A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE PRACTICE CHARACTERISTICS OF ARCHITECTURAL FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Very little is known about the architectural firms in Nigeria. The study thus explored the characteristics of architectural firms in Nigeria empirically using the systems approach to the study of organizations. The study investigated the organizational profiles, cultures, strategies and structures of the architectural firms. The tasks and information technology characteristics of the architectural firms as well as the external influences on the firms were also investigated, culminating in the investigation of the types of architectural firms that existed in Nigeria. This study thus took an approach which was exploratory and descriptive. Therefore, the research was mainly inductive. The architectural practice was studied as a professional organization and the architectural firms were studied holistically, taking the systems approach. The sample size was derived from the list of architectural firms registered by Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON, 2006). The purposive and random sampling methods were employed. The survey and qualitative methods were used, with the firm as the unit of analysis. The survey instrument was the structured questionnaire, while the qualitative instrument was the interview schedule. The ninety-two (92) questionnaires collected were analyzed using frequencies, cross tabulations, the chi-square test, principal component analysis, the coefficient of correlation (Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient), Multiple Analysis of Variance, (MANOVA), discriminant analysis, regression analysis and cluster analysis. The data from the interview were analyzed using content analysis. The five types of firms identified by the study included male-dominated firms, amorphous firms, conventional firms, stable/ traditional firms and versatile firms. The most important causes of differences between the types of architectural firms in Nigeria were level of specialization of activities, and varieties of services offered, which accounted for more than half of the differences between the firms. Most of the architectural firms sampled in Nigeria were found to be more than ten (10) years old, small sized, and owned by a sole principal. They had the culture of innovation, but not the culture of aggression in the pursuit of business opportunities or concern for profit. The study found that most of the clients of the architectural firms were private individuals in Nigeria and most of their projects were residential projects. Most of the clients of the architectural firms were sourced through personal contact and the projects most of the firms carried out were those that they were able to obtain commissions for. Most of the firms were engaged in projects which used the design and build method and these firms were found to have more residential projects. Also participation in design and build method appeared to be a survival strategy as the firms that had existed for more than 15 years did not participate in projects which used this method. The firms mostly used competence in design, followed by AUTOCAD and information technology literacy as criteria for the selection of staff. Findings of the study indicated that information technology facilities were highly available in most of the firms, and the internet was mostly used for sourcing information. The results also suggest that the internet was used as a tool for centralization. The study further found that the external influences on most of the architectural firms were not so strong and the greatest influences were those exerted by clients, advances in information technology and the national economy. The characteristics of the firms most affected by these external influences were the staff management culture of the firms, the strategic goals of the firms and the qualification and experience of the principal. The study concluded that architectural firms need to take advantage of the opportunities provided by information technology to operate on a global level. There is a need for architectural schools in Nigeria to fully integrate internship into the study of architecture as well as train students extensively in construction methods to meet the demands of architectural firms. The study further concluded that there is a need for the business training of architects as this was a factor responsible for the success of architectural firms. The systems approach to the study of architectural firms had been useful and practical. More studies are required, using the systems approach, on peculiarities of architectural firms and their management strategies

Culture of Architectural Firms in Nigeria: An Exploratory Study

What is the culture of architectural firms and which organizational characteristics influence their culture? These questions are addressed in this paper in a survey of 92 architectural firms in Nigeria. The study investigated the types of culture which are applicable to the architectural firms using the responses of the principals to the value statements questionnaire constructed from the innovation, stability, people orientation, outcome orientation, team orientation, and aggressiveness dimensions of culture. The data were analyzed using two-step cluster analysis to determine the culture types. Categorical regression was also carried out to determine the factors which influenced culture.The study reveals that the architectural firms did not adopt the market and hierarchical cultures. The findings also question the idea that larger firms tend to be impersonal in character. It however confirms the notion that the service sector organizations are more people-oriented than outcome oriented because there was a predominance of the responsive and staff-oriented cultures. The leadership style of the principals was the best predictor of the culture of the firms

