|
This study aims to discuss the appraisal system for general construction firms and to conduct a preliminary research on the Construction Industry Act and related rules. This study adopts literature review, statistical analysis, and expert interview. as research methods. Based on the cases which had passed the appraisal, this study tries to disclose abnormalities in regard to appraisal items, explore their effects on the achieving rate, and suggest improvements for the appraisal system. The construction industry is a major industry contributing to Taiwan’s economy, and closely related to economic boom or recession. According to research findings, there is an abnormal distribution of general construction firms, namely the number of Class-B firms have the lowest number passing the appraisal. The northern Taiwan has the majority of the general construction firms, followed by the central Taiwan. The year 2002 had a record high number of general construction firms nationwide. Moreover, 1994 and 1995 had the highest proportion of the total employees in the construction industry relative to the total employment nationwide as well as the highest proportion of output value of the construction industry to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Taiwan. The operation and management for construction industry are different from those for general enterprises and hardly quantitatively presented. It has been more than three years since the enforcement of the Appraisal Regulations for Construction Industry. Most of the organizers in charge of construction projects haven’t taken the appraisal to be one of qualifications for submitting a tender. The motive for constructors to voluntarily conduct the appraisal is mostly for promotion, and therefore not many general construction firms participate in the appraisal. According to the statistics as of the end of December 2008 collected by the Construction & Planning Agency, Ministry of the Interior, there are a total of 9,198 general construction companies in Taiwan. Of this total, 1,814 are for Class-A, 1,276 for Class-B, and 6,108 for Class-C. A total of 1,559 cases passed the appraisal for the construction industry. This study randomly selects 368 out of 1,559 cases which pass the appraisal, accounting for 23.6% of the total qualified cases. Among the 368 cases, 15 are for Class-A, 187 for Class-B, 166 for Class-C, and one for invalidity. The data collected come from the Taiwan Small & Medium-sized Construction Company Association. Samples are categorized into Class A, B, and C, and these three categories are analyzed respectively in accordance with construction achievement, construction quality, company scale, managerial ability, professional technique R & D, and financial condition. Furthermore, the achieving rates in the above-mentioned six items for these three categories are analyzed respectively. The following are the major results: 1. The industrial structure is not presented in a pyramid distribution, and the number of Class-B general construction firms are significantly low. 2. As long as firms are scored A on four items among the six appraisal items, they are classified as Class-A general construction firms. As a result, firms tend to choose appraisal items which they consider to be easy to achieve, and ignore the remaining two items. 3. The achieving rate of appraisal in Company Scale ranks the highest in all of the three firm categories. The threshold is set too low, and there is a good possibility of making false statements. 4. The achieving rate of appraisal in Professional Technique R & D ranks the lowest in all of the three firm categories. Despite long-term efforts by the government, the construction industry seems not to be interested in undertaking research and development of professional techniques. 5. In terms of construction quality, there is still room for improvement for Class-C general construction firms. 6. In terms of managerial ability, there is still room for improvement for Class-A general construction firms. 7. In terms of financial condition, there is still room for improvement for Class-B & C general construction firms.
|