Construction of a Substantial Dental Center

Bidding Strategies

Bidding for a contract or any project is a complex aspect requiring detailed analysis and consideration of several company elements. On the other hand, effective bidding procedures are vital for the success of any project and attaining a competitive advantage. The importance of effective bidding procedures is viable in all societal and economic facets. In the construction industry, bidding strategies are vital for a successful and company and project performance. In today’s competitive market, construction companies are needed to embrace various best practices necessary for dealing with diverse bidding situations (Prajapati, Pitroda & Bhavsar, 2015, p. 84). Generally, the processes involved in a strategic bidding endeavor are very important and influence corporate and project success.

First and foremost, the decision on whether or not to bid is always the first strategic step in effective bidding in the construction industry. Decisions made on this first step greatly influence the success of the company (Prajapati et al., 2015, p. 84). From these aspects, there are several aspects that construction companies need to consider when bidding on a project. This section, therefore, presents the best practices for bidding on a project for the construction of a substantial dental center. This report, therefore, addresses all the needed aspects for bidding on the above project thus covering the bidding dilemmas and recommending the best bidding processes.

Decision Making

Prajapati et al. (2015, p. 87) postulated that a firm’s strengths and need for work are the significant factors affecting decision-making in bidding processes.  Our organization is a national construction company. It has a turnover of £500 million making it a top performer in the construction industry. Therefore, the company has sufficient resources and can accomplish the above-mentioned construction project. Wibowo, Astana, and Rusdi (2015, p. 95) postulated that the project performance in firms determines the overall success of a company in all sectors. Consequently, bidding strategies, as one of the appropriate and necessary project strategies, determine the success of individual projects, especially in the construction industry.

Wibowo et al. (2015, 96) further outlined that projects influence the competitiveness of companies in society. Contractor competitiveness is a vital aspect and influences the success of a bid. Our company’s strategic goal is to make profits and develop in performance. The above project is one of the big projects and therefore has sufficient income. Therefore, our company would gain from taking the project. Therefore, bidding on the project is the correct decision for the company. Based on the above decision, the next bidding process is founded on information gathering and analysis. The analysis and information gathering will focus on the internal, environmental, and external factors of our company.

Consideration Factors

According to Liang et al. (2016), the ideal bidding process after deciding to bid on a project begins by obtaining bidding information and ends with planning for the contractor units. The bidding process in sour company will ensure some detailed steps. The detailed processes are shown in the figure below (Liang et al., 2016).

From the above figure, the bidding process will consider the units to be built in the project then plan for the bidding. Determining the attribute values of the units will consider all the environmental, external, and internal factors of the company and project.

External Factors

The external factors considered include the characteristics of the project, client, and the contract (Wibowo et al., 2015, p. 96). The project is big and promising in terms of returns. However, a detailed analysis of the client will cover company performance elements. The key performance indicators for this analysis include the financial aspects, internal business processes, learning and growth, customer satisfaction in the client’s organization. On the other hand, decisions made will be based on the cost, quality, safety, time, productivity, and project environment (Wibowo et al., 2015, p. 97). Considering these factors would greatly assist in ensuring that the bidding decisions are made based on detailed data and information thus competitive advantage.

Internal Factors

Internal factors are vital for the success of any bid. According to Bageis et al. (2019, p. 1195), availability of cash and resources needed for a construction project, ability to do the job, availability of human resources, and degree of difficulties are some of the relevant internal factors determining behavioral differences in the bidding of construction projects. Furthermore, the benefits of a company are also a viable aspect in strategizing on a construction project (Wibowo et al., 2015, p. 97). These are some of the main aspects that the bidding process will consider in our company as they have been linked to bids and project success. Generally, the bidding process of this project will consider numerous aspects and elements in the organization.

Environmental Factors

Environmental factors such as bidding situation, competition, and economic conditions are also vital for bidding decisions and strategies. The environmental factors will be covered under a detailed analysis of the other bidders and businesses in this sector and region. To begin with, there are some nearby healthcare and residential buildings around the site. Therefore, extensive information will be obtained from the residents and the healthcare facilities in the area. The bid sent has to be detailed on the product that our company will provide and how effective it will be. The constructed project has to suit the needs of the users. Therefore, a survey on the needs and standards of the residents will be a key aspect in determining the detailed construction features and the construction units needed.

