EVALUATING COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The construction industry is normally complex and the Nigerian construction industry is further made complex due to its challenges as a developing nation. The industry requires lots of personnel, professionals, employees, contractors, clients, consultants and all to succeed. To effectively coordinate this team, communication is a vital tool for the exchange of messages using different channels or medium for sustainable development. Thus, this research work looks at evaluating communication management as a way to understand how communication affects performance in the construction sector of Nigeria. The study also looked critically at the channels and barriers to communication in the construction company. It took a look at those with the responsibility for shaping and ensuring communication flows effectively for optimal project performance. For this reason, this writeup focuses on evaluating the similarities and differences in communication styles of construction professionals. However, this writeup derived information that relates to the objectives of the study from different books, journals, construction company reports and interviews granted by some stakeholders in Nigerian construction industry. Therefore, a historical research approach was adopted to review the literature. The paper shows the appreciation of communication and that there was a major gap in communication during project planning and execution, resulting in project cost overrun and project abandonment. The researcher made recommendations on the need to strengthen the chain of communication mechanism to be put in place for sustainable development and to militate re-occurrence of such breakdown in communication. This will help improve project communication performance and save more in terms of time and resources.