Description
This module introduces students to the approach of macro and business economics and finance, applying these to thinking about the construction industry and construction projects. Students are introduced to economic and accounting approaches to business performance.
This module uses these concepts relating to projects, firms and measures of performance of different types of enterprise in the construction industry to develop an understanding of the factors affecting the organisation, efficiency, capacity, productivity and profitability of project-based industries and firms and their role within the wider economy.
The lectures may include the following:
1) The role of construction in developing the fixed assets of the economy and cross sectoral importance
2) The broad capital project-based sector and its enterprises - narrow and broad measures of the industry
3) Construction contracting as a business activity
4) Business context and performance: DuPont analysis
5) Business context and Porter’s ‘five forces’ model
6) The contracting system
7) National accounting concepts: value added; wages and profits; price indices and real output
8) Productivity concepts: output per unit of input; physical and value productivity; measuring resources; unit labour cost
9) Project owners and project profitability concepts investment appraisal, risk, interest rates and discount rates
10) Project risk and uncertainty
11) Use of Financial accounting concepts for business performance analysis; CAPM; stock market valuation of a firm
12) Housing market
13) Financial and material sustainability
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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