The complexity of the business environment requires organisations to employ leaders with strong managerial skills. The leaders need to face all challenges in the business unit to ensure efficient productivity and business efficiency. The research problem is instability in management due to many changes in leadership positions, which then emphasises the need for business to assess leadership effectiveness. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the leadership effectiveness of the senior management of the business unit.

Submitted in fulfillment for the degree of Master in Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / This study examines employee perceptions of the impact of training and development on product quality. The study was undertaken on a sample of 106 individuals, drawn using the convenience sampling technique from a large manufacturing organisation situated in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The data was collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of two (2) sections. The first section required the r(gender, age, grade and length of employmentespondents to provide biographical data ). The second section explored the impact of training and development on product quality (measured in terms of performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality). Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics and the results were presented using tabular and graphical representation. This study found that: Significant intercorrelations exist among the dimensions of product quality (performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality) as a result of training and development being conducted in the organisation. here is no significant difference in the perceptions of employees varying in biographical data (gender, age, and length of employment) regarding the influence of training and development on the dimensions of product quality respectively. Based on the findings of the study, a model was developed and presented. This model presents recommendations for enhancing product quality. / National Research Fund

The complexity of the business environment requires organisations to employ leaders with strong managerial skills. The leaders need to face all challenges in the business unit to ensure efficient productivity and business efficiency. The research problem is instability in management due to many changes in leadership positions, which then emphasises the need for business to assess leadership effectiveness. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the leadership effectiveness of the senior management of the business unit.

This research investigated employees' perceptions as 'recipients' of change. It did so by seeking to understand and represent their views regarding what influences effective change processes. The significance of this research was the focus on employee perceptions and not those of management. It was research conducted at a grass-roots level seeking to provide a voice for those least often heard or asked. The research was conducted using participants from two case study organisations in the local government sector of Western Australia employing approximately 200 staff each. Both organisations were metropolitan and had been experiencing change within their organisations for some time. Within this research it is recognised that the phenomenon of organisational change is by no means new. Since the early 1970s literature has emerged proposing that our world and the world of work, both internally and externally, are about to change. Management books and the history of management and organisational life have been filled for years with issues relating to change. These include changing management practices, new techniques for achieving change and dealing with threats of what nonchange may bring. As the research was seeking to interpret respondents' meaning relating to the phenomenon of organisational change, it was not concerned with quantification, but with understanding the phenomenon from the viewpoint of those experiencing the change. This research was based on the belief that human behaviour, unlike that of physical objects, cannot be understood without reference to the meanings and purposes attached by the human actors to their activities. The ontological assumption of a socially constructed reality underpinned this study. The realities experienced were those as interpreted by employees. The epistemological assumption was that of interpretivism. / The realities experienced by respondents were subjective and, accordingly, the research's findings were literally created as the investigation proceeded. The methodological assumption was of a qualitative framework for understanding how change impacts on employees. Both the researcher and the employees under investigation therefore interacted in the process of meaning construction and clarification. The constructivist paradigm was therefore adopted as it emphasises a qualitative methodological approach. It was supported by theories of symbolic interactionism and phenomenology, which focus on the interpretation of the meaning of the employees' experiences within the phenomenon of organisational change. Grounded theory principles were used within the constructivist paradigm to provide a framework for ensuring that data analysis remained interpretative and that all emergent categories earned their place through the practices of constant comparison, not the preconceptions of the researcher. To further enhance this method, a triangulated approach to data sources and data collection methods for analysis included documentation, change manager interviews, and the primary sources of focus group interviews and individual in-depth interviews with employees. The findings are represented in a model identifying strategic efficiencies, organisational unity, skills and capabilities, humanistic application and relationship maintenance as the major factors as perceived by employees as influencing effective change. It presents both the what and the how of change as perceived by employees; i.e. what needs to be done and how. / The model presented within this research is recognised as a tentative model dependent on further investigation and study. It provides a useful perception of what employees believe would create effective organisational change, and it demands close and careful consideration by strategists and practitioners. The model is unique in its structure and representative in regard to its information source.

