03 2003 6 1 Defining the Real Estate Body of Knowl

33DefiningtheRealEstateBodyofKnowledge:ASurveyApproachRoyT.Black*andJosephS.Rabianski**ExecutiveSummary.Thisarticleanalyzestheresultsofasurveysenttorealestateacademicsandprofessionalsaroundtheworld,attemptingtodefineabodyofknowledgeforrealestate.Alistofthirty-sixtopicsdevelopedfromapreliminarysurveywassubmittedtopotentialrespondents.Thetopicsfromtheresponsesarerankedoverallandcomparedfordifferencesbythegeographiclocationoftherespondentsandtheprofessionalareaoftherespondents.IntroductionAcademicrelationshipsinrealestateinthenotsodistantpastweregenerallyconfinedwithinnationalboundaries.Today,theserelationshipsexistacrossnationalboundariesandcontinents.Twopiecesofevidencesupportingthisviewaretheexistenceofinternationalacademicmeetingsandfacultyvisitationprogramsintheacademicarena,andtheincreasingvolumeofinternationalrealestatetransactionsinthebusinessarena.Realestateeducationandpracticeisinternational,itisglobal.Inthisnewera,realestateknowledgemustencompassthisglobalperspective.Thisstudyisoneattempttoidentifywhattherealestatebodyofknowledgeisinthisglobalcontext.Theobjectivewastogaininformationabouttheimportanceofvariousrealestatetopicsaroundtheglobebyaskingrealestateeducatorsandpractitionersworldwidewhattheythoughtandtaught.LiteratureReviewDefiningabodyofknowledgeinrealestateisextremelydifficult,sincethereappearstobenoclearcutconsensusontheboundarylinesofthediscipline,eitheracademicorprofessional.AcademicrealestateprogramsintheUnitedStatesareoftenhousedinbusinessschoolsandmostoftenhaveafinanceandinvestmentsfocus,whileprogramsintheUnitedKingdom,AustraliaandNewZealandmaybehousedoutsidethebusinessschoolandfocusonthebuiltenvironment,abroaderprogramthatencompassesphysicalaswellasfinancialconcepts.Further,programsinpartsofEuropearecenteredonthephysicalaspectsofrealestate,suchasconstructiontechnologyandengineering.RealestateprofessionsintheU.S.includebrokerage,assetmanagement,propertymanagement,construction,planning,law,investments,finance,governmentregulation,forestryandnaturalresources,architecture,housingpolicy,andnumerousotherjobsrelatedtotheconsumptionofspaceovertime.*GeorgiaStateUniversity,[e-mail].**GeorgiaStateUniversity,[e-mail].34JournalofRealEstatePracticeandEducationVOLUME6,NUMBER1,2003Thelackofaconsensusabouttheboundariesofthefieldleadstoaneasyconclusionthatrealestateisnotadiscipline,butratheranill-definedmutationthatstealsitsidentityfromotherdisciplinessuchasfinanceandmanagementthathavewell-definedparadigmsfocusingresearcheffortsandcreatingthedesirableboundariesthatgiveanacademic/professionalfielditsshapeandsubstance.However,Diaz(1993)hasarguedthatrealestateisanalogoustoengineering.Realestateisnotdefinedbyparadigms,butbyactivities(consuming,lending,governing,etc.).AsDiazproposes,‘‘Whatjoinstheengineers—thegoalofimprovement—separatesthemfromscientists,whoseektoreveal.Butwhatmeldsthescientistandtheengineerintotheconfederationofanapplieddisciplineisasharedterritorycompletewithaconstituencyhungrytousethefruitsofresearch.’’1Followingthislogic,anattemptcanbemadetoidentifyabodyofknowledgebysurveyingtheparticipantsintheactivitynodesofrealestate.Identifyingnodesforinclusionpresentsthenextproblem.Definingthebodyofknowledgeinrealestatehasproducedmanyattempts,withdifferentfocusesandnoclaimsofbeingcomprehensive.Attemptstodefineacommonbodyofknowledgeforrealestateeducationhavefocusedprimarilyoncollegelevelcurricula.2Epley(1996)chronicledatwo-yearcommitmentmadebytheBoardofDirectorsoftheAmericanRealEstateSociety(ARES)tostudythecurrentstateofabodyofknowledgeforrealestate.AftersurveyingtheARESacademicmembershipandavailablepublications,theARESBodyofKnowledgeCommitteeconcludedthatthestudyofrealestatehasnotevolvedthroughthedetaileddebatenecessarytoachieveconsensusamongeducatorsaboutacommonbodyofknowledge.AsEpley(1996)notes,manyattemptstodefineabodyofknowledgearebasedonopinionsoftheauthorsratherthansurveyresearch,sinceacademicjournalshavebeenreluctanttopublishsucharticlesandmostarticlesappearinprofessionaljournals.ArticlesbyBrown(1981),LaheyandWebb(1987)andBlack,Carn,RabianskiandDiaz(1996)reflecttheviewsoftheauthorsonrealestatecurricula.RabianskiandBlack(1998)chronicletheeffortsofotherstoestablishabodyofknowledgeandcallforthecreationofabodyofknowledgeinrealestatebrokerage.Roulac(1994)examinedthefoundationofknowledgestructurebyreviewingthecontentoftwelverealestateprinciplestexts.Hefoundthatlawandtransactiontopicsdominatedthecoverageofrealestatetexts,moredescriptionthananalysis,andanemphasisonpracticeovergeneralizabledecision-orientedtheory.Heretheremaybeagapbetweenthetopicsandcontentneededforbasisprofessionaleducationandtheneedforcollegestoproducehigherlevelprofessionalscapableofmakingdecisionsinill-structuredenvironmentsoutsidealegalortransactionalframework.SurveyDesignThefirststepinthesurveydesignwastheconstructionofapopulationframeofindividualsfromaroundtheworldexcludingindividualsfromtheU.S.andCanada.Thisexclusionwasspecifiedtoeconomizeonscarceresourcesandtoreflecttherestoftheworldpersp