1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND
DESIGN
BACHELOR OF QUANTITY SURVEYING (HONOURS)
MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
QSB2413
Name Student ID
Juan Roy Collie 0329004
Sahil Gunesh 0328569
Penny Leung 0328245
Tan Shen Sin 0324602
2. 1
TABLE OF CONTENT
No. Elements Page
1. Introduction 2
2. Vision statement 2
3. Mission Statement 2
4. Long term goals 3
5 Mid term goals 3
6. Short term goals 3
7. Organisational Chart 4
8. Employee Job Scope/Responsibilities 5-11
9. Strategic Planning 12-13
10. Competitive Advantage 14-15
11. Strategic Analysis(SWOT Analysis) 16
12. Organisational Culture 17-19
Development Plan: 20-25
13. (i) Sales and marketing Manager trainee recruitment
(ii) Financial manager trainee recruitment
(iii)Human ResourceManager trainee recruitment
14. Interview Scenarios 26-27
3. 2
INTRODUCTION
After ten years of experience in working in the construction industry the four of
us decided to come together and start our own construction company. We were
all aware that moving from a fixed salary job and starting up a business was a
risky move. Our experience and skill set from working in this industry for the
past 10 years was a major factor in driving us towards taking this risk. We were
all aware that with our combined knowledge of the industry the possibility of
creating a successfulbusiness was ever present. With this mindset we were able
to start up “A+ Builders”!
VISION STATEMENT
“ A+ Builders vision is to be able to build ANY person's
dream no matter the challenge”
MISSION STATEMENT
We will always be loyal to you, your dreams and quality, for
the latter is our way of life.
4. 3
SHORT TERM GOALS
Building a strong organisational culture
Start to build a good reputation as a construction business
MID TERM GOALS
Being known as one of the best companies in Malaysia
To be acknowledged for our quality and performance
LONG TERM GOALS
To be the customer's first choice for any construction project
To expand all across Malaysia
To expand globally
6. 5
● CEO - The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking
executive manager in a corporation or organization. He or she has overall
responsibility for creating, planning, implementing and integrating the
strategic direction of an organization.
● General manager - A general manager of administration is responsible for
overseeing all administrative functions in your business. A major part
involves leading and directing employees.
● HR senior manager - Maintains and enhances the organization's human
resources by planning, implementing, and evaluating employee relations
and human resources policies, programs, and practices.
● Finance senior manager - The functions of the finance manager position
can be considered identical to a treasurer position, or as a "light" treasurer
who has additional analysis responsibilities that include supportof the
management team in a variety of operational decisions.
● Productand quality control manager - He or she aims to ensure that the
productor service an organisation provides is fit for purpose, is consistent
and meets both external and internal requirements. This includes legal
compliance and customer expectations. He or she will need to liaise with
other managers and staff throughout the organisation to ensure that the
quality management system is functioning properly.
● Sales and marketing manager - Accomplishes business development
activities by researching and developing marketing opportunities and
plans; implementing sales plans; managing staff.
● Drilling and piling manager - Manages daily drilling, piling, production,
and engineering operations for an organization. Manages the planning
and execution of drilling and piling projects, the development of oil and
gas fields, and the analysis of reserves and manages the properuse and
maintenance of equipment. Plans and develops revisions or enhancements
to solve and troubleshoot drilling and piling problems.
7. 6
● Civil and building senior manager - Oversee the construction of roads,
bridges, railways, airports and other types of infrastructure. Requires a
great deal of collaboration with building contractors, project managers,
drafters and engineering staffs. Responsible for ensuring each project
complies with zoning laws and other regulations.
● Quarry senior manager - Quarry manager is responsible for ensuring that
quarries, pits and opencastsites operate successfully. He or she oversee
all operations, both on site and in the office, manage staff, coordinate
production and monitor all site systems.
● Workshop senior manager - This position will manage and lead a team of
people in allocating workload and managing the day to day operations in
the workshop. It requires the job holder to coordinate resources and liaise
with internal and external key contacts to ensure work is delivered on
time and to a quality standard.
● Resourceand employee engagement - Responsible for developing a
survey process and metrics that will enable the company to track
employee engagement progress at both an institution wide and a local
unit level. This position also responsible to create a comprehensive and
sustainable employee engagement strategy.
● HR administrator - As an HR administrator, his or her role is a mixture of
admin and HR, also known as human resources and personnel.
● Payroll officer - A payroll officer gets detailed contactinformation from
employees so payroll checks can be accurately calculated, distributed and
deposited. This information usually includes a legal name, address, phone
number and Social Security number for all employees, as well as bank
account routing and checking numbers for employees who receive direct
payroll deposits.
