The effectiveness of the design and construction team in meeting clients’ requirements entirely depends on the competency proficiency of the design and construction teams. This research presents a model of the important competencies required by the design and construction teams in order to provide a competent service as seen by the client. A review of related literature followed by interviews by selected practitioners yielded 29 architectural competencies, 31 civil engineering competencies, 32 construction management competencies, 31 project management competencies, and 33 quantity surveying competencies that were presented in a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 52 developers from a census of developers and municipality managers in South Africa. Respondents were asked to rank or rate: the level of importance of each competency for a career in that specific discipline; how evident that competency is in the specific discipline in South Africa; the level of importance of the performance parameters to clients, and the extent to which the various disciplines realise client satisfaction relative to the various performance parameters. The techniques of re-scaling, principal component analysis, content analysis, ranking and quadrant analysis were applied to the data. Results showed a high degree of consistency among respondents in all disciplines, regardless of the demographic differences in the importance of the competencies. A factor solution was obtained for every discipline using principal component analysis on the important competencies of each discipline. The various factor solutions were in turn used to formulate a simplified model. The model shows that the factors are interdependent and interacting. The model indicates that primary competencies for each profession are supported by mostly secondary competencies. These factors v are in turn influenced by the inter-relationships between the practitioners, continued professional development/ research and universities, which are then in turn, influenced the governing bodies. The local and global environment then ultimately influences the governing bodies. An Importance-Evidence quadrant analysis was undertaken in order to integrate the rankings of the current importance levels and current proficiency levels for each discipline’s competencies, which helped to identify areas in which education and training is immediately needed. Respondents ranked all nine performance parameters above average which indicates that there are more than the traditional performance parameters of cost, quality, and time involved in satisfying clients. The research concluded that vital feedback from clients regarding the competencies required by the respective professionals in the design and construction team was obtained.

The South African banking industry is currently facing increasing macro- and micro-environmental pressures which had led banks to move towards customer-oriented strategies. This has influenced the way their systems and processes are developed and innovated to provide a satisfactory service to their clients. It appears that service quality has been the differentiating factor that has set the competitors apart in providing their customers with a unique customer experience through client relationships and interaction. As a consequence, banks have resorted to implementing various training and leadership interventions as a driver, to effectively empower their employees to improve service quality The aim of this research study was to identify the impact that training and leadership programmes implemented by a particular branch of Standard Bank South Africa (SBSA) had on employee empowerment. This was achieved through a comprehensive literature review and an empirical study to measure whether employees had perceived themselves to be empowered. The results from this study will be used by the Human Resource Division of SBSA to evaluate and implement effective training methods for the employees of the selected branch in order to improve employee empowerment. This would serve as a great benefit for the bank as employees that are satisfied with the work are generally more productive, hence producing increased revenue for the organisation. An empirical study was embarked on to measure the respondents’ perception of being empowered and involved a survey of eighty-three employees of the retail branch in the Sandton, Johannesburg area. Forty-three of the employees responded to the anonymous questionnaire and the data obtained was analysed and interpreted into meaningful results. The results of the survey indicated that the majority of the employees at the selected branch perceived themselves to be empowered and it was concluded that the implementation of the training and leadership programmes by SBSA had a positive impact on them. The following recommendations were made: - Firstly, to increase training and development, in the form of leadership courses, inter-departmental learning and on-the-job training sessions to develop the employees to their full potential; - Secondly, management needs to encourage employees to participate in discussion forums and staff meetings and involve them in decision-making thus improving the perceived lack of a free-flow of information and transparency within the workplace; - Thirdly, team leaders and supervisors should encourage support and coaching of the junior employees by giving them constructive on-going feedback, supporting their ideas, delegating tasks, and giving them direction on the way forward; - Fourthly, a review of the reward and recognition system would be advisable where employees are rewarded (financially or non-financially) for a job or task well done, or to promote certain behaviours and attitudes in the workplace; and - Finally, it was recommended that the employees be informed and educated on the benefits, associated for both the employees and the organisation, of the Scheme in order to increase their commitment and performance. The empowerment of employees in the organisation is important as it involves employees who take responsibility for their decisions and actions because they are primarily the ones who solve the problems in their own teams. Empowerment in organisations can thus lead to less absenteeism, lower employee turnover, less employee training costs, increased employee satisfaction and more productive employees.

