Postgraduate - Sociology PhD student
| Contact Campus | Sandy Bay Campus |
| Building | Social Sciences Building |
| Room Reference | Room 435 |
| Telephone | +61 3 6226 2321 |
| Fax | email contact only |
| Erika.Altmann@utas.edu.au |
Erika’s PhD topic is: ‘How do effective sourcing strategies relate to organisational capacity and governance requirements? The case of bodies corporate as volunteer organisations responsible for large assets’.
Owner corporations manage community assets worth billions of dollars each year. This thesis seeks to understand how owner corporations function as an organisation within a set legislative framework, how this impacts on their long term viability where shared assets are involved, and the impact for owners. It brings together two streams of literature, urban planning and sourcing theory.
Strata titling of units and apartments which create an owner corporation are generally seen as a legal mechanism designed to allow for on-sale of individual homes, however this thesis clearly sees it as the creation of an organisation with ongoing responsibilities. Specifically, it sees strata developments as unique organisations with key responsibilities for maintaining and upgrading communal property.
Central to the choice of a constructivist, qualitative approach is an emphasis on volunteer workforces, and their capacity to govern and manage contractual obligations in an outsourced environment. Whereas these questions usually fit within the field of business, for owner corporations reliant on a volunteer workforce, it becomes central to their sense of home and community, affecting on-going long term financial viability of both the home owner and the whole scheme. It may also affect community morale, cohesiveness and emotional security.
With a background in the construction sector, Erika Altmann has worked in both the public and private sectors on a range of projects from small unit developments to public-private joint venture projects of up to half a billion dollars and legislative reform projects. She currently tutors in management subjects through the School of Management, UTas. Her research interests range across home ownership , social and private rental, planning and building development including green star and retrofitting, public-private contract partnerships, contract and legislative reform in these areas.