Professor Chris Preece's Blog

The Shortcomings Require New Competitive Strategies

2010-05-01T00:37:00.000-07:00

1) The New Economic Model has exposed serious shortcomings. This is useful as it enables some clear identification of what needs to be done.
2) Over the past 30 years, Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) have brought changes to the livelihoods of many in Malaysia. However, the country would now seem to need a range of different strategies.
3) The advantage of low cost is now with the likes of China and Vietnam. The small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have focused on serving the needs of the multinationals. This has lead to production efficiencies, but has not seen these businesses moving into the higher-value activites such as product design and research and development which would have been a driver for future revenues and growth.
4) If we look at what has been happening elsewhere in Asia, for example, South Korea and Taiwan, policies have been focused on domestic investment and niche strategies for growing their own multinationals and conglomerates. Examples are in automotive and shipbuilding sectors in Korea and semiconductors in Taiwan.
5) In many of these other Asian nations, FDI has supplemented domestic direct investment, unlike in many countries in SE Asia, like Malaysia, that has been too heavily reliant on FDIs.

The New Economic Model (NEM); the Challenge is in Implementation.

2010-04-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

1. Part One of The New Economic Model, launched this week by the Primeminister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, provides a framework for drastic transformation, not only of the approach to the economy, but to the culture of the nation.
2. The private sector is expected to be in the driving seat of the economy. With a focus on seeking opportunities and competition regionally and internationally, the emphasis must be on "business friendly" policies and encouraging much more entrepreneurship. Liberalization will continue to promote greater productivity and efficiency. It is expected that the services sector will expand and lead the growth.
3. There is a skills shortage and what is needed are the right market-centric policies and incentives to get the country up to the higher income level. People with high level qualifications and skills have been leaving Malaysia. To help retain skilled personnel, the focus has to be on higher technology and value-added industries.
4. New business opportunities will be opened up in new technologies and automation. An example is telecommunications. Moving from basic call services through to Internet and data businesses. People in the telecommunications sector have had to develop and learn new skills to enable provision of these new services in an increasingly competitive market place.
5. Implementation of the new Model will demand a change in the "culture" for everyone, both in the public and private sectors. The business environment needs to be transformed. Corruption and inefficiencies in all sections of the economy will have to be tackled. This will require significant courage on behalf of the Government and people.
6. The benefits of the realization of a higher income economy to the "rakyat" (people) and "businesses" must be clearly communicated and understood.
7. For the "rakyat", the key messages would seem to be that with higher purchasing power comes a better quality of life, opportunities for upward mobility, better living and working conditions and an improved and sustainable environment and growth across the whole nation.
8. For the business community, the benefits should be greater efficiency, improved access to funds, (particularly for the SME), greater market transparency, fair market pricing and competition, a barrier free market place, and more opportunities for public-private partnerships.
9. The NEM is very bold and challenging. It demands the detailed attention of the business community, but in terms of implementation, it also requires a serious and determined approach on the part of the civil service.
10 In the words of the Senior Business Editor of The Star "A powerful issue to be addressed is skepticism on the ground, especially among the older generation that has long observed certain unsatisfactory developments or those who could have been subjected to a regime that favored certain ingrained practices of preferences. A proper model...is required in both private and public sectors, after taking into account all the stumbling blocks and impediments to change. ...the cultural and mindset of the past will require more time and possibly substantial effort to overcome age-old attitudes, mistrust and fear"

Key References

Download the New Economic Model Part 1
A growing resource of articles on the NEM from The Star newspaper

New CIOB Report Stresses Key Role of the Built Environment in the New Economy

2010-03-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

A timely new report from the Chartered Institute of Building provides a practical agenda for the Industry and Government. The following is a brief summary of the key points.

To deliver "a low carbon economy and provide a 'value for money' return on investment in relation to the built environment, the industry in partnership with government must strive to achieve the following goals:

Maintain construction commitments in programmes such as education and infrastructure renewal to achieve long term national economic benefits.
Promote future job creation and skills development in the workforce by sustaining training and apprenticeships during the economic downturn.
Secure 'value for money' by properly resourced maintenance programmes, quality design and construction and efficient procurement processes
Balance speed and fairness in the planning system at al levels, from the massive changes needed to facilitate large-scale power generation through to the local level.
Achieve carbon reduction targets and job creation by pro-actively upgrading the energy efficiency of the existing building stock, a self financing exercise as long term savings result.
Support construction by means of a smoothly run financial system backed by policies on taxation which promote enterprise and growth.
Think in longer time frames to achieve the long term changes we need in transport, energy and sustainability, as opposed to stop/start cycles.
Appoint a full-time Minister of Construction and give the new Chief Construction Adviser a fully resourced office to achieve a 'joined up' approach which will back up major government programmes in housing, education, health, infrastructure and carbon reduction.
Promote access to construction jobs to all sections of society to achieve a diverse vibrant industry.
Pursue a policy of zero tolerance of fatalities and injuries." CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE FULL REPORT

Announcement

2010-03-23T00:34:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased to announce that I have accepted an offer of the post of Professor from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

My appointment will commence in July 2010 and I will be based at the Business Advanced Techology Centre (BATC), International Campus, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It has been a very rewarding and productive two years with the Department of Quantity Surveying in the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

Since 2008 I have been engaged in a number of important projects. Most notably these have included, the launch of the Journal of Quantity Surveying & Construction Business, and the organisation and hosting of three international conferences (QS Academia, Construction in the Muslim World and the 5th Joint Ventures in Construction conference in collaboration with Kyoto University, Japan).

In addition, I have enjoyed being involved in the on-going development of a new Masters programme in Quantity Surveying, and research projects under the Procurement and Project Delivery System Research Unit.

I would like to thank the Dean and all colleagues in the Kulliyyah for their help and support.

I would especially like to pay tribute to Professor Sr Dr Khairuddin Abdul Rashid for his leadership, encouragement and friendship. I hope we can continue some of our projects and collaborate in the future.

Last, but by no means least, I would like to wish all the best to the past and present students and graduates of IIUM. I have enjoyed teaching you, organizing your visits, (we always seemed to be going to JB and Singapore for some reason), and supervising your final year projects. I hope we will all keep in touch through Facebook! Thankyou and Salam.

Importance of Collaboration Between Academia & Industry For the Future of Construction Research (PART 2)

2010-02-02T23:20:00.000-08:00

1. Types of Academic/Industrial Collaboration - Two appropriate models; Continuing Education, Research

2. One of the core competencies of academic institutions is teaching. Many institutes engaged in education at the high end, have the courseware and ability to provide training for high-end manpower development. Therefore, a natural collaboration possibility is for the academic faculty and institutes to conduct training in topics of interest for industry. This model has existed for a long time and is reasonably well understood. This form of relationship is also beneficial to both.

3. Today in the world driven by Intellectual Property, there is an increased interest in collaboration in the area of research. For the purposes of our discussion, research can be considered as the activity of creating new knowledge. Though academicians in most good institutes engage in research, collaboration in this area is possible only if the industry has a need for research. Though the goal of research is to create new knowledge, the purpose of research in a company is to create new knowledge that can be used to improve the business.

4. Even a services company can benefit from research, particularly if it is a large player.
Research can enhance the ability of a company to adapt to changes and the readiness for absorbing changes and management practices. It can also help the company build a leadership position in leveraging management practices for offering higher value.Research can help service the constant demand for improvement, quality, lowering costs, and creating more value.
It can also help develop new approaches for solving problems, Besides these company-specific reasons, there is a general industry-wide reason as well for increasing research in companies.

5. So, there is a natural synergy between the academic and the industry researcher – academician can lend the conceptualization and generalization skills and the industry can provide the practical reality in which the conceptualization can be rooted.
What both sides have to realize is that bringing the two together requires a great deal of solid interaction as communication gaps exist. There is no easy way to bridge this gap – both sides must simply spend time together to understand each others context and develop a common language.

