CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS’ ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND SKILLS IN CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN LAGOS   (CHAPTER 1-5)

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background of the Study

Construction industry is complex in nature because it contains large number of project parties as clients, consultants, contractors, stakeholders, shareholders and regulators. The complexity and fragmented nature of the industry and its highly casual employment of labour makes it sensitive to poor contract delivery. Basically, it is this unique characteristic of the industry that kept this problem in Lagos unnoticed. However, poor construction project has created economic situation which the industry cannot manage and at the same time the industry stakeholders or contractors do not know how to document these problems for future references. The construction industry project is affected by national economies (Navon, 2005). Despite this complexity, the construction industry plays a major role in the development and achievement of goals in the society.

Construction industry is one of the largest single industries that contribute greatly to the development of nation including Lagos. The pace of the economic growth of any nation can be measured by the development of the physical infrastructure such as buildings, roads and bridges (Takin & Akintoye, 2002). Successful building construction projects are those projects finished on time, within budget, in accordance with specifications and to stakeholders’ satisfaction (Ogunsemi, 2006). Shortage of skills of manpower, poor supervision, poor site management, unsuitable leadership, shortage and breakdown of equipment among others contribute to construction delays in the United Arab Emirates. (Faridi & El-Sayegh, 2006).

According to Ajayi, Ogunsami, Ajayi & Ofili (2010) the choice of contractor(s) is a critical factor for the project manager and usually has a significant impact on the success or failure of a project. The performance of a contractor will definitely correlate with the performance of the contract. He further observed that the evaluation of project has been a challenge for the construction industry for decades. Several models and methods have been proposed by researchers for the evaluation of project performance. However most of these procedures according to Ajayi et al. (2010) limit their analysis to selected measures such as cost, schedule or labour productivity. Construction project embraces client’s satisfaction, time performance, cost performance, construction quality and sustainable development.

Cheng, Tsai & Sudjono (2011) evaluated the performance of subcontractors and identified 12 factors that are tied to the performance of the subcontractor. Among the factors are construction techniques, duration control abilities, and material wastage and so on. Mbachu & Nkando (2007) established that quality and attitude to service is one of the key factors constraining successful project delivery in South Africa. The performance of contractors in Zambia is apparently below expectation. It is uncommon to learn of local projects that have not been completed or significantly delayed. This poor performance of many local contractors has huge implications in terms of their competitiveness (Zulu & Chileshe, 2008).

Ling, Low, Wang & Lim (2007) remarked that architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms may face difficulties managing construction projects performance in China because they are unfamiliar with this new operating environment. Kim, Han Kim & Park (2008) stated that international construction projects performance is affected by more complex and dynamic factors than domestic projects; frequently being exposed to serious external uncertainties such as political, economic, social, and cultural risks, as well as internal risks from within the project. Puspassari (2005) identified 46 possible factors responsible for poor performance of construction contract. He further categorized these factors into eight groups as; factors caused by clients, factors caused by contractors, factors caused by consultants, factors related to subcontractors, factors related to material and labour, contractual relationship factors, project procedures and external environment factors.

Puspasari (2005) observed that due to many reasons, project performance and project success are not commonplace in the construction industry especially in developing countries. This may not be unconnected with the fact that construction project development involves numerous parties, various processes, different phases and stages of work and a great deal of input from both the public and private sectors with the major aim of bringing the project to a successful conclusion, hi citation of previous studies, little attention is being paid to poor construction performance in Lagos, Nigeria.

1.2   Statement of Research Problem

Establishment and achievement of acceptable levels of quality in construction projects has long been a problem (Arditi & Gunaydin, 1997) but despite a significant amount of investigation already being undertaken to examine quality failures and their causes, construction projects are still encountering numerous quality problems (Heravitorbati, Coffey, Trigunarsyah & Saghatforoush, 2011).

According to Xiao (2002), poor quality performance that results in increased rework and has significant impacts on cost and schedule is among the major defects experienced in construction projects. There have been instances of building failures in different parts of the country, cases of abandonment of construction projects mid-way and projects failing to meet the requirements even after execution. All these have been attributed to various causes but the success of projects can only be measured in terms of the achievement of quality, quality being defined as the ability of products and processes to conform to established requirements.

Quality, as well as project success, in construction projects should be capable of being regarded as fulfillment of expectation of those contributors and stakeholders involved in such projects (Heravitorbati et al. 2011). Compliance to quality standards in public construction projects is therefore a very critical factor if the management and execution of such projects is to be a success. As such, this research work intends to appraise the adherence to quality standard in the management of public construction projects in Lagos, Nigeria and find out the factors affecting it.

Despite the numerous studies on entrepreneurship, a coherent and holistic theoretical underpinning of entrepreneurship is still lacking. It is still the concern of many scholars around the world to find one consistent and acceptable definition of entrepreneurship.

