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Introduction

Simons Construction Limited Simons Construction is a company now situated all over Britain. The company started in Nottingham where a small firm called W and J Simons was formed in 1873. The firm moved from Nottingham to Lincoln in 1944 to service the many airfields around the area. This was the start of what the company has turned into today. Simons have branches in 10 different locations around Britain. The Company: Simons is a Private Limited Business. Under the Companies act of 1980 this basically means there must be at least two or more members or share holders. The word Limited must be included in the name of the business due to letting other business be aware of what sort of company they would be trading with. The shares of Simons therefore may not be sold to members of the general public but are issued by the company. There are many types of businesses in today's market and it is important for companies like Simons to no and understand there differences. Partnerships: A Partnership is defined in The Partnership Act of 1890 as the 'relation which subsists between persons carrying on business with common view to profit'. This can be condensed down to 'a partnership has more than one owner'. Being a partnership everything is shared and spread out between the 'joint' owners. This means they share responsibilities for running the business and also share the profits. Being a partnership the partners may agree to draw up a Deed of Partnership. This is a legal document that covers such issues as: * How much capital each partner will contribute, * How much of the profits each partner will receive, * How much control each partner will have, * Rules of taking on new partners. If a Deed of Partnership is not drawn up and arguments between partners occur will be subject to the Partnership Act. ...read more.

Middle

* Negative Culture - Cynical culture, with mutual distrust of workers and managers. Lack of enthusiasm for change irrespective of possible consequences. * Person Culture - Managers and employees are genuinely supportive of each others personal development and progress. * Positive Culture - Managers and workers alike are co-operative and supportive of each other's contributions and efforts, and consider many issues as opportunities rather than threats. * Power Culture - A centralised firm, with the power to control exerted by a strong senior management team directing operations. * Role Culture - Power, authority and respect is obtained via the individual position or role in the company hierarchy. * Risk Adverse Culture - Employees and management are naturally suspicious of change and undertake careful planning before making decisions. * Task Culture - Project-organisation, where all attention is focused on the completion of the task, with all individuals expected to be flexible according to the needs of the firm. * Technological Culture - Emphasis and focus is on the development of technological excellence. Ideas and suggestion form all levels in the firm are positively encouraged. The main culture present in Simons is the Task Culture. The business has to be flexible due to weather and supplier set backs. This is the ideal culture for Simons and suits the running of the company due to the structure and type of business they are involved in. Organisational Functions: All organisations must carry out and run by a number of separate functions. These functions put together constitute the business system of the organisation. In most businesses there are six organisational functions, and they are closely related. 1) Production - The function of production is to use material to manufacture goals, or to supply a service. If production fails, the whole organisation will fail. 2) Finance - All business must control their expenditure. To achieve this, the Finance department must record all transactions produce all financial documents and reports and deal with incoming and out going payments. ...read more.

Conclusion

This constant evaluation of reports gel together with the constant improvements, constantly upgrading and updating, to greater quality of service that Simons provide. Simons Environmental assessments onsite: In August 1999, Simons started carrying out Environmental Assessments of projects, this limited construction operations themselves rather then the finished 'product'. These assessments cover the same issues as the 'Environment Awareness' course, and the early assessments doubled as training for the site staff. To date, the assessments have been carried out on over 30 locations, with improvement targets beyond statutory minima being set on many sites with varying degrees of success. Environmental Technology: In the last twelve months Simons has been determined to build there knowledge on environmental based technology, both in the establishment of an Environmental Reference Library at Lincoln, and the circulation of selected, more widely useful information, on an intranet database that can be accessed by all staff. They have participated in many external activities including the Lincoln Waste Minimisation Club 2000, the ACTIVE workshops on concrete innovation through Oxford Brookes University, and a DETR project on waste in the construction industry through Nottingham Trent University. They are regular contributors to the Bigreen group, and internet subscription discussion group dealing with the environmental issues on major construction projects, including emerging new technology. Possible improvements ascertainable within the company: Simons has the possibility to branch out into other areas of the market such as the environmental aspects of construction. Advice conferences could be held for other constructional companies to help them help the environment. Materials use and design of builds are becoming very large in the construction business. Many councils want non-obtrusive but very functional building to be erected. These building effect the visual environment, by a way that they are not immediately noticed due to there design. Simons would benefit from undertaking projects based upon that specification. This would increase the view of Simons Architects into designing more environmentally friendly buildings. Stuart Turner Page 1 Simons Construction. ...read more.

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