Contracts & Commercial Management Reaching New Heights
The academic and professional rigor behind contract and commercial management continues to increase. A growing number of business schools are jumping onto this as a critical area for business competency. Government bodies are driving many of these initiatives, pushing for new standards of training and capability.
IACCM is naturally at the forefront of these developments. As the only association that has singled out these fields for development and research, it brings a wealth of undestanding and content. I thought I would share a simple example of the types of questions that students face. If you want to share your thoughts, please do so – and I will share the answers! But as you will see, the key point to this exercise is that contracts and commercial strategies and capabiliteis are key to most of the issues identified.
“The recent General Assembly of European International Contractors focused on ‘the major prerequisites for success in large infrastructure projects’. They identified the following factors: do you agree that these are the relevant issues?
- The owner’s role in managing the project, including the setting up of a clear allocation of authority and responsibility. The importance of a clear and balanced risk allocation
- The role of partnership, cooperation and trust
- The formulation of an unambiguous contract with clear requirements
- Mechanisms for early conflict resolution
- The selection of the appropriate delivery method suitable under the circumstances
- The role of sufficient financing (reserves) in the face of uncertainty
Considering these items, discuss the role of the contract and contracting process in their delivery.
Based on these discussions, which of the factors do you deem most important (select your top 2). (Following selection, we will share the top 2 selected by the General Assembly participants and review differences).”
