Professionals’ Ambivalence toward Ethics in the Nigerian Construction Industry

Following the growing consensus within and outside the Nigerian construction industry that corruption and other unethical practices are endemic in the industry, coupled with scarce empirical study on professional ethics in the industry, there is a need to examine the perceptions of the professionals regarding ethical issues. This study therefore assesses the perceptions of construction professionals regarding ethical issues in the Nigerian construction industry. One hundred and ninety two professionals were sampled from 108 construction organizations comprising 55 consultancy organizations, 35 contracting organizations, and 18 client organizations in selected Nigerian major cities. A survey research design was employed. Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing the data. The results indicate that there is a decline in unethical practices within the industry compared to the pre-1999 era. The more common form of bribery is financial. Quantity surveyors were perceived as the most susceptible to bribery among the professionals in the industry. The builder/ construction manager faces the greatest pressure to act unethically among the professionals in the construction industry. The study recommends that professional institutions should give more priority consideration to ethical discourse at technical sessions, public lectures, and seminars. Furthermore, project financiers should ensure adequate and prompt remuneration for professional services. Since the quantity surveyors are perceived as the most susceptible to bribery, clients should ensure that their discretionary powers in the procurement of building projects are limited or subjected to third party verification. Finally, additional research is needed to explore the types of measures that might help curb professionals’ unethical practices in Nigeri

The Leadership Profile of Nigerian Construction Project Managers

The study aimed at presenting the leadership characteristics of Nigerian construction professionals involved as team leaders on building projects. Sixty construction project managers who were based in the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja were selected for the study. A questionnaire was designed to collect data on 11 variables pertaining to the leaders including professional grouping, age, educational and professional quali�cations, industrial experience, overseas training, overall training, personality, leadership style, style range and effectiveness. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of the data obtained. One-way analysis of variance and Chi-square were used to test the study hypotheses. Notable findings include: Majority of the project leaders exhibited consensus leadership style, overwhelming majority style range support high task/high relationship behaviour; there was no significant relationship between the project leader's professional background and his leadership style, and there was no significant relationship between project leader's professional background and effectiveness

Effectiveness of Non-Financial Motivational Scheme on Construction Workers Output in Nigeria

In Nigeria’s labour intensive construction industry, ways of motivating workers to ensure high productivity and enhanced job performance are regarded as important factors for long-term survival of firms. Financial motivation is adjudged a lower level motivator and should not be treated as a prime motivator by many authors. This study investigates the effectiveness of non-financial motivational schemes employed by construction firms within the Lagos metropolis. A survey research design was adopted. The survey instrument comprises two sets of close ended questionnaires administered to skilled and semi-skilled workers and the management staff. The findings of the study reveal that the most effective non-financial motivation to skilled and semi-skilled workers include provision of personal protective equipment, love and belongingness, leadership by example, free transportation and free medical facilities. The most effective non-financial motivation to management staff include provision of residential accommodation, company car with free fuel allocation, pension scheme and opportunity to do something that gives a sense of self-esteem. The value of this study for national development is in view of the slow response of the construction industry of developing countries to mechanization of construction operation, which leaves them with large workforce, necessitating the need to adopt an effective means of motivation to enhance productivity

Nigerian Building Professionals’ Ethical Ideology and Perceived Ethical Judgement

In recent years, Nigeria is often cited in the international media in connection with corruption and other unethical practices. The professionals in the Nigerian building industry are not immune from the perceived national trend in ethical erosion. Moral philosophy or ethical ideology has been used to explain individuals‘ reasoning about moral issues and consequent behaviour. This study examines building industry professionals‘ ethical ideologies with a view to understanding their ethical behaviour in professional practice. In carrying out this investigation, building professionals in clients‘ organisations, contracting and consultancy organisations within the industry were asked to respond to the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) designed by Forsyth in order to determine their idealism and relativism level. Subsequently, they were classified into one of four groups, representing different ethical ideologies. The result indicates that the dominant ethical ideology of building industry professionals is situationism. The study predicts that the attitude of building industry professionals in practice, given the current socio-political and economic situation of Nigeria would possibly be unethical because of the extreme influence situational factors have on their behaviour. This finding is a bold step and necessary benchmark for resolving ethical issues within the industry and should be of interest to policy makers. It is also useful for intra professional ethical comparison. Keywords: Professional,

Study of Relationship between Time Overrun and Productivity on Construction Sites

The history of the construction industry worldwide is full of projects that were completed with significant time and cost overruns. In an attempt to reverse this trend, this study aims at establishing the relationship between time overrun and labour productivity on construction sites in Lagos, Nigeria. 43 technical and management staff of some medium and large construction firms based in Lagos, Nigeria were sampled and administered a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire contained 18 causes of project time overrun and 14 causes of low labour productivity which had been identified from the literature reviewed. With these a relationship between project time overrun and low labour productivity was established. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data. Results indicate that inadequate funds for the project, inadequate planning before project takeoff, inadequate tools and equipment and delay in delivery of material top the list of major causes of time overrun while the use of wrong construction methods, inadequate construction materials and inaccurate drawing/specification are the key factors causing low labour productivity on construction sites. Significant negative relationship was found between time overrun and labour productivity in construction sites in Nigeria. The study concludes by recommending that early appointment of project managers could ensure proper management of both the human and material resources that could guarantee improved productivity and ultimately save projects from time overrun

Nigerian Building Professionals’ Ethical Ideology and Perceived Ethical Judgement

