CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Strategic planning is a long-established component of strategic management theory (Ansoff, 1957, 1970; Pearce et al. 1987; Porter, 1979; Steiner, 1979). The field of strategic planning has attracted significant attention by academics and practitioners alike, and the benefits of engaging in systematic strategic planning are well documented (Anderson 2000; Baker et al 1993; Brews & Purohit 2007; Rudd, 2005; White 1986). The field may be broadly separated between strategic planning process and strategic planning content, the former being the primary concern of this investigation.

Marketing is practiced all over the world and it is referred to as the activity of getting company to sell what the customer “wants” (goods or services). Its importance for the survival of companies cannot be overlooked (Waugh, 2004; Arslan et al., 2009). Polat and Donmez (2010) established that effective marketing plays an important role in the overall success of companies and is critical for any business to grow in the competitive environment. Although, most construction professionals perceived marketing as an unimportant management function therefore not integrated into the structure of the firms and where it was incorporated, the level of adoption was slow (Winter and Preece, 2000; Bennett, 2005; Jaafar et al., 2008; Arslan et al., 2009). Recently, there is an increasing recognition that marketing has an important role to play in the enhancement of the performance of the construction profession (Arditi et al., 2008; Chen and Muhamed, 2008; Arslan et al., 2009; Polat, 2010; Polat and Donmez, 2010). The American Marketing Association Board of Directors in 2007 defined marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large (Polat and Donmez, 2010). It can also be defined in relation to construction as finding information about the economy, the client and the competition.

According to Adegbile (2008), marketing of professional service is defined as the creation of client satisfying services at a profit to the firm. The professionals in the construction industry are quantity surveyors, architects, civil and building contractors, estate surveyors, structural and services engineers. Pryor (2001) established that the entire construction industry is based on the concept of making sure that the owner receives what he requests. Therefore, the professionals in the construction industry bring together expertise and skill to work towards a common goal of satisfying their client. Adegbile (2008) and Jaafar et al. (2008) emphasized that the construction professional firms differ from all other industries. They provide highly customized services and thus cannot apply many of the marketing management principles developed for product based industry. Also, professional services are highly personalized and involve the skill of individual service providers. However, realizing the nature of the construction business environment, it is vital to develop appropriate marketing practice to be adopted by the professionals for survival in the industry.

The construction industry is invariably a significant part of the process of developing economy. The process of economic development can be enhanced and accelerated by professional services inputs (McNamara, 1999). The degree to which service dominates the economy and the important role played by this sector in Nigeria and other countries was noted by Shen and Dong (2000), Mogbo (2001), Central Bank of Nigeria (2004), Lee et al. (2008), Dantata (2007) and Arslan et al. (2009). Research established that improved professional services through effective marketing can lead to an enhanced economy. It is therefore apparent that effective marketing is vital for Nigerian construction professionals. In view of this, this paper identified marketing principles and strategies, assessed their level of adoption and examined the extent of effectiveness and level of preference with a view to improving Nigerian construction professional performance in the global competitive environment.

The construction industry is a hugely important industry to the global economy, and in particular to the Nigerian economy, it contributed an estimated 24% of Gross National Product (DKM, 2010). However, the construction industry is undergoing a sharp contraction brought about by a combination of the global recession, domestic banking crises, overreliance on the industry and deteriorating exchequer balances. The net effect of which is that it is estimated the industry accounted for approximately 9.2% of GNP by the end of 2010 (DKM, 2010).

The construction industry is complex due to the unique nature of output, the number of professionals involved, investment intensity, pricing structure, the influence of government in the industry and the multiplied effect it has on other sectors (Ashworth and Hogg, 2002; Hillebrandt and Cannon, 1994). The limited research undertaken within the sector has been heavily biased towards large contracting firms, and there remains a dearth of information regarding the professional practices operating within the industry.

The Quantity Surveyor (QS) is one of a number of professionals involved in the construction process and has specific responsibility for project cost control not only through the construction phase but for the whole life of the building (Seeley, 1997). The role of the QS has evolved such that they may be employed as construction project manager, risk analyst, investment appraiser or by financing agencies (Ashworth and Hogg, 2002). The shift towards more sustainable methods of construction and concern for the impact on the environment has offered further potential to broaden the role of the QS. A QS may work for a contracting organisation or for a Professional Quantity Surveying (PQS) practice (referred to as QS Practice for the remainder of the thesis), the latter forming the basis of the investigation at hand.

The QS plays a crucial role in a capital intensive industry that is clearly influential to the economy as a whole in Nigeria, and thus far the strategic management and planning process of QS practices has not been the subject of empirical investigation. How strategic decisions are made, what informs such decisions, the process by which the organisation makes the decisions and the difficulties therein, remain unknown. The field of strategic planning is well established and facets of the process have been tested in varying industry sectors. The extent to which strategic planning processes are applicable to QS practices is as yet unconfirmed, thus providing the rationale for this exploratory study.

The use of a strategic planning process model provides a framework within which to analyse aspects of strategic planning in a firm. Numerous strategic planning models have been developed over several decades (Shrivastava and Grant, 1985; Rhyne, 1986; Dess, 1993; Scott, 2007; Abraham, 2006) including that developed by Scott (2007) known as the Edinburgh Business School Strategic Planning Process Model (EBS SPPM). The strength of the EBS SPPM lies in its potential application across industry sectors regardless of approach or degree of formality of process within an organisation. Consequently the model is used as a framework to investigate strategic planning processes within QS practices in Ireland.