Characteristics of Global Architectural Firms

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors which discriminate between local and global architectural firms in Nigeria. The rationale was to examine how the globalization process differs in Nigeria and contribute to the discourse on globalization. Design/methodology/approach – The research is quantitative, using discriminant analysis to differentiate the global architectural firms from the local ones. The study used a random sample of 92 architectural firms in Nigeria, examining various characteristics of the firms through a questionnaire. Findings – There was a strong distinction between global and local firms. Compared to the local architectural firms, the global firms were larger, and mostly run by sole principals who were more experienced. The internet was used more to communicate with other professionals, but less to communicate with clients and in designing and drafting. The global firms also placed higher value on developing expertise in specific building types. Research limitations/implications – Data are obtained from architectural firms in Nigeria only. The results suggest that global architectural firms are peculiar and exhibit certain characteristics which further differentiate them from local ones. Practical implications – The implications for architectural firms seeking to operate globally include building size advantage, building expertise in specific specializations, having principals with high level experience and employing alliances with other professionals in operating internationally. Originality/value – This paper adds to the body of knowledge on architectural firms which are under-researched. The importance of this paper lies in its empirical nature in investigating the characteristics of global architectural firms using a sample of architectural firms in Nigeria

Ownership,Structure,and Performance of Architectural Firms

With architectural firms, owners are often managers whose characteristics may influence the firm structure. This study investigated the relationships between ownership characteristics, organizational structure, and performance of architectural firms. Utilizing a sample of architectural firms from Nigeria, a questionnaire survey of 92 architectural firms was carried out. Data were analyzed using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) and regression analyses. A generally low level of specialization of duties was observed even though professional service firms were defined as highly specialized firms. For most of the firms, level of formalization was moderate or high, while level of centralization was mostly low. Results revealed a direct significant relationship between legal ownership form and formalization dimension of structure. In addition, the centralization dimension of structure influenced firm performance. However, no direct relationship between ownership characteristics and performance was noted, although different fits of ownership characteristics and structural variables were observed. The results suggest that principals of architectural firms should match their characteristics with the firm structure to enhance performance in relation to profit. & 2013. Higher Education Press Limited Company. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Organizational Structure of Architectural Firms and Their Performances

The focus of this study is the organizational structure of architectural firms where the mode of coordination had been unclear. The types of organizational structure in architectural firms were identified using data obtained from 92 architectural firms in Nigeria. The findings show that sizes of the firms influenced the organizational structures adopted by the architectural firms. Although, sizes of the firms also had direct influence on the performance, no interaction of this variable or any internal firm characteristic with organizational structure led to any significant change in performance. Although the environment did not directly influence organizational structure, it appeared that particular organizational structures worked best when some external influences are high and resulted in higher profit. The results show that while adhoc structure leads to better performance in firms where the influence of other professionals is considered high, the administered structure is more effective highly influenced by government privatization programmes. Only the adhoc structure was however not suitable for firms strongly influenced by increasing concerns for sustainable environment. The results of the study suggest that while larger architectural firms may record higher profit, architectural firms that adapt their organizational structures to environmental conditions to reap improved profi

Architectural Firms:Workforce,Business Strategy and Performance

The intent of this research was to investigate the relationship between the workforce, business strategy and performance of architectural firms. Data was collected from 92 firms randomly selected from the cities where architectural firms were most concentrated in Nigeria using questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analysis was carried out to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of the workforce of architectural firms on their performance. The findings confirm the significant positive impact. With business strategy controlled, the specific characteristics of the workforce and its management which influenced performance were the number of architects, the work structure, and the age and experience of the principal partners. The impact of the number of non- architecture professionals and staff participation in decision-making on performance was moderated by the business strategy adopted by the firms. The results suggest that workforce characteristics are more important than the management of the workforce in determining performance of architectural firms. This is contrary to the results of previous studies which suggest higher importance of the management. This probably indicates the peculiarity of architectural firm as a professional service firm in the construction industr

