lated to both individual and corporate self-improvement. In a knowledge–worker organisation, people – the only repository of knowledge – are the main resource. In the current climate of rapid technological change, it is becoming necessary for knowledge workers to be in a continuous learning mode. Government agencies often find themselves unable to hire new technical workers and at the same time is showing a decline in training of existing employees. This is a leading indicator of ‘brain drain’ that must be reversed. Metrics can be put into place to guide managers in focusing training funds where they can help the most. In any case, learning and growth constitute the essential foundation for success of any knowledge–worker organisation. Metrics could include percentage of employees satisfied with management, work environment, health and safety. Also the number of employees with recognised training and qualifications.
Generally, as with any management tool, the results obtained ei- ther through the adoption of KPIs or BSC techniques must be taken seriously and must be seen to be adopted. Understanding what a particular result really means is important in determining
whether or not it is useful to the organisation. Data by itself is not useful information, but it can be when viewed from the context of organisational objectives, environmental conditions and other fac- tors. Proper analysis is imperative in determining whether or not performance indicators are effective, and results are contributing to organisational objectives.
Conclusion
The construction industry still persists in the practice of rewarding bad behaviour. If a contract is delayed, all participants get their money apart from the client, who has to pay! There can be no doubt that the pressure for change within the UK construction industry and its professions, including quantity surveying, is unstoppable, and that the volume of initiatives in both the public and private sectors to try to engineer change grows daily. The last decade of the twentieth century saw a realignment of the UK’s economic base. Traditional manufacturing industries declined while services Figure 1.4 The balanced scorecard.
industries prospered, but throughout this period the construction industry has remained relatively static, with a turnover compared to GDP of around 10 per cent. The construction industry is still, therefore, a substantial and influential sector and a major force in the UK economy. Perhaps more than any other construction pro- fession, quantity surveying has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to reinvent itself and adapt to change.
Is there evidence that quantity surveyors are innovating and de- veloping other fields of expertise? In 2004 a report was published by the RICS Foundation which came to the conclusions that there was evidence of innovation especially among the larger practices.
The report was based on a survey of 27 consultants from among the largest in the UK, ranked by the number of chartered quantity surveyors employed. The report concluded that there is a clear di- vide between the largest firms, each generating an income of more than £30 million per annum and the other firms surveyed. Several of the firms in the £5 – 15 million fee bands had recently made the transition from partnership to corporate status, while around half of the firms surveyed retained their traditional partnership struc- ture. Of the private limited companies this had resulted in organi- sations of a very different shape with a flatter structure permitting more devolved responsibility and the potential for better communi- cation throughout the organisation. The firms were asked to iden- tify what percentage of fee income came from ‘quantity surveying’ services and all other fee-income generating services, the results in- dicated a significant diversification away from traditional quantity surveying services, as illustrated in Table 1.5.
The results indicate that in the case of the largest firms only just under 50 per cent of fee income came from quantity surveying
Table 1.5 Percentage of fee income from quantity suveying services
Annual fee income % from quantity surveying services
£ million Mean Min Max
>30 49 29 80 20–30 5 5 5 15–20 – – – 10–15 63 25 90 5–10 66 36 86 <5 64 34 95
services. The services being offered by the firms include: project management, legal services, taxation advice, value management and PFI consultancy.
The remainder of this book will attempt to review the new op- portunities that are presenting themselves to the quantity sur- veyor in a swiftly changing global construction market. It is not the object of this book to proclaim the demise of the traditional quantity surveyor practice offering traditional quantity services – these will continue to be in demand – but rather to outline the op- portunities that are now available for quantity surveyors to move into a new era offering a range of services and developing new expertise.
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National Audit Office – http://www.nao.gov.uk SIMAP – http://simap.eu.int
Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) – http://ted.eur-op.eu.int Treasury – http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk