A predominantly authoritarian nature of schooling is still evident internationally and nationally (Maitles & Deuchar, 2007; Harber, 2004; Grant, 2006). In accordance with the Constitution of South Africa, schools in this country need to foster a democratic way of life and principals need to be instrumental in creating, leading and governing democratic schools. Dewey (1916) asserts that if individuals are to pursue and establish a democratic way of life, they must be afforded opportunities to learn the meaning of that way of life. Thus democratic schools play a pivotal role in their contribution to democratic societies (Beane & Apple, 1999; Gutmann, 1987) and to democracy at large. This empirical study explores the experiences and practices of school principals in creating, leading and governing democratic schools in an urban area, south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. Situated within an interpretive paradigm, this study is embedded in qualitative research. For a deep understanding of the phenomenon a case study approach was appropriate. Two secondary schools whose principals were willing to participate and which had some characteristics of democratic schools as outlined in the literature review comprised the sample. Data were gathered through observations of the principals. In addition staff meetings, staff briefing sessions and school governing body (SGB) meetings were observed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and various school documents were reviewed. Findings at both schools revealed that the principals associated democratic schools with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, and as such they claimed that democratic schools are linked to democratic principles. At both of the case study schools the respondents made reference to a range of democratic principles. These included shared decision-making, with emphasis on inclusion of all stakeholders, and the need for a shared purpose and shared vision. Both of the schools advanced the notion of democratic schools promoting critical thinking and respecting the rights and dignity of all individuals. Other democratic principles referred to were representation of various stakeholders, democratic schools embracing diversity, the notion of interconnectedness between the school and the community, individuals being accorded equal value, trust, transparency and openness. Thus there was a shared language with regard to the notion of a democratic school. The participants concurred that the principal plays a pivotal role in promoting and practising democracy in the school. At both schools the principals seemed to move away from stereotypical authoritarian behaviour. They viewed leadership as a collective endeavour and promoted participative leadership. This study revealed that at the case study schools, leadership was extended to others in the school community and there seemed to be a flattening of traditional leadership hierarchies. There was also evidence of servant leadership and distributed leadership. Although both principals believed in democratic school governance and were moving towards shared school governance, the learners’ voice in SGB meetings was minimal. However, the respondents concurred that more can be done with regard to inclusion of stakeholders in major decisions. The principals also referred to some challenges that retard the practice of democracy in schools. The embedded nature of democratic principles in shared leadership and democratic school governance is emphasized, and a model for creating a democratic school is presented. In this way, this study can contribute to the growing body of literature on democratic schools. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2012.

This thesis addresses the capacity development needs of white-collar employees within large organizations. Common employee problems of violation and diminishment of potential are ignored by mainstream organizational theory and management practice. Because these problems are unarticulated in any formal sense they lack legitimacy in the mainstream discourse. I label such problems, that result from unequal social relations, as problems of "disempowerment". This labelling re-conceptualizes the large organizational context as a political community with an institutionalized capacity to disempower employees, stunt their personal, social and political development, and inhibit any challenge to the existing privileged arrangements. The re-labelling of common employee problems in this way positions the research challenge in the political domain, stimulates the capacity to redefine problematic social relations in creative ways and opens the way for different possibilities and different solutions. An analytical examination of multi-disciplinary scholarship reveals articulation of a common theme that can be viewed as facets of the problem which I identify as one of disempowerment. The main body of the thesis examines these disciplines and collates the literature of concern into a structured argument. The main thrust of the argument is that the alternative debate to mainstream organizational theory and management practice has been marginalized and lacks legitimacy. This situation allows the orthodox view, with its focus on technical problem solving and efficiency, to ignore the more humane aspects of organizational life that demand the socio-political development of employees in order for them to make a meaningful contribution. Although there is a rhetoric of empowerment in organizational development thrusts, these do not address the political challenge of organizational life. The thesis suggests that employees, in collectively picking up the challenge of their own personal, social and political development, can transform organizations into becoming more humane ones that promote capacity development as a common benefit. This initiative would require the institutionalized support of academe in legitimizing and disseminating an alternative debate. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

