Skills Required for Growth: China Railway Construction Corporation - Case Study Example

Personal Portfolio Analysis Table of Contents Analysis of Specific and Generic Skills 3 China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) 3 Specific and Generic Skills Required for Growth 3 Bouygues Group 4 Specific and Generic Skills Required for Growth 4 Larsen & Toubro 4 Specific and Generic Skills Required for Growth 4 2. Reflective Analysis 5 Skills Sets 5 Skills Gaps 6 3. Comparative Analysis of Three Qualitative Analysis 6 Overview of the Construction Industry Features and Drivers 6 Brief Company Profile 7 China Railway Construction Corporation Limited 7 Bouygues Group 7 Larsen & Toubro 7 Analysis of Three Qualitative Interviews 7 Justification of Choosing these Employers 9 Summary of the Range of Skills Required 9 Reference List 10 1. Analysis of Specific and Generic Skills The essay will reflect the comparative analysis of specific and generic skills which are required for the construction industry. The chosen companies are Larsen & Toubro, Bouygues Group and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) which are situated in India, Thailand and China. China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) CRCC is viewed as the second biggest construction company in China and the world’s leading construction contractor in terms of total revenue (Crcc, 2011). Specific and Generic Skills Required for Growth As CRCC is a construction company so, the specific and generic skills which are required for its growth and success will be the increasing utilisation of the IT skills, enhanced management skill, team working and quality improvement skill. Increasing utilisation of the IT skills: The use of the information technology is widespread across all the sectors, especially in the construction sector. The employment of the communication and the networking technologies will provide the workers of CRCC with enhanced knowledge of embracing those technologies in the field of construction and project design (Black and Lynch, 2010). It will help to drive the growth of CRCC. Enhanced management skills: There is a requirement of enhanced management skills among the managers of CRCC in order to excel productivity. If the managers will supervise the works and problems of their employees in an efficient way then they will put more effort in their work and this will increase the productivity of the enterprise (Winch, 2010). Team working: Team working is one of the important generic skills required to drive growth of an enterprise. Working in team will provide the workers of CRCC to handle the problem jointly which are arising in the workplace (Winch, 2010). Quality improvement skills: CRCC is known for its innovation and sincerity as well as for providing excellent quality to the people. These features help the enterprise to have strong execution, cohesion as well as combat effectiveness (Crcc, 2011). So, if CRCC will do more improvement in its technology and innovation then it will attain growth more rapidly. Bouygues Group The Bouygues Group was originally founded in Hong Long, but through its Civil Engineering and Construction subsidiaries, the enterprise has spread its operations all over the Thailand, Asia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Australia and South Korea. Bouygues Group mainly specialises in real estate development, construction, telecommunication and media services (Dragages, 2015). Specific and Generic Skills Required for Growth Communication skills: Need for the communication skills is becoming main concern for most of the employers. Bouygues Group will be advantaged by improving the communication skills in order to enhance the customer service. Better communication is essential among the workforce as it will allow them to provide service in a better way (Green, Ashton and Felstead, 2001). Management skills: The management department of Bouygues Group may face certain challenges such as competitive pressures, technological transformations and organisational restructuring. All these challenges raise the need for management skills for the managers of Bouygues Group. Efficient management skills will allow the supervisors and managers to handle the situation more efficiently (Briscoe, Dainty and Millett, 2001). Problem solving skills: There is a requirement of problem solving skills for the managers and workers of Bouygues Group. It will help them to take important decisions on time regarding the execution of project (Sekaran, 2006). Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is a main construction, technology, engineering, financial and manufacturing services firm. It addresses crucial needs in main sectors such as infrastructure, process industries, hydrocarbon, defence and power for the customers in more than 30 nations around the world (Larsentoubro, 2015). Specific and Generic Skills Required for Growth Information technology skills: The level of requirement of information technology skills differs, and it is significant to make the difference between the usage levels. In the construction sector, the importance of information technology skills has been grown to a large extent. More engagement of IT skills will drive the growth of Larsen & Toubro (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). Flexibility skills: The Company should offer flexibility in its business operations. Providing flexibility will assist the employees to carry out their work in more efficient way (Robbins et al, 2013). Customer service skills: How a business treats its customer is an important concern because it helps to turn the random customer into the loyal customer. Larsen & Toubro may require customer service skills to draw more customer and this will help to increase the revenue of the company. The company can provide their customer with products of superior quality and in return it will add value to the company (Abu-ELSamen et al, 2011). Improvement in the customer service skills will also facilitate in building the reputation of Larsen & Toubro. 2. Reflective Analysis As all the three companies are involved in the construction, technology and engineering activities so, according to me the skills set required for these enterprises will be the management skill for the role of project manager, designing skill for the role of structural engineer and architect, communication skills to enhance customer service, team working skills to handle the problem jointly and the planning skill to become an efficient planner (El-Sabaa, 2001). Skills Sets I am good at managing and organising the work. My organisational and management skills will help me to enhance my management and designing skills in order to become an efficient project managers, structural engineer or architect. My management skill will enable me to handle the works and problems in a better way in order to increase productivity. It will help me to manage the problem of workers efficiently. My organisational skills will enable me to spend a smaller amount of time in fixing and correcting the mistakes. It will assist in making an efficient team, which will assist in dealing with the problem mutually which are arising in the workplace (Hartog and Verburg, 2004). My organisational and management skills will help me to become a project manager or a structural engineer. As a project manager, I will be able to hand over tasks to most capable employee. Trust is very important to carry out the relationship between the project manager and their team. In my opinion, a project manager should have the problem solving and the team building skills (El-Sabaa, 2001). I believe than I have both of the skills and this will enable me to handle the problem arsing in the team and solve it in an efficient way. These skills will help me to take important decisions on time regarding the execution of project. It will also assist me to design the project proficiently. These skills are very important for the roles of structural engineer or architect. Skills Gaps Besides having some skills sets, I also believe that I lack in some field and this give rise to the skill gaps. I have discovered that good communication and planning skills are required to become a part of the construction industry. I am not good at speaking English, which is an important factor for better communication. Inefficient communication will affect the planning process as better communication with top management and middle level employees is required to do a better planning. Therefore, I realised that I need to improve my English because it will indirectly affect my management skills. Ineffective communication will hinder the growth and efficiency of the enterprise. My inefficient communication skill will also hamper the operations of the business as it may result in poor customer service. Further, it will result in poor presentation and ambiguous instruction on the projects will affect the planning of the project. 3. Comparative Analysis of Three Qualitative Analysis Overview of the Construction Industry Features and Drivers Construction industry is considered as a widely dispersed and heterogeneous industry where the products do not share the identical features with restricted scope for productivity growth (Pinto, Nunes and Ribeiro, 2011). Construction industry offers customised products accompanied with extraordinary characteristics such as complexity, immobility, costliness and durability. Construction companies require the capacity to implement projects quickly in order to build and design facilities that are green or environmentally sustainable (Yang, Shen and Ho, 2009). The key drivers for development are the real estate as well as the infrastructure sector. Half of the demand or requirement for the construction industry comes from the infrastructure sector and most of them come from the real estate sector. The public sector decided to invest huge amount in the transportation segment including railways, roadways as well as in the telecommunication segment to excel growth of the economy (Dubois and Gadde, 2002). Brief Company Profile China Railway Construction Corporation Limited CRCC is the largest and most powerful construction company of the world, ranked 80 in the Fortune Global 500. It has also acquired the top position in 250 International Contractors in the year 2013. It is viewed as the largest