D.Tech. Business Administration. Business School.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Quality in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / This research will focus on employee satisfaction in the workplace. The research will be conducted as a result of the high number of factory staff resigning due to unhappiness in their work environment. This transposes into not only productivity being lost, but also that the efficiency of the organisation is being compromised. The purpose of this research is to establish if employee satisfaction could serve as a catalyst for improved efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction.The research will be conducted at Anchor Lining Systems (ALS). The company is based in Cape Town South-Africa and manufactures a concrete protection liner referred to as Anchor Knob Sheet (AKS). The product represents a „state of the art‟ robust concrete protection liner system. It is designed to protect concrete structures in chemically aggressive environments.The research question which will be researched to mitigate the research problem reads as follows: “What approach could be deployed to minimise employee dissatisfaction in a manufacturing organisation to improve its overall efficiency, profitability and customer satisfaction?”Applied research will be conducted in this thesis, as the research will be designed to apply its findings to solve a specific, existing problem. The research will furthermore fall in the social world as social science has to do with how things are, and why. The research, due to the fact that it would require intensive textual investigation will be theoretical in nature, which can be define as, “contemplative of the mind, on intellectual faculties”. Furthermore, theoretical research is commonly associated with the phenomenological paradigm, which is used to answer questions about the complex nature of a phenomena, often with the purpose of describing and understanding the phenomena from the participant‟s view. These concepts are also commonly referred to as the „qualitative paradigm‟.The proposed research in this dissertation would be of specific benefit to the manufacturing industry in South-Africa, due to the high levels of staff turnover being experienced in the industry due to employee dissatisfaction. Such high levels of turnover de-stabilises the industry in that key resources are lost to organisations. If turnover can be minimised by elevating the levels of employee satisfaction then efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction can be exponentially improved.

Thesis (DTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012. / This study's main aim was to develop a model of employee satisfaction for health-related professions in South Africa. Health-related professions refer to a variety of practitioners who work in the healthcare sector mostly in support capacity to the clinical or medical practitioner. They include laboratory technologists, pharmacists, radiographers, emergency medical services (paramedics), nurses, and optometrists. These practitioners comprise a diverse group who deliver high quality care to patients across a wide range of care pathways and in a variety of settings. This band of professionals was chosen as the focus of the study because most studies, which relate to health workers' satisfaction and motivation in South Africa, have concentrated on medical doctors and nurses without a commensurate interest in other health-related professionals. The study is a multi-faceted one, and incorporates both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study is also exploratory because no model of this kind exists amongst health-related professions of South Africa. Permission to access selected institutions for the study was granted before the researcher approached the population for the study. The researcher decided not to use a sample, but to include all members of this population in the participating institutions in order to get as many participants as possible. From a total population of 987, only 117 usable questionnaires were returned. Data that was collected was coded for Statistical Program for Social Science (SPSS) suitability. SPSS was utilized to generate the frequency and descriptive statistics. The data collection instrument was the Plus Delta Organizational Climate Questionnaire, which was modified on the basis of a preliminary study. The data instrument achieved a coefficient alpha (Cronbach) of 0.8, which extended its reliability. With the use of factor analysis, this study was able to identify seven (7) factors which influence employee satisfaction within the health-related professions in South Africa. These factors include Role Clarification and Job Design, Equitable Performance Management, Integrated Leadership and Knowledge Sharing and Self-efficacy, while the other factors include Family-friendly Work Environments, Leader Credibility and Innovation, and Excellent Customer Relations and Technology. These factors make up the model of employee satisfaction for health-related professions considered in this research. While the researcher suggests that further studies should be conducted in order to establish the validity of the model, the researcher also makes a call for a data collection instrument to be distilled from the model. However, this study will undoubtedly add to the sparse literature on health-related practitioners. This position is assumed because most literature on health professions' job satisfaction/dissatisfaction favours doctors and nurses. The study will also assist in understanding some of the reasons for the often reported sense of job insecurity among practitioners in South Africa. The study has produced a model, which health-related professions can utilise to manage themselves better. It is hoped that the model will serve health-related professions with better gains, such as reduction in health-related professional attrition, elimination of low levels of trust between management and staff and reduction in high incidences of absenteeism, which constituted research problems of this study.

The merger has consequently brought about a lot of challenges on Walter Sisulu University (WSU) employees. While the amalgamation of the three historically disadvantaged institutions remains a noble initiative, on the other hand, it has brought about inequalities, such as disproportionate salaries among employees of the three campuses, poor work performance, which can only be attributed to lack of motivation and reluctance amongst the staff members to accept new conditions of service under WSU. A substantial number of those employees, some of whom were employed before the amalgamation, have terminated their service long before the merger even took place. The aim of this study was to explore the implications of the merger on the morale of employees at WSU. The objective of this study aimed firstly, to provide an understanding of those inherent factors, which adversely affected the morale of staff at Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and secondly, to reflect on the impact of the restructuring process on employees. This study employed a quantitative descriptive research design to analyse the data, using statistical procedures. Target population for this study was fifty academic and fifty non-academic staff members from the three sites of Walter Sisulu University, namely East London, Ibika and Umtata. There were, therefore, 100 questionnaires distributed electronically (e-mail), and also a few hand-delivered to the offices of the respondents, in order for them to complete at a time convenient to them. This study used purposive sampling because it is based entirely on the judgment of the researcher. The study established that indeed the merger had negative implications on WSU employees, even though these implications varied from category to category. Through the findings that emerged in this research, conclusions could be drawn that the merger brought about many challenges on WSU employees, namely staff development, human resource and management issues, job security and work environment. Suggestions and recommendations are espoused to eliminate the situation.

