This study searches for the management attributes of excellent companies in Zimbabwe in order to reveal the management practices that have made these companies successful. Seven most successful companies from among those quoted on the Zimbabwean Stock Exchange (ZSE) were selected in terms of their financial criteria and the macroeconomic criteria in their industrial categories. The research for attributes of excellence has been qualitative - consisting mainly of interviews of chief executives, departmental managers, skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled employees of the companies. The interviewees were also asked to complete two quantitative instruments: a semantic differential and an observation chart. Altogether 408 people were interviewed and given a semantic differential and an observation chart to complete. Of these, 398 responded to the semantic differential while 308 responded to the observation chart. Qualitative data for the study were content analysed and the data obtained through the quantitative instruments were analysed through the use of the Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS) at the Unisa Computer Services Centre. There was agreement in the results obtained through the use of the three different approaches of the research. The management attributes which were elicited by the study are that the Zimbabwean excellent companies : (a) have a participative style of management; (b) always engage in constant communication with all levels oftheir employees; (c) reward good work; (d) train their employees; (e) promote from within; (f) are concerned with the quality of their products and services; (g) care for customers; and (h) are involved in social responsibility. These management attributes can be applied by and could thus benefit any type of organisation, trading or non-trading, and private or public. The application of the attributes may not be limited to the enterprises in Zimbabwe - the host country in which the study was conducted - but it may also be effected in companies in other countries with a similar socioeconomic situation to Zimbabwe's. / Business Leadership / D.B.L.

A company’s board of directors is ultimately responsible for putting effective corporate governance (CG) structures in place as mechanisms to enhance its accountability to stakeholders. An audit committee (AC), which is a subcommittee of the board, is one component of the company’s CG structures. In South Africa, legislation, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listing requirements, and the King code and report of Governance for South Africa 2009 (King III) deal with the composition and responsibilities of ACs. As the shares of AltX listed companies, which are categorised as high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed companies, are traded publicly, they are required to comply with the Companies Act and to establish an AC according to the Act’s composition requirements to fulfil mandatory responsibilities. In terms of the JSE listing requirements, AltX listed companies must appoint an AC or explain their reason(s) for not doing so. As the total market capitalisation of AltX listed companies has increased by 87% over the past three years, greater numbers of stakeholder groups are being affected. Since stakeholder groups are protected when companies implement effective CG processes, the purpose of this study is to understand the way in which the AC of an AltX listed company, as an example of a high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed company, adds value to the company and its stakeholders. Attributes that contribute to the value added by ACs were identified as being the characteristics of AC members; the fulfilment of responsibilities through optimised activities; and the fulfilment of responsibilities by maintaining healthy relationships with the board and information providers. An explorative qualitative case-based research design was applied in terms of which a single AltX listed company was selected according to predetermined selection criteria. Data were collected using individual semi-structured interviews, field notes and company documents. Descriptive open coding techniques were used for data analysis with the findings of the study subsequently being presented in terms of a theoretical framework of the attributes that influence the extent to which the AC adds value. The findings of the study confirm that these attributes of the AC facilitate its ability to add value to the AltX listed company investigated and its stakeholders in terms of enlightened shareholder theory. / Auditing / M. Com. (Auditing)

Globally organisations face unacceptable levels of fatalities that translate into financial losses and bad publicity, which can be attributed to the inadequate employee engagement in decision making in daily work activities. This study explores the participative role of employees in the management of occupational health and safety (OHS), and investigates the impact of employee participation on the decision making processes that create a safe workplace. The joint labour-management committees encourage employee participation that improves the injury and disease prevention programs. Four participative approaches exist in the decision making processes, namely Directed Participation, Involvement, Pro-active Participation and Ownership, that are interrelated and integrated with the decision making process. When employees are required to abide by set guidelines and procedures, Directed Participation is appropriate. This has been observed to occur with little or no input from employees, whilst the application of legislation requires the process of involvement where critical decisions are made outside the domain of the employee. The pro-active