1.3     Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to construction managers’ entrepreneurial orientation and skills in construction firms in Lagos. In order to achieve the aim of this study, the following objectives were outlined to guide the study:

1)   To evaluate the construction planning skill needed for effective project delivery.

2)   To examine the technical skill needed for effective project delivery.

3)   To find out the controlling skill needed for effective project delivery.

4)   To examine the personal skill needed for effective project delivery.

 1.4    Research Questions

1)   What the construction planning skill needed for effective project delivery?

2)   What are the technical skill needed for effective project delivery?

3)   To what extent will controlling skill affect effective project delivery?

4)   What the personal skill needed for effective project delivery?

1.5       Significance of the Study

The need for construction projects to meet performance criteria of time, quality cannot be over emphasized. This study sets to propose strategic measures for effectively construction projects with a view to enhancing the delivery of construction projects that will meet time and cost targets. It will provide relevant factors to be considered in achieving effective project. This will assist construction project contractors and consultants in deploying techniques and measures that is capable of supporting construction projects.

The result of this study by implication will provide construction project, stakeholder comprising various categories-of clients, construction projects contractors and consultants with strategies to optimize construction of construction activities.

The findings from this study will encourage students to develop more interest jin building construction. They would acquire the needed practical skills that will help them become proficient with the future prospect.

Also, this study will provide individual professional in the construction industry with a robust approach for undertaking construction activities that will be time and cost efficient.

1.6   Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study examines the construction managers’ entrepreneurial orientation and skills in construction firms in Lagos. This study is delimited to Lagos State, Nigeria. It focus on companies “engaged in construction projects within the metropolis of Lagos State comprising of indigenous and expatriate building and civil engineering companies in the defined geographical area. The population of this study shall comprise of both building and civil engineering professionals including Architects, Builders, Quantity Surveyors, and Civil Engineers among others, involved in public and private construction projects within the study area. The sample frame shall comprise of construction managers and project managers involved in the planning, execution and administration of construction projects.

1.7       Operational Definition of Terms

Skill: A skill is the ability to carry out a task with pre-determined results often within a given amount of time, energy, or both.

Construction: Construction is the process of constructing a building or infrastructure.

Construction Manager: A construction manager is someone who plans, coordinates, budgets, and supervises construction projects from early development to completion.

Project Delivery: A project delivery method is a system used by an agency or owner for organizing and financing design, construction, operations, and maintenance services for a structure or facility by entering into legal agreements with one or more entities or parties.

Construction Project: Building and civil engineering projects including but not limited to residential and commercial buildings, roads, pavement and walkways etc.

REFERENCES

Ajayi, O. M., Ogunsami, O. E., Ajayi, A. K & Ofili, C.M. (2010). Factors Affecting Performance of Contractors on Construction Projects in Lagos State. Proceedings of the Construction, Building and Real estate Research Conference of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Paris.

Arditi, D. & Lee, D. E. (2004). Service quality performance of design/build contractors using quality function deployment. Construction Management and Economics, 22(1), 123“127.

Cheng, M.Y. Tsai, H.C. & Sudjono, E. (2011). Evaluating Subcontractors Performance Using Evolutionary Fuzzy Hybrid Neural network. International Journal of Project Management. 29:249-356.

Faridi, A. & El-Sayegh, S. (2006). Significant factors causing delay in the UAE construction industry, Construction Management and Economics, 24(11): 1167-1176.

Heravitorbati, A., Coffey, V., Trigunarsyah, B., & Saghatforoush, E. (2011). Evaluating the influences of stakeholder management on construction project quality. Paper presented at the International Construction Business & Management Symposium (ICBMS2011), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Kim Du, Y., Han, S. H., Kim, H. & Park, H. (2008). Structuring the prediction model of project performance for international construction projects: A comparative analysis, Expert Systems with Applications.

Ling, F.Y., Low, S. P., Wang, S.Q. & Lim, H.H. (2007). Key project management practices affecting Singaporean firm’s project performance in China, International Journal of Project management, 22-24

Navon, R. (2005). Automated project performance control of construction projects, Automation of Construction, Vol. 14, Pp. 467-476

Ogunsemi, D. R. (2006). Predicting the Final Cost of Construction in Nigeria. The Quantity Surveyor 54(4):3-6.

Puspasari, T.R. (2005). Factors causing poor Performance of Construction Projects. An Unpublished Master project Report, submitted to the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Technology, Malaysia.

Takin, R. & Akintoye, A. (2002). Performance Indicators for Successful Construction Project Performance. In Greenwood, D. (Ed). 18th Annual ARCOM Conference. 2-4 September, 2002. University of Northumbria.

Xiao, H., & Proverbs, D. (2002). The performance of contractors in Japan, the UK and the USA. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 19(6), 672-687.

Zulu, S., Chileshe, (2008). The impact of service quality on project performance: a case study of building maintenance services in Zambia, in proc. of the 3rd Built Environment Conference, Association of Schools of Construction of Southern Africa, Cape Town, South Africa.

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