Sui Pheng Low

Yomi Babatunde

This book explores China’s global competitiveness in the building of infrastructures with a particular interest in the resource-rich African countries. The book begins with a comprehensive literature review on total quality management (TQM) and national culture, followed by reviews of the construction industries in China and Nigeria. This provides better understanding of the linkages between TQM, based on the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 9000 quality management systems (QMS), and national culture, based on Emeritus Professor Geert Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions. Premised on the culture-specificity and bi-directionality relationships between TQM and national culture, this book investigates the construction industries in China and Nigeria including their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) as well as an appraisal of their historical and emerging relationships. In its conceptual approach, this book presents different models in the lead up to its primary theoretical contribution of a quality management assessment model (QMAM) that was adopted during the study’s field work. The book also presents relevant lessons relating to cross cultural management and quality performance not only to the Nigerians but also other foreign players in Nigeria’s construction industry.

Chinese Construction Firms in Nigeria

Cross-Cultural Management and Quality Performance

Lu Chang Peh

The book explains how Gravitational Distance and the System of Cities influence transnational construction-related firms when they venture overseas. The study presented in the book internalizes the characteristics of home and foreign cities, and of transnational firms, to develop situational business strategies and organization designs in terms of Strategy, Structure, Systems, Leadership Style, Firm’s Skills, Staff’s characteristics, Shared Values and Supply Chain. The book presents the findings of surveys and interviews with managers and professionals in eight different Asian cities stretching from Singapore to China. The findings are then used to develop business solutions in the form of a Decision Support System (DSS) for transnational construction firms, helping them to adopt an appropriate organization design strategy when they venture into overseas markets. Issues relating to globalization, competitiveness, risk management, communications, networks, government interference, business strategies, organization structures and systems in the context of international construction business are discussed together with corresponding recommendations for implementation. Although construction-related firms were used as the basis for the field studies, the lessons learned are equally applicable for organizations in other industries.

Organization Design for International Construction Business

Shang Gao

The book presents a mixed research method adopted to assess and present the Toyota Way practices within construction firms in general and for firms in China specifically. The results of an extensive structured questionnaire survey based on the Toyota Way-styled attributes identified were developed and data collected from building professionals working in construction firms is presented. The quantitative data presented in the book explains the status quo of the Toyota Way-styled practices implemented in the construction industry, as well as the extent to which these attributes were perceived for lean construction management. The book highlights all the actionable attributes derived from the Toyota Way model appreciated by the building professionals, but alerts the readers that some attributes felled short of implementation. Further findings from in-depth interviews and case studies are also presented in the book to provide to readers an understanding how these Toyota Way practices can be implemented in real-life projects. Collectively, all the empirical findings presented in this book can serve to enhance understanding of Toyota Way practices in the lean construction management context. The readers are then guided through to understand the gaps between actual practice and Toyota Way-styled practices, and the measures that they may undertake to circumvent the challenges for implementation. The book also presents to readers the SWOT analysis that addresses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats towards the implementation of the Toyota Way in the construction industry. The book prescribes the Toyota Way model for use in construction firms to strategically implement lean construction management. The checklist presented in the book enables readers to draw lessons that may be used additionally as a holistic assessment tool for measuring the maturity of firms with respect to their Toyota Way implementation. Consequent to this, management would then be in a better position to develop plans for Toyota Way implementation by focusing on weak areas, strengthening them, and thus increasing the likelihood of success in the implementation of the Toyota Way. In a nutshell, this book provides a comprehensive and valuable resource for firms not only in the construction industry but also businesses outside of the construction sector to better understand the Toyota Way and how this understanding can translate to implementation of lean construction/business management to enhance profitability and survivability in an increasingly competitive global market place.

Sui Pheng Low

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