Coleman, E; Nooni, I K; Fianko, S K; Dadzie, L; Neequaye, E N; Owusu-Agyemang, J and Ansa-Asare, E O (2020) Assessing contract management as a strategic tool for achieving quality of work in Ghanaian construction industry: A case study of FPMU and MMDAS. Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, 25(1), pp. 41-60. ISSN 1366-4387
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the attainment of quality in Government of Ghana’s (GoG) infrastructural projects through effective contract management and especially, relating to qualification, competence and experience of supply chain stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach: A survey questionnaire and field observations were used to collect primary data from staff of the education ministry and construction professionals. Documentary analyses of contract documents were also undertaken. Findings: The results show that executing agencies' failure to apply appropriate contract management processes was linked to the gap between stakeholders' knowledge and actual practice. This was confirmed by Spearman’s rho tests of correlation between overall mean ranks given by professionals and non-professionals, which indicated strong agreement between those groups. Factors such as contractors' engagement of unqualified supervisory staff, lack of proper projects monitoring and evaluation by executing agencies mainly contribute to the poor quality of work. Research limitations/implications: Investigations were limited to the Funds and Procurement Management Unit of the Ministry of Education, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and local contractors. Nonetheless, the methodology used could be used in future studies to analyse the socio-economic implications on the quality of education infrastructure. Practical implications: Construction is booming in Ghana but the capacity to improve the work quality through effective contract management is limited. However, with the effort of stakeholder and statutory bodies' support in capacity building initiatives, GoG projects could offer some novel solutions to improve quality of work. Social implications: Construction industry professionals and students' knowledge and perception on construction industry and contract management is significantly improved. Originality/value: This study provides information on respondents' knowledge on contract management process, which, if not properly understood, can lead to poor quality of work and loss of money.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | bid for public work; building contractors; building evaluation; building/construction economics; contract management; government of Ghana; higher education |
| Index terms: | survey, contract management, statutory body, infrastructural project, documentary analysis, agency, local contractor, questionnaire, contract document, competence, construction economics, methodology, higher education, capacity building, Ghana, procurement management, building contractor, qualification, case study, future study, construction industry, building evaluation, investigation, monitoring, public work, construction professional |
| Subjects: | educational institutions, asset management, sociology, procurement strategy, industry analysis, administrative law, financial analysis, educational resources, research methods, contractual condition, Geography, personnel development, infrastructure engineering, contract management, professional development, data science, social and economic development, data collection methods, research design and methodology, practitioner, control systems |
| Topics: | Cost Management, Business Strategy, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Roles and Professions, Regulations & Compliance, Procurement, Human Resources, Contract Administration, Education, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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