contractor especially in China (Crcc, 2011). The customer portfolio comprises of multinational companies, large companies as well as medium and small enterprises. The key performance indicators are the revenue, earnings per share, net profit and the cash flow from the operating activities. These factors have increased significantly presenting the growth of the enterprise (Annual Report, 2013). Bouygues Group Bouygues Group has its presence in more than 80 countries and it provides work for over 133,800 employees. It is the third largest enterprise in the Europe (Financial Report, 2014). The customer base includes large and multinational companies and the key performance indicators are the net revenue and the net profit. Both has shown an increase of 4% from the previous year (Bouygues Construction, 2014) Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro is the leading construction and technology firm in India. It had built a powerful position as a top provider to construction and engineering services in India (Morningstar, 2015). The customer portfolio includes banks, multinational companies, medium as well as small enterprises (L&T Finance, 2013). The net revenue of the company is considered as the key performance indicator (Morningstar, 2015). Analysis of Three Qualitative Interviews Interview with Nattapol Seangmongkol On carrying out the interview with Nattapol Seangmongkol who is a project engineer, it has been analysed that the construction industry will have a considerable growth in Thailand because the construction rate has been augmented there. In the Thailand, innovation and improved technologies are embraced in the companies under construction sector, which will make the process of construction more efficient and effective. It has also been explored that the entry barrier for the new entrants in case of construction industry will be medium in Thailand. This is because there are several construction firms and all of them include experience in the construction industry. However, the new entrants can start their business as a subcontractor and can share few work or occupation from the major contractor. As a start, the can do the general work like making footpath or painting a road. Interview with Yingqiang Liang An interview with Yingqiang Liang, who is a construction manager, helped to have an idea of building staff motivation in order to keep them through the project. The first thing which is required is to admire the attitude and behaviour of staff. Admiring staff provides benefit to the employer in order to have knowledge of their attitudes. It further assists to motivate the workers to become more responsible towards their work and it help to increase the efficiency of workforce and the productivity of the enterprise. From the interview, it has been discovered that it is very important to listen to the opinion and suggestions of the staff. This is because if managers listen to the worker’s opinion then they have the feeling to be heard and then they are more motivated towards their work. On asking if the company will face quality issue, have the budget constraint or will face delay in receiving the order, then what will be the first thing done by them. He responded that the very first thing considered by him will be the customer benefit. The managers need to complete the mission on time although it is over the budget. This is because trust is everything and customers have certain level of expectation from the company. Therefore, they need to deliver the product of superior quality on time because without the support of customer, the business cannot become sustainable. Interview with Sundar Arumugam On carrying out an interview with Sundar Arumugam, who is a managing director, it has been discovered that in India, there is dissimilarity in the project management application in the private and public sector. In India, project management is becoming extensively accepted in both the private and public sectors. There comes difference in the activity of implementation, requirements, funds, scope of work and infrastructure. All these aspects are better in the private sector in comparison to the public sector. Further, it has been identified that to become a project manager, one should have positive mind as becoming a project manager is not an easy task. An individual should have an ability to overcome the problems and issues and should reach the finish line under any circumstances. Moreover, the challenges which are faced by tem may affect their professional as well as personal life so, they should have the ability to deal with the issues and challenges in a proper way. On questioning that whether experience is required to become a project manager, he responded that, if anything which is needed is to have confidence, courage and trust in oneself. Justification of Choosing these Employers These employers are chosen for the interview because they are the project engineer, construction manager and managing director of the construction company from Thailand, China and India. The interview helped to know the structure and prospects of the construction companies which are situated in three different countries. An