Thesis (MPAM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / The purpose of the study was to investigate the causes of underachievement on the annual performance plan targets in the Limpopo Department of Basic Education Head Office, and to identify possible strategies to improve the current situation. The study was guided by three objectives and secondary data were analysed to answer the research question. This study utilised a qualitative research design as it allowed the researcher to identify and develop procedures necessary to undertake this study. The study used secondary data, a desktop study to investigate the causes of underachievement in the Limpopo Department of Basic Education. Literature points out that strategic planning affects all organisations and it is considered to be the most complicated stage in the strategic management processes as it requires discipline, commitment and sacrifice. If desired goals are not achieved as planned, the organisation might be doomed to failure. The researcher managed to achieve the objectives of the study. Based on the findings of the study, underachievement on annual performance plan targets is influenced by the following major factors. The study points out that, Firstly, that lack of monitoring and support followed by insufficient budget allocated to programmes’ implementation contribute to underachievement of planned targets. Secondly, lack of commitment from top management have an impact on achievement planned targets. Finally, budget is not allocated according to the needs, inadequate leadership to oversee implementation of plans and high vacancy rate contribute to underachievement on the planned targets. In conclusion, the Departmental performance plan and individual performance plan should be directly linked to ensure improved performance and quality service to the public. Based on the findings of this study it is therefore recommended that firstly, the department should strengthen alignment of budget and plans of the department to ensure successful implementation of programmes, secondly, capacity building and skills development programmes should be enhanced to ensure a skilled workforce and improved performance.

Thesis (MPAM.(Public Administration)) --University of Limpopo, 2021 / The study investigated the impact of Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System on the performance of government. Cloete (2009) postulates that in 2005, the Executive of the State approved the Government-wide M&E System (GWM&ES) as a broad framework to examine monitoring and evaluation of activities in all government departments with a view to guaranteeing effective executive decision-making in support of execution; advisory evidence-based resource apportionment; on-going policy development; as well as review. This study specifically investigated the impact of the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System to enhance performance in the Office of the Premier in Limpopo provincial government. The common thread according to majority of the scholars and review reports on this system as shown in the literature review of this study is that government’s major challenge is that it is has become ineffective and, in the process, fails to attain the objectives it has set itself to achieve. This is largely on account of the absence of a clear-cut and coherent systematic mechanism that could enable the public sector to evaluate its performance and identify the factors which contribute to its service delivery outcomes and overall performance. In the same vein, the those charged with the responsibility to help assess the performance of government are unable to draw causal connections between the choice of policy priorities, the resourcing of those policy objectives, the programmes designed to implement them, the services delivered and their ultimate impact on communities. In this study the qualitative research methodology was adopted which was utilised to gather data. The findings of this research identified certain factors which undermine the impact of GWM&ES on government performance; the limitations to fully comprehend and integrate the system within the planning processes and above all implement the required institutional arrangements and/or mechanisms so that there is a visible impact and enhancement of the planning regime and service delivery capacity of the various institutions of the state. Although work has since begun in this regard, including the establishment of the Ministry of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in The Presidency, an inadequate institutional merger of the M&E and Planning branches in the Office of the Premier in Limpopo in particular, remains an impediment. Following the analysis of the data collected, of which was sufficient to suffice, the study concludes by proposing a set of measures to ensure that the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System has the necessary impact towards enhancing the performance of the Office of the Premier, and by extension, the entire government because the system is not only limited to one institution of the state, but also integrative by design. These measures include, amongst others, that the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System, as a system of systems, should be fully comprehended, adopted and implemented in government. This will inevitably produce the requisite results in terms of strengthening and improving evidence-based planning, policy development and budgeting, and thereby improve the performance of government, and in particular, the Office of the Premier in Limpopo. A replica study in other areas is further recommended to enhance the implementation of the system

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Organizations continuously look to improve the implementation and ultimate success of organizational change. One way to facilitate organizational change is to effectively manage employee reactions to that change. Previous research has examined the use of a due process approach, specifically in relation to the performance appraisal systems. Past results have indicated that meeting the due process criteria for adequate notice, fair hearing and judgment based on evidence positively influences employee perceptions of the performance appraisal system, organizational justice, and other key variables. The current study expands on these findings by applying the due process approach to the implementation of a merit pay system. With the main goals of a merit pay system being to retain and motivate employees, successful implementation is key. The current study measured perceptions of due process over three measurement periods during the implementation of a new merit pay system. Results demonstrated that the due process components are meaningful in the implementation of a merit pay system. Perceptions of due process predicted system satisfaction and organizational justice perceptions both within and across measurement time periods.