The study was sparked by the current national outcry on school principals lack of professional leadership and management skills, knowledge and expertise which has resulted in poor student performance in schools, particularly in the Eastern Cape. The study sought to achieve three objectives. Firstly, to determine the methods employed in professional learning communities to develop school principals. Secondly, to make known the experiences of school principals with regard to their professional development within a professional learning community. Thirdly, to determine the impact of learning from professional learning communities on leadership and management practice of school principals, placing emphasis on student performance. This was a qualitative study which employed semi-structured interviews to collect data. The participants were six school principals from three selected high schools and three selected junior secondary schools in Matatiele district in the Eastern Cape. Gender and age representation were considered when selecting participants. Document analysis in the form of minutes of professional learning community meetings which had previously been held and attended by participant school principals were also used as a secondary source of data. Literature reveals that school principals in South Africa have not been adequately and professionally developed to meet the demands of leadership and management and the accompanying multitasking that a school principal must fulfill. Literature also reveals that professional learning communities in the United States of America, United Kingdom, New Zealand and other international countries have been successfully used as spaces for professional development of teachers and school principals. However, the study revealed that professional development of school principals in South Africa generally and particularly in the Eastern Cape is still in its infancy. A selective approach which is mostly superficial and reactive is adopted towards professional development of school principals. Therefore, the study has significant implications for policy development and implementation mechanisms for professional development of school principals. An integrated approach should be applied for holistic and accelerated professional development of school principals if the whole school improvement marked by quality learner performance is to materialise. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, 2000. / "A theis presented to the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, June, 2000.''--t.p. Bibliography: leaves 235-287.

Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology (Business Administration) Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / New Black business entrants into the South African fishing industry are confronted with a range of challenges on the road to full sustainability. In addition to the need to compete with established white commercial companies with vast resources, most of the successful applicants who won rights ended up with nothing but a paper quota because most do not have their own boats to either catch their allotted quota, or they lack the facilities to process their catch. In this thesis an organisational needs analysis of a select number of emerging fishing enterprises was undertaken with a view to determine their specific needs for support services in order to make recommendations with regard to a customised support programme to assist them in their quest for business sustainability. The research indicates that the majority of the emerging enterprises are first-generation novice businesses with a need for a comprehensive range of support services. They not only lack a full understanding of the inherent risks of their industry, but most have failed to do any sort of risk planning. This lack of understanding not only constrains their engagement with fishing policy processes but also contributes to a situation of dependence on external consultants for the preparation and submission of their rights allocation applications. Furthermore, most of the current crop of business leaders have a low level of formal education and did not receive any business training prior to venturing into the industry. This vicious cycle of general ignorance of the risky nature of their sector, lack of understanding of industry process, and low education levels, has resulted in limited understanding and knowledge of the various forms of financial and other assistance available to emerging businesses. The researcher recommends intervention in all of the areas mentioned above as critical if the stated objective of the South African government, namely the promotion of black economic empowerment, is to be achieved.

This research is concerned with the development of independent contractors within the Working for Water Programme over a twenty-four month period. The meaningful participation of previously disadvantaged South Africans fall within the ambit of black economic empowerment. The Government Gazette (1997: No. 1820) defines black economic empowerment as a deliberate programme to achieve the meaningful participation of disadvantaged South Africans in the mainstream economy as managers, owners of capital and employees. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the contractors within the Western Region of the Eastern Cape, in order to assess how they have developed as independent contractors within the developmental framework provided by the Working for Water Programme. This developmental framework takes place over a 462-day period or roughly 24 months. The evaluation aimed to determine whether the two-year development period sufficiently prepared contractors for competition in the open market and if contractors had acquired the necessary skills to run a successful business. A formative programme evaluation was used as a tool of analysis to identify areas of weakness and establish priorities for improvement. A qualitative research approach was followed, guided by an adapted version of the Context, Input, Process and Product approach to evaluation (Parlett and Hamilton cited in Calder, 1995, p.25). Using structured interviews comprising of closed and open ended questions, data was gathered from thirty contractors, five managers and one Senior Executive Officer within the Western Region of the Eastern Cape. An interview was also conducted with the Regional Programme leader of the Eastern Cape. Further data collection techniques included documentary research. Data was analysed using qualitative data analysis techniques described by Thorne (1997, p.118), as relying on inductive reasoning to interpret and structure the meanings that can be derived from the data. Passages of interest were marked so that the data could be reduced to a manageable size as described by Seidman (1991, p.91-1 01) and various categories were developed that had commonalties and thematic connections. The Working for Water Programme aims to exit contractors successfully after a twenty-four month developmental period. The Working for Water Programme has formalised its development framework through a training matrix in which the required training at contractor level is outlined. The finding of the research is that the current contractor development programme do not adequately prepare contractors for independence and entrepreneurship in a competitive market. There is no co-ordinated development of predetermined skills. Contractors are not able to articulate what their plans are after exit from the WFW Programme. No concrete evidence of actively pursuing alternative contract opportunities was evident from contractors who were about to exit the Programme and there is no person to champion the cause of meaningful post exit opportunities. The main recommendations from this research are that contractors be selected via an application system rather that appointment through steering committees. Selected contractors must be medically fit and at least have a matriculation certificate. Contractors should be assessed on a 6-monthly basis and contractors not achieving a minimum competency level must be removed from the programme. Managers should also have basic competency levels in order to facilitate skill transfer through a mentorship process. The charge out rate of equipment should be revised every six months. The charge out rates should also be increased significantly to cater for the harsh conditions under which contractors are operational. A "champion" needs to be appointed which will actively seek exit opportunities for trained contractors. This person will also seek to develop functional partnerships with various private and government institutions to create opportunities for exited contractors.

