M.Comm.

Presents a practical conceptual framework designed to determine the cost of quality based on nonconformance to a set of quality standards. This framework was implemented in a manufacturing environment. It utilizes an "open" system architecture which stresses a customer orientation. In this context, customer influence determines what is important in terms of quality. Standards are established for these elements which are used to gauge the performance and efficiency of the manufacturing process. Poor performance is then quantified in terms of relevant costs. The framework is designed to go beyond conventional cost of quality and nonconformance models, as it offers a solution path which utilizes employees to improve areas of nonconformance. Cultural, informational and technical organizational requirements needed to implement the framework advocated here are outlined.

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One of the most controversial questions in public administration today is the question of effectiveness and how well it is achieved by public and private organizations. Some studies hold private enterprise up as more effective; however, some others have argued the case in favor of the public sector. In examining the question, theorists have largely neglected the issue of quality of service. This study generates an effectiveness rating that takes into account quality as a major factor in addition to costs. This research uses the largest manpower training program in America, Job Corps, as a model for study. Job Corps encompasses both the public and private sectors, with a majority of the 107 Job Corps centers managed by private enterprise under contract to the United States Government. Two public and two private Job Corps centers were compared. Data were compiled from the following sources: 1) direct personal observation; 2) in-depth interviews; 3) Job Corps financial reports; and 4) student survey results. An effectiveness quotient for each center was developed from the data. Results show that each of the four centers has its own characteristic strengths and weaknesses. The public centers offered somewhat better quality of services as well as lower costs, and therefore noticeably better effectiveness than did the private centers. The public centers also surpassed the private centers in successfully meeting the job satisfaction needs of their employees. Unexpected findings included the fact that the centers that kept their costs the lowest also had the highest quality, and thus were scored as more effective. We conclude that the differentiating factor between public and private Job Corps centers is not their ownership, public or private, but rather how well-managed a center or class of centers is. In order to improve Job Corps operations, this study recommends a change in the assessment procedures for Job Corps, emphasizing quality of services and effectiveness of services rather than statistics on cost and average length of stay. It also suggests that continuing attention be paid to program management systems, including elements as diverse as communication among staff and control of students. / Ph. D.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Science in Industrial Engineering. October 2016 / The research project aimed at determining employees’ experiences of the application of the flow efficiency methodology. The flow efficiency methodology was the selected management methodology from the broader scope of process-focused methodologies. The significance of the flow efficiency approach is that it’s an alternative approach to the traditional management approach of optimising resource efficiency, but rather focuses on improving the flow of the process in which the resources work. The research was conducted in the context of the labour-intensive, South African manufacturing sector using a case study approach. The purpose of the research was to understand front-line employees’ and supervisors’ perceptions during the application of the flow efficiency approach. The assessed perceptions came from four selected change factors that stemmed from the Lean change iceberg model commonly found in literature. The motivation for research was two-fold: (1) prior research of the flow efficiency methodology in the socio-technical environment focused on operational improvement impact, and not on the impact on people; and (2), most research of improvement approaches and methods in South Africa tended to focus on success factors and pre-requisite maturity levels of various methods. The chosen flow efficiency approach required no pre-requisite culture requirements. The researcher was of the view that gaining an insight (through a case study) into employees’ perceptions of change factors during a flow efficiency approach, could lead to benefits of development and empowerment of employees and management in the labour-intensive, manufacturing sector of South Africa. The case study selected was a flow efficiency-based, improvement initiative in a multinational dairy plant in South Africa. The researcher used an unstructured, group-administered questionnaire to assess operational and supervisory employees’ perceptions of the selected change factors after process changes were made in the process where they work. The four selected process-improvement change factors derived from the Lean change iceberg were: Leadership Behaviour; Social System Change; Effectiveness of Change; and Employee Involvement & Empowerment. Content validity was conducted with external and internal experts to refine the questions and sequence of the questionnaire. A trained research assistant facilitated the multiple questionnaire sessions. Thematic content analysis was used to categorise participant’s responses into themes and sub-themes for each question. The occurrence of themes and sub-themes per question was tallied up and discussed for operational and supervisory employees with respect to the research objectives. The research did not yield a broad-based view on the impact of the flow efficiency management approach on employees’ perceptions in the greater industry context. However, it did give an insight, through the case study, into some universally applicable perceptions of changes experienced by South African, front-line and supervisory employees when the flow efficiency management approach was used. Perceptions of: leadership commitment and coaching, improved teamwork, simplification of jobs, improved flow, and improvements in individual performance, and employee empowerment were prevalent perceptions felt by most employees at both levels. / MT2017

