Principles of Construction Management: Of Gulik’s Functions

Gulick’ 7 Functions

In 1937, societal scientists Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick ( Papers on the Science of Administration ) describe seven “major activities and responsibilities of any higher authorization or organisation” . Since so, the acronym POSDCORB has been used to depict the 7 maps of directors:

This basically refers to the assorted stairss or phases involved in a typical administrative procedure. POSDCORB stands for:

1. Planning: This basically refers to set uping a wide lineation of the work to be completed and the processs required to implement them.
2. Organising: Organising involves set uping a construction of authorization, officially sorting, specifying and synchronizing the assorted sub-processes or subdivisions of the work to be done.
3. Staffing: This involves enrolling and choosing the right campaigners for the occupation and easing their orientation and preparation whilst keeping quality in their work and their environment.
4. Directing: This comprises of continual determination devising and delegation structured instructions and orders to put to death them.
5. Coordinating: This fundamentally refers to set uping and patching together the assorted constituents of the work.
6. Reporting: Coverage involves on a regular basis updating cognition about the advancement or the work related activities. The information airing can be through records or review.
7. Budgeting: Budgeting involves all the activities that fall under Auditing, Accounting, and Control.

POSDCORB by and large fits into the Classical Management motion, being classified as an component of scientific direction. Gulick’s POSDCORB rules were instrumental in foregrounding the theory of span of control, or bounds on the figure of people one director could oversee, every bit good as integrity of bid to the Fieldss of direction and public disposal.

For Luther Gulick, the cardinal job of disposal was finding how to accomplish the coordination and control necessary to carry through organizational aims. His solution was to set up a strong main executive to counter the dissentious facets of increasing specialization and division of labor.

Fayol

Gulick and Urwick built their thoughts on the earlier 14 Principles of Management by Henri Fayol in his book General and Industrial Management ( 1918 ) . Fayol defined theory as “a aggregation of rules, regulations, methods, and processs tried and checked by general experience” ( Fayol 1918 )

Fayols 14 Principles:

1. Division of Work
2. Authority and Responsibility
3. Discipline
4. Unity of Command
5. Unity of Direction
6. Subordination of Individual Interest to General Interest
7. Remuneration of Personnel
8. Centralization
9. Scalar Chain ( line of authorization with peer degree communicating )
10. Order
11. Equity
12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel
13. Initiative
14. Esprit de Corps

Fayol’s influence on Gulick is apparent in the 5 elements of direction discussed in his book. Fayol clearly believed personal attempt and squad kineticss were portion of an “ideal” administration.

• Planning – analyzing the hereafter and pulling up program which countries of action
• Organising – constructing up the construction ( labour and material ) of the project
• Command- maintaining activity among the forces
• Co-ordination – unifying and harmonising activities and attempts.
• Control – seeing everything that occurs conforms with policies and patterns.

Fayol’s five rule functions ( Plan, Organise, Command, Co-ordinate, and Control ) of direction are still actively practiced today. The thought of giving authorization with duty is besides widely commented on and is good adept, though his rules of “unity of command” and “unity of direction” are non adhered to in the construction of pick in many of today’s companies.

Management Theories

There are several of import direction theories which fundamentally classified are as follows:

1. The Scientific Management School such as the plants of Frederick W. Taylor and Lillian Gilbreth’s gesture survey,
2. The Classical Organisational Theory School such as the plants of Henri Fayol’s positions on disposal, and Max Weber’s idealised bureaucratism,
3. The Behavioural School with the work of Elton Mayo and his associates.

Management is the procedure of planing and keeping an environment in which persons, working together in groups, expeditiously accomplish selected purposes ( Koontz and Weihrich 1990, p. 4 ) .

Theories provide an apprehension of what we encounter. A theory provides standards for what is relevant. Theories enable us to pass on efficaciously and develop more and more complex relationships with other people. Theories make it possible to maintain larning about our professions with uninterrupted development.

