GSB015 Corporate Strategy and Responsibility For Strategic Options

Answer:

Key Strategic Issues

Shortage of skilled and qualified trades

Undoubtedly, the construction industry experienced a boom over the last few years and this is expected to have an impact over the next three years on primary level (Ashworth & Perera, 2018). Despite this growth, over 70% of contractors reported that find it difficult to recruit skilled and qualified construction workers to fill the increasing vacancies in the sector (Chileshe, Karuppannan, Trasente & Sivam, 2017). There is a significant level of misalignment between the available jobs and the available skilled workers; a trend that is projected to continue in the industry (Heaton, 2017).

In spite of these trends, the sector is a significant employer in the Australian economy.  There are over 1.168 million employed in the construction industry, a figure that is adjustable seasonally (Veen, Teicher & Holland, 2017). This translated to an additional 100 00 workers to the industrial payroll in 2017 (Cameron, Burgess, Dhakal, Fitzgerald & Ayentimi, 2017). Besides, Australia’s construction industry is still a strong economic driver as it demands consistent staffing (Heaton, 2017). However, the skill needs in the industry are on the rise. For instance, the numerous residential projects that Champion Homes is undertaking calls for construction managers, project managers and contract administrators (First Focus IT, 2018). There are more opportunities in the residential subsector according to Sydney Housing Supply Forecasts, which project that about 180,000 new homes will be constructed in Sydney in the next five years. Champion Homes has also seen an increase in projects in civil and commercial subsectors. The company needs an adequate supply of skilled and experienced site managers, project engineers and foremen.

One of the causes of a skilled labor shortage in the construction industry is the Australian aging population. One in every four Australian is aged above 55 years, a trend that will worsen in ten years’ time, when one in every three Australian will clock the same age (Gahan and Healy, 2017). Worse still, the younger generation does not appreciate careers in the construction industry, which causes them not to pursue professional careers in the same (Ashworth & Perera, 2018). This shortage makes the available skilled labor quite expensive for the players (Chileshe et al., 2017). In response, employers in the sector have increased pay, provided additional benefits and provided training as a retention strategy (Liu, Love, Sing, Carey & Matthews, 2014). This, however, has not fully resolved the skilled labor shortage crisis and as the industry grows, the demand for resolving it increases. These trends imply that as a player in the industry, Champion Homes will have to contend with the lack of qualified construction worker to help in handling its projects. This may be the reality for Champion for the next 1 – 7 years (See Figure 5 on Trade Availability).

Risks

• The aging workforce may demand policies in regards to healthcare, social welfare, and retirement (Gahan and Healy, 2017). This may affect Champion Homes in terms of the costs of operation that may undercut profitability.
• Capacity constraints in the construction industry (Gahan and Healy, 2017). This may inhibit Champion Homes from undertaking projects in which they are under-resourced to accomplish.  
• The need for making the wor
  
  kforce skills requirements less strict to generate enough personnel for short-term employment (Heaton, 2017). This may affect Champion Homes in terms of incurring costs in training the under-skilled and unskilled labor.
• Project Labour Agreements (PLA) could become restrictive and complex (Veen et al., 2017).  This may affect Champion Homes in terms of its relationship to the staff, who may be more demanding in terms of remuneration and benefits.

Opportunities

• Construction companies can leverage on the shortage of skilled labor to retain their competent personnel and thus achieve a competitive edge in the industry. (Cameron et al., 2017). Champion Homes can achieve competitiveness through retaining its skilled and experienced labor by adopting effective retention strategies such as proper remuneration, flexible working hours and providing training to upscale skills.
• The expansion of the labor pool through providing training opportunities, and reducing the prerequisites for work qualifications (Heaton, 2017). This will enable Champion Homes to identify itself as a sound employer in the market with opportunities for prospective employers who have no skills for the sector.

Threats

• Restrictive pension scheme provisions that mandate employers to participate in as a legal obligation (Gahan and Healy, 2017). Champion Homes will have to develop a contingency plan that considers the variable age pension options as a matter of necessity.
• Semi unskilled, unqualified and aging employees will face exhaustion and frustration at work (Gahan and Healy, 2017). Champion Homes may find this cadre of employees slowing down projects or giving poor quality output.
• Lack of quality training and workforce experience, resulting in poor exposure, the higher rate of worker injuries and potential third-party liability (Cameron et al., 2017). This exposes Champion Homes to litigation that may result in higher compensation claims for workers

Technology and the way we do business

Evidently, most big construction companies are embracing technology. However, this will take time before it becomes an industry-wide standard. Many construction companies are relatively slow in adopting new technology (Wang & Chong, 2015). The vast number of software has been adopted by construction companies, which provide a broad range of services including document management and online invoicing. Currently, document management is widely adopted with providers meeting the DoD5015.2 and VERS standards, making it easier to capture, share and store industry data. However, there is a need for making an adjustment to address the needs of all industry players (Ashworth & Perera, 2018).

