THE ARCHITECT AND MANAGEMENT
M
or-
ANAGEMENT is still an ugly word to many architects. It has con- notations of precise inhuman ganization, control and the ordering of work into fixed routines, which are considered as creating an environment anathema to good architecture.
But the time has long past since the architect had the freedom of the art- ist, when he was more concerned with formal than functional and technical values. The architect in his modern role is concerned with complex pro- blems in the shaping of man's en- vironment, involving the close inte- gration of design, building methods, economics and time elements.
The term Management to-day per- vades all conceivable activities and if there is anything wrong with it, it is because of the use of the term "ad nauseam."
As an Art or Science in its modern context, management is often misun- derstood and so a definition is not a bad starting point in any discussion of the subject. That given in the Hand- book of Architectural Practice and Management(1) is as good as any from the point of view of the architect: "the creation of conditions to bring about the optimum use of all re- sources available to an undertaking in men, methods and materials,”
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It will be seen, as the handbook also says, that "this is very close to the architect's natural approach to de- sign problems." If the words for the creation of a human environment, in which man may successfully carry out all his functions, and which is both spiritually satisfying and stim- ulating are added, one has a de- finition of modern architecture.
It will be seen that in the ultimate. management is directed to the saving of time, which the architect never has on his side. The more time that is saved, the more there is for the ar- chitect to exercise his creative abili- ties. Reason enough one would think, for supporting the concept of management.
When confronted with such a de- finition of management, the reaction is to say, "well this is what any sen- sible person does naturally sub- consciously, this is what we are doing all the time all of us in our daily lives, the housewife in her work about the home, the husband at the office, the children at school."
Here however lies the first miscon- ception. Successful management is not a subconscious activity. The cri- terion of management is not merely succeeding in doing what has to be done in a given time, but in getting the optimum results for the effort put into a process, which requires think- ing about.
(1) Handbook of Architectural Practice and Management, Royal Institute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, London, W.1.
Far East Architect & Builder March, 1966
By
Professor
W. G. Gregory
B Arch, ARIBA
It is often thought that manage- ment consists mainly of applying techniques, of providing for instance, so-called labour-saving devices. Cal- culating machines are introduced into an office; soon everyone is using them, lining up to multiply two by
two.
Mechanical aids are one of the means by which management may be made effective, but their application needs an understanding of principles, knowledge of their potential and an assessment of results.
Philosophy
Besides mechanical techniques. there are many processes available which may be used to make most use of resources; in architecture we have for example, cost planning and net- work analysis and various ways of drawing.
The techniques of management are relatively easy to understand and ac- quire, but it is in the philosophy of management that the roots of success lie. This is a field, for some a wilder- ness, of intangible content and like all philosophy boundless. It covers the idea of leadership and the ability to obtain the most and best out of people, the keeping of an open mind and a sense of proportion (the ability to reason), exercising self-discipline in thought and action, and the ability to assess, judge and make decisions.
The architect rightly recognized himself as the leader of the building team, but often he interprets this as director. There is no doubt that the term leader is the right one, because it is meant to be used in the manage- ment sense; if maximum result is to be obtained from the building team, which is made up of a variety of per- sons from top professionals down to young draftsmen, then it will not be achieved by direction.
It would be too much of a digres- sion to discuss the qualities required for leadership, but even if an archi- tect has not the "flair" for it, he must cultivate the techniques.
The whole process of architecture depends on decision-making, and it might be argued that this is an aspect of management in which the architect is fully competent. In the manage- ment sense decision-making is not the intuitive process adopted and accept- ed by many architects, but a deli-
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berate mental activity involving analysis and assessment of facts.
Again, it would take too long to discuss here this interesting subject. but it should be obvious that the ar- chitect needs to be trained to make conscious decisions, improving the chance of his making the right one.
It is important to recognize these two areas of management activity, the area of philosophy and the area of technique, which in simple words may be described as attitudes and methods.
There is another serious miscon- ception about management often en- countered; it is believed that manage- ment is for managers only. From what has been said about its philoso- phy, it should be seen that it extends right through the organization.
In the lower staff echelons the in- dividual applies its principles more to his own work than to that of others, but he has responsibilities to that of others since inevitably his work be- comes associated with theirs. It is important that the staff caucus should realize this and that they all have a contribution to make in the manage- ment process another aspect of the philosophic approach.
Delegation
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In fact an important principle of management is that of delegation of responsibility for the parts of a pro- ject or operation to subordinates car- rying them out, and of delegation of the authority necessary for it.
In architecture, a typical example would be the delegation to a "job- captain" of the whole of a project the authority to carry it out completely and the team of staff necessary. The "job-captain" would in turn delegate to his team responsibility for carry- ing out different aspects of the work again with the authority and means of achieving the desired result.
However, the first task of manage- ment is to define objectives and lay down policies by which they may be achieved, and to ensure that these are understood and accepted by those Hence who have to carry them out. these have to be initiated by the prin- cipal of the firm or organization. This is not to say that in these formula- tions it is necessary for him to act independently, definition of objectives and making of policy may often be a
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