Since the late 1800’s direction theories and scientific attacks have been produced by a figure of people such as Henri Fayol, Fredrick Taylor, Elton Mayo, Henry Gantt and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. These people introduced the classical and scientific attacks and over the old ages developed these rules through their working callings. These manners have changed, merged and stayed the same depending of the individual implementing their thoughts and the type of company they work for.

The traditional classical attack started around the beginning of the nineteenth century and chiefly focused on efficiency together with bureaucratic, scientific and administrative manners of direction. The bureaucratic manner of direction tends to trust to a great extent on a construction of guidelines such as regulations and processs. While the scientific attack to direction chiefly focuses on “the best manner to make a job” and the administrative manner truly emphasises the flow of information in the operation of the administration.

Subsequently towards the terminal of the twentieth century the empowerment manner was developed and as a consequence helped give the employee a sense of duty. This was done by offloading some of directions work onto the store floor and bend gave the employee a sense accomplishment and way at work.

Modern Theories of Management, Human Relations

Douglas McGregor ( 1906-1964 ) : Who is best known for his preparation of two sets of assumptions- Theory X and Theory Y. McGregor argued that directors should switch their traditional positions of adult male and work ( which he termed Theory X ) to a new humane positions of adult male and work ( which he termed Theory Y ) .

Harmonizing to McGregor, A theory X attitudes adult male was lazy and work was bad were both pessimistic and counterproductive. Theory X assumes that people have small aspiration, dislike work, want to avoid duty, and need to be closely supervised to work efficaciously.

Theory Y, proposed that adult male wanted to work and work was good. Theory Y offers a positive position, presuming that people can exert self-denial, accept duty and see work to be every bit natural as remainder and drama. McGregor believed that Theory Y encompassed the true nature of workers and should steer direction pattern.

Fig 1. Douglas McGregor Theory X and Y.

This type of direction was introduced by Frederick Taylor and focuses on the worker and machine relationship and as a consequence of this attack helps increase productiveness by increasing the efficiency of the production processes and as a consequence of his research, Ford Motor Co. embraced this manner of direction. This type is besides designed so that each member of staff has a specified, good controlled undertaking that can be performed as instructed.

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth developed this method by concentrating on placing the single gestures of a undertaking. These gestures were combined to organize both the methods of each operation and the clip it took to transport out each undertaking. They believed it was possible to plan and clip the method of each undertaking in progress, instead than trusting upon observation of test and mistake.

Henry Gantt developed the Gantt chart, which is used for scheduling overlapping undertakings over a period of clip. Gantt charts have since become a common technique for stand foring the stages and activities of a working undertaking and interrupt down the construction so they can be understood by all.

Gantt’s direction attack focused on motivational strategies and as such emphasised to a great extent on honoring staff for good work as opposed to training them over hapless work. He besides looked at the quality of direction accomplishments in constructing effectual industrial administrations.

Abraham Maslow developed the human dealingss and behavior theory in the 1950/60s by separating between what motivates people to make certain activities. His theory suggested that people had to fulfill one degree of demand before traveling onto the following and this in bend resulted in what finally motivates people / staff. This is shown in the pyramid illustration as shown below.

Fig 2. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

This manner of direction is a modern theory and was developed in the early 90’s and fundamentally gives the employee a sense of power at work. This is carried out by the employee being authorised by their superior to transport out certain responsibilities without the demand to seek blessing from above. This type gives the employee a sense of duty and accomplishment while assisting to cut down the work load of their foreman and in bend cuts down the sum of work the director has to make as they have delegated certain duties.

Challenges Pull offing Peoples in Construction

As highlighted in legion authorities and academic studies ( Latham, 1994 ; Egan, 1998, Fairclough, 2002 ) , the building industry is a sector of the economic system which faces many challenges, particularly in footings of public presentation.

There are many challenges confronting a building director. Many challenges are a consequence of building operations, while others are a consequence of indirect activities. A figure of challenges are non building related issues but must be addressed and managed by the building director. These issues include workforce/labour considerations, safety, clip, and the changing nature of building work.

