Wachemo University

College of Engineering and

Technology
Department of Construction
1
Technology and Management

Construction Management.

Chapter two; General Management

by; Abate M.
By Abate M. 2013 EC
 2.1 Theory & Development
2
General Management is a broad area dealing with wider aspects of
managing an ongoing organization and temporal activities which
covers the following among other topics: 

o Property Management  Process / Result

 Production & Distribution Management
Management  Information
 Organization Management Management
 Resources Management  Research & Development
 Project Management (Knowledge)
 Strategic Management  Performance
 Stakeholders(Relationship Management, and
s) Management  Network Management
 Abate M. 20202
 Cont…
3

 In its wider sense, management is required for getting the

task done.
 i.e Management is the process of administering and
coordinating resources effectively and efficiently and in an
effort to achieve the goals of the organization (Pamela, et
al; 1995).
 Efficiency and Effectiveness of management depends very
much on how well the available resources are utilized to
accomplish the intended objective.

by; Abate M. 2020

 Cont…
4

 With advancing technological and changing human

behavioral aspects, management is increasingly becoming
more complex and requires considerable training, practical
experience and updating on the latest information of
developments in the field. Like other disciplines,
management thoughts have been enriched by many
contributors of earlier practitioners in the field. Such
contributions are developed to form the Management
Theory and Its Development.
 Management theories the world over has both theoretical
and applied contributors.

by; Abate 2020

 Cont…
5

These contributions can be classified as follows;

1. Early contributions
2. Industrial era contributions
3. Classical contributions
4. Behavioral contributions
5. Quantitative contributions
6. Contingency Perspectives, and
7. Recent Contributions

by; Abate M. 2020

 Recent Contributions
6

1. Total quality management (TQM),

2. Management by projects (MBP),
3. Business process re-engineering (BPR),
4. Value engineering/ management (VE/ VM),
and
5. Concurrent engineering (CE).
 

by; Abate M. 2020

 1.Total Quality Management (TQM)
7

A definition of TQM ;-a comprehensive sys

tematic,integrated,consistent organization-wide effort
dedicated to customer satisfaction through continuous
improvement. With its primary focus being the
involvement of everyone. It prioritizes quality and
services rather than cost.
This definition embodies three basic ingredients of
TQM: participative management and
teamwork; continuous process improvement;
and customer satisfaction and delight.

by; Abate M. 2020

 Cont…
8
 In the construction industry quality is defined as meeting the
requirements of the designers, constructors, regulatory
agencies and the owner.
 Quality can be characterized by meeting the requirements of:
 the owner; including functional adequacy, completion on
time and with in budget, and life cycle costs including
operation and maintenance.
 the design professionals, including provision of well
defined scope of work, budget to assemble and use a qualified,
trained and experienced staff, budget to obtain adequate field
information prior to design, provisions for timely decisions by
owner and design professionals, and contract to perform
necessary work at a fair fee with adequate time allowances.
by; Abate M. 2020
 Cont....
9

the constructors, including provision of contract plans,

specification, and other documents prepared in sufficient
detail to permit the constructor and prepare priced proposal,
timely decisions by the owner and design professional on
authorization and processing of change orders, fair and timely
interpretation of contract requirements from field design and
inspection staff, and contract for performance of work on a
reasonable schedule which permits a reasonable profit, and
the regulatory agencies, including public safety and
health, environmental considerations, protection of public
property, and conformance to applicable laws, regulations,
codes and policies.

by; Abate M. 2020

 2.Management by Projects (MBP)
10

Management by projects is a way, an outlook, and an

attitude cultivated to treat any trade of work,
undertaking, scheme, assignment or a set of
activities, as a project. What is immediately implied
or called for by accepting a trade of work as a project
is: identified scope; required completion time;
estimate of cost and other resources inclusive of
manpower; economic quality performance; and
review of the work done with follow-up of some
kind (Taher & Sharad, 1998).

