Enhancing the performance of architectural design firms through addressing the gap of workforce skills in developing countries: a good-to-great approach

Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman; Dana Ashraf Sokkar

doi:10.2478/otmcj-2018-0016

Figures & Tables

Hierarchy of leadership levels (developed by the authors).

Factors causing gap of workforce skills in ADFs.Abbreviation: ADFs, architectural design firms.

Averages regarding the good-to-great concept in ADFs.Abbreviation: ADFs, architectural design firms.

Detailed description of the framework_

Step 1	Diagnosing the current challenge of gap of workforce skills

Objective	To investigate the current challenges of gap of workforce skills of ADFs in developing countries
Activities	Studying the current status of gap of workforce skills of ADFs in developing countries
	Identifying the impact of this issue on the performance of ADFs
	Identifying, validating and classifying the challenges of gap of workforce skills of ADFs in developing countries
	Conducting an orientation meeting prior to the study to establish strategic issues (study location, team, budget, resources, etc.)
	Gaining decision makers and top management support to facilitate securing the needed resources, accepting and implementing the study decisions
	Defining performance management criteria
Tools and techniques	Literature review
	Survey questionnaires
	Interviews
	Case studies
	Decision makers and senior management support
	Brainstorming and team consensus
Involved personnel and needed resources	Decision makers
	Senior management
	Project managers
	Design and construction teams
	Different project stakeholders
	Training programmes
Output	Identified, validated and classified the current challenges of gap of workforce skills of ADFs in developing countries

Step 2	Identifying the good-to-great concept for implementation

Objective	To identify the good-to-great concept to be implemented for bridging the gap of workforce skills of ADFs in developing countries
Activities	Identifying the role that each good-to-great concept can play towards bridging the gap of ADFs in developing countries
Activities	Generating innovative ideas to facilitate the implementation of the identified concept
Tools and techniques	Brainstorming and team consensus
	Good-to-great concept
	Leadership
	First who then what
	Confront the brutal facts, yet never lose faith
	The hedgehog concept
	A culture of discipline
	Technology accelerators
	The flywheel and the doom loop
Involved personnel and needed resources	Decision makers
	Senior management
	Project managers
	Design and construction teams
	Different project stakeholders
	Training programmes
Output	Identified the good-to-great concept for bridging the gap of workforce skills of ADFs in developing countries

Step 3	Planning and implementing of the good-to-great concept

Objective	To plan and implement the identified good-to-great concept
Activities	Developing implementation plans including time, cost, quality, human resources, communication channels, risk, health and safety, waste, etc.
	Securing decision makers and senior management support
	Establishing corrective actions to adopt in case the developed plans are not executed as planned
Tools and techniques	Planning techniques and software
	Work authorization system to verify predecessor activities and permit the successor activity
	Performance management system
Involved personnel and needed resources	Decision makers
	Senior management
	Project managers
	Design and construction teams
	Different project stakeholders
	Training programmes
Output	Planning and implementation plans

Step 4	Monitoring and evaluating the obtained results

Objective	To monitor and evaluate the results obtained from the planning and implementation step
Activities	Measuring the results against the performance measures developed earlier
Activities	Identifying and evaluating the causes of failure and issues that resulted in deviation from the original plans
Tools and techniques	Change control procedures
	Financial control procedures
	Issue and defect management procedures defining issue and defect controls, issue and defect
	Identification and resolution and action item tracking
Involved personnel and needed resources	Decision makers
	Senior management
	Project managers
	Design and construction teams
	Different project stakeholders
	Training programmes
Output	Action plans and corrective actions to overcome the issues raised during the implementation of the good-to-great concept

Step 5	Implementing corrective actions and closing out

Objective	To implement the corrective actions developed during the previous step and close out projects
Activities	Implementing corrective actions
	Documenting learned lessons and sharing them with decision makers, design and construction teams and related project stakeholders
	Obtaining acceptance of senior management of ADFs to formally close the project or phase
	Performing team members’ assessment and releasing project resources
Tools and techniques	Expert judgement
	Reporting
	Knowledge management
Involved personnel and needed resources	Decision makers
	Senior management
	Project managers
	Design and construction teams
	Different project stakeholders
	Training programmes
Output	Successfully bridging the gap of workforce skills of ADFs in developing countries

Types and characteristics of leadership levels_

Type of leader	Characteristics
Level 1: highly capable individual	The “highly capable individual” is a person who must be capable of making productive contribution using his/her talent, knowledge, skills and good work habits (Collins 2001)
Level 2: contributing team members	In this level, the leader must be able to work effectively within teams to achieve the group objectives (Collins 2001).Level 2 leadership is not far from level 1, instead, the scope of contributions is slowly getting wider. Level 1 leader must be able to make productive contributions, whereas level 2 leader must be able to make productive contributions within a group and to achieve the group objectives
Level 3: competent manager	A “competent manager” must be able to manage and organize people and resources to work effectively to reach the organization goal (Collins 2001). In this level, a competent manager must be more matured and must understand that time is not money, but time is the measure of work done by the organization (Bassett 2015). Moreover, he/she must know that the company does demand not only for materials but also for skilled labour
Level 4: effective leader	In this level, the leader must get the organization with high performance standards (Collins 2001). The effective leader must have a strong personality and expert communication skills, know what the organization wants and know how to achieve it. The effective leader must be honest and trust worthy. He must motivate and encourage employees to reach the organization’s desired mission (Ulrich and Smallwood 2012)
Level 5: the great leader	In this level, the leader must develop all the levels of the leadership pyramid. He/she must be the one who builds a great company through a paradox combination of “humility” and “professional will”. Level 5 leaders usually put their egos away and work for making an organization great (Collins 2001)

Comparison of case studies against the good-to-great concept_

No.	Case study	Level 5 leadership	First who then what	Confront the brutal facts and never lose faith	The hedgehog concept	A culture of discipline	Technology accelerators	The flywheel and the doom loop
1.	Bethlehem Steel	×	×	×	×	×	✓	✓
2.	Nucor Steel	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Enhancing the performance of architectural design firms through addressing the gap of workforce skills in developing countries: a good-to-great approach

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1

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Detailed description of the framework_

Types and characteristics of leadership levels_

Comparison of case studies against the good-to-great concept_

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