PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES’ HOUSING PROVISION IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

The study evaluated the success rate of co-operative societies in housing provision in Lagos State, Nigeria. The aim of the study was to investigate how well or badly, co-operative societies have fared in meeting the housing needs of their members. The population of the study comprised of the 1,415 registered co-operative societies as contained in the Directory of co-operative societies in Lagos State (2011). The sample frame consisted of staff co-operative societies that are organized on the platform of formal organizations. Four set of questionnaires were administered namely CPEPQ to Principal Officers of 211 co-operative societies; CPEPIQ to 200 Parent Institutions and; CPEMQ to 3,826 members of the co-operative society as well as CPEAQ to the 12 Area Officers in the study area. The 359 institutional based co-operative societies and 11 housing co-operative societies were randomly selected from the twelve area offices culminating into 370 co-operative societies that constituted the sample frame. Based on an online model for determining sample size, the appropriate sample sizes of the institutional based co-operative society were determined at 95% level of confidence and 0.05 margin of probable error, resulting in the total number that constituted the sample size. Data collection instruments comprised four questionnaires designed be the researcher and directed to principal officers and members of the co-operative societies, key officers of parent institutions as well as the Area Officers. Eight Hypotheses were also set to establish the predictive capacity of the independent variables identified. Data generated were measured by means of descriptive statistics including frequency, percentages, likert scale and then analyzed by relative importance index as well as inferential statistics such spearman correlation and categorical regression analysis with the aid of Statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). The overall performance was evaluated using balance scorecard technique. Findings showed that co-operative society’s performance is below expectation in the study area with only 27.2% of the total number of members that set out to procure complete housing units at the onset achieving their objective at the end of the day while the strategy that was commonly adopted by the society was the grant of housing loan followed by land acquisition through the co-operative societies. The overall performance of co-operative societies in housing provision was strongly affected by government oversight functions, housing provision strategies, operating environment, executive traits, socio-economic characteristics of members, capital base and age of the co-operative societies. The research revealed that insufficient capital base, lack of external finance, high cost of urban land, lack of supportive policy for land acquisition in urban centres and off-site infrastructure critically hindered co-operative societies’ ability in housing provision. One of the critical recommendations was that there is need for paradigm shift from generalist co-operative societies to specialist housing co-operative societies in view of the complexities and huge finance associated with housing development. The most significant contribution of this work is the construction of a hedonic model that predicts overall performance of a co-operative society in housing provision

Adequacy of Fire Safety Measures of Residential Buildings in Peri-Urban Neighbourhoods of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

The spate of fire outbreaks and the lack of capacity to mitigate the incidence in most urban areas reflect the violation of physical planning regulations and relevant building codes. In the past two decades, the peri-urban neighbourhoods have witnessed rapid developments as a result of the growing population in these areas. However, the level of compliance of various developments with the provisions of the existing National Fire Safety Code remains unclear. Consequently, an assessment of the adequacy of fire safety provisions vis-à-vis the effectiveness of the fire safety standards in rapidly urbanising communities became imperative. This study examined the adequacy of fire safety measures of residential buildings in peri-urban neighbourhoods of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Relevant studies were reviewed while structured questionnaires were administered to 320 respondents across four towns in Lagelu West Local Council Development Area (LCDA). A total 296 questionnaires were retrieved representing 92.5% rate of response. Responses were analysed with basic descriptive statistic tools. The mean scores were interpreted using cut-off points and results presented in tables and charts. The study found that human activities and attitudes constituted the principal causes of fire incidence and that there is good compliance with passive fire control guidelines in the study area. However, the active fire control systems were grossly deficient in residential buildings. Moreover, lack of active fire control equipment, lack of community fire safety apparatus, and lack of reliable water supply constituted the principal challenges against effective fire control measures facing the neighbourhoods. Whilst filling the gap in literature especially on fire hazards in peri-urban areas, the study recommended the strict compliance with extant fire safety codes by property owners, provision of community fire safety apparatus by the government, residents’ awareness programs on fire safety measures, subsidized active firefighting equipment and improvement of road and water infrastructure, amongst others.