● Block manager - Keep up to date with legislation and demonstrate an
awareness of approaching changes and major case law. Preempt
8. 7
legislative issues which may affect the properties under your control
ensuring that team members share the knowledge . Read and understand
leases from many perspectives and foresee likely issues arising from
individual leases as well as ensure any direct reports understand a lease,
coaching and mentoring where necessary.
● Crusher manager - Crusher managers are the people who watch over and
organize the daily operations of manufacturing crushers and similar
places. He or she oversee employees, production and efficiency, to make
sure the crusher is running smoothly, quickly, efficiently and safely.
● Blast supervisor - Supervises and coordinates activities of workers
engaged in operation of blast furnace to producemolten pig iron; Directs
workers in charging furnace with specified amounts of raw materials,
such as iron ore, coke, and limestone.
● Quarry supervisor - Responsible for safety in the quarry and maintaining
appropriate accident records. Investigate and report on accidents
involving employees and equipment and maintain high levels of mobile
equipment availability by communicating with and directing the activities
of the Quarry Personnel and outside contractors.
● Senior mechanic - Perform tasks involved in maintenance, repair and
overhaul of automotive, materials handling and construction equipment.
Assign, supervise and train activities of assistants who locate, analyze and
correct malfunctions in equipment and issue repair parts.
● Mechanic - Build and assemble machines or mechanical components
according to requirements. Inspecting machines, engines, transmissions
etc. and run diagnostic tests to discover functionality issues and
conducting repairs aiming for maximum reliability.
● Crane operator - Responsible for operating a stationary or traveling crane
to lift, move, position, and reposition loads. Depresses buttons, lifts
9. 8
levers, and ensures load is safely attached to crane before bringing it
down.
● Drilling foreman - This position supervise and assist with the day-to-day
activities of the line crew employees and the project to which they are
assigned, reports directly to the drilling and piling manager.
● Purchasing manager - Responsiblein developing, leading and executing
purchasing strategies. Tracking and reporting key functional metrics to
reduce expenses and improve effectiveness. Crafting negotiation
strategies and closing deals with optimal terms.
● Costmanagement accountant - Prepare monthly journal entries manually
or by initiating electronic creation through our software program. Prepare
monthly and quarterly accounting reports for submission to management.
Conductinventory reserve analysis on a quarterly basis and generate
reports for senior management.
● Accountant - Prepares asset, liability, and capital accountentries by
compiling and analyzing account information. Documents financial
transactions by entering account information and recommends financial
actions by analyzing accounting options. He or she is responsible to
provides financial information to management by researching and
analyzing accounting data as well as reparing reports.
● Financial controller - He or she is responsible for the efforts and results of
the financial department and report to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
in regards to all financial and accounting activities, overseeing financial
department staff in day-to-day operations.
● Purchasing officer - Responsible in researching potential vendors and
comparing and evaluating offers from suppliers, negotiating contract
terms of agreement and pricing.
● Account officer - It is an accounts officer’s responsibility to take care of a
particular firm or company’s finances. It is his or her duty to formulate
10. 9
and implement the organization’s financial plans and keep up-to-date
account records.
● Crusher operator - Tends conveyors and grinders that crush raw gypsum
into specified pebble size: Opens storage gates and starts grinders,
feeders, and belt conveyors. Observes flow of materials on conveyors,
cleans carriers and removes wedged rock from conveyors and clogged
chutes, using scraper and poker.
● Project manager - Project management responsibilities include delivering
every project on time within budget and scope. He or she coordinates
internal resources and third parties/vendors for the flawless execution of
projects.
● Quantity surveyor - A person who measures and prices building work, a
quantity surveyor is like an accountant of the building world – planning
and overseeing costs from the beginning to the end of a project, and from
tenders at the start, to final bills of quantities.
● Civil engineer - Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and
overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures, and
facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels,
dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, water and sewage
systems, and waste disposalunits.
● Foreman - He or she coordinates construction work according to priorities
and plans. Producing schedules and monitor attendance of crew as well as
allocating general and daily responsibilities.
● Site supervisor - He or she assesses and manages safety hazards in the
workplace. Responsibilities may also include managing and instructing
the site workers, setting goals for the team, and seeing projects through to
completion.
● Project engineer - A project engineer's responsibilities include schedule
preparation, pre-planning and resource forecasting for engineering and
11. 10
other technical activities relating to the project. They may also be in
charge of performance management of vendors and assure the accuracy
of financial forecasts, which tie-in to project schedules. They ensure
projects are completed according to project plans.