by; Abate M. 2020

 3.Business Process Re-engineering (BPR)
11

BPR is defined as: An organizational improvement

methodology that focuses on redesigning organizational
processes 'from the ground up', using information
technology to integrate work, increase consistency, and
dramatically shorten process cycle times. (Mattinsly, 1994).
BPR advocates 'radical improvement', rather than
'continuous improvement', of processes for better ultimate
performance.
 Key features of BPR includes rapid thinking, creating
new scenario, simplify processes, information technology to
reintegrate works, fewer skilled employees, and flatter
organization.

by; Abate M. 2020

 Cont…
12

risks, such as: investments in complex information

system; potential damage to organizational culture,
and reduced motivation of the few remaining
employees.
benefit including simpler and shorter processes,
fewer but highly skilled employees, flatter and more
efficient organization, and lower structural costs.

by; Abate M. 2020

 4.Value Engineering / Management (VE /
VM)
13

Value Engineering is a systematic method to improve the

value of goods or products and services by using an
examinations of performance(functions).value, as defined, is
a ratio of function to cost .value can there fore be increased
by either improving the function or reducing the cost. it is a
primary tenet of value engineering that basic functions be
preserved and not be reduced as a consequence of pursuing
value improvements.
 Accordingly, Sievert developed a job plan approach to the
project team for effective application of VE consisting of five
phases: Information, Creativity, Evaluation, Development
and presentation, and Implementation.

by; Abate M. 2020

 5.Concurrent Engineering (CE)
14

Concurrent engineering is defined as:

A systematic approach to the integrated, concurrent design and their
related processes, including manufacturing and support. This
approach is intended to cause developers from the outset, to consider
all elements of the product life-cycle from conception through disposal
including quality, cost, schedule, and user requirements. (Winner,
1988)
CE bases its concepts on the development of Partnership, Design-and-
Construct, Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT), Design-Build-
Finance-Operate (DBFO) and Management Contracting and
Construction Management methods of Procurement. In achieving
customer requirements and project objectives and effectiveness,).
Gabriel, 1997 has a similar approach to CE project management
method that he called a lean project management.

by; Abate M. 2020

 2.2 Management Functions
15

The purpose of managing is to achieve the most

utilization of human, material and monetary
resources by the establishment of decision making
and communication processes designed to
accomplish specific objectives. The establishment of
an effective operating organization is one of the
principal functions of management.

by; Abate M. 2020

 i. Planning

 Management starts with planning. Without a plan

organizations will never succeed. If they do, it will have
been by luck or chance and is not repeatable. Plan, will help
us in:
 What to accomplish (goals)

 When to accomplish the goals

 What resources to use

 Who should accomplish what

 Where to accomplish
 What methods to use

 Assess all possible scenarios including the best and worst and
what actions to take
 ii. Organizing
 Organization is a structured process in in which people
interact and influence each other in order to achieve
objectives
 Organizing refers to the process of designing jobs and
departments and determining authority relationships in
organizations.
 Organizing:
 Permits people to work together in order to achieve goals that
will be difficult or impossible for them to achieve in their own
 Helps to achieve synergy
 Avoid duplication of resources
 Establish authority
 And facilitate communication
 Some Issues in Organizing

 Specialization (division of labor)

 Grouping jobs into departments and structuring

(functional, product, customer, geographic, matrix)

 Determining authority relationships (span of control,

chain of command)
 Delegation of authority

 Centralization and decentralization

Types of Organizational
19 Structures

Product
Product
Functional
Functional Customer
Customer

Options for
Departmentalization

Market-
Market-
Matrix
Matrix Channel
Channel
Geography
Geography
 Functional Organization
20

A form of organizational structure whereby each

subunit of the organization engages in firm wide
activities related to a particular function such as
marketing, human resources, finance or production.

General
General manager
manager

Marketing
Marketing Mgr
Mgr Production
Production Mgr.
Mgr. Finance Mgr HRM
HRM Mgr
Mgr
 Product Line/Division Structure, or
Geographical21Organization
It divides the organization activities into self
contained entities, each responsible for marketing,
production, finance, personnel etc.

