Effects of Competitiveness on the UK Construction Industry Literature review

Effects of Competitiveness on the UK Construction Industry - Literature review Example The success of an organisation in a given nation highlights the important factors that the organisation controls when compared to other organisations (Jones & Saad 2003). The UK construction industry enjoys various competitive factors that enable it to succeed in the current market. Some of the competitive factors within the industry include the good leadership strategies, strategic advantage, market advantage, good marketing strategies; furthermore, they have knowledgeable personnel, production advantage, modern technology, finance advantage, good administration and risk management advantage (Morton 2007). Effects of competitiveness on the UK construction industry The U.K construction industry has more than 300, 000 firms, which employs over 2 million individuals to perform several roles (Morton 2007). The construction industry typifies the material and products used in construction, suppliers and the producers of the construction material, building services offered by contractors, providers and installers of the services, constructors, sub-constructors, professional advisors , construction clients and the different organisations that specialise in design and building (Morton 2007). The sector accounts for 5 percent of the UK Gross Value Added, which is similar to the values that France, Germany and U.S contributes towards their economy (David & Male 2001). The construction industry in UK specialises in the residential and nonresidential building as well as infrastructure. The industry has an advantage because the designers, civil engineers, contractors and product manufacturers are globally reputable because they devise high-tech solutions to varied projects within the construction industry. The industry has been undergoing a tremendous growth in the infrastructure and commercial construction sector (Cobbold & Lawrie 2001). The UK construction industry competes in an aggressive global market. The industry has high production level and its goods and services a re of high quality. This counteracts the competition from other industries worldwide. The construction industry adopts several approaches that enable it to increase its productivity and quality (Benati 2004). The UK construction industry embraces admirable leadership strategies because it has a long-term defined vision. This encourages the industry to meet the long-term developments. The leadership process also enables the industry to compete in the market because the industry gives room for success, letdown and learning. The UK construction industry maintains an appropriate learning environment because it allows people to learn from errors (Evers & Gerke 2008). This establishes a framework for the industry to improve on their developments; hence, reducing the possibility of failure. The leadership team within the industry highlights their expectations for them to monitor and identify whether they are competent enough to meet the set targets. Additionally, the leadership team devise s effective decision-making methods, which are vital in the building and maintenance of competitive advantage. The industry has a diverse management team with different talents; hence, maximizing their production. The leadership team has good communication skills, which enables them to build the long-term relationship and advance their operational productivity (Great

Jewish PhilosophyIf man was created in God's image, how can he behave Essay

Jewish PhilosophyIf man was created in God's image, how can he behave as he does - Essay Example This question is that if G-d is good and righteous and has created humans in his own image, how can people be evil and do so much harm to each other. This question is probably as old as religions themselves. It is simply a tentative lump for some of us, and for many more at given moments of misfortune and despair. In my paper I would like to touch upon this subject and try to discover some possible explanations of why the evil and evil people persist in our world if the Almighty has the powers to stop them. Furthermore, I would like to explore the thesis of humans being created in G-d's image, according to the principles of Judaism. To begin with, I would like to turn to the words of the holy Torah (Bible) and see the event of the man's creation. In Genesis 1:26 it is said "On the last day of creation, God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". This verse, even though being short, is in fact a contradiction and has been arising arguments for centuries already. Lower, I would like to present my understanding, that I have formed having read much literature on this subject, of the two concepts "image" and "likeness". Having the "image" or "likeness" of God means, that we, the humans, were created to resemble G-d. The words "image" and "likeness" convey the idea of the whole man being created in this way. Of course, we know that man's physical body is not patterned after the physical appearance of the Divinity, because G-d is a Spirit and does not dwell in a physical body. However, this does not exclude the fact that the physical body is some part of the image of God (Man Created in the Image of G-d). The "image" of G-d refers to the immaterial part of man. Having the G-dly image and likeness inside of us, means having a reflection of G-d's intellect and freedom, as well as the freedom of choice (Man Created in the Image of G-d). Yes, it would be easier and more understandable for us, if the Almighty had created the humanity to be all righteous and decent, though that was not his intention. Further in my paper this concept will be explained in more details. In order to make the paper more clear lower I would like to refer to the works by two great Jewish contemporary philosophers Martin Buber and Abraham Joshua Herschel. In his famous work I and Thou (Ich und Du, first published in German in 1923) Buber suggested that human life could be defined by the way in which they engage in dialogue with each other, with the world, and with the Almighty. As said by Buber, "human beings adopt two attitudes toward the world: I-Thou or I-It". I-Thou attitude is a relation of subject-to-subject, at the same time as I-It attitude is a relation of subject-to-object. In the I-It relationship individuals recognize each other to be consisted of explicit, secluded characters, as well as they view themselves as part of a world, which, in its turn, consists of many things and characters as well. I-Thou is a relationship of "mutuality" and "reciprocity", while I-It is a relationship of "separateness" and "detachment" (Buber). The main emphasis of Buber that is still