An investigation of unethical practices in the Saudi Arabian construction industry

Recent research investigating the concept and causes of corruption and unethical practices indicates it is occurring within professional classes in different industries over the globe. Reports from well-known global organisations, such as Transparency International, rank the construction industry as the most corrupt industry globally, both in developed and developing countries (Transparency International 2017). This study aims to discover the factors associated with unethical practices in the Saudi construction industry. Saudi Arabia was selected because of the high level of building activity as the economy is transforming with widespread concerns about unethical practices. After a literature review of key drivers of unethical behaviour, twenty-nine interviews divided into two groups of respondents were undertaken to discover factors in the Saudi construction setting. Sixteen interviews were undertaken with engineering managers of different nationalities, gender, sector and experience. A further 13 interviews were conducted with Saudi engineering students, on their ethical judgement criteria and awareness of unethical practices in the industry. The study concludes that there are two reinforcing loops that strengthen Saudi engineers' propensity towards unethical practices. The social loop contains factors that reinforce engineers' unethical practices from the society side, while the profession loop contains factors that reinforce it from the professional side. Both the social and professional loop are determined from the data with some clear sub themes in the feedback loops such as engineer's public image, local pride, the spirit of defeatism, missing the ethical compass, and the role of loyalty to the organization. In Saudi Arabia, social norms are the source of values and ethical principles. One of these values and concepts is the ideal image for the professional engineer. The data shows that the engineer, as a member of this society, is requested to match this public image. As it will be explained in Chapter Five and Six, the research finds out that matching the engineer's esteemed public image is associated with the acceptance of unethical practices. Another social concept is the local pride. The government policy of replacing foreigner workers with locals institutionalizes the concept that the local worker may have an immunity against accountability. The unethical practices that are conducted by local engineers are often justified or ignored. The impact of normalising the corruption inside the organisation seems to transfer to society, becoming acceptable and part of people's daily lives. Therefore, a spirit of defeatism may be generated. New engineers enter the labour market ready to engage in unethical practices as they suppose that changing the situation is too difficult or not a priority. The other reinforcing loop is from the professional side. The engineering college prepares students to be professional engineers by setting an engineering curriculum that focuses on teaching technical issues and neglects the ethical side of the profession. The reason behind this neglect is the implicit belief that the student has had an adequate ethical upbringing at home. This gap leads to the fact that new engineers are graduated without a professional ethical compass supporting them in their ethical judgment. Moreover, the engineer is requested by managers and colleagues to demonstrate professionalism by acting in a way that shows his or her loyalty to the organization. Because the work process is often not written down and unclear, the new engineer follows the manager and old colleagues' directions. The new engineer is required to follow these directions and act like other engineers without hesitating to prove his or her loyalty to the organization. This study has implications for regional studies of unethical behaviour in a profession. It shows that there are complex and multifaceted reinforcing loops that play at the social and professional level. These feedback loops play an important role in how unethical behaviour and collective identity formation operate in a country like Saudi Arabia.