Abstract
The focus of the cost management literature is almost exclusively on technical issues, with scant attention to its social, political and organisational dimensions. In this paper the authors document research examining the design team as a temporary management structure, with emphasis on the efficacy of the cost management system as a vehicle for attaining client objectives with respect to time, cost and quality. Soft systems methodology is used to explore the perceptions of stakeholders to the cost management system, thus developing conceptual models of the theory and practice of cost management. Significant differences were found to exist between the perceptions of individual stakeholders concerning design team participants, participants’ roles, and the very purpose of the cost management system. Recommendations are made for structural, attitudinal and procedural changes to the cost management system in order to facilitate its effective functioning in the achievement of the client’s needs and objectives.
Highlights
Participants to construction projects are faced with sets of interacting problems, ranging from the technical and organisational to the social and political (Flanagan and Tate, 1997)
Pilot interviews were undertaken with three architectural practices, three quantity surveying practices, three client organisations and three contracting organisations who are actively involved in the construction industry in South Africa
It is noteworthy that the contractor group indicated that ‘valuable cost related information can be provided by the contractor during the design stage’ and that this is one of the major reasons for design team’s inability to meet the client’s needs
Summary
Participants to construction projects are faced with sets of interacting problems, ranging from the technical and organisational to the social and political (Flanagan and Tate, 1997) These problems all embrace concerns about the environment within which they function, the framework of society, the roles of the key players, and the motivation of the individuals involved (Flood and Jackson, 1991). It is in this environment that the quantity surveyor, as a professional consultant in the construction industry, is expected to fulfil a competent cost management role for the design team, and for the client. Once client objectives have been established, a fundamental aspect of the procurement process that requires early attention is the selection of the most appropriate organisational structure (procurement system) for the design and construction of the project (Masterman, 1992)
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