6. Industry often looks for “consultants” in academic community – basically experts who can guide them in solving their problems. This model assumes that the academic is already working on those problems. This is often not the case. Only after considerable time together can common issues be identified which may be addressable by joint research. Hence a main hurdle today is lack of structures and mechanisms to have researchers from two sides spend time together.

7) Proactively seeking opportunities for industrial collaboration at all levels Acknowledgement of the benefits to students, staff and the Institution as a whole. Resistance – “we are teaching establishments”, “we are too busy” Rewarding successful academics for engaging in this endeavour (counts towards promotion)

8) Government support is there. Attitudes in the construction industry may need to be changed
Academics need to be more proactive. Universities should recognise and reward collaborative activities. It’s all about “delivery”. What is the “shared vision” for construction collaboration with academia?

Importance of Collaboration Between Academia & Industry For the Future of Construction Research (PART 1)

2010-02-02T22:59:00.000-08:00

1. Why do we need collaboration? What are the benefits? How can we do it? What are the challenges to be overcome? SOME PRACTICAL CONSIDERTATIONS IN TERMS OF COLLABORATIVE WORKING...

2. "Collaboration between industry and academia will continue to play an increasingly central role in helping us deliver on our shared vision for the future of technology…..Microsoft is constantly deepening its partnership with academia, and is committed to jointly developing new ideas and solving many of the key challenges in computing.“ Bill Gates 24 July 2001

3. What is the “shared vision” in construction?

4. Since October 2001, the UK has invested almost 300 million GBP (444 million euro) in knowledge transfer, enabling universities, colleges and hospitals to increase their research and development potential and build strong links with industry. 213 new spin-off companies were set up in 2005, compared to an average of 70 a year before the Higher Education Innovation Fund was set up. The turnover of spin-off firms increased from 212 to 289 million GBP (314 to 428 million euro), while the number of people employed by such companies went from 10,500 to 12,000. Furthermore, over the same period, the income received from intellectual property by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) increased by 83 per cent, and the number of patents recorded by HEIs rose by eight per cent. HEI income from contract research for business increased from 266 to 328 million GBP (394 to 485 million euro), while HEI income from consultancy increased from 103 to 122 million GBP (152 to 181 million euro).

5. 'Such encouraging results demonstrate what universities and business can achieve when they work together,' Alan Johnson, Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education.
…….'We have always maintained our commitment to encouraging effective university-business collaboration. I am confident that the increased resources we are providing through the Higher Education Innovation Fund will go a long way in boosting and increasing the success already recorded in this area‘…..

6. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) – a bigger driver for the “research-led” universities
A significant part of the assessment related to involvement with Industry in terms of research
Those Departments/Universities that scored highly had significant involvement with Industry through research projects.

7. The School of Civil Engineering at the Univeristy of Leeds, for example, saw increased involvement of Construction Industry in terms of Industrial Advisory Board – strategic development of School, Employers Group – sponsorship of students, careers, Input to the curriculum (in addition to accreditation by the key professional bodies), support to teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, Site and office visits, CPD courses for the Professional institutions, Short internal courses designed for construction firms.

8. RAE success partly due to; Increased involvement of Construction Industry with research projects, Consultancy work (through the University), Some funding from Industry but mainly through other National or European Grants, Industrial involvement (in-kind support; time and human resources).

9. Why were construction firms keen to collaborate? Reputation, Social responsibility, Alumni (sense of loyalty), Sponsorship opportunities, Access to students at all levels (work placement and graduate jobs), Interest in the research that was being undertaken, Access before anyone else.

10. External demands? Government role as a sponsor reduces creating the incentive to go to the private sector for funding/sponsorship of academic activities. Business increasingly needs research and development to bring about inovation in products and services. Being a “research-led” university demands close interaction/collaboration with Industry and the Professions.

11.What are the barriers to academic/industry collaboration? Attitudes of Industry, The Institutional Reward System. What academics research.

12.Industry believes academics “…. have their heads in the clouds…”, “…are too theoretical”,
“..are out of touch with reality”...

13. From the academic perspective, the institutional reward systems for promotion and tenure do not, in general, provide motivation for academic investigators to partner with industry. Academic promotion criteria are tied to original publications, rather than commercial success,
International academic peer-reviewed journals

14. Academic investigators tend to focus on basic discovery or early development of projects.
Their primary interest is in publishing their work as opposed to promoting its commercial maturation and dissemination to Industry/the Professions. Industry cannot carry too many high-risk projects in their portfolio given the competitive pressures companies face.

15. How can we get more academics interested in real collaboration with Industry if this work is not considered a key performance indicator by academic institutions? Who reads academic journals other than academics? If we are going to increase collaboration with Industry/Professions what are the best ways of disseminating research?

16. So what are the benefits of academic/industry collaboration?

17. Traditionally, the interaction between industry and academia is perceived to be a one-way knowledge transfer from university to industry. However, there is a shift in this perception, and the industry-academic relationship is now acknowledged to be a process of mutual learning.
In the environment of a knowledge-based economy, the initiation of collaboration between industry and academia will allow investigation of new frontiers of knowledge to the mutual benefit of both parties.

18. From the perspective of industry, the motivation for their collaboration with the academic community can be viewed in both a direct and indirect manner. The traditional perception is that academic research provides direct contribution in terms of basic research, which may be too time consuming or costly for industries to engage in. However, other motivations may be more subtle, the most significant being the access to scientific frontiers which brings industry close to state of the art information, scientific networks and developing joint competence in building new fields of interest.

19. An outcome of this collaboration is the development of new products and processes, which would not have been possible had both parties acted independently. The industries’ relationship with academia is particularly valued for its access to expertise, skills and problem-solving capabilities. It is far more effective for industry, in the case of a particular problem-solving scenario, to consult an expert already well versed in the field of that problem, rather than employ a full time employee who would need to build his knowledge base from scratch.

20. In addition, collaboration with academic institutes would provide access to facilities in universities for experimental and testing purposes. Another tangible benefit from this relationship is in terms of recruitment – for example, students engaging in a particular project sponsored by industry will be familiar with the set of skills and expertise required by that particular company. From the perspective of academics, the motivation for their collaboration with industry is mainly related to sources of funding.

21. The decline in government support, increased research costs and an increasing pressure to produce research have been the driving force in the increase of industry-university collaboration. Other relevant factors include an access to industry facilities, exposure of students to real industrial environments and an access to industrial technical expertise.

END OF PART ONE!

Up-date on Iskandar Development Zone in South Johor

2010-01-23T06:10:00.000-08:00

In my previous message I mentioned the special economic zones in Malaysia and specifically Iskandar.

The special economic zone of Iskandar Malaysia grew out of a 2005 government requested feasibility study by the Khazanah Nasional which found that the development of such a zone would be economically, socially and developmentally beneficial.

A series of informative articles have appeared in the Star Online Business today as follows;

From Vision To Action
Johor MB's Views on Iskandar
How Khazanah Masterminded Iskandar
Iskanda Investments Change Strategies
UEM Land's Aspirations for Iskandar

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES

Northern Corridor Economic Region
East Coast Economic Region
Sabah Development Corridor
Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy

Malaysia's marketing opportunities and biggest challenges

2010-01-22T05:01:00.000-08:00

1. Despite recent events that have been broadcast far and wide, Malaysia is still considered to be a safe, peaceful and happy place to live.

2. Malaysia's greatest strength has to be it's people who want continued economic development. There are many marketing opportunities for this country which hopefully will be part of the realisation of the "new economic model". But these opportunities mean facing up to some big challenges. For example, a lack of a highly skilled workforce, too little research and development, an over-dependence on oil revenue, not enough innovation and creativity in the private sector.