The purpose of this study was to understand whether strength is a prescriptive stereotype for Black women professionals in organizations. This study investigated whether a woman’s race (White or Black) affected how her level of work (overwork, not overworking, or control) was evaluated and rewarded by others (performance evaluation ratings, likelihood of promotion, and monetary rewards.) In particular, the study sought to understand whether Black women would not reap benefits for overworking, and whether they would be penalized for not overworking. In addition, the study examined whether race moderated the relationship between level of work and employee characterizations (strength, competence, laziness). This study built on previous prescriptive stereotype research that found that men, but not women, benefitted from performing organizational citizenship behaviors at work, and that women, but not men, face negative consequences when they withhold those behaviors (Allen & Rush, 2001; Heilman & Chen, 2005). This study collected responses from 235 MTurk workers to better understand how expectations of strength at work influence the career outcomes and perceptions of Black women. Results indicated that neither Black nor White women received a boost in outcomes when engaging in overwork; however, Black women, but not White women, were penalized for declining to engage in overwork. Black women received lower performance ratings, had a lower likelihood of promotion, and received lower monetary rewards when they did not overwork, while there was no difference for White women. Furthermore, Black women were perceived as less competent and lazier when they were not overworking. These findings imply a unique type of double bind for Black women, who may face burnout before reaping the benefits of overworking, and yet are also penalized if they set boundaries around how much they work.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of training and development on employee performance at Mamelodi Clinics, Gauteng Province. This study was guided by the following objectives. To determine the perceived effect of training and development courses on skills development of professional nurses in the Mamelodi clinics, Gauteng Province. To explore the perceived effect of training and development courses on the performance of professional nurses in the Mamelodi clinics, Gauteng Province. To examine which of the attended short courses are more effective in improving the skills of professional nurses. To find out which short courses, according to the professional nurses in the study, were found to be ineffective and unnecessary. The study was of importance to future researchers and academicians as it added new insight into the existing information with regards to employee training and development. It also provided the department of health, both nationally and provincially with an understanding of successes and challenges inherent to training and development and their corresponding effect on employee performance. As a result, this had a contribution towards how training and development are carried out within the organisation. A qualitative research design was deployed in this study to allow investigation of the possible relationship between training and development as well as to establish a comparison between the two. The study population was 45 staff of Mamelodi Clinics which were approved for this study. The data was collected through a questionnaire. Percentages, means, cross-tabulation were used as means of data analysis. The findings were presented using tables and figures. In terms of training and development, the study was able to show that all Mamelodi Clinics under department of health Gauteng Province, has a range of training programmes for different staff of their clinics, and are of high quality standard and very effective. As a result, employee skills, overall performance of staff, and general competence of the employee has sharply increased due to training and development v methods and strategies put in place by department of health, both provincially and nationally. The study showed that in terms of employee performance and motivation, training and development programmes help in increasing employee motivation and thus performance. Employees are thus able to successfully be aligned with the goals, aims and missions of the clinics and the department of health, as well as the Batho Pele principles. The study concludes that training and development have positive effects on employees. The study was able to find that within the clinics, employees are given adequate chance to engage in training and development courses. The study concludes further that more training and development programmes should be undertaken. The study recommends that there should be regularly assessments on employees and their subsequent need for further training and development courses in order to increase employee satisfaction and performance.

No description available.

