AN ASSESSMENT OF CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS’ LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE TO ETHICAL STANDARDS IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Main Article Content

Busayo Funmilola Adeyinka
Godwin Onajite Jagboro
Grace Kehinde Ojo
Sunday Julius Odediran

Keywords

Ethics, Compliance, Construction Industry, Professionals, Standards

Abstract

The study assessed the compliance of construction professionals to ethical standards in the Nigerian construction industry. The study area was Lagos State and the target respondents were the registered professionals including architects, quantity surveyors, builders and engineers. A total of one hundred and seventy (170) questionnaire were randomly administered on the professionals and one hundred and thirty eight (138) were retrieved representing 81.18% response rate. Findings revealed that professionals displayed high level of compliance to clients service delivery with Mean Item Score (MIS) ranged between 3.22 to 3.79, educational and professional qualification with Mean Item Score (MIS) ranged 3.18 to 3.71 and standards of practice with Mean Item Score (MIS) ranged between 3.16 to 3.63. The overall rating revealed that professionals have highest level of compliance to standards of practice with 54.76%, while the least ranked ethical standards was fair compensation with 49.31%. ANOVA test established a statistical significant difference among the professionals view about compliance of the professionals to clients service delivery (F value=2.447, P value=0.020) and professional development (F value=3.774, P value = 0.001). The overall level of compliance of construction professionals to ethical standards was 52.37%. It was concluded that clients service delivery; educational training and professional qualification and standards of practices are the most significant ethical standards among construction professionals in Nigeria. Therefore, the study concluded that professionals satisfactorily complied with the ethical standards.

