Course syllabus for Strategic management and decision making in construction

Course syllabus adopted 2024-02-12 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameStrategisk ledning och beslutsfattande i byggsektorn
  • CodeACE585
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerMPDCM
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • Main field of studyCivil and Environmental Engineering
  • DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language English
  • Application code 88122
  • Maximum participants45 (at least 10% of the seats are reserved for exchange students)
  • Block schedule
  • Open for exchange studentsYes

Credit distribution

0124 Written and oral assignments 1.5 c
Grading: UG		 1.5 c
0224 Written and oral assignments 2.5 c
Grading: TH		 2.5 c
0324 Project 3.5 c
Grading: TH		 3.5 c

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

Only for students admitted to MSc programs within Architecture and Civil Engineering, as well as for exchange students with equivalent backgrounds.

Aim

The construction sector is facing today numerous challenging problems. Besides the well-known issues of budget or time overrun, climate change, achieving targets for sustainability and circularity, or digitalization are adding new pressure on the AEC companies. To meet these challenges, these companies have to continuously update their knowledge, adapt their practices and develop their organization. The need to be able to define and implement innovative solutions places the topics of strategic management and decision-making at the center of the requested management competences. The aim of this course is to enable students to develop their skills and knowledge on decision-making and strategic management in the construction sector, focusing especially on the project level. The course offers the possibility to the students to learn and understand strategy related concepts and apply tools and techniques to analyze challenging situations and provide adapted responses.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  • account for and explain different decision-making strategies and their usefulness in project organizing.
  • critically evaluate common biases that affect the decision-making process and exhibit knowledge on how to mitigate the effects these biases
  • consider how risk and uncertainty affects decisions and how to assess risks in an unbiased fashion.
  • describe the concept of strategy and discuss the significance of strategic management in the construction management practice.
  • explain and compare different approaches to strategic management and discuss how they can benefit from different perspectives in their managerial practice.
  • apply the concepts within different strategic management approaches to the construction sector specific cases.
  • critically evaluate the key domains and interfaces of strategic project organizing.

Content

The course will start with a critical review of decision-making literature, discussing different perspectives on normative and descriptive models of decision making, risk and uncertainty. Based on understanding the decision-making literature, the focus of attention will move on discussing strategy making within the context of the construction sector. Different perspectives in strategic management literature will be reviewed with a focus on their applicability on organization and project levels. Then the focus will move on project level and the concept of ‘strategic project organizing’. Especially important is understanding the key domains (owner, supplier, and delivery) and interfaces (governance, commercial and resource) of strategic project organizing. The course will cover the following topics with the overall objective of raising students’ awareness and abilities on judgement, decision making and strategic management in construction projects.

Weekly course structure and the content of each lecture will be based on the extension of these topics.
  1. Strategic project organizing: Introduction
  2. Decision making under risk and uncertainty and how it relates to risk management
  3. Heuristics and biases: Decision making in organizational contexts
  4. Strategic decisions and strategy making in construction
  5. Rational approach to strategic management: Deliberate strategy, positioning
  6. Resources and capabilities perspective: Looking inside
  7. Process perspective: How do strategies emerge?
  8. Strategy as practice: Exploring how managers think and act strategically
  9. Key domains of strategic project organizing: Owner, supplier, and delivery
  10. Key interfaces of strategic project organizing: Governance, commercial, and resource
  11. Strategic project organizing: Summary and conclusion

Organisation

The course will consist of lectures and seminars, cased based exercises from construction projects.

Literature

Reference book: Winch, G., Maytorena-Sanchez, E., and Sergeeva, N., 2022. Strategic Project Organizing, Glasgow: Oxford University Press

In addition to the reference book, there will be 2-3 scientific papers specific to the content of each lecture.

Examination including compulsory elements

Written assignment, group project based on case projects in the construction sector.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.