Corporate real estate management: Integrating organisational, individual, and social values and needs

This is a substantial tome which extends to 554 pages ignoring references and indexes and within its covers provides a considerable breadth of subject matter. However, the structure (four parts and 13 sections) and the writing style which uses an extensive range of case studies ensures that the book is easy to navigate and read. I would recommend starting at the beginning and reading through to the back cover to understand the depth and breadth of its coverage. Thereafter, you can dip in to specific sections to answer queries and seek ideas for problem solving. The book amply demonstrates the scope of subject matter that a CRE Manager must have at least an awareness of, in doing so it showcases why CRE should not be regarded as the poor relation in the real estate industry, well behind the likes of investment management and development. Rather it is the role that requires knowledge and skills well beyond the bricks and mortar of the building or rental value and yield.The timing of the English edition is ideal with many organisations grappling with the question of the Return to Office drive led by a number of multinational firms. During the COVID-19 pandemic management scrambled to adapt the firm to the consequences of the pandemic, when the office was out of bounds. A time when several pundits announced the death of the office. The end of lockdowns and the relaxation of restrictions led to the drive to retain talent and the idea of hybrid working taking centre stage. That trend is being unravelled and the managers pushing to get people back into the office fuelled by concerns about low productivity. At each change in policy the CRE team has to try and adjust the portfolio to suit, necessitating changes to the quantum of physical space, its functionality, and its legal/financial profile. Change to CRE is not rapid and has significant financial consequences, even with the existence of notionally, at least, more flexible occupational options.This book provides a wealth of information on what issues might arise, theoretical concepts to consider and supported by case studies that may assist and that can assist in quickly formulating possible solutions to problems. Unlike many CRE books the building types discussed are extensive, not just office-centric, draws in the likes of retail, logistics, industrial, educational and health uses.Winston Churchill’s adage “We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us” is used to demonstrate the difference between the UK House of Commons with the opposing seating and the Dutch House of Representatives with seating in a semicircle. In more mundane settings of an office, it reflects how different cultures operate and how people are managed, for example the differences in approaches between the USA, the UK and northern European countries. Demonstrating the differences between hierarchical and more egalitarian structures and how that impacts on the office. The likes of Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs and Mayo’s Hawthorne experiments in the 1920’s all feature in the book and the effect on how space is organised; the CRE/FM interface; people management under different structures; cost and decision-making processes all play a part in the success or otherwise of an organisation. Consequently, CRE and its management permeates the workplace and the organisation in the broadest sense. Therefore, the list of stakeholders involved with CRE, and its decision-making is extensive, which the authors categorise with ideals on how to ‘manage’ them.Ideally this is a book to be read by those in senior management positions without a CRE background. Understanding the extensive range of physical factors that impact productivity, for example, might lead to more measured approach by managers making significant changes to the way an organisation’s CRE. As seen in the book there is a growing body of material to support such considerations but there are still those organisations that do not adopt an analytical approach to CRE decision-making. As such the book would be a worthwhile addition to all MBA reading lists for courses on management, to start to embed in future members of the C-Suite an appreciation of the complexity of CRE.What is provided is an extensive and comprehensive range of ideas and techniques to deal with the myriad of scenarios that arise in the management of CRE and is an ideal companion for the practitioner and the student.