M.Tech. / There is currently a lot of research work being done to gain insight into the value proposition for IT governance frameworks and different other variables that have significant bearing on successful implementation of IT governance in South African organizations. There has however been no adequate research conducted on how Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy and more specifically the four significant elements of the BEE scorecard (ownership, preferential procurement, skills development and management and control) affect IT governance within South African Enterprises. The study explores BEE policy as a means of redressing past inequalities and then presents BEE challenges that influence IT governance implementation. A broad outline of the research and a conceptual framework that will assist in monitoring the effectiveness of these four elements of the BEE scorecard towards IT governance implementation are presented. The study aims at giving an improved understanding and insights about the strength of the relationship between these two variables (BEE scorecard and IT governance), both of which have a bearing on the success of businesses operating in South Africa as a third variable. Kaplan and Norton„s balanced scorecard is used to measure business success (organization performance). The adopted method of data gathering was quantitative research with extensive use of questionnaires that targeted IT professionals and practitioners closely affiliated with BEE initiatives. The findings show a weak association between BEE and successful IT governance implementation. The results also reveal IT governance maturity has advanced to well-managed level 4.The human capital and diversity in the IT workforce lag behind in progress as a result of inadequate adherence to BEE metrics. There was a strong relationship between organization performance and BEE metrics, and a very weak link between IT governance and organization performance. It is envisaged that the resulting framework arising out of this work will form a foundation for other scholars and practitioners in the IT governance field to expand on gained knowledge, espousing the creation of a compressive IT framework that does not only focus on management tools and frameworks for IT governance efficiency but embraces the social dimensions of IT governance that may inhibit or enable IT governance effectiveness.