3. How can Malaysia become a high income nation based on innovation?

4. The World Bank Report 2009 on Malaysia identifies a number of areas of opportunity for the nation to realise it's transformation. To focus on value-added industries for example electronics and Islamic financing. Malaysia can be a halal hub and a leader in medical tourism. Given it's extensive tropical forests, this offers the opportunity to discover cures for serious illnesses.

5. Malaysia has many and diverse resources. Unfortunately most of these are mined by overseas companies. There is little timber left due to illegal logging.

6. A huge weakness that needs to be addressed is the decline in the private sector as a contributor to the economy. In 1997 the private sector contributed 20% to GDP. It is now around 10%. Local manufacturers have been investing elsewhere. Foreign direct investment has been very low for a decade.

7. And what of Malaysia's greatest asset? Only 25% of the workforce have the skills necessary for specialisation of the economy. Only 10% of school leavers take up vocational and technical courses. In Australia, for example, it is 60%.

8. Povery has declined considerably across Malaysia, however some states like Sabah and Terengganu still register high levels of poverty. Economic growth has been largely concentrated on a few states with better infrastructure. Other than the Iskandar economic region in Johor, the other 4 "economic corridors" have been very quiet.

9. The days of subsidies could be well and truely drawing to a close in an attempt to bring down the deficit.

10. The "new economic model", due to be implemented shortly by the Government, can only work with increased development of higher level skills, increased investment in research and development and a change in culture in the public and private sectors. For the model to work there needs to be further development of a stable, fair and friendly business environment which encourages greater entrepreneurship

Key reference

2009 World Bank Report (Malaysia)

Reputation = Performance = Reputation

2010-01-15T23:29:00.000-08:00

1. Good reputation in business, particularly for professional and contractual services in the construction sector, is crucial.

2. A corporate reputation takes ages to develop and preserve, and yet can be weakened or destroyed over night.

3. The reputation of the construction industry has been very poor. Perhaps it is misunderstanding or ignorance of what this important sector contributes to the economy and society as a whole. This could be due to media preoccupation with the "disasters" and bad news stories.

4. There is no doubt that "people" and "communities", which include our key business stakeholders, have the impression that construction is poor value for money, polluting and corrupt.

5. Many construction businesses are finding the market environment to be tougher, and competition intense, due to economic downturn. This will continue for some time to come.

6. Who are our most important business stakeholders? Clients? Customers? Investors? Employees? Communities? All need to feel they can trust our business to perform, live-up to our promises and their expectations.

7. How do our key business stakeholders think of us? How are we doing to change negative perceptions? Do we focus particular care and attention on our repeat, and seemingly "loyal", clients?

8. Reputation is not all about "image", public relations and advertising. It is about business performance and service delivery.

9. Managing our reputation must be continuous and not just when there is an incident or crisis.

10. REPUTATION = PERFORMANCE = REPUTATION

A new year - challenges and opportunities

2010-01-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

1. 2009 was a challenging year for the economies of most countries across the globe. Whilst the financial crisis started in the last quarter of 2008, its impact was felt by the middle of last year.

2. Many companies were resilient and have survived so far.

3. For the Malaysian economy, foreign direct investments (FDIs) have been relatively low for the whole of the last decade. The average FDI being about 4% compared to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, whose performance was in the region of 15% to 25%.

4. Increased FDI's leads to an increase in skilled expatriate population, generate more demand for housing and office space and higher value employment opportunities.

5. Malaysia's global competitiveness is also affected by security, government delivery systems, corruption, market size, productivity of the workforce etc.

6. Further liberalization is to be expected with more competitive tax regimes and the opening up of the services sector. But when? There doesn't seem to be a timeline for these necessary changes.

7. The Government Transformation Programme (GTP)launched by the Malaysian government identifies six key areas that needed "urgent attention"; crime, corruption, education, poverty, rural infrastructure and public transportation. The Prime minister's Department set up the Performance Management and Delivery Unit or PEMANDU. How will it respond to feedback on these key areas from a "skeptical" public?

8. Can the Government and public servants respond effectively to the needs of the private sector; the wealth creators in the economy? How can it become less bureaucratic, be more transparent and make it easier to gain access to finance?

9. Malaysia is aiming high. It wants to be in the top ten trading nations in the world by 2020. According to World Trade Organisation figures currently it is ranked as among the top 21 exporters and top 28 importers in merchandise trade. With demand from the USA decreasing, demand from the Asian markets, most significantly China, has increased in recent years. In the fourth quarter of 2009, exports grew by about 2%.

10 Malaysia is a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec). This economic zone should offer further opportunities if Asean members keep their markets open, increase intra-member investments and undertake joint promotions. A reduction of tariffs up to 0% could help boost exports and investment.

Some useful references;

PERMANDU

WTO Report Malaysia; Strategies for Liberalisation of the Services Sector

How can we stop the corruption pandemic?

2009-11-18T05:27:00.000-08:00

Corruption is like a virus that continues to spread throughout the developed and developing nations of the world. Corrupt practices in the construction industry include bribery and fraud throughout all phases of a project.

In an industry as important as construction, with a local and increasingly global reach, the impact of corruption is significant.

Corruption is bad for the economies of developed and developing countries. It can result in projects that are unnecessary, unsuitable and defective. Commonly important development work is over-priced, severely delayed and are bad for the reputation of their owners/clients, sponsors, contractors, consultants, suppliers and sub-contractors.

Corruption disadvantages those that finance and insure projects such as commercial banks, surety companies, guarantors etc. Corruption results in losses, false claims and reputational risk.

For the construction supply chain, corruption results in wasted tender expenses, increased project costs, economic damage, blackmail, criminal proceedings etc.

Individual directors, partners and managers within the project supply chain businesses, may face criminal prosecutions and loss of professional status.

Construction businesses gain a bad reputation which will affect their ability to develop marketing relationships.

Much of construction success comes from the ability to create a "trusting" business environment between all parties.

Corruption has to be a major reason why the construction industry has a very poor reputation with its stakeholders.

A big driver for change to this "culture of corruption" has to be the owner/client.

Transparency International (2005) identify a number of initiatives the customers of construction should institute to combat this pandemic.They should;
1) implement an internal anti-corruption code of conduct and management programme.
2) include contractual safeguards including corruption warranties and termination rights in the event of corruption.
3) act with due diligence to try and ensure there is no corruption on their projects.
4) ensure their is transparency in pre-qualification, tendering and that project management is fair and reasonable.
5) report allegations of corrupt practices to the authorities.
6) Public sector owners should take note of "Minimum standards for public contracting"

The corruption pandemic must be tackled by all parties to the project. Yes, Governments have to be serious about enforcing anti-corruption legislation. But all construction business leaders, project managers and professionals in particular, should be concerned to live up to their personal and professional ethics.

References and resources

http://www.transparency.org/global_priorities/public_contracting/tools_public_contracting/minimum_standards
http://www.anticorruptionforum.org.uk/
http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64165259&piPK=64165421&theSitePK=469372&menuPK=64166093&entityID=000016406_20070626142601
http://www.buildingtalk.com/news/tch/tch193.html
http://www.transparency.org.uk/ti-uk-programmes/preventing-corruption-on-construction-projects
http://www.transparency.org/tools/contracting/construction_projects/anti_corruption_reports_and_tools

China Wins Gold in the Global Construction "Olympics"

2009-11-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

The Engineering News Record's (ENR) annual ranking of the world's Top 225 Global Contractors has been published recently, and shows that the fastest growing bloc of national contractors that have increased their dominance in global construction are from the Peoples Republic of China. Six out of the top ten ranked according to total contracting revenues are from China as follows;
1) VINCI (France)
2) China Railway Group
3) Bouygues (France)
4) China Railway Construction Corp.
5) HOCHTIEF (Germany)
6) China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC)
7) China Communications Construction Group
8) Grupo ACS (Spain)
9) China Metallurgical Group Corp
10)Bechtel (USA)

The picture is different if you look at ENR's other main list, the TOP 225 International Contractors according to contracting revenue outside the home country. Here European firms still dominate;

1) HOCHTIEF (Germany)
2) VINCI (France)
3) STRABAG (Austria)
4) Skanska (Sweden)
5) Bechtel (USA)
6) BOUYGUES (France)
7) Saipem (Italy)
8) Bilfinger Berger (Germany)
9) TECHNIP (France)
10) Bovis Lend Lease (Australia)

Chinese companies, however, form a bloc starting at number 17, with the most significant upward surge in the top 100 meaning that if this were an Olympic sport, China would win gold. Key examples include 28th, China National Machinery Industry Corp , up from 48th, 51st China Railway Construction Corp, up from 102nd, 59th CITIC Construction up from 72nd, 83rd Shanghai Electric Group up from 145th....