participation process entails the sharing, consulting and making of joint decisions, which is most suitable in the Safety Health and Environmental committees, ensuring the process of Ownership empowers employees to champion the OHS activities. In OHS management there are instances when numerous participative approaches are utilised simultaneously to make decisions. All employees, both blue collar workers and management have a positive influence in creating a safe workplace, with the likelihood of older and experienced employees participating more than their younger counterparts in the decision making processes within the various OHS forums. Also, the more employees assume full responsibility for their health and safety, the greater is their influence to find solutions to the safety challenges. Additionally, making joint decisions to create a safe workplace will, in turn, encourage employees to participate more. The use of the participative approaches results in an improvement in the iii decision making processes within S.H.E. committees and OHS management processes, thereby making a positive contribution. More research is recommended to explore the relationships between employee participation in decision making and the compliance to OHS legislation, employee training, the safety culture and the influence of trade unions. / Business Management / DBL

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:14:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3502.pdf: 1102426 bytes, checksum: 050d52b959eb607cdc62096f379640c0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-01 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / The interaction between the Executive and the Legislative in the Brazilian presidential system has been ruled by two antagonistic approaches. The first one examines that the relations between both powers would be ruled by confronting each other and by irreconcilable interests. This is because a combination of the presidential system, multipartidarism, open-list proportional representation system and federalism would induce to the formation of a clientelistic Congress, which would be undisciplined and dominated by weak political parties. The second perspective reinforces the high level of cooperation in the relations between those powers due to the centralization which rules the legislative work, and due to the executive and the partisan leaders´ preponderance in the ruling process, allowing the establishment of an enduring coalition. From these considerations, this study analyzes how the Brazilian presidential system was run during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government (2003-2010) by two main aspects: firstly, the notable cooperation between the Executive and the Legislative powers visualized in the formation of coalitions, in the allocation of ministry positions and in the election for the main legislative positions, such as the presidencies of the House of Representatives, Federal Senate and Permanent Committees; and, secondly, the evident participation of the political parties of the situation and the opposition through reports by the legislators of the National Congress Committees, as well as the action throughout amendments and replacements. Thus, it has been proved that Lula government was supported by enduring and disciplined coalitions which, then, had the main executive and legislative positions. Furthermore, it has been verified that the Legislative power does not ratify all the propositions derived from the Executive power, because it has actuated in the committees by altering them. Consequently, cooperation was constant in the ruling process, but the negotiation and conflict were also indispensable factors for a better performance of the system official duties. / A interação entre Executivo e Legislativo no presidencialismo brasileiro é pautada por duas abordagens antagônicas. A primeira abordagem observa que as relações entre os poderes seriam pautadas pelo confronto e por interesses irreconciliáveis, pois a combinação de presidencialismo, multipartidarismo, sistema proporcional de lista aberta e federalismo induziria à formação de um Congresso clientelista, indisciplinado e dominado por partidos políticos fracos. Por sua vez, a segunda perspectiva ressalta o elevado grau de cooperação nas relações entre os poderes devido à centralização que pauta os trabalhos legislativos e à preponderância do Executivo e dos líderes partidários no processo decisório, permitindo o estabelecimento de uma coalizão estável. A partir destas considerações, o estudo analisa o funcionamento do presidencialismo brasileiro durante o governo de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) através de dois aspectos principais: em primeiro lugar, destacando a cooperação entre Poder Executivo e Poder Legislativo, visualizada na formação de coalizões, na distribuição de pastas ministeriais e na eleição para os principais cargos legislativos, como as presidências da Câmara dos Deputados, do Senado Federal e das Comissões Permanentes; e, em segundo lugar, evidenciando a participação dos partidos políticos da situação e da oposição nas relatorias das Comissões do Congresso Nacional, assim como a atuação por meio de emendas e de substitutivos. Com isso, ficou constatado que o governo Lula foi apoiado por coalizões estáveis e disciplinadas que, por sua vez, obtiveram os principais cargos executivos e legislativos. Ademais, verificou-se que o Poder Legislativo não foi um mero ratificador de proposições oriundas do Poder Executivo, pois atuou nas comissões por meio de alterações nas proposições. Por conseguinte, a cooperação foi uma constante do processo decisório, mas a negociação e o conflito também foram fatores imprescindíveis para o bom-funcionamento do sistema.

