Herman Kok

The added value of facility management in the educational environment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to define the added value of facility management (FM) in general and to develop a typology of facility services based on their added value in the educational environment.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a literature review and first assesses the different aspects of FM added value. The different variables and relations between the use of facility services and their effects on the educational achievement are then conceptualised and studied.Findings – Research shows that FM added value is the customer perceived trade‐off between the effects of the use of facility services on the outcome of their processes, its costs and risks. On this basis, a typology of facility services was constructed around their level of fixity and their influence on the learning outcome.Practical implications – The typology strongly indicates for FM when to engage in the decision‐making process relating to the educational environment in order to contribute to education. Also ...

Facility management value dimensions from a demand perspective

Purpose – This paper aims to introduce and describe the concept of the facility management (FM) value network which takes a subjective perspective and reflects upon the relationships amongst key FM stakeholders. The FM value network focuses on demand by considering client, customer and end-user perceptions of value, providing a conceptual foundation for considering a demand driven, service-oriented and user focused approach to FM. It introduces concepts drawn from related fields such as services marketing, business economics and management and identifies an agenda for future research. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on results of an extensive literature review, research workshops and a pilot case study, to explore stakeholders perceptions of value within FM relationships. Findings – This paper proposes an alternative view of FM stakeholders and the outcomes they value in comparison to a conventional built environment perspective. It provides examples of value dimensions relevant to the ...

Facility design consequences of different employees’ quality perceptions

An important challenge for facility management is to integrate the complex and comprehensive construct of different service processes and physical elements of the service facility into a meaningful and functional facility design. The difficulty of this task is clearly indicated by the present study that shows that different employee categories for interpersonal services have quite different perceptions of the facility design that stem from different but coherent needs and interests. Employees with management perspectives (i.e. top managers and facility managers) were significantly more positive about the facility design than frontline employees and their supervisors with providers’ perspectives. Also, providers attributed a more important role to facility design with respect to delivering interpersonal services than management did. We found strong indications for the need for cross-functional cooperation in decision making about the facility design, creating a more balanced setting and possibly empowering providers for the service encounter.

Predictors of Study Success from a Teacher's Perspective of the Quality of the Built Environment

The article aims to find predictors of study success from a teacher’s perspective that relate to the built environment. The research is based on a national online survey among 1752 teachers at 18 Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences. Multivariate data analyses were used to test the hypothesis that the quality of spatial and functional aspects at educational institutions is positively related to study success. The results show there is a statistically significant positive relationship between the perceived quality of cleanliness, classrooms, classroom conditions, front office and ICT with study success. Closed environments like offices and meeting rooms, but foremost the size of the education institution, relate negatively to study success. Based on the research findings it is clear that a prime consideration in educational built environment design is to facilitate social interaction, and to create meaningful, clean, self-contained and small-scale physical settings for users within large institutions.