Two presentations at CIRIAC 2009

2009-10-26T23:57:00.000-07:00

I am due to present two papers at the 2nd Construction Industry Research Achievement International Conference organised by the University of Malaya and the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia. This will be held at the Legend Hotel in Kuala Lumpur between 3rd to 5th November 2009.

My papers are entitled "Approaches to Client Orientation in the Construction Industry" and "Corporate Social Responsibility Perspectives for Construction Organisations".

Link to conference website

October Conferences in Malaysia 2009

2009-08-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that the Kulliyyah of Architecture and
Environmental Design (KAED) in collaboration with Kyoto University and
GCOE Programme of Kyoto University (Global Center for Education and
Research on Human Security Engineering for Asian Megacities)is hosting
the following conferences at the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design(KAED)from 21st to 23rd October:-

1. Inaugural Construction in the Muslim World Conference(21st October
2009)

2. The 5th International Conference on Multi-National Joint Ventures for Construction Works (21st October and 22nd October 2009)

3. 2nd Construction, Law and Economics Circle in Asia & Pacific (CLECAP)International Conference(23rd October 2009)

Please find attached full details of the Conferences together with
registration form click here.

For further details, please click on the following websites:-

http://www.constructioninthemuslimworld.blogspot. com
http://psa2.kuciv.kyoto-u.ac.jp/5thjvconf2009/
http://www.gsm.kyoto-u.ac.jp/clecap/index.php/

For registration please contact Sis. Alhana/ Sis. Zurida at 03-61965266/ 5277 or email to kaed_qsconf@ iiu.edu.my

How effective is your website?

2009-08-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

This week I presented a paper to the 13th Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors Congress in Kuala Lumpur where I revealed the results of on-going research investigating the brand/marketing management of QS practices in Malaysia, in particular the use of company websites. The paper and presentation will be available in full on the PAQS website shortly. (http://www.paqs.net/)

Why are we interested in QS practice websites?

The quantity surveying sector in Malaysia has become very competitive and fast moving. Quantity surveying businesses are faced with the challenge of professional regulation of their marketing approaches together with a need to communicate clear corporate brands with a range of potential stakeholders from existing and potential clients, to investors and potential recruits.

Website branding strategies are now a part of the marketing and corporate communication of any business. Recent research with QS practices in Malaysia has identified that websites are perceived as being an increasingly important part of the marketing mix (Preece, C N, Roziha, C H, Handzalah, A and Saiful, N M S 2008).

In the design of a website, the business needs to identify how customers/users would like to interact, what will be an effective customer relationship online, how two-way communication can be developed and maintained and what on-line experience will improve perceptions of the brand. Solutions to these issues will enable a company to understand usage of the website and the reputation of the brand and how this can be refined in the long term.

Lehrer (2003) presents a 7 point plan for assessing the effectiveness of websites as follows;
1. Initial impressions of home page
2. Navigation
3. Content
4. Design
5. Useability
6. Technology
7. Results

Preece, Moodley & Cox (2001) assessed the effectiveness of the top 50 UK construction firms. They found that one of the principal differences of the Internet compared with other forms of marketing is that it has increased the opportunity for interaction with the customer. Consequently if a web site is used effectively as a means of marketing it is capable of bringing the relationship between a business and a consumer closer than any other marketing medium has ever been capable. This form of interaction needs to be adequately designed to not only encourage the user to pull information from a web site, but also be seen as an opportunity to encourage a user to directly interact with a contractor via their web site.

What are some of the key issues for QS practice websites?

Some key questions for the QS practice website if it is to be more than just an online brochure include does the visitor want to explore the site further? Is key information easy to find? Is the content fresh and not outdated? Is technology used to aid the visitor rather than confuse them? Do all the links work? Are there reasons why a visitor would want to keep on revisiting the website?

What were the aims/objectives of this preliminary study?

The aims and objectives of this research were to:
 To develop a method by which to assess the effectiveness of web sites as an interactive brand/marketing communications tool.
 Validate this system with a sample of practicing QS professionals
 Conduct the survey of the web sites of QS practices in Malaysia using the established system and factors identified
 Rank order the QS practices according to the factors

To date no research has previously taken place within the QS sector in Malaysia to evaluating web sites as a means of brand/marketing communication.

The first stage of the research was to locate the website addresses of QS practices. Lists of the names of firms based in the Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley area of Malaysia were obtained from the Board of Quantity Surveyors. However, to locate the website addresses required the use of the Google search engine. The first key result of this study is that only a relatively small number of quantity surveying practices would seem to have established corporate websites. Of a total population of 97 practices only 13 had identifiable websites (approximately 13%). Of these one of the websites was under construction at the time of the review and therefore only 12 websites were included in this preliminary investigation (see table above for the list of sites reviewed).

The researchers considered what key stakeholders may be looking from a QS practice’s web site and the kind of information they are most interested in obtaining. Initially this involved carrying out a detailed literature review of current texts on web site design and content, key areas of corporate communications as well as identifying specific content relevant to the users of QS practice websites ie. construction clients, consultants, potential recruits etc. To help in this process a convenience sample of 8 mid-career quantity surveyors in practice in Malaysia were engaged in a pilot of the criterior, especially in deciding what would be expected in terms of the content of practice websites.

It was then decided to weight each of the criteria. This reflects the importance of being able to locate the website in the first instance. Also websites should be attractive and creative in design to attract the attention of the user. As QS practice websites will be judged largely on the quality and relevance of their content to the key stakeholders, the largest weighting is afforded this aspect. The following provides details on each of the criteria and the aspects considered.

Section 1 – HOW ACCESSIBLE ARE THE QS WEBSITES? (20%)

Section 2 – HOW CREATIVE FROM A DESIGN POINT OF VIEW ARE THE WEBSITES? (25%)

Section 3 – ARE THE QS WEBSITES PRESENTING APPROPRIATE CONTENT AND INFORMATION TO KEY STAKEHOLDERS? (15%)

Subsection 3 – WHAT SPECIFIC ONLINE INFORMATION ARE THE PRACTICES PRESENTING ON THEIR SITES? (25%)

Section 4 – WHAT FACITLITIES FOR INTERACTION & CONTACT WITH THE PRACTCE ARE PROVIDED? (15%)

Reviewing the contents and design of the websites

Having established this criterion method for reviewing web sites, the next stage of the research was to commence reviewing the websites. Four researchers were engaged in independently reviewing the sites. In order to ensure that the review was carried out on an equitable basis a maximum of 25 minutes was allocated to review each web site. It was felt that within this 25 minutes it should be possible for a user to extract all the required information. Key notes were made on each web site including good and bad points, all of which would eventually be analysed to help make recommendations for improvement.

Overview of preliminary results

The table above shows the performance of the QS practice websites. The following preliminary observations may be made.

Accessibility – 6 of the 12 websites could be found easily using Google. All sites were accessible 24 hours. However, about half of the sites proved to be quite difficult to navigate around without site maps or prompts.

