Five-Year Development Plan for the Company Wimott

Five-Year Development Plan for the Company Wimott Dixon

The development plans for the Wilmott Dixon Company for the next five years can be based only on the current perceptions of the free market sustainability available now with the entire constraints and benefits attendant to the subject. The major thrust is in protecting the environment including avoiding carbon emissions and the second is the quality and sustainability. Thirdly concerns are about the operations and the future possible needs for the company effectiveness in retaining the market and in forays into new markets. Seen in this light it is pertinent to find what the issues in the market as of now are.

Sustainable Markets and Fair Trade:

Some of the striking examples of the problems with the creation of sustainable markets and the fair trade mechanisms can be seen in agriculture where the effects are immediate rather than in the construction industry where the effects of actions take time. In researching the coffee sector farming fair market processes ought to have ensured a fair price to producers, and creating closer ties between producers and consumers. However, in practice it has had a reverse effect. (Smith, 2007, p. 92) What has this to do with the building industry? As the analysis concludes the similarity will be seen. Willmott Dixon has a current sustainable policy of the company is available from their forward looking document that specifies the future actions that affects people, the environment and the supply chain. (Willmott Dixon Group, 2012b)

The document shows that the company will always use the policy in making choices that will reduce the consumption of primary resources and using materials with fewer negative impacts on the environment. The policy is based on the BS 8903 standard set up for the construction industry for best practice and sustainability. Some of the policies that the company follows will encompass the procurement practices and sustaining supply chains. It always tries to create a responsible balance between social, economic and environmental factors. Another area is recycling and using resource-efficient products and the labour used is according to ethical, human rights and employment standards. This naturally involves the insistence that the suppliers and other contractors are also those who adhere to these requirements and this makes the company insist on transparency throughout the supply chain. (Willmott Dixon Group, 2012b) Thus the company is already geared for this and has a forward looking policy.

The Next Five Years:

As of now the company has been in the green with forward looking contracts Willmott Dixon company has already achieved the following in 2012: It has moved plans to set up the West Midlands' first University Technical College -- UTC specialising in construction, extended the John Radcliffe Hospital with a contract of £2.5 million extension to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit The Pre-tax profit for the company at the second quarter for 2012 stood at £21.1 million (2010: £26.6 million) and won all the Top Award for Excellence. Further it has created a World Class Research Facility in Aberystwyth and took on Central London City and Guilds Development. There are many new contracts for the company like the building four new primary schools and a football clubhouse in Powys, Wales, in for the housing provider Affinity Sutton has awarded a £48 million repairs and maintenance contract that would carry the company forward well into 2013 and 2014. (Adf Online, 2006) The company's forward looking operational boundaries have been illustrated in figure 1 at the appendix below. Based on these the following projections can be made for the next five years.

Five Year Projections:

Based on the current contracts that are based on fair practice and the ecological perimeters the company can continue the work contracts as it can sustain one or two years of cash flow with the above stated contracts. There may be an increase in the energy costs and the company is in search of alternative and renewable fuels. This may become feasible in the next five years in which case the cash flows can increase making the company sustainable. According to the company in future the fossil fuel costs would rise to £13m and the company expects to curtail this cost to below £10 million. (Willmott Dixon Group, 2012a)

However it is easier than said. In effect the confirming to the fair market and environmental specifications would raise costs. In the present context the building industry would also face the same problems as the coffee growers that were pointed out at the introduction. Therefore in the next five years the costs would go up and escalate and when the company practices the fair market and the environmental safeguards, it may lose some of the competitive edge. How can the company overcome this? One of the methods is to market the fair market and environmental policies to would be customers along with the projects in such a way that the customers are able to justify and control costs. The second would be to strengthen the R&D such that more cheap but effective materials, methods and practices are found that can make the construction practice cheaper. Unless this is attempted the company may lose the competitive edge.