Proceeding of National Postgraduate Conference on Arts and Social Sciences 2014 1 Motivation of Quantity Surveyors in Competitive Environments in the Malaysian Construction Industry Siti Sarah Herman 1,a , Prof. David Eaton 2,b , and Hasif Rafidee Hasbollah 3,c 1 PhD research student, Room 344, School of Built Environment, Maxwell Building, University of Salford, Salford, M5 4WT, United Kingdom. 2 Room 418, School of Built Environment, Maxwell Building, University of Salford, Salford, M5 4WT, United Kingdom 3 Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia. a s.s.herman@edu.salford.ac.uk, b d.eaton@salford.ac.uk, c rafidee@umk.edu.my Abstract: The construction industry plays a substantial role in many economies. However, the attainment of acceptable levels of quality in the construction industry has long been a problem. The major feature of construction processes is that they are notorious for their complexity and changes during the construction process. In the same vein, it has been argued that the motivation of construction workers plays a role in construction performance. Over the years, the concept of motivation has been defined in different ways. It can be observed from several definitions that, motivation in general, is concerned with factors or events that moves, leads, and drives certain human action or inaction over a given period of time, given the prevailing conditions. There is, however, no one theory of motivation that can be claimed to embrace the entire range of organisational and personal circumstances that exist. Arguably, motivation affects how and to what extent we utilize our skills and abilities. Unmotivated employees are arguably less willing to be co-operative and supportive. Whilst there is much research work done in the area of motivation, and some in the construction industry, there still remains ample scope to consider the motivation of Quantity Surveyors in the Malaysian industry, especially with regards to the extent to which the motivation of Quantity Surveyors can be seen to impact on project and organizational performance. Literature was gathered on motivation theories in relation to the construction industry followed by focus on the construction industry in Malaysia before proceeding further to professional quantity surveyors, and only papers in English language and published between 1974 to 2014 were examined. This paper, therefore, offers a critique on a number of issues pertaining to the motivation of Quantity Surveyors in a competitive environment. This paper is based on on-going PhD study which is expected to complete in 2017. Conclusions and recommendations are offered for the benefit of academics, researchers, professional institutions and the construction industry in Malaysia. Keywords: Competitive Environments; Malaysian Construction Industry; Motivation; Quantity Surveyors INTRODUCTION The construction industry plays a substantial role in many economies. However, the attainment of acceptable levels of quality in the construction industry has long been a problem. The major feature of construction processes is that they are notorious for their complexity and changes during the construction process. In today‟s business environment, t he construction industry is subject to a multiplicity of forces that apply major impacts on performance objectives and targets (CIMP, 2005). Corresponding Author: Siti Sarah Herman, School of the Built Environment, University of Salford, UK.