Design – Generally the websites were very basic in terms of design features. They demonstrated very little creativity and without establishing identifiable corporate branding for the QS practices. The top three websites from this sample appeared to be better in terms of visibility of functions, layout and quality of design. The impression given is that the firms have thought about the user’s requirements and interests. Two of the three top websites were designed by outside consultants.

Content/Online information – With the exception of the top two websites, most were lacking across many of the areas identified under online information. In particular a lack of detail on quality assurance or any awards won by the practices. In addition, organizational charts downloadable reports, brochures and accounts were also missing. Generally recruitment or careers sections were not provided.

Facilities for interaction and contact-ability – Most of the websites had clear points of contact including postal, email, fax, phone details. However there were no examples of interaction with clients, live projects etc. Only a few websites included FAQ sections. There was little on the websites to encourage users to return ie. current news sections or research and development/innovative approaches to services/projects.

Some Concluding Remarks

In general the websites of quantity surveying practices in Malaysia are very simple and it is not clear what their purpose is, or who they are trying to communicate with. Currently websites are little more than basic company brochures online. It would seem that QS practices have not realized the potential of this medium to communicate with their key stakeholders.

The majority of websites have nothing in terms of content which would make users want to return to the site or maintain interest. In many cases, what may be considered as important information for key stakeholders is not currently included on the websites. In particular, little attention is provided potential recruits.

The website technology being used is very basic, with most practices not employing any methods to encourage interaction with users.

In short, QS practices in Malaysia generally have not realized the potential of company websites as a corporate branding tool.

A number of areas for further research have been identified. It is seen to be essential to follow up this study by surveying QS practices concerning the use of websites. Why have a large number of firms not yet invested in a company website? For those that have a website, do they have a strategy? In addition, this research has not yet tested the interactivity of the websites. How efficient are the firms in answering queries via email through their sites etc.

REFERENCES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

Cox, I and Preece, C N (2001) “Construction website survey 2001 – Survey into the effectiveness of the websites and back office systems of the Top 50 UK contractors”. Published by University of Leeds. ISBN 0 85316 227 1.
Cox, I and Preece, C N (2000) “Using a website as a marketing communications tool in construction; Survey into the effectiveness of the websites and back office systems of the Top 50 UK contractors”. Published by University of Leeds. ISBN 0 85316 210 7.
Lehrer (2003) “Assessing your website”. Presented to Media Community Workshop on 6/4/2003. Retrieved from http://www.lehrercommunications.com/7points.html.
Preece, C N and Moodley, K (2007) Branding the quantity surveying profession – A need to form strong relationship with key stakeholders. In: “Quantity Surveying International Convention”, 21-22 October 2008, location.
Preece, C N (2008) The challenges and opportunities in marketing the QS practices in Malaysia. In: “Quantity Surveying International Convention 2008”, 21-22 October 2008, Kuala Lumpur.
Preece, C N, Moodley, K and Cox, I (2001) Assessing the effectiveness of websites as an interactive business communications tool. In:“17th Annual ARCOM Conference”, 5-7 September 2001, University of Salford. Association of Researcher in Construction Management.
Preece, C N, Roziha, C H, Handzalah, A and Saiful, N M S (2008) Are quantity surveying practices prepared to meet the business development challenges and opportunities in the increasingly competitive market environment in Malaysia?. In:“The Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors 12th Congress”, 16-18 June 2008, Edmonton Canada.
Preece, C N, Roziha, C H, Handzalah, A and Saiful, N M S (2008) The challenges and opportunities in marketing the QS practice in Malaysia. In: “Quantity Surveying International Convention 2008” 21-22 October 2008.

Download the Design & Construction Report

2009-08-12T02:18:00.000-07:00

I discovered recently that one of my articles on my blog has been mentioned in a couple of places. First, in an online magazine called the "Design and Construction Report" (See http://www.dcnreport.com/choice.htm) and on another blog entitled "Construction Marketing Ideas"

(See http://constructionmarketingideas.blogspot.com/2009/06/branding-eh.html). Both these sources are based in the USA and stem from a number of very useful networks with thousands of business contacts. One that I have recently joined is called LinkedIn.com. There a many different groups on LinkedIn.com that are related to construction, management, design, quantity surveying etc.

Some cause for optimism?

2009-07-26T05:48:00.001-07:00

As the World continues to deal with probably the worst economic depression in history, has a battle on it's hands with the H1N1 pandemic and is engaged in various on-going military conflicts, a review of the international economies in terms of construction opportunities may give some cause to be optimistic.

According to David Smith's article in the International Construction Review, and quoting research by IHS Global Insight, some sectors are proving to be more resistent to the spreading crisis.

Australia has huge natural resources and has benefited from demand from China. As China grows so does Australia. Even so, construction spending decelerated at the end of 2008 and business conditions are "subdued" and investors and banks are "cautious". The situtation in New Zealand is similar although the National Government has pledged to increase borrowing to fund major infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, South Africa is a hive of industry. The 2010 World Cup is keeping the Industry busy with road and rail (including South Africa's first underground railway)projects. New coal power stations and massive housing programmes are being completed. The continued growth in urbanisation has led to increasing demand for new housing, water, roads, rail and power. Indeed the story across Africa has been pretty good news for Construction (especially African construction businesses who have been undertaking these schemes). Football stadiums, shopping malls, schools and clinics, together with very substantial housing programmes have been on-going in the last 5 years.

With the exception of Japan, the rest of Asia is looking relatively stable, especially China. The "big tigers" of construction outlook, according to the research, are China and India. Whilst China is experiencing their worst export crisis in 30 years the construction sector is expected to grow by 9.8% in 2009. India should grow at about 4.4%, someway behind China where the growth is largely due to its economic stimulus plans. Quoting experts at EC Harris, the article considers that China and India can "create their own economies" due to their resourses; power, fuel, minerals etc. Other countries are unable to self-start in the same way.

Economic stimulus plans appear to be seen as the way forward. The efforts by the new Government in the US as a "long-term, slow burn approach" again offers opportunities for the construction sector; building assets that have a legacy value such as highways, railways, powerstations, ports etc. Projects under public/private partnersips that have been shelved are reemerging as public-funded schemes.

The picture in some parts of the world are less than positive. Residential construction is predicted to be the slowest to recover, having declined about 13% worldwide in 2009. Western Europe, especially the UK, Spain and Germany have seen the heaviest losses having experienced their housing bubbles bursting. The downturn generally in Western Europe is hurting Eastern Europe because a lot of the credit which was funding residential construction projects has dried up.

An area for optimism is in infrastructure which is due to the large stimulus packages. However, in countries such as the UK facing its public borrowing crisis, it is likely that there will be cuts in public spending on social housing, school buildings, hospitals etc. The Olympics still go ahead. But what is beyond that?

TOTAL CONSTRUCTION BY REGION / 2008-2013 (Source: IHS Global Insight)
North America 1.5%
South America 3.1%
Middle East & Africa 3%
Asia 5,3%
Eastern Europe 2%
Western Europe -1.6%
World 2.1%

References used

www.iconreview.org
http://www.globalinsight.com/Construction

Do we need to rebrand branding?

2009-06-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

Disney chairman Michael Eisner calls the term "brand", "overused, sterile and unimaginative." Indeed branding has had something of a bad press in recent years.

The arguments against branding are encapsulated in "No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies" by Naomi Klein. The book argues that brands have become divorced from the products they represent. For example, Nike has moved from being a sneaker manufacturer to a brand that represented a lifestyle characterized by the "essence of athleticism."

Companies such as Nike abandoned production, outsourcing production and other areas to Asia and Latin America. Disconnecting product attributes from the "brand" also forced manufacturers to create an "image," usually by ubiquitous advertising.

Klein quotes Jonathan Bond and Richard Kirshenbaum in their book, "Under the Radar--Talking to Today's Cynical Consumer:" "Consumers are like roaches. We spray them with marketing, and for a time it works. Then, inevitably, they develop an immunity, a resistance".