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / The overall aim of the study was to investigate the factors contributing to RAL’s performance on roads infrastructure delivery in Limpopo Province for the first ten years since its inception. The study also sought to assess RAL’s steadiness, looking at its current practices and processes versus key external and internal developmental challenges facing the construction industry, in particular the civil engineering profession. Descriptive explorative research design using an instrumental case study was used in this research project to achieve the aim of the study. The population comprised all the people and companies involved with the RAL projects in Limpopo Province, including RAL staff, CIBD active registered Civil Engineering Contracting and consulting firms. Unstructured telephonic interviews and a structured questionnaire assisted the researcher to understand factors contributing to RAL’s performance in roads. The study revealed several strengths and weaknesses contributing to RAL’s performance, which concerned the agency‘s nature and composition, level of implementation of its strategies, policies and plans. A clear and implementable quality assurance system must be developed to mitigate all risks associated with project management processes and procedures. Strategies should also be identified on how the agency’s performance will progress despite the economic instability and political interferences. Proper strategic planning has thus far proved to be prudent in identifying risks and ways to mitigate them. According to the study RAL, an organisation of its own type specialising in roads infrastructure, its nature and size, its vast experience and knowledge of construction and project organisation and Project managers’ experience, competence and commitment to finishing the project with time ,cost and budget, have emerged as key ingredients assisting it in becoming an organisation with its proven record. The study also demonstrated RAL’s strength in terms of its communication, control and dedication in managing projects. However too many tenders are issued within a short space of time which makes contractors unable to adequately respond to them. RAL has demonstrated that it is negatively affected by an unstable economic environment. As a result construction materials are always aligned to inflation. To that end RAL should constantly monitor market conditions to synchronize its activities to 5 rightfully position themselves as these are external factors that are unavoidable, but require a hands-on approach

The benefits of informal mentoring are numerous and organisations have recognised these benefits in terms of organisational development. There has been an attempt to harvest these benefits through the introduction of formal mentoring programmes as a tool to fast track and then ultimately retain internal capability. This research on formal mentoring programmes occurred within a qualitative paradigm and data was obtained through document analysis and interviews from five mentoring pairs in one organisation and four mentoring pairs in another. The data was then presented and analysed in terms of the models proposed in the literature. The aim of this research was to evaluate formal mentoring programmes within South African organisations based on a framework provided by the literature. It was found that the literature proposed no formal evaluation model and thus, one was developed based on models of programme evaluation and formal mentoring implementation models. On the evaluation of the two formal mentoring programmes, it was found that there are some issues raised in the literature that are pertinent to both organisations but that there were also issues that were only relevant to one of the programmes. According to the research the differences in perceived success of the mentoring programme lay in the goals of the programme relating to the broader goals and culture of the organisation. It is recommended that future research investigate the impact of organisational culture on the effectiveness of formal mentoring programmes. The research also identified a need for supportive resources although this study did not assess the appropriateness and sufficiency of the resources. Organisations also need to implement effective evaluative practices in order to implement effective changes to the programme.

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2008. / Increasing competitive pressure from global markets and technological developments has resulted in the continual demand for business improvement philosophies and methodologies to address this challenge. The LSS approach to business improvement has emerged in both the practitioner and academic literature as having a significant role in this area. In 2006, The Valspar Corporation embarked on a LSS initiative as a way to improve the business globally, to achieve sustained profitable growth and to enhance customer value. Valspar (SA) found the implementation of LSS a challenge because the organisation could not afford the appointment of a full-time Black Belt to manage the programme locally. Green Belts were appointed to lead LSS projects part-time. Management wanted to know if they have applied the LSS methodology correctly within the scope of the business, especially since not all organisations were successful in the implementation of LSS. The objective of this study was to determine the critical factors that affect the successful implementation of LSS at Valspar (SA) and to assess the degree to which these critical factors exist at Valspar (SA). In a census, the researcher used the questionnaire to gain information about the current views of employees on the LSS programme at Valspar (SA). The research highlighted the critical success factors for LSS implementation and the results of the evaluation revealed both the positive and negative aspects of the LSS programme at Valspar (SA). / Valspar Corporation

