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School of Architecture, Building and Design
Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)
March Intake 2014
Semester 3
MGT 60203 – Management Science
Group Assignment
Lecturer – Ms. Tay Shir Men
Group Members Student ID No.
Sharon Chow Ci Yung 0313387
Muhammad Haziq Bin Haji Abd Zariful 0314131
Lee Qian Ying 0313749
Lee Pui Sun 0314584
Eley Chong Shu Hui 0319458
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Table of Content
Task 1 Pg.
1.0 Company Background 4
1.1 Vision of Supreme Construction 5
1.1.1 What is Vision Statement? 5
1.1.2 Vision 5
1.2 Mission of Supreme Construction 6
1.2.1 What is Mission Statement? 6
1.2.2 Missions 6
1.3 Goals of Supreme Construction 7
1.3.1 Long-term Goal 7
1.3.2 Mid-term Goal 7
1.3.3 Short-term Goal 7
1.4 Organizational Structure of Supreme Construction 8
1.5 Job Responsibilities of Each Role in Supreme Construction 9
1.5.1 Accounting and Finance Manager 9
1.5.2 Construction Department 10
1.5.3 Engineering Department 11
1.5.4 Human Resources Department 12
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Task 2 Pg.
2.0 Project Manager Recruitment 13
2.0.1 Primary Duties and Responsibilities of Project Manager 13
2.0.2 Job Skills and Requirements for Project Manager 14
2.1 Interview Activities 15
2.1.1 Group Assessment 15-18
2.1.2 Individual Interview 19-22
Task 3
3.0 What is Information Technology? 23
3.1 What is Information Management? 23
3.2 Problems Faced in Information Management 23
3.3 IT and IM Aids Used by Supreme Construction 24
3.3.1 eM Client 24
3.3.2 Filing System 25
4.0 References 26-28
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Task 1
1.0 Company Background
Figure 1.0 Logo of Supreme Construction
Supreme Construction is a sub-contractor company that specializes in
polymer flooring. Our company was founded by 5 quantity surveyors, Lee Qian
Ying, Lee Pui Sun, Haziq Zariful, Eley Chong and Sharon Chow. Since our
inception back in 2000, we have taken on numerous projects that vary in sizes.
As one of the only polymer flooring specialists in Malaysia, we vowed to bring
only world-class quality with a reasonable price tag.
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1.1 Vision of Supreme Construction
1.1.1 What is a Vision Statement?
A vision statement defines the optimal desired future state the mental
picture of what an organization wants to achieve over and provides guidance and
inspiration as to what an organization is focused on achieving in five, ten, or
more years (Evans, 2010).
1.1.2 Vision
“Our Goal is to become the Premier Construction Company in Southeast Asia”
As a company who only started 15 years ago, we might not be in the
criteria where we are being classified as the pioneer of the industry but we
definitely are one of those experienced once. After serving for more than a
decade, our goal in the long is to become the leading construction in Southeast
Asia. The construction industry in Southeast Asia is rather competitive as we
face strong competitions from our neighbouring countries, for instance,
Singapore and Thailand. This vision acts as the catalyst for our company’s
growth over the years as it acts as in inspiration for not just the Board of
Directors but every single one of our employees.
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1.2 Mission of Supreme Construction
1.2.1 What is a Mission Statement?
A mission statement defines the present stage of the company (Evans,
2010). A good mission statement provides answer to reasons behind the
existence of a company and what the company wants to achieve in a shorter
period of time as compared to a vision. A mission statement also provides
guidance for the company to achieve its ultimate goal which is the vision.
1.2.2 Missions
1) To execute supreme standard projects by using only the best quality materials.
2) To construct projects with aesthetic values, functional and durable.
3) To provide superior quality services for our clients by providing up to 10 years
of warranty.
4) To employ individuals who are skilled and venturous.
If the vision of Supreme Construction is being regarded as the catalyst of
our company’s growth then our mission must be our fuel. We have a total of 4
missions which will eventually guide us into achieving our vision of becoming the
premier construction company in Southeast Asia.
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1.3 Goals of Supreme Construction
1.3.1 Long-term Goal
To take part in projects not just in Malaysia but throughout Southeast Asia.