Branding has also seemingly become something to use to censor and run to the Courts with. Wal-Mart will remove a publisher from its shelves if a magazine or album cover offends it. McDonald's used its enormous legal resources against a two-person Web site in U.K. that criticized its anti-environmental practices.

The anti-globalisation movement has been gaining momentum and influence. So how are companies responding?

In their book, "Driving Customer Equity," Roland Rust, Valarie Zeithaml, Katherine Lemon point out that ethics is one of the drivers of brand equity: "In considering whether to do business with a firm on a long-term, basis, customers will examine the extent to which the values of the brand or of the firm are consistent with their values." Brands must represent good corporate citizens who support their communities, live by their ethics and promote environmentalism. Remember that the Cadbury and Kellogg's brands started with the way the firms treated employees and their local communities.

David Meerman Scott asserts that "branding is only for cattle"! His arguement is that marketers who "obsess about brand usually focus on aesthetics over buyers. They are more interested in the colour scheme of the Web site than in meeting their buyers' needs with a content marketing strategy. They care about logos not buyers."

Whilst I feel David is harsh in saying that "marketers are a bunch of flaky wimps", he does make very sensible points for those engaged in marketing and branding in the business-to-business market space. He maintains that "while the rest of the organization is focused on metrics and revenue and ROI and reaching buyers, these ineffective marketers are worried about how the T-shirts look."

So is it time that we start to rebrand branding? There is much misunderstanding about what branding is, or should be, even among marketers let alone hard-nosed CEO's and engineers.

Interesting reference sources

Jonathan Salem Baskin (2008) Branding Only Works on Cattle: The New Way to Get Known (and drive your competitors crazy) published by Business Plus
http://www.webinknow.com/2007/03/branding_is_for.html
Rust R, Zeithaml V, Lemon K(2000) Driving Customer Equity : How Customer Lifetime Value is Reshaping Corporate Strategy, Published by Free Press
Klien N (2002) No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, Published by Riemann Verlag
Bond J and Kirshenbaum R (1998) Under the Radar; Talking to Today's Cynical Consumer, published by John Wiley & Sons Inc

Why we should stop wasting our time

2009-05-29T02:59:00.000-07:00

Now is the time to stop chasing clients/customers who are not in a position to place contracts or orders with us. Times are tough and could get even tougher as the global economic downturn continues. Consumers have their wallets tightly shut. What we should be doing is more marketing. Yes you heard that right. Its not a time to cut marketing budgets or downsize marketing departments. Now is the time to invest in more marketing in terms of segmentation and research. Not for now, but in the future when things start to pick up, as they inevitably will. What will our market space look like then? Who will have gone under and who will be the survivors? Will we be in a position to offer what the market will be demanding by then in terms of services or product or both? Will we have the appropriate people with the right training and technology to deliver what clients will be looking for?

And what about now? Some of our clients are still placing orders. They should be the focus of our efforts. Let us make sure we know as much about them as possible. Can we sell more of our services/products to them? We need intensive relationship building, all the corporate hospitality we can muster. A charm offensive the like we have never seen before! After-all, these people and organisations are our best 'marketers'. They will go around talking about us to their "friends" and will help promote us without a cent of our hard-earned profits being spent on so-called traditional advertising.

Now is the right time to bring our business organisations together. People are in fear for their jobs and livelihoods. Now is the time to unite and pull together in one big marketing effort focused on more than just survival, but on building the brand strategy for the future. And this means focusing on our most important clients/customers, not chasing after those elusive big spending clients that don't exist right now.

Why are people talking about me?

2009-05-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

Who is talking about me? What are they saying? Who are they talking to? Where are they talking? Perhaps people are saying nice things? But what if they are not? Am I getting paranoid? If people are not talking about me, why not?

As a construction business, whether small, medium or large, domestic or international, consultant, contractor or manufacturer, if people aren't talking about you then you have a problem.

Word-of-mouth marketing is the key marketing tool for construction professionals in the business-to-business marketplace. You can spend your hard earned profits on so-called traditional marketing techniques, but at the end of the day, you are as good as your last job. Reputation building IS brand building in the construction industry. Word-of-mouth marketing is a challenge to manage. But manage it we must.

According to wikipedia, "word-of-mouth is a reference to the passing of information from person to person. Originally the term referred specifically to oral communication,(literally words from the mouth), but now includes any type of human communication, such as face to face, telephone, email, and text messaging".

There are many types of word-of-mouth techniques being applied today including "buzz", "blog", "viral", "grassroots", "cause influencers" and "social media marketing". If you are skeptical about the impact of all this, consider why politicians in particular, have got increasingly concerned about a shift away from traditional broadcasting, towards this form of communication. People are able to get information from a whole range of different traditional and online sources. They no longer rely on "official" or "controlled" media.

The same applies in the business/commercial world. Consumers and other key stakeholders are looking for testimony and reviews of products and companies before they buy or invest.

So what is the "buzz" about your company? Have you stopped to consider how your company is perceived by your clients and other key stakeholders? In times of economic slow down perhaps its time to take a good look at ourselves in readiness for better days ahead. The opportunity and challenge is to start to influence the "buzz".

Some useful references on the impact of word-of-mouth marketing include -

Renée Dye, 'The Buzz on Buzz,' Harvard Business Review, November-December, 2000.
Rajdeep Grewal, Thomas W. Cline, and Antony Davies, 'Early-Entrant Advantage, Word-of-Mouth Communication, Brand Similarity, and the Consumer Decision-Making Process,' Journal of Consumer Psychology, October, 2003.
Frederick F. Reichheld, 'The One Number You Need to Grow,' Harvard Business Review, December, 2003.
Yubo Chen and Jinhong Xie, 'Online Consumer Review: A New Element of Marketing Communications Mix,' http://ssrn.com/abstract=618782, July, 2004.
Florian v Wangenheim and Tomás Bayón, 'The effect of word of mouth on services switching: Measurement and moderating variables,' European Journal of Marketing, September, 2004.
Paul Marsden, Alain Samson, and Neville Upton, 'Advocacy Drives Growth,' Brand Strategy, December, 2005

A shock to the system?

2009-05-14T00:20:00.001-07:00

I attended an excellent Conference at the KL Convention Centre today entitled "Liberalization and Government Support for Malaysian Professional Services Sector", organised by the Ministry of Works and the Professional Services Development Corporation. The Conference was timely given the new Primeminister's recent announcement concerning the speeding up of liberalisation in the country. Indeed in Malaysia the services sector is the lead economic sector driving growth of the economy. In 2008, private sector services contributed 47.6% to the GDP. The new target is to increase contribution of services to almost 60% by 2020. The construction industry is one of the big service sectors in terms of imports and exports, alongside Tourism, Air Transport, Maritime Transport and Education.

As I sat and listened to the presentations by keynote speakers from Government and the Professions, I couldn't help but think "welcome to the real world"! Protectionism is coming to an end in Malaysia. The challenges and opportunities of globalisation and greater liberalisation will begin to hit home. The big issues are a lack of awareness of the impact this will have in terms of the requirements under agreements through ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), ASEAN Dialogue Partners: China, Korea, Australia and Japan, and bilateral agreements between Malaysia and Japan and Malaysia and Pakistan, in addition to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Another issue is for a services sector to consider the best strategies to co-ordinate in enhancing capacity in terms of export to take advantage of opportunites overseas. Malaysia will also need to review immigration procedures to facilitate the movement of expatriates and professionals and to review existing rules and regulations to be consistent with Malaysia's commitments under WTO, AFAS etc. There would also seem to be a weakness in terms of the lack of reliable information and data in the services sector.

But the biggest challenge of all could be in changing the culture and mindset of a services sector such as construction. But change it must if it is to compete with probable increased international competitors at home and pursue overseas opportunities.

