CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS

NAME OF INSTITUTE:
NAME OF STUDENT:

Project / Assessment Task 1:

1. Describe the importance of the Construction Industry to the Global Economy.
The construction has important impact on the economy of the country and on the global
economy as well. It enhances the development of the country and its economy. It is because the
Construction Industry provides the sanctuary, infrastructure, and employment to the country.
Moreover, this also helps in increasing the living standards and the GDP of the country. Other
than the GDP, the Construction Industry also builds townships, houses, hospitals, offices,
schools, and other buildings. These buildings provide a number of services to the people,
enhance the lifestyle of the people, and provide them a better life.
The Construction Industry is one of the main industries of any country because it does not only
impact the country and its economy but the economy of the entire world. The Construction
Industry also builds the urban infrastructure such as the roads, highways, airports, seaports,
railways, sewerage and drainage system, water supply system, agriculture and irrigation system,
hydropower system, telecommunication, and a number of other infrastructures. The building of
these infrastructures can benefit the Global Economy as well. The roads and the highways that
are constructed, between the countries, provide pathways to the entire world. These roads are
then used by the other countries for the purpose of import, export, transport, and for other
purposes. Similarly, the airports and the seaports are used not only by the country which owns it,
but the other countries as well for many different purposes. All these constructions, by the
Construction Industry, give a boost to the Global Economy.
Moreover, the Construction Industry does not only deal with the construction of the urban
infrastructure or the building; instead, it is concerned about all the economic activities that are
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related to the renovation, creation, extension, and repair of the fixed asset of a country or a
company. These fixed assets may include the land, the building, and other similar properties that
are owned by the business or the country. In addition, as mentioned earlier, the Construction
Business does not benefit the Global Economy only by constructing infrastructure and the
buildings; it also creates many job opportunities. This gives the growth impetus to the other
sectors as well with the forward and the backward linkages. The generation of the substantial
employment nurtures the growth of the economy.
The Construction Industry is considered as one of the largest industries, globally. In 2004, the U.
S. generated a $ 4, 500, 000, 000, 000 or $ 4. 5 trillion amount out of the Construction Industry
(Matthews, H. S., & Weber, C. L. 2008). Moreover, the Construction industry is also important
because it provides the job opportunities not only to the highly educated and skilled people but
also to the semi- skilled and the unskilled people. It can also be said that the Construction
Industry id the prime source of the employment generation and also assists the Local and the
Global economy as well.
2. Identify the different types of clients that interact with the Construction Industry.
Similar to all the other businesses the Construction Business also has to deal with a number of
stake holders. All the stake holders are equally important for the company but when it comes to
the customers, they have their own importance. It is because they are the ones who use the
products of the company and generate the profit (Newcombe, R. 2003). Moreover, the customers
are the ones who give the reviews about the company and their reviews matter a lot. In other
words, they can affect the reputation of the company (Marshall, N., & Bresnen, M. 2000).
Following are the different types of clients that interact with the Construction Industry.
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Commercial Clients:

As the name indicates, the commercial clients are the ones who, themselves, are involved in the
businesses. These clients include the factory owners, company owners, business men, and other
such clients. The reasons for which the commercial clients contact the Construction Industry are
to aid their production of products, enhance their business processes, and other similar reasons.
In other words, we can say that they may undertake the construction process to extend the
business premises, to renovate the building they are working in, or anything that can bring them
the long term profit. Moreover, the commercial clients also have to follow the rules and
regulations regarding the environmental safety while building and planning the business. The
commercial clients make the agreement with the builder and this agreement can be shown to the
other stake holders of the company.

Private Clients:

Unlike the commercial clients, the private clients are not the business or factory owners; instead,
they are usually the sole traders, the local traders, or the people who need the help with
construction. These clients usually contact the Construction Industry when they need alteration,
maintenance, or construction of their private properties or small businesses. In such cases, the
clients make the private agreement with the builder, who undertakes the responsibility to do the
construction work. In some of the cases, it is also possible that the private client many have to
pass the building and the planning regulations before the work starts. It most happens when the
extensive work is required and the client may have to provide the sources to the architect.

Government:

When it comes to the Government, they are not only concerned about the defense of the
company or the economic issues; they have the construction projects as well. The Government
may want to construct a highway or a road, a building where the people can work, a hospital, a
school, or anything through which they can help the people of the country.
Categorically, following are the three different levels at which Government based projects are
issued:
o Level # 1 Local council: The Local Council usually has the responsibility to maintain and
construct the infrastructures that provide services to the people of the country.
o Level # 2 State and territory government: The significant infrastructure changes are
usually brought by the state and territory government. They construct the major capital
works including the new public buildings.
o Level # 3 Central or Federal government: The Central or Federal government takes care

of the big infrastructure and building projects.

