STAKEHOLDERS’ PERCEPTION OF THE SEVERITY OF THE CAUSES OF DISPUTES IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1 .1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Just like any other industry, the construction industry around the world contribute to the economic development (generation of employment and wealth) of countries with Nigeria not being an exception. This sector of the economy is unique in nature that calls into play proper handling of activities in the industry via the instrumentation of reliable dispute resolution techniques.
The existence of an atmosphere of risk is present in every form of construction project and no matter how small this is, it has the ability of becoming a fully blown out dispute if not checked. With a proper perception of dispute even the littlest of matter would not be taken lightly as it can pose a great threat to the construction works with time. Disputes should be seen as difference of opinion of each party. Dispute arises from a continuous injustice by one party or misinterpretation of meaning by the other. Many such disputes need never arise if the original decision causing disagreement had been made with adequate clarity of purpose and definition or recognition of a changing situation had been built into the decision. Any problem no matter how small should always be looked at and controlled so that it does not get out of hand. Only poor management would assume that a problem would disappear if left over a period of time.
The construction industry is a very competitive high risk business. Problems such as little cooperation, lack of trust and ineffective communication result in adversarial relationship. To overcome most threats that come due to the aforementioned reason for disputes project partnering was developed and proposed as a tool that would help. Partnering here refers to a technique used that generates an organizational environment of trust, open communication and parties’ involvement. Partnering in conventional business setting has been seen as a form of business organization accepted and recognized throughout the world. The Koreans in order to overcome hitches that had rocked their construction industry decided to try out partnership. It involves a long term commitment between two parties for the purpose of achieving specific business objectives by maximizing the effectiveness of each participant. This involves changing the traditional relationship to a shared culture without regard to organizational boundaries. The relationship is based on trust, dedication to common goal and an understanding of each individual’s expectation
Disputes have been established as one of the major factor plaguing the construction industry in Nigeria (Adebayo and Babajide, 2009). One of the major disputes that have occurred in the construction industry in Nigeria is the retrenchment of over five thousand workers by Julius Berger Nigeria plc in the late 90’s. Besides this, several disputes continually arises which have negative impact in the project success in terms of cost, time, quality and the atmosphere for continuing business.
With proper understanding, every form of challenges that comes in the form of disputes could be properly addressed.