A key question in my mind is does the Malaysian construction services sector have the know-how and appropriate skills to meet these challenges? The answer is that if it hasn't, then it needs to learn them pretty fast. To be fair, a few of the big consultants and contractors in Malaysia have already established good track records in international markets. These should be the benchmarks for others to see how they have done it. The focus has to be on establishing strong branding, relationship skills and developing cultural adaptability when working in foreign markets. Construction service firms should also not forget the increasing demands of the domestic marketplace which, although slow at the moment due to global economic difficulties, will pick up eventually, and may include some new international competitors to contend with.

Online Conference Success!

2009-05-10T02:40:00.000-07:00

The Online Conference, which took place on 5th/6th May 2009, was considered to be a great success, with over 250 participants from over 30 countries. Six selected papers were published and generated significant interest. Indeed several visitors to the blog have asked how they can obtain the full Proceedings of 13 papers. We will be providing details on how the book may be obtained shortly. This was the first time an online conference had been held in the field of Quantity Surveying and we are very happy with the response. It was certainly a learning experience, and we hope to develop this concept further in the future. This is certainly a way of engaging the widest possible international audience who normally would not be able to participate.

QS Academia Online Conference

2009-04-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

Several selected papers from the QS Academia Conference will be posted on 5th/6th May 2009 at http://www.qsacademia.blogspot.com You may comment on the papers, or ask questions of the authors during the time that they are posted on the blog. All comments/questions will be moderated by the Conference Directors. Alternatively, you will be able to contact the authors directly about their papers by email.

5th International Conference on Multi-National Joint Ventures for Construction Work, October 21-22, 2009

2009-04-16T04:57:00.000-07:00

Associate Professor Dr Christopher Preece is an organiser and member of the International Scientific Committee for this joint conference between the International Islamic University Malaysia and Kyoto University in Japan to take place in Kuala Lumpur between 21st and 22nd October 2009. The global economic crisis facing the construction industries of all advanced and developing nations provides the backdrop to this years’ Conference. The focus will be on how joint venture strategies in the construction industry can help firms develop their businesses in an extremely volatile, competitive, and risky economic environment. As domestic markets shrink, construction businesses attempt to seek opportunities abroad. Appropriate and effective approaches to joint ventures become even more imperative. The Fifth International Conference on Joint Ventures will build on the work of the previous sessions but with an urgent agenda, given the critical nature of the world economy and extremely high risk nature of international business. This year’s event also incorporates the inaugural ‘Construction in the Muslim World Conference.’ The key aim of this Conference is to draw attention to the importance of construction in developing Muslim economies especially in the context of promoting and sustaining socio-economic growth and development. For further information see the Conference website at http://psa2.kuciv.kyoto-u.ac.jp/5thjvconf2009/

2009-03-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

I have just set up a new Yahoo group called QS Academia Network. This is for those who have an interest in quantity surveying research, teaching, training and related fields including project and business management in construction. The network is primarily for academics in universities and colleges, but practitioners are also very welcome to join.

Members may post messages relating to any topical issues pertaining to academic or professional practice.

An annual conference will be held to bring together QS academics and practitioners. The inaugural conference will be on 5th May 2009 at the International Islamic University Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

The link to the new network is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/qsacademia

QS Academia Conference - 5th May 2009

2009-03-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

Today we announced the tentative programme for this year's inaugural QS Academia Conference, to be held at IIUM, Gombak campus on 5th May. This will be an interesting day of key note presentations by leading QS practitioners, in addition to papers from both local and international universities. For full details please visit the website at http://www.qsacademia.blogspot.com

Towards Research University Status

2009-01-22T23:11:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday 21st January I presented a paper to the staff of the Kulliyyah concerning the experience of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in the UK higher education sector, and what my colleagues, Department, Faculty and new University in Malaysia could learn from this. An interesting discussion centred around how we balance teaching at undergraduate level with the need to develop our research profile. My belief is that we need to evolve more innovative approaches to teaching and learning, with a greater emphasis on student-centred and active learning. Time consuming chalk and talk sessions should be replaced with more intensive face-to-face sessions designed to facilitate student learning. Much more use of resource-based and e-learning materials should be included. This requires considerable planning to ensure that the students understand what is expected and how to access the learning resources. If more time can be freed up for academics to gain training and experience in research, then the outputs of individuals, departments/Faculties and Universities will increase. I also proposed that a planned approach to Research Mentoring be adopted. This will assist in identifying the needs of younger and less experienced staff. Departments can then evaluate on a regular basis, the progress that is being made and what training and development needs are required. The old culture of "them and us"; researchers versus teachers, has to be overcome. Research should inform the teaching. The quality of what we teach, and the level at which we can offer new programmes will increase. There will be a move from low-level teaching to postgraduate taught courses and PhD/postdoctoral work. Moving towards a research-led university requires both top-down and bottom-up approaches. The change will come from developing a clear research mission, objectives and appropriate strategies for Departments and individual academics.

CPD Seminar for University Staff

2009-01-19T21:13:00.000-08:00

I will be facilitating the following event organised by The Centre for Professional Development (CPD) at IIUM entitled: EFFECTIVE WRITING & PRESENTATION FOR CONFERENCES, on Thursday 22nd January 2009 in the Kulliyyah of Engineering. The learning outcomes of this half-day programme are to increase awareness of the role and importance of conference participation as part of developing the research profile of staff, departments and the University and consider some practical approaches to the planning and preparation of conference papers and presentations.

2009 - A New Year With New Challenges...

2009-01-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

2009 is most likely to be a year of continuing global economic meltdown. Almost all countries will experience symptoms of recession. A recent article in Malaysian Business (January 1st-15th) provided a forecast for the year ahead for a range of key sectors of the economy. The view is one of slowing down, increased competition and poorer fortunes for the likes of Sime Darby (the worlds largest plantation company but also with major interests in property, motor and industrial operations). Tenaga Nasional Bhd (Malaysia's national electricity provider) is likely to reduce its capital spend. Despite a fairly resilient banking sector and news of KFC Holdings expanding their resteraunts and CIMB opening new branches, the concensus is that the effects of recession will hurt the construction sector with abandoned or deferred projects and property launches. The focus must be on identifying those sectors and businesses that may offer opportunities. The food and beverage sector seems relatively unscathed and there is potential in expansion of the private healthcare business given opportunities in the health tourism market. The construction industry has been encouraged to develop its international strategies through the Construction Industry Masterplan 2006-2015 (http://www.cidb.gov.my/cimp/). Firms will look beyond national boundaries at potential to market their services abroad. The key question is, do they have the necessary know how and skills in promoting themselves given this new and challenging environment?

Updates to www.chrispreece.com

2008-11-27T08:38:00.001-08:00

I have just updated the Student Zone for PhD, Masters and Undergraduate students. In addition I have provided a list of useful links on the Links Page and updated the section on Current News. Please view at http://www.chrispreece.com

Launch of New Journal

2008-11-20T19:49:00.000-08:00

This week I announced the launch of our new Journal of Quantity Surveying & Construction Business. Feel free to take a look at the website for this at http://jqscb.blogspot.com

Construction in the Muslim World Conference

2008-11-18T06:24:00.000-08:00

The second conference we are organizing is entitled Construction in the Muslim World on 19th to 21st October 2009.

Key objectives of this conference are:

* To draw attention to the importance of construction in developing Muslim economies especially in the context of promoting and sustaining socio-economic growth and development;

* To ascertain the current state of the respective construction sectors in the Muslim economies in terms of size, structure, capability, availability of expertise, constraints and deficiencies, etc;

* To propose appropriate strategies urgently required in order to develop / enhance indigenous construction capability of the Muslim economies.

* To produce a full proceedings of the papers submitted.

* To promote the work of the Procurement & Project Delivery Systems Research Unit

Papers are welcomed from the academic community and practitioners, policy makers, NGOs, Muslim and non-Muslims in all parts of the globe.