1.3.2 Mid-term Goal
To get recognition within the nation as a trust-worthy construction company.
1.3.3 Short-term Goal
To increase the quality of Malaysian construction industry through our services.
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1.4 Organizational Structure of Supreme Construction
Figure 1.1 Organizational Structure of Supreme Construction
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1.5 Job Responsibilities of Each Role in Supreme Construction
1.5.1 Accounting and Finance Department
a) Accounting and Finance Manager
- Head of the Accounting and Finance Department
- Review, analyse and present the financial report to the Board of Directors
- Review the tax reports and tax queries done by the subordinate accountants
before submitting to the government
- Making all accounting and financial related matters are done correctly
b) Accountants
- Prepare financial reports
- Manage the company cash flow
- Forecast and prepare the annual budget
- Submission of Good and Services Tax (GST)
- Other tax submission and tax queries
- Maintain accuracy of financial statements and financial processes
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1.5.2 Construction Department
a) Quantity Surveyors
- Prepare taking-off for projects
- Prepare tender documents and tender submissions
- Prepare costing of project
- Prepare progress claims
- Prepare contracts and progress compliance
b) Project Managers
- Leading in projects and work with the consultants which are the quantity
surveyors and civil engineers
- Making sure the project is carried out within the cost, time and quality.
- Manage all aspects of the polymer flooring installation process on site.
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1.5.3 Engineering Department
a) Engineering Department Manager
- Head of the engineering department
- Prepare and present monthly reports regarding the engineering department to
the Board of Directors
- Ensure the quality of work being carried out on-site are durable and safe for
users
b) Civil Engineers
- Supervise all the on-site assembling of polymer flooring on site and make sure
all components are assembled in a correct manner.
- Prepare and submit summary of daily activity.
- Monitor the work done by the site workers.
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1.5.4 Human Resources Department
a) Human Resources Manager
- Head of the Human Resources Department
- Prepare and present monthly report regarding human resources matter during
monthly meeting to the Board of Director
- Making sure all the newly recruited personnel suits the requirements of the
company
b) Personnel
i) Recruitment and Training
- Recruitment and orientation for new employees
ii) Human Resources Costing
- Exit procedures for resigned employees
-Verify human resources related claims
-Process monthly payroll and year end income tax return including preparation
of management report and monitoring of human resources budget.
c) Insurance
i) Employees' Provident Fund & Social Security Organization
-In charge of matters related to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and
Social Security Organization (SOCSO)
ii) Health Insurance
- Procure health insurance for all employees
- Responsible for filing up health insurance claims for the employees to the
insurance company
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Task 2
2.0 Project Manager Recruitment
As part of the development plan, Supreme Construction wishes to hire 3
project managers.
2.0.1 Primary Duties and Responsibilities of Project Manager
Managing the schedule of the project
Supervising various active projects at one time
Organizing the contractors, suppliers, on-site personnel
Liaising with customers, different team in the company
Ensuring the schedules and budgets are met
Ensuring all the aims of the project are met
Ensuring the products are quality maintained
Ensuring compliance and documentation of all applicable safety
requirements
Recruiting specialists, suppliers and sub-contractors
Overseeing the accounting, costing and billing
Preparing project close-out reports to identify project lessons learned,
project cost variances and causes, project schedule variances and causes,
and customer satisfaction
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2.0.2 Job Skills and Requirements for Project Manager
Possess at least a Bachelor’s Degree, Post Graduate Diploma,
Professional Degree in civil engineering or equivalent
Good leadership and teamwork skills
Demonstrate time management skill
Multi-tasker and team player
At least 7 to 10 years working experience in construction industry
Good knowledge in project planning and scheduling, construction policy,
and authority liaisons
Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills to build successful working
connection with all parties involved in the project
Good command in English, and Bahasa Malaysia languages
Computer literate in Microsoft Applications (For example: Project, Excel
and Word)
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2.1 Interview Activities
2.1.1 Group Assessment
a) Leaderless Discussion Group
In leaderless group discussion, a group of candidates will work together as
a team, to resolve a presented issue. Candidates will be given a short period (15
to 20 minutes) to look at the case and jot down their initial interpretations. After
that, candidates will be assigned into a small group and given about 30 minutes
to discuss the matter in a team setting. There will be a few evaluators witnessing
the discussion process and marking candidates’ specific criteria that they are
looking for in the exercise. There is no any right decision in the discussion. These
exercises usually measure interpersonal skills like group leadership, teamwork,
persuasion and group problem solving skills.
