This study explores for gender-based differences in the determinants of employee acceptance of organizational change among employees at the University of Botswana. Utilising a sample of 360 respondents drawn from academic and managerial staff the study sought to test for male-female differences in the acceptance of change, explore for male-female differences in the major factors that affect acceptance of change, and to test for male-female differences in the effects of the major determinants of acceptance of organizational change. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data required for the study. The bulk of the data were analysed using SPSS statistical package with the t-test and regression (beta) coefficients ~s the key test statistics. The study showed that the overall acceptance of organizational change among employees was moderate with male and female employees being equally likely to accept the changes taking place at the workplace. However, the sexes differed significantly in the levels of 10 of the 20 determinants of acceptance of change analysed with women, relative to men, being substantially lower in promotional opportunity, work overload, job-skill match, participative management, trust in leadership, receptivity, and in job satisfaction and higher in routinization, enthusiasm, and desire to leave. Results for regression analyses showed that eight (8) of 19 substantive variables were significant determinants of acceptance of change for all employees. However, separate regression models for men and women revealed that 11 of 19 substantive factors were significant determinants of acceptance of change for males compared to two factors for females. Although the level of acceptance of change does not differ by the sex, male and female employees have different orientations to the change processes taking place in the organization and warrant separate treatment by management if organizational change is to be successful and yield the desired results. / Thesis (M.Admin (Public admin)) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2003

Learning organization and organizational learning are concepts that have been explored extensively in the literature. Interestingly, there seems to be a lot that organizations can still learn from the concept of organizational learning. Using the practitioner research methodology, this research project attempted to explore how applicable the theory of learning organization is at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT). Practitioner research allows the practitioner to reflect on his or her practice with the intention of improving the practice. As the Skills Development practitioner, I am motivated to improve workplace learning at MUT. The literature review conducted for this study has revealed that workplace learning has an enormous impact on both the performance and the image of organizations. As the environment in which organizations operate in the 21st century is very turbulent and demands dynamic people to function within the structure, employees need to share knowledge, and learn and re-learn new skills. To explore the intensity of workplace learning at MUT a survey and focus group was used. The findings revealed that MUT is on a journey of becoming a learning organisation; given all the efforts it has put in place to strengthen workplace learning. Workplace learning is encouraged at MUT. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

This thesis spotlights a social group pilgrimage site staff heretofore neglected in anthropological research. The main subjects are the Resident Group ('ressies') working at the lona Community's guest centres. Based on an accumulative 16-month fieldwork, the ethnographic evidence challenges the assumptions that pilgrims' 'sacred' encounters are unmediated, that site staff passively acquiesce with the dominant ideology, and that the production of pilgrimage experience is unproblematic. Building on existing paradigms of pilgrimage as 'contested', 'movement'-oriented, and a form of'practice', the Turners' classic view of pilgrimage as rite de passage is deployed to show that 'place' and 'landscape' are key themes in people's understanding of and engagement with this ancient pilgrimage isle today. Part I lays the theoretical and methodological groundwork and introduces the research locale, locating it within recent Celtic revivalisms. It also addresses how the lona Community (ressies' employers) situate their religio-political vision within the wider sociological and theological contexts of contemporary British Christianity. Part II recounts the historical and contemporary formulations of lona pilgrimage and tourism. A Heideggerian perspective of 'dwelling' illuminates how devotees appropriate lona's 'sacred' geography as a resource for personal revelation and self- transformation. Ethnographic accounts of visitors' 'Iona experience' are provided as a comparative foil to the site staff who enable this distinctive pilgrimage encounter. Part III explores ressies' motivations, discourses, and experiences at lona as a locus of 'holistic' work (and worship). It elucidates their complex relationship with the lona Community and how ressies contest their idealised corporate identity. Van Gennep's concept of 'liminality' and Ardener's 'paradox of remote places' emerge as central themes in analysing ressies' 'betwixt and between' 'selves'. An investigation of the social and ideological structures of the Resident Group setup as a 'total institution' further reveals the impact of the 'leaving lona' rhetoric and reality upon ressies' post-Iona lives.