For further updates on the Conference, please consult the Construction in the Muslim World website at http://construction inthemuslimworld.blogspot.com

All correspondence regarding the conference should be directed to the Conference Secretariat at secretariatcmw@ yahoo.com

QS Academia Conference - Call for Papers

2008-11-18T06:13:00.000-08:00

I am making two announcements this week concerning Conferences that we are organising at IIUM. First is QS Academia on 5th May 2009 which will focus on contemporary issues confronting quantity surveying in academia, research, training and development.

This one day conference attempts to achieve the following key objectives:

* Promote the roles and functions of quantity surveyors in academia,
research, training and development

* Establish cooperation between quantity surveyors from within
academia and their industrial counterparts

* Exchange ideas and establish collaboration in harmonizing teaching,
learning and training of quantity surveyors among the different
institutions of higher learning, research and training.

* To identify challenges and constraints facing quantity surveyors in
academia and develop strategies to overcome these problems.

Important dates for submission of papers;

Submission of abstract
20 December 2008
Notification of acceptance of abstract
2 January 2009
Submission of first draft paper
30 January 2009
Refereeing decision
15 February 2009
Submission of final paper
2 April 2009
Conference
5 May 2009

For further updates on the Conference, please consult the QS Academia website at http://qsacademia.blogspot.com

QSIC 2008 - A great opportunity to network!

2008-10-23T02:47:00.000-07:00

The Quantity Surveying International Convention 2008 was a great opportunity for me to meet up with contacts from previous seminars and make new friends with both academics and practitioners from KL and around Malaysia. This was my first major event since taking up my post in Malaysia and the response to my presentation seemed to be positive with a number of people speaking to me about it afterwards. The key messages that I wanted to get across was that marketing for QS practices was more about building and maintaining long-term relationships with clients and potential clients than advertising or promotion. The results of our research with firms so far shows that QS businesses in Malaysia have recognized the importance of marketing, with this being part of the role of partners, directors or senior practice managers. However, our data does not confirm how well developed marketing plans are, or if these are part of the strategic business planning of these practices. The backbone of marketing should be intelligence or market research. Again, we are not sure to what extent firms are investing in good quality research to support their activities. Practices put great emphasis on the use of the traditional company brochure, even though this has little or no influence on clients decision-making. Possibly no more than information on the company website. It would seem that it has never been more important to examine the cost effectiveness of marketing activities. Perhaps practices should be spending more on training their staff in networking and selling skills, appropriate corporate hospitality and events management. Increased competition and diversification of QS services means that practices need to look at how they are communicating their “uniqueness” and being able to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

QISC 2008

2008-10-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

A series of images from the conference at the Istana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Over 600 delegates from all over Malaysia were joined by academics and practitioners from around the world.

Presentation at Quantity Surveying International Convention 2008

2008-10-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

I will be making a presentation as part of QSIC 2008 at the Istana Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on 22 October 2008. The title of my paper is Challenges and Opportunities for QS Practices in Malaysia. This is the focus of ongoing research looking at how QS firms can develop and improve their strategic marketing approaches given increasing domestic and international competition, proliferation of cost management and other services and the possible liberalisation of the profession with regard to advertising and marketing. Are quantity surveyors equipped to develop their marketing and business development strategies? What are the future marketing challenges? What marketing approaches are being employed by firms? What influence does marketing have on public and private client decision-making? Preliminary results show that quantity surveying practices that are working for increasingly private sector clients are possibly more developed in terms of their approaches to marketing than those still working predominantly for the public sector.

New book on Corporate Responsibility in Construction

2008-10-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know about a new book that I was involved with, which has just been published. A unique presentation on a topic of emerging importance, "Corporate Social Responsibility in the Construction Industry" is an edited text by Mike Murray and Andrew Dainty.The construction process, right through from planning and design to use and demolition, has a major impact on society. Traditionally, concern has been focused on its environmental impact and the quest for sustainability, but this has now extended into the wider remit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Essentially, this means that businesses must act (voluntarily) in a socially ethical manner by developing a policy that encompasses the core principles enshrined by CSR. Together with Kris Moodley at the University of Leeds, I was able to contribute a chapter looking at the impact of construction on the community. Corporate Responsibility in the Construction Industry is published by Taylor & Francis Ltd, ISBN: 9780415362085

Construction PhD Student Group

2008-10-04T02:54:00.000-07:00

This week I launched a new Facebook Group called Construction PhD Students. This is for anyone interested in pursuing a PhD or who is already carrying out Doctoral research. So far, over 70 people from all over the world have joined up. The idea is that PhD students can network with each other and discuss problems and ideas. I have already posted some details of good books that can be very useful in supporting students and their supervisors.

Arrival in Malaysia

2008-09-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

I have now taken up my post as Associate Professor in the Department of Quantity Surveying, Kulliyyah of Architecture & Environmental Design, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). I have arrived towards the end of the holy month of Ramadhan and just in time for the celebrations of hari raya aidilfitri. I wish the Dean, Professors and all my new colleagues in the Kulliyyah a very happy hari raya. I look forward to working with them and making a contribution to the development of teaching and research in the University.

How cost-effective is your marketing?

2008-08-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

Of all the various integrated disciplines in business, marketing performance has historically been the least quantifiable. Marketing in construction businesses should not be an activity in isolation. As the business getting function, marketing must be fully integrated with all the other operational activities. Marketing also may not be wholly divorced from activities such as finance, personnel and supply, as they all provide the necessary resources for the marketing function’s activities.

If marketing is truly about satisfying customer demand profitably, then it is arguable that everyone in the business to a greater or lesser extent is in someway involved in it. Thus while the chief marketing officer (CMO) may not have responsibility for other management functions, he should have an interest in the performance of the other business areas, as their activities will directly or indirectly effect marketing’s performance in providing the profitable satisfaction of customers.

Many companies are starting to attempt to measure marketing performance, but there seems to be little consistency in what they measure. Put marketing measurement into a search engine like google. Most of the results that will come up will be for customer relationship management (CRM), and return on marketing investment (ROMI) related to advertising and sales. If marketing includes all those activities which anticipate and satisfy customer demand profitably, then the measurement of marketing performance must include a lot more that just CRM and advertising ROMI.

Part of the problem lies in the definition of marketing. In many businesses, marketing is still seen as a separate discipline to sales. But if marketing 'includes all those activities which anticipate and satisfy customer demand profitably,' then it must include selling as the executive function of 'marketing'. One can take the argument further. The construction "product" or service itself is part of the provision of customer satisfaction, and therefore the marketing function and the CMO should be interested in the performance of 'production'. It effects marketing’s performance, just as marketing’s performance effects that of production/operations.

Marketers must be aware of the effect that their activities have on other parts of the business, principally production/operations and finance.

The purpose of marketing is to generate and sustain a continuous stream of profitable revenue for the business. Establishing the cost effectiveness of the marketing activities that generate the revenue may only be done by measuring in detail the overall performance of the marketing function, and comparing the results with the rest of the business. In future, CMOs are likely to be judged not only on the profitable revenue generated, but also on the cost effectiveness of the marketing activities which they manage.

Marketing & The Credit Crunch

2008-08-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

As more and more construction businesses feel the impact of global economic difficulties and the credit crunch there comes the need to save costs. One of the favourite pots to raid has always been training, new product development and marketing activities, as they do not give an immediate return and can therefore be cut with no apparent effect. One of the very real hidden dangers is the fact that we are storing up problems for the future as when the economy starts to recover, we will neither have the products/services or people skills to take advantage of the upturn.

There is considerable evidence from previous recessions that those businesses who continue to invest in their products, people and marketing activities emerge quicker and fitter from the difficult economic times than those who cut these areas of spending significantly.

Don’t cut the very things which are your future profit earners!