The framework facilitates consideration of many facets of the strategic planning process from the approach to strategy formulation (Mintzberg, 2003), organisational types (Miles and Snow, 1978) and characteristics of the process. Features such as strategic planning comprehensiveness (Fredrickson and Mitchell, 1984), participation in the process (Dyson and Foster, 1982), flow (Segars and Grover, 1999) and use of strategic planning tools (Frost, 2003) are also addressed in the context of an industry environment which is clearly changing and uncertain (Brews and Purohit, 2007; Covin and Slevin, 1989; Grant, 2003).

The research thus addresses the competitive marketing strategies for quantity surveying profession. The substantial body of existing strategic planning literature is thus employed to frame the investigation.

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

As noted there remains a paucity of research in Nigeria on Quantity Surveying practices, and the overriding contribution of the study is in addressing this gap in knowledge.

The quantity surveying profession is faced with lots of limitations and challenges as regards its recognition and survival in Nigeria (Oyegoke, 2006; Olaniyi, Sanni and Garba, 2011). Ojo (2011) observed that many construction professionals (quantity surveyors) face challenges in selling their services due to failure to embrace marketing concept and formulate feasible marketing strategies. An Improved quantity surveying services through strategic marketing can lead to an improved economy (Mogbo, 2001).

However it is pertinent to note that there is no specific guideline that directs the manners with which Quantity surveyors are expected to market the services of the profession within acceptable policy of the profession. As a result, it has left Quantity surveyors to market their services in a manner they deem fit. The code of professional ethic developed by National institute of Quantity surveyors guiding the operation of quantity surveying profession in Nigeria (section 1: RULE 2.) explains only the precautions and restrictions in the implementation of few aspect of element of marketing but does not provide a guide on how to use same for the marketing of Quantity surveying services to clients. To improve on this aspect, a policy framework for the marketing of Quantity surveying services base on the 7ps of marketing mix is built to emphasize its usage.

1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The main of the study is evaluating competitive marketing strategies for quantity surveying profession in Nigeria with FCT as a case study. Other specific objectives include:

1. To determine the strategies adopted by quantity surveying profession.
2. To examine the benefits of effective marketing.
3. To examine the marketing strategies used in the Nigerian construction industry-level of usage and effectiveness.
4. To determine ways of Increasing Quantity Surveying Services through marketing strategies.
   1. RESEARCH QUESTION

1. What are the strategies adopted by quantity surveying profession?
2. What are the benefits of effective marketing?
3. What are the marketing strategies used in the Nigeria construction industry especially in FCT -level of usage and effectiveness?
4. How to Increase Quantity Surveying Services in FCT through marketing strategies?
   1. STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

1. HO: there is no significant of competitive marketing strategies for quantity surveying profession in FCT.
2. HI: competitive marketing strategies have a significant for quantity surveying profession in FCT.
   1. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

As noted there remains a paucity of research in Ireland on QS practices, and the overriding contribution of the study is in addressing this gap in knowledge. The importance of the industry to the economy and the QS to the industry has been noted. Not only is the study amongst the first empirical studies of strategic planning practices within Nigeria Quantity Surveying practices, it has a practical application to those organisations, and possibly to other Professional Service Firms (PSF‟s) within the industry.

The study provides extensive data regarding the structure, strategies, process and characteristics of strategic planning within Nigeria Quantity Surveying practices. This is invaluable information for any QS practitioner with responsibility for strategy development and is currently unavailable.

Secondly, a number of guidelines have been developed based upon the findings of the research to aid the strategic planning process of the quantity surveying profession in FCT. The guidelines provide a useful framework for QS practices and may potentially be used in other professional organisations, particularly within the construction sector. The timing of the research reflects a period of transition within the industry in Nigeria whereby QS practices are adjusting to greater intensity of competition given the reduction in demand brought about by the financial and economic crises. The findings of the study may thus act as a benchmark against which future studies may monitor strategic change within the profession.

Finally, the research instruments used in the study were derived following an extensive investigation of existing strategic planning process literature and were rigorously pilot tested prior to being administered. Therefore another notable contribution of the study lies in that these instruments can now usefully be applied in future studies, both within the QS (and construction professions) in FCT as well as other PSF‟s outside of the construction industry.

1. SCOPE OF STUDY

The study will cover an evaluation of competitive strategies for quantity surveying profession a case study of FCT.

1. LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

1. Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
2. Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
   1. DEFINITION OF TERMS

Evaluating

Evaluation is a process that critically examines a program. It involves collecting and analyzing information about a program's activities, characteristics, and outcomes. Its purpose is to make judgments about a program, to improve its effectiveness, and/or to inform programming decisions (Patton, 1987).

It is also a systematic, rigorous, and meticulous application of scientific methods to assess the design, implementation, improvement, or outcomes of a program. ... In this definition the focus is on facts as well as value laden judgments of the programs outcomes and worth.

Competitive

 determined or trying very hard to be more successful than other people or businesses. As good as or better than others of a comparable nature.

Quantity survey

The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) (2004) defines Quantity Surveying as the profession that is concerned with financial probity and achieving value for money in the conceptualization, planning, execution of building and engineering projects and development.

Marketing

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as "the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large".

Strategy

A method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem. The art and science of planning and marshalling resources for their most efficient and effective use.

Profession

A paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.

any type of work that needs special training or a particular skill, often one that is respected because it involves a high level of education.