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A new international task group focusing on ‘Leadership’ within the construction industry was launched last year.  The task group is co-ordinated by Dr Paul Chinowsky (University of Colorado, USA) and Prof Pat Carrillo (Loughborough University, UK).  The task group comprises researchers from each geographical region and will focus on leadership issues both at project and organisational level.  One of the task group’s first objectives is to establish an overview of leadership issues in different geographical regions.  This will be conducted via the survey below.  The main themes of the survey are:

1. Economic Stability;
2. Competition;
3.  Leadership;
4.  Knowledge Management;
5.  Learning; and
6.  Innovation

A full report providing a global perspective on the six themes will be available in June 2007.  This will allow you to benchmark both your company and region’s performance. The report will be available on the on the task group’s website or can be sent to you.

 If you are interested in finding out more about the task group, please visit the pages on this Website to learn about the CIB Task Group.

Thank you for your time and we look forward to receiving your response.
Paul Chinowsky and Pat Carrillo

 

2007 CIB TG64 Questionnaire

 Economic Stability 

  1. How does your company focus on economic changes?
    1. Proactively monitor economic indicators (12 – 18 months)
    2. Look at upcoming predicted trends (<12 months)
    3. Wait to see what happens in the marketplace and then react
    4. Wait for clients to determine moves
       
  1. Do you think profit margins in your company are:
    1. Rising considerably
    2. Rising slightly
    3. Staying flat
    4. Lowering slightly
    5. Lowering considerably
       
  1. Do you think construction organizations in your area are _____ compared to organizations in the industry 10 years ago?
    1. More stable
    2. About the same in stability
    3. Less stable
       
  1. Do you think the demand for construction services in your area is:
    1. Rising considerably
    2. Rising slightly
    3. Staying flat
    4. Lowering slightly
    5. Lowering considerably
       
  1. Do you think competition between construction organizations in your area is:
    1. Rising considerably
    2. Rising slightly
    3. Staying flat
    4. Lowering slightly
    5. Lowering considerably

Competition

1.    What are the main reasons for increased competitiveness in your region (rank the top three)?
a.   Competition from foreign firms
b.   Competition from local firms
c.   More knowledgeable clients
d.   Profit margins being eroded
e.   New forms of procurement
f.    New building regulations 

2.    How would you describe your company’s approach to competition?
a.   We wish to grow to attract new clients and enter markets
b.    We wish to grow within our current market
c.    We have grown too diverse and would like to return to our core markets  

3.    Which are most valuable sources of information to increase your company’s competitiveness (rank top three?
a.    Market intelligence from external sources
b.    Political/Governmental contacts
c.    Internal market research
d.    Trends from competing companies 

4.    Which of the following provide your company with the greatest competitive strength (rank the top three)?
a.       Personnel
b.       Experience
c.       Customer service
d.       Quality work
e.        Knowledge
f.         Market knowledge

 Leadership 

  1. Do leaders in your company establish clear goals and visions for long-term success?
     No    Sometimes    Regularly    Always
     
  1. On a scale, do leaders in your company emphasize excellence in project management or organization management as a key to organization success? (1 being lowest, 5 being highest)
     1    2    3    4    5
     
  1. Where do leaders in your organization take active roles in demonstrating leadership? (Check all that apply)
    1. Individual organization
    2. Regional industry groups
    3. National industry groups
    4. Local communities
    5. Regional politics
    6. National politics
       
  1. How do leaders in your organization view change in your company?
    1. Encourage change
    2. Neutral
    3. Discourage change
    4. Acknowledge change, but resist it
    5. Change only when necessary
       
  1. How do you feel construction leaders are viewed in your regional business community?
    1. Leaders in the business community as a whole.
    2. Leaders in the construction specific industry
    3. Leaders in the business and general community
    4. Leaders of individual organizations

Knowledge Management  

1.    What is your company doing to manage and improve your individual and corporate knowledge assets?
a.    We have a structured approach with a number of relevant initiatives
b.    We have an ad hoc approach with some relevant initiatives
c.    We are thinking about it but have no specific initiatives
d.    It is not an issue we consider important 

2.    What is the extent of your company’s commitment to improving your knowledge management activities? (Tick all relevant options)
a.    We have a policy/strategy for knowledge management
b.    We have appointed someone to lead our knowledge management efforts
c.    We have committed additional resources to fund knowledge management activities
d.    We have already identified initiatives to implement
e.    We haven’t done anything in this area. 

3.    Employees in my company know exactly where and how to source knowledge and expertise, wherever it resides in the company.
a.    Strongly Agree
b.    Agree
c.    Don’t Know
d.    Disagree
e.    Strongly Disagree 

4.    Please rank the most effective way of exchanging knowledge in your company?
a.     Face-to-face meetings
b.     Telephone conversations
c.     Written memos
d.     E-mail notifications
e.     Web-based accessible databases 

5.    Does your company formally promote “communities of practice” or “knowledge networks”?
a       Within Company Divisions
b       Within the entire company
c       Outside Company Boundaries
d       No 

Learning (Personnel Development) 

1.       How does your company support learning?
        a.    We have appraisals that review employees’ personal development plans
        b.    We allow employees time off/funding for personal development
        c.    We expect employees to take responsibility for this themselves
        d.    We do not actively promote learning during the work period 

2.    What is your company’s approach to personal learning plans for career development?
a.     Personal learning plans are common throughout the company
b.     Personal learning plans are limited some levels of employment
c.    Personal learning plans are not common at any level 

3.    Which types of learning does your company support (tick all relevant)?
a.    In house training
b.    External training providers
c.    Professional Institution courses
d.    Courses delivered by academic institutions
e.    Conferences
f.     Social Networking with work colleagues 

4.    How does the company learn from previous projects/tasks?
a.    From project reviews
b.    From personal contacts
c.    From company literature (paper or electronic sources)
d.    From team/department meetings 

5.    Employee retention is key to fostering learning in an organization.  How do you rate the turnover in your organization?
a.   We have a workforce that has been with the company for a long time
b.   We have a healthy turnover of employees
c.   We have a high staff turnover 

Innovation 

  1. How is innovation viewed in your company?
    1. Strongly encouraged
    2. Encouraged
    3. Neutral
    4. Discouraged
    5. Strongly Discouraged
       
  1. What is the primary driver for innovation in your company?
    1. Owners/Clients
    2. Internal Leadership
    3. Individual innovation in the organization
    4. Project Requirements
    5. Desire to differentiate from competition
       
  1. What do you think is the largest barrier to innovation in your organization?
    1. Company culture
    2. Regulations
    3. Client Risk Aversion
    4. Company Management
    5. Resource Allocation
       
  1. Do you think your organization is viewed as a leader in innovation?
    1. Yes
    2. No
       
  1. Compared to other non-information technology-based industries, how innovative do you think the construction industry is in your region?
    1. Much more innovative
    2. More innovative
    3. About the same
    4. Less innovative
    5. Much less innovative

 

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