Introduction
Modern technology has helped us to create magnificent
buildings that stand out as superb pieces of architecture
and well conceived construction planning. We know
of many buildings by their sheer size, certain
architectural uniqueness, or simply according
to the classification as "highest",
"tallest" etc. However, once these buildings
become operational we often are walled from the
internal activities of these buildings that keep
them going. We rarely care to understand or comprehend
what is going on behind the scenes; the activities
that keeps these buildings running smoothly without
a hitch. Huge buildings with thousands of rooms
and hundreds of companies working in them need
to have a centralized command structure with respect
to the facilities that are available for them.
It is therefore imperative that a management body
be in place to take care of all the day to day
activities of the firms and institutions that
are located in these buildings. The stupendous
task of managing the everyday affairs of the whole
building and planning for future emergencies and
needs is really a pretty huge one and cannot be
implemented if there are no responsible authority
to manage them. It is here that the project management
skills of the people who are entrusted with the
job of operating these buildings become important.
Analysis
Management Summary
The Empire State building, one of America's prestigious business landmarks, is a colossal business tower that houses firms and institutions that have diverse domains of interest. Official records estimate that there are more that 900 tenants in this building and the visitors that frequent the building are estimated to be 3.5 million each year. Such a huge human presence needs intricate management coordination and a well organized organizational hierarchy that can establish and maintain command centers in the building with respect to authority and planning. The building was bought by the Empire State Building Associates in 1961, and currently the building is being operated and managed by the Empire State Building Company. Col. Henry Crown was Chairman and principal stockholder of the building during its inception, and the affairs of the building is looked after by Helmsley-Spear, Inc, .the managing agent of the building [Empire State Building Company LLC, 2004]
Key Personnel and Authority Relationships
The daily activities of the building are managed
by the Vice President, Mr. Stephen A. Tole and
his team. The management team has been built in
a way to suite the professional requirements of
the companies operating in the building. For example,
the motto that drives the staff is to consider
each tenant as a permanent guest and to look after
their requirements in the most efficient manner.
This is made possible by allocating separate responsibilities
to department heads who overlook the activities
of that department. For example, Thomas P. Sullivan
is the assistant Vice President and takes care
of leasing activities in the building. He is the
director of leasing activities. Jesse E. Peterman
is the director for security and H. Joseph Salama,
P.E. is the director of operations. Lydia A. Ruth
is the director of public relations and the special
event coordinator. The management structure is
well designed so that each and every important
aspect of the managerial requirements is easily
met. All the officers are very approachable and
they have some of the best staff to take care
of their directives and orders. It must be said
to their credit that even though the Empire State
Building is one of the most prestigious business
landmarks in New York, there has been no complacency
in service on the part of the building management
and each and every requirement of the tenants
have been met fully. This is indeed a great achievement
considering the fact that management teams often
tend to rest on their laurels when they have gained
outstanding reputation in the market.
Much of the manpower and training activities are carried out by third party vendors in the complex. There are many different categories of jobs that need to be done by the tenants and many tenants use only the basic services of the society. Most of them entrust their job to third party vendors who get the jobs done for them. For example, secretarial services, janitorial works, internal decoration etc are taken care of by third party firms.
Project Activities, timing, and Cost
Many of the project activities that happen in the building are related to leasing, and taking care of the requirements of the clients who are already housed in the building. The initial involvement of men and machines that were used to build this colossal building is still awe inspiring
"The Empire State Building was officially born on May 1, 1931, when President Hoover pushed the button in Washington that first lit the tallest erection of the Great Depression - 37 million cubic feet (only two million of it rentable), seven miles of elevator shafts (sixty-three passenger elevators), more than 17 million feet of telephone and telegraph wires, fifty miles of pipes, and 10 million bricks" [Slonim, 1994]
Economic Justification: Tradeoffs and Alternatives
Even though the Empire State building is one
of the best known destinations in the United Sates,
the initial years of the building was replete
with troubles and heavy financial loss. Even though
the building was completed in 1930s, there were
not many takers for the offices in the buildings
because of the stock market crash and the wars.
The Empire states building had to wait till the
end of the world war in order to be populated
to give financial succor to the investors. However,
during these years the building survived with
the tourist inflow. It may be said that the business
logic of building such a huge building at such
an enormous cost failed to live up as a short
term business proposition. On the other hand,
it must be said that the idea paid off rich dividends
in the long run and has earned a reputation as
one of the best known and most prestigious business
centers in the world [Bruning, 2002]. The empire
state building was unfortunately, at least in
the initial years, more a crowd puller rather
than a profitable business solution. The building
attracted much tourists and people held it in
great awe, but the place was not populated by
companies in contradiction to the expectation
of the investors. In fact, many could not understand
why the building did not attract tenants in the
initial years because it was positioned on a strategic
position and had all the luxuries that could be
offered by a business destination.
"They bet it would be the next great office building because it was located between Grand Central and Penn stations” [Pacelle, 2001]
Today the building is 99% populated even though many people believe that the building is old and outdated. It is to circumvent this criticism that the present management made a refurbishment plan of more that 70 million dollars that saw the installation of many modern amenities and customer service malls in the building [Real Estate Weekly, 2000]. With the events of September 11, security was an issue with the building but that has not deterred many companies form setting up their permanent offices in the building.
Today the economic costs that were involved in building the Empire States Building has been truly appreciated even though the costs involved in the actual construction was heavily discounted due to the depression and the lack of jobs. The empire state building stands today, as one of America’s everlasting architectural icon even though many other great buildings have been built close to it. The respect and awe that the empire state buildings command cannot be compared with any other building in the United States. |