Perceived Work-related Factors and Turnover Intention : - A Case Study of a South Korean Construction Company

Purpose – Employee turnover entails considerable costs and is a major problem for the construction industry. By creating an extensive framework, this study aims to examine whether perceived work-related factors affect turnover intention in South Korean construction companies. Research design – The paper is based on the results of a questionnaire of 136 employees that was conducted and provided by a Korean construction company. Research hypotheses were tested via correlation analyses. The most influencing work-related factors, as well as differences among job levels, were determined by multiple regression analyses. Findings – Communication, immediate leaders, organizational commitment, and organizational pride substantially affect turnover intentions. All of these factors can be considered as relational factors. The most influencing factors differ among job levels. Discussion/practical implications – Immediate leaders should be aware of their role in retaining employees and enhance communication, organizational commitment and pride. This study shows how the importance of certain variables differs for groups of employees. Theoretical implications/limitations– This study is based on a sample of employees from a Korean construction company. Therefore, the generalizability of the findings has to be tested. Future research should test the proposed framework with other factors or resources. Originality/value – This study shed light on the turnover subject in the South Korean construction industry. It shows that different factors can influence turnover intention among job levels. A framework was created, which is based on 16 work-related factors including organizational factors, HRM practices and job attitudes.

The qualitative research method approach (qurma) : students guide

Qualitative methods are commonly used within the area of Electronic Government as well as other fields in social science. Among students carrying out qualitative approaches in their thesis work, qualitative studies are very common but unfortunately there is often a lack of rigor when using qualitative approaches. Method books discussing qualitative studies are frequent, but they often lack some firm advices about how to actually carry out a qualitative study. There are lots of good advices about interviews and observations. Grounded theory is often mentioned although in rather general terms. The interpretive part is not very thoroughly discussed though. Below we present an outline that might fill the mentioned gap somewhat. Our aim is to give the student a guide in carrying out the qualitative/interpretive approach. By following the ten steps below, students will not only have to prepare the study, they will also find some solid reference support for the necessary steps in the process of research.

Comparison of two HVAC renovation solutions : A case study

Within the aging building stock of Europe, there is great potential of saving energy through renovation and upgrading to modern standards, and to thereby approach the internationally set goals of lower energy use. This paper concerns the planned renovation of the building envelope and HVAC systems in a multi-family house in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Five systemic HVAC solutions were compared, with special focus on two systems: A) Balanced ventilation with HRC + Micro heat pump, and B) Forced exhaust ventilation + Heat pump with exhaust air HRC + Ventilation radiators. Given the predicted heating demand and ventilation rate of the house after renovation, the performance of the two systems was compared, alongside three common systems for reference. Calculations were made using TMF Energi, a tool developed by SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden.    Both systems A and B were found to have the lowest electrical energy use together with the ground source heat pump system for the assumed conditions. For other assumptions, including different climate and degree of insulation, some differences between these three systems were noted. Most significant is the increased electrical use of system B for higher heating loads due to limitations in the power available from the heat source, exhaust air, which is dependent on the ventilation rate.