Business E-solutions for Small Construction Companies

Business E-solutions for Small Construction Companies BUSINESS E-SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL CONSTRUCTION  COMPANIES AND FREELANCERS Sergiu Catinas Florin Matei Abstract.There is a direct correlation among number of employees who work in construction industry and the average productivity of the construction workers. A first notice when these two factors are compared simply resides from the annual charts that follow these two factors. It is quite obviously that the average productivity of the workers depends primarily on technologies used, but depends on some other factors as well. The link among technologies used and productivity is not a subject to discus in this paper. Even though it is well known that construction industry requires a big variety of skills it is well known that some of the construction jobs are completed by workers with multiple qualifications. Also a principle of productivity clearly states that productivity of a worker is grown once the area of qualification is restrained. Therefore, in order to create a better productivity of the construction workers it is necessary to create workers with super high qualification in one small area and allow movement of the working force among construction sites. Most of the construction company has a great deal of mobility, but the most sensitive problem remains the problem of getting together the needs of labor with the suppliers of labor services. The main purpose of this paper is to underline the needs of a better link among construction actors. Also the paper proposes an e-solution for a better connection of construction players through implementing/changing an internet based site and shows some of the proposed benefits. Keywords: e-solution for construction business G14 A12 E60, construction average productivity D61 B22, construction companies’ mobility M54 C12, publically provides goods H44 D60. 1. Introduction By definition the average productivity is defined as in (1). Please note that an average productivity can be expressed with respect to marginal productivity as Saari1 said and as seen in as in figure 1. Figure 1 average productivity and marginal productivity with respect to real output/input As expressed by Harris2 the main economical factors that influence the productivity in construction industry are mortgage and accountants, fraud, cash flow, estimators and the cost engineers. By analyzing these factors and the influence of these factors over the total cost of a construction project, a solution is to be created in order to address the influence of factors like fraud and cash flow as well as the other three factors. Out of statistics offered by US Department of Labor the average construction manager contractors and the number of construction output in 2012 in US are almost the same (450 000-number of construction managers and 480.000-number of output construction in US according to US Department of Construction). Also by considering the top 5 US contractors and the number of their projects ongoing over the number of the contractor’s company employers the rate is over 0.08 in all cases, according to ENR.Construction.statistics. This leads to the idea that the big general contractors don’t have more than 12 of their own employees on the site. More over the second observation is that the big general contractors use the working labor of the subcontractors in order to complete their jobs more than their own workers. An internet based solution in order to reduce the general cost of the construction project is the proposal introduced by the present paper. The solution presented tries to m inimize the importance of the general contractors by implementing an internet based program that will allow small contractors and freelancers to bid for their project with no respect the general contractors. This system will bring significant benefits for small contractors and freelancers and will increase the average productivity of construction labors. 2. Main Concept As expressed above, the main idea is to implement a system based on the internet application that allows creating a strong connection among actors from construction industry. As a historical data it is important to mention that similar attempts were made outside Romania, but this kind of projects are not very popular. Also a similar model was build for tracking industry in USA. The system proposed would generate business revenue for all three categories involved in the construction industry, being a â€Å"triple win† system. The winners would be the owner of the site through charging money for any contact established, the general contractor or owner of the construction site and the freelancers or contractors that execute jobs because they can find jobs for their own. Never the less a major winner for this system could be the government through a better control of the labor black market and the society in general because this system would develop very effective companies and fr eelancers with high standards of safety and quality. More over a quality control can be implemented through expressing a relevant history data of every participant and through offering solid warranties for executed projects. 