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原文：AssessmentofcostcontrolsystemsThemostimportantfunctionthatfacilitatesconstructionorganizationstoaccomplishprofitmaximizationiscostcontrol.However,theabsenceofawellestablishedcostcontrolsystemhascausedfailurestomanyThaicontractorsespeciallyduringthecurrenteconomicrecessionperiod.Tocomprehensivelyunderstandcostcontrolsystemsinpractice,thisstudytheoreticallyassessedeffectivenessaswellasthedeficienciesofthe'traditional'systemsthe'effective'systems.Inaddition,bycontrastingwhatarefoundin'effective'systemsbutnotfoundin'traditional'systems,criticalattributesmostcontributingtothesystems'successfulnesswereidentifiedsothattheimprovementstepscanbesuitablyprioritized.Thevalidatedfindingsindicatedremarkablecontrastsbetween'traditional'and'effective'systems.Twocriticalaspects,includingadvancementofcostcontrolframeworkandsystematicparticipationofsitepersonnelincostcontrol,werefoundtobethemajordifferences.Interestingly,similarconditionswereencounteredinvariouscountriessuchasGreece,PakistanandAustralia;hencesuggestionsfromthisstudycouldbeinternationallyuseful.Inactuality,contractorsperceivecostcontrolasapre-requisitefactortowardsprofitmaximization.AnunprecedentedgrowthintheThaiconstructionindustrysincethelate1980shadrotatedthemarkettobethecontractors'inwhichhighprofitmargincouldbefacilelyaccommodatedinbidquotation.Arollofforthcomingprojectscontinuallyofferedandcontractedwithoutintermissionthusallowedcontractorstoluxuriateinadvancedpaymentandcreditfromsuppliers.Thishealthycashflowsituation,unfortunately,couldbepredominantoverrealprofitmaterialization.ActualsymptomsofunsystematiccostcontrolinmostThaiconstructioncompanieshavebeenconcealeduntilapparentrecessionoftheeconomyin1997.SeveredeclinationoftheThaiGDPandconstructiongrowthratesshownhasgivenrisetobusinessfailuresinmanyorganizations.Equallyworse,fortheotherssurviving,extremityofnightmaresintheultimatelylow-demandmarketisstillunpredictable.CostcontrolsystemDespiteextensiveliteraturesreviewedincostcontrol,anintegratedviewofthesystemwasnotportrayed.Thesystemfunctionsweremostlydiscussedinisolatedfashion,forinstance,estimatingbudgeting,monitoringandanalysing,andreporting.Furthermore,mostpreviousresearchworksconcentratedmoreontheoreticalconceptsratherthanoperationinthereal-complicatedenvironment.Applyingasynergeticapproach,theintegratedviewofthecostcontrolsystemisproposedtoenhancevalueofpastefforts.Asamainframework,thecostcontrolsysteminthispaperisdefinedasakindofinformationsystemthataimstoprovidemanagementwithtimelyandaccuratecostinformationsothattimelypropercorrectiveactionscanbetaken.Inaddition,managementinformationcanbestoredinahistoricaldatabaseand,inturn,servesasafeedbackforfutureestimation.Thesystemconsistsofthreemainparts,namely,costcontrolframework,costcontrolfunctionsandmanagementinformation.Tosolidifyaspecificsetofobjectives,apre-surveyofexistingcostcontrolsystemsinThailarge-scaleconstructionorganizationswasprimarilyconducted.Acontactlistofthetop100organizationsintermsofturnoverwasachievedthroughcollaborationwiththeThaiContractorsAssociation(TCA).Eachcontracteverhandledbytheseorganizationscoversaprojectareaequivalenttoover30000orhasapproximatevalueofmorethan100millionBaht(3million$US).Introductorylettersweresenttothetop100contractorsrequestingassistanceonthepreliminarysurveyoftheircostcontrolsystems.Telephoneinterviewswerefollowedup.Twofocalpointsregardingtherecentdevelopmentofcostcontrolsystemandthesystem'sabilitytoindicatetheon-goingcoststatusofeachworkitemwereinvestigated.Theresultelaboratedindicatedthatthecostcontrolsystemsinmostorganizationshavenotbeenchangedmuchfromthepast.Outof100organizations,onlyfivehaveinitiatedadevelopmentplanandonlytwoofthemhavesuccessfullyimplementedtheircostcontrolsystems.Baseduponthisfinding,twotypesofthesystemcanbecategorized.First,the'traditional'system,commonlyfoundinmostorganizations,isthesystemthathasneverbeenseriouslydevelopedandimplemented.Secondly,the'effective'systemisthesystemthathasbeenseriouslyandcontinuouslyimproveduntilmanagementinformationthatfacilitatesdecisionmakingfortimelyandpropercorrectiveactionsaswellasestimatingprocessinfutureprojectscanbeobtained.Thistypeofsystem,unfortunately,isexceptionallyfoundinafeworganizations.ObjectivesToachievebetterunderstandingofhowtheexistingsystemsinrealpracticesarebeingoperatedandtherebyformulatefocalaspectsforimprovement,thespecificobjectivesofthispaperwereto:•Conductacomparativeassessmentbetween'traditional'and'effective'costcontrolsystemsinaccordancewiththeintegratedsystemviewincludingcostcontrolframework,costcontrolfunctionsandmanagementinformation.•Identifycriticalattributesthatmostcontributetothesystemsuccessfulnessbycontrastingwhatarefoundin'effective'systemsbutnotfoundin'traditional'systems.MethodologyQualitativeresearch,particularly'casestudy',thatpersuadesthroughrichdepictionandstrategiccomparisonacrosscases(Firestone,1987),waschosenasthekeymethodologyinthisstudy.Forcasessampling,the'theorybased'and'typicalcase'strategiesproposedbyKUZEL(1992)andPatton(1980)wasgroundforsele