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The concept of executive coaching has become known over the last 20 years. Executive coaching is a service that is provided to managers and leaders within organisations in order to help them to make changes that will lead to increased personal and organisational performance. Coaching helps leaders to function better in the business world by helping them to see beyond their own mindsets; helping them to learn new skills; and helping them to overcome deeply ingrained habits and behaviours that may be restricting their further success. Coaching is not targeted specifically at executives that are experiencing performance problems, but at any manager or leader that wants to learn or change in some way, or simply wants to further increase their performance. The need for executive coaching has arisen due to the speed at which the world is developing and hence because of constant change. Globalisation, technology, mass production and increased levels of democracy have lead to a highly competitive business world. The leader and manager of today have to be highly efficient and deal with a much broader range of tasks than ever before while being highly advanced in the areas of personal and interpersonal skills. These same changes that have affected the world have lead to changing social norms where people have the need to partiCipate and be heard. The traditional management approaches to business whereby leaders commanded their employees to execute their ideas, is no longer an efficient practise as business is just too complex to centralise decision making. The concept of organisational empowerment which became know in the late 1980's has to do with the top leaders of organisations sharing their power and authority with those lower down in the organisation. Empowerment is seen as the key to sustainable organisational success, however it is complex to implement, takes considerable time and needs dedication, focus and drive from top leaders to be successful. Top leaders however will need to transform their own styles, habits and skills in order to successfully empower their organisations. Executive coaching is seen as the best method to help leaders and managers to empower their organisations by assisting them to change their leadership styles, learn better personal skills and to properly plan and execute changes that need to be made within the organisation. The use of executive coaching will also teach executives how to coach all those within their organisations, which will further help change the organisation from a traditional culture to a culture of collaboration and support. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die konsep van bestuursafrigting het in die afgelope 20 jaar bekend geword. Bestuursafrigting is 'n diens wat gelewer word aan bestuurders en leiers binne 'n organisasie om hulle te help om veranderinge te maak wat sal lei tot verhoogde persoonlike en organisatoriese prestasie. Afrigting help leiers om beter te presteer in die besigheidswereld deur verby hul eie gedagte raamwerk te kyk, nuwe vaardighede aan te leer en om diep ingewortelde gewoontes en gedrag te oorkom wat sukses verhinder. Afrigting is nie net gefokus op uitvoerende amptenare wat prestasie probleme ervaar nie, maar op enige bestuurder of leier wat wil leer of verander, of prestasie wil verbeter. Die behoefte vir bestuursafrigting het ontstaan as gevolg van die tempo waarmee die wereld voortdurend verander. Globalisering, tegnologie, massa produksie en verhoogde vlakke van demokrasie het gelei na 'n hoogs kompeterende besigheidswereld. Die hedendaagse leier en bestuurder moet hoogs effektief wees, meer take kan verrig as ooit tevore en ook nog hoogs gevorderd wees in terme van interpersoonlike vaardighede. Hierdie veranderinge het ook gelei na veranderende sosiale norme waar mense meer betrokke wil wees deur insette te lewer. Die tradisionele benadering tot besigheid, waar leiers opdragte gee aan werknemers om hulle idees uit te voer, is nie meer effektief in die huidige komplekse samelewing nie. Die idee van organisatoriese bemagtiging, wat in die laat 1980's bekend geword het, het te make met die verspreiding van mag van die senior bestuur in die organisasie na laer vlakke. Bemagtiging is die sleutel tot volhoubare organisatoriese sukses maar, dit is moeilik om te implementeer, het baie tyd en toewyding nodig en benodig fokus van die top leiers om suksesvol te wees. Daarom moet top bestuurders hul eie styl, gewoontes en vaardighede transformeer om bemagtiging suksesvol te implementeer in hul organisasies. Bestuursafrigting word gesien as die beste metode om leiers en bestuurders te help om hul werknemers te bemagtig deur hulle te help om hulle leierskapstyle te verander, beter persoonlike vaardighede aan te leer en om beter organisatoriese beplanning en uitvoering te fasiliteer. Die gebruik van bestuursafrigting leer bestuurders hoe om ander te mentor wat die tradisionele kultuur van bestuur vervang met een van samewerking en ondersteuning.