Figure 2.0 The flow of leaderless discussion group
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b) Designate Group Roles
In this evaluation, the group of interviewees will be given a situation in
which they, as a group, will have to solve, but according to roles assigned to
them in the group. Every role will be essential in solving the given situation.
These roles will be assigned at random and will have a hierarchy system. The
group will be provided time to discuss and work on solving the problem according
to their roles given while being monitored by evaluators throughout the period.
Afterwards, they will present their solution to the situation along with their
commitments to the team to ensure whether they understand their roles and
have contributed to their groups in accordance to their roles fairly and
responsibly.
At the end of the activity, a set of reflective questions will be provided to
see the value of the teamwork they have developed in the group, to be answered
by all members, as provided by University of Waterloo (2012):
How is your attitude towards group members demonstrated in how you
function with the group?
Do you give honest opinions? If not, why not?
How much do you feel you can rely on your group members to complete
the required task(s)?
How do you make sure that group members feel supported, encouraged,
and appreciated for their work?
How does the team ensure that all voices are heard?
Do you participate willingly in the discussion? If not, why not?
How do you respond to others’ ideas? How do they respond to yours?
What could be improved?
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Every element of this group assessment is vital and plays a part in the
assessment to every individual in the group. For example, the situational problem
that is given for them to work on, evaluates each individual’s problem-solving
skills and decision-making. In addition, the roles given help assess whether the
interviewees can be flexible in adapting to what they are told to do or to work with
different people and adapt to group dynamics. The hierarchy system on the other
hand, determines whether people with low tier roles have the patience and
obedience to work under someone while carrying out their responsibilities
whereas for the top tier roles, it determines one’s skills as a leader, to see
whether he is someone dictatorial or delicate to the people below him.
Evaluators will observe these factors during discussions while being on
the lookout for people who have a negative effect on group dynamics. These
people are people who disagrees excessively, people critical to other’s ideas,
people who don’t participate in discussions, boastful people and inappropriate
jokers (Eyre, n.d.). In its presence, the top tier roles may be observed to see how
they can adapt or resolves these negativities in the group.
Overall, this activity helps assess whether someone has the capabilities to
work together as a team and provide their services without question.
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c) Practical team exercises
This task shows the teamwork of the interviewees when they had been
assigned to a job. It may also show the leadership of the interviewees in a group.
Sometimes not every members of the group will have the same opinions with
each other. This task may illustrate on how the interviewees solve the
disagreements peacefully. Creativeness of the interviewees may also be useful
to the company.
Task
“A group of eight interviewees will be divided and given a task to do. Every
group has to build a shopping gallery with owns creativity using Lego that had
been provided. Also, named the shopping gallery with meaning and create a logo
for this shopping gallery. 30 minutes of time will be given to complete the task. “
An introduction of themselves to the group members warm up the
atmosphere surrounding them. Interviewees that can remember the names of
their group members show that they are well-mannered and attentive but it also
demonstrates the interviewees have a good eye for detail and influence them to
like you.
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2.1.2 Individual Interview
a) Face To Face Interview
Face to face interview is the most common and oldest way when a
company want to recruit new employees. This type of interview is known as a
data collection method when the interviewer communicates with the interviewee
based on the prepared questionnaire (Spinter Research, n.d.). Through the
communication, the interviewer can acquire factual information and preferences
about the interviewee and meanwhile the attitude and behaviour of the
respondents can be observed.
Task
This interview will take about 20 to 30 minutes for an interviewee to
answer 5 questions given by the interviewer to test their ability on the
conservation, concentration, emotion and behaviour.
What qualities would you look for, if you were hiring someone for
this position?
