The purpose of the thesis is to develop a General Technique (GT) for use by investigators as a template to help devise investigation programs applying sustainable development ideas (SDIs) to presenting-issues, in order to create ideas for sustainable development actions (SDAs). SDIs are the ‘ideals’, of behaviour for relations amongst people (people-matters) and between people and the environment of the planet (planet-matters) having ancient origins yet being constantly reinterpreted. SDAs are actions that synergistically deliver SDIs in both people-matters and planet-matters concomitantly. The GT was devised in a learning cycle involving theory development and practical experience. The theory of the GT uses a systems-thinking approach to set out the blocks of information necessary to apply SDIs to a presenting issue. The mental model used in the GT is based on the concepts that people are dependent on the planet and that every individual and their actions count. The GT has a Preliminary Step and four Tasks. / The Preliminary Step establishes the relationships between the roles of stakeholders and the presenting-issue using a ‘4-group-stakeholder theory’;; group 1 are agents/individuals, groups 2 and 3 are organisations that operate in planet-matters and people-matters respectively, and group 4 are the general public/future generations. Everybody has group 1 and 4 roles and employed people play roles 2 and 3. Task 1 investigates the actions and agents that are fundamental in the presenting issue.Task 2 investigates the agents’; motivations to take up opportunities in both people and planet-matters. Motivations are based on the agents’; desire to satisfy the fundamental human needs (FHNs) of their family. Task 3 investigates: (a) the opportunities in people-matters and planet-matters, using a theory that posits that critical resources and critical arrangements are required for the delivery of FHNs in the very long-term. (b) The involvement stakeholders’; groups have in these opportunities.Task 4 reviews: (a) the success of groups 1 and 4 stakeholders in getting their FHNs met in the long-term and how successful stakeholder groups 3 and 4 are in helping them and why. (b) The maintenance of critical resources compared to the level needed to maintain all life forms and life system on the planet. (For complete abstract open document)

Syftet med studien var att bidra till en djupare förståelse över hur organisationer arbetar med att kompetenssäkra verksamheten och hantera kunskapsförlust till följd av personalomsättning. Den här undersökningen utgörs av en fallstudie av Uppsala kommun och Svea Hovrätt och har en kvalitativ ansats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju respondenter. Studiens teoretiska ramverk vilar på Nonaka och Konnos uppdelning av kunskapsbegreppet i implicit respektive explicit kunskap. Hansen, Nohria och Tierneys begrepp kodifiering och personalisering om överföring och bevarande av kunskap samt Hansson respektive Lindelöws olika modeller över kompetensutveckling och behållande av personal. Studiens resultat visar att det effektivaste sättet att behålla kunskap och kompetens inom organisationen är genom att behålla personalen. Arbetet med att behålla personal inkluderar lönesättning, att organisationen erbjuder utvecklingsmöjligheter och andra hygienfaktorer som anställningstrygghet. Resultatet visar att kompetensutveckling fyller flera syften, både som ett sätt att se till att rätt kompetens finns inom organisationen, men också som ett sätt för att personalen ska trivas och vilja arbeta kvar. Arbetet med kompetensutveckling innehåller delar som introduktionskurser, medarbetarsamtal, seminarier och utbildningar samt uppföljning. Ytterligare ett sätt att kompetenssäkra verksamheten är att bevara den kunskap som finns inom organisation genom kodifiering och personalisering. Det framkommer i studien att det svåra är att dela och behålla implicit kunskap som bygger på erfarenhet när en medarbetare lämnar organisationen. / The purpose of the study was to contribute to a deeper understanding of how organizations work to secure the competence and handle knowledge loss as a result of staff turnover. This study consists of a case study of Uppsala kommun and Svea Hovrätt and has a qualitative approach. The empirical material has been collected through semi-structured interviews with seven respondents. The study's theoretical framework rests upon Nonaka and Konno's breakdown of the concept of knowledge in implicit and explicit knowledge. Hansen, Nohria and Tierneys concepts of codification and personalization on transfer and preservation of knowledge, as well as Hansson and Lindelöw's both models of competence development and retention of staff. The study's results show that the most effective way of retaining knowledge and competence within the organization is by retaining the staff. The work of retaining staff includes wage setting, that the organization offers development opportunities and other hygiene factors such as job security. The result shows that competence development fulfills several purposes, both as a way of ensuring that the right skills are within the organization, but also as a way for the staff to feel comfortable and want to work. The work on competence development includes parts such as introductory courses, staff appraisals, seminars and training courses and follow-up. Another way to secure the competence is to preserve the knowledge that exists within the organization through codification and personalization. It appears from the study that the difficult thing is to share and maintain implicit knowledge based on experience when an employee leaves the organization.

