Marketing construction business in Ghana : the problems, prospects and strategies
- Authors: Yankah, J.E. , Thwala, Wellington Didibhuku , Aigbavboa, C.O. , Pretorius, J.G.
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Marketing , Construction , Ghana
- Language: English
- Type: Conference proceedings
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/80811 , uj:18761 , Citation: Yankah, J.E. et al. 2015. Marketing construction business in Ghana : the problems, prospects and strategies.
- Description: Abstract: Many construction enterprises still oftenfail to realize that marketing entails more than just playing withfew isolated promotional tools, such as distributing brochures, advertising, promotional videos, which they often employ without following a structured marketing plan formulated in line with the organization's aims and objectives. Such ad hoc approach to marketing in the construction industry has resulted in an uphill struggle with little to no success. This paper identifies the problems that has led to the ad hoc approach to marketing in the construction industry and examines the prospects for improving the situation. It discusses the strategies to be adopted to improve the effectiveness of implementing marketing in the management of construction business. The study adopts descriptive research design and the use of literature review as a method to identify, summarize and synthesize extant literature on construction marketing to show why the need exist for marketing in the management of construction business. The paper finds that gaps exist in existing construction marketing research knowledge in general and Ghana in particular . There is the need for scientific research which focuses on development of frameworks or models to guide the marketing of construction businesses in developing countries. Construction enterprise owners, construction marketing/management researchers, construction education curriculum developers and managers of construction business organizations will find this paper useful. Future research work must focus on developing construction industry specific frameworks or models to guide the marketing of construction businesses.
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Engineering education and marketing of engineering business enterprise : the case of construction education
- Authors: Yankah, J.E. , Aigbavboa, C. O. , Thwala, Wellington Didibhuku
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Construction , Engineering education , Marketing
- Language: English
- Type: Conference proceedings
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/213249 , uj:21124 , Citation: Yankah, J.E., Aigbavboa, C.O & Thwala, W.I. 2016. Engineering education and marketing of engineering business enterprise : the case of construction education.
- Description: Abstract: The remarkably challenging features of the construction industry in the 21" century are globalization, the restructuring of the world economy, changes experienced in project financing and delivery systems, the pervasive utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT, and the increasing intensity of competition which threatens the growth, survival and profitability of engineering businesses with construction being the most affected. Marketing as a management function, which has been identified as imperative for businesses facing such challenges has not been welcomed by the construction industry. Marketing in consternation is marked by misconceptions, misperceptions, lack of understanding among others which are traceable to education and training of construction management team members. This paper examines the aspects of construction education that impacts negatively on marketing performance of construction businesses, namely content and structure of curriculum for construction education, availability of construction marketing research reports and teacher qualification for teaching marketing to construction students. Finding reveal that the content of construction marketing syllabus is outdated and fall short of elements necessary for effective teaching the state of the art marketing in construction. Paucity of construction marketing research and lack of general helpful literature remains a challenge. Qualification of teachers appears to be a big challenge. Urgent need exist for revision of existing syllabus, efforts at addressing research towards addressing existing challenges with marketing in construction and guidelines for preparing teachers for teaching marketing to construction students. Construction education consultants, curriculum developers, construction education and training institutions and similar professional organization will find this useful.
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