ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN ABIA STATE

ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN ABIA STATE

Abstract

In a period of economic down turn, construction companies must find a way to sustain its human resources as well as remain in business. The research evaluated the Human Resources Management practices of building construction firms in Abia state with a view to highlight the performance of the building construction firms in the State. The objectives of the research was geared at the implementation of the standard HRM practices, Departmental functions of HRM and the predominant factors determining HRM practices. The research method sampled a size of forty three (43) construction companies, registered with Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS) and the state board of internal revenue (BIR). Analysis was done using mean score and percentage. The result obtained identified that recruitment and selection practices had an average mean score (MS) of 2.15. The Involvement of the employees in the building firms had MS of 2.18. The Training, Development and Education had an average MS of 1.91. The Work Conditions had an average mean score (MS) of 1.89. The Competency-Based Performance Appraisal had MS of 1.96. The Compensation and Rewards had an average MS of 2.0.The research concludes that practice of HRM in construction firms in Abia state is below the standard HRM practices identified.The research therefore recommends a full implementation of the standard HRM practices identified in the research, and the involvement of other relevant body or stakeholders in monitoring of the HRM implementation process, the HRM department should be given adequate resources and authority to carry out a fair recruitment and selection process, which is devoid of personal interest, the need to reinforce the firm‟s savings and the diversification or reinvestment of the firm‟s profit, so as to create a stable financial base in the case of economic fluctuations.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1                                                         Background of the study

The construction industry just like the manufacturing industry requires a number of resources for achieving set goals and objectives. The resources can be classified into money, materials, machine, men and manpower. According to Ulasi (2011) the development of any nation depends to a very large extent on the calibre, organization and motivation of its human resources. Human resources are the life blood of an organization. Despite the application of technology in modern business management, human resources are still relevant and most adaptive resources of the organization. The strategic values of HR stem from the fact that apart from other resources employed in the course of production (land, capital, technology etc) which are passive, human resources are endowed with discretionary decision-making power and thus have competitive advantage over the other resources. Besides, HR combines other resources in the right mix to formulate appropriate strategies for the accomplishment of the desired objectives of the enterprise. This essential attribute of HR assist the enterprise to make rightful decisions and respond effectively to the threats and opportunities within the environment of the organization. Thus the enterprise depends highly on its HR for success and survival. This dependence continuously is increasing, considering the complex and turbulent nature of the construction environment of this century (Francis, Cyril and Samuel, 2011).

According to Raheem and Bankole, (2014) there is a specific case in Nigeria where diversity exerts tremendous influence on politics and administration, the capacity to increase the benefits and reduce the costs of this diversity constitutes a human resource management challenge of epic proportion in its construction firm. Human resource in the construction industry refers to the managerial and technical workforce required for construction. Some construction firms are limited by ownership and employing between 25 and 300 workers in order to effectively exercise control. Management refers to the selection of goals and the procurement, planning, organizing, coordinating, direction and control of necessary resource for their achievement. Human resource management refers to the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the recruitment, compensation, integration, sustenance, and separation of manpower resources to an end best suited to the achievement of organizational and individual objectives.

There are no more important decisions within an organization than people decisions: staffing a job, placing people into jobs and into assignments, promoting people, letting them go, and so on. No matter how carefully organizations hire people, they will not perform if put into jobs that are the wrong ones for them. No matter how brilliant and clever top management decisions are regarding a company‟s business or its strategy, its products, or services, they will not produce results if the company‟s decisions do not work out (Drucker and Maciariello, 2008).

HRM is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic development of a highly committed and capable workforce using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques (Storey, 2001). Harrison, (2000) defined HRM as a strategic approach to the management of human resources that involves all management decisions and actions that affect the relationship between the organization and employees. While Armstrong (2006) defines HRM as a strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to the management and development of the organisation‟s human resources in which every aspect of that process is wholly integrated within the overall management of the organisation. Schuler and Jackson (1987) develop the strategic model of HRM by linking HR practices to competitive strategies framework that an organisation can use to gain competitiveadvantage. They argue that the strategy that management of an organisation employs can affect the kind of employees‟ behaviour. However, this strategic model of HRM is not left with some flaws such as ignoring the employees‟ interest, not recognising the legal requirement, social norms and values of the environment in which they operate (Legge, 1995; Budhwar and Debrah, 2001). The strategic model according to Legge labels this model as the hard HRM model, which contrast totally from the „soft model‟ of HRM that emphasises commitment HR strategy. This commitment strategy model was as a result of the interest in the cultural factors that has promoted the Japanese economic performance making the country to have a competitive advantage over countries in the late 1970 to 1980. Looking at these three definitions of what HRM is, there is a major area of convergence, which is the „Strategic‟ nature of the management approach. These definitions have encompassed the linking of various HRM practices such as recruiting, selection, rewarding, training, appraising and planning with organisational goals. Hence, strategic HRM is a more integrative HRM practice that links the organisational goals with the strategic management process (Sparrow, Brewster and Harris, 2004).