One of the way technology affects the industry regards the choice of company materials. For instance, cost-cutting is a key motivator for change. Companies make decisions based on new products regarding cost reduction (Sepasgozar, Davis, Loosemore & Bernold, 2018).  In turn, adopting new products and technologies render old construction methods obsolete or scarce. This results in an increased cost to the consumer, exemplified by the costly double brick party-walls that have now been replaced with CSR and Boral party-wall systems. (Wang & Chong, 2015)

Champion Homes is at the forefront of the industry when it comes to technological advancements. The company has invested in the state of the art, patent pending bespoke software, which it has developed by itself. The company has also acquired the cloud-based technology to help in the management of its information system. However, Champion Homes need to be strategic while implementing new technology because it cannot take the chance to upset the veteran employees who have established perspectives about the traditional business methods.  

Risks

• Inadequate education on new technologies on the employees and partners (Loosemore, 2015).  This inhibits Champion Homes’ personnel from taking advantage of the existing technologies to enhance its productivity and efficiency.
• The traditional industry culture that results in resistance to changes brought about by technological advancements (Sepasgozar et al., 2018), such as working within integrated teams and sharing large data (Ashworth & Perera, 2018). Through these established culture Champion Homes risks losing competent and experienced employees who may leave in protest to the changes that come with adopted new technologies.
• The big challenge of cyber-crime management and communication issues (Sepasgozar et al., 2018). Champion Homes could lose invaluable business information to their competitor through cyber-crime, undercutting their competitiveness in the industry.
• Substantial ethical issues of tracking and monitoring employees (Loosemore, 2015). Champion Homes could find itself at loggerhead with the personnel if the technology is used to monitor and track them.

Opportunities

• Utilising the building information modeling (BIM) with laser scanning and virtual reality, this is an emerging technology in the industry and may become common practice for construction firms (Wang & Chong, 2015). They are commercially affordable and cost saving in the long run. Adopting this technology will result in a collaborative building and testing the virtual building before commencing work onsite (Loosemore, 2015).
• 3D printing can offer better insights to potential clients (Loosemore, 2015). Champion Homes could embrace the 3D for making presentations to existing and prospective clients.
• Social media marketing campaigns will enhance the company's network, and consultation procedures (Sepasgozar et al., 2018). Champion Homes could use the social media to reach its potential clients.
• The use of extra-high-strength lightweight concretes using glass composite reinforcement or basalt fiber to improve construction methods (Heaton, 2017).  Its adoption will enable Champion Homes to pursue its sustainability agenda, achieve quality products and enhance efficiency.

Threats

• Possible redundancy rate of 40 % amongst the Australian workforce due to technological advances in the next 8-15 years (Loosemore, 2015). This implies that Champion Homes will have to develop a consistent training of its personnel to ensure that their skills remain updated.
• Tension resulting from the use of new technologies in the workplace, resulting in may decreased communication and productivity instead of improvement (Wang & Chong, 2015). Champion Homes will need to educate its personnel on the relevance and necessity of technologies that they adapt to achieve consensus on its use in the company.

Sustainability in the construction industry

It is claimed that sustainability in the business in general and in the construction industry, in particular, is a significant issue given the ravages of climate change (Ashworth & Perera, 2018). The future of the construction industry demands more consciousness about the need to conserve the environment, which requires that construction companies undertake as many cost-cutting measures as possible.

Construction industry experts contend that the disposal and recycling of waster is the most critical component in regards to sustainability (Ashworth & Perera, 2018). When the right material quantity is not ordered and fulfilled, it results in a large count of waste (Soosay, Nunes, Bennett, Sohal, Jabar & Winroth, 2016). In this regard, Champion Homes need to seek ways to measure more accurately upfront and decrease the waste cost throughout the business activities.

There is also a need for the industry’s players to make positive and constructive decisions regarding their production processes (Loosemore & Lim, 2017).  These processes include sourcing of raw material, procurement, production, installation, delivery and the disposal of waste, which significantly contribute to climate change. This is due to the fact that building materials and their processes emit a high amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (Ashworth & Perera, 2018).  In the current high rate of consumerism, most tools and equipment have become single-use disposables (Soosay et al., 2016). Time constraints on projects have also pushed contractors to seek to accomplish their projects within short durations and at lower costs (Loosemore & Lim, 2017). This leads to non-sustainability as cheaper options are preferred, which are not necessarily eco-friendly even though they provide almost instantaneous results.  (Chan, Darko & Ameyaw, 2017)

Sustainability as has been a great concern for Champion Homes in the previous 2 – 5 years. However, as the construction industry in Australia shifts towards green building projects Champion need to develop a more comprehensive sustainability policy that will contribute to environmental conservation as a matter of corporate social responsibility. The policy will need to devise an effective project management system and approaches that will contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions. This will not only save money for the company.