The origins of the labour movement in Argentina have received little detailed attention from historians, who have generally neglected the years before 1930 in favour of developments associated with Perón and Peronism. Such secondary literature as does exist consists largely of personal memoirs. Moreover, most studies have examined these early years from a general standpoint, regarding the period as a prelude to Peronism instead of treating it in its own right. Detailed analysis of the subject is still in its early stages. The origins of Argentine labour organisation date from the period of rapid economic expansion and mass immigration before 1914. The footplatemen's union was founded in 1887, and a relative wealth of documentary material testifies to the durable and stable growth of organisation in this sector; the vicissitudes of organisation in other railway trades can also be traced from the various working class journals. The railway sector was crucial to the export economy and the growth of the beef and wheat markets, as has been emphasised in economic histories of Argentina. By contrast, the history of railway trade unions and the development of industrial relations on the railways have been neglected. This thesis sets out to fulfil two necessary functions. No adequate basic account of the origins and development of Argentine railway unions exists outside the official union histories. These provide a somewhat tendentious picture, responding to policy needs at the time of writing and relying heavily on hindsight. Thus the first part of my thesis provides a narrative outline of the struggles between 1887, when the footplate union La Fraternidad was founded, and 1922, when the general rail union was consolidated in its present form as Unión Ferroviaria. These chapters trace the steady growth of La Fraternidad from its original, inward-looking base to its eventual standing as an influential and effective craft union. This development contrasts with the difficulties attendant on the organisation of a lasting general rail union for other trades. The initial success and ultimate collapse of the Railwaymen's Confederation (1902-1908), and the transformation of the Railway Workers' Federation (FOF) into a solid counterpart to La Fraternidad in 1922 illustrate the practical problems and ideological dilemmas faced by unions and their organisers in the period. At the same time, particular attention is given to the history of the large-scale strike movements on the railways of 1896, 1907-1908, 1912 and 1917, which are discussed with lesser railway disputes in the context of other contemporary labour unrest. The second purpose of this thesis is to examine the broad themes which emerge consistently from the narrative account. In this way, the particular development of organised railway labour provides a framework for consideration of more general aspects of the early Argentine labour movement. The ideological formation of the union movement is considered with reference to the railwayman's case. This entails discussion of the nature of the immigrant influence in unions and the reasons why political parties (Socialists, Communists and Radicals) failed to dominate labour organisation. Anarchism, generally accepted as a dominant union ideology in Argentina, is reassessed and shown to have been considerably tempered by practical considerations. It was largely superseded by syndicalism, whose growth is explained in terms of changes in union structure and aspirations, which in turn responded to the development of the economy. Large and successful unions dominated a syndicalist movement which between 1915 and 1921 - years of many important industrial conflicts - was exceptionally reformist. Syndicalist unions controlled a greater proportion of the organised working class in Argentina than anywhere else in the world at this time; for this reason their successful anti-political but reformist attitudes and organisation deserve extensive examination. Closely connected with the nature of Argentine union ideology is the question of the relationship between unions and the government; the development of this relationship is a key to the understanding of the union movement to this day. It emerges from this study that the government was concerned with the 'social question' and its possible political implications from the turn of the century. Moreover, despite repressive legislation and revolutionary union rhetoric, there was extensive contact between labour leaders and government officials from an early date. The railwaymen, consistently regarded as a special case, were increasingly protected by legislation on pensions and conditions of work, but in spite of government pressure they resisted efforts to restrict freedom of union action. While exceptional because of their strategic economic role, railway workers still qualify as pioneers of the use by unions of legal remedies and state institutions for their own benefit. The subordination of ideological to practical considerations caused the railway unions to adopt centralised organisation, contrary to anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist theory and unlike many smaller, more local, but active components of the union federations. However, it took the general rail unions the thirty-five years spanned in this study to arrive at the degree of centralisation established by La Fraternidad in 1887. The story of this change involves consideration of the railway unions' place in relation to other unions; by the 1920s, it is clear that successful national unions in large-scale capitalist enterprises were adopting similar modes of organisation, though the only comparable group at the time was the Maritime Workers' Federation (FOM), another transport sector. Argentine railway unions had many structural similarities with their successful European counterparts. Since railwaymen formed a higher proportion of unionised workers in Argentina than in more diverse and developed capitalist economies, their influence in the general union movement was even greater than elsewhere.