3. Details about techniques of implementation The internet page should provide valuable information about potential contractors or subcontractors. First this page would provide references wit previous jobs done so far by the contractors. This can provide solid knowledge about the quality, timing and safety rules applied by the contractors. According to this it can be created a scale ranging from 1 to 100 that would give a good view about an opportunity to create business relation with a specific contractor/freelancer. The internet page proposed by this idea can create a good point of view about the payment conditions, contract forms and eventually any history data for the beneficiary institution/person. Very often the government has that data offered but the private entities are not capable of showing any data related to their capabilities of assuming contractual obligations. The owner of the internet page, which can be a private entity or the government can charge both the contractors/freelancers and the developers/private owners or government agencies. Due to a good administration of the internet page it is recommended for the government to create and own such a business. The charge can be enforced only when the contact is established and an extra charge can be enforced when a contract is signed through this internet connection. Once the need for a job is expressed in details by the developer an auction that can last for 10 days can be started in order to allow the contractors and freelancers to put their best offer online, similar with the e-bay system. The winner would have to make a written contract with the developer and enforce according to the terms established in the description provided by the developer and the applicable law. To mention that a similar system exists in Romania, but with no history data for none of the sides and not very popular. Also the actual system is not open for private jobs. More over the actual internet page called â€Å"www.licitatia.ro† is for contractors only and not for small enterprises or freelancers and sometimes the value of contracts is not affordable for small companies. The main idea for this site is to create opportunities for small companies to cooperate with big contractors. A great disadvantage for the internet page that already exists is that the winners of the auctions are most of the time big construction companies and the execution of the job is done through small contractors/freelancers by subcontracting the job. T he main idea of this site is to allow the investor to create a working plan and graphic and according to that graphic to connect directly to small contractors/freelancers and decrease the cost of the labor. 4. Technical motivation for the propose As expressed by Harris2 the main important economic factors for a construction project are: fraud, mortgage and accountants, cash flow, estimators and cost engineers. Figure 2 Labour productivity growth in US, measured by GDP per hour worked (indexed) Fraud can’t be expressed mathematically by any formula and can vary a lot from a project to another. The Romanian construction industry is marked by so called underground black market of workers/labors. The rate of construction workers in Romania that are not hired legally is over 28% according to INS Bucharest. Apparently these workers represents a cheaper work force for the employers, but the long term run shows a different situations when accidents on the site construction happened and in our country the percentage of workers injuries and fatalities is double among black market according to Business Inside Magazine statistics. Therefore is hard to deliver any precise formulas or data regarding fraud in Romanian construction industry or elsewhere but we surely know that black market in construction is significant. For the mortgage and account factor the situation is expressed in detail by Nigrini4. The problem comes from the underestimation of the project and the lack of money to complete the jobs contracted. One of the solutions is implemented by creating smaller jobs and that is a main source of inspiration for the present paper and the idea proposed. Cash flow can be defined5 as the movement of money into or out of a business/project and it has three aspects: operational cash flow, investment cash flow and financing cash flow. Also cash flow factor is one of the great advantages that can be obtained through introduction of the idea presented in this paper. Estimators can get greater attention through introduction of the present idea. The error introduced by estimators is as Amos6 said in (2) and (3). (2) (3) Where is the parameter being estimate and is the expected value of the estimator. Please note that the error, â€Å"e†, depends not only on the estimator (the estimation formula or procedure), but also on the sample. Estimator engineers are engineers in charge with an estimation of the projects to be executed. The estimator engineers will have a greater implication by applying the present idea and their contribution should be linked to the estimators through trying to eliminate the errors margins as Amos6 proposed in the mathematical formulation expressed by (4) that shows how far, on average, the collection of estimates are from the expected value of