Bowen, P; Akintoye, A; Pearl, R and Edwards, P J (2007) Ethical behaviour in the South African construction industry. Construction Management and Economics, 25(6), pp. 631-648. ISSN 1466433X
Abstract
An opinion survey of South African architects, quantity surveyors, engineers and contractors regarding ethical behaviour within the construction industry reveals that South African contractors seem to possess a reputation for unethical conduct. The range of problems encountered includes collusion, bribery, negligence, fraud, dishonesty and unfair practices. While bribery in the form of payments and gifts is prevalent, fraud does not appear to be as serious a problem. Most construction professionals believe that the industry suffers from unfair tendering practices, as well as over-claiming and/or withholding payment for service delivery. Negligence arises mainly from poor documentation and poor workmanship. Incidents of collusive tendering encompass cover pricing and bid cutting by contractors, while the primary form of fraudulent behaviour is deceit and misinformation. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's bribery codes conditions could be used to counter unethical behaviour in the construction industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | business ethics; codes of conduct; corruption; professional ethics; South Africa |
| Index terms: | construction industry, architect, construction professional, engineer, service delivery, pricing, unethical conduct, quantity surveying, workmanship, South Africa, ethical behaviour, corruption, documentation, professional ethics, negligence, survey, business ethics, collusion, fraud |
| Subjects: | economic analysis, professional practice, ethical practice, ethical issues, data collection methods, profession, liability law, professional ethics, industry analysis, professional development, service delivery, contractual condition, Geography, tendering |
| Topics: | Contract Administration, Ethics, Legal Issues, Procurement, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management, Information Management, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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