The Budget Process - Flaws and Ideas for Fixing Them
Top management needs the budget to allocate company resources and control spending. But some managers point out that budgets can pull the company in illogical and unproductive directions. Capturing the most-often voiced budget complaints in one whack, Harvard Business Review says, "It [the budget] consumes a huge amount of executives' time, forcing them into endless rounds of dull meetings and tense negotiations. It encourages managers to lie and cheat, low-balling targets and inflating results, and it penalizes them for telling the truth. It turns business decisions into elaborate exercises in gaming. It sets colleague against colleague, creating distrust and ill will. And it distorts incentives, motivating people to act in ways that run counter to the best interests of their companies." Taking the high road, a white paper offered through CFO.com gives eight practical suggestions for improving the process, including letting managers bundle costs in ways that make sense to them, providing a full update to all users any time an account is updated, and having a formal sign-off process so that managers know which budget version is final. (Registration is required to receive the CFO.com white paper.)

Find a Real Estate Job; Post an Opening; Post a Resume
Go to the IAMC Career Center to read about dozens of corporate real estate, economic development and real estate service provider jobs. Here's an example: Construction Project Manager for Weston Solutions. The position description says the incumbent "is responsible for day-to-day project management including: supporting the preparation of proposals; planning, coordinating, integrating, monitoring, appraising and closing project activities; ensuring the maintenance of technical communications and business files," among other responsibilities.

Post a job on Career Builder.com through IAMC Notes and we will feature that job in one weekly edition of Notes. Looking seriously? Post your resume by clicking here.

Give Me Land, Lots of Land

Aerial photo of a Super Site at Pointe Sunshine, Louisiana Source: http://www.siteselection.com/

Pump Up your Project Management Skills by Taking the BOMI International Project Management Class at IAMC's Asheville Professional Forum
In his Sept. 2007 Harvard Business Review Article "Performing a Project Premortem," Gary Klein writes, "Projects fail at a spectacular rate. One reason is that too many people are reluctant to speak up about their reservations during the all-important planning phase. By making it safe for dissenters who are knowledgeable about the undertaking and worried about its weaknesses to speak up, you can improve a project's chances of success." As head or a member of CRE project teams, you want to have the latest management thinking at your fingertips so that you can help deliver the best possible project results. Get the latest project management know-how by taking the BCIR-hosted BOMI International class "Facility Planning and Project Management" on May 1-3, 2009, in conjunction with the Asheville Professional Forum. You may take this class alone or in conjunction with attending the Asheville Professional Forum, which immediately follows it. To sign up, click here.

Factory Construction Has Continued, Even as the Economy Slows

• Construction and expansion of U.S. manufacturing facilities has continued in spite of growing evidence that the general economy is headed for a significant slowdown.The Economic Times says, "Private investment in structures grew by 14.3 percent in the second quarter as compared with the quarter before and though it is a fairly small sector actually contributed almost a half a percentage point to GDP growth. The growth was concentrated in the manufacturing, power, lodging and office sectors, all of which face considerable headwinds now."

ISM Report: Manufacturing Sector Slowing is Under Way

• The October 2008 Institute for Supply Management survey finds that U.S. manufacturing is experiencing its most abrupt slowdown since 1982. A MarketWatch analysis of the ISM report says, "The ISM index fell to 38.9 percent in October from 43.5 percent in September. This is the lowest level since September 1982. The size of the decline was unexpected. The consensus forecast of estimates collected by Marketwatch was for the index to fall to 41.5 percent as all regional manufacturing surveys were weak in October."