Understand the root that contribute to the problem of corruption in the building industry

Understand the root that contribute to the problem of corruption in the building industry

• poor working conditions
• Lack of ethics or immoral principle - as seen in recent high profile case of contract for sex
• Poverty 
• High rate of uncompleted or delay in completing projects is due to corruption practices in the construction industry.
• Underpayment or insufficient compensation for professional works done. The consultant's inadequate fees is not enough to defray their expenses on the project. Or the consultants may feel that they are not professionally compensated for their expertise and design works.
• The principle of economic eg the exchange that people are paid for work they do. If wages are low people will be ready to earn extra money dishonestly and limited resources force people to pay bribes to obtain things. Lack of an open market means that a few in powerful positions can demand payment for necessary commodities.
• Economic recession

The construction industry depends on the strength of the country's economy. Economic growth is usually accompanied by a construction boom and vice versa. Notably, it is during periods of recession in the construction industry that corruption flourishes, possibly due to there being less work for contractors and intensified competition. As a result contractors may do everything possible to obtain work in order to survive. Also during recession, companies may not receive payments due to others that go under. This may cause them to resort to corruption to get back their money. (I had personally encountered such a case in my career).

However during boom times we must not discount the level of corruption existing too as emerging countries like China will see equally more corruptions as the people are emerging from being poor and would thus be hungry and greedy for more money.

• Competitive bidding

The construction industry is characterized by a large number of heterogeneous and fragmented firms engaged in intense competition. The industry is project based with the majority of projects being designed and built for a price established through competitive bidding / tendering systems.

Collusive bidding practices prevail in the construction industry especially amongst small-scale contractors who want to protect their existence. The firms will prior agree to bid at an inflated bids as normal industry practice is to award to the lowest or second lowest.

The construction industry has its own characteristic methods of project procurement, which are different from other industries. Contractors and consultants obtain their work through open or selected tendering, or by negotiation. These processes may also prove to be competitive in so far as contractors and consultants fear that their chances of being awarded a particular contract are zero. It is at this point that ideas of corrupting the tender-award/decision making parties arise.

What's so wrong with our education system

 Parents today are anxious about their children's education to the extent of being paranoia and damaging to their children's wellbeing. They see scoring good results as a mean to an end. They push, pull, punish their children through rigorous studies, tuitions, school works thinking in doing so it will help their children score good marks in examination.

Today I just heard of one exasperated parent recounted how her daughter was reported as a slow learner, poor in academics by her preschool teacher. But she proved them wrong after her daughter emerged to be otherwise.

I share my experience as I have been there and through all the experiences as a student from primary to tertiary education. I never did well in my examination in my primary to polytechnic except for mathematics which is an innate gift, the rest just managed a C or P3 score despite studying very hard. But to the surprise of many who knew me and with unbelief that I would emerged as top student in my late 40s when I studied for my degree.
Did I studied till overnight as some of my classmates did, no, in fact I went to bed at about 10am and woke up just in time to sit for my papers.
So what's the secret and how did an average or below average student like me beat all students, part-time or full time campus students all over the world from Dubai, China, Malaysia, the West countries to come up top.

So what's so wrong with our education system. I think it has to do with our leaders. Our leaders are not able to see clearly what's so wrong. After all they are also victims of the education system. They strived hard in their studies and many were scholars themselves. So how would they be able to see what's wrong with the education system.

Even one executive director of a national body told me that my part-time degree course is not recognized as it is only a one year course whereas the campus full time 3 year course is recognized by the national body. See how warped their thinkings are. How could a similar course be viewed differently. What is the logic. Actually they failed to see that there is different between a student who has no industry experience and one who is a matured student with 20 years of experience before she took her degree. How I managed is because I already understand the full aspect of the course studies and taking the degree is like writing a biography of  my work experience. That's why I was able to do it with speed and ease whereas my younger classmates had to struggle and can barely finished even 60% of 3 questions examination that required 12 pages of writing in 2 hours. Moreover I am gifted in this profession. I did not go to school to learn, it is all innate.

Our education system is too obsessed with ranking even at preschooler education now. And they thought that once our educators are trained they are qualified to rank a student. You see knowledge kill, too much knowledge destroy a student. Children have very high ego. Once their egos are bruised it destroyed them...their confidence, motivation to study, their self esteem. And it takes years to repair a damaged child.