● Charge hand - To controland allocate the flow of work through the
workshop to make the best use of staff, equipment and other resources.
● Workmen - Assisting tradesmen and machine operators in construction
projects. Erecting and breaking up scaffolding, ramps etc. with attention
to safety and unloading and carrying materials at construction sites.
● Blasters/Drillers - Determines strength and pattern of blast required and
charges and detonates explosives in surface or underground mine, pit, or
quarry to fracture or separate stone or minerals from solid formations.
Marks pattern of drill holes or issues drilling instructions for depth and
placement of blast holes.
● Quarry operator - The quarry operator will be responsible for operating
industrial equipment. This role will be responsible for the safe work
execution of assigned tasks, and for safety of the surrounding areas, for
both her/himself, co-workers, and visitors.
12. 11
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Strategic planning is an essential function of the higher level management in an
organisation. The purposeof strategic planning is to enhance the competitive
position, improve overall performance and develop and maintain a competitive
advantage in the industry.
In this ever growing construction industry it is essential that a company
establishes itself in a manner that is different from other companies. With the
vast competition across Malaysia a company must be able to catch customer
attention so that they are drawn towards their service. As a result of this, us, the
owners of A+ Builders have spent a great amount of time in strategically
planning for the future. We believe that this factor will have a significant role in
determining whether or not the organisation will be a success orotherwise.
Our strategic plans are as follows:
● Investing in the most up to date capital machinery. Although the costof
these capital goods may prove to be quite substantial, we have decided
13. 12
that the long term advantages will be even more substantial towards the
business's reputation and success. With up to date machinery, the
company will be able to provide most or all services and satisfy customer
demands. Without these equipment customers would have to look to
another companies to satisfy their needs which would definitely tarnish
our reputation.
● Creating and maintaining good relationships with suppliers. As a
construction company, purchasing goods will be an essential activity to
enable the continuous running of the business. Be it goods suchas
machinery equipment and even paper, all these assets will have a cost.
Creating fruitful relationships with suppliers may allow us to benefit
greatly in the long run. A few benefits are as follows;
a) Being able to purchase in bulk which will result in a lower costper
item will save costs greatly over time
b) Building trust between suppliers may allow us to take credit in
times when necessary.
14. 13
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
In order to be successfulas a business, establishing a sustainable competitive
advantage is a crucial factor. The strategic planning process is one aimed
towards building our competitive advantage at A+ Builders.
Our competitive advantages are as follows:
● With all the necessary machinery that we have invested in, we will be
able to produceall of our own products to be used in construction.
Products suchas Cement, blocks, bricks, macadam and many other raw
materials have become quite costly to purchase. By investing in all the
machinery such as crushers and blasting equipment great long term cost
savings can be made.This competitive advantage is a sustainable one
especially in this industry as we won’t be faced with the burden of
purchasing these goods at any time.
● Our next competitive advantage again involves our investment in the
most high tech equipment. Economies of scale arises with increased
output of a productresulting in costadvantages. Basically the greater
quantity of a good produced, the lower the fixed costper unit due to the
fact that these costare spread out over a large number of goods. The new
machinery will allow for greater output of different products thus
15. 14
resulting in economies of scale. This operational efficiency could be a
crucial competitive advantage for our company as many other companies
might not be practicing this.
● Building a healthy relationship with all of our suppliers may also prove
to be a competitive advantage for our company. The company may
benefit from special prices and promotions that other companies may not
be benefiting from. In this case it may be quite sustainable in our industry
given that we are able to maintain the good relationships.
● Our strong organisational culture can also be seen as a competitive
advantage. Our team work based culture where employees are
encouraged to share ideas and are treated like family may be heard in the
external environment by word of mouth and boostourreputation. This
may be a sustainable competitive advantage as many businesses still use
an autocratic style of leadership where employees may feel demotivated.
Companies that are well established will not want to change their ways
thus our more democratic style may attract more customers when they
hear of the level of employee satisfaction.
16. 15
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
[SWOT ANALYSIS]
Strength
● Founders have considerable
experience(10 years) in industry
● Low cost skilled labour force is
widely available in the country
● Use of technology, for example BIM
will ensure job is done with more
accuracy
● High construction quality
Weakness
● Company is still new,so it will be
difficult to attract clients at the start
● As a new company, it may be
difficult to manage employees and
large scale projects
● Lack of advertisements
Opportunities
● Partnerships with private and public
sector will create more opportunities
to expand our company
● Continuous private sector housing
will create more opportunities
● Application of IBS components
increase construction value
● Incentive from government to
promote projects
Threats
● Number of competitors in the
industry is really high
● Long term market instability and
unpredictability can damage
opportunities to expand company
● Additional cost to train employees
who are not yet accustomed to BIM
● High cost of IBS components
● Government policy and regulations
can slow down work
17. 16
ORGANISATION CULTURE
What is organisation culture?