Validity Measurement

Generally, the bidding process of the company on the construction of the substantial dental center project has to be accompanied by a detailed analysis and research for prosperity. Therefore, the above processes and factors will be considered discreetly. Furthermore, the data collected and information gathered will be analyzed based on some models to determine the validity of the project. The first model to be implemented will be the first order and second-order analysis, referred to as the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). For reliability and functionality, these models will focus on the key performance indicators for the internal, external, and environmental factors as shown in the parts above (Wibowo et al., 2015, p. 98).

Additionally, the research and analysis will consider convergent and discriminant validities and construct reliability models of measurements. The KPIs defined in the above paragraphs will be analyzed using the above diverse models. The convergent validity model focuses on the first and second-order validities derived from the multi-dimensional and uni-directional constructs respectively. The KPIs derive the constructs and places them in the ideal section depending on their characteristics. After deriving the constructs and placing them appropriately, their average variance is extracted. If the variance is above 0.5, then the convergent validity is proven. The convergent validity model will be used in determining whether the company should go forward with the bidding or not (Wibowo et al., 2015, p. 98).

On the other hand, implementation of the discriminant validity is also viable in the analysis. The discriminant validity model emphasizes the aspect of diverse manifest variables and the level of their correlation. Generally, this model will be used to establish the viability of the project by establishing faults whenever variables of project failure and success are similar or closely related (Wibowo et al., 2015, p. 99). By using these models, the project decisions will be productive and effective in reaching the company goals. Therefore, all the above measures will be implemented and their feasibility in measuring faults and project issues determined in detail.

Stakeholder Engagement

Introduction

Stakeholders are critical in any project in the corporate world. Furthermore, engaging and effectively managing stakeholders in a project is a complex endeavor that requires several aspects, strategies, activities, especially by project managers. Rajabu et al. (2015, p. 111) outlined that project management concepts have received increased attention in the past years. As a result, companies today acknowledge the importance of effective management practices and strive to implement them. Regardless, project failure and adverse challenges are common, primarily when proper and appropriate management practices are not implemented. Theories formulated in the past show that stakeholder management is a crucial element of project success.

Rajabu et al. (2015, p. 111) further postulated that effective stakeholder utilization and management are key performance indicators for projects. The construction industry is not an exception in terms of the importance of stakeholder management. The task for developing a substantial dental center has to ensure best practices for stakeholder management. Cross, Daniel, and Victor (2020, p. 275) argued that project managers play a crucial role in stakeholder management. Furthermore, proper management influences their success in terms of project triumph. Therefore, this part presents the best practices for stakeholder management in the project mentioned above, thus establishing how best the management can maximize performance by ensuring effective management practices.

Company Values

Nukic (2018) argued that corporate values and culture are vital for project success in construction industries in today’s competitive world. Human behavior in companies is often guided by the culture and values of the companies. As a result, ensuring proper practices that gear towards corporate success has to start with the corporate values’ appropriateness. Our company’s values are relevant and viable for success. The values are as follows:

• Workplace Safety is everyone’s responsibility.
• Our business demeanors will always ensure the highest degree of moral precision, morality, and ethical standards.
• Teamwork is the core of business operations.
• Accountability and leadership is the core of operations

With the above values, our company has managed to stay competitive in the past. The functions of the organization emphasize quality and effective stakeholder involvement in all projects.

Stakeholder identification and Classification

According to Prabhu (2016, p. 32), stakeholder interactions and interrelationships are vital for a construction project’s success. From our company’s values, teamwork and leadership aspects are some of the critical cultures in our company. Selecting stakeholders who would participate in any project is vital and conducted with utmost discreetness and analysis of the individuals. Stakeholders are the people influencing or are influenced by the project product. In the construction and dental center project, the main groups of stakeholders will be internal stakeholders who directly influence the project and external stakeholders who indirectly affect the project. The external stakeholders include customers, constructors, suppliers, and external stakeholders, including the government, the local community, and the bank. Generally, these stakeholders will play a vital role in strategizing on the project development.

Stakeholder Management Approaches

From the stakeholder identification, the project will include internal and external stakeholders. The stakeholders influence the task differently. While the internal influence the project directly, the external stakeholders influence it indirectly. Additionally, both of the stakeholders’ groups consist of several individuals and diverse intellectual capabilities and expertise. Therefore, the company has to ensure that they are managed effectively and appropriately as per their requirements. Generally, the project will focus on how to engage and influence the stakeholders differently. The development of a substantial dental center is a big project. Therefore, the project activities are controlled by and affect numerous individuals both in the company and community. Therefore, effective management will commence with preparing an appropriate stakeholder register and including it in the project document.