the estimates. (4) 5. Example of the benefits of implementing the present idea. Consider a large construction project in Romania, in the city of Cluj-Napoca of a total value 54.00 million euro. The general contractor that was award the contract was a big general contractor with good experience in similar jobs. The second bid offer was as big as 92.10 million euro and the beneficiary was the institution of prefecture. The project was to build a sport complex in the city of Cluj-Napoca. Due to a court decision the project was stopped in the construction phase for over 18 months. The court decision was issued as a complaint by the general contractor who made an offer of 92.10 million euro. The time spent from the moment of interruption due to the court decision and the moment of the re-awarding the job to a bidder involved big amount of financial losses for both of the general contractors. Not to mention the financial losses suffered by the contractors, but to mention the difference of the bids amount will result as a margin profit of 37.90 million euro. If the exa mple above is not relevant for the profit margins obtained by general contractors let’s take the revenues of the top general contractors from US in 2012 and divide it by number of contracts completed by the same amount of time. This would generate revenue of 1.08 million dollars per project and considering an average medium project of 1.78 million dollars. These data are obtained from US Department of Construction Statistics. By applying the dates in our specific case we would obtain revenue of 19.87 million dollars. By considering dollars to euro ratio as 0.76, the revenue for our specific case would be 15.1 million euro. And this calculus does not include any losses due to the court decision that put a brake on the project. If the estimator engineers made a mistake according to (2),(3),(4) that error can be estimated from statistics as an average of 17% of the total value of the project after the project is finished according to Corps of Civil Engineers from US. In our spec ific case the average error of the estimator engineers for the project from Cluj-Napoca is 9.18 million euro. The difference of 5.92 million euro can be estimated as profit margin that can be linked to the present paper idea by creating small jobs to be done and the saving of the 5.92 million euro could be achieved. Please note that in the example above the cost of implementing the idea was not mentioned but according Brynjolfsson7 in the current practice the cost of IT development could not be more than 5 % of the total amount of the project, so a profit margin is still available. 6. Conclusions As expressed above the main idea of this paper is to express the need and procedures of creating an internet page that allows the beneficiaries of the construction structures to create a working plan and implement this plan. This working plan is technically known as Gantt plan and contains dates regarding each article of work and labor needed and the time allocated for that process. The site would create an auction system for every job/article that needs to be done. This system would benefit the contractors and small freelancers, the beneficiary of the construction structures as well as the government agencies and the general welfare. This internet application would create a triple win situation for government, contractors and beneficiaries of the construction structures. Moreover, another benefit would be due to high specialization class of small contractors and freelancers and the safety measures that would be strongly estimated and evaluated. The internet page proposed is subject to have a special section reviews regarding safety measures enforced. Regarding the safety of the labors and workers the government can enforce in a more efficient manner the black market control. Obviously the government agencies would have a better idea in what specific areas of construction the number of accidents is bigger and can enforce better safety rules. Also by knowing the contracts signed the government can put a better hand on the quality of the work in the most sensitive areas and can control the construction sites on the exact time when the most sensitive work and companies are on the site. References [1] Saari, S., Productivity. Theory and Measurement in Business,: European Productivity Conference, Espoo, Finland, 2006, pp. 44-69. [2] Craig, C.; Harris, R., Total Productivity Measurement at the Firm Level, Sloan Management Review, Feb-March 1973, pp13–28. [3] Hollmann, John, K., Total Cost Management Framework, AACE International, Morgantown WV, 2006, pp113–147. [4]Nigrini, M., Forensic Analytics: Methods and Techniques for Forensic Accounting Investigations. Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley Sons Inc., June 2011, pp 206-235. [5]Strong, R., Portfolio construction, management, and protection, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, Ohio, 2009 , pp.527-537. [6] Amos, S., Skills and Knowledge of Cost Engineering,-Fifth Edition, AACE International, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004, pp 109-127. [7] Brynjolfsson, E., The productivity paradox of information technology.Communications of the ACM International, Mason, Ohio, 2003, pp 66–77.