Abstract 187 | PDF Downloads 61

References

Allen J. & Davis D., (1993) Assessing Some Determinant Effects of Ethical Consulting Behaviour:
the case of Personal and Professional Values in Journals of Business Ethics 12(6): 449- 459.www.springerlink.com/index/kt06x726v570751k.pdf.
Ameh J., and Odusami K. (2009). Nigerian Building Professionals Ethical Ideology and Perceived
Ethical Judgement. Construction Research Journal, Bi-Annual Journal of Department of
Building , University of Lagos, Akoka Lagos Nigeria, vol 2. No. 1 March 2009.
Belis, J. and R. V. Impe. (2001). Ethics in engineering today. Creative system in structural and
construction engineering. p 21-25.
Cardamone (2010). Cardamone Construction Management Association of America
www.cmaanet.or/files/shared/sop.sampelpdf.
Chan, E.H.H., and Chan A.T.S., (2002). Developing of Professional System in the Construction
Industry in China, Journal of construction Research, 3 (21, 271-284).
Chalkley, R., (1990). Professional Conducts: A Handbook for Chartered Surveyors In Olatunji O. A:
Conflict of Interest within Construction Practitioners: Quantity Surveying and Built
Environment vol 18(1), 35-50 June 2007.
De George R. T., (1990). Business Ethics Macmillan publishing company,
USA.www.flipkart.com/business-ethics-richard-t-degeorge-book o205731937india.
Doree, A. G (2004). Collusion in the Dutch Construction Industry. An Industrial Organization
Perspective. Building Research and Information 32 (2) 145 -156.
Egan, J. (1998), Rethinking Construction. Department of the Environment, Transport and the
Regions, London. Constructing excellence.org.uk/search/link.jsp?id=309
Calhoun, C.H., Wolitzer, P., (2001). Ethics as a Value Added Service, The CPA Journal, 71(1), Jan,
71–3
Fan, L.C.N., Fox, PW and Wan, J.C.Y., (2003). An Investigation of Ethical Behaviour of
Construction Professionals in Quality Management. Second International conference on
construction in the 21st century (CITC-II) ‘Sustainability and Innovation in Management and
Technology’ 10-12 December, Hong Kong.
Fagbemi, A. O., (2008). Assessment of Quantity Surveyors’ Service Quality in Lagos State, Nigeria.
An unpublished M. Tech. thesis submitted to Department of Quantity Surveying, Federal
University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.
Gido, J., and Clement, J.P. (2003). Successful Project Management Mason, OH: Thomson South
Western.
Gray, C.F., AND Larson, E. W. (2000). Project Management: The Managerial Process. New York;
Irwin McGraw-Hill.
Harris Jr, C.E., Pritchard, M.S., Rabins, M.J., (1995). Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases,
Wadsworth Publishing Company, USA
Hillebrandt, P. (2000). Economic Theory and the Construction Industry, Macmillan, London.
John O., (2006). Ethical Behaviour in the Construction Procurement Process. Report no 2002 -62A
CRC Construction Innovation. February 2006 page 5-6, 7-
8.wwwdeakin.edu.au>DeakinResearchonline.
Johnson, D.G., (1991), Ethical issues in engineering, Prentice Hall, New jersey: USA
Kerzner, H. (2003). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling (7th ed.) New York; John Wiley and Sons.
Lam, K. C, Hu, T., Ng, S. T, Skitmore, M., Cheung, S. O. (2001). A Fuzzy Neural Network Approach
for Contractor Prequalification. Construction Management And Economics. 19 175 – 188.
Latham M., (1994). Constructing the Team Joint: Review of Procurement and Contractual
Arrangements in the UK Construction industry. Ministry of Environment, Transport and the
Regions, London.Catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/830825.
Longford D., & Male S., (2001). Strategic Management in Construction. Oxford Blackwell
science.books.google.comng/books?isbn=0632049995.
Male S. P., and Mitrovic D., (2005). The Project Value Chain: Models for Procuring Supply Chains
in Construction Proceedings, Royal institution of Chattered Surveyors (RICS) Conference July
4-8 Queensland University of
TechnologyAustralian.www.valuesolutions.co.uk/Managing%20%value%20as%20a%20Mna
gement%20for%proj.
Masidah, A., and Khairudeen A., (2005). Expectation of Clients, Architects and Engineers on the
Roles and Functions of Quantity Surveyors in Relation to Cost Control of Buildings Projects.
Proceedings, Quantity surveyor’s (Biennial) Convention University of Malaya, Malaysia 19-
29.www.scribd.com/doc/5078646818/8- .
May, D., Wilson, O.J., Skitmore, R.M., (2001). Bid Cutting: An Empirical Study of Practice in South
East Queensland. Construction, Engineering and Architectural Management (in press).
Meredith, J. R., and Mantel, S.J. (2003). Project Management: A Managerial Approach (5thed). New
York; John Wiley and Sons
Nadeem, E., Sohail A., Muhammed T., (2009) Professional Ethics in Construction Industry of
Pakistan – Proceedings of the world congress on Engineering 2009 vol 1 WCE 2009, July 1-3
2009, London, U.K. www/aeng.org/publication/WCE2009-pp729-733.pdf.
Nduese E., (2010). Cement Producer, Builders Seek Solutions to Building Collapse. Peoples daily,
December 1.www.peoplesdaily-online.com/.../1120-cement-producers-builders-seeksolutions-
to-building-cpllapse..
Nkado, R. W., and Kotze, M., (2000). Competency – Based Assessment of Professional Quantity
Surveying, a South African Perspective – Proceeding of COBRA 2000 University of
Greenwich,UK.wwwinformalworld.com/index/930341872.pdf.
Omole. A. O (2000). Surveying Input into Engineering Projects; Need for professionalism. The
Quantity Surveyor. 30. Jan/March pp10 – 18.
Olatunji O. A., and Ogunsemi D. R., (2006a). Exploring the Ethical Perceptions of Various Levels of
Quantity Surveying Staffing in Nigeria. Accepted for Presentation at AUBEN conference
Sydney
Poon J., (2003). Professional Ethics for Surveyors and Construction Project Performance’ What We
Need to Know. Proceedings, RICS
Poon, J. (2004a). The Study of Ethical Perceptions of Construction Managers Proceedings of
Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) Conference, Edinburgh,
Heriot-Watt University, UK, 973-983.
Poon, J. (2004b). An Investigation of the Differences in Ethical Perceptions among Construction
Managers and their Peers: Proceedings of Association of Researchers in Construction
Management (ARCOM) Conference, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, UK, 985-993.
Pollington C., (1999). Legal Procurement Practices for Sustainable Development Building Research
and information 27, (2) In: Olatunji O. A: Conflict of Interest within Construction Practitioners
Quantity Surveying Case Study. Surveying and Built Environment vol 18(1) 35-50
June.www.hks.org.hk/hks/html/upload/journal/jn146-0pdf.
Ray, R. S., Hornibrook J., Skitmore, M. and Zarkada F. A. (1999). Ethics in Tendering. A Survey of
Australian Opinion and Practice”. Construction Management Economics 17(2) 139-153.
Shakantu, W.M.W., (2003) “Corruption in the Construction Industry; Forms Susceptibility and
Possible Solutions” CIDB 1st Postgraduate Conf. CIDB Ruth Elizabeth, South African
www.cidbwg.za/CIDB.
Yakub. A, (2005). Keynotes Address. Quantity Surveyors Biennial Convention on Sustaining the
Profession-Towards Diversification. University of Malaya, Malaysia.
Yang, T. (2000).Toward a Deep Environmentalism: The Basic Ideas of Environmental Ethics.
Chengdu, Sichuan People’s Press.
Vee, C. and Skitmore, M., (2003). Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry. Engineering,
Construction and Architectural Management, 19(21, 117-127). eprints.qut.edu.au/4119.
Zarkada–Fraser, A., (2000). A Classification of Factors Influencing Participating to Collusive
Tendering Agreements, Journal of Business Ethics, 23(3), Feb, 269-82.
Zarkada-Fraser, A., Skitmore, R.M., (2000). Decisions with Moral Content: Collusion. Construction
Management and Economics 18(1) 101-11.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 178

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.