The project stakeholders are grouped into the following groups according to their relationships with the project:

• Stakeholders who politically impact the project: Include the company leaders, project managers, and the governmental and regulatory bodies. These stakeholders are engaged in aspects such as consultations, planning, and legacy.
• Stakeholders who affect the project’s economic aspects: The banks, the investors, and sponsors of the project. The stakeholders mentioned above are engaged using consultations, evaluation, and pre-contracts
• Stakeholders benefiting from the project: Include the community, investors, and our company. The stakeholders mentioned above’ engagement are evaluations, project execution stages, appointments, pre-planning, post-project activities, and pre-project activities.
• Stakeholders harmed by the project:Includes the competitors of the facility being developed. The individuals who the project may injure will be engaged through information gathering and contributions to the project’s improvements.

Regardless of the group of stakeholders, effective management and engagement of these stakeholders will include:

• Proper communication.
• Systematic data collection and analysis.
• Calling on contributions where needed.

The project manager will ensure proper and timely contributions and participation of the key stakeholders in the project. On the other hand, appropriate communication methods and information gathering, such as questionnaires for public contributions and dialogues for critical stakeholders, are used. Lastly, the project schedule will include surveys and information gathering activities to inform the project on the changes needed.

Potential Advantages and Difficulties

Management of any project is always complex, challenging, and practical elements. The project in question is not an exception. Project managers have to ensure proper management that maximizes the positive while minimizing the project’s negative aspects and outcomes. Therefore, our company will have to consider all the relevant elements of success. The values of our company depict ethics and morality as crucial elements of our operations. While management of the stakeholders will include information gathering and communication, this project manager will ensure high standards of morality. One of the difficulties arises from contribution failures from the stakeholders. According to Moylan and Walker (2012, p. 1), value-based leadership is vital for the project’s success.

The value-based leadership approach emphasizes the leading by example paradigm of leaders. Leading by example instills faith in the followers, thus positively influencing participation and enthusiasm among the followers. Therefore, the leader selected for this project in our company has to use the value-based leadership approach. Furthermore, communication and information gathering is a crucial success factor in this project. The project leader will encourage credibility, empathy, and logic elements in their communication and data collection. In general, this project leader will lead by example in enforcing all the above ingredients and other best practices required for productive relationships and interactions among stakeholders. Lastly, our company has positive and viable values and culture, and therefore, it stands a chance of influencing all stakeholder engagement aspects productively.

Conclusion

Management of the stakeholders during the project is a vital success factor for the project manager. Stakeholders play a critical role in advising decision-making in projects. While this project’s success relies on the information used and decisions made about some project elements, the accuracy of the information and data is vital for this success. Furthermore, information gathering and obtaining for decision-making requires proper interactions and engagement for the stakeholders. Therefore, the project manager will ensure suitable activities geared towards strengthening engagement and interactions during the project.

Also, the stakeholders’ engagement using different models depending on their broad groups and commitment will influence project success. Finally, the community will also be engaged, especially in the project’s initial planning, as they will be the users and customers of the facility. The competitors will inform the project on the elements and issues of special consideration, thus developing relevant and reliable dental care for the users.

Supply Chain Management

Introduction

Proper supply chain management processes and practices reduce operating costs, boost customer service, and improve its financial position. Due to these internal and other external benefits of supply chain management, its importance to corporations has received significant attention in the past years. Supply chain management is, therefore, a vital aspect in all companies, including construction companies. Kleab (2017) defined supply chain management as managing upstream and downstream flows of supplies, products, information, finances, services, and other corporate activities related to the supply chains. Therefore, these activities are vital for the success of any corporation. In addition to that, they promote performance in the construction companies.

According to Al-Werikat (2017, p. 106), the construction industry is the oldest worldwide. Additionally, it often has underdeveloped technology and supply chain tools and processes. Regardless of these, modern-day construction companies need effective and efficient supply chain management elements for their success. Implementing proper supply chain management prospects in construction companies promotes competitive advantage in society today. Companies in this industry gain control over project variables and success factors through implementing adequate supply chain management elements. This part, therefore, presents the best supply chain management practices for the project of developing a substantial dental center. This essay gives reasons for implementing proper in-house supply chain management in the company.

Procedures of Implementation

From the above statements and arguments, supply chain management is essential for improving operational efficacy and reducing organization costs. Effective supply chain management processes, in turn, increases returns and performance in companies. Implementing a well-structured in-house supply chain management in our company is a complex endeavor requiring several commercial exchange concepts and theories and construction industry elements. Our company needs to add value, and therefore the need for addressing the management issues is imminent. On the other hand, focusing on supply chain management’s essential components is crucial. It will ensure that all the relevant sectors and factors are covered.