Com reflection paper

I have had few classes in the past that gave me an overview of how to research and find creditable sources. In this class I learned not only how to research but also how to use my research in my academic paper. It was interesting to find more sources to use within the University of Phoenix Library. This course showed me a closer look at how I can use different sources to find creditable articles.This course gave me efferent way to keep track of what I want to use in my paper. One of which is the annotated bibliography. Annotated Bibliography help me understand exactly how I wanted to do my essay and which part of my resource I wanted to use in my essay. This course helped us develop our skills more further from what we had learned in our previous classed. Although I knew how to cite and reference my sources, I was still making mistake in my paper.This course and its instructor, Julia Unmans, wowed the proper way to cite and reference different courses. It helped me write reference w ithout using any converters, which helped me develop my skills. When it comes to writing a paper, I always want other to read my paper to make sure if I did the paper write. In this class, I got to talk to my classmates about my topic and share their ideas to narrow down the topic. It also helped me develop research questions. A peer review helped me realize my mistakes and develop more ideas.Those ideas not only helped write my paper In a different way, but it also showed me what else I need in my paper to make it a better essay. One of the things I really like about this class Is the feedback from the Instructor. Most Instructors will only show the mistakes in an assignment, but Julia showed me exactly what I did wrong and how I could fix It. Julia showed us the techniques that I wanted to learn before I move on to my next class. These skill and techniques are the one I took Into a count to use for my next classes.

Gender Differences in Advertisements Essay

It has been evident for the past decades that advertisers still use stereotyped images of men and women in their advertisements. This can say that the pursuit for equality is still not grasped by the society. The images we see in magazines, in televisions, in billboards portray a very old perception of gender, especially the inferiority and submissive nature of women, with their bodies used as mere sexual objects, if not, still used as household caretakers. Women are also deemed to be beautiful if they have slim bodies, fair complexion and long shiny hair. Men, on the other hand, are portrayed to be strong, dominant and successful in their careers. For this essay, I will be showing two examples of images, which reveals the still existing gender inequality. I will be referring to some themes and issues to support my arguments. Also, for my basic analysis of advertisements, I will be using Katherine Frith’s [1998] approach in â€Å"Undressing the Ad: Reading Culture in Advertising† [Lukas, 2002]. It includes a surface meaning, the advertiser’s intended meaning, and the cultural or ideological meaning. For the semiotic level, which connotes the social themes in advertisements, I will be applying Erving Goffman’s [1979] approach in â€Å"Gender Advertisements. † For the first example, I will use the Gucci Magazine advertisement as shown in Figure 1 in the appendix. Just by looking at the picture, you can already see that there is gender inequality. Before dwelling into that, I will first apply a basic analysis of the ad. 1. The Surface Meaning It can be seen that there are two subjects in the picture. It is very evident that one is female, while the other one can be assumed to be male. It is because of its masculine features, as seen in the upper body though the face was not explicitly shown. The female is down on the floor, touching the shoes of the male. She is wearing a sexy gold dress. The male is standing, wearing only khaki pants. Both clothing are assumed to be under the brand, Gucci. The setting is in the desert and the overall appeal of the image is very earthy. There are no words or taglines in the ad, just â€Å"Gucci†. 2. Advertiser’s Intended Meaning The advertiser might be showcasing the earthy tones and summer styles of Gucci, as seen in the very comfortable and breezy clothes the subjects are wearing. There is still a certain class in the style, whether you put them in the dessert or just wherever. 3. Cultural or Ideological Meaning The picture obviously depicts the dominance of males over females. To be more detailed, we use Goffman’s approach by taking into consideration the social themes being depicted here. The positioning of the subject explicitly exposes gender bias. The man is standing while woman is down on floor. It just shows that men are in control and have power over women. The woman is way below under his legs, at his feet to be exact. She is even touching his shoes. It reminds me of a servant, wiping the dirt of his master in the desert. The woman here really looked inferior and if we extend the picture upward, exposing the face of the man, it can be that he is looking down on her, seeing the contraction of his abdomen in the picture. Moreover, such display of abs connotes a very masculine and strong appeal. We know that men who have well developed abs are the ones who are the most physically fit. The woman on one hand is thin and sexy, with her body parts, especially the legs and the cleavage, generally