M.Comm. / As global competition among organisations intensifies, it has become increasingly important for an organisation to identify and develop a competitive advantage over its rivals. Increasingly, as service quality and customer delight has caught the attention of managers, awareness is dawning on management that they depend on employees to communicate and deliver value to customers. Therefore, although organisations declare that customer is king, reality has dictated that often the customer comes only second to employees. Total Quality Management is a philosophy that has caught the attention of business organisations as a cost effective, inclusive quality enhancement programme that holds possible solutions to most workplace and management problems. Total Quality Management is a philosophy that seeks to transform organisational cultures into a culture of continuous improvement, employee participation through teams, and requiring inclusive and caring styles of leadership, with the aim of achieving customer delight. This philosophy has however been elusive for management within most organisations, where the existing organisational culture has failed to make room for Total Quality Management. Employee Assistance Programmes are possible employee- and organisation focused programmes that offer a solution to facilitating the culture of caring and support within the workplace. They can be used as effective work based support programmes aimed at helping employees to cope with psychological, social, emotional, and behavioural problems affecting their performance at work. Employee Assistance Programmes are effective facilitators of quality and productivity, as well as of any programmes that depend on enhanced individual functioning and relationship building.

M.A. / Many organizations are beginning to realize the value of their employees. Employees are to a large extent the engine of the organization. It is through the employees that organizations can realise their objectives. It thus makes sense that organizations invest in and support their employees. Today's employees are under a lot of pressure and stress from home and at the workplace. The Department of Health, just like any other organization, is faced with the challenges of dealing with personal as well as work-related problems. These problems have an effect on job performance. An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a programme that is utilized to resolve personal and work-related problems. An EAP can be defined as a programme that is designed to deal with the personal and work-related problems of employees and their family members, which may be impacting on productivity and social functioning. EAP has to be based on the special needs and interests of employees, who will be served by such a programme. Needs assessment is important to ensure that the EAP closely matches the needs of the employees. Since the Department of Health has embarked on the development of EAP, it is important that an assessment of the needs of employees precedes such a development. The aim of this research study was to conduct a needs assessment for an EAP in the Johannesburg and West Rand Health Region, Region A, Cluster B. The objectives of the study were (a) to identify employee personal problems, (b) to determine the level of employee work related problems and job satisfaction and (c) to make recommendations which would contribute towards an appropriate and relevant EAP for Johannesburg and West Rand Health Region, Region A. The findings of this study showed that the personal problems that needed the particular attention of the EAP practitioner are traumatic life events, health and financial problems. It was also found that respondents are experiencing work-related problems as well as problems with job satisfaction to a moderate extent. The majority of respondents indicated that there is a need for an EAP in the Johannesburg and West Rand Health Region, Region A, Cluster B. It was recommended that an EAP be introduced for Johannesburg and West Rand Health Region. / Dr. W. Roestenburg

Research applications in the field of positive organisational behaviour are developing as part of the paradigm of fortology. Both psychofortology and positive psychology support the development of the strengths (fortology) of human behaviour. Health and wellness research in working contexts build theory in the field of Industrial Psychology. The objective of the present research is to develop and test a holistic work-wellness model for employees of a life insurance organisation in South Africa. Holistic work-wellness research requires that wellness, organisational factors and individual dispositions be treated as part of an integrated and dynamic system. The relationship between these constructs provides some understanding of total work wellness. A cross-sectional survey designed was used with a sample of 673 participants. The 5 Factor Wellness Survey, the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Job Diagnostics Survey were administered. The empirical research results have shown that a positive relationship exists between motivational job characteristics, sense of coherence, engagement and wellness. A somewhat negative relationship exists between burnout and wellness in the holistic work-wellness model. The structural equation modelling statistics provided reasonable goodness of fit indices with some room for modification. According tot the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation criterion, the results support the acceptance of the holistic work-wellness model. A path diagram, in which cause and effect arrows flow from the exclusive latent variable back to the primary factors, was developed. The development of this holistic work-wellness model addresses the research problem and builds theory with which to holistically understand work wellness. It can be concluded that the development of this particular model can be used in the insurance organisation to implement employee health and wellness care. The Indivisible Self: An Evidence-Based Model of Wellness that consists out of 17 wellness and 4 contextual factors were successfully applied as a clinical wellness model in an organisational context (Myers and Sweeney, 2005). A principle factor analysis confirmed the factor structure of previous wellness research for the first time in a South African study. Structural equation modelling statistics on the wellness model confirmed the 19-factor model with adequate goodness of fit indices. The empirical research data confirms The Indivisible Self: An Evidence-Based Model of Wellness for the insurance organisation. This wellness model can therefore be used as an independent wellness model to explain wellness from the theory and from the present empirical study. From the literature it is clear that research on wellness in relation to motivational job characteristics are developing as a research topic. The empirical research in the present study confirmed that a positive relationship exist between these two phenomena. Goodness of fit indices confirm that the six-factor motivational job characteristics model cannot be used as an independent model in the insurance organisation. Subsequently this did not validate the practically significant positive relationships in the independent job model. However these findings were still useful in an explorative study that focused on the development of a holistic work-wellness model. A strong sense of coherence can therefore be hypothesised to help employees to face stressful situations and to handle complex tasks because demands from the environment are understood and believed to be under their personal or significant others’ control. They are likely to regard the tasks as challenging enough to spend energy on. It can be described as the characteristic inherent to individuals, which assists them in their interaction with their work-environment and situations that might arise as a consequence thereof. Empirical statistical results indicated that the three factors meaning, comprehension and manageability are confirmed for the sense of coherence construct. A principle factor analysis confirmed reliable Cronbach alphas for meaning and comprehension in the present research. Structural equation modelling proves that the sense of coherence model cannot be used independently due to poor goodness of fit statistics. However, sense of coherence is still useful in the development of a holistic work-wellness model. The research results also showed that engagement could be considered a positive indicator of employee wellness. Findings validated and confirmed the factorial validity of vigour and dedication. Goodness of fit statistics produced goodness of fit indices of intermediate quality. Empirical statistics verified and validated burnout as a four-factor model. Researched statistics showed internally consistent results for the four-burnout subscales (exhaustion, cynicism, professional efficacy and cognitive weariness). It can be concluded that these factors are reliable and valid factors. Results from the structural equation modelling proposed good fit (RMSEA) for the four-factor burnout model, with some modification required to improve the other indicators. Conclusions and recommendations in terms of the implementation of managed health and wellness care for employees in the insurance organisation are based on the development of the holistic work-wellness model. Health and wellness programmes should be researched to develop the empirical application of the holistic work-wellness model. / Prof. R.P. De la Rey

The purpose of this study is to examine the four basic student assistance models and determine their distribution in Texas, describe the student assistance programs in place in public school districts in Texas including the program's goals, objectives and components, and explore the perceived effectiveness of student assistance programs as a viable means of drug and alcohol education for students enrolled in public school districts in Texas in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

The problem with which this study is concerned is to determine the extent to which American colleges and universities utilize employee assistance programs (EAPs) to overcome faculty and non-faculty staff members' personal, social, and medical problems. The purpose of this study is to assess the employee assistance programs at institutions that were involved in a related 1979 study conducted by the University of Missouri, Columbia. This study reviews the content and process of the responding programs to determine the extent to which they provide for early recognition, treatment, and rehabilitation of employees for personal, social, and medical problems that potentially affect job performance. The direct outcome of this study is the development of an EAP model for use by higher education institutions.

It is estimated that 9-14% of children from birth to age 5 experience social and emotional problems that may significantly affect their ability to learn later in life and students of any age may experience an array of problems resulting in difficulty learning. Although interventions are available to address these issues within the school context, government funding for programs is often limited to those that are evidence based. Student Assistance Programs (SAPs) address a variety of barriers to learning but many are not supported by empirical evidence. The purpose of the study was to determine if Breakthrough, a specific SAP, had a significant effect on the dependent variables of grade point average, attendance, and behavioral referrals among N = 727 public school students in Grades 9-12. The independent variables were completion or noncompletion of the program, time, and grade level. This quantitative study used a systems perspective, nonequivalent control group design. The statistical analyses performed were a mixed ANOVA and a generalized estimating equation. The interaction of treatment, time, and grade level were found to be significant on attendance, and the interaction between treatment and time on was found to be significant for attendance. The main effect of time was found to be significant on grade point average, attendance, and behavioral referrals. The main effect of treatment was found to be significant on number of behavioral referrals. Increasing the types of supports for school-aged students may bring positive social change by allowing for higher academic achievement and by intervening with issues that may follow students into adulthood such as mental illness and substance abuse.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and communicate a student-constructed model of student services for electronic distance education (EDE). This study seeks to answer the following questions: Do students enrolled in EDE perceive a need for student services? If not, why not? Which services do students want/need? How do students want the services delivered? If students constructed a model of student services for EDE, what would it look like? A phenomenological approach was used. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with ten students, a document review, a survey of computer competency, and follow-up e-mail. Data were analyzed and systematically compared through constant comparative analysis and an inductive grounded theory approach was taken. One predominant finding that emerged from the conversations with the co-researchers was that of access for all students, particularly accommodations for those with special needs. Participants identified a number of services as basic to the EDE experience. They categorized services into three levels, expressing the expectation that services would evolve over time and technology. At each level a theme emerged that characterized the co-researchers' expectations and perceptions of student support services for EDE: access, interaction, and independence. The intent of level one was to provide entry to the college services and curriculum; access was used to define this level. The second level expressed the concern that students have the opportunity to interact with and be engaged by the services and the technology: interaction. The third level emphasized the need for information and services to promote independence, exploration, and autonomy in using electronic student services as well as to have available an "expert" for specific questions that are not easily or quickly answered by the services online. This level emphasized the use of real time transactions. The study concluded that students participating in EDE perceive a need for student services via distance. Participants further suggested that services provided to EDE must be equal and of the same quality as those traditionally delivered. Using the three levels that emerged from conversations with co-researchers - access, interaction, and independence - the researcher further classified the services into a model of student services using categories put forth by Namm and Holly (2000). / Graduation date: 2002

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 117 p. : ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-97).

Thesis (MSD (EAP))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, June 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.