What I am saying is it is absolutely nonsensical to rank a child. It is alright to expose a child to all studies but it is not necessary to excel in every study. You only have to find your one gift, talent to excel in life. They can find that out after they try all the subjects. Once they know their talents and choose a course that suit their gift they will excel effortlessly. Children in preschool, primary to secondary 1 and 2 age should be a time of building on their social, character, emotional, physical well-being. Hard study should only start from secondary 3 to college, polytechnic and tertiary education.
(I have not touch on how to study to excel...to be continued)

Why “guanxi” or “corruption” is rampant in the building industry

Why “guanxi” or “corruption” is rampant in the building industry

The arts of doing business in the Asian countries have always rely on “guanxi” or the art of building relationships or connections to do business. This invariably results in corruption to secure contracts.

“Guanxi” or connections is an art or wisdom practiced by the Chinese in doing business. Chinese are good at “guanxi”. It also exists in the West, in the United States, too. But in Asian countries especially China and Malaysia it's just deeper. Singapore is no exception as our leaders also believe in this principle of doing business.

These are the many real cases in my 30 years in the industry. The reason I publicize the real cases using 'guanxi' or relations in building industry is to explain why corruption is no good and is not a win win solution for all parties including end users.

How did the Chinese cultivate 'guanxi' or connections to do business. In building industry, this is how it is practiced.

They do it in the name of so called “entertainments” such as buying expensive dinners; sending expensive gifts during festive seasons and “red-packets” or cash filled envelopes.

The contractors, suppliers and consultants usually work closely together on good relational benefits.

How it works. First the suppliers will work closely with the Architects or Designers and Quantity Surveyors engaged on the job by the Developers. As Architect and Designers usually write the specifications for materials used for the Project.

Suppliers will try to get into the book of Architects and Designers by building up a good rapport with them. They usually do it through a scheme called “under table money” for contracts secured for the project.

The contractors in order to get selected to tender for the job will too try to get into a good relationship with the Architect and Designer as they can have a say in the selection process though many a times the Developer would decide on the short list of contractors to tender for the project.

It also benefit the successful contractor to be on good relationship with Architect so that they can influence the Architect to change specifications or construct method to cut price and the savings is shared between them.

The tenderer may also collaborate with the Architect or Designer to make up the tender price by certain percentage of say 10% to cover them when successful.

So how can we do business without “guanxi” or corruption

Build a new set of rules will not work. Make these things more open, transparent, and, in this way, more free, equal and fair.

I am an advocate for a win-win solutions among industry players. The only solution is to create a new kind of level playing field, where everyone benefits from an unfair arrangement by exploiting it equally.

Some people are real masters at corruption, and some aren’t. I hope to create an awareness so as to help the weak ones advance and take away the cream from the experts.

In other words: Fight fire with a smart and balance cost benefits designs, and corruption with sensible win win solutions where everybody walk away being a winner instead of current situation where the biggest pie of profit go to Developers and smaller or nil profit to contractors and suppliers.

The approach reflects the chances of curbing corruption, in the absence of independent monitoring agencies.

Corruption is growing all the time and had been just part of the system for decades and people are growing richer in China and South Asia.

Transparency or anti-corruption is necessary to stem the fire of rapid corruption.

If it wanted to control corruption, the various parties must understand that it is futile to employ audit professionals or institutional or countries pressure to suppress it. The various parties should understand that it is not a win win solution for them and that they should work together and want to do it.

Yet, far from fearing corruption, officials and businessmen “are afraid if you are not corrupt. They want you to be corrupt. If you don’t join in, if you want to be a good person, then you highlight their badness.”

The reason I publicize the real cases using 'guanxi' or relations in building industry is to explain why corruption is no good and is not a win win solution for all parties including end users.

Because of government's involvement, corruption in China is very serious and very rampant but under control.

Corruption is morally ugly. It also increases costs.

A society that relies on guanxi to get things done is a scary place.

When guanxi becomes stronger than rules, it’s dangerous to everyone. Why? Because if you use your guanxi, I’ll use my guanxi, and in the end the price of everything rises. When there are no rules, then everything is a competition, and those with more power win.

As China’s economy expands and becomes globalized, I think it’s going to grow.