Risks

• The Australian population has no signs of slowing down. This is putting increasing pressure on the construction industry to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly for the future of Australia (Loosemore & Lim, 2017). Champion Homes risks losing out if it does not uphold sustainability as it may end up being blacklisted as an eco-unfriendly industry.
• Increased government legislation for sustainable development through Your Home guide towards the sustainable homes website and not-for-profit organizations like the Green Building Council of Australia (Ashworth & Perera, 2018). Champion Homes risks losing time and money in litigation if the company fails to adhere to the sustainability legislation and regulations.

Opportunities

• Sustainable building projects will be cheaper to run with relatively smaller alterations and improved planning (Soosay et al., 2016). Champion Homes will benefit from embracing sustainability by reducing the cost of production.
• Passive designs for greener energy with reduced energy consumption (Chan et al., 2017).  
• Housing Industry Australia (HIA) is dedicated to builders being sustainable and GreenSmart, they run programs, award nights and a magazine dedicated to green housing recognition (Chan et al., 2017).
• Government support via regulating policies and better funding for the construction industry. (Loosemore & Lim, 2017).
• Better assistance by industry partnerships and not-for-profit organizations (Ashworth & Perera, 2018). Champion Homes will benefit through increased collaboration with partners, which will reduce the cost of upholding sustainability.

Threats

• Reforming building and planning laws Building and Planning Development Certifiers Bill (HIA. 2018)
• Green and sustainable building products usually come with a higher price tag (Ashworth & Perera, 2018). The high cost of upholding sustainability will greatly minimize Champion Homes’ profitability.

Conclusion

The growth of the Australian construction industry is set to increase in the foreseeable future. However, the industry is presented with risks, opportunities, and threats that may affect its prospects. The three key strategic issues that will be prominent in the next 2 – 5 years include the shortage of skilled labor, rapid technological changes, and a sustainable business approach. These are the key issues that Champion Homes need to consider in the development of its competitive strategy with the objective of maximizing the opportunities, minimizing the threats and devising measures to address the risks.

CEO Leadership Paper

The LMAP Experience

The LMAP 360 experience was instructive in helping my colleagues to determine my leadership traits and abilities. The experience provided a framework for understanding my personality traits and behaviour. More importantly, the experience helped me to acknowledge my strength and the areas in which I need to work for improvements in my professional life. It has also helped me to decide my true professional goals and ways to make modifications for better outcomes as a leader.  

Strength

There are three leadership strengths that I established after conducting the self-rating assessment were: sociability, conscientiousness, and innovations. The aggregated feedback established that my three strengths were achievement, conscientiousness, and helpfulness. However, the average assessment revealed that my three strengths were conscientiousness, innovation, and sociability.  Paludi & Coates, (2011) regards the conscientiousness measure as indicating the need for an individual to achieve results of high quality, get things done in the right way the first time and to attend to details. Therefore, people who score highly on conscientiousness are very hardworking in their quest to achieve quality results; they are much more effective at their job. But the downside of being conscientious can make one become a perfectionist, characterized by controlling attitudes, rigidity, and micro-management. I am a moderate conscientious individual, which has made me able to work with others in teams. However, people know that when they have to work with me on a project they will need to give their best, which demands an effort and sacrifice. I never like associating myself with a shoddy job and I do all it takes to ensure that the outcome is something that I am proud of.

I am quite an innovative person who believes that there can be found a solution to any problem known to man. Avolio & Yammarino, (2013) note that the innovation scale measures the curiosity, inquisitiveness and the confidence to try new things. Therefore, people who are innovative are independent thinkers and have a remarkable sense of commitment and satisfaction. Kwame Gilber & Munroe, (2012)  further notes that innovate people have an interest in learning new things and look for situations where they can build on their interest and knowledge. I think this is my greatest strength because I am always thrilled by challenges; through my creative thinking, I have managed to turn many challenges into opportunities.

Avolio & Yammarino, (2013) indicates that the sociability measure denotes the ability and interest in someone to maintain their social relationships. Therefore, the people who have high scores on sociability are warm, friendly and highly savvy in interpersonal relationships. Kwame Gilber & Munroe, (2012) argues that even though sociability is not a strong indicator of professional effectiveness, a moderate measure of the trait is required to complement the drive for results. Paludi & Coates, (2011) further notes that sociability is required in projects or workplaces where teams work together to achieve results; it is also a prerequisite for job satisfaction and greater engagement. I am a very social person. I learn people ‘s name, the first thing and use it in all our interactions. It helps to make me remember them and make them feel that they are worth remembering. I have a magnet for people, I believe, which has made me a leader in various forums where I have found myself being given the mantle to show people the way on how to achieve a particular goal. I have realized that the downside of this is that at times people do not understand when to stop having fun as a friend and start working on a mutual goal. I am goal driven as well and have lost many friends who would rather play all the time, than work when work needs to be done.

