I am still trying to work out what the cover story ‘This Woman's Work' (CM, May 2006) is all about. As the magazine of the Chartered Institute of Building, do we really need a profile of someone who, it appears, spurns all that the CIOB stands for?.

Was the point of the article to inspire us to carry out our business in the fashion of Jane Debliek? I am surprised the editor of Construction Manager thought it a good idea to advocate a management philosophy that includes:

  • judging people on the way they dress;
  • indulging in overt sexism;
  • racism or simplistic nationalism;
  • apprenticeships that appear to involve questionable business methods;
  • doing £21 million financing deals on the basis of her Irish bloodline;
  • A project management style that ignores everything Latham and his like propose.
I am a sucker for rags to riches stories but I don't think Construction Manager is the right place. What message do articles like this give to the next generation of would-be developers? Forget the "24 hours a day, no weekends or evenings off and no holidays" rhetoric. Forget also a degree in construction management or surveying or making a good impression by dressing appropriately.

There must be small developers trying to make their way in the world who have taken the time and energy to become professionally qualified and members of the CIOB. They will be wondering what they have to do to get a cover story in such a prestigious magazine?

David Bordoli FCIOB

Source

Construction Manager