In recent years, Nigeria is often cited in the international media in connection with corruption and other unethical practices. The professionals in the Nigerian building industry are not immune from the national trend in ethical erosion. Moral philosophy or ethical ideology has been used to explain individuals’ reasoning about moral issues and consequent behaviour. This study examines building industry professionals’ ethical ideologies with a view to understanding their ethical behaviour in professional practice.  In carrying out this investigation, building professionals in clients’ organisations, contracting and consultancy organisations within the industry were asked to respond to the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) designed by Forsyth in order to determine their idealism and relativism level. Subsequently, they were classified into one of four groups, representing different ethical ideologies. The result indicates that the dominant ethical ideology of building industry professionals is situationism. The study predicts that the attitude of building industry professionals in practice, given the current socio-political and economic situation of Nigeria would possibly be unethical because of the extreme influence situational factors have on their behaviour. This finding is a bold step and necessary benchmark for resolving ethical issues within the industry and should be of interest to policy makers. It is also useful for intra professional ethical comparison

Employers’ Demand for Built Environment Professionals’ Employability Skills in Nigeria: Content Analysis of Job Advertisements

The proportion of unemployed professionals in the built environment in Nigeria is alarming; yet there is an acute shortfall in skilled manpower in the construction industry, as employers continue to face recruitment dilemma due to paucity of applicants with the requisite employability-characteristics. This study, therefore, examines the job and person specifications required in job advertisements for professionals in the built environment. Conceptual content analysis was used to extract data from 500 job advertisements using quota sampling technique from a heterogeneous population, following which descriptive statistical methods were adopted for analysis. The study reveals the following in the built environment in Nigeria: Architects, Estate Surveyors and Quantity Surveyors are dominant job titles in advertisement for professionals; Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja are the major hubs for employment; job related employability characteristics include possession of B.Sc. degree/HND, with 3-5 years post qualification work experience, but without reference made to classification of degree or diploma; and dominant personal attributes required of applicants by employers are reliability, confidence and good attitude; Estate Management profession is highly sought after by employers. Therefore, to enhance graduates’ employability, the study recommends mandatory one-year on-the-job industry experience as part of hard skill requirements; a balance in hard and soft skills, and increased budgetary allocation for education and further training of graduates in the discipline in high demand by employers

Professionals’ views of material wastage on construction sites and cost overruns

It is believed that building material wastage on construction sites account for cost overruns and any improvement in building materials management on construction sites has the potential to enhance the construction industry’s performance with cost-saving benefits. The purpose of this study is to identify the most wasteful building material during construction operation. It also sets out to assess the level of material wastage with various subcontracting options, the percentage contribution of material wastage to project cost overrun, identify factors contributing to material waste on building sites and to examine the relationship between subcontracting options, project cost overrun and the level of waste generated from building material. A survey research design was employed. Responses from 56 site based professionals representing 70% of the respondents were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicate that the most wasteful building material during construction operation is mortar from plastering/rendering; labour-only subcontracting options have high contribution to material wastage. Furthermore, the study revealed that the average percentage contribution of building material wastage to project cost overrun is between 21-30%; Poor supervision, re-work, and poor material handling were identified as dominant factors that have high contribution to material wastage on sites. Finally, the result also shows that there is a relationship between subcontracting options, cost overrun and waste generated from building material during construction. Measures to reduce material wastage on construction sites were proposed.Improvement in building materials management on construction sites has the potential to enhance the construction industry’s performance with cost-saving benefits

Employers’ Demand for Built Environment Professionals’ Employability Skills in Nigeria: Content Analysis of Job Advertisements

The proportion of unemployed professionals in the built environment in Nigeria is alarming; yet there is an acute shortfall in skilled manpower in the construction industry, as employers continue to face recruitment dilemma due to paucity of applicants with the requisite employability-characteristics. This study, therefore, examines the job and person specifications required in job advertisements for professionals in the built environment. Conceptual content analysis was used to extract data from 500 job advertisements using quota sampling technique from a heterogeneous population, following which descriptive statistical methods were adopted for analysis. The study reveals the following in the built environment in Nigeria: Architects, Estate Surveyors and Quantity Surveyors are dominant job titles in advertisement for professionals; Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja are the major hubs for employment; job related employability characteristics include possession of B.Sc. degree/HND, with 3-5 years post qualification work experience, but without reference made to classification of degree or diploma; and dominant personal attributes required of applicants by employers are reliability, confidence and good attitude; Estate Management profession is highly sought after by employers. Therefore, to enhance graduates’ employability, the study recommends mandatory one-year on-the-job industry experience as part of hard skill requirements; a balance in hard and soft skills, and increased budgetary allocation for education and further training of graduates in the discipline in high demand by employers

Significant Factors Causing Cost Overruns in Telecommunication Projects in Nigeria

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides enormous benefits to economic development. However, cost overruns are a worldwide phenomenon and pose a serious threat to the development of telecommunication infrastructure, which is the platform for ICT. It is imperative to examine the possible factors that could lead to cost overruns, in order to avert the associated catalytic effects on the development of other sectors of the economy. This study involves a questionnaire survey of 42 factors that were identified as having the potential to cause cost overruns in 53 telecommunication projects that are scattered over the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The results indicated that construction-related factors top the list of categories that cause cost overruns in telecommunication projects. The following factors were identified as major causes of cost overruns and are ranked in their order of importance: the lack of contractor experience on the telecommunication projects, the high cost of imported materials and the fluctuation in the prices of materials that are necessary for the telecommunication projects. The study recommends that contingency provisions should be put in place to mitigate these factors at the project conception stage