Assessing Sustainability Of Construction -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Questions: What Is The Impact Of Sustainability In Construction Management? What Is The Significance Of Sustainability In Construction Management? Answers: Introduction This is a research, which focuses on the impact of sustainability in construction management. This study will consists of five parts, which includes the introduction, literature review, methodology of research, findings and analysis and conclusion. The present condition of the global environment is degrading due to the depletion of the natural resources, which will cause a long-term effect on the sustainability. The quality is degrading at a rapid rate and it will keep on happening if sustainability practices are not maintained. The construction industry is one of the major contributors for the depletion of resources at a global level. Moreover, it has taken a lot of time for the organization sin various countries to incorporate sustainability in the construction management industry (Ibrahim Kirui, 2017). This has led to the development of various concepts such as sustainable building, green building and sustainable construction. The community of research initially was focused on th e environmental issues and assessment problems. However, the perception of the people have changed which shows other areas of focus such as material productivity and energy savings. The approach of the researchers have become holistic and its consists of economic, environmental and social development. Research Aim The aim of this proposed research is to identify and undertake research on the impact of sustainability in construction management industry, which will illustrate the change in practices of the construction management industry. The study will also evaluate the various economic, social and environmental practices so that the overall assessment of the construction management can be done. Sustainability Policy Sustainability is now incorporated in organizations over various industries. It is one of the prioritized concerns of the companies to maintain sustainable development in their operation process. It is both to address the social responsibility of the business and to revenue generation. The Construction business is also have sustainable policy and is not excluded from the concept. The policies incorporated in the businesses widely vary from each other to identify themselves separately from the other similar competitions in the market. The findings of Zuo et al. (2012) in their work support the evidence and demonstrate a trend of an increased level of disclosure of organizations commitment in achieving the sustainability. They mainly focus on conservation of energy and efficiency, greenhouse gas emission reduction and assimilation of renewable energy sources in the projects to achieve the sustainable development. Advantages Sustainability is no doubt necessary in the construction business to address the challenges of global warming and other recently raised issues. Besides these necessities of the society, sustainable approach in construction business can bring growth in the industry. It has various advantages of in the operation that is potential in reducing the production cost of the business. Khatib (2016) conducted a detailed study on the materials used in construction industries. He has presented detailed in-depth overview of the materials and recyclability of the products. His study shows that most of the products used in the construction business can be reused by the company such as the timer, plastic frame, waste stone chips and many more. Moreover, Khatib demonstrates the alternative materials that can successfully replace some of the products utilized in construction to increase the sustainability of the industry. The work of Ogunbiyi et al. (2014) has successfully identified several advantages of implementation of sustainable construction. It not only benefits the companies in improving the corporate image and sustainable competitive advantage, but also improves the process of flow and productivity. It also helps them to incorporate the environmental consideration and increase the quality of it and facilitates in increasing compliance with the customers expectations. Ogunbiyi and his team have also identified the most common tools that are utilized in the process by various organizations that are daily huddle meeting, value stream mapping, and value analysis. The amalgamation of these tools for attaining sustainability in construction business results in waste reduction, value maximization and health and safety improvement not only for the workers, but also to the other stakeholders of the society. Use of sustainable approach in construction business not only reflects the financial improvemen t in the business but also results in the non-financial sectors that can prove advantageous for the business. Harris and McCaffer (2013) have classified the non financial indicators under some broad areas that are customer satisfaction, product and service quality, operational performance, employee commitment and social and environmental performance data. These indicate a steady growth of the business in the target market. One of the important tools that proves useful in maintaining sustainability in construction industry is the Building Information Modeling that not only shows its efficiency in formulating geometric model of a buildings performance, but can also assist in the management of construction project. One of the most significant effects of using the tool in construct is the reduction of the cost and control over the project life cycle. Hence, it can be concluded from the report that the sustainability in construction management also reflects the cost benefit to the organization (Bryde, Broquetas Volm, 2013). Yeheyis et al. (2013) in their work An Overview of construction and demolition waste management in Canada: a lifecycle analysis approach to sustainability demonstrate the waste management in the construction