General
General manager/Head
manager/Head office

PM (Mekelle) PM (Bahir
(Bahir Dar)
Dar) PM (Awasa) PM (Dire Dawa
 Matrix Organization
Chief Executive
22

Material
Human
Production Finance Marketing &
Resource
Procurement

Marketing HR
Project A Production Finance Materials
Grp Grp
Manager Grp Grp Grp

Project B Production Finance Marketing Materials

HR
Manager Grp Grp Grp Grp
Grp

Line operation– Work performance

Support assistance from functional departments
 Cont…
23

c. Staffing /Procuring
It implies managing and keeping manned (persons must be
assigned to each of the positions created in the organization structure)
and providing them the right quality resources at the right time. These
resources include people, materials, machinery and cash. The connected
project management tasks include the following:
Preparing resource procurement schedules,
Developing specifications for required resources,
Deciding appropriate sources of procurement,
Budgeting resources and arranging approvals and purchases,
Preventing wastage during resource handling at site
Supplying on time required quality and quantity of resources to project
construction.

by; Abate M. 2020

 Cont…
24

d. Directing/Leading
The proper functioning of the business depends upon an intra-organization
exchange of information on many kinds. Directing implies the following
tasks:
Providing effective leadership,
Motivating participants behavior,
Communicating instructions and orders such as
 the superintendents must be kept advised of contract changes such as drawing
revisions and change orders,
 subcontractors must be consulted about project planning and be informed of their
part in the construction schedule,
 procurement people must keep the yard and the projects aware of the delivery status
of materials,
 information about job accidents must be conveyed from the projects to company
management, etc.

by; Abate M. 2020

 Cont…
25

e. Controlling
It involves monitoring of the performance and applying
corrective measures incase of deviations from plan. The
process of control includes:
evolving systems for generating performance data:
 Time control
 Cost control
 Quality control
Monitoring data received and formulating corrective options,
Applying corrective measures to meet the schedule,
Re-planning whenever necessary.

by; Abate M. 2020

 Cont…
26

The process of measuring performance, comparing

it with the objectives, and making any necessary
adjustments.
The purpose of control include:
 Adapting to changes

 Minimizing consequences of errors

 Helping the organization cope with complexities

 Improving efficiency

by; Abate M. 2020

 2.3 Managerial Roles
27
Interpersonal Roles These roles are related to formal authority base of managers.
Figurehead Roles related to ceremonial in nature.
Leadership Roles related to ensuring achievement of goals.
Liaison Roles related to communication with internal and external stakeholders to
develop favorable relationships and networks.

Informational Roles These roles are related to availing sufficient information to carryout jobs
  effectively. Because they are information centers for information and
  communication source.
Monitor Roles related to scanning internal and external environments of their
  organizations for selecting useful information.
Disseminator Roles related to sharing and distributing useful information to employees.
Spokesperson Roles related to information communications to external stakeholders.

Decision Roles These roles are related to processing information to reach conclusions.
Entrepreneur Roles related to initiating new developments' new research
Disturbance Handler Roles related to conflict resolution and problem solving.
Resources Allocator Roles related to distribution and assignment of different resources to projects.
Negotiator Roles related to win comparative & competitive advantages to achieve goals.

by; Abate M. 2020

 2.4 Management Level & Scope
28

 Managers could be classified into different categories depending

upon the scopes and levels of management they are involved in.
Depending on the nature and scope of the job managers are
performing, they can be classified under either functional or
general managers.
Functional managers are responsible for a work group
segmented according to functions;
General managers involve in managing several different
functions or departments which are responsible for different tasks.
 While Functional managers greatest challenge is lack of
communication skill; that of General Managers is technical skills.
Depending on the level of the job managers are performing, they can
be classified in to top, middle and bottom managers.
by; Abate M. 2020
 Cont…

 Top Managers
 The relatively small group of executives who manage the
organization’s overall goals, strategy, and operating
policies.
 Middle Managers
 Largest group of managers in organizations who are
primarily responsible for implementing the policies and
plans of top managers. They supervise and coordinate
the activities of lower-level managers.
 First-Line Managers
 Managers who supervise and coordinate the activities of
operating employees.
 Generally speaking, a relatively large organization possesses
three levels of managers: Top, Middle and First – line or Lower
managers and could resemble pyramidal shape
30

by; Abate M. 2020

 End of chapter
31

Thank you!

by; Abate M. 2020