THE EFFECT OF MOTIVATION OF LABOUR, COST AND PRODUCTIVITY ON NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

1.1 Introduction

Construction is the world's largest and most challenging industry. The industry is highly a dynamic sector and plays a very important role in the development of a country. However, construction industry, faces chronic problems such as poor productivity, poor performance of time and cost etc, as reported only 37.2% of projects were completed within their predetermined cost. This was as a result of lack of investigation on construction labour productivity and cost performance. The construction industry is one of the backbone of the economy of countries (Cheung, Lam, Leun & wan, 2002). According to Oladapo (2003), describes the construction industry in Nigeria as a regulator of the economy of the nation. In this respect, the importance of a healthy construction industry in such countries is beyond doubt.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of Study

Human resource management is of strategic importance when it comes to industries that are labour intensive like construction industry. The effective management of human resource is the key towards achieving the higher construction workforce productivity thus accomplishing the construction projects within their predefined limits. The bond between motivation and productivity is widely accepted and of high significance as well. The relationship between motivation and productivity can be summarized as that productivity is directly linked to motivation, and motivation is, in turn, dependent on productivity. Suitable motivation of labour can be hypothesized as a key contributor to maximizing workers productivity Kazaz et al (2008.)

Workers need motivation just as equipments need fuel and operators. Motivation is a process which activates productivity. In order to effectively manage the human resources and to make sure that workforce is productive enough; it is necessary to understand those factors which have edge over others for motivating the construction workforce. In this study, the potential of organizational and economic factors will be studied for motivating employees.

There were several studies which explored the relationship between motivational factors and construction workforce productivity around the globe but there was a scarcity of this work in the local environment of Nigeria. The construction industry plays an important role in the development of the economy of the country. Construction industry is an area influenced by many different factors such as labour, material, equipment and construction methods etc. Among these factors, human resources come first without which, other resources would not be utilized or transformed into productive use. Any improvement in labour productivity would contribute a great deal to the improvement of the overall productivity as identified by Hashim (1995).

The motivation concept is generally defined as a composition of powers and mechanisms which help to direct human behavior in a desired manner, or with a more specific context it is described as the all convincing and encouraging actions which help workers fulfill their tasks willingly and to come closer to project objectives. Motivation of the labour force is of paramount importance because the quality of human performance at the workplace depends largely upon motivation. That is, higher motivation brings higher productivity which is suggested by Kazaz et al (2008).

According to most researchers there is a positive relationship between motivation and productivity. This means that when motivation increases, a rise in productivity is also expected. This reflects the belief that an increased motivation level causes an increase in productivity. Achieving the results demands that an adequate quality of inputs is provided in this first place and improved construction workforce productivity means a better input and this it will help contractors to be more competent and profitable whilst executing their jobs.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to assess the Effect of Motivation of Labor, Cost and Productivity on Construction Industry.

1.3 Statement of Problems

Construction companies exist for the purpose of rendering some services. For the organization to meet its objectives, people are employed in the organization in order to help the organization meet its objectives. Thus, in order to ensure that people employed in the organization perform optimally towards the realization of organizational goals, they need to be motivated to work.

Motivating people to work entails meting their needs. There is a great controversy over the issue of motivating people.

Some people are of the view that such extrinsic factors like money, praise, and quality of supervision and company's policy can motivate people to work, while others are of the view that such extrinsic factors like advancement quality of the job done by person, recognition and growth can motivate workers to productivity.

It is in view of these controversies that this study wants to look at the motivation of employees in the organization by using Marlum Construction Company as a case study; and in doing this, the following questions arise.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the Effect of Motivation of Labour, Cost and Productivity on Nigerian Construction Industry. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To ascertain the effect of motivation of labour, cost and productivity on workers in the construction industry of Nigeria.
2. To look at various techniques of motivating people to performance in the construction industry
3. To examine the factors which motivate employees to perform in the organization
4. To identify the problems associated with the motivation of workers in the construction industry of Nigeria and suggest the solutions to such problems, if any.
5. Finally, to improve people's knowledge in this area of organizational behaviour.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What are the factors that motivate employees to perform in the construction industry of Nigeria?
• What are the available techniques of motivating employees for higher productivity?
• Do motivation of labour, and cost actually steer employees productive capacity?
• What are the problems militating against employees motivation, and how can these problems of employees motivation be addressed in order to improve productivity in the construction sector of Nigeria?

1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: The quality of supervision will not motivate workers productivity.
• H1: The quality of supervision will motivate workers productivity.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: A worker's perception of what obtained in his organizational will not motivate him to greater productivity.
• H1: A worker's perception of what obtained in his organizational will motivate him to greater productivity.

Hypothesis Three

• H0: A worker's perception of organizational appraisal policy will not motivate him to greater productivity.
• H1: A worker's perception of organizational appraisal policy will motivate him to greater productivity.

Hypothesis Four

• H0: The worker's satisfaction with its fringe benefits will not motivate him to greater productivity.
• H1: The worker's satisfaction with its fringe benefits will motivate him to greater productivity.

1.7 Significance of Study

This study will educate the management of the organization (especially construction companies in Nigeria) on how to motivate their workers to productivity. The findings of this study will generate people's interest in researching into other areas of motivation in the organization will enrich the literature on motivation as a phenomenon.

Finally, the study hopes to enrich people's knowledge in this area of organizational behaviour and management of people in the organization.

1.8 Scope of the Study

This study is on effect of motivation of labour, cost and productivity on the construction industry of Nigeria. The study will also cover the various techniques of motivation and theories of motivation as they impact on employees productivity in an organization.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. 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).

1.10 Operational Definition of Terms

The following terms were defined as used in this study:

Productivity: Is the ratio of output or production capacity of the workers in an organization. It is the relationship between the amount of one or more inputs and the amount of outputs from a clearly identified process.

Morale: Moral refers to staff emotional and mental level of zeal.

Employees: Are the workers in an organization, working for the accomplishment of the organizational goals. In this study, the employees are those staffs of the organization,

Motivation: Motivation is a decision-making process, through which the individual chooses the desired outcomes and sets in motion the behaviour appropriate to them”.