Supply Chain Management in Real Estate Practices: The Estate Surveyor and Valuers’ Perspective

Real estate practice is a strategic and multi-faceted vocation that connects the clients/owners of real estate projects or products with end users in the building industry. Different aspects of real estate practices require collaboration of real estate practitioners who are professional estate surveyors and valuers, with the built environment professionals and other stakeholders at different levels in order to achieve the transaction objectives. This study, therefore, examined the practice with a view to uncovering the preparedness of the estate surveyors and valuers with respect to the knowledge and application of supply chain management in real estate practices. Empirical data were collected with the aide of questionnaires administered to respondents from the 373 estate firms in Lagos State, Nigeria of which 291 were duly completed and returned constituting 78% rate of response. The Readiness Assessment Model was adapted to determine the operational preparedness of the estate surveying and valuation firms to implement supply chain management with regards to management readiness, employee readiness, services/processes readiness and logistic/ICT readiness on a 5-point Likert scale and the corresponding mean score and relative importance was determined. The Kolmogorov Smirnov Test of Normality was performed and showed that the data was normally distributed. Hence, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between knowledge and application of supply chain management in real estate businesses. It was observed, among others, that the knowledge of supply chain management is generally low among estate valuers and does not necessarily translate to application in the property market transactions of real estate firms. The study further observed that management and employees of estate surveying and valuation firms do not have adequate knowledge of the principles and practices of supply chain management for productive engagement in property market transactions. This was further identified alongside others such as confidentiality, stiff rivalry and economic instability as critical factors resisting the adoption of supply chain management in the property market. The study therefore suggested capacity building programmes on supply chain management for the estate surveyors and valuers to improve the knowledge of the strategy and harness the benefits

Adequacy of Fire Safety Measures of Residential Buildings in Peri-Urban Neighbourhoods of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

The spate of fire outbreaks and the lack of capacity to mitigate the incidence in most urban areas reflect the violation of physical planning regulations and relevant building codes. In the past two decades, the peri-urban neighbourhoods have witnessed rapid developments as a result of the growing population in these areas. However, the level of compliance of various developments with the provisions of the existing National Fire Safety Code remains unclear. Consequently, an assessment of the adequacy of fire safety provisions vis-à-vis the effectiveness of the fire safety standards in rapidly urbanising communities became imperative. This study examined the adequacy of fire safety measures of residential buildings in peri-urban neighbourhoods of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Relevant studies were reviewed while structured questionnaires were administered to 320 respondents across four towns in Lagelu West Local Council Development Area (LCDA). A total 296 questionnaires were retrieved representing 92.5% rate of response. Responses were analysed with basic descriptive statistic tools. The mean scores were interpreted using cut-off points and results presented in tables and charts. The study found that human activities and attitudes constituted the principal causes of fire incidence and that there is good compliance with passive fire control guidelines in the study area. However, the active fire control systems were grossly deficient in residential buildings. Moreover, lack of active fire control equipment, lack of community fire safety apparatus, and lack of reliable water supply constituted the principal challenges against effective fire control measures facing the neighbourhoods. Whilst filling the gap in literature especially on fire hazards in peri-urban areas, the study recommended the strict compliance with extant fire safety codes by property owners, provision of community fire safety apparatus by the government, residents’ awareness programs on fire safety measures, subsidized active firefighting equipment and improvement of road and water infrastructure, amongst others.

Supply Chain Management in Real Estate Practices: The Estate Surveyor and Valuers’ Perspective