It is noteworthy that the construction industry is characterized by labour intensive technique which makes it paramount for building construction firms to adopt and implement human resource practice to motivate their workforce and improve their productivity. Therefore, continuous improvement in human resource practice, corporate governance and organizational design are required for improved performance of building construction firms (Michic and Oughty, 2003). The ability to attract and develop talented employees is ideal for successful operation of an organization. People are an organization‟s most valuable asset and this is especially true in relatively high-tech labour-intensive industries including construction (Loosemore, Dainty and Lingard, 2003). Undoubtedly, people equally constitute the most difficult resource for organizations with individuals‟ needs which must be managed if they are to contribute to organizational growth and development. However, poor management of people has the potential of impairing organizational growth and threatening the viability of a business. Modern organizations are often faced with the challenge of increasing productivity and achieving competitive advantage Guest (2003).

Nigeria are now re-emphasizing the need to train their employees as well as engender effective and efficient interpersonal relationship among their employees with exception of the construction industry (Bratton and Gold, 2003). The growing interest in HRM practices by organizations has been distributed by (Wolf and Zwick 2002) as a derivative of the theoretical assumptions and empirical evidences on the positive linkage between HRM practices and a firm‟s productivity. Despite widespread calls for improvement in HRM practices in Nigeria to avoid actions capable of threatening the competitiveness and profitability of firms in the construction industry, building construction firms in Nigeria have been alleged of perceiving HRM practices as a peripheral function which rarely affects their competitiveness and overall performance (Huselid, 1995). It is against this backdrop that this study seeks to assess the human resource management practices of building construction firms in Abia state.

1.2                         Statement of theResearchProblem

Construction industry is one of the industries troubled by abundant labour and scarce talent (Fajana 2009).Attracting, developing, deploying, good place of work and retaining best talents had become a challenge and other associated problems. The desire for high performance has driven the need for effective management.HRM standard practices in construction industry can be said tobe „still in Infancy‟ and lot of academic and other research is still required in this area. The Lack of indigenous and comprehensiveHRM models is the reason why majority of the principles andpractices evidence in workplaces in construction industry are adopted from other countries and industries (Mondy, 2008). However, Azolukwam and Perkins (2009) as curtained that HRMpractices in the Nigerian construction industry are convergence with western-inspired standard approaches, with the evidence of cultural and institutional influences on it. The sensitivity to individuals‟ socialization as well aseconomic, historical, political, and social contexts may enable organizations to capitalize on the potential to assess HRM in developing countries such as Nigeria.Nevertheless, most organizations are characterized by lack of funding for human resource management research anddevelopment. According to Olofin and Folawewo, (2006) most developing countries will rather prefer the importation of new technologies and expatriates, while paying less attention to the human resource of their country, thereby leaving them dissatisfied.

1.3                                                         Justification for the Study

Human Resources Management (HRM) practice has been regarded as one of the most critical elements of business success. It has the potential of releasing a significant amount of productive resources in the construction industry if properly harnessed, however HRM in the construction industry has remained untapped due to widespread ignorance of good practice in this area (Mathis and Jackson 2000). This study provides an insight to the standard at which HRM are practiced by building construction industries in Abia state. Human resources management standard can help the organization monitor its progress toward achieving its stated goals and objectives in the strategic plan (Harrison, 2005). This study helps to foster a sense of team spirit and companionship within the organization by creating a HR strategy that will aligns with organizational benefit. It also help the organization as well as stakeholders to understand the dominant influences on HRM in Abia State and guide adequate decision making.

1.4         Aim and Objectives of the Study

1.4.1     Aim of the study

The aim of this study is to evaluate Human Resources Management practices of building construction firms in Abia state with a view to highlight the performance of building construction firms in the area of HRM.

1.4.2     Objectives of the study

The objectives of this study include:

1. To evaluate the extent of implementation of the standard HRMpracticed by building construction firms in Abia state
2. To assess the Departmental functions of HRM in building construction firms in Abia state.

• To ascertain the predominant factorsdetermining HRM practices of building construction firms in Abia state.

1.5         Scope and Limitations of the Study

1.5.1Scope

This research was streamlined to the involvement of only building construction firms active with Federal Inland Revenue and state board of revenue, based in Abia state, therefore not all the state was covered.

1.5.2Limitations

The generality of the research findings was affected by the knowledge of the building construction firms on the standard practices and requirements of Human resource management.

ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN ABIA STATE

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