Lend Lease Graduate Application - Essay Example

Lend Lease Graduate Application Introduction The significance of career aspirations on one’s career choices and path cannot be underrated. Often, the aspirations are founded on an admiration formed from observing how an entity or an individual works. Other times, one’s career aspirations may be triggered by a need to fill an existing gap in the society (Munchinsky & Monahan, 1987). In this writer’s case, the career aspirations were founded on the successes of Lend Lease, and especially how the company has managed to infuse sustainability in its operations. Notably, pursuing profitability while still pursuing sustainable practices may seem like a contradiction of interests to external observers. However, it is this distinction that makes Lend Lease a model company and a rich source of experience especially for fresh graduates who are starting off in their careers. Notably, the world, and Australia in specific, can benefit greatly from sustainable practices. As such, the lessons that employees attain from working at Lend Lease will not only affect other parts of their lives, but will most likely be transferred wherever such employees find employment in future. Why Lend Lease? The question about why the writer finds Lend Lease a more befitting workplace compared to others in and around Sydney can be well explained using the person-job fit theory. The person-job fit theory indicates that people are attracted to jobs or workplaces where they believe that their skills, abilities and knowledge will be utilized in meeting the job or workplace demands (Munchinsky & Monahan, 1987). Additionally, the theory indicates that people are drawn to organizations where their expectations, values and needs will be addressed through the different aspects of the job. Some of the author’s desired career outcomes include advancing in professionalism; learning new skills, competencies and obtaining new abilities; enhancing his employability prospects in future; attaining job-satisfaction, self-actualization and even recognition for innovative practices; and attaining a work-life balance, hence a good quality of life. Based on the corporate governance principles at Lend Lease, there is little doubt that the writer can manage to realize his desired learning outcomes. For instance, Lend Lease has indicated that its cares about the employee learning and development needs and such would address the author’s need to obtain new competencies and abilities. As indicated in the introductory part, Lend Lease is a model company that any fresh graduate or even people who have been in the industry would want to work for. One of the key reasons that one would cite for the attractiveness that the company has among young career people as well as the established professionals is its innovative practices. A notable practice is the acclaimed green innovation, which Lend Lease accomplished through the construction of the Darling Quarter’s Commonwealth Bank Place (Green Building Council Australia (GBCA, 2012). Based on the green innovation, Lend Lease was awarded the ‘6 Star Green Star –Office as Built v3’ rating. The green innovation was an illustration of the commitment that Lend Lease has to attain sustainability not only through its construction processes, but also through the final architectural products. Although the green innovation is in itself a sufficient enough reason to attract employee prospects to the company, this writer is especially fascinated by the fact that Lend Lease has indicated its desire to continue “to push the boundaries of sustainable development” (GBCA, 2012, para 3). Such sentiments are a hallmark of a company that does not rest on its prevailing success, but realizes that there is a lot more that can be attained with a little more innovative effort. It is therefore likely that employees working therein will be part of the innovative processes, and will not only be contributors to the successes, but also beneficiaries of the same. Following the company’s innovative trend, one can clearly tell that environmental sustainability has been part of its core business strategies. Some of the buildings that indicate that Lend Lease is a pace setter in the industry include ’30 The Bond’ building and ‘The Gauge’. 30 The Bond was completed in 2004, and was the first office building located within Sydney’s central business area to commit to “a 5 star energy rating with lower CO2 emissions than a typical office building” (Lend Lease, 2011a, para 5). In April 2009, Lend Lease once again lived to its innovative trend by completing The Gauge. The latter is based in Melbourne, and was the first “6 Star Green Star -Office as Built v2 building” in Australia (GBCA, 2009, para, 3). This innovative trend means that working in the company would not only enable one to integrates their innovative ideas in the company’s projects, but would also act as an eye-opener for most fresh graduates seeking to attain some field experience. The Lend Lease Graduate Program Going back to the person-job fit theory referred to earlier in this submission, one can easily relate the experience that a graduate seeking to kick-start his career would expect to gain from Lend Lease. In the company’s website, it is stated that the graduate program seeks to recruit people who are “as excited about the industry” as the company (Lend Lease, 2011b, para 3). In other words, the company is willing to give graduates who would like to find solutions to the challenges and information gaps that exist within the industry a chance to challenge themselves and if possible, provide some solutions to identified problems or challenges. The graduate program is no doubt a platform where theoretically adept students can test their skills and find out if they are indeed workable, and if not, come up with solutions, which not only benefit the company, but may even contribute to theoretical knowledge through documenting the differences between theory and practice. Any person intent on pursuing a career would most likely want to get first-hand experience from companies that have overcome limiting industry-norms and still remained competitive. Additionally, and is apparent in human resource management theory, contemporary organizations that acknowledge the strategic role of the human capital always proposer. As is evident from the Lend Lease’s graduate program, the company not only offers graduate or undergraduate students the jobs experience, but also enrols them for a Diploma in Management. This is sufficient evidence that the company realizes that employees are one of its greatest assets. As a person who is interested in a project management and construction position, this writer would specifically benefit from the Diploma in Management course. The learning opportunities, which include formal and informal mentoring and on-the-job training, are also other avenues that make Lend Lease the organization of choice for this writer. The opportunities, chances and circumstances provided by Lend Lease are undoubtedly some of the qualities that make it an attractive company to this writer. The learning and development