O objetivo do estudo foi construir o perfil dos indicados pelos Comitês de Ética em Pesquisa - CEPs - para membros da Comissão Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa - CONEP, líderes no sistema de controle da ética em pesquisa no Brasil, quanto à representação de grupos sociais, formação e experiência profissional e experiência e conhecimento em ética na pesquisa. Enquanto informantes-chave, buscou-se conhecer práticas correntes no sistema, e compreensão da regulamentação. Foram aplicados questionários, via correio ou via eletrônica, aos 188 componentes da lista de 2003, obtendo-se 94 respostas válidas, que representaram 80% dos CEPs. O questionário constou de 4 partes - a parte I, de caracterização pessoal, mostrou proporção semelhante de gênero, alta qualificação acadêmica, participação em cursos de pequena duração sobre ética em pesquisa/ bioética, e sensibilidade social. Dos respondentes, 50% tinham cargos de gestão na instituição, 18% deles ligados diretamente à pesquisa, apenas 4% eram representantes de usuários, 90% participaram de pesquisas nos últimos 10 anos, sendo um terço em pesquisa clínica. A parte II correspondeu a uma auto-avaliação de sua participação como membros de CEPs, que mostrou satisfação com a relevância do trabalho, valorização de qualidades como responsabilidade, compromisso, habilidade para trabalho em equipe, sendo que 89% e 85% consideraram-se preparados e competentes respectivamente, apesar de percepção variada da representatividade e compreensão política de sua atuação. Identificaram-se áreas de maior dificuldade na análise de projetos, e encontros, seminários e discussão de casos como formas preferenciais de preparação. A parte III identificou as percepções sobre o funcionamento do sistema de avaliação ética das pesquisas no Brasil, evidenciando a utilização das diretrizes e normas do CNS na análise dos projetos. A mais efetiva participação dos representantes de usuários e o monitoramento das pesquisas são dificuldades freqüentes. Sugestões de melhoria do sistema referiram a abordagem dos projetos da área de ciências humanas, pré-requisitos e preparação para membros de CEPs, integração e melhoria da comunicação entre CEPs e com a Comissão Nacional. A parte IV foram estudos de casos, que evidenciaram convergência de posicionamentos na grande maioria das situações apresentadas. Conclui-se que o reconhecimento da liderança desses indicados nos CEPs institucionais tem reflexos da cultura institucional, mais comumente universidades, e que a indicação de membros reconhecidos pelos seus pares, pode conformar um perfil favorável à atuação na Comissão Nacional. / The objective of the study was to analyze the profile of the persons indicated by the research ethics institutional review boards to become members of the National Commission of Research Ethics (Comissão Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa/CONEP), considered as leaders in the research ethics evaluation system in Brazil, as to their social group representation, professional experience, experience in research ethics, views about current practices in the system and relations to formal regulations. Questionnaires were sent by mail and electronically to the 188 members of IRBs indicated as candidates in 2003 for nomination as member of CONEP, with 94 answers, representing 80% of the IRB universe at that time. The questionnaire was composed of 4 parts, with part 1 dedicated to personal characterization. The results indicated equal gender proportions, high academic qualification, and frequent participation in short courses about research and bioethics. About 50% occupied institutional positions, 18% directly related to research, and only 4% were representatives of the patients. About 90% had involvement with research in the last 10 years, a third with clinical research. Part II was dedicated to their self-evaluation as members of IRBs, revealing feelings of satisfaction and gratification with their work, and valorization of attributes such as responsibility, compromise, team work capabilities, and 89% and 85% considered themselves prepared and competent for their functions, although with differing perceptions regarding representation and political understandings about their work. Some areas present more difficulties in the analysis of the projects and meetings, seminars and case discussions were mentioned as preferential mechanisms for development. Part III identified perceptions about the functioning of the national research ethics evaluation system, and the utilization of official regulations in project analysis. A more effective participation of the patient representatives and the monitoring of projects are major problems. Areas of necessary investment: how to deal with social sciences research projects, pre-requisites and preparation of IRB members and improved communication of IRBs with each other and the National Commission. Part IV consisted of case studies dedicated to frequent ethical dilemmas in research and the majority had convergent positions as to how to deal with them. The profile of these members as leaders in their IRBs reflects also very strong institutional cultures.