In this quantitative study, undertaken in a South African information and communications technology (ICT) company, dimensions of organisational culture (measured by the South African Culture Instrument) were correlated with the dimensions of work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Survey), to determine whether employees’ perceptions of organisational culture are related to their levels of work engagement. Structural equation modelling confirmed the factorial model of both measuring instruments, with most fit indices indicating the data to be a good or acceptable fit to the hypothesised model. Correlational analyses revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between each of the dimensions of organisational culture and work engagement respectively. Regression analyses showed that leadership, management processes, and goals and objectives make the strongest statistically unique contribution in predicting the dimensions of work engagement. Since work engagement has been shown to relate to several positive work outcomes, it makes sense for organisations to increase levels of work engagement by improving their organisational culture. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Increasingly, organisations are realising that they have to establish an equitable balance between the employee&rsquo / s contribution to the organisation and the organisation&rsquo / s contribution to the employee. Establishing this balance is one of the main reasons to reward and recognise employees. Organisations that follow a strategic approach to creating this balance focus on the three main components of a reward system, which includes, compensation, benefits and recognition (Deeprose, 1994). Studies that have been conducted on the topic indicates that the most common problem in organisations today is that they miss the important component of recognition, which is the low-cost, high-return ingredient to a well-balanced reward system. A key focus of recognition is to make employees feel appreciated and valued (Sarvadi, 2005). Research has proven that employees who get recognised tend to have higher self-esteem, more confidence, more willingness to take on new challenges and more eagerness to be innovative (Mason, 2001). The aim of this study is to investigate whether rewards and recognition has an impact on employee motivation. A biographical and Work Motivation Questionnaire was administered to respondents (De Beer, 1987). The sample group (N= 184) consists of male and female employees on post-grade levels 5 to 12. The results of the research indicated that there is a positive relationship between rewards, recognition and motivation. The results also revealed that women, and employees from non-white racial backgrounds experienced lower levels of rewards, recognition and motivation. Future research on the latter issues could yield interesting insights into the different factors that motivate employees. Notwithstanding the insights derived from the current research, results need to be interpreted with caution since a convenience sample was used, thereby restricting the generalisability to the wider population.

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 xii, 117 leaves / In 2005, Masonite (Africa) Ltd embarked on a level 1 learnership program, in line with the National Skills Development Strategy. Within a few months, it became apparent that there was a need to investigate the job satisfaction of the level 1 learners (learners) in the work component of their learnership program. To investigate their job satisfaction, a study was conducted which was guided by three objectives. These were: firstly to determine the general job satisfaction of the learners; secondly, to assess the satisfaction of the learners according to twenty dimensions of the job, as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and thirdly, to investigate the relationship between the job satisfaction of the learners and their demographic variables gender, age, work experience and level of education. / M

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 xii, 117 leaves / In 2005, Masonite (Africa) Ltd embarked on a level 1 learnership program, in line with the National Skills Development Strategy. Within a few months, it became apparent that there was a need to investigate the job satisfaction of the level 1 learners (learners) in the work component of their learnership program. To investigate their job satisfaction, a study was conducted which was guided by three objectives. These were: firstly to determine the general job satisfaction of the learners; secondly, to assess the satisfaction of the learners according to twenty dimensions of the job, as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and thirdly, to investigate the relationship between the job satisfaction of the learners and their demographic variables gender, age, work experience and level of education.

Increasingly, organisations are realising that they have to establish an equitable balance between the employee&rsquo / s contribution to the organisation and the organisation&rsquo / s contribution to the employee. Establishing this balance is one of the main reasons to reward and recognise employees. Organisations that follow a strategic approach to creating this balance focus on the three main components of a reward system, which includes, compensation, benefits and recognition (Deeprose, 1994). Studies that have been conducted on the topic indicates that the most common problem in organisations today is that they miss the important component of recognition, which is the low-cost, high-return ingredient to a well-balanced reward system. A key focus of recognition is to make employees feel appreciated and valued (Sarvadi, 2005). Research has proven that employees who get recognised tend to have higher self-esteem, more confidence, more willingness to take on new challenges and more eagerness to be innovative (Mason, 2001). The aim of this study is to investigate whether rewards and recognition has an impact on employee motivation. A biographical and Work Motivation Questionnaire was administered to respondents (De Beer, 1987). The sample group (N= 184) consists of male and female employees on post-grade levels 5 to 12. The results of the research indicated that there is a positive relationship between rewards, recognition and motivation. The results also revealed that women, and employees from non-white racial backgrounds experienced lower levels of rewards, recognition and motivation. Future research on the latter issues could yield interesting insights into the different factors that motivate employees. Notwithstanding the insights derived from the current research, results need to be interpreted with caution since a convenience sample was used, thereby restricting the generalisability to the wider population.

In this quantitative study, undertaken in a South African information and communications technology (ICT) company, dimensions of organisational culture (measured by the South African Culture Instrument) were correlated with the dimensions of work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Survey), to determine whether employees’ perceptions of organisational culture are related to their levels of work engagement. Structural equation modelling confirmed the factorial model of both measuring instruments, with most fit indices indicating the data to be a good or acceptable fit to the hypothesised model. Correlational analyses revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between each of the dimensions of organisational culture and work engagement respectively. Regression analyses showed that leadership, management processes, and goals and objectives make the strongest statistically unique contribution in predicting the dimensions of work engagement. Since work engagement has been shown to relate to several positive work outcomes, it makes sense for organisations to increase levels of work engagement by improving their organisational culture. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)