Submitted in fulfillment for the degree of Master in Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / This study examines employee perceptions of the impact of training and development on product quality. The study was undertaken on a sample of 106 individuals, drawn using the convenience sampling technique from a large manufacturing organisation situated in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The data was collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of two (2) sections. The first section required the r(gender, age, grade and length of employmentespondents to provide biographical data ). The second section explored the impact of training and development on product quality (measured in terms of performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality). Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics and the results were presented using tabular and graphical representation. This study found that: Significant intercorrelations exist among the dimensions of product quality (performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality) as a result of training and development being conducted in the organisation. here is no significant difference in the perceptions of employees varying in biographical data (gender, age, and length of employment) regarding the influence of training and development on the dimensions of product quality respectively. Based on the findings of the study, a model was developed and presented. This model presents recommendations for enhancing product quality.

Companies are under pressure to develop and design effective incentive schemes for their employees with an aim of attracting and retaining talent. Whilst other organisations consider various methods to motivate employees, employee share schemes have dominated the agenda in many companies. It is expected that share schemes would achieve the desired objective through aligning the objectives of the employer with those of the employees. In the study, employee perceptions of share schemes are investigated to establish if the above objective is maintained. A medium sized company listed on the JSE was selected for the study with 105 respondents being solicited for a population of 242. The results confirmed that employee shareholders do have perceptions ranging from expectations of empowerment to employee engagement in decision-making. The study contributes to the body of knowledge and research in remuneration strategies for today‟s work environment, and makes recommendations for companies with the intention to improve the worker‟s social well-being. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

ABSTRACT Trust is a central component in leadership and has been shown to be associated with employee commitment, motivation and performance. The phenomenon has been investigated at the organisational level and there have been previous studies of trust within the manager/subordinate relationship. However, research in this area within the South African environment has been limited. The present research investigates the trust displayed by employees in relation to their immediate managers and explores this relationship from a gender perspective. As women are still not well represented at management level and as perceptions of male and female managers tend to differ, the purpose of this study is to determine whether perceptions of male and female managers differ in terms of trust. The aims of the study are to assess whether there are differences with regard to the trust that employees place in managers of differing gender, as well as to assess whether there are differences in the trust displayed by employees of differing gender. The methodology of the study is based on analysis of questionnaires distributed within a large company in the retail environment. The instrument used is a Trust measure developed by Daniel McAllister (1995). Initial analyses were undertaken to establish Cronbach Alphas on both sub-scales of the Trust measure. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to establish whether responses to the questionnaire loaded on the same subscales identified in the original McAllister study. The main analyses were then carried out using t-tests and Analysis of Covariance, in order to control for a number of potentially confounding variables in the study. The results indicate that males and females display an equal propensity to trust. In addition, male and female managers are viewed no differently in terms of trustworthiness. There are also no significant trust differences when same gender relationships were compared to cross gender relationships between managers and employees. However, manager age and the length of time that the employee knows a manager were found to be significant covariates.