Since the democratisation of South Africa in 1994, new emphasis was placed on therole of structures of authority put in place by government. As in most other countries these structures operate on national, provincial and local levels. Particular prominence was placed on local authorities, responsible to act as custodians of the communities they serve by rendering essential services and products, upholding the local democracy and complying to the democracy’s developmental role within their jurisdiction. Management of local authorities are highlighted because of the direct and visual delivery of essential services to the communities they serve. The prominence of their responsibilities, more than in other spheres of government, are emphasised by the fact that its efficacy is critically and directly tested on an on-going basis by the communities within its boundaries – it affects the life and often the quality of life of almost everybody. Local authorities derive their status and power from the Constitution which states, inter alia, that the executive and legislative authority of municipalities is vested in their municipal council. Furthermore municipalities have the right to govern on own initiative the local government affairs of their communities subject to national and provincial legislation but with the proviso that these levels of government are not allowed to compromise or impede on the municipality’s ability or right to properly perform its functions or exercise its rights. In terms of the Constitution the municipal councils are democratically elected bodies based on the multiparty political dispensation of the community. In accordance the governance of a municipality is vested in the politically convictions and preferences of the council who, by virtue of legislation applicable to local authorities, is entitled to appoint the Municipal Manager and Managers reporting directly to it. Since councils are term bound elected bodies – which in addition may change its composition due to interim and by-elections and the transient nature of political expediencies – the appointment of municipalities’ senior executives are for limited duration only, with terms linked to those of the councils.This treatise will focus on the effect of the above on these managers and their ability to fulfil their constitutional duties with professionalism, fairness and objectivity whilst endeavouring to juggle community needs, political preferences, and self-preservation without impacting negatively on the provision of service of excellence. Specific attention will be given to practices that evolved within the sphere of local authorities pertaining to this type of employee and the compliances and conflicts of such with existing and proposed amended labour legislation – both factual and within the spirit and intent of the Constitution. Due to the intricate relationship between the different spheres of government and legislation involved, it was necessary to first deal with the background against which senior municipal managers are employed in order to discuss the employment relationship per se.