Organisations today operate under extreme pressures to be effecient and productive to meet the challenges of globalisation. The concern for best utilisation of available human resources is at the core of the movement for effeciency and productivity. There is a growing realisation that the quality of top managers, irrespective of gender, is critical to the success and survival of organisations. This has made the advancement of women managers to the top managerial hierarchy an organisational imperative rather than merely an equity issue. Recognising this need, career advancement of women managers, in recent years, has emerged as an important area of research in the field of gender and management. A number of studies have been conducted to examine the factors affecting women's advancement in management careers. Although these studies provide a useful insight into the phenomenon of scarcity of women in top management, they are parochial in nature and are limited in focus. These studies are largely based on the experiences of women managers in the western and industrialised countries and focus only on the personal and organisational factors overlooking the broader societal context. Hence, recently, the need for incorporating systemic dimension into theoretical discourse as well as empirical research on managerial advancement of women has been recognised to explore this phenomenon across cultures. This study develops a gender-organisation-system model of managerial advancement to study the factors affecting career advancement of women. The model is applied to the federal civil service of Pakistan, the largest single employer of women in a non-western, developing and Islamic country. The data are collected using triangulation of methods, self-administered questionnaire, face-to-face interviews and documentation. A sample of 300 civil servants was randomly selected for the study. The findings are based on the analysis of the results of 138 questionnaires received and 30 interviews and examination of the status of women in Pakistani society and the civil service through documentation. The study reveals an inventory of personal, organisational and systemic factors that may facilitate or impede advancement of women civil servants in Pakistan. At the personal level, dual commitment to family and career poses a great dilemma to women civil servants. While parental encouragement, spouse's support, socioeconomic background and educational achievements facilitate women civil servants, the potential barriers to their career advancement are spouse career, time away from family and difficulty in relocation. At the organisational level, women are denied equal career opportunities through indirect and subtle forms of discriminatory practices including gender streaming, work segregation, limited opportunities of training, mentoring and networking. These covert forms of discrimination often go unnoticed and are perpetuated due to a number of organisational factors such as gender-biased selection processes, regional and military quotas, absence of lateral entry, lack of women friendly policies and absence of women from important decision making bodies. The gender and organisational factors affecting career advancement of women civil servants are the mirror images of the role and status of women in Pakistani society. The cultural norms, values, and perceptions about the role of women in society, low level of gender development and gender empowerment, and absence of legal institutional framework for addressing issues of sex discrimination at work are the major systemic factors that adversely affect women's advancement in the civil service hierarchy. The study reveals similarities as well as differences between women administrators in Pakistan and western and non-western countries. Pakistani women administrators like women managers in the other countries are not in any sense less than their counterparts in terms of career commitment, managerial ability and self-confidence. They face barriers that arise from two major forces counteracting their career aspirations, work-family conflict and institutionalised discrimination. However these constraints in Pakistan are not only different in nature and forms but are more intense due to rigid sex-role demarcation and strong family orientation compared with western and industrialised countries. Hence, coping strategies at personal, organisational and systemic levels to deal with these pressures are also different. The study makes several policy recommendations to facilitate women aspiring for managerial careers in general and women civil servants in particular, which includes institutionalised child care, anti-discrimination legislation, flexible working practices, review of recruitment, selection and promotion system, affirmative action, a balanced representation of women in decisionary bodies and gender sensitivity training. Though traditional societal values are in conflict with women's work outside the private sphere, these recommendations if adopted may bring a positive change towards gender equality in managerial careers in Pakistan including the civil service.

