between
196
Communications
209
The communication process
210
Project management
229
Clientproject team interaction
231
Future horizons
257
Index
273
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Strategic Management Applied to International Construction
Rodney Howes,Joseph Tah
Snippet view - 2003

Common terms and phrases

achieve acquisition activities AICs analysis application approach associated Author's commentary Balfour Beatty Bouygues Bovis Lend Lease building Caterpillar Inc clients communication competitive advantage completion consideration construction market construction projects contractors corporate strategy cost countries culture domestic Dragados economic effective efficiency employees engineering environment environmental established evaluation exchange expertise facilities factors Figure foreign funds global construction industry Hochtief human resource management identified implementation important improve individual infrastructure innovation and research integrated international market international trade Internet investment involved joint venture LDCs major mergers mergers and acquisitions necessary normally OECD on-line operate organization structure partners performance Philipp Helfmann potential profits project management regional relationships risk role Shimizu Corporation Skanska SNC-Lavalin soft systems methodology solution staff standards subsidiaries suppliers supply chain Thomas Telford World Bank

References to this book

Bibliographic information

TitleStrategic Management Applied to International Construction
AuthorsRodney Howes, Joseph Tah
Editionillustrated
PublisherThomas Telford, 2003
ISBN0727732110, 9780727732118
Length290 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Business & Economics / Industries / Construction
Business & Economics / International / General
Business & Economics / Management
Business & Economics / Strategic Planning
Technology & Engineering / Construction / General
  
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