Organisation culture is the shared values, principles, traditions and ways of
doing things that influence how members of an organisation act. A good
organisational culture is very important for an organisation as it is the unique
personality of the company that will distinguish it from others.
Naturally our aim is to have a strong culture among all members. A strong
culture means:
· Our values are widely shared among all employees
· Employees can strongly identify themselves with organisation’s
culture
· There is strong connection between shared values and behaviours
Clan Culture
After having several discussions among us four, we have decided to instil a
clan culture in our company. This type of culture is more directed towards
teamwork, communication and consensus. Our organisation members will share
similarities and will see themselves as part of a big family. The leadership style
will be democratic where members will be involved in decision making.
Leaders will be more like mentors, where they will use feedback to coach
employees below them. The clan culture will promote teamwork which is an
essential tool in any organisation.
18. 17
Why is teamwork important?
· Outperforms individuals, improves productivity and quality
· Use talents of individuals better
· A team is more flexible and responsive to changes
· Facilitate employee involvement
· Effective way to democratise an organisation
Negative phenomenons in a group
However, too much cohesiveness in a group can lead to negative phenomenon,
such as groupthink and social loafing.
1. Groupthink happens when the members are too cohesive and they don’t
evaluate the group objectively.
Ways our company will counter groupthink:
· Leaders have to lead when necessary
· Everyone must share their unique ideas
· For every group project, group members will be changed
2. Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to work less hard when
working collectively than working individually
Ways to counter social loafing
19. 18
· Set group goals
· Intergroup competition will be increased and reward on each
member’s contribution will be used as a motivational factor
· Select employees who prefer to work in teams
· Peer evaluation will be conducted at the end of each project
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
As part of our development plan to make A+ Builders a successful
organisation, we have decided to recruit 3 people both internally and externally
and train them to manage in three key departments. Selection will depend on
20. 19
employee mind set, personality and attitude depending on the management
position they will be in.
Recruit1: Sales and marketing manager
Although we are a construction company, construction based operations are not
the sole focus in our organisation. We believe that promoting the various
products suchas our unique Bricks and Blocks and the different services we
offer is an essential factor in making our business more successfulthan it is
now. In order to achieve great success in this crucial department, a creative and
innovative personwho is ready to face the challenges of the current
overwhelming construction industry is required. Responsiveness and adaptation
to change in the industry is essential and a manager who is adept in critical
thinking is a requisite.
After deliberation we have decided to conductexternal recruitment for this
managerial position and there are several reasons for this:
· New marketing ideas other than those that are already being implemented
are required. External recruitment offers greater possibility in finding a person
with fresh outlook which is required to remain competitive in the market.
· Word of a managerial spotoffer may attract employees with proven track
records from key competitors. This would allow our company to have an inside
view as to what our competitors are doing and give us the chance to remain a
step ahead.
The trainee will be selected based on his ability to:
· help differentiate our company from others
21. 20
· ensure that employees in the department have properproductknowledge
and are always ready to answer to customers and promote our company
· work with other members and proposethe best and most creative
advertisement campaigns about our company’s services
· determine the marketability of new services and equipment (BIM)
· find out the level of public interest for new services
· ensure company’s services to comply with state and federal regulations
· provide sales department reports
· think out of the box and show unique and creative thinking most of the
time
· understand social media well and use it to its fullest as a means of
communication
· communicate with customers and staff members
· create effective teams
· adapt to the organisations culture
Recruit 2: Financial manager
As the name suggests, the finance department in an organisation is one that is
responsible for all financial transactions. The importance of this department is
often overlooked as many people are not aware of its crucial role in the strategic
management of a business. Obtaining correct information from this department
22. 21
is essential for managers in alternative departments in taking strategic decisions
which may impact the future success of an organisation. In the construction
industry decisions like, which projects to pursue? and payback periods for large
capital purchases are very delicate issues which require much attention. Cash
flow forecasts, sourcing long term financing, analysing market trends and
tracking the organisations budget are a few vital information and responsibilities
required for taking such decisions.
