Warille, J B (2016) Sustainable compensation methods for construction companies operating in turbulent environments: A case of South Sudan. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool, UK.
Abstract
Although South Sudanese did not own private companies before the war, a good number of them have been studying business during the time of the war. Immediately after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), private companies came into existence. Roads construction companies were not exceptions. Being new in the industry, the national companies have been copying from Sudan. The Labor Act (1997) of Sudan is the main employment legislation used in South Sudan. This thesis examines the compensation methods in three companies with the aim of suggesting methods that will suit turbulent environments like South Sudan. Three different methods were tested in intervals of three months to test its sustainability in environments like South Sudan. This is an action research project. Three workshops were held every three months and an evaluation of the compensation methods were made. Structured questionnaires were used to gain the understanding of employees about the compensation method in their respective organizations, their understanding of compensation in the environment in their operation areas, relationship of their pay to what their colleagues get and their attitude towards change in pay methods should the organization opt to do so. Interviews were also conducted with senior managers and board members to get their in-depth understanding of the compensation method in the companies they manage and in particular to look at how they sustain the pay. A close look at the Labor Act (1997) of Sudan which is being used in South Sudan was done to see the relevance of some of the acts in the South Sudan context. Though some areas of weaknesses in the pay systems were identified including the areas in some cultural behaviors which hinder concentration to work, the thesis came up with three different pay methods which can be used in South Sudan. They are Team Based Pay (TBP) with another form of Specialized Team Based Pay (STBP), Shared Pay Rate (SPR) and Management Driven Pay (MDP).
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | construction company, manager, legislation, interview, South Sudan, action research, questionnaire, employment, workshop, Sudan, compensation, war |
| Subjects: | management, data collection methods, dispute resolution, Geography, conflict and crisis studies, construction type, organization, practitioner, legal systems |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Legal Issues, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here