A good answer for this question: I would recruit people who are humble,
honest, hungry, smart, experience and responsibility. I believe that a person with
good behaviour will perform well on duty and does not withhold negative
information. As we know, a hungry person is intellectually curious that he loves to
learn new things and share the information. Therefore, in my opinion, the person
with emotional and spiritual intelligence will contribute himself to this position to
provide high quality performance.
With the answer provided by the interviewee, his/her attitude, ability and
ambition can be recognized and this will show whether the candidate has
considered critically for this position. Moreover, the essentials of the recruitment
can provide insight into the interviewee’s personality and priorities.
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Some people do well as part of a group while others prefer working
as individual. So, how would you describe yourself?
Sample good response: I think the key is a balance between two. In my
experiences, teamwork is quite important as the cooperation and relationship
between employees will increase the work efficiency and people can contribute
the ideas and innovation during discussion. However, when I want to make a
decision, I need to concentrate and focus on the decision to analysis the effects
and benefits to the project.
Based on this question, the interviewer will find out whether the
interviewee is suitable to be a leader when he/she works in different situations.
As a project manager, it is necessary to make tough decisions and collaborate
with team members to perform the work efficiently and effectively. If a person
only works individually, it is hard to cooperate with others in a project. Inversely,
to the person who always works together with the team, he/she may not make a
decision related to the project. Therefore, the answer given will show the attitude,
diverse abilities and competencies of the candidate to a project.
Do you enjoy working under stress and pressure?
It is impossible to avoid stress and pressure in this world. Therefore,
according to this question, the interviewer is interested to know whether the
interviewee agreed that stress and pressure are the essentials of life (Bonny,
n.d.). In addition, effect of stress to the candidate and his/her ability to handle this
challenge will also be known by the questioner to prove the candidate has the
problem solving capabilities and competencies for managing different projects at
the same time (Bonny, n.d.).
A suggested answer: Yes, I actually work better under pressure that I tend
to be concentrated and motivated to complete the tasks efficiently and effectively.
This makes me feel exhilarating and challenging to deal with the stress in a
dynamic environment.
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What would you do if your boss is completely wrong about
something?
A recommended answer: In my experiences, if my boss was wrong, I
would talk to him about it privately and explain why I thought he was wrong and
what I thought was wrong. And this worked that my previous boss listened to my
suggestion and resolved the problem by asking the others employees. The
majority won while we learnt from the correct results.
In accordance with this question, the interviewee will provide the
interviewer the impression that you are not only a good judge of character, but
also that you understand the conflict and resolve it (HansKristian, n.d.).
Why do you choose to work with our company?
As a reference, Pamela Skillings declared that the answer should
demonstrate a knowledge and information of the company and industry (2013).
This means the interviewee has to do some research to identify specific reasons
for choosing this firm. Therefore, the interviewer will know the preferences of the
interviewee to the company and how well the interviewee understands about the
company, industry and the position.
Besides, not all of the interviewees will think heavily about the position of
a project manager as some may pass his time before finding his actual goal of
company. Based on this question, the candidate’s career goals can be
determined and this will show how this job fits in his/her plans in future (Pamela.
S., 2013). The answer will also emphasize the interest of interviewee to this
position and this leads to motivate the interviewee perform well if hired.
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A good answer for this question: The technology innovation of the firm and
the role of this position excite me to work in this organization. Meanwhile I
believe that my proven track record guiding multi-functional groups makes me a
superb match for the job requirements. Therefore, I would love to work for an
organization which leads the future of the construction.
b) Dining Interview
Dining interview is rare but it provides more relaxing setting to the
interviewees. It is strongly recommended as one of the individual interview to
determine the personality traits and behaviours of the interviewees through their
table manners.
This type of interview gives the interviewer with a chance to evaluate the
social skills of the candidates and to see how the candidates handle themselves
under stress (Alison.D., n.d.). Moreover, the communication and interpersonal
skills can be recognized by the interviewer in a public environment. As we know,
a good behaviour person will have a good table manners, thus, he/she will fit in
the position during working.
Task
After the face to face interview, five to six interviewees will be selected to
take part in the dining interview. The interviewee has to find a restaurant and
make an appointment with the interviewer. Meanwhile, at least one client will be
invited to attend the dining interview to make sure the candidates have the
capabilities to deal with the pressure. The duration of the interview is within one
and half an hour. The interviewee has to communicate with the client and
interviewer by sharing the experiences or discussing the information technology
in the construction during dining the interview.
