CONFLICTS IN NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Abstract

Construction project is a unique set of activities performed to achieve an organizational goal within defined objectives. It is usually carried out by professionals and other workers pooled from different organizations. The gathering of these people with different sets of values, work ethics and management structure makes conflict of interests inevitable in the industry. This study analyzed the causes of conflicts in the construction industry and its effect on project delivery with measures to managing the conflicts among the stakeholders. This study adopted descriptive survey design and stratified random sampling technique was used to select 155 respondents. A structured questionnaire was designed and administered on construction professionals (Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Builders and Engineers). Relative importance index tool was used to analyse the severity of the factors identified. Findings revealed inadequate estimation of project cost and time (0.86), errors and omissions in project documents (0.79), improper planning and construction methods (0.75) as top ranked causes of conflicts in construction industry. The results also revealed delay in project duration (0.84) ranked highest of the effects of conflicts on the construction project, followed by overall cost overrun (0.78) and work efficiency reduction (0.66). Planning ahead to handle conflict (0.78) was identified as a major strategy for managing conflict, followed by formulating conflict management strategies (0.77) and un-earth the real issues (0.71) as top ranked strategies. The study recommends that adequate time and skill should be employed in the estimation of project costs and duration, professionals should exercise due diligence in the preparation of contract documents to reduce the incidence of errors and omissions, the contractors should adopt acceptable planning and construction methods to reduce friction among stakeholders as ways to reducing conflicts in the construction industry.