Swedish public administration has for the last few decades undergone reforms aimed at making it more efficient. A substantial part of these reforms have concerned creating clearer roles for politicians versus officials in the public sector, i.e. giving politicians a responsibility for setting goals and steering activities and public officials the role of implementing them. This study aims to examine one reform following this path that is under implementation in a Swedish public authority; Försäkringskassan, the Social Insurance Agency. The purpose of the reform is to increase the organization’s effectiveness and the rule of law. The reform means that decision-making committees, Social Insurance Committees, consisting of political appointees are being replaced by public officials as decision-makers in complex social insurance cases. The purpose of this study is to see if, and how this reform could affect the democratic foundation of these decisions. The study concludes that the reform will have a negative impact on the democratic support and the legitimacy of the decisions made, as it indirectly removes the citizens’ possibilities of expressing discontent through elections. This reform could also have a negative impact on the quality of rule of law if the new roles for public officials as decision-makers are not properly exercised.

This is not the first time we hear about aggression to the environment and to man himself. It is, although, from the rising of globalization and a society of risks that such trouble begins to look like reality, specially in developing countries, such as the ones from Latin America. The human being nowadays is going through an uncomfortable feeling caused by his own behavior and it is reflected in the biomedical research area, which has more and more specialized techniques and professionals, who many times ignore the natural vulnerability of the Latin American research and put aside the ethics which should guide their research. Based on this crises of conscience or perception, there is the objective of studying transdisciplinarity in the Ethics in Research Committees as a new possible paradigm for the solution of bioethics controversies in biomedical research with human beings in Latin America. The study focus on Brazil and Argentina Committees. The research is based not only on theoretical considerations on bioethics, human dignity and transdiciplinarity but also on the systemic interpretation of Latin American reality. Therefore, the methodological approach has three perspectives: on its nature the research is basic; on its objectives it is exploitative; and from the object point of view, it is qualitative. Bibliographic and documental research is used considering the theoretical character of the study, having as theoretical reference, the ideas of Edgar Morin, Fridjof Capra and Volnei Garrafa. The question does not lie in being against or in favor of development, but to establish What is the kind of science we want. That is, through the transdisciplinar dialogue of the Ethics Committees from Latin American institutions, to make the scientific community aware that the bioethics principiology specially the human dignity principle is essential in the biomedical research field, or we shall harm not only the individual rights of the researched but also the right to health, which is inherent to society. Even if the practical solution is still far away, it is essential to (re)think the relationship man-science transdisciplinarly, so that a new human conscience is introduced, preoccupied in respecting human dignity and nature as a whole. / Não é de hoje que se houve falar em agressão ao meio ambiente e ao próprio homem, parte deste. É, contudo, a partir do advento da globalização e da sociedade de risco que tal problemática começa a tomar contornos de realidade, especialmente nos países em desenvolvimento, como os da América Latina. O humano, atualmente, passa por uma sensação de mal-estar ocasionada por seus próprios atos e isso se reflete na área das pesquisas biomédicas, que, contando cada vez mais com a técnica e profissionais especializados, os quais, muitas vezes, ignoram a vulnerabilidade natural do pesquisado latino-americano e deixam de lado a ética que deveria nortear as pesquisas. Com base nesta crise de consciência ou percepção, objetiva-se estudar a transdisciplinariedade nos Comitês de Ética em Pesquisa como um novo paradigma possível para a solução de controvérsias bioéticas nas pesquisas biomédicas com seres humanos na América Latina. O estudo tem como foco os comitês do Brasil e Argentina. A pesquisa baseia-se tanto em considerações teóricas sobre bioética, dignidade humana e transdisciplinaridade quanto na interpretação sistêmica da realidade latino-americana. Para tanto, a abordagem metodológica se dá sob três ângulos: quanto à natureza a pesquisa é básica; relativamente aos objetivos, é exploratória; e do ponto de vista do objeto, qualitativa. Utiliza-se pesquisa bibliográfica e documental considerando o caráter teórico do estudo, tendo-se como referencial teórico, principalmente, as idéias de Edgar Morin e Fridjof Capra. A questão não repousa em estar contra ou a favor do desenvolvimento, mas sim, estabelecer qual é o tipo de ciência que se pretende. Ou seja, através do diálogo transdisciplinar dos Comitês de Ética das instituições latino-americanas, conscientizar a comunidade científica de que a principiologia bioética em especial o princípio da dignidade humana é fundamental no campo das pesquisas biomédicas, sob pena de ferir-se não só o direito individual do pesquisado, como também, o direito à saúde, inerente a toda coletividade. Mesmo que a solução prática ainda esteja distante, é indispensável (re)pensar a relação homem-ciência transdisciplinarmente, a fim de que seja introduzida uma nova consciência no humano, preocupada em respeitar a dignidade humana e a natureza como um todo.

