Operations Management

04/10/08 Fairness and Transparency Are Essential The way employees feel about their compensation isn’t just about the numbers. Perceptions of pay equity play a huge role in terms of satisfaction. Devising a compensation structure that is fair, transparent, and aligns to the enterprise’s goals will instill commitment on the part of staff. Ed Friedrichs
04/09/08 Effective Compensation is a Strategic Asset Effective design firm compensation plans reinforce the unique vision and goals of each organization and serve to align and motivate people to focus their energy in a common and consistent manner. Steve Fiskum
10/05/07 1 Design Workshop Symposia Design Workshop holds quarterly design symposia that allow for collaborative project reviews across seven offices, bringing together the range of disciplines from architecture and landscape architecture, to land planning, urban design, and strategic services. Doug Parker
10/19/06 Changing the Productivity Paradigm What struck me most about this exercise was that, without exception, the term “productivity” had an immediate, negative connotation. That is part of the problem. Kerry Harding
09/26/05 A Delicious Yet Dangerous Paradox Increasingly, firms are reporting higher percentages of backlog because of increased repeat client work. It is quite natural to think of this as a financial strength. However, this strength can quickly turn into a tricky weakness. James P. Cramer
09/08/05 Confronting Commoditization Commoditization is a big, handwringing topic that conjures up any number of nuisances in the path of what should be an enjoyable professional practice. In this era of rampant consumerism, still no one wants to pay more than is necessary for goods and services. [Admit it, dear reader, neither do you. Or me.] Problem is, neither does anyone want to pay even reasonable fees for design and construction services. Not the private sector and certainly not the distrustful public sector. Joan Capelin
07/26/05 8 to 5 Office Time No Longer Applies One afternoon early in my career, I was in my office when I noticed one of my direct reports coming back from lunch around 2:30 p.m. As I approached, I noticed he had been to the barber. I asked if he was just coming back from lunch and the barber shop. He responded in the affirmative. I looked at him quizzically, hesitated, frowned—then raised my eyebrows and said. “You got your hair cut on company time?” Williston Dye, AIA
07/26/05 Redesign Your Profits: Value-Based Fee Structure A brutal fact of reality for architecture and engineering firms is that prevailing pricing and compensation methods—setting fees on the basis of direct labor cost (whether selling hours on a time-and-materials or lump-sum basis)—provide only minimal profits for most firms.
05/26/05 Why the Future Won’t Need Today’s Architects What’s next for successful architecture, engineering, and design practices? This is the question we will explore more deeply in the upcoming months in DesignIntelligence. We believe that firms will not only be faster and smarter but also wiser and more independent. James P. Cramer

Operations Management

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