Areas of Improvement 

The assessment indicated that in I need to improve in areas such as openness to feedback, need to control and hostility. Shelton, (2012) notes that feedback is required for a leader to be able to improve on their performance. Kwame Gilber & Munroe, (2012) further note that without feedback it becomes difficult for the leader to understand where things are working out wrong and thus need to be corrected. McCleskey (2014) argues that the acceptance of feedback by leaders is the acknowledgment that they do not know everything and that they need others input. I must admit that I am not good at this because I tend to fear that feedback means the criticism. I put in much effort in getting things done and whenever I get negative feedback on it I tend to shut it out rather than embrace it and use it to improve on my performance. This has landed me into problems when I am working with teams. My decisions become autocratic when there is a disagreement; I must become more participative and open. I need to work on this to be able to produce better results in the future.

The second area of my weakness is the need for control. According to Shelton, (2012), the need for control indicates the leader’s tendency to become dictatorial. Avolio & Yammarino, (2013) adds that leaders who are controlling always seek to be in charge, which sometimes means flexing their power and influence. They also hold very strong opinions on issues, which they do not want to be contested. I also admit that I am a rigid person and have also this urge to always be in charge, particularly when I am the designated leaders. I have been accused of restricting innovativeness amongst my team members by insisting that they need to tell me about every decision they make before it is executed. If I work on this, I believe, I will be a better team leader.

The third identified weakness is hostility. According to Paludi & Coates, (2011) the hostility measure indicates the capacity for an individual to become irritable when things are not going their way. Antonakis & Day (2017) note that hostility breeds conflict as the irritable leaders lets their emotions to rule them rather than logic. I need to score low on hostility because it is a manifestation of my controlling behavior. I need to learn to positively accept criticism and negative feedback.

Champion Homes a new CEO

My rating indicates that I score favorably to be able to succeed the current Chief Executive Office of Champion Homes Sales Pty Ltd, for the next five years and beyond. According to Dupont et al. (2017) over 1 in 5 professionals who are globally rated by other team members tend to be prominent in high-performance traits with almost no prominent counterproductive traits. This is evident in my LMAP assessment, where I was categorized as a high performer with traits including conscientiousness, innovation, achievement drive, helpfulness, sociability, and openness to feedback. However, I had a poor score in counteractive traits which include hostility, need to control, competitiveness, rigidity, dependence, tension, and approval seeking. According to Loup-Escande et al., (2014) professional leaders are driven, initiative, with interpersonal skills and self-management skills.

My strengths demonstrate that as a leader I am quite effective when it comes to teamwork. Heifetz & Linsky (2017) argues that teamwork is instrumental in helping a leader achieve synergy in his subordinates. Lietz et al. (2017) suggest that leaders who master teamwork skills enable their subordinate to become effective in their tasks at both individual and collective level. This is necessary to attain higher standards of sustainable performance.  Besides, the assessment of my traits also establishes that I am a task-oriented individual. Northouse, (2018) indicates that without this trait it becomes quite difficult for leaders to be productive. Furthermore, the assessment also indicated that I am firm, though considerate and respectful to my subordinates. According to Heifetz & Linsky, (2017) leaders need to respect their subordinates in order for them to gain their confidence and support. With these abilities I can become an effective CEO of Champion Homes, providing the company with transformational leadership that will make the company efficient and productive.  

Leadership Goals

My leadership development goals are to become a transformational leader. Transformational leadership inspires the individuals to change for the better of their organization or cause (Brook & Brewerton, 2016). This is an ideal form of leadership to develop a positive and valuable change in team members with the key end goal to develop followers as the new leaders (Northouse, 2018).  

Professional Development Plan

Following the four I’s of transformational leadership, this is a vital role for managers because leader effectiveness drives the ultimate success of an organisation (CMI 2018) see fig. 6 The Four I’s of Transformational leadership

Utilising the seven levels of leadership consciousness will help establish my strength areas while also highlighting weak points that require development (see Fig. 7 the seven levels of leadership consciousness)

developing emotional intelligence (e Q)

Emotional intelligence does not have an agreed standard definition. EQ is consists of two main categories the “Self-awareness” and the “social/group awareness” (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013). Through developing the many aspects of these two categories will greatly enhance my leadership attributes. 

Conclusion

It is doubtless that the LMAP 360 assessment and the leadership report has provided the way to improve my professional leadership competency with through clear and concise goals. Being innovative, conscientious, and social are my key traits, which indicate high leadership potential in me. These leadership traits also indicate that I can assume the top leadership of Champion Homes and make a difference in terms of steering it towards efficiency and productivity.

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