Managing the Professional Practice In the Built Environment

by Smyth, Hedley

• ISBN13: 9781405199759
• ISBN10: 140519975X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-04-25
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This book aims to explore the key issues influencing the culture, strategy and operations of professional practices in the built environment. The focus is upon established practices - particularly growing ones - and larger international firms. The book is structured into sections around two main themes: managing the organisation; and managing operational processes and a third section reflects upon practice experience. Section I: Managing the organisation looks at how the history of the firm creates both opportunities and rigidities for developing the practice, in terms of culture and market position, strategy and implementation, financial and HR management.Section II: Managing operational processes deals with the management of day-to-day issues and how these create and add value to the product and service. These issues will be explored in their own right and also in relation to issues covered in Section I.Section III: Reflecting on practice covers experience of those in practice and top practitioners detail how they are addressing key issues in their practice and for their discipline. Authors from Sections I and II will be assigned to each reflective piece to give comments from an academic perspective, linking the practice experience with conceptual and theoretical issues. Collects latest research from leading academics Addresses the key issues facing practice managers Offers comment on current practice from top practitioners

Author Biography

Hedley Smyth, Senior Lecturer, School of Construction and Project Management, The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, UCL.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
About the authors	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Overview in Scope and Context of Managing the Professional Practice	p. 11
Structures, management and markets	p. 13
Strategic management of professional practice: The case of architecture	p. 43
Cross-functional coordination: Conceptual model and its application in professional design practice	p. 65
Challenges of growth in a medium-sized engineering design consultancy	p. 83
SustainabUity into practice: How the sustainable development agenda has impacted on the surveying profession	p. 103
Managing Specific Issues in the Professional Practice	p. 125
Equipping project teams for competitions: Architecture practices in the Italian market	p. 127
Client management and identification	p. 143
How thin to win: FM service provision issues	p. 161
Innovation in professional service providers: UK quantity surveying practices	p. 173
Reflections upon Practice	p. 193
The make experience	p. 195
Squaring the circle: Delivering international services locally	p. 207
Innovation in the construction sector	p. 219
Managing a project management division	p. 233
Developing capacity in an emergent market	p. 249
Branding professional services: Making the intangible tangible	p. 261
The first 20 years	p. 273
Reflection on the redevelopment of the University of Tokyo Hospital: The last 26 years	p. 287
Beyond the first generation	p. 299
Changes in UK construction professional services firms in the late 20th century	p. 315
Conclusion	p. 329
Acronyms	p. 333
Index	p. 337
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