Public Limited Companies

The companies, which have the stocks listed on the stock exchange, are called the Public Limited
Companies. They also contact the Construction Companies for different purposes. In such
contracts, the Construction Companies apply for rigid contracts or tenders before starting the
work and it is because of their caliber.
3. Discuss how the construction industry affects global sustainability issues.
The construction industry also affects the global sustainability issues (Ding,. K. 2008). Following
are some of the issues:

Water:

The shortage of water is one of the universal issues that are increasing day by day. Today, all the
continents are affected by the scarcity of water and almost 2. 8 million people of the world are
affected by it (Reuveny, R. 2007). As far as the Construction Industry is concerned, it affects the
scarcity of water. It is because a lot of water is used in the construction of roads, buildings, or
any other infrastructure. The immense use of water causes the victims of water scarcity.
However, it is the construction industry that builds dams and reservoirs to save the water and
make it available to most people (Mekonnen, M. M., Hoekstra, A. Y., Chapagain, A. K., Richter,
B. D., & Mathews, R. E. 2012).

Deforestation:

Urbanization is the biggest reason behind the deforestation. It has been a threat to our Earth and
has caused a number of problems. The excess and ruthless cutting of trees has increased the
occurrence of flood. It is because the trees break the flow of water and most of the water get
absorbed due to the trees. Secondly, the removal of forests have also increased soil erosion and
these soil then get settled in the dams and reservoirs, blocking the lines. There are a number of
other issues that have been increased due to the deforestation.

Pollution:

Our Earth is getting contaminated with the passage of each day and it can be said that
construction industry is playing a major role in doing this. The machines, which are used to
construct the infrastructure, emit harmful and hazardous gases. These gasses then pollute the air
and also affect the Ozone layer. Moreover, the construction projects also cause water pollution
because hazardous substances flow to the river and affect the marine life. The piercing noises of

the machines also contribute to the noise pollution making the life difficult for the workers and
the residents who live nearby.

Energy Consumption:

Whenever a road, building, dam, or any other infrastructure is constructed, the electricity and
different fuels are being used. Most of the fossil and other fuels, such as coal, gasses, and oil, are
non- renewable resources. It means that these resources cannot be produced again after being
used once. So, the consumption of these fuels and energy, during the construction, means that we
will have to face the scarcity of these elements. Keeping in mind that, the natural resources
cannot be replaced by the artificial ones no matter how good we try.

Unhealthy Lifestyle:

Although urbanization has many benefits and brings many advantages to the country, it does
have some negative points as well. The urbanization change the lifestyle of people such as, in
most of the rural areas, people like to travel just by walking. However, in the big cities, it is not
possible and hence people use vehicles only; due to this people tend to walk very less. This is
one of the reasons that we are dealing with health issues. Secondly, the gasses, which these
vehicles emit, are extremely injurious to health.
4. Discuss how the construction industry can improve global disaster resilience.
Today, we have to face a number of different disasters all around the world. The natural disasters
are of many types; they include geophysical, hydrological, climatological, and biological. On the
other hand, the technical and the man- made disasters include the displaced population, famine,
conflicts, industrial accidents, transport accidents, and other similar hazards.
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The Construction Industry is playing an immense role in minimizing the effects of these disasters
(Coaffee, J. 2008). The Government wants to detect or predict the disaster before they actually
occur and if this does not happen; they at least want to control the effects so that less people get
affected. To do this, the construction industry, along with the architectural engineers, is trying to
construct the buildings that are earthquake proof. They are trying to tie the roof, floor, and walls
with the lateral forces so that they do not fall down when shaken by the earthquake. Other than
this, a number of different techniques are used to minimize the effect.
Moreover, the Construction Industry is also focused on constructing the buildings that can bear
up the floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. The other and the most common natural
disaster is the famine, which attacks and kills a number of people every year. To improve the
resilience from the famine or the drought, the Construction Industry can build dams or reservoirs
to store water. However, this can only be done when they know that the famine is going to strike
the particular place. The Construction Industry is more focused on the natural disasters because
they are the ones that create most catastrophe and causalities. In addition, unlike the human or
the man- made hazards, the natural disasters mostly unpredictable.
One of the biggest man- made hazard is the planes hitting the tall huge buildings or the sky
scrapers. Our world has experienced this accident and we lost the precious lives of many
innocents in this accident. To reduce the effects of this accident, the Construction Industry must
use such hard and solid materials, while constructing a building, which the building does not fall
down if a plane hits it. The most important thing for the construction companies is that they must
use the best raw material while constructing any project because many innocent lives are at the
stake.

