A framework for identifying construction companies’ best practice: a panacea for corporate performance failure.

Abstract

This paper is a review of literature on measurements of corporate performance of construction companies in the South African construction industry and the need for improvement in performance measurements. Despite the accrued benefits of performance measurement as an effective performance improvement tool capable of helping construction companies identify performance gap and compare their performance with the best in class, yet performance measurement and its benchmarking are not being given the required attention. Where performance measurements are carried out they are not properly implemented or are being used only to benchmark performance for informal comparisons sake, such as, competitor rates and bid prices. For construction companies to identify best practice, the performance measurement models as a management improvement tool has to be devised with respect to construction companies’ characteristics and used in bringing out desired improvements in performance. This may not be a reality without a comprehensive and methodical framework to achieve the desired result in identifying performance gaps and best practice that can lead to high performance. This paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of existing frameworks and identifies the key requirements suitable for developing a framework for construction companies taking into consideration both financial and non-financial measures. Literature has it that ‘one-size-fit-all’ approach is not in existence in performance measurement, and that non-recognition of existing features of companies environment is a process for probable operational failure of the models. The development of a ‘generic’ and ‘internationalised’ approach to the performance of firm’s as seen in South African construction industry is almost impossible to achieve. Therefore, there is a need to align company’s performance measures to their strategic objectives to identify best practices and promote continuous improvement.