Jackson, B (2005) The perceptions of experienced construction practitioners regarding ethical transgressions in the construction industry. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 1(2), pp. 112-128. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
This study discusses the results of a national survey, conducted in 1999, designed to assess the perceptions of experienced construction practitioners regarding the "frequency" and "seriousness" of ethical transgressions within the construction industry. A questionnaire was sent to 1,450 systematically selected members of the Associated General Contractors. A total of 321 usable questionnaires were returned, or 22%. These construction practitioners were asked to consider 15 issues that may typically arise for those working in the construction industry in the normal course of operations. Contractors were asked how often they thought each of the issues occurred and, when they did occur, how serious they considered them to be. In addition, the relationship between construction practitioners’ perceptions of ethical behavior and several demographic variables were analyzed. The results indicate that the four most frequently occurring ethical transgressions were Improper or Questionable Bidding Practices, Misrepresentation of Completed Work or Value of Work, Poor Quality Control or Quality of Work, and Technical Incompetence or Misrepresentation of Competence. The four most serious ethical transgressions were Alcohol or Drug Abuse; Improper or Questionable Bidding Practices; Failure to Protect Public Health, Safety, or Welfare; and Poor Quality Control or Quality of Work. Although several of the demographic variables analyzed were related to several of the individual ethical issues, only three - gender, region of country, and experience - were found to be significant when it came to the summated scores for perceived frequency and/or seriousness of ethical transgressions.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | ethics; construction ethics; ethical transgressions; bid shopping |
| Index terms: | construction practitioner, demographic variable, general contractor, questionnaire, competence, bidding, alcohol, ethical behaviour, national survey, public health, ethics, construction industry, quality control |
| Subjects: | demography, practitioner, psychology, research products and data, bidding, ethical practice, personnel development, professional development, industry analysis, environmental health, data collection methods, ethical issues, project delivery |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Procurement, Health and Safety, Quality Management, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Research Practice, Urban Studies, Human Resources |
| 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