Perception and Awareness Affecting the Practise of Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods in Malaysian Contractor Firms

Lim, Ji Liang (2018) Perception and Awareness Affecting the Practise of Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods in Malaysian Contractor Firms. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

As the country progresses from a developing country to a developed nation, the rate of construction will increase to improve infrastructure as well as the people’s standard of living. However, as amount of projects increases and gets more complex, there are bound to be a certain degree of disputes between parties in the construction. Resolution of disputes can be as complex as the cause itself, costing the disputing parties even more time and money from the budgeted amount. The study presents a review and comparison on awareness and perception on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods according to the Malaysian PAM form of contract. In lieu with this, the first objective of this research is to determine the level of awareness of Alternative Dispute Resolution of contractors utilising the PAM form of contract. The level of awareness and perception of contractors may not be linked to one another because contractor’s perception may be influenced by other factors as well other than awareness alone. Therefore, the current research also aims to identify the perception of contractors towards ADR as the second objective. The sampling involves non-probability sampling technique and include triangulation of data for both research objectives. The first objective on perception utilises semi-structured interview with 6 respondents while the second objective on awareness uses a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. The data were analysed using descriptive analysis by coding and data entry into SPSS for tabulation of data and statistical scores. Results revealed that there is high awareness among contractors in the aspects identified as categories of awareness, namely deciding, planning and preventing. Despite the high level of awareness, contractors were found to have negative perception on ADR as it was seen as adversarial in nature that consumes a lot of time and money and more importantly it severely damages business relationship between disputing parties. It x was described as not a ‘businessman point of view’ in a company. These findings implied that the current low level of ADR proceedings was not related to the level of awareness; however the perception of ADR was the deciding factor for contractors involved in a dispute. The contractors are well aware of the process and enforceability of decisions but the main concern is to have a resolution method whereby both parties are willing to sacrifice to achieve a compromise instead of a method where winner takes all.