Overlooking this department’s importance is not a mistake that we were ready
to make which is why offering finance managerial training was a necessity. This
position requires someone who is ready to take charge and accept responsibility
for all decisions. We have decided to conduct internal recruitment for this key
post and the reasons are as follows:
· We did not find it necessary to bare the higher costof external
recruitment when there are many staff members who could be fit for the job
after propertraining.
· Promoting a member of staff could boostmotivation throughout the
organisation as it will allow employees to realize that there is opportunity for
promotion.
· According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs people with higher level needs
such as self-actualization are motivated by achievement and challenging jobs.
Promoting a staff member who has achieved all of his lower level needs could
see the person’s motivation peak and result in high performance levels.
· An existing staff member would not have to bare the trouble of adapting
to the organisation culture.
23. 22
The trainee will be selected based on his ability to:
· Reportregularly on key numbers crucial to the success of the
organisation
· Prepare financial statements such as controlling income, cash flows and
expenditure
· Prepare budgeting costthat is amount of cashwhich is to be divided
among the various departments
· Be fully responsible for the financial health of the company
· Monitor financial details to ensure that legal requirements are met
· Review financial report and seek way to reduce cost
· Analyse market trends to maximise profits and find opportunities to
expand
· Communicate effectively so he/she can explain and justify complex
financial transactions
· Have an understanding of international finance
· Be detail oriented so that he/she can prepare and analyse reports such as
balance sheets, income statements and so on. He/she must be precise and
attentive to avoid silly mistakes
24. 23
· Think analytically to be able to look at situations accurately and
understand what it means and how it works
· Undertake research into pricing
Recruit 3: Human resources manager
The Human Resources Department manages a company’s mostvaluable
resource, the employees, in such a way that allows them to work effectively.
People carry out or are involved in most, if not all work activities in an
organisation. Therefore the importance of keeping staff members happy in an
organisation given their level of importance to the organisation itself is crucial.
Employee satisfaction is a key factor in our organisation and as a result ensuring
that we have a personcompetent enough to take charge of this department is
essential. In this time of development and recruitment we have realised
evermore the importance of having a good HR manager. As an ever growing
organisation, these events are good experiences which prepare us for the future.
In this case we realised that having a competent HR manager would have
facilitated the development process which is why we are doing everything in
our power to ensure that we accomplish this desire.
Again, we will be conducting internal recruitment for this vacancy, and the
reasons are as follows:
· Having a good idea of staff member personalities is advantageous
especially as the HR manager. Someone who has already been around
employees would have greater knowledge on staff member personalities
compared to someone recruited externally
The trainee will be selected based on his ability:
25. 24
· To be organised and have good communication skills to be able to present
the entire picture of the company to top executives
· To respond to rapidly changing dynamics of workforce in such a way that
outcome of is work is optimised
· To handle multitasking as he/she will have to deal with various situations
and issues on a daily basis
· To be discrete as he/she will be someone who will handle highly
confidential information. Also, the person has to make sure that policies and
regulations are being followed
· To have excellent judgement so as to ensure that right people are placed in
the right positions at the right time
· To have good negotiating skills to ensure that disputes among employees
are properly dealt with
· To have good-management skills so as to handle multiple tasks effectively
· To be low on neuroticism so that he can handle his emotions in stressful
situations and handle pressure at work
INTERVIEWS
Conducting job interviews allows the management of a company to assess a
potential employee and decide whether or not he is eligible for the job. During
the interview, the prospective employer conducts a number of activities which
he finds necessary in helping him make a well thought of decision.
For our recruitment process we prepared a set of activities to help us decide on
whether or not the the managerial prospects are fit for the job.
1) The manner level of each recruit was tested by seeing if they would take
a seat before being told to sit or before the person interviewing them,
26. 25
incase they are not told to. Although it is not practiced everywhere, sitting
before a person who is higher than you may be seen as disrespectful. This
small test is not a very obvious one but may give important hints about a
person’s attitude which is why we have decided to use it.
2) The second test is a more obvious one where we asked the recruits a
question based on a work scenario. The question asked was “You have
been assigned a major task and are halfway through when you realize that
you have made a mistake that requires you to go back to the beginning to
fix . How do you handle this knowing that the task needs to be completed
in a matter of days?” We chose this question as it will allow us to
understand how the personwill act in high pressure situations which
they will most definitely face while working.
3) Our final is another based on a scenario that we have created. As the
employees are walking out after thinking that they have completed the
interview, a 100 dollar bill will be placed on the floor in a position where
they will most definitely spotit. The obvious reactions of the recruits will
give us a good idea as to what type of person he/she is and will greatly
influence our decision on whether to acceptthem or not
