M.Com. (Sports Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M. Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The last few decades have brought a significant increase in the amount of research on the subject of motivation, notably in the field of psychology. In connection with education too, motivation in general and more specifically learning and achievement motivation are of the greatest importance. One reason for this is the fact that there are indications that the problems of under-achievement, early school leaving and the disquieting loss of manpower which is the result, may be ascribed to inadequate learning and achievement motivation. This study forms part of the project "Learning Motivation", an inter-disciplinary project undertaken with the aid of the HSRC and involving various researchers. It attemps to come to grips with the phenomenon of achievement motivation from a pedagogical point of view, and is aimed in particular at designing reliable and valid tests for the assessment of achievement motivation, and at establishing how tendencies in achievement motivation manifest themselves at the secondary school level because in this phase particularly gnostic demands are made on the pupil and achievement motivation therefore plays a vital role. Various theories on motivation and achievement motivation were studied, as well as a number of existing tests. In accordance with the results of these studies, a semi-projective test, the "Leistungsmotiv Gitter" (LM-GITTER),which was designed in West Germany and is used in the assessment of general achievement motivation in the senior primary phase, was adapted in an attempt to assess scholastic achievement motivation among pupils in std. 6, 8 and 10. A second test, the Achievement Motivation Questionnaire, was also designed. It consists mainly of 41 items related to achievement, all of which are concerned with the characteristics of the achievement motivated person, as described...

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The primary objective of this thesis was to investigate whether intrinsic rewards play a role in the intrinsic motivation, work engagement and retention of employees working within non-profit organisations in Australia, Belgium, South Africa and the United States of America. It therefore served to form a cross-cultural comparison between employees from these four geographically dispersed yet culturally similar countries. A further aim was to determine whether demographic differences occurred across the four constructs studied. In order to achieve these objectives, a theoretical model was constructed to highlight the relationships between the constructs under study. The study made use of both qualitative and quantitative research to achieve the above-mentioned objectives. As a result of the data obtained from 15 qualitative interviews conducted with non-profit employees in Belgium and South Africa, two measuring instruments, namely the Intrinsic Work Rewards Scale and the Intrinsic Work Motivation Scale, were developed to assess intrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation respectively. These measuring instruments were qualitatively piloted on a sample of academics and non-profit employees, and were translated from English into Dutch for use on the Belgian sample. Once these instruments had been refined, they were combined with instruments to measure work engagement and intention to quit to form a composite questionnaire. This questionnaire was completed electronically by 587 non-profit employees from the four countries under study. Data analysis was conducted in the form of descriptive and inferential statistics, including frequency tables, Cronbach’s alpha testing, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlations, chi-square tests, t-tests, analysis of variance and structural equation modelling. The quantitative findings showed that intrinsic rewards lead to higher levels of intrinsic motivation, which in turn causes higher levels of work engagement and lower levels of intention to quit. Intrinsic rewards were also found directly to predict a reduction in employees’ intentions to quit their non-profit organisations, and work engagement directly predicted an increase in intention to quit. From a cross-cultural perspective, practically significant inter-country differences were discovered across the intrinsic rewards of meaningful work and challenging work; across intrinsic motivation and its three dimensions (personal connection to one’s work, personal desire to make a difference, and personal desire to perform); and across work engagement and its three factors (absorption, dedication and vigour). In addition to these inter-country results, age and job level differences were discovered across the four constructs under study, together with significant correlations between the four constructs. The Intrinsic Work Rewards Scale and the Intrinsic Work Motivation Scale were successfully validated in both English and Dutch in this study, with a number of forms of validity being confirmed through factor analyses and correlations. Reliability was proven through satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha values being obtained for both language versions of the instruments. These results theoretically contribute to literature pertaining to intrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation as a result of the development of two measuring instruments that were empirically validated to assess these constructs. Furthermore, the results make a valuable contribution to the field of rewards management globally. This study’s findings provide evidence for causal relationships between four constructs not previously tested empirically, specifically within Australia, Belgium, South Africa and the United States of America. Consequently, this study’s results hold important implications for the management of non-profit employees worldwide.

Goal setting is one of the most effective techniques developed for enhancing performance. This paper has presented an outline of how the principles of goal setting might be applied to offensive football. <p>As teams and situations vary greatly, it was not the focus of this paper to provide exact goals and examples for every situation, but rather to suggest how the principles of goal setting might be adapted to an offensive football setting, and to suggest resources that a coach might use in adapting this program to fit his/her particular needs. Goal setting enables coaches to be sure that appropriate amounts of time are spent on all areas relating to football, and that the time spent on these areas is maximized. By using the principles outlined in this paper, a coach can begin to apply the powerful techniques of goal setting to their teams practices and games, and begin using it to effectively to enhance team performance levels. / Master of Science

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