Through the adoption of triangulated methodologies,this thesis seeks to evaluate the success of two large organisations in adopting empowerment initiatives. By focusing on two operating units in each organisation, it considers perceptions of empowerment at the non-managerial employee level and the effects on these perceptions of personality, orientations to work and the contexts of the units and their organisations. Through the use of management interviews, employee focus groups and questionnaires completed by non-managerial employees, the research indicates that aspects of the individual, whilst often contributing to attitudes towards empowerment, do not directly effect whether or not employees feel empowered. Rather, it concludes that job insecurity, management behaviour and the union/management relationship have a larger effect. However, what arises as central to the acceptance of empowerment in modern organisations is the clarity with which the policy is introduced. This thesis finds that organisations introduce ambiguous, mystical messages to their employees which merely cause confusion and unmatched expectations and that rather than increasing staff commitment, organisations are further alienating their employees.

Balancing the spheres of employment and family can be an overwhelming task for many employed family members. Jobs are often inflexibly structured and reward systems in organizations are often based on restrictive definitions of career "commitment". As a result, these outmoded organizational structures and erroneous assumptions can penalize employees with family responsibilities. Through their initiation and maintenance of job sharing arrangements, women are actively challenging the validity of such organizational practices. Job sharing allows one to remain active and effective in his or her chosen career while devoting more time to home, family and personal pursuits. Women and men's experience as family members, parents, and employees is constrained by socially constructed notions of gender. Their different actions and experience in this regard affect how they attempt to balance their employment and family responsibilities, as well as how they perceive the job sharing option.

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The research project focuses on aspects of multi-skilling as utilized in academic libraries internationally which contributes to providing a quality service delivery. The researcher&rsquo / s extensive literature search, focuses on aspect of multi-skilling programs such as: job rotation, cross-training, job enrichment, on-the-job training, and succession planning conducted at academic libraries in America, Australia, Canada, Birmingham, Nigeria, Kenya, Botswana and South Africa. Multi-skilling can be seen as the umbrella term for the above concepts.<br /> <br /> It was found in the literature that aspects of multi-skilling as applied in American academic libraries was a voluntary process and often occurred between the Public service and the Technical service within academic libraries. At Wollongong, Queensland and Birmingham academic libraries the program was formal, and staff had to apply to enrol for the program. This does not mean that staff qualified automatically. This was a formalized policy within the university. In Nigeria, Kenya and Botswana the program, at academic libraries was formal but literature does not indicate if it is a university policy or just the academic library&rsquo / s policy.<br /> The immense benefits derived from all the aspects of multi-skilling are: contributes towards employee training and development / employee satisfaction / reduction in boredom / increased productivity / enhances job skills / increased versatility / career mobility and advancement / increased intellectual stimulation and confidence / enhances workers&rsquo / flexibility and broadens their knowledge / achieves efficiency in the workplace / helps break down barriers in efficiency which exists on many levels / better communication between the various units in the library / and better understanding of responsibility involved in other units.<br /> <br /> For academic libraries to become effective, the management of service organizations needs to create a climate in which staff will function effectively, be happy and derive maximum satisfaction from their work. Academic libraries exist for the benefit of their users, supporting the teaching and research programs of their parent institutions. To achieve this objective, the academic library manager needs to have effective staff organization strategies devised to ensure best quality service delivery to its users.<br /> These strategies employed are job rotation, cross training, job enrichment, succession planning and on-the-job training that will ultimately contribute towards provision of a quality service delivery.

This research set out to explore cognitive processes involved in learning among help desk consultants, both apprentices and experts.