Developing a supply chain management that will serve all the company departments requires sufficient information and data on the company’s operations. The supply chain management, therefore, has to be diverse and relevant to all the corporate sectors. Our company’s supply chain management will cover planning, sourcing, making, deliver and return, as the primary supply chain management’s procedure or elements. Ensuring that all the above processes are covered is vital for the success of any supply chain management. However, the construction industry is different, and therefore, the sub-components of the above steps will have to be detailed and relevant to the construction industry elements.

Application of the Procedure

Implementing supply chain management in our company includes the plan, source, make, deliver, and return. In the construction industry, appropriate supply chain management prospects cover different schools of thought and theories relevant to the industry’s activities. Therefore, applying these procedures in our company has to consider the functional, philosophical, and conceptual schools of thought. Furthermore, our company’s applications will also consider the organizational theory, economics concepts, and sociology aspects, depending on their relevance to the different corporate sectors. Therefore, the elements that implementation of the supply chain management in our company will consider are:

Organization theory: An in-house supply chain management manages and controls all its internal operations and their interactions with incoming activities and elements. Therefore, the supply chain will structure the organization’s management and leadership to suit policies, values, processes, and practices relevant to daily operations. The new policies and parameters of functions will ensure best practices for the dental center project regarding supply chain management elements.

Economic concepts: According to Swanson et al. (2017, p. 299), economic theories are vital for supply chain management practices. First and foremost, the idea of supply and demand is critical in strategic planning involving financial aspects. While implementing the in-house supply chain management, our company will consider market situations, opportunities, Buoyant, and recession concepts. The company spends as per its level of earning to reduce risks of poor financial performance.

Sociological Theory: Implementing the supply chain management in our company will ensure the sociology elements in strategic planning. Using sociology concepts, the company will gain income and production by Learning the market patterns, societal norms and adapting to the market situation. Furthermore, the company will adopt a market-based culture and standards, thus competitive advantage and productivity. Therefore, the proposed supply chain management for our organization utilizes sociology elements to learn and dissect the issues and preferences of the regions. For instance, the dental center project will follow discreet analysts of the people’s priorities in the community..

Using all the above concepts will facilitate using a contractor-based approach in the substantial dental care project. The project management will exclusively cover market-based elements such as competitors, customer needs, and production costs. Therefore, the project will be relevant and will serve the users to their expectations.

Benefits of the procedure

Proper supply chain management assists in ensuring profits and general performance in terms of competitive advantage. Our company’s proposed supply chain management is crucial and relevant to the current project and corporate situation. From the task at hand, our company has to formulate better construction features and practices to maximize profits and ensure superior quality. Furthermore, the project is large and requires a detailed and competitive analysis of its execution. Therefore, implementing the above approach to supply chain management is vital as it uses different concepts to ensure productivity. Implementing the economic ideas would reduce project cost, thus competitive advantage and increased returns. The sociology concepts assist in structuring the goals to suit the project’s product’s users, and the organizational theory advises management processes in the company.

Generally, an in-house supply chain management ensures that the company studies all the internal and external performance elements. The organization’s supply chain management department will have to learn the market and all the factors driving production. The information obtained will, in turn, advise strategic planners on the best methods of operations in terms of the market needs and preferences. Furthermore, in–house supply chain management manages operations from all corporate sectors, thus advising its projects, strategies, and activities. Therefore, the proposed supply chain management procedures are essential and significantly influence productivity.

Conclusion

All companies need relevant supply chain management to ensure that all effective management and planning of pertinent factors. Like any other company, our company constantly seeks to make profits. Due to this, financial success is one of the topmost goals of the company. The company also bade for the project due to the potential returns that it has. Failing to plan for the task effectively may lead to risks of income loss. Implementing proper supply chain management in the company is one of the best strategies for the company.

Supply chain management assists in ensuring swift and flawless procedures. In turn, the practices influence success. Implementing an in-house supply chain management covering all the sectors in our organization manages the sectors for appropriate structuring of project processes. Furthermore, the proposed supply chain management oversees costs and resources related to all the project activities, thus influencing its better financial management. Moreover, the supply chain management also strategizes on the best methods needed for the project by studying the community aspects such as consumer trends and preferences. Therefore, by ensuring all the above elements, the project will be a success, and our company’s operations will be reliable and productive.