An Investigation Into Ethics Management Amongst Contractors In Kenya – A Case Study Of Nairobi County

Abstract

The construction industry continues to grow in terms of financial expenditure and in spurring economic development in the country; thus its importance cannot be overlooked. With this vibrancy, there are, however incessant manifestations of a myriad of malpractices hampering sustainability due to increased business uncertainties. This is in spite of the many laws in the country and government regulatory bodies. This study hypothesised that, lack of ethics management systems in the construction companies contributes to unethical practices in the building and construction industry. Accordingly, the objectives of the study were; to establish whether construction companies in Kenya have ethics management systems; to find out the benefits of ethics management systems; to identify the challenges facing implementation of ethics management systems; and finally to explore the correlation between lack of ethics management systems and unethical practices. The study used a descriptive survey approach where primary data was collected via structured questionnaires. The analysis of data was done using statistical analysis software. The study findings indicate that majority of construction companies surveyed (80.6%) have an inadequate ethics management system and lack documented ethical decision-making procedures. They lack adequate ethics guidelines such as code of ethics and value statements. There was also a lack of commitment by top leadership in fostering ethics management in their respective companies as exemplified by minimal ethics infrastructure with only 10% having ethics departments. Improved projects’ performance, improved compliance with laws and regulations, reduction in misconducts and disputes were noted to be the major benefits of ethics management in the construction companies respectively. Lack of trained personnel, low organisational ethical culture, and harsh business environment were majorly impacting ethics management. The results showed that there is a positive correlation between lack of Ethics Management Systems and Unethical Practices. The study concluded that ethics management amongst contractors in Kenya is ineffective resulting to very high ethical sacrifices by employees in the companies and predisposing decision-making to malpractices; this is because very few companies have a reliable ethics management system, have poor ethical culture, lack proper ethics management philosophy and ethics infrastructure. xiii The study, therefore, recommends training of ethics personnel to build ethics management human capacity, documented ethics decision-making procedures, and strong effective and dedicated leadership leading by example as the most effective ethics management strategies amongst contracting firms.