Professional Standards for Architects

Question One

In the UK, the architectural profession is regulated by the Architect Registration Board (ARB). The main purpose of regulating the profession is to ensure that professional standards are adhered to. ARB has come up with the Architect Code which highlights 12 professional standards that registered architects ought to abide by. All the twelve standards are necessary but the most important of all is the one that requires architects to have honesty and act with integrity. According to the Oxford dictionary, honesty and integrity is a personal attribute of an individual that enables him to always speak the truth and follow the set rules and standards. A close look at the above definition will show that the honesty and integrity standard encompass the majority of the other standards (Hay et al., 2018). It is impossible for an individual to follow the other standards without having integrity and honesty.

There are several attributes that architects who are honest and have integrity will always possess. One of them is that they will always respect others. The other one is that they will always follow what the regulatory body requires them to do. Clients trust those architects who are honest because they are assured that their money is secure in the hands of such professionals (Sheppard et al., 2017). Honest professionals will ensure that customers are satisfied and when to complain arises they are effectively addressed. An honest architect will always be mindful on the results that their work might have to other people. Lastly, an honest architect will not do the work they are not competent in. in conclusion, it can be said that architect who is honest and has integrity will always follow all the other standards highlighted in the Architect Code (Sharpe, 2018).

Question Two

Opportunities

• Experienced architects- the directors of Oasis have a vast practicing experience. This experience will make them very resourceful in the proposed merger.
• Wider market opportunity- when the market of the individual parties is combined, the result with being a very wide market presence. Oasis Company seems that have made many links with potential clients.
• More professional workforce to handle many client’s orders- merging will increase the workforce of the new company. This means that assignments will be executed within a very short time. The end result is satisfied clients.
• More ideas from new partners- the new partners from oasis may bring new ideas which are beneficial to the business. This idea may be in terms of service, delivery or office practice.
• Profit improvement- the availability of more workers means that more work will be accomplished. Also, widening of the client base will translate to more revenue to the company. The merger will be more profitable than when working individually.
• Economies of scale- the larger the organization is, the lower the running cost. Coming together of the two companies will lead to lower operating cost. This will translate to lower bills to be paid and higher profits.

Risks

• Reduced independence- with the introduction of new partners, the influence that Lercoa Partners had, will reduce. There will be a general change in the mode of operation to incorporate the new members.
• Delayed decision-making process- it is easy and fast for a few people to make a decision. When the number of people to be consulted is high, then the decision-making process will be slowed down

 There are many opportunities as well as risks associated with mergers. Lercoa Partners is going to get many opportunities if they decide to merge with Oasis. One of the benefits is that since Oasis Partners have experts with a wide experience, then, the merger will have a large pool of experts who will provide quality services to clients. Another opportunity that maybe gained is widening of the market. The combination of the customers of the two parties will lead to an increased market presence. The third benefit is improved service delivery. This is as results of increased workforce. Lercoa Partners is also going to benefit from new ideas that may be generated by the partners. The other benefit is that there will be an improvement in profits. This is due to increase customer base. Lastly, the merger is also going to benefit through economies of scale. This is because running cost will be shared among all parties.

Benefits and Risks of Mergers

Apart from the above benefits, there are several risks which Lercoa Partners should be worried about. The first one is reduced independence. Lercoa will lack the autonomy of making decision which currently exists. The other risk is the risk of delayed decision making. This is because there will be more people to be consulted before a decision can be made.

Question Three

Design and build is one of the routes used in procurement of works such as construction. The client’s biggest worry is quality concerns. The client is concerned about the quality of the final output of the build and design method. There are a number of factors which the client needs to consider before he can switch on to the traditional method of procurement (Oliveira et al., 2017). Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. The client should consider the available time for the project to be completed. The traditional method is always seen to take a longer time when compared to the design and build method. The cost of the entire project is also a factor to consider. The design and build allow the client to know the cost of the project from the onset of the project (Norris, 2017). This allows the client to know the amount the project will cost and therefore plan properly. The client should also consider whether he is willing and able to bear the risks of costs that may arise in future. He should also consider if he has enough budget for monitoring the project.

To address the quality concerns of design and build method, the client has several options he can adopt. The client can decide to do a switch on the consultant or carry out a novation. A contract switch occurs when the client links both the consultant and the contractor so that they can work together. Contract switch allows the consultants to provide advice to the contractor (Fulford & Stanghellini, 2018). On the other hand, novation is the process in which the consultant is made to work together with the contractor in the entire project. This creates continuity of work. My advice to the client is that he should go on with the current method of procurement, that is, design and build strategy.

Question Four:

1. Give an example of how works to one of our projects which are situated very close to a boundary might trespass upon a neighbor’s airspace. What could the neighboring landowner do about this invasion?

Trespass occurs when an individual deliberately causes harm to another person or his possession which includes land. For the case of Anjila and his partner, due to close proximity to the neighbor’s land, an injury may occur due to falling objects from the construction (Popova & Polebaum, 2017). Although this is not a deliberate act, the one who has suffered damage can sue so that he can be compensated for damages.