This study focuses on community participation in the implementation of the integrated development plan in Inanda Township in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The empirical part of the study was conducted on the Inanada, Ntuzuma, and KwaMashu area of the eThekwini Municipality. Ward committees are forums for community participation in municipalities. They enhance participatory democracy at the local sphere of government. The main function of ward committee members include advising the ward councilors on policy matters that affect their respective wards, identifying the needs and challenges that face the wards, and communicating information to communities residing in those wards. This study acknowledges the fact that, in terms of the policy framework, ward councillors are the chairpersons of their respective ward committees. They are there to assist the community to express its views and participate in the processes of policy-making. Ward committee members need to liaise with the community, bring issues to the ward committee meetings and take the concerns of the community to the relevant unit of the municipality. The role of ward committees is to facilitate service delivery in their communities. It also found that the efficacy of ward committees during the implementation phase of the IDP could be improved. Hence it recommends that the eThekwini Municipality must encourage local community members, ward committees and councillors to play their role during the implementation of the IDP.

Depuis l’apparition du CHSCT en 1982, la représentation élue du personnel a connu de profondes évolutions. Délégués du personnel, comités d’entreprise et CHSCT ont dû s’adapter à la considérable extension des notions de santé et de sécurité. L’intégration de l’impératif de protection de la santé mentale des travailleurs dans le Code du travail a bouleversé le champ de compétences du CHSCT. La prévention des risques psycho-sociaux s’est rapidement invitée au centre de ses préoccupations, élargissant d’autant l’obligation de consultation mise à la charge de l’employeur. Des projets et mesures qui initialement nécessitaient la seule consultation du comité d’entreprise doivent dorénavant être également soumis à l’avis du CHSCT. Dans cette procédure de double consultation l’employeur est guidé par le principe de spécialité qui transforme le comité d’entreprise en simple chambre d’enregistrement des avis de l’instance spécialisée. De l’expansion du CHSCT naissent redondances et lourdeurs. Une réforme doit être envisagée. Transformation de l’instance spécialisée en commission du comité d’entreprise ou redistribution des compétences de chacun : l’alternative offerte impose la discussion. / Since the emergence of the CHSCT (health, safety and working conditions committee) in 1982, the elected representation of employees has profoundly changed. Employee representatives, works councils and the CHSCT have had to adapt to the considerable extension of the concepts of health and safety. The integration of the requirement to protect the mental health of workers in the Labour Code has radically altered the scope of competence of the CHSCT. The prevention of psychosocial risks quickly invited itself as the centre of its concerns, thereby extending the consultation obligation borne by the employer. Projects and measures that initially only required the consultation of the works council are now also subject to the prior opinion of the CHSCT. In this procedure of double consultation the employer is guided by the principle of specialty that turns the works council in a mere rubber stamp of the opinion of the specialized committee. The expansion of the CHSCT has caused reiterations and cumbersomeness. A reform must be considered. Transformation of the specialized body in a committee of the works council or redistribution of powers of each : the alternative offered requires discussion.