One hundred and twenty six undergraduates were cast into a supervisory role in which they worked with a subordinate (confederate) for two twenty minute work sessions. Subjects were placed into one of nine conditions. Subordinate reaction (positive, negative, or none) and subsequent performance (increased, decreased, or same) were manipulated by the confederate. Both reaction conditions were predicted to influence a leniency bias in the supervisor's rating behavior, and either increase (negative reaction), or decrease (positive reaction) amount of supervision. Also, supervisors exposed to the positive reaction were hypothesized to provide more self attributions, while supervisors in the negative reaction group should tend toward greater self-serving attributions. In addition, supervisor response to interpersonal attraction, conflict avoidance, and uncertainty scales were obtained. Both ratings and amount of supervision measures failed to yield significant results. Partial support was found for the attribution hypothesis, and differences on the interpersonal attraction scales were obtained for the experimental reaction conditions. Implications of the results and suggestions for possible research are discussed. / Master of Science

The present investigation examined the effects of three factors - feedback sign, performance discrepancy, and attributional discrepancy - on reactions to feedback as measured by three groups of dependent variables (reactions against the feedback itself, reactions against the feedback source, and reactions against the feedback system). Hypothesis 1 was supported in that feedback sign affected feedback reactions as predicted. Hypotheses 2 and 3 were not supported as feedback sign did not interact in the expected manner with performance discrepancy or attributional discrepancy. However, performance discrepancy and attributional discrepancy were identified as important determinants of feedback reactions as well. The results of this study are discussed with respect to control theory and implications for organizational settings. Suggestions are made regarding the direction of future research. / Ph. D.

The present field experiment investigated the effect of Greenberg's procedural justice model on a performance appraisal system. Greenberg's justice elements were implemented in an appraisal system which previously did not contain these factors. Including these elements increased employee satisfaction with the appraisal system. The model proposed to account for this increase in satisfaction did not appropriately fit the data. Further methods for assessing possible causal paths were investigated. Several methodological considerations are proposed for future research. / Master of Science

Employees desire performance feedback which helps them understand what they are doing well, what they are doing wrong, and how to develop so that they can advance in their careers. Yet, many comment that they do not receive enough performance feedback to help them understand if they are being successful in their work or where they can improve. In this qualitative study, I pursued the question of what might prevent supervisors from providing performance feedback to their direct reports by interviewing a group of front-line supervisors and their wardens in two Midwest Prisons. My goal was to identify what the supervisor participants believed performance feedback was, how they understood and explained their personal feedback delivery practices, and how they learned to deliver feedback. My research methodology involved three stages of data collection, including collecting a range of documents from the prison system, one-on-one interviews with the two wardens who led the two prisons involved in the study, and one-on-one interviews with 16 Sergeants. I leveraged Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC) as the theoretical lens of this study. As Kolb (2014) explains, every time an individual has an experience, they have the opportunity to learn from that experience. I was curious to understand if a group of supervisors in a correctional work environment learned how to deliver and improve upon their performance feedback practices through the on-going delivery of feedback. Through the data analysis process, I found that both Warden participants deeply valued performance feedback as a teaching method and see it as an important method supervisors can utilize to enhance Correction Officer (CO) growth and development. Additionally, I found that the majority of supervisor participants (15/16) believed and understood delivery of performance feedback to COs to be a function of their rank, while a slightly smaller majority (10/16) explained it as a responsibility of their rank. Further, I found that the supervisor participants naturally employed a comprehensive range of performance feedback best practices including being positive and supportive (14/16), providing praise for work done well (13/16), correcting poor performance or incorrect understanding of policy or procedure (12/16), and conducting the feedback exchange as a conversation (10/16). Finally, I found that the supervisors’ beliefs and understandings of how they learned to provide performance feedback align with Kolb’s ELC. A majority (13/16) of the supervisor participants explained that they learned to deliver performance feedback through experience (having an experience, ELC first mode) in the supervisory role, while half of the supervisor participants (8/16) described how they learned to deliver performance feedback to Correction Officers (COs) through reflecting on prior experience (reflecting on experience, ELC second mode). Several of the supervisor participants (5/16) explained how they thought through and planned (Abstract Conceptualization, ELC third mode) their feedback conversations with COs, while a small minority (2/16) of the participants spoke to their practice of experimenting with new approaches when delivering performance feedback (Active Experimentation, ELC fourth mode) to COs. I close my study by offering recommendations based on the findings to front-line supervisors, wardens, and to trainers and educators working within correctional organizations.