Everyone knows that 10 years ago, success was 30 percent guanxi and 70 percent talent. Today, to succeed, you can reverse the ratio. Seventy percent guanxi and 30 percent talent will do.”

Someone wrote : Had I remained a bureaucrat, I’d definitely have become corrupt. The reason is simple, virtually everyone offered bribes. “You can resist temptation once but not a hundred or a thousand times.” 

Ugly Procurement Practices in Singapore, China, Hongkong

Why “guanxi” or “corruption” is rampant in the building industry

The arts of doing business in the Asian countries have always rely on “guanxi” or the art of building relationships or connections to do business. This invariably results in corruption to secure contracts.

“Guanxi” or connections is an art or wisdom practiced by the Chinese in doing business. Chinese are good at “guanxi”. It also exists in the West, in the United States, too. But in Asian countries especially China and Malaysia it's just deeper. Singapore is no exception as our leaders also believe in this principle of doing business.

These are the many real cases in my 30 years in the industry. The reason I publicize the real cases using 'guanxi' or relations in building industry is to explain why corruption is no good and is not a win win solution for all parties including end users.

How did the Chinese cultivate 'guanxi' or connections to do business. In building industry, this is how it is practiced.

They do it in the name of so called “entertainments” such as buying expensive dinners; sending expensive gifts during festive seasons and “red-packets” or cash filled envelopes.

The contractors, suppliers and consultants usually work closely together on good relational benefits.

How it works. First the suppliers will work closely with the Architects or Designers and Quantity Surveyors engaged on the job by the Developers. As Architect and Designers usually write the specifications for materials used for the Project.

Suppliers will try to get into the book of Architects and Designers by building up a good rapport with them. They usually do it through a scheme called “under table money” for contracts secured for the project.

The contractors in order to get selected to tender for the job will too try to get into a good relationship with the Architect and Designer as they can have a say in the selection process though many a times the Developer would decide on the short list of contractors to tender for the project.

It also benefit the successful contractor to be on good relationship with Architect so that they can influence the Architect to change specifications or construct method to cut price and the savings is shared between them.

The tenderer may also collaborate with the Architect or Designer to make up the tender price by certain percentage of say 10% to cover them when successful.

So how can we do business without “guanxi” or corruption

Build a new set of rules will not work. Make these things more open, transparent, and, in this way, more free, equal and fair.

I am an advocate for a win-win solutions among industry players. The only solution is to create a new kind of level playing field, where everyone benefits from an unfair arrangement by exploiting it equally.

Some people are real masters at corruption, and some aren’t. I hope to create an awareness so as to help the weak ones advance and take away the cream from the experts.

In other words: Fight fire with a smart and balance cost benefits designs, and corruption with sensible win win solutions where everybody walk away being a winner instead of current situation where the biggest pie of profit go to Developers and smaller or nil profit to contractors and suppliers.

The approach reflects the chances of curbing corruption, in the absence of independent monitoring agencies.

Corruption is growing all the time and had been just part of the system for decades and people are growing richer in China and South Asia.

Transparency or anti-corruption is necessary to stem the fire of rapid corruption.

If it wanted to control corruption, the various parties must understand that it is futile to employ audit professionals or institutional or countries pressure to suppress it. The various parties should understand that it is not a win win solution for them and that they should work together and want to do it.

Yet, far from fearing corruption, officials and businessmen “are afraid if you are not corrupt. They want you to be corrupt. If you don’t join in, if you want to be a good person, then you highlight their badness.”

The reason I publicize the real cases using 'guanxi' or relations in building industry is to explain why corruption is no good and is not a win win solution for all parties including end users.

Because of government's involvement, corruption in China is very serious and very rampant but under control.

Corruption is morally ugly. It also increases costs.

A society that relies on guanxi to get things done is a scary place.

When guanxi becomes stronger than rules, it’s dangerous to everyone. Why? Because if you use your guanxi, I’ll use my guanxi, and in the end the price of everything rises. When there are no rules, then everything is a competition, and those with more power win.

As China’s economy expands and becomes globalized, I think it’s going to grow.

Everyone knows that 10 years ago, success was 30 percent guanxi and 70 percent talent. Today, to succeed, you can reverse the ratio. Seventy percent guanxi and 30 percent talent will do.”