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Task 3
3.0 What is Information Technology?
Information Technology, better known as IT is the use of any computers,
storage, networking and other physical devices, infrastructure and process to
create, process, store, secure and exchange all forms of electronic data (Rouse,
2015).
3.1 What is Information Management?
In this era of globalization, information includes not just electronic but also
physical information. The organizational structure must be capable of managing
this information throughout the information life cycle regardless of source of
format for delivery through multiple channels that may include cell phones and
web interfaces (Aiim, n.d.).
3.2 Problems Faced in Information Management
There are several problems or difficulties that are pretty common when it
comes to managing the information efficiently, (Aiim, n.d.) for instance:
1. Large number of disparate information management systems.
2. No clear strategic direction for the overall technology environment.
3. Little recognition and support of information management by senior
management.
4. Internal politics impacting on the ability to coordinate activities enterprise-wide.
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3.3 Information Technology and Information Management Aids Used by
Supreme Construction
In order to step up with our company’s competitive advantages, we have
to depend on some external aids in order to manage our information in an orderly
and less chaotic manner. For a growing medium-sized construction company,
our clients and employees are one of our most important and precious assents.
The clients and employees have a thing in common. Both parties are human
beings, when it comes to people, communication is definitely vital in order to
have a highly efficient information management system.
3.3.1 eM Client
There are a variety of information technology and information
management aids systems in the market and Supreme construction has chosen
eM Client as our primary information management system. eM Client is platform
that is used to manage e-mails, calendars and contacts. As eM Client provides
support for unlimited e-mail accounts, this function allows all the employees of
Supreme Construction to have access to it. This also allows the management
level to easily supervise and provide guidance to their subordinates. At this era
that is filled with advanced technology, e-mail is one of the most important tools
to channel the information within a company and between a company and their
clients, thus having systems like eM Client is definitely boasting our company’s
competitive advantage.
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3.3.2 Filing System
Besides purchasing existing information management system to manage
our e-mails and contacts, Supreme Construction also employs a systematic filing
system in order to keep our information in hard copies for instance official letters
and contracts between the clients and the company. Although information are
now being more widely stored in the electronic form, however documents that
have legal binding effects are still stored in physical forms.
The filling system of our company is set up based on several categories,
the alphabetical order, the date of document as well as to which client the
documents belongs to. The name of the client’s company are arranged in
alphabetical orders and within the files of each clients, their documents are being
arranged based on the dates. For instance, from the latest document that is
being processed to the oldest. A good filing system allows us to easily tract back
the information we need within the shortest amount of time needed.
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4.0 References
Aiim. (2015). What is Information Management? [Website]. Retrieved on June
23, 2015 from http://www.aiim.org/What-is-Information-Management
Alison. D., (n.d.). Tips for Interviewing while Dining. [Website] Retrieved June 25,
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Bonny. (n.d.). How Do You Handle Stress? [Website] Retrieved on June 24,
2015 from http://www.enkivillage.com/how-do-you-handle-stress.html
eM Client. (2015). Main Features. [Website] Retrieved on June 25, 2015 from
http://www.emclient.com/
Eyre, E. (n.d.) Improving Group Dynamics: Helping Your Team Work More
Effectively. Mindtools.com. Retrieved on June 22, 2015 from
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Grethel. G. (October 11, 2013). Teamwork or Rowing the Boat Alone? [Website]
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rowing-boat-alone/
HansKristian. (n.d.). If You Know Your Boss is 100% Wrong About Something
How Would You Handle It? [Website] Retrieved on June 24, 2015 from
http://interviewarea.com/interview-questions/if-you-know-your-boss-is-100-
wrong/
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JobStreet.com. (2015). All Jobs. [Website]. Retrieved on June 23, 2015 from
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mission-whats-the-difference-and-why-does-it-matter
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Skillings, P. (March 27, 2013). HOW TO ANSWER: Why Do You Want To work
Here? [Website] Retrieved on June 22, 2015 from
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face-interview
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being-effective-group-member
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expectations-conflict.html
