3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Identifying the contextual barriers and opportunities pertaining to the sustainable refurbishment of existing public sector office buildings in the inner city area of Johannesburg, South Africa(2019) Govender, SathiaIn most cases refurbishment is driven by cosmetic upgrade requirements. The existing building stock possesses significant opportunity to improve building performance and reduce its negative impacts on the environment. The local green building environment in the public sector is analysed. The focus is existing office buildings. The relevant policies and frameworks related to sustainable development is collated and policy objectives are identified and discussed. The research approach adopted is that of a case study method. A comparative case study approach is selected for this study. Key themes emerged from the literature review and these themes informed the semi-structured interviews that took place with the appropriate stakeholders involved in the cases. Three different types of case studies were identified and documented. Comparative case studies emphasise comparison within and across contexts. They involve the analysis and synthesis of the similarities, differences and patterns across two or more cases that share a common goal. The cases were compared, success factors are assessed and findings presented. A conclusion is presented based on these key themes. Refurbishment of existing buildings is considered the most sustainable response when considered against other activities in the built environment. A single case type of the three selected, the PPP model, emerges as the preferred type offering the greatest potential supporting the sustainable refurbishment of existing public sector office buildingsItem Employee perceptions of South African office spaces(2016) Koor, MuneebaThe purpose of this study was to explore the type of office spaces in South Africa together with the presence of generational and cultural/ethnic differences in employee’s perception in the office environment on particular aspects. The research was carried out as a single case study of an office using private consultancy firm, located in Johannesburg, South Africa. Questionnaires were sent out to employees based in various segments within the firm. The study showed that the leading office typology is open plan/group office spaces as opposed to all other office configurations within the firm, such as private/cellular offices. The case study highlights the trade-off between collaboration and privacy in the primary office typology, open plan office spaces. The findings demonstrated that no significant differences exist between the different generations’ and cultures’ ability to conduct activities which are influenced by personal and interpersonal aspects of the office spaces. Furthermore, findings illustrated that no generational and cultural differences exist in the environmental, personal and design aspects of the office space. Lastly, findings showed that generational and cultural differences do exist in group cohesion and intension to stay. The main limitation of research is the small sample size which may have resulted in an untrue reflection in the generalisation of the population. The paper’s findings add to the cultural and ethnic differences experienced in open plan offices on personal/interpersonal, environmental and design aspects. Further studies need to explore the possible theoretical links between the workspace, group cohesion, intension to stay and productivity for South African office using firms. Keywords: generational differences, cultural/ethnic difference, employees’ experiences, collaboration, privacy, team work