1. Using trees as an example (either providing or removing them) demonstrate how the law of nuisance should be considered when developing land

Procurement Routes

Nuisance occurs when an action by a landowner on his land causes obstruction to the owner of the neighboring land. The right to use of land by an individual should not interfere with the neighbor’s freedom. Both visible things such as leakages and invisible things like smell can cause a nuisance. An example of nuisance is when trees planted in an individual’s land encroaches to the neighbor’s land. This encroachment can be through the branches hanging or the roots spreading to the neighbor’s land (Ackrill, Caven & Alaktif, 2017). It can also be fruits dropping to the ground of the neighbor, rotting and then produce a stinking odor. For an action to be considered nuisance it must be unreasonable. People who seek to develop their land have a duty of care to the neighbors. To avoid incidences of a nuisance, land developers are advised to do what is reasonable. A developer who is reasonable cannot do what harms the neighbor (Emmitt, 2017).

1. Using the Medical Practice as an example explain a situation in which Anjali could be found negligent through either her actions or inaction on this project.

Negligence occurs when a client suffers or is harmed from an action conducted carelessly by a professional in the course of duty. Although the actions by the professional may not be intentional, the professional is termed as negligent due to his careless behavior. Negligence exists when there exist the following elements; duty, breach, damage, and causation. Negligent not only covers personal injury, but it also covers property loss and economic loss (Nair, Howard &Welch, 2018). A person who suffers from negligence has a right to compensation. An example of a negligent behavior is when a medical practitioner prescribes a medication for typhoid and the drugs provided leads paralysis of the patient. For the case of Anjali, he can be found negligent in the current project if:

1. He does not ensure that permission to start planning is sort.
2. He gives a go-ahead to builders who are not skillful
3. He fails to provide enough supervision.
4. He provides a wrong advice with regard to drawings and plans.
5. Please identify one other term you do or have found confusing and define it for the benefit of others in your practice.

Conversion in most cases is often confused with trespass. Though the two have similarities in the sense that they both entail an interference with other individuals’ property, conversion is different. With the conversion, the intensity of interference with other people’s property is higher than trespass. The duration of interference is also long. This long period of interference dictates compensation which is equivalent to the value of the property (Naar &Clegg, 2018).

Question Five

5a. Your answer to the traditional scenario

The current issue at hand is an urgent issue which requires quick action. The issue at hand is the wrong specification used in the building which were not provided by the client. It seems that the client provided clear specification on the type of building materials that ought to have been used. Unfortunately, the wrong material was used and the client is annoyed. It seems that the problem is between the consultant and the contractor (Flyvbjerg, 2017).

Property Law

There are several things which Macro need to do so as to the remedy the situation. First, Macro should call Lenka to get all the information necessary concerning the project. He should also check in the office for the file containing the client’s information about the project. Macro should seek to understand the progress of the project and the current updates concerning the project. This will help Macro to all the necessary information required by the client (Sussman, 2017).

In traditional procurement, the construction work is assigned to the contractor. The contractor ensures the right materials are purchased and are of the right specification. In the current scenario, it can be said that the contractor is the one who is responsible for the mistake that has occurred and not the architects (Ochieng et al.,2017). This is because the architect understands what the client’s specifications are. Marco should, therefore, call the client and inform him the person responsible for the mistake that has occurred.

5b. How would Marco’s actions / situation differ if the project were being procured under a design and build contract?

• The responsibility to repair would be under Macro’s company
• He would consult his colleagues to get the facts concerning the project

When using a design and build contract, the consultant plays both the role of the consultant and the contractor. This means that the consultant is responsible for all the activities that take place on a certain project. They are in charge of purchasing building materials and construction of a building until it is complete. The consultant group should be in a position to answer any question that pertains to the project. In a design and build contract, Macro would have called his colleagues to ascertain on what happened and where the errors arose. He would then plan on how the correction would be done as the fault would have been theirs (Stewart et al. 2017). He would finally call the client and inform them on how they are intending to do the correction.

Question Six

1. Does Doug have a contract in place or not? Why?

According to my opinion, there exists a legally binding contract between Mrs. Francis and Doug. This is because both parties agreed to work together. Also, there was a price agreement, they are both in a capacity to enter into an agreement and finally each party agreed to the terms and conditions of service (Westermann-Behaylo, 2018).

1. Bullet point your top three issues/concerns for discussion with Doug

• Legal status of the contract
• Options available for Mr. Doug
• Solution to the current issue and advice for future dealings

1. In no more than 200 wordstotal for discussion of all three, expand upon those bullet points with what Doug should do now and what he should put in place for future projects.

With the current situation, Mr. Doug is in a fix. This is because the contract he entered, though verbal is valid and legal. This means terminating the contract is not an option. Termination of the contract will lead to a gross consequence. To address the current problem Mr. Doug has several options available. One the option he has is choosing to continue with the contract in the current condition. This will help him avoid court cases which may be costly to him and he may end up losing the case (McMurtry, Kilgour & Rohse, 2017).

Project Management

Another option available is to the issue to court and let the court give their final decision. Though this is not the best option. The other option and of course in the situation is for Mr. Doug to book an appointment with Mrs. Francis and discuss the issue extensively. This will give him an opportunity to explain the current situation and try to find a solution. a reasonable person will not be rigid to change. Lastly, this is a good experience to learn from. In future, before entering to any contract, Mr. Doug should first discuss the all the issues, have favorable terms of a contract the sign before he can embark on working (Trad & Kalpi?, 2019).

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