Suchergebnisse

Purpose
This study aims to review the zeal exhibited by universities in South Africa towards aligning institutional mandates of teaching, learning, research and community engagement to the sustainable development (SD) agenda. The implementation of the SD agenda across higher education institutions (HEIs) continues to draw attention from the wider society. This is because HEIs are increasingly being looked up to for leadership in this regard. However, although several studies are quick to identify various factors which have driven the adoption of sustainable practices in HEIs, the paucity of studies seeking to identify the drivers for SD implementation remains glaring. This is particularly so in developing countries like South Africa.


Design/methodology/approach
To confirm the exploratory data from desktop study on public university engagement with sustainability in South Africa, a single case study was conducted in the Central University of Technology (CUT). The single case study design adopted semi-structured interviews and document reviews as data collection techniques. Purposive snowballing sampling technique was strictly adhered to in the selection of interviewees. Interviewees were selected on the basis of their roles in the implementation of the CUT's sustainability agenda.


Findings
Data emanating from these interviews were analysed thematically using qualitative content analysis. Although a plethora of drivers were identified, there appeared to be a consensus between most of the interviewees that the quest for cost reduction remained the most significant driver for the viable implementation of the sustainability agenda at CUT.


Research limitations/implications
It is expected that findings from this study would provide a platform for the development of effective implementation strategies in South African HEIs. Also, the findings contribute to filing the extant gap observed concerning implementation and drivers for engendering SD implementation in HEIs in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region.


Practical implications
By highlighting the drivers for SD implementation, this study contributes to the development of a more receptive social ontology among various stakeholders in an HEI towards the agenda, particularly within the SSA context where there is low level of awareness and buy-in by these stakeholders.


Originality/value
This study makes an original contribution to the research base of SD in HEIs and implementation.

The institution of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) has had an impact on the economy in South Africa. Due to its extensive reliance on government procurement, BBBEE has had a substantial influence on the construction industry in terms of transformation imperatives. Although much has been achieved in the transformation of the sector, its empowerment initiatives are generally deemed to be less effective. This argument can be attributed to the impediments encountered by industry stakeholders, when implementing BBBEE. The central subject examined in this study pertains to the BBBEE implementation challenges in South African construction. In order to get to the depth of the identified issues in the reviewed literature, the qualitative method was employed for primary data collection. Eleven interviews were conducted with management representatives of major construction firms in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolis, through the use of a brief questionnaire and an interview protocol. The empirical findings that emanated from the study show that most of the respondents were aware of the challenges associated with BBBEE implementation in the construction sector. However, very few are presently addressing the difficulties. This lack of action frequently promotes the exploitation of BBBEE by concerned parties. This exploitation leads to unethical procurement practices in the form of 'fronting'. Based on the literature reviewed and the data that were collected, it appears that deterrents must be addressed before the implementation of the BBBEE initiative can begin to yield the desired benefits for all concerned parties in South African construction.

"Valuing People in Construction provides contemporary perspectives on the 'glue' that binds the construction process together; people. The book addresses people issues in the construction industry where behavioural outcomes impact upon business and project performance. The main proposition of the book is that as people continue to lead the completion of construction activities, their health, safety, and well-being should be seen as a priority, and valued by stakeholders. As employers and employees, the role of people in construction must be to strive for the improvement of individual lives and society. This edited collection, which is the first book to focus specifically on placing value on people in construction, focuses on people at work, gender at work, conditions at work, and respect at work. In addition to an editorial overview, the book presents tested and refined empirical work and case studies by leading construction researchers from Africa, Australia, and Europe. Essential reading for researchers, students and professionals interested in construction management, the sociology of construction, HRM in construction, gender, work and health studies."--Provided by publisher.

"This book proposes ways of improving and sustaining construction labour productivity through fulfilling the decent work agenda"--

Published Book Chapter ; Successful implementation of Sustainable Development (SD) in Higher Education cannot be achieved through distinct knowledge and operational silos. Rather, the storyboard of success shows the importance of stakeholder contributions. However, achieving a consensus among stakeholders has proven to be a herculean task when power relations are uncertain. Such lack of consensus accentuates a need for the evolution of an SD based social ontology within a University system. As a first step towards achieving such ontology, it is imperative that the perceptions of these stakeholders are gauged and understood. This is the central objective of this study. In this study, the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) is used as an exemplar to explore the existence of diverse stakeholder perceptions and the impact of such on the attainment of expected implementation outcomes. This study obtains data through semistructured interviews from identified stakeholders within the CUT. Observations from the data confirmed the prevalence of diverse perceptions on the definition of sustainability and the components of SD as well as its expected outcomes. The findings from this study would assist in the evolution of an SD based social ontology within the University by harnessing the identified perceptions of the various stakeholders.

