Mukumbwa, B and Muya, M (2013) Ethics in the construction industry in Zambia. International Journal of Construction Management, 13(2), pp. 43-65. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
The construction industry is prevalent with unethical practices. Unethical practices exist both in developing and developed countries. Those common on construction projects include: corruption; conflict of interest; fraud; collusion; negligence; and poor quality work. These practices may have devastating effects on a country's economy. The purpose of this study was to: investigate the practices of ethics in the construction industry; identify significant unethical practices on construction projects in Zambia; and suggest strategies for addressing identified malpractices. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The results reported in this paper suggest the prevalence of unethical practices in all phases of construction projects in Zambia. Benchmarking best practices in ethics; observing ethics guidelines; following good leadership on ethics; pursuing indictments and convictions of individuals established to be guilty by courts of law; and simplifying tender procedures have all been recommended as strategies for combating unethical practices.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | unethical practices; Zambia |
| Index terms: | ethics, Zambia, construction industry, unethical practices, best practice, strategy, collusion, negligence, fraud, developing and developed country, benchmarking, construction project, questionnaire, corruption |
| Subjects: | liability law, professional ethics, industry analysis, production management, Geography, tendering, management, economic development, performance measurement, ethical practice, business, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Project Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Procurement, Quality Management, International Construction, Legal Issues |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here