business. Their research shows that the waste generated from the construction in Canada is about 27% of the total solid waste deposited by the municipality. However, the implementation of sustainability in the construction industry has resulted into recycling the usable materials that decreases the cost of the business. The report shows that over 75% of the construction generated waste has enduring value that can be recycled, retrieved and reused in the future projects. A proper implementation of sustainability is now mandatory in Canada to address the increasing C and D waste volumes, shortage of landfills and long term adverse environmental, economic and social impact. The conceptual sustainable waste management framework successfully maximizes the reduction, reuse and recycle of the waste materials and minimize the disposal of construction waste by utilizing the sustainable strategy in the projects. Stakeholder Engagement Bal et al. (2013) in their work have addressed the importance of stakeholders engagement in attaining sustainability in the construction sector. Some of the stakeholders are marked as important in decision making, whose absence may lead to failure of achieving the sustainability. Their study concludes with the suggestion of understanding the various sustainability agendas of the stakeholders and measuring their performance for achieving the sustainability related goals. It is important to follow the mentioned steps for attaining success and using cent percent of the advantages out of the utilization of stakeholders in the process. Challenges of Sustainability There is very few research works exists that address the issues of incorporating sustainability in the construction. Glass (2012) is one of the few scholars who have worked on the challenging issues of the sustainability approach of construction industry. Glasss work reflects the challenges around data durability, reputation management, stakeholder engagement and the nature of the industry. The report suggests the companies to balance the commercial drivers with demands for high-profile sustainable and enhancing corporate sustainability. Literature Gap The above review of the literature demonstrates some of the advantages of sustainability in construction industry, engagement of the stakeholders, and versatility of the policies incorporated by the organizations. However, only few articles exist in the market that addresses the disadvantage of sustainability in construction. A hypothesis could be form that sustainable approach will potentially reduce the quality of the building constructed. Hence, there is ample amount of scope in the existing literature as it fails to identify the challenges and disadvantages occurs due to the use of sustainability approach in construction industry. Research Methodology Research methodology demonstrates the various research techniques, approaches, and design. The research is one of the most significant part of the research as it will help in obtaining the result of the study. In this present study, the justification for choosing each of the methods has been provided. The advantages and disadvantages of choosing a technique has been discussed thoroughly in the study. The methodology of research consists of postulations that have been predefined in the study, which will be used to execute the study (Mackey Gass, 2015). The methodology of research shows be precise and exact which will help in producing similar results when used in studies of similar topic. Research Philosophy The source and nature of the study will be included in the philosophy of the research. The research philosophy will consist of the creation of the knowledge which may seem to intense but there are mainly four types of philosophy in research. The research philosophies are positivism, interpretivism, realism and post positivism (Taylor, Bogdan DeVault, 2015). The philosophy of the research that has been selected for the study is positivism, as it will help to identify the hidden truth within the area of the study. Moreover, the scope of observation for the field of study will improve when positivism is used as the philosophy of research. Research Approach The hypothesis is one of the most significant part of the study as it will help to differentiate between the inductive and the deductive approach of research. The theoretical assumptions that have been made in the research will be validated with the help of the deductive approach, which means the deductive approach is used for the validation of the existing theories whereas inductive approach will used for the formulation of new generalizations and theories. The objective of the research and the hypothesis will be used for initializing the research where as the implementation of the research question will be done with the help of the inductive approach. Thus, the deductive approach is the most appropriate approach for the study, as it will help in the validation of the existing theories (Flick, 2015). Data collection The data collection method that will be used for the study is a mixed method where both the primary and the secondary analysis of the data will be done. The primary analysis of the data will include quantitative data where the data will be collected through questionnaires and surveys. The questionnaire will consist of close ended and random sample will be taken as the sample population. This will help to maintain the reliability and the validity of the test. The secondary analysis of the data will include the thematic analysis and qualitative data will be taken into consideration. The secondary data will be taken from five peer-reviewed journals, which will help to analyze the perspectives of different authors (Silverman, 2016). This will provide a better dimension to the current field of the study. The thematic analysis will be sued to create themes, which will support the primary analysis. Randomization is used is to select 50 respondents which will be the sample size for the resea rch. This research will consist of mixed methods