This research project investigated the question, What are the qualitatively different conceptions of instruction held by instructors of adults in the workplace? The research approach of phenomenography was used to discover how instructors of adults interpreted their instructional experiences. The sample studied consisted of twenty-two members of the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development who were trainers in various workplace settings. The respondents' understandings of instruction were sought through semi-structured interviews that focused on one of their instructional experiences. Three conceptions were found through an iterative process of examining units of meaning in the context of the individual interview and the context of all the interviews. The global meaning of each conception is: instruction is (a) imparting information to learners who receive and apply it on the job (Transmission Conception), (b) assisting learners to share and apply ideas and experiences (Enablement Conception), and (c) involving learners in an experiential process of discovering and constructing meaning (Constructive Conception). The structure of each conception was then analyzed to maximize the differences among them. Several findings emerged: (a) each conception had several components that were more clearly about learning than about instruction; (b) all the conceptions had one structural component that was the same - learning involves applying new knowledge on the job -suggesting that this may be an essential component of instruction in the workplace; and (c)two characteristics of meaning and connectedness appear to divide the conceptions placing the Transmission and Enablement Conceptions on one side and the Constructive Conception on the other. It was concluded that (a) there are more than the two dichotomous ways of viewing the instruction of adults that is suggested in the literature (teacher-controlled and collaborative); (b) there appears to be a generic conception of instruction common to many settings, that instruction is about transmitting information; (c) understandings of knowledge are related to conceptions of instruction; and (d) the context in which instruction occurs is a framing factor for thinking about instruction. The set of conceptions that was found can be used to study instructors' thinking about instruction in other settings as well as for their training and ongoing development. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This study deals with the indirect effects of industrial technology upon the behavior of first-line supervisors. Homans' paradigm of the constituents of social behavior, and Woodward's observations regarding organizational correlates of technology provide the rationale for the enunciation of specific hypotheses pertaining to the nature of supervisory activities, interactions and sentiments associated with each of three categories of industrial technology. The validity of the specific hypotheses is tested thru a secondary analysis of data reported in a number of observational studies of organizational behavior. The perennial "man in the middle” concept of the first-line supervisor is rejected. It is not a valid ideal-type concept that is representative of supervisory behavior in all forms of contemporary production organizations. It appears that the dominant mode of technology within a production organization or work unit affects organization structure and processes. The latter phenomena seem to be important factors shaping supervisory role demands, characteristics of work environment, and, hence, supervisory behavior. Thus, the study suggests the utility of three ideal-type constructs of supervisory behavior; one for each of the three categories of technology. Unit-and small-batch-production technology Role demands include an important technical element. Administrative activities include personally attending to personnel matters, production reports and specifications, and coordinating and monitoring work flow through the unit. Interactions with fellow supervisors along the work flow are minimally required. Interactions with both subordinates and staff specialists are typically task-oriented, face-to-face and devoid of conflict. Interactions with superiors may be mediated by the reports of staff specialists if the latter are found in the organization. Sentiments toward subordinates, superiors and staff specialists tend to be neutral to friendly in tone and fairly constant over time. Mass-production-assembly-line technology The supervisor typically neither possesses, nor is required to possess, a significant body of technical knowledge or set of technical skills. Administrative activities are directed toward coordinating and monitoring work flow through the unit, and, in general, achieving the collaboration of others. These activities are effected by verbal interactions, mainly with non-workers such as staff specialists. The requirement for interactions with fellow supervisors along the work flow ranges from being minimally required to inherent in the productive process. Interactions with staff specialists are face-to-face, task-oriented, and typically hostile. Interactions with superiors tend to be task-oriented, hostile and heavily mediated by the reports of staff specialists. Supervisory interactions with subordinates tend to be face-to-face, frequently hostile, and primarily task-oriented. The sentiments of supervisors toward subordinates, and particularly superiors, are characteristically those of defense and hostility; they are unstable over time. Sentiments toward staff specialists tend to be neutral to hostile and generally stable over time. Continuous-process technology Role demands of the supervisor include an important technical element; technical advice is both sought from and given to subordinates and staff specialists. As the degree of automaticity of production control increases, the need for coordination of work flow within and between units decreases; similarly for the requirement for exclusively task-oriented interactions with other organization actors. Administrative activities include inspection and control functions designed to assure the safety of both personnel and the process and equipment. Interactions with subordinates and staff specialists tend to allow for the mutual evaluation of technical issues. As the degree of automaticity of production control increases, such interactions tend to be characterized by the exchange of advice and information. Sentiments are generally neutral to friendly and slightly unstable over time. V.V. Murray, Supervisor / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

Master of Science

"The objective of this study is the establishment of a workable restaurant personnel policy that will one day be set up as the policy in the writer's restaurant. In order to secure a basis, a survey was made of the policies existing in some of the restaurants in this locality. After surveying these conditions the writer made a study of the factors included in personnel policies in general and those pertinent to the restaurant industry"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "March, 1950." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science under Plan II." / Advisor: J. Frank Dame, Professor Directing Study. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-57).