The building industry in general is a labour intensive industry and the function of building director is to pull off people in a strategic and tactical manner. One manner of pull offing people would be a classical theory on human behavior / dealingss such as Elton Mayo’s on motive, as a group working kineticss will ever hold an impact on the undertakings public presentation.

The term group working kineticss refers to the attitudes, energy and interaction of its group’s members and leaders. The groups working kineticss will ever be dependent on the overall effectivity and efficiency of the undertaking depending on the co-ordinated attempts of staff working together as a squad.

Human resource is the most valuable plus in building industry. Human resource patterns are by and large concerned with deriving value through increased accomplishments, productiveness, part, and cost consciousness and productiveness are the of import factors impacting the overall success of any building undertaking. Human resource direction is the procedure of happening out what people want from their work, what an organisation wants from its employees, and so fiting these two sets of demands.

Construction undertakings depend on the cognition and accomplishments of planning and put to deathing the work. The quality of this most of import resource: people, which is what differentiates one squad or company from another. Having talented direction on board to steer and direct a undertaking is paramount. Having the right balance of skilled and unskilled workers to execute the work is a basic necessity. Finding and enrolling sufficient Numberss of skilled, gifted people is going increasing hard. There are many grounds this is a job. One of which is building is by and large viewed as being one of the least desirable industries in which to work. By nature building is unsafe, soiled, difficult work. Other industries out at that place offer preferable work environments that are cleaner, safer, and by and large more desirable. Consequently, there is a terrible deficit of gifted people willing to work in building.

In order to maximize long term public presentation, it is of import to supply the preparation necessary to edify your work force. Leadership must be developed among the work force to assistance in efficaciously organizing work activities by supplying communicating links between direction and labor. This provides the chance for upward mobility and gives motivated people the opportunity to progress professionally. Empowerment leads to high degrees of committedness, enthusiasm, self-motivation, productiveness, and invention. Benefits of this include feelings of grasp, belonging, and heightened dignity.

Empowerment enables employees to do determinations for which they are accountable and responsible. Authorization of work force is one of the keys to bettering building public presentation.

Decision

The direction theories that have been discussed, of import as they are, have to be translated in pattern by building directors, For practicality, all building directors must develop three sets of accomplishments, viz. ; conceptual, proficient, and human ( Fleet and Perterson 1994, p. 25 ) . A good building director should besides be able to see members of the administration as human existences who have demands and psychological feelings and emotions.

The development of direction theory involves the development of constructs, rules, and techniques. There are many theories about direction, and each one ad to our cognition of what directors should make. Each one has its ain features and advantages every bit good as restrictions. The operational, or direction procedure combines each and consistently integrates them.

The manners of direction best suited to building are a blend of all described above whilst seeking to actuate staff utilizing both the bossy and democratic attacks because of the demand to be one type of foreman with one employee and another with person else. This is highly prevailing when covering with wellness and safety where and bossy important manner is a requirement to the success of cut downing the hazard of accidents on site. Therefore a director who makes unequivocal efforts to interpret theory into pattern is more likely to increase productiveness than a director who chooses to utilize the test and mistake method of direction.

Bibliography

1. Egan, J ( 1998 ) Rethinking building: study of the building undertaking force on the range for bettering the quality and efficiency of UK building, DETR, London.
2. Fairclough, J. , ( 2002 ) , Rethinking building invention and research: A reappraisal of authorities R & A ; D policies and patterns, Department of Trade and Industry, London
3. Fayol, H. ( 1949 ) . General and Industrial Management. ( C. Storrs, Trans. ) . London: Sir Isaac Pitman & A ; Sons, LTD. ( Original work published 1918 )
4. Fryer, B. ( 2004 ) The Practice of Construction Management, 4th Ed, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
5. Gulick, L. H. ( 1936 ) . Notes on the Theory of Organization. L. Gulick & A ; L. Urwick ( Eds. ) , Papers on the Science of Administration.
6. Koontz Harold and Weihrich Heinz ( 1990 ) Necessities of Management, Fifth Edition, McGraw-Hill.
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