initiatives provided by the company are an indication that it would be willing to recruit a person who has conscientiousness and achievement motivation as the two guiding traits. To come up with the trend-setting sustainable architectural designs, it is rather clear that Lend Lease emphasized the role of technical professionalism and innovative practices over other things such as power games and organizational hierarchies. Such indications allude to the fact that the company has a culture that values achievement, hard work and accuracy among other positive attributes represented in its workforce. Its informal and informal mentoring programs as indicated in its website is also an indication that the company realizes that the innovative trend it champions for the sake of sustainability and other architectural and engineering solutions, can make the workforce frustrated especially when solutions are not forthcoming as fast or as easily as the stakeholders would want. Through mentorship however, it is clear that the organization is focused on ensuring that its workforce persists with the hard work, and that they also uphold organization, dependability and perseverance as some of the qualities that make innovations possible. Looking from the inside-in, this writer has little doubt that Lend Lease would make an ideal employer not for only new graduates, but also existing professionals whose innovative capabilities are limited by the inflexible organizational cultures that some companies still uphold. The writer specifically admires the fact that the risk-taking that involved going against conventional unsustainable project construction techniques did not make Lend Lease less willing to try out new innovations. Fortunately, the company’s willingness to be a risk-taker has made it a pioneering company in regard to sustainable housing development in Australia. As indicated by the apparent eagerness of the public to occupy buildings constructed using sustainable developments (See Hampton, 2011), this trend will indubitably increase the demand for Lend Lease’s expertise, hence giving it more businesses in future. Evidently, any costs incurred in the research and development phases where the innovations were discovered will be offset by the increasing business prospects for the company. Additionally, one cannot deny that sustainable architectural development provides ‘added value’ to property owners or tenants since their spending on things such as air-conditioning and indoor lighting is significantly reduced. The Sydney location The fact that Lend Lease has locations in Sydney is another reason why this writer finds it as an ideal company for the graduate program. Although a less-important reason compared to the job experience and learning opportunities that the writer stands to gain from working in the company, honesty demands that the writer reveals this underlying motivation. As indicated in the person-job fit theory cited herein, most people will go for jobs that they think they have the knowledge, abilities and skills to handle competitively, and those that address their needs. In this writer’s case, convenience is a lesser need, but all the same important. If admitted to the Lend Lease graduate program, the writer will not need to relocate, or make any major adjustments in his living arrangements. As indicated, it is a convenience issue, which may after all affect how well the applicant performs on the job. Specifically, one cannot completely ignore the impact that some of the seemingly trivial subjects of one’s social life may have on their performance on more substantial areas of their lives. Finally, Lend Lease makes it clear to all people interested in working for the company what its values are; they are identified as integrity, respect, collaboration, excellence and innovation (Lend Lease, 2011c). Additionally, and based on the human resource development programs, one can infer that the company is interested in recruiting people who are ready to learn, who admit that no one person can know everything, and who are willing to be challenged towards innovation. Lend Lease’s culture does not just end there but it is evident that the company encourages creativity and innovation, and is also flexible enough to encourage people to challenge prevailing industry norms. In the three main projects identified in this submission, i.e. The Gauge’, ‘30 The Bond’ and ‘Darling Quarter’, it is also evident that the company is willing to partner with different stakeholders in order to deliver sustainable solutions to the building and construction industry. Analyzing the overall Lend Lease culture from an observatory perspective indicates that the company is definitely a good place to learn, innovate, and be part of a large work team that is bent on providing lasting solutions to the sustainability challenges facing Australia’s building and construction industry. In conclusion however, the writer must note that the person-job fit theory is two sided, i.e. there are two parts that are considered in the theory; the person part, and the job part. For the significant part of this submission, the writer has focused on the job part. This is not to mean that the person part of the equation is less significant. Notably, and although this may not be an objective conclusion given that it is a personal analysis, the writer must conclude by stating that he possess the qualities of a logical thinker, enjoys working in teams, is always eager to learn and prove himself, likes being held accountable for his efforts, and enjoys a sense of accomplishment whenever he satisfactorily finishes a task. Based on the identified reasons, the writer therefore believes that a chance to work at Lend Lease would be a mutually beneficial encounter, given that he would acquire knowledge and job experience and simultaneously contribute positively to the organization’s objectives. References GBCA 2009, ‘The Gauge officially Australia’s greenest building’, Green Building Council Australia, viewed April 07, 2012, < http://www.gbca.org.au/news/the-gauge-officially-australias-greenest-building/1955.htm> GBCA 2012, ‘Lend Lease delivers Australian first for green innovation’, Green Building Council Australia, viewed April 07, 2012< http://www.gbca.org.au/news/industry-news/lend-lease-delivers-australian-first-for-green-innovation/33868.htm> Hampton, A 2011, ‘Designing user-friendly passive building’, Environment Design Guide, vol. 67, May, pp. 1-10. Lend Lease 2011a, ’30 The Bond’, Lend Lease Corporation, viewed April 07, 2012, < http://www.lendlease.com/en/Group/Lend-Lease/Australia/Projects/30-the-bond.aspx> Lend Lease 2011b, ‘Graduate programs’, Lend Lease Corporation, viewed April 07, 2012, < http://www.lendlease.com/en/Group/Lend-Lease/Worldwide/Careers/graduate-program.aspx> Lend Lease 2011c, ‘Our values’, Lend Lease Corporation, viewed April 07, 2012, < http://www.lendlease.com/en/Group/Lend-Lease/Worldwide/About-Us/values.aspx> Muchinsky, P M, & Monahan, C J 1987, ‘What is person-environment congruence? Supplementary versus complementary models of fit’, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 268-277. Read More