Project / Assessment Task 2:

1. Describe the typical makeup of a construction project team.
If the company wants to achieve success in the work they are doing, it is crucial for them to
make the proper structure. The case is same with the Construction Companies because they also
need to select the members carefully and place them according to their expertise. The main
problem, which occurs in most of the construction companies, is that they fail to define the
project properly to the team. This is one of the factors that make the success of the project
doubtful and no one can predict that whether the project is going to proceed to the final stages or
not.
The company must select the best people for itself or the people who have the potential to learn
and do what they are required to do. In addition, it is not necessary to keep the individuals till the
very end even if they are creating loss for the company; such employees can be changed through
the duration of the project and other more deserving members can be added (Chatman, J. A., &
Jehn, K. A. 2000). Following is the indicative and the most commonly used structure for a
construction company:

Similar to most of the other companies, a construction company has the Board of
Directors (BODs) at the very top of the company. They are the ones who take the

decisions for the company; such as the strategic decisions and others.
Then comes the Project Board which handles the projects that the company gets.
Under the Project Board, the Project Sponsor comes. The Project Sponsors are mostly
the clients that place the order for the project. Along with the Project Sponsors, the
Independent Client Advisers are also present and their purpose is to give expert advices

regarding the project. Moreover, the User Panels and the Champions are also on the

same stage. They all work on the success of the project, collectively.
After them, comes the Project Manager / Client Representative. As the name indicates,
the purpose of the Project Manager or the Client Representative is to manage the project

and be the intermediary between the company and the client.

Under the Project Manager or the Client Representative, the company has Lead
Consultant and the Contractor. The Purpose of the Lead Consultant is to administrator
or monitor the project as it has been described by the client or in the documents. On the
other hand, the Contractor has the responsibility of coordinating, supervising, and
planning the work. They have to look after the workers, specialist, and all the individuals

who are working in the project.

Under the Lead Consultant, there are Other Consultants and Lead Designer. The Other
Consultants are like the helpers, assistants, or the secretaries to the Lead Consultant.
Whereas, the Lead Designer usually appoints the consultants and the architects. They also

coordinate and direct the specialist designers and other designers in the team.
Under the Other Consultants, the companies usually have Cost Consultant, Specialist

Consultants, CDM Coordinators, and others.

Under the Lead Designer, the construction companies have the Design Team. Basically,

this is the team that designs how the company is going to work.
The Design Team consists of Structural Engineer, Architect, Services Engineer,

Specialist Designers, and others.

The Contractor, who is on the same level as the Lead Consultant, heads the Sub
Contractors and the Suppliers. The Sub Contractors look after the particular elements of
the project, which are assigned by the Contractors. As far as the Suppliers are concerned,
as the name indicates, they supply the raw material to the company and at the place of

construction.
2. Identify the different project stakeholder and discuss their roles and responsibilities.
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Top Management: The top management includes the Presidents, vice- Presidents, CEO,
COO, CFO, corporate operating committee, division managers, directors, and others.
They have the responsibility to develop the strategic strategies and the long term
development of the company (Sev, A. 2009). In other words, it can be said that they have
their say in every decision of the company including the recruitment of the new staff, the
process of acquiring the raw material for the project, the promotion of the Project
Manager and other staff, and in all the other decisions.
Moreover, because they have most of the authorities and they are the owners of the
company, the exposure to the failure will be dramatic, high, and most visible of the top

management.
Project Manager / Project Leader: They are the actual boss of the particular project
and, in most of the cases, they are appointed by the top management. They have the
responsibility to define, control, plan, and lead the project. The Lead Manager is the one
whom the workers inform whenever they need the necessary resources to complete the
project. Moreover, if things go wrong in the project, the Project Manager will be the one
who will have the responsibility to fix the things. It is because he will be accountable in

front of the top management.

Project Team Members: All the team members are on the same level in the team and in
the organization as well. However, they have different responsibilities depending on their
expertise. Their responsibilities may include the production of the outputs or the
deliverables for the project, participation in the process of the project management,
contribution of their efforts and skills to perform the assigned tasks. The members of the
project team will not have the leadership responsibilities and hence, they will not be
accountable in front of the top management of the company.

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Upper Manager / Sponsor: The Sponsor of the project or the upper manager is the one
who has the ultimate responsibility of the project. The Upper Manager oversees and looks
after the project and he has the formal authority to act as liaison between the project
leader and the upper management team. Moreover, the Upper Manager or the Sponsor
also provides guidance, maintains the project priority, and gives authority to the

appropriate persons.
Internal Customers: The Internal Customers are those who are in the company and are
the customers for the projects. These individuals meet the internal demands and the needs
of the project. Moreover, they have the authority to either accept or reject the work
depending on what has been done and what was required. The Internal Customers will
have the negotiations with the project manager who will clarify and will tell about the
deliverables and the specifications of the project according to the documents. After the
project gets started, the project manager has to be in contact with the Internal Customers

and keep them informed.