I takt med att konkurrensen ökar inom olika branscher, med fler aktörer både lokalt och globalt, behöver företag ta fram strategier för att anpassa sig till marknaden. Inom transportindustrin är vinstmarginalerna låga och konkurrensen ökar i hög takt, både nationellt och internationellt. I dag räcker det inte för inhemska åkerier att enbart erbjuda kunder plats på ett lastbilsflak, då ersättningen i många fall inte kan matchas med konkurrenter vars pris ofta är lägre. Istället måste åkeriföretag arbeta fram andra sätt för att behålla konkurrenskraften på marknaden. Ett sätt kan vara att kartlägga de interna funktionerna inom organisationen och försöka stärka stabiliteten i företaget, för att möta marknaden på ett stadigare sätt.Avsikten med denna studie var att undersöka på vilket sätt en strategi, för en ökad intern kommunikation samt tillåtande miljöer, kan påverka konkurrenskraften för en organisation. Mer precist jämförs strategin med teoretisk grund för lärandeorganisationer och ett medarbetarcentrerat perspektiv, som med rätt stöd och implementering visar sig kunna medföra konkurrensfördelar. Studien är förlagd på Schenker Åkeri AB, i Önnestad, som genom införandet av en ny strategi försöker att bedriva sin åkeriverksamhet på ett effektivare sätt.Analysen visar att effekterna av den införda strategin resulterar i bättre sociala förhållanden inom organisationen, samtidigt som företaget gör kostnadsbesparingar. Som slutsats konstateras att satsning på organisationens arbetskraft kan leda till ökade konkurrenskraft för verksamheten. / As the global market continues to grow companies are affected with an increase in the competitive environment. Within the transport industry the profit margin is low and the competition increases rapidly, both on a national and international level. Today it is not enough for native haulage companies to simply offer customers free room on their vehicles, since earnings cannot be compared to the competitors whose total price often is lower. Instead haulage companies must find other ways to stay competitive on the market. One of these ways could be to focus on the internal functions of the company, to strengthen the stability within the organization and face the market more steadily.This study intends to examine in which way a strategy focused on increased internal communication and a permissive environment can affect the organisations competitiveness. More precisely, the strategy is compared to a theoretical basis for learning organizations and an employee empowered perspective, which with the right support and implementation appears being able to create competitive advantages. This study is located on Schenker Åkeri AB, in Önnestad, that by implementing a new strategy tries to conduct their haulage activity more efficiently.In the analysis the implemented strategy shows to result in increased social effects within the organisation, as well as reducing costs for the company. As a conclusion it is confirmed that investment in the organizations workforce can result in increased competitive advantages for the company.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att ur ett ledar- och medarbetarperspektiv undersöka om och i så fall hur ett tillverkningsföretag tillämpar empowerment i deras styrning. Vi vill även ge förslag på hur tillverkningsföretaget kan vidareutveckla empowerment. Metod: Vi har genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med totalt 11 individer från ett tillverkningsföretag. 7 av intervjuerna var med anställda med chefsposition och resterade intervjuer var med medarbetare. I analysen har medarbetarnas och ledarnas svar från intervjuerna jämfört med varandra, där sekundärdata har vävts in. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet från vår studie visar att företaget tillämpar empowerment i deras styrning. Det undersökta företaget har med hjälp av teknikerna strukturell- och psykologisk empowerment skapat en arbetsmiljö där empowerment är närvarande. Den första slutsatsen som vi kan ta är att tillverkningsföretaget har anpassat empowerment till deras bransch och organisation. Den andra slutsatsen är att det förekommer brister, som t.ex. stöd, möjligheter, påverkan m.fl. inom strukturell och psykologisk empowerment. Examensarbetets bidrag: Vår studie bidrar till att företagsledare inom tillverkningsindustrin, samt andra branscher, får en tydligare riktlinje eller lärdom vid tillämpningen av empowerment i deras styrning. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förslag till fortsatt forskning är att göra liknande studie i samma bransch, men fokus på ett mindre företag eller företag utomlands. Ett annat förslag är att göra ett kompletterade studie inom ett tillverkningsföretag med fokus på andra tekniker inom empowerment än vad vi har undersökt. / Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate whether and if so, how a manufacturing company applies empowerment in their governance, from a leader and employee perspective. We also strive to be able to give suggestions on how the company can increase the degree of empowerment in their governance. Method: We conducted semi-structural interviews with a total of 11 employees from a manufacturing company. 7 of the interviews were with employees with leader positions and the remaining interviews were with employees. In the analysis, the employees 'and managers' responses from the interviews have been set against each other, where secondary data has been woven in. Results and conclusions: The results from our study show that the company applies empowerment in their management. With the help of the techniques of structural- and psychological empowerment, the studied company has created an environment where empowerment is present. The first conclusion that we can draw is that the manufacturing company has adapted empowerment to their industry and organization. The second conclusion is that there are shortcomings, such as support, opportunities, influence, etc. in structural- and psychological empowerment. Contribution of the thesis: Our study contributes to leaders in manufacturing industry, as well as other industries, gaining a clearer guideline or knowledge in application of empowerment in their governance. Suggestions for future research: Suggestions for further research are to do a similar study in the same industry, but to examine smaller companies or abroad companies. Another suggestion is to make a supplementary study within a manufacturing company with a focus on other techniques in empowerment than those we have studied.

The lack of employee commitment costs retail organizations billions of dollars annually in the form of decreased effectiveness, profits, and retention rates. The purpose of this case study was to identify effective strategies used by retail store managers that lead to employee commitment to increase business performance. The study population was 8,230 retail store managers in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The conceptual framework for this study was the Meyer and Allen 3-component model of commitment. Participants were purposefully selected for their knowledge, experience and success in implementing effective retention strategies. Data were collected via face-to-face semistructured interviews, indirect participant observations, and archival document reviews with 5 retail store managers. The data analysis process involved organizing the interviews, color coding themes, and using NVivo software to interpret the data. Three themes emerged: Employee engagement increased employee commitment to the organization, managers decreased employee turnover by taking a personal interest in employees, and employee empowerment increased organizational commitment. Increasing employee commitment contributes to social change by providing organizational managers and leaders with important insights. Enhancing employee commitment contributes to society through increased organizational profitability resulting from improved retention strategies.