which will offer a better understanding of the study. Data Analysis The research will consist of both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data, which means the primary data, will used to analyze the perspective of the population sample. The secondary analysis of the data will be done by identifying common sets of patterns within the research. The secondary analysis will include the thematic analysis, which will analyze various journals and articles, which will help to understand all the dimension of the study. The conclusion from the existing journals will be linked with that of the primary analysis of the data (Panneerselvam, 2014). The analysis will have to be in alignment with the objectives and the goals of the study. The creation of the theme will be on the basis of the goals and objective of the current field of study. Findings and analysis How far do you agree that sustainability is significant in construction management? Options No. of response Percentage of the responses Total respondents Strongly agree 15 30% 50 Agree 20 40% 50 Neutral 1 2% 50 Disagree 10 20% 50 Strongly disagree 4 8% 50 Table 1: significance of sustainability This shows that the majority of the respondents are in agreement that sustainability has a significant impact on the business environment in construction. The graph shows that 70 % of the respondents are giving positive feedbacks about the sustainability management. Thus, it can be deduced that sustainability is significantly important for the organizations in the construction market. How far do you agree that sustainability has a strong influence on performance of the organizations? Options No. of response Percentage of the responses Total respondents Strongly agree 10 20% 50 Agree 20 40% 50 Neutral 0 0% 50 Disagree 17 34% 50 Strongly disagree 3 6% 50 Table 2: Impact of sustainability on organizational performance The graph shows that 60% of the respondents feel that sustainability will help to make improvements in the organizational performance. However, there is no clear majority, as 40 % of the respondents do not agree and this means that the sustainability is not preferred by all the organization as it increases their cost structure and it will be difficult to monitor the triple bottom line of any organization. How far do you agree that business sustainability is influenced by the reputation of the organizations in the market? Options No. of response Percentage of the responses Total respondents Strongly agree 7 14% 50 Agree 10 20% 50 Neutral 3 6% 50 Disagree 11 22% 50 Strongly disagree 19 38% 50 Table 3: Influence of reputation of the organization on sustainability The analysis of the data shows that majority of the respondents feel that reputation of the organization does not have any influence on the sustainability of the organization. However, there are 34% of the population agree that reputation will have influence on the sustainability of the organization. This means that its depends on the perspective of the different organization, there may be influence for some organization and it may not influence for the other organizations in the market. How far do you agree that sustainability will help to minimize the consumption of energy? Options No. of response Percentage of the responses Total respondents Strongly agree 18 36% 50 Agree 17 34% 50 Neutral 0 0% 50 Disagree 5 10% 50 Strongly disagree 10 20% 50 Table 4: Impact of sustainability in minimizing energy consumption The analysis of the graph shows that the sustainability practices in the construction ill help to reduce the consumption of energy. This will help to save the natural resources that are used in the construction business. This means that sustainability will help in conserving the environment and contribute to the corresponding society. Secondary Analysis The analysis of the peer reviewed journal shows that sustainability will have a lot of impact on the construction management industry. It is seen that the review of the most of the journals have proven that the most of the organization are using the sustainable practices to gain competitive advantage in the market. The organizations that use a triple bottom line has a better reputation in the market and are able to acquire capital very easily. This shows that sustainability will have a great influence on the construction management industry. The future trends in the market suggest that most of the organizations will be suing the triple bottom line as a means to gain competitive advantage in the market. The international standard organization (ISO) has been promoting the practices, which has to be used in construction management (Zhang et al., 2014). This shows that all the organizations are trying to change their business model in order to incorporate the triple bottom. However, ther e are lot of risks that are involved in the market. The organizations will have to be made sure that whether the incorporation of the sustainable practices is feasible for the organization or not. Thus, the organizations who are of small scale and medium scale have limited capital may face problems if the strategy does not work for them. Conclusion Thus, the conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that the sustainability development procedures will have a lot of impact on the sustainability of the organization. The primary and the secondary analysis of the data clearly shows that sustainable practices have been effective and has been able to facilitate the improvement of the performance of various organization in the construction industry. Reference Flick, U. (2015).Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project. Sage. Mackey, A., Gass, S. M. (2015).Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge. Panneerselvam, R. (2014).Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt.Ltd.. Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016).Qualitative research. Sage. Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., DeVault, M. 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