The immense changes in the economic environment caused by globalization and technology have forced organizations from around the world to transform in order to adapt, survive, and succeed in the changing world of the new millennium. These changes are not only in the external elements of the organization – its products, activities, or structures – but also in its intrinsic way of operating – its values, mind-set, even its primary purpose. Organizations must learn faster and adapt to the rapid change in the new environment or they will not survive (De Vries, 2001; Ellis&Pennington, 2004). According to Senge (1990b), learning organizations demand a new view of leadership. In a learning organization, leaders are designers, stewards, and teachers. They are responsible for the building of organizations where employees continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models – that is, the leaders are responsible for learning. Leaders in learning organizations must help employees see the big picture, with its underlying trends, forces, and potential surprises. They need to think systematically and be able to foresee how internal and external factors might benefit or destroy the organization (Senge 1990b). Autocratic leadership behaviour, focused on exercising top-down control is more successful in stable environments. Transformational leadership behaviour focused on giving inspiration through the marshalling of ideas, creativity, and the initiative of its employees, is more successful in competitive, changing environments (Cockerill, Schroder&Hunt, 1998). The focus of this research has been on the measurement of leadership behaviour as part of the implementation of a holistic model and process in an organization that has to function in a competitive, changing environment. A 360° leadership assessment questionnaire has been used to conduct the research. A set of fifteen transformational leadership competencies have been identified by the organization where the research was conducted as the leadership competencies that will enable the organizations’ leaders to be effective, successful leaders in a dynamic, changing and competitive business environment. Based on the identified set of leadership competencies, a 360° Leadership Assessment Questionnaire (LAQ) was developed and validated. The LAQ was used to measure leadership behaviour in the organization under research annually over a period of three years as part of the implementation of a holistic model and process for leadership development. The objectives of this research were the following: <ul><li>To measure leadership behaviour by means of a 360° leadership assessment questionnaire as part of the implementation of a holistic model for leadership development;</li> <li>To track the overall changes in leadership behaviour over a period of three years in order to determine if the implementation of a holistic model and process had a positive impact on leadership behaviour over a extended period of time;</li> <li>To analyse and describe the trends and patterns in leadership behaviour based on the results of the 360° leadership assessment questionnaire conducted over a period of three years;</li> <li>To describe the elements and implementation of a holistic model and process for leadership development.</li></ul> The quantitative statistical analysis of the 360° leadership assessment data indicated statistically significant differences in nine of the fifteen transformational leadership competencies that were measured in the 360° Leadership Assessment Questionnaire. All the ratings showing statistically significant differences were identified, interpreted and discussed. The following trends and patterns were identified, based on the statistical analysis of the research data: <ul> <li>Top Management (M2-3) received consistently higher ratings than the other management levels;</li> <li>Middle Managers (M5-6) received significantly lower ratings than the other management levels in terms of integrity, purpose building, information capacity, conceptual ability, business acumen and empowering;</li> <li>Female leaders received significantly lower ratings than male leaders in terms of information capacity, people development and empowering. Although females were rated higher than their male counterparts by their supervisors, all the other rater groups rated female leaders lower than male leaders on these competencies;</li> <li>Leaders in the age group 25-40 years received the highest ratings on business acumen and visionary thinking;</li> <li>Leaders in the age group 41 – 50 years were rated the highest by all the rater groups on conceptual ability;</li> <li>African (Black) leaders were rated significantly higher on visionary thinking in years 1, 2 and 3 than leaders from other race groups.</li></ul> The company overall results indicated an improvement in most of the competencies, except for integrity and self-responsibility which stayed the same. Motivational capacity is the only competency where there has been an improvement in year 2 and a decline in year 3. The competencies on which leaders received the lowest ratings are motivational capacity, people development, visionary thinking and empowerment. The overall trend on the overall 360° leadership assessment results over a period of three years clearly indicates an improvement in all the competencies, except for motivational capacity, integrity and self-responsibility. These trends and patterns were utilised to determine what type of development interventions and programmes are needed in the organization to facilitate leadership development in the context of the Holistic Model for Leadership Development. The improvement in the overall 360° leadership assessment results also indicates the implementation of a holistic model and process for leadership development has led to an improvement of the overall leadership capability of the organization where the research was conducted. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted