Project Management in FocusApril, 2007

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Are you saying that this is not the true meaning of management?M: I am not saying that this is not a part of management. However, it must be remembered that management at a work site and manage-ment in a boardroom are often two different things.A: I think that an understanding of the wider meanings of manage-ment allows businesses, production systems, and products to advance in new directions. This is especially apparent in construction proj-ects, which are one-time endeavors that are massive in scale.Management is both strategic and activeN: When I was young, there was a theory that was in vogue about good managers. The idea was that people with deep knowledge as specialists in particular areas would come to acquire broad general knowledge about other elds that would allow them to be good man-agers. Ms. Murayama, how does Goldman Sachs treat the balance between generalization and specialization in management? M: In our company, there are many specialists and therefore I think that to some extent we nurture such managers and great care is put on mentoring and training them. The reason for this is that employees and teams that work with great managers show substantial progress and yield prots.A: A book titled “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge” classies methods and knowledge based on management area, but such schemes do not have much appeal, and I think that management is something more active and strategic. N: In reality, unexpected occurrences happen, changing critical paths and calling for the ability to solve problems as they emerge.M: Management must take responsibility for generating prots even in difcult situations, motivating employees, and maximizing value. The role of management is not simply to write detailed operations guidelines. Project management to bring clients into the foldN: Given the overall state of flux, what is the situation like in the academic world?A: Basically, universities have been providing the knowledge neces-sary for the construction side. However, they haven’t been offering architectural education that takes the viewpoint of clients into proper account.N: Architects should be on the client side but have tended to tilt towards the construction side. In the past, necessary discussions with the clients may have been curtailed. Through school education and project management, it is vital to create channels that bring the views of clients into the fold. Ms. Murayama, what are your thoughts?M: The important thing is to first understand the client’s needs. These days, many clients are SPCs (special purpose companies). Coming from a nancial background they are usually concerned with issues such as cash ow, IRR (internal rate of return), maintenance costs, and how long a building will last. But the people who are con-structing the buildings are not concerned about cash ow. Since this is the case, I wish that architecture schools would educate students about making and understanding cash ow statements. I think that the terms “project management” and “construction management” are increasingly heard these days because they are ways to answer client needs for accountability.Project management to propose added valueN: When looking at architecture from a nancial perspective, at the very least the construction side should be aware of what clients re-quire and make proposals meeting schedule and nancial needs. To take it one step further, they should be able to make proposals that lead to added value that the client is not aware of. Project managers need to delve deeper into creative areas, which will make project management more attractive as a profession. A: It is easy to evaluate a new investment built on an isolated piece of land, but when it comes to development in already established urban areas like Ginza or Nihonbashi, other factors (such as the value of the surrounding area) come into play. The knowledge that is needed often comes from various sources beyond the bounds of architecture as a specic eld. When people and various divisions collaborate on a large scale, such elds must redesign themselves.M: Real estate and construction were traditionally considered to be areas related to domestic demand. Since there were no language bar-riers in the past, accountability was not an issue most of the time. But from around 1998, with the beginning of the trend of securitization of real estate, the scope of the parties with interests in the industry expanded. This triggered the need for project managers to provide communication and satisfactory explanations. I think this was the beginning of the global expansion of the Japanese construction in-dustry, and it marked the start of an intriguing era.N: I believe that there are two key concepts that have emerged from today’s discussion. One is “the shift of focus from the construction side to the client side.” The other is that “it is important to stop talk-ing in a limited language and to establish a way of communication that touches a cord with clients.” The industry is full of talented hu-man resources and advanced capabilities. It is my rm belief that if we are able to achieve the above key points, the industry has a bright future ahead of it. I think now is the time to push to realize these goals.Rie MurayamaMs. Murayama began her career at Yasuda Trust and Banking Company Ltd. (1981-84). Af-ter graduating from San Francisco State Univer-sity in 1988, she joined Credit Suisse First Bos-ton (Japan) Ltd. and worked at the Tokyo Ofce (1988-1993). In 1993 she joined the Security Analyst Department at the Tokyo branch of Goldman Sachs (Japan) Ltd., and later became the General Manager of the Management Control Department. She has held her current position as Managing Director of the Invest-ment Banking Department at Goldman Sachs (Japan) Ltd. since 2005. She has also been an external board member of Fujita Corporation since 2005, a committee member for the Min-istry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, and a member of the Cabinet Ofce’s Council for Regulatory Reform.Takeshi NakawakeBorn in 1954, Mr. Nakawake joined NIKKEN SEKKEI LTD. in 1979. He has held the positions of General Manager of Planning Development, General Manager of the Property Manage-ment Consultant Department, Head of the Value Management Department, and Head of the Engineering Department. He is currently Managing Director and Operating Ofcer, Head of the Project Development Department, and Head of the Engineering Department. He is also Representative Director of Nikkei Sekkei Man-agement Solutions Inc. From 2000 to 2001, he was a member of a committee of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation that studied ways to apply construction manage-ment methods.プロジェクトマネジメントの現場　日建設計　　　　FACT　NIKKEN SEKKEI07

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