What's in a name: The role of terminology in defining real estate management practice

Operational property management, corporate property management, real estate resource management, facilitates management, and workspace management are just a few of the terms emerging to describe a new and developing area of real estate practice and research. It appears that the names are changing or shifting for a variety of reasons. The first is the desire to find terminology which does not carry the "baggage" of past practice. This area is attempting to be aligned with business management practice rather than what is perceived to be traditional property focused practice and therefore the new terminology attempts to reflect this. The second main reason is the changing players in this market. The emergence of facilities management, the globalisation of practice and the increasing need to link real estate with other resources especially human resource management and IT have brought a new group of players into the market and the development of associated professional bodies (BIFM) and interest groups.(NACORE, IDRC). The aim of this paper is to consider the changes in the terminology used in this area and to assess whether practice has also changed as the names have changed. The paper will be mainly based on two studies undertaken ( Avis et al 1989, Avis and Gibson 1995) examining the changing terms used by those in practice and their perceived impact. The paper will also consider whether the terminology has been important in influencing key decision makers and the degree to which new terms allow real estate to be considered in a new light.

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