Do construction companies need to match employees' expectations?

Commitment of employees is relatively low in construction. This problem is exasperated by companies inability to attract, motivate, and retain talent that is then often channelled into other more attractive industrial sectors where the prospects, conditions and rewards are perceived to be much higher. The purpose of this study is thus primarily to develop a generic model to maximise employees' engagement, improve their motivation and increase the retention levels. To achieve this aim, the investigation looks into how perceived employment obligations and expectations impact commitment and through that organisational performance. The study is based on the postulations of Luhmann's theory of social systems with communication viewed as a constitutive element of a social system. Consequently expectations of a particular party in an employment relationship are represented in a communicative space requiring the other party's understanding in order to align expectations of both sides in the relationship. Explicitly, alignment of by an employee perceived manager's expectations determines his/ her commitment to fulfil obligations towards the manager. The result of this first stage of research is a conceptual model developed following the substantial supporting evidence in the literature and it forms the framework for mitigation of low commitment, motivation and retention of employees. The model particularly focuses on factors affecting employees' perceived expectations like reneging, incongruence and the process of communication. In the future the model will be validated using empirical data from a combination of observational and enquiry-based research. Once completed, the model will provide a framework for informing Human Resource Management policies with the aim to improve commitment of employees, increase the levels of retention and consequently improve the performance of construction organisations

Software defined antenna testing

Microstrip patch directional antennas are an attractive solution for modern wireless systems due to their high gain and directivity. Being an attractive solution creates the need to design such devices for various application scenarios. We have addressed that need by designing, simulating, and testing a rectangular microstrip patch directional antenna at 5GHz. Antenna patch and ground plane were designed with the well-known guided wavelength equation. The antenna performance, in terms of return loss at -10dB, gain, bandwidth, and the radiation pattern was analyzed with a simulation model. The proposed antenna achieved an impedance bandwidth of 77.8MHz (from 4.9662GHz to 5.0440GHz) and a gain of 6.26dBi at 5GHz. The antenna performance was verified with a software defined radio platform. We found that the software radio measurements confirmed the key simulation results. Furthermore, the extensive use of simulation enabled us to develop both antenna and digital baseband algorithms in parallel

Strategic and operational remanufacturing mental models: a study on Chinese automotive consumers buying choice

Purpose Remanufacturing is the only end-of-life (EOL) treatment process that results in as-new functional and aesthetic quality and warranty. However, applying mental model theory, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the conception of remanufacturing as an EOL process activates an operational mental model (OMM) that connects to resource reuse, environmental concern and cost savings and is thus opposed to a strategic mental model (SMM) that associates remanufacturing with quality improvements and potential price increases. Design/methodology/approach The authors support the argument by empirically assessing consumers’ multi-attribute decision process for cars with remanufactured or new engines among 202 car buyers in China. The authors conduct a conjoint analysis and use the results as input to simulate market shares for various markets on which these cars compete. Findings The results suggest that consumers on average attribute reduced utility to remanufactured engines, thus in line with the OMM. However, the authors identify a segment accounting for about 30 per cent of the market with preference for remanufactured engines. The fact that this segment has reduced environmental concern supports the SMM idea that remanufactured products can be bought for their quality. Research limitations/implications A single-country (China) single-brand (Volkswagen) study is used to support the conceptualised mental models. While this strengthens the internal validity of the results, future research could improve the external validity by using more representative sampling in a wider array of empirical contexts. Moreover, future work could test the theory more explicitly. Practical implications By selling cars with remanufactured engines to customers with a SMM that values the at least equal performance of remanufactured products, firms can enhance their profit from remanufactured products. In addition, promoting SMM enables sustainable business models for the sharing economy. Originality/value As a community, the authors need to more effectively reflect on shaping mental models that disconnect remanufacturing from analogies that convey inferior quality and performance associations. Firms can overcome reduced utility perceptions not only by providing discounts, i.e. sharing the economic benefits of remanufacturing, but even more by increasing the warranty, thus sharing remanufacturing’s performance benefit and reducing consumers’ risk, a mechanism widely acknowledged in product diffusion but neglected in remanufacturing so far

A two-dimensional, two-level framework for achieving corporate sustainable development: assessing the return on sustainability initiatives

Sustainability studies in operations management have reported the positive effects of lean, green, and social management systems on various dimensions of a firm’s sustainability performance. However, despite its high importance and relevance, the time dimension of sustainability has not been systematically considered. This paper re-categorizes the well-identified sustainability initiatives based on a time dimension and empirically validates the categorization. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were performed using data collected from 284 Chinese automotive firms. The results suggest that various lean and reactive green practices can be categorized as “short-term sustainability initiatives” because the effects of implementing these practices can be seen in a short period of time. Specifically, the benefits of implementing short-term sustainability initiatives can be further strengthened and reinforced in the long run by implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. In addition, our findings also demonstrate that to fully realize the potential associated with CSR practices, firms need to be long-term oriented and adopt a wait and watch approach