Real estate practice is a strategic and multi-faceted vocation that connects the clients/owners of real estate projects or products with end users in the building industry. Different aspects of real estate practices require collaboration of real estate practitioners who are professional estate surveyors and valuers, with the built environment professionals and other stakeholders at different levels in order to achieve the transaction objectives. This study, therefore, examined the practice with a view to uncovering the preparedness of the estate surveyors and valuers with respect to the knowledge and application of supply chain management in real estate practices. Empirical data were collected with the aide of questionnaires administered to respondents from the 373 estate firms in Lagos State, Nigeria of which 291 were duly completed and returned constituting 78% rate of response. The Readiness Assessment Model was adapted to determine the operational preparedness of the estate surveying and valuation firms to implement supply chain management with regards to management readiness, employee readiness, services/processes readiness and logistic/ICT readiness on a 5-point Likert scale and the corresponding mean score and relative importance was determined. The Kolmogorov Smirnov Test of Normality was performed and showed that the data was normally distributed. Hence, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between knowledge and application of supply chain management in real estate businesses. It was observed, among others, that the knowledge of supply chain management is generally low among estate valuers and does not necessarily translate to application in the property market transactions of real estate firms. The study further observed that management and employees of estate surveying and valuation firms do not have adequate knowledge of the principles and practices of supply chain management for productive engagement in property market transactions. This was further identified alongside others such as confidentiality, stiff rivalry and economic instability as critical factors resisting the adoption of supply chain management in the property market. The study therefore suggested capacity building programmes on supply chain management for the estate surveyors and valuers to improve the knowledge of the strategy and harness the benefits

Defective Selection and Application of Valuation Data as the Cause of Valuation Inconsistency in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria

There has been increasing criticisms of the ability of Nigerian valuers to undertake investment valuations in a reliable and consistent manner. The earlier studies have focused mainly on the range of disparity between either the sale prices and valuation figures or between the valuation figures of two or more valuers. This study however sought to examine the roles of training and exposure to valuation inputs/data often employed in investment valuation by the professional valuers plays in the disparity/variance of the valuation figures produced by the valuers in cases where two or more valuers may have cause to carry out the valuation of the same property(ies) at about the same time/period. To achieve the aim of the study, the researchers employed quasi-experimental method whereby forty five estate surveyors and valuers with varying number of years in practice were sampled by requesting them to carry out valuation of twelve residential properties recently sold within Lagos Metropolis, the study area. The results of their valuations showed wide disparity/variance in the valuation outcomes between and amongst the valuers. These wide variance/disparity is traceable largely to lack of uniformity in the choice of valuation inputs employed by the valuers for valuation assignments and which has direct link to the training received by the respondent valers. The study concluded that there is the need by the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV)  to take up the responsibility of ensuring that for any Estate Surveyor and Valuer to qualify to carry out valuation assignment(s) such Estate Surveyor and Valuer must have undergone sufficient training and acquire relevant exposure to the art and science of valuation which will afford them opportunity of how to employ relevant valuation data and inputs with a view to curtailing the problem of disparity in valuations amongst the valuers. Keywords: Exposure, Lagos Metropolis, Valuation accuracy, Valuation inputs, Training, Nigeri

A Heuristic Method of Establishing Operational Effectiveness of Hotel Facilities in South-Western Nigeria

Assessing the operational effectiveness of hotel facilities has always been problematic in that opinions of technicians or engineers when sought were rooted in intuition (subjective and speculative, though cheaper) instead of reliance on standard tests laid down by established institutions (objective and scientific, though expensive and laborious). One sure way of achieving good result is by seeking the perception of the hotel users (the customers) on the level of functionality of the facilities paid for and being enjoyed. This research seeks to establish a method of establishing operational functionality of hotel facilities by exploring the perceptions of the customers about these facilities. The research is executed in order to find an alternative way of measuring performance of hotel facilities beyond technical modulation. Data were collected from hotels‟ customers in addition to physical assessment of hotel facilities and system operations. Stratified sampling technique was used in selecting the samples while sample size was determined based on formula suggested by Kothari (1978). Data analysis was executed using descriptive statistics, mathematical permutation and combination principle and Spearman Correlation analysis. It was found out that facilities‟ performance could be established by assessing quantity, quality and workability of facilities independently as variables and then combine these variables mathematically using permutation and combination principles reinforced with Chi-Square (X2). While Engineers focused on operational sturdiness of facilities as main yardstick for measuring performance of facilities; users focused on quantity and quality as well as operational sturdiness of the facilities. Although engineering test and mechanical manipulation are sine qua non in facilities operations, yet it could be reinforced with perception of customers focusing majorly on three parameters (Quantity, Quality and Operational Sturdiness) duly analysed to give independent opinion devoid of human manipulation