PREFACE

The traditional philosophy of management in civil engineering, both in academia and in industry, places great emphasis on the ability to plan and execute projects. Preparing individuals to conduct these planning and execution tasks is seen as the primary role for universities and industry training programs. We see evidence of this philosophy in the actions of our industry's leading researchers, scholars, and executives. Consider the following observations compiled from literature, interviews with executives, professionals and their clients, and the personal experiences of the authors: (1) In the civil engineering and construction management literature, an overwhelming number of paper topics focus on the technical and managerial issues that can affect project budgets and schedules; (2) in graduate-level construction programs, the majority of core courses are designed around project management techniques and responsibilities, and very few offer more than one course in nontraditional areas such as company management or strategic industry analysis; (3) the research reports funded by the leading research organizations indicate that their support is primarily focused on improving the cost effectiveness of projects; and (4) in civil engineering organizations, aspiring executives are generally assigned to follow a familiar project-oriented career path—where employees are provided extensive education and experience in either field engineering positions or in entry-level office positions that focus on enhancing project-management skills.

These observations highlight that today's civil engineering industry, through sharing of research, teaching, and practice, has evolved on a project management model. Professors, researchers, and practitioners use the project management cornerstone as the industry's standard of performance. They use its terminology and theoretical contents to discuss company priorities, employee goals, and student competencies. In contrast, a similar emphasis on corporate management is noticeably lacking. Specifically, the analysis needed to solve diverse problems companies face as they struggle to create competitive and profitable organizations requires a distinct set of knowledge, understanding, and skills. For example, consider the deliberations involved when a company must decide whether to enter a new market. Among other issues, corporate personnel must assess how viable the move will be, determine what competencies the organization must develop, create action plans to achieve those competencies, and decide what investments in knowledge and new technology the company should make. Traditional project management concepts and principles must be augmented with strategic management concepts to assess completely the opportunities and risks associated with these types of decisions.