External Customers: The External Customers are outside the company and the projects
are marketed to them. These are the buyers of the project or the ones who will ultimately

pay the company for the project.

3. Discuss importance of information management and Health & Safety in the construction
industry.
The information management and Health & Safety issues are one of the most important issues in
any company. Similarly, they have the same importance in the construction industry because the
safety of the workers is the ultimate and the prime responsibility of the company (Zeng, S. X.,
Tam, C. M., & Tam, V. W. 2008). Most of the construction companies follow these steps to
ensure that they are providing the health and safety measures to the workers:

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The projects and all the other works are plan sensibly so that they can minimize the risk
factor. It is the aim of the company to eliminate risks form the beginning of the project to

its end.
To eliminate the risk factor and make sure that all the tasks are safe for the workers, the
company has to choose the right person, for the right job, and at the right time. In other
words, the person must be assigned the work according to his expertise and the

knowledge so that he can understand what has to be done.

The most important things in any company are the coordination, cooperation, and the
collaboration of the workers. The staff must be well connected with each other and must
communicate regarding all the issues so that everyone will know what is happening in the
project. When they will be on the same page, they will know what the next step is and

what must be done to reduce the risks.

In order to minimize or eliminate the risks, one must have the complete knowledge about
the possible risks. Only in such situation, the company will know how to reduce the risks
and make the task risk free for all the stake holders and anyone who is going to come in

contact with the project.

As mentioned above, communication is very important because only then the workers
will know what have they done wrong and which areas need the improvement. Moreover,
proper communication will keep everyone updated and especially the ones who need to

know.
Similar to what has been written earlier, not only the company needs to know about the
possible risks, the managers have to communicate them to the workers as well. It is
because they are the ones who are on the front line and are actually exposed to the risks.

Most of the companies take the help of the experts to minimize the risks.
4. Identify the role you would like to play in the construction industry and identify the
requirements from the relevant professional institution you have chosen.
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Laing ORourke one of the biggest construction companies of the world and this is where I
would like to work. It is a British based company which is relatively younger than the companies
with which it is competing. In other words, Laing ORourke has achieved success in very less
time. The company has expanded very quickly and is currently working on many high-profile
projects, since the last decade. The projects which Laing ORourke is currently handling include
Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, Ascot Racecourse, and the huge Al Raha beach development in
Abu Dhabi.
In Laing ORourke, I would like to work as the Project Manager or the Project Leader. It is
because the Project Manager or the Project Leader is the one who has the ultimate authority of
the project. Moreover, in Laing ORourke, the Project Manager or the Project Leader is chosen
and appointed by the top management. They are also considered as the real boss of the assigned
project. The Project Manager or the Project Leader has the power to stop the project when he
feels the need to do this. Moreover, the Project Manager or the Project Leader has the
responsibility to define, control, plan, and lead the project. In addition, all the workers of the
project come under the Project Manager or the Project Leader and the workers and the staff have
to report to him. The approval of the Project Manager or the Project Leader is required even to
order the necessary resources to complete the project. Moreover, if anything goes wrong in the
project, the Project Manager or the Project Leader will have to fix it and then he will give the
sign to continue the work. Because the Project Manager or the Project Leader is the one who is
the boss of the project, he will be accountable in front of the top management. It can be seen in
this way that the Project Manager or the Project Leader is the only one who has the access to the
top management of the company. In addition, the scope of promotion is also high for the Project
Manager or the Project Leader in Laing ORourke.
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References
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American household carbon footprint. Ecological Economics, 67 (1), 380 - 390.

2. Marshall, N., & Bresnen, M. (2000). Building partnerships: Client contractor

collaboration. Construction Economics and Management, 20 (8), 820- 831.
3. Newcombe, R. (2003). From project stakeholders to client: The mapping approach of
stakeholder. Construction Economics and Management, 20 (10), 851- 860.
4. Ding,. K. (2008). Sustainable construction: Role of environmental assessment tools.
Journal of environmental management, 80 (4), 555- 567.
5. Mekonnen, M. M., Hoekstra, A. Y., Chapagain, A. K., Richter, B. D., & Mathews, R. E.
(2012). Global water scarcity: blue water availability Vs. blue water footprints. PLoS
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and proportional on team performance. International Journal of Conflict Management, 10
(2), 46- 63.
9. Sev, A. (2009). How can the construction industry contribute to sustainable development?
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10. Zeng, S. X., Tam, C. M., & Tam, V. W. (2008). Towards safety systems and the
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