exposed. Reexamining the â€Å"Nature/Culture† Paradigm, we are reminded of the â€Å"vertical† perspective, which organizes the relationships of male and female [Tilleuil, 2002]. The woman is labeled as the dominated and the man is labeled as the dominant. According to the sociologist, Claude Herne, â€Å"†In the advertising image, in order to make the woman feel inferior, signs multiply and underline the weakness, the lack of self-confidence, fragility, hesitation, dissimulation, submission, childishness and infantilization, too. † [Tilleuil, 2002]. This signs are very well depicted in this ad. The woman looks fragile, and she displays a look of submission in her eyes, like a slave. This leads us to another example of an advertisement, which now depicts heavy violence to women. The ad to be examined here is figure 2 of the appendix. It is an ad from Dolce and Gabbana. 1. The Surface Meaning In the ad, there are six subjects. There are five males and one female. It looks like they are in a rooftop of some resort/hotel. Some men are wearing fitted Polos, while others are half naked. Their skins are very shiny. It looks like there’s oil or sweat in them. One man is on top of the woman, while others are watching intently to the scene in the middle. The woman is lying down on the floor, wearing a sexy black dress and high heels. 2. Advertiser’s Intended Meaning The advertiser here is showcasing the sexy formal styles of Dolce and Gabbana, with their breezy polos, classy dresses. It looks like the clothing is part of their summer collection. 3. Cultural or Ideological Meaning/Goffman’s approach It is very evident in the picture that the scene is depicting a â€Å"gang rape†. This is extreme sexual violence right at your eyes. Such violence is even portrayed in classy way, with the clothing of Dolce and Gabbana at display. We look back to the inferiority and submissiveness of the woman here. The woman is again down on the floor, but this time, she is lying down, about to be raped by the first guy on top of her. But we also see here that they are being watched by other men. One of them is already topless, while, one is semi-buttoned, with his chest exposed. There is also one who is only wearing a sleeveless undershirt, while the last guy is still fully dressed up. They all have this sultry look to the woman. The woman here is about to give herself to the man, with her hips going upward. Yet, you can see that the man is locking her arms in the floor, and it looks like she cannot get away with his grasp. The woman has been the subject of sexual pleasure. Violence here is part of the pleasure package. As we have been exposed in the media, we can recall about the whipping, the slapping of women, their being tied up to different places, exposing a lot of skin, with their bodies being molded to different erotic positions. In most cases women are victims of such violence, since men being tied up would not be a delightful sight for them. Overall, as seen in most advertisements, women are always the weaker player, being taken advantaged of men, who are more superior. Women are still being depicted as mere objects of sexual desire [Sharabi, n. d. ]. Women are seen only as domestic providers, who do not have their own decision making powers. According to the blog of â€Å"Daughter of Liberty† [2007], she said that the following are some important points to take note in advertisements: 1. Canting It can be seen through the body language that women are submissive and they have low self-confidence. For our examples, it is explicitly shown with the woman on the floor, with no control. 2. Clowning It can be seen that women are usually posed like an innocent child in the ads, which connotes ignorance (stupidity perhaps) and practically it tells us that women are easily dominated. 3. Dependence Women are seen to be very dependent to men, which can be particularly found in the first advertisement, where the woman is touching the shoes of the man. 4. Dismemberment Dismemberment is described as focusing on a particular body part. However, for our first example, it was the man who was dismembered. 5. Dominance/violence This is evidently seen in both of our examples, especially in the Dolce and Gabbana ad, which depicts a gang rape. I think ads these days have become more violent and more associated to sex than ever before, due to change of perception of our society. Sex and violence is not a taboo anymore, and we can just openly discuss those issues in a coffee table. However, being a more open society must teach us to be less discriminating and degrading. Women and men were created equally. More ads should focus on empowering women, like what is happening in Dove. We must not let ourselves, especially our children to be exposed to such violence because images convey very powerful images and it can impact one’s behavior.

What Was the First Known Element to Man

Question: What Was the First Known Element? Answer: What was the first known element? Actually, there were nine elements known to ancient man. They were gold (pictured), silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, mercury, sulfur, and carbon. These are elements that exist in pure form or that could be purified using relatively simple means. Why so few elements? Most elements are bound as compounds or exist in mixtures with other elements. For example, you breathe oxygen every day, but when was the last time you saw the pure element?