interview with Nattapol Seangmongkol who is a project engineer in one of the construction company of Thailand focused on the fact that construction industry will have a considerable growth in Thailand in the coming years. An interview with Yingqiang Liang, who is a construction manager in one of the Chinese construction company helped to know that building staff motivation and providing customer satisfaction is very important to achieve success. Furthermore, an interview with Sundar Arumugam, who is a managing director of Bhoomi and Buildings Pvt. Ltd., focuses on the fact that there is a difference in the project management application in the private and public sector in India. In this way, the chosen employers assisted to have knowledge of the important factors of the construction companies in these three different countries. Summary of the Range of Skills Required It has been analysed that for the role of project manager the skills required are good communicating skill, problem solving skill and the team building skill. Good communication skill will help to communicate the details of the project from top management to middle level employees. The team building skill will assist in making an efficient team, which will further help in dealing with the problem mutually which are arising in the workplace. The problem solving skill enables to handle the problem arsing in the team and solve it in an efficient way. Efficient management skills will allow the managers to handle the situation more efficiently and to excel productivity. The IT skills will allow the employees to embrace the technologies in the field of construction and project design. Moreover, the customer service skills help the construction company to provide their customer with products of superior quality and in return it will add value to the company. Reference List Abu-ELSamen, A. A., Akroush, M. N., Al-Khawaldeh, F. M. and Al-Shibly, M. S., 2011. Towards an integrated model of customer service skills and customer loyalty: The mediating role of customer satisfaction. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 21(4), pp.349-380. Annual Report, 2013. China Railway Construction Corporation Limited : 2013 Annual Report. [pdf] Available at: < http://english.crcc.cn/Portals/4/2014-4-28%202013%20Annual%20Report.pdf> [Accessed 19 June 2015]. Black, S. E. and Lynch, L. M., 2004. Whats driving the new economy?: the benefits of workplace innovation. The Economic Journal, 114(493), pp.97-116. Bouygues Construction, 2014. Key Points : Bouygues Construction. [pdf] Available at: < http://www.dragages.com.sg/sites/default/files/ckeditorfiles/key_points_2014_bouygues_construction.pdf> [Accessed 19 June 2015]. Briscoe, G., Dainty, A. R. and Millett, S., 2001. Construction supply chain partnerships: skills, knowledge and attitudinal requirements. European Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, 7(4), pp.243-255. Crcc, 2011. China Railway Construction Corporation Limited. [online] Available at: http://english.crcc.cn/Page/525/default.aspx.> [Accessed 19 June 2015]. Dubois, A. and Gadde, L. E., 2002. The construction industry as a loosely coupled system: implications for productivity and innovation. Construction Management & Economics, 20(7), pp.621-631. Dragages, 2015. The Bouygues Group. [online] Available at: < http://www.dragages.com.sg/en/content/bouygues-group-2> [Accessed 19 June 2015]. El-Sabaa, S., 2001. The skills and career path of an effective project manager. International journal of project management, 19(1), pp.1-7. Financial Report, 2014. Bouygues Construction : Financial Report 2014. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 19 June 2015]. Goetsch, D. L. and Davis, S. B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Green, F., Ashton, D. and Felstead, A., 2001. Estimating the determinants of supply of computing, problem‐solving, communication, social, and teamworking skills. Oxford Economic Papers, 53(3), pp.406-433. Hartog, D. N. and Verburg, R. M., 2004. High performance work systems, organisational culture and firm effectiveness. Human Resource Management Journal, 14(1), pp.55-78. L&T Finance, 2013. L&T Finance : About Us. [online] Available at: < http://www.ltfinance.com/about-us/overview.aspx> [Accessed 19 June 2015]. Morningstar, 2015. Even without an economic moat, L&T is still poised for robust growth both at home and abroad. [online] Available at: < http://www.morningstar.in/stocks/0p0000aubd/bse-larsen-toubro-limited/equity-research.aspx> [Accessed 19 June 2015]. Pinto, A., Nunes, I. L. and Ribeiro, R. A., 2011. Occupational risk assessment in construction industry–Overview and reflection. Safety Science, 49(5), pp.616-624. Robbins, S., Judge, T. A., Millett, B. and Boyle, M., 2013. Organisational behaviour. New Delhi: Pearson Education. Sekaran, U., 2006. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Winch, G. M., 2010. Managing construction projects. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Yang, J., Shen, Q. and Ho, M., 2009. An overview of previous studies in stakeholder management and its implications for the construction industry. Journal of facilities management, 7(2), pp.159-175. Read More