Culture of Architectural Firms in Nigeria: An Exploratory Study

What is the culture of an architectural firm, and what are the organisational characteristics that shape this culture? These are the questions addressed by this paper that surveys 92 Nigerian architectural firms. The study investigated the culture of these architectural firms using the response of the firms' principals to a questionnaire of value statements regarding innovation, stability, people orientation, outcome orientation, team orientation and aggressiveness. The culture types were determined using a two-step cluster analysis of the data. Categorical regression was also used to determine the factors that shaped a firm's culture. The study revealed that the architectural firms did not have either market or hierarchical cultures. The findings also challenged the notion that larger firms tend to be more impersonal. However, the predominance of responsive and staff-oriented cultures confirmed the notion that service sector organisations are more people-oriented than outcome-oriented confirms. The leadership style of the principals best predicted a firm's culture

Trends in Urbanisation: Implication for Planning and Low-Income Housing Delivery in Lagos, Nigeria

Urbanization is a global phenomenon which is currently sweeping through developing countries like a wild fire. As a result of the magnitude and speed of urbanization in these countries many governments appear overwhelmed and unable to cope with its challenges. Consequently, basic infrastructure and services are rarely provided as urban growth proceeds haphazardly with severe threats to the well-being of the people and society. Lagos, Nigeria is one of the largest urban areas in the developing world which is currently grappling with the challenges of urbanization especially in the area of housing provision. The present work has been motivated by the current severe inadequate housing in Lagos. It is based on extensive literature review and archival retrieval of historical documents. The paper identified some salient features of the urbanization process in Lagos, Nigeria and the challenges they pose to adequate housing. These include rapid population growth and changing demographic structure; poverty and unemployment; difficulties in accessing housing delivery inputs; and lack of adequate capacity on the part of government. The paper further examined the implications of these challenges for providing housing especially for poor households and concluded that urbanization of developing cities if properly managed should bring about economic and social development

Architectural Education for Today’s Challenges

The changing environment in which architecture is practiced today appears very hostile in many countries including Nigeria. There are challenges both within the profession and outside the profession. Several of these challenges have serious implications for the training of architects in the country. This paper highlights some of these challenges and their implications for architectural education in Nigeria. It proffers solutions aimed at making architectural education more responsive to the evolving practice climate in Nigeria

Influence of Socio-Economic Factors of Residents of Informal Settlements on their Choice of Waste Disposal Method: Evidence from Lagos, Nigeria

This paper investigated residents in a representative informal settlement located in Lagos, Nigeria. It sought to determine whether residents’ socio-economic characteristics influence their choice of waste disposal method. Based on literature reviewed twenty socio-economic variables were selected and subjected to standard multiple regression using SPSS version 20. Results revealed that the model comprising of the socio-economic characteristics investigated explained only 14% of the variance in choice of household waste disposal methods. The findings thus suggest that the socio-economic characteristics of residents in the study area, collectively and individually, contributed very little in their choice of waste disposal method. Only six of the variables, namely number of households sharing same building with respondents (.001); number of children below eighteen years (.004); employment structure (.004); income (.014); number of wives of household heads (.016); and house type (.037), made statistically significant unique contributions to explaining the choice of waste disposal method by residents in the study area. The number of households sharing same building with respondents contributed the strongest with standardized beta coefficient of -.149 followed by number of children below eighteen years (-.125), employment structure (-.109) and income (-.107). The fact that the socio-economic factors accounted for 14 percent of the variance in choice of waste disposal method implies that some other factors account for residents’ choice of waste disposal methods. Nevertheless, variables like number of households sharing same building with respondents, number of children below eighteen years, employment structure and income need to be carefully considered in evolving strategies for household waste disposal in informal settlements like Ayobo, Lagos