Published Conference Proceedings ; Labor is an important factor in the development of the construction industry and therefore understanding its contribution productivity performance is crucial. This is a requirement for informed targeted actions that would induce productivity gains to the industry. This is particularly relevant as the South African government considers labor as a key driver of productivity across different sectors of the economy. To this end, structured questionnaire was drafted and distributed to workers in twenty-three project sites in Gauteng Province of South Africa to explore the role of motivating factors of labor productivity in construction. The exploratory study discover that managements support and encourage productivity improvements through targeted incentives and career advancement opportunities made available to workers in addition to soliciting ideas from workers. The study also amplifies the need to use education and training as a productivity improvement and empowerment tool among workers in the construction industry of Gauteng.

Currently, refined petroleum products are manufactured by six refineries in South Africa. The supply of refined petroleum products is supplemented by imports of refined petroleum products. These refined petroleum products are transported by pipeline, rail, road, sea and a combination thereof to depots across the country. These products are then distributed directly to commercial customers through points of resale in the form of retail service stations. The challenge is that the storage facilities and distribution networks in South Africa are currently utilised to its full capacity. There is a need to expand current storage infrastructure or to erect new storage facilities to facilitate imports. Durban Port that currently handles 70% of the country's crude oil and 40% of refined products is also utilised to its full capacity. The investigated problem pertains to the limited storage and transport capacity available for the distribution of petroleum products in the country. The interview protocol, which was based on the literature reviewed, was used for compiling the primary data for the case study. Selected findings revealed that the respondents perceived that storage capacity is the most significant constraint militating against adequate supply by the supply chain. The findings also indicated that the respondents were of the opinion that transport rates and routes (cost of logistics) are the greatest contributor to the prices of products. As a result, there appears to be a major scope for improvement in terms of the usage of pipelines and rails for the movement of petroleum products.Keywords: Petroleum products, storage facilities, supply chain, transportation, South African energy sector.Disciplines: civil engineering, architecture, business studies, energy studies

Construction Health and Safety (H&S) is of significant importance to the improvement and sustainability of the construction process. This is why at various levels of the construction process, clients, project managers, architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and manufacturers have endeavoured to improve H&S management practices in construction. However, the implementation of H&S in construction has not resulted in a commensurate improvement in the industry. The thrust of the issue is the assessment of the level of knowledge of legislation through the devolution of responsibilities to stakeholders; and perceptions relative to H&S in Malawi. Therefore, for objectivity purposes, a quantitative survey was conducted among key construction industry stakeholders such as clients, architects, engineers, project managers, and contractors. Selected findings include that the status of H&S in Malawian construction is sub-optimal, and that the contributions of clients, project managers, architects, engineers, building and civil engineering contractors have been sporadic, rather than significant. Notably, poor H&S recurs in construction, and H&S is perceived to be the duty of site managers.

The end of the apartheid era in South Africa ushered in a new institutional environment through changes to legislative frameworks in government depart-ments. A key aspect of the transformation is the economic empowerment of the mainly historically disadvantaged groups in the country through procurement. The thrust of the issue is the assessment of the extent of compliance with Act No. 5 of 2000: Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA), 2000 at government departments, with particular focus on the Amathole region of the Eastern Cape Province. The assessment was undertaken in a qualitative and quantitative research study conducted among key construction industry stakeholders such as public-sector clients, architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors based within the Amathole region. Selected findings include that there is a perceived low level of awareness of preferential procurement in the public sector as the majority of the institutions investigated have not completely implemented procurement responsibilities as a dedicated function within their organisations. Another significant finding arising from the study is that there are conflicting perceptions among consultants regarding procurement strategies for different types of project.

Decent work deficits in Zimbabwe have exacerbated low construction workers' productivity. Therefore, the functional decent work agenda matrix can potentially be utilised in place of the non-existent construction labour productivity performance monitoring tools. Hence, this study aims to determine significant decent work objectives for monitoring construction workers' productivity performance and also to examine demographic-related statistically significant differences. Given the exploratory nature of the study, a positivist paradigm was utilised for data collection and analysis owing to the aim of revealing relationships between construction workers' productivity performance and decent work objectives. Adequate earnings, productive work and environmental context were the most significant objectives while all other objectives were significant towards monitoring construction workers' productivity performance. Demographically targeted interventions include the need for adequate remuneration according to different generations and designations of workers, work-life balance for various designations and educational levels, improving the stability of employment, enhancing social security and improving training and awareness of environmental sustainability for workers of various designations. This study did not consider skilled construction workers' views as this was exploratory. Significant decent work objectives can be utilised to monitor construction workers' productivity performance, thereby improving both workers' welfare and productivity.