Orientador: Bruno Wilheilm Speck / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T08:20:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Coelho_RonyGleisondaSilva_M.pdf: 5271912 bytes, checksum: 2875209e55dcdd1392a076176af55d9c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Esta pesquisa trata dos atores, iniciativas e processos envolvidos na concepção de legislação participativa implícita no referencial empírico trabalhado nesta dissertação, a Comissão Permanente de Legislação Participativa da Câmara dos Deputados (CLP). Comissões permanentes são órgãos colegiados, compostos por deputados, integrantes do processo legislativo, que têm por finalidade apreciar os assuntos ou proposições submetidos ao seu exame e sobre eles deliberar. Com efeito, foi atribuída à CLP, como principal competência, a capacidade de i) receber diversos tipos de sugestões legislativas - leia-se, de iniciativas - oriundas de associações civis legalmente constituídas; ii) deliberar sobre as sugestões acatadas, manifestando-se por meio de parecer; iii) encaminhar as sugestões de iniciativas de leis aprovadas para iniciarem a tramitação no processo legislativo. A investigação procurou responder, por um lado, qual a capacidade do mecanismo de incluir iniciativas de lei no processo legislativo. Por outro lado, elaboramos uma discussão, sem pretender uma análise exaustiva, sobre um dos possíveis efeitos do modelo institucional do mecanismo em ter credenciado organizações civis para proporem iniciativas de lei no âmbito federal. Os resultados em relação ao primeiro ponto sinalizam para uma real e alta capacidade de inclusão de iniciativas no processo legislativo. Porém, ao iniciarem a tramitação, essas iniciativas encontram uma série de entraves que escapam à alçada da comissão e que se inserem em um problema maior, da relação entre legislativo e executivo mesmo no que diz respeito à produção legislativa no Congresso. Em relação ao segundo ponto, a discussão levantada sugere que organizações civis estão a exercer função de representação no lócus que, por excelência, é o da representação política tradicional. Ademais, e anterior a essas discussões, intentamos fornecer interpretações analíticas sobre o surgimento de um mecanismo como a CLP no interior do processo legislativo. Para tanto, observou-se, em meio a uma recente onda de reformas institucionais, possíveis processos de abertura das instituições tradicionais mundo afora; além de um contexto nacional de crescente proliferação das chamadas instituições participativas / Abstract: This research deals with the actors, initiatives and processes involved in the concept of participatory legislation implicit in empirical referential used in this dissertation, the Standing Committee of Participatory Legislation the House of Representatives. Standing committees are collegiate bodies, composed of deputies, members of the legislative process, which aim to analyses the issues or proposals submitted for its examination and deliberate on them. Indeed, it was attributed to CLP, as major competence, the ability to i) receive various types of legislative suggestions, in other words, initiatives, deriving from civil associations legally constituted ii) deliberate on the suggestions accepted, manifesting by through sight iii) submit the initiatives of laws suggestions approved to started the conduct in the legislative process. The research sought to answer the one hand, which include the ability of the mechanism of law initiatives in the legislative process. Moreover, we intended discuss, without attempting an exhaustive analysis about the possible effects on a model institutional of mechanism having allowed civil organizations to propose initiatives under federal law. The results from the first topic point to a real and high capacity inclusion initiatives in the legislative process. However, as they start the conduct in the legislative process a great number of obstacles are found, that cannot be misled by CLP and part of a bigger problem, of relationship between the legislative an executive powers even as regards the legislative production in Congress. Regarding the second topic, the raised discussion suggests that civil organizations seem to be exerting the function of representation that locus par excellence is the one of traditional political representation. Moreover, prior to those discussions, we seek analytic interpretations about the emergence of a mechanism like the CLP within the legislative process, noting, amid a recent wave of institutional reforms, opening processes of traditional institutions, worldwide, plus a national context of growing proliferation of so-called participatory institutions / Mestrado / Ciencia Politica / Mestre em Ciência Política