A two-dimensional, two-level framework for achieving corporate sustainable development: assessing the return on sustainability initiatives

Sustainability studies in operations management have reported the positive effects of lean, green, and social management systems on various dimensions of a firm’s sustainability performance. However, despite its high importance and relevance, the time dimension of sustainability has not been systematically considered. This paper re-categorizes the well-identified sustainability initiatives based on a time dimension and empirically validates the categorization. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were performed using data collected from 284 Chinese automotive firms. The results suggest that various lean and reactive green practices can be categorized as “short-term sustainability initiatives” because the effects of implementing these practices can be seen in a short period of time. Specifically, the benefits of implementing short-term sustainability initiatives can be further strengthened and reinforced in the long run by implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. In addition, our findings also demonstrate that to fully realize the potential associated with CSR practices, firms need to be long-term oriented and adopt a wait and watch approach

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AS A PREDICTOR OF PATRONAGE OF RECREATIONAL CENTRES IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

The study assesses architectural design as a predictor of patronage of recreational centres in Kaduna State, Nigeria. One research questions were answered, and one hypothesis were formulated to guide this study. A descriptive survey research design was used for this study. The population for the study comprised all staff of recreational centres in Kaduna State, with a population of 3,249. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. Researcher developed questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and it was validated by 3 experts from the Department of Physical and Health Education, Faculty of Education, Bayero University, Kano. A pilot study was conducted and a reliability index of 0.87 was obtained. Out of 441 copies of questionnaire administered by the researcher and his assistants, 432 copies were duly completed, returned and analyzed. Frequency count and percentage were used to describe the demographic information of the respondents while Chi-square (χ2) statistics was used to test all the formulated hypotheses at the 0.05 alpha level of significant. The findings of this study revealed that power supply significantly influence the patronage of recreational centres in Kaduna state c2 = 140.08, df = 1, P < 0.05. It was recommended among others, that authorities such as ministry of tourism and culture should set up a board each to plan, execute and supervise the existing buildings in the recreational centres.  Article visualizations

How could construction supply chain benefit from RFID/GPS integration: a knowledge management perspective

Construction materials and equipment are essential building blocks of every construction project and may account for 50-60 per cent of the total cost of construction. The rate of their utilization, on the other hand, is the element that most directly relates to a project progress. A growing concern in the industry that inadequate efficiency hinders its success could thus be accommodated by turning construction into a logistic process. Although mostly limited, recent attempts and studies show that Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) applications have significant potentials in construction. However, the aim of this research is to show that the technology itself should not only be used for automation and tracking to overcome the supply chain complexity but also as a tool to generate, record and exchange process-related knowledge among the supply chain stakeholders. This would enable all involved parties to identify and understand consequences of any forthcoming difficulties and react accordingly before they cause major disruptions in the construction process. In order to achieve this aim the study focuses on a number of methods. First of all it develops a generic understanding of how RFID technology has been used in logistic processes in industrial supply chain management. Secondly, it investigates recent applications of RFID as an information and communication technology support facility in construction logistics for the management of construction supply chain. Based on these the study develops an improved concept of a construction logistics architecture that explicitly relies on integrating RFID with the Global Positioning System (GPS). The developed conceptual model architecture shows that categorisation provided through RFID and traceability as a result of RFID/GPS integration could be used as a tool to identify, record and share potential problems and thus vastly improve knowledge management processes within the entire supply chain. The findings thus clearly show a need for future research in this area

Mathematical Modelling and Optimization of the Compressive Strength, Hardness and Density of a Periwinkle-Palm Kernel and Phenolic Resin Composite Brake Pad

A composite of periwinkle shell powder, palm kernel shell powder, phenolic resin and other additives was developed in a form of a pad. Specimen composite samples were produced by compression at a temperature of 140 °C and mixture design using Design Expert software was used to analyse and optimise the samples. Mathematical models of the compressive stength, hardness and density were developed and statistically validated. Comparison of the models with experimental results showed that the compressive strength suited best with the cubic model, the hardness fitted with quadratic while the density agreed with all the models but suited best with cubic model. Optimized formulation with an objective of maximization compressive strength and hardness and minimization of the density was determined at 10.02, 10.78, 59.20 and 20 % of periwinkle shell powder (filler), palm kernel shell powder (filler), phenolic resin (matrix) and additives respectively