Although there is considerable interest in the role of performance management systems (PMS) to enhance innovation and performance, there is limited literature regarding successful implementation in organisations. Most research has focused on the technicalities of performance management implementations, while neglecting the human reactions that influence the outcomes of such systems. This research therefore aimed to examine employees’ perceptions of performance management systems in various organisations and how performance management systems, or the lack thereof, specifically influence performance in the Namibian organisational context. A multiple case study methodology was adopted for the research, where open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from various organisations. Data was primarily analysed by means of qualitative content analysis which was supported by the pattern matching technique. The research findings supported goal setting theory which predicts that performance benefits can be realised by implementing specific challenging goals because they have a motivational effect on employees compared to vague and easy goals. Findings also supported theory which suggests employee participation in goal setting and providing feedback led to higher performance compared to when goals are assigned and no feedback is given. The findings supported predicted positive relationships between rewards and performance. However, findings also suggested that performance management systems, or lack thereof, are unfair because rewards are distributed unjustly, which has a negative effect on performance. Nevertheless, it was suggested that employees are more motivated to perform by intrinsic factors, including achieving challenging goals, than extrinsic factors. These findings not only supported goal setting theory, they supported McGregor’s (1960) theory Y which argued that employees are ambitious and motivated by more than money, yet surprisingly also supported his theory X as it was revealed that some employees would only work harder if rewards, or performance bonuses, are given. Although the research aimed to test goal setting theory, findings also supported Vroom’s (1964) valence-instrumentality-expectancy theory, Maslow’s (1943) and McClelland’s (1975) need theories, which all argue that performance is enhanced by other sources of motivation. The findings supported contradictory theories, yet discovered interdependency among the theories, which created a cyclical notion. This means, Vroom’s (1964) theory argues that an employee can be motivated to perform better when there is a belief that the better performance will lead to good performance appraisal and in the realisation of personal goal in the form of some reward. It, however, implies that goal setting theory has no impact on employees’ performance. Yet, according to the qualitative findings, some employees will only increase performance if their performance is monitored and appraised. Therefore organisations are required to have performance management systems in place, in turn, supporting goal setting theory. The research attempted to generate meaningful insight that would be beneficial to organisations, in and outside Namibia, that are considering implementing or improving their performance management systems by incorporating what employees perceive to be fundamentally important. Communication, management support, performance feedback, education and training, goal setting and employee participation are amongst the factors perceived as essential to effective performance management systems implementation. As literature (Bernardin & Beatty, 1984; Fox & Spector, 2002) has affirmed, these findings stress that the effectiveness of performance management systems depends on employees’ attitudes and perceptions of the systems.

The current study aimed to examine whether or not employee perceptions of their organisations corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices impacted upon organisational commitment and intention to stay. Moreover, this research aimed to determine whether or not an individual’s perception of their organisations CSR practices was impacted upon by their preference for CSR. As an initial step, it was essential to determine whether or not individuals had a preference for certain CSR practices. The current study defined CSR in terms of three distinct constructs: environmental CSR, external social CSR and internal social CSR. Environmental CSR encompassed any action undertaken in order to promote environmental sustainability while external social CSR dealt with initiatives aimed at assisting individuals and communities in need. Lastly, internal social CSR was operationalised as the degree to which organisations address social asymmetries with regards to gender, race, sexual orientation and disability. An exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that employee perceptions of CSR do not occur in terms of the three distinct constructs described above. Rather, employee perceptions occur in terms of actions which impact employees within the workplace, labelled internal CSR, and those that are focused outside the organisation, termed external CSR. Employee perceptions of internal CSR are thus concerned with the degree to which organisations adequately address social asymmetries based on gender, race, sexual orientation and disability. Conversely, perceptions of external CSR are concerned with the adequacy of organisational initiatives aimed at environmental sustainability and assisting individuals and communities in need. The results derived from the multiple regression suggests that both internal and external CSR predict organisational commitment ( = 4.92, p < .0001; = 2.64, p = 0.0095 respectively) and intention to stay ( = 0.13, p = 0.0032; = 0.15, p < .0001 respectively). In terms of the strength of the predictions, internal CSR is a moderate predictor while external CSR is a weak predictor of both organisational commitment and intention to stay. With regards to employee preference for CSR practices; results derived from analytic hierarchy process and ward’s minimum variance clustering method demonstrate that the sample, composed of 119 participants, could be split into two clusters. Both clusters demonstrated that external social CSR was the most preferred CSR practice. Results from t-tests demonstrated that employee preference did not impact upon employee perceptions of external CSR ( = 0.10; p = 0.92) and internal CSR ( = 0.25; p = 0.80).

The purpose of the thesis was to research how management used internal communication during acquisitions and if it affected the perceptions amongst the employees. Internal communication happens at all levels of every organization and underpins organizational effectiveness. Internal communication is a powerful tool available for managers, but is difficult to master as employees have demands regarding channels, frequency, richness and meaning. During an acquisition the use of internal communication is even more important and harder to handle. Employees hold different perceptions about the acquisition based on partner attractiveness and target responsiveness. These perceptions will make employees perceive the acquisition as an opportunity or a threat. The communication owner must be aware of the perceptions and take them into account when crafting a strategy for internal communication. Employees in the two case organizations studied held negative perceptions in the early stages of the acquisitions. Our results showed that it was possible to alter employee perceptions regarding the acquisitions from threatening to opportunistic by internal communication and managerial involvement.