The restaurant industry has long been characterized by a high rate of "turnover, low wages, primitive technology, controlling management and an unimpressive benefits package"(Sullivan, 1999). " The most serious issue for employers today -in all industries- is hiring and keeping qualified and capable employees" according to Donald Marshack, senior analyst at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)(2000). The primary purpose of this study was to examine the perceived notion that the compensation plan of Outback Steakhouse reduces the intention to turnover of its unit level managing partners. Specifically the research focused on a survey of general manager's attitudes in regards to their intentions to seek out new employment and the effect of the compensation plan provided by Outback Steakhouse on their intention to turnover. The Objective of the study was to investigate the current management compensation practices of the managing partners of Outback Steakhouse, while identifying the relationship between management compensation and the intention to turnover for proprietors at Outback Steakhouse restaurants. A further objective was to establish the relationship between employee turnover and employee turnover intentions as a predictor of separation from an organization. A survey instrument was utilized to gather information for this study was sent by mail to all of the 600 general managers of Outback Steakhouses listed on the company's web site in the US. The survey contained questions designed to measure the influence of the compensation package on the general managers' intent to turnover, and the degree of influence each element of the compensation package had on their intention to quit. The results showed that the correlation coefficient indicated 5 out of the 8 monetary compensation variables had a significant positive relationship with the compensation plan and reducing turnover intentions. A forward regression analysis was conducted comparing all of the compensation elements. This was done for the purpose of determining which variables would be the best predictors of respondents desire to stay with Outback because of the positive influence the compensation package, as a whole, has on them. When the computations were completed, two variables, deferred compensation and stock option, explained 41.7% of the sample variation (R² = .417) and 39.8% of the population variation (Adjusted R² = .398). / Master of Science

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATlON in the DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY of the UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 1999. / • To pursue a study pertaining to the educational needs of employees and the needs of their spouses at certain private companies. • To institute certain guidelines, based on the findings of both a literature study and structured interviews, for private companies to realize the educational needs of their employees and their spouses. A basic point of departure is that companies have an educational responsibility towards their employees. Employee education is a universal phenomenon that is valid for all employees. During this study it was found that certain companies acknowledge the need for educating their employees, which they regard as an investment in human capital. Because the company is engaged in the advancement and development of its employees, the spouses and children are not left behind in the development and advancement process. It has become the responsibility of employers to improve human resources because they are future assets of the company. Employees are engaged in empowerment programmes which uplift the labour force with job-related skills as well as life skills. Labour relations in South African companies have greatly improved due to the employers' acceptance of labour rights. The acceptance of labour rights in companies harmonises the relationships between employers and employees. Productivity becomes the joint effort of the employers and employees. Employers' expectations are determined by employees' educational expectations. Employees are in dire need of educational expertise, and on the other hand employers expect a high rate of productivity. Whilst employees' educational needs are visualized by responsible employers, others have been found to be inadequate in designing educational programmes to uplift and inculcate job know-how to serve the employees, educational needs. Employee empowerment programmes are needed to advance job related skills, but are inadequate as empowerment programmes need to address illiteracy, numeracy and financial assistance. The review of the literature has emphasised the importance of the employees' skills education, employees' empowerment and life skills programmes, and role of an employers' educational responsibility in treating and preventing illiteracy and numeracy. The literature studied and interviews conducted have shown that not all employers have responsibility for the education of their employees, their spouses and children. Education of the labour force, their spouses and children involving lay people in running the company programmes and the development of better services in the company, are discussed as ways and means of preventing illiteracy and numeracy. In the light of the findings of this research, the following was recommended: • That educational programmes directed at employees, their spouses and children are essential for the prevention of illiteracy and numeracy, and should be implemented. • That employees' training programmes with regard to job skills and life skills are needed and should be made available • That financial assistance from private companies should be made available for the education of the children of employees.

Companies lose an average of $1,000 in profit each year for every employee who feels disengaged and uncommitted to the firm's success. Employee engagement is critical to an organization's productivity, profitability, and competitive edge. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that business leaders in a service organization use to increase employee engagement and work performance. The conceptual framework for this study was Homans's social exchange theory. A purposeful sample of 6 company leaders participated in the study based on their success in developing strategies that enhanced employee engagement and performance in an advertising services firm headquartered in Indiana. The study included semistructured interviews to gather in-depth information from participants about their successes related to employee engagement. Conducting member checking with participants and triangulating the data with company documents reinforced the validity of the findings. Data analysis involved using a manual and a computer-aided approach to compile the data, disassemble the data into codes, and reassemble the data into themes. Four key themes emerged: leaders offer attractive company benefits, including flexible work arrangements; leaders empower and appreciate employees; leaders provide professional development opportunities; and leaders foster unity through open communication and team building. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase employee engagement and performance within firms in the service industry, which can help increase profitability. Higher profitability can enable organizational leaders to financially address social issues such as poverty, which may benefit members of their communities.