Quality of communication processes in public sector in Libya

Bezweek, SA

Abstract

Communication is the means by which housing employees are linked in order to manage, direct,
cooperate, plan, design, and execute housing projects according to standard with high quality and
on time. Housing communications are mainly achieved through verbal instructions, letters,
reports, design drawings, symbols, signs, and posters through which members of an organisation
send and receive information internally and externally. Instructions must be clear, concise,
complete, free of errors, meaningful, relevant, accurate and timely to those receiving them, in
order for successful action to be taken.

Ineffective QC is the most frequently cited category of root causes of housing cost, time
overruns, and housing shortage. It also, results in a quality of service delivery being below the
required standard and establishing housing buildings that fail to meet specified performance
requirements.

To tackle the problems of housing shortage, the Libyan government adopted ambitious plans for
economic development which showed considerable focus on the housing sector in the Gharian
area. Gharian is considered one of the most important municipalities in the mountainous area.
The cumulative shortage on housing units was 16,785 units in 2008; in addition to the
replacement of 23,200 old units. To solve this problem, GLPC earmarked $ 25 million (twenty
five million dollars) which represent a 33% of Gharian Municipality Budget to establish
integrated housing complexes, build new units for low income people, and to amend the existing
buildings to fill the gap of housing units.

This study aims to investigate and document the main factors that impact on the QC processes in
the Gharian Local Planning Council (GLPC) in Libya, the impact of QC on the main activities of
GLPC; and to provide an appropriate guidance document for implementing QC processes in the
GLPC.

The research methodology of the study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
21 Semi-structured interviews, at the pilot study stage, were carried out with housing managers
and non-management personnel from the Gharian housing organisation. The semi-structured
interviews allowed respondents to inform and provide the research with additional issues that had
not been covered in the literature review. Content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative
data, using Nvivo (V.8) software. In addition, certain questions lent themselves to be better
explored through postal survey.

A total of 118 useable questionnaires, representing a (66%) response rate were received from
senior, middle, junior managers and non-manager personnel of the Gharian housing organisation
in Libya, providing the data base for the quantitative analysis. The Statistical Package for Social
Science Software (SPSS V. 16) was used to analyse the quantitative data and various statistical
methods, including Mann Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, and factor analysis were conducted
on the data.

The results of the study reveal that the main factors that impact on the QC in the housing sector
are: organisational structure, organisational culture, information and communication technology,
training programmes development, and the recruitment process. These findings were also
instrumental in the development of a guidance document on QC. The results of this research
could assist policy makers when setting the strategic national plans, individual managers to
implement the plans, training developers for developing training programmes, and provide a
useful point of information to academics and researchers.

There is a need for more empirical studies to explore and document the issues of organisational
structure, organisational culture, and organisational strategy and their impact on QCs in the
housing sector. An in-depth empirical investigation into the Libyan national culture and its
impact on implementing guidance on QC is needed and would lead to results of practical utility.
A study on other public sectors which adopts similar research methodologies to the current study
would also contribute to the body of knowledge in the communication area.

Citation

Bezweek, S. Quality of communication processes in public sector in Libya. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Dec 18, 2019
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2012