Had I remained a bureaucrat, I’d definitely have become corrupt. The reason is simple, virtually everyone offered bribes.

“You can resist temptation once but not a hundred or a thousand times.” 

How to do business in China, Singapore without “guanxi”

 Why “guanxi” or “corruption” is rampant in the building industry

The arts of doing business in the Asian countries have always rely on “guanxi” or the art of building relationships or connections to do business. This invariably results in corruption to secure contracts.

“Guanxi” or connections is an art or wisdom practiced by the Chinese in doing business. Chinese are good at “guanxi”. It also exists in the West, in the United States, too. But in Asian countries especially China and Malaysia it's just deeper. Singapore is no exception as our leaders also believe in this principle of doing business.

These are the many real cases in my 30 years in the industry. The reason I publicize the real cases using 'guanxi' or relations in building industry is to explain why corruption is no good and is not a win win solution for all parties including end users.

How did the Chinese cultivate 'guanxi' or connections to do business. In building industry, this is how it is practiced.

They do it in the name of so called “entertainments” such as buying expensive dinners; sending expensive gifts during festive seasons and “red-packets” or cash filled envelopes.

The contractors, suppliers and consultants usually work closely together on good relational benefits.

How it works. First the suppliers will work closely with the Architects or Designers and Quantity Surveyors engaged on the job by the Developers. As Architect and Designers usually write the specifications for materials used for the Project.

Suppliers will try to get into the book of Architects and Designers by building up a good rapport with them. They usually do it through a scheme called “under table money” for contracts secured for the project.

The contractors in order to get selected to tender for the job will too try to get into a good relationship with the Architect and Designer as they can have a say in the selection process though many a times the Developer would decide on the short list of contractors to tender for the project.

It also benefit the successful contractor to be on good relationship with Architect so that they can influence the Architect to change specifications or construct method to cut price and the savings is shared between them.

The tenderer may also collaborate with the Architect or Designer to make up the tender price by certain percentage of say 10% to cover them when successful.

So how can we do business without “guanxi” or corruption

Build a new set of rules will not work. Make these things more open, transparent, and, in this way, more free, equal and fair.

I am an advocate for a win-win solutions among industry players. The only solution is to create a new kind of level playing field, where everyone benefits from an unfair arrangement by exploiting it equally.

Some people are real masters at corruption, and some aren’t. I hope to create an awareness so as to help the weak ones advance and take away the cream from the experts.

In other words: Fight fire with a smart and balance cost benefits designs, and corruption with sensible win win solutions where everybody walk away being a winner instead of current situation where the biggest pie of profit go to Developers and smaller or nil profit to contractors and suppliers.

The approach reflects the chances of curbing corruption, in the absence of independent monitoring agencies.

Corruption is growing all the time and had been just part of the system for decades and people are growing richer in China and South Asia.

Transparency or anti-corruption is necessary to stem the fire of rapid corruption.

If it wanted to control corruption, the various parties must understand that it is futile to employ audit professionals or institutional or countries pressure to suppress it. The various parties should understand that it is not a win win solution for them and that they should work together and want to do it.

Yet, far from fearing corruption, officials and businessmen “are afraid if you are not corrupt. They want you to be corrupt. If you don’t join in, if you want to be a good person, then you highlight their badness.”

The reason I publicize the real cases using 'guanxi' or relations in building industry is to explain why corruption is no good and is not a win win solution for all parties including end users.

Because of government's involvement, corruption in China is very serious and very rampant but under control.

Corruption is morally ugly. It also increases costs.

A society that relies on guanxi to get things done is a scary place.

When guanxi becomes stronger than rules, it’s dangerous to everyone. Why? Because if you use your guanxi, I’ll use my guanxi, and in the end the price of everything rises. When there are no rules, then everything is a competition, and those with more power win.

As China’s economy expands and becomes globalized, I think it’s going to grow.

Everyone knows that 10 years ago, success was 30 percent guanxi and 70 percent talent. Today, to succeed, you can reverse the ratio. Seventy percent guanxi and 30 percent talent will do.”

Had I remained a bureaucrat, I’d definitely have become corrupt. The reason is simple, virtually everyone offered bribes.

“You can resist temptation once but not a hundred or a thousand times.”