Thesis (M. Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Motivation is an internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need and the will to accomplish. Motivation has the role to develop and intensify the desire of every individual member of the organization to work effectively and efficiently in the area of operation. Dilokong hospital has recently experienced a high number of resignations by employees. The performance of services by the hospital staff members has declined. The government, which is responsible for implementing the national policies and programmes relating to motivation and performance, has failed many times in the recent years over performance and rewards as well as the working conditions. It is against this background that the researcher has persuaded a study on the impact of motivation on employee performance at the Dilokong hospital in the Sekhukhune District of the Limpopo Province. The general objective of the study is to determine the impact of motivation on employee performance; to identify factors that motivate employees to perform better; to suggest strategies that can be used by managers to enhance the motivation and performance of the employees in their sphere of operation. A mixed methods research design was used, implying both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data and content analysis for the qualitative part. The study revealed that promotion, incentives and good working conditions are the major factors that enhance employee motivation and performance. The study has also revealed that (rewards) money is deemed to be the best motivator to any individual. The employees at the hospital were found to be earning low wages and salaries. The department appears to be paying the lowest wages and salaries to the staff members below what is stipulated by legislation not taking into cognizance the fact that employees are working for money. It is therefore recommended that the hospital management should consider as a matter of urgency, the need to make upward adjustment in wages and salaries which will go a long way in reducing the high incidence of staff turnover.

Thesis (M. Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The current split between the Department of Health and Social Development had made a great impact on employees’ performance. The transition has resulted on previously shared resources to being divided. The division of resources made a great impact on employees’ performance at the Department of Social Development. The adjustment to the transition has been a difficult task towards employees in the department of Social Development. Programme managers whose employees are reporting to, had to come up with management strategies to enhance performance. The research problem is a problem because nothing is known about what the senior management is doing in order to enhance performance at Mopani District. It seems that no study has been conducted to determine the challenges experienced by programme managers on employees’ performance. The major objective of the study to determine the current programmes which are used by the Department to enhance performance in the area of study and to suggest strategies that can be used by the senior management to enhance performance at Mopani District. The nature of this study is qualitative. It is an exploratory study. Data was collected be through semi-structured interviews. The sampling of this study is non-probability sample. In non-probability sampling, the researcher selected purposive sampling. Data was analyzed in a narrative from. Findings show that the programme managers are faced with several challenges in the organization. Programme managers do not have the necessary resources. Programmes offered by the programme managers are not enhancing employees’ performance due to inadequate equipments provided by the department. Current strategies used by the programme managers are no longer relevant, hence poor employees’ performance. The senior managers should be encouraged to develop relevant training programmes, minimize challenges and provide necessary resources that could be employed by the programme managers to enhance the performance of employees at the department of Social Development in Mopani district.

Purpose. Although performance appraisal is an important factor in the successful operation of organizations, it is often a difficult and threatening task. Traditional approaches to evaluation have proved to be neither effective nor in legal compliance. This problem affects postsecondary institutions, where customary subjective appraisal contributes to undesirable employment discrimination. This study provides postsecondary administrators with an effective and legally defensible model of performance appraisal. Research addressed these questions: (1) What does statutory law mandate in appraisal? (2) What issues, patterns, and decisions concerning appraisal have been identified through the judicial process, and what degree of consistency has been shown in decisions? (3) What standards are suggested by performance appraisal law and practices? (4) What should constitute an appraisal program for postsecondary education that synthesizes appraisal practices and emerging legal standards? Federal statutes and court records governing employment practices were examined to identify data. Data were analyzed according to principles of grounded theory development proposed by Glaser and Strauss, and complemented by legal research methodologies recommended by Alton. Appraisal law was summarized, followed by review of current practices identified in appraisal literature. A performance appraisal model for postsecondary education synthesizing legal standards and current practices was presented. Although statutes governing appraisal apply to all employers, the courts demand less stringent compliance by postsecondary institutions. The judiciary acknowledges prejudice in employment decisions in academia, but implores educators to regulate their own behavior to preserve academic freedom. In non-academic employment, periodic appraisals should be based on written, objective standards known to employees, that are valid, reliable, and fair; and administered and scored under standardized conditions by trained evaluators. Records must be confidential. The courts do not require strict compliance by postsecondary institutions; they urge, but do not mandate, that academic employees be treated without bias. Guidelines are needed to define a non-discriminatory evaluation process for postsecondary employees. This research model presents a first step toward this goal.

One of the fundamental objectives of the criminal justice system in any country is to punish, rehabilitate, deter, incapacitate and reintegrate offenders into communities. The main motive of punishment therefore is to transform criminals into responsible and law-abiding citizens. Parole is acknowledged as an internationally accepted mechanism that allows for the conditional release of offenders from correctional centres into the community and forms one of the most important components of the criminal justice system value chain. The release of the offenders on parole therefore, does not negate the objectives of punishment but entrenches them through setting conditions by which all parolees must abide by. In other words, all offenders released on parole are supervised at all times by parole officials within their communities to ensure that they comply with their conditions. It is for this function- to grant parole to offenders, that the parole boards have been established in different countries. The Department of Correctional Services in South Africa has adopted the independent model of parole which provides for the parole boards that are headed by independent members from the public appointed by the Minister of Correctional Services. Parole is administered by the parole boards and has, as one of its main functions the release of offenders based on their eligibility. The absence of the performance management system for the parole board makes parole board decision making less transparent and government accountability difficult to establish. Performance management systems have been used to strengthen good governance. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the design of a model of performance management of the parole boards in the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa. / Penology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Penology)

The advent of democracy in the Republic of South Africa has brought about fundamental changes in the spheres of governance. One of these changes is the implementation of the employee performance management and development system in the public service. One of the Constitutional imperatives of the country requires all government institutions to cultivate good human resource management and career development practices to maximise human potential. The Gauteng Department of Social Development and in particular, Father Smangaliso Mkhatswa Centre, is also expected to implement the employee performance management and development system. The study seeks to examine to what extent performance management can enhance employee‟s performance. To achieve this, a semi-structured interview was conducted with employees of Father Smangaliso Mkhatswa Centre. The findings indicate that managers use performance management as a tool to control and discipline subordinates, whilst subordinates use performance management as a means of getting extra money through performance bonuses. This could be the reason that performance assessment period is viewed as a period of high tension between supervisors and subordinates. / Public Administration & Management / M.P.A.

The main aim of this study was to investigate the implementation of the performance management system in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of the Botswana public service and to identify the factors that facilitated and hindered the successful implementation of the programme. This study used a mixed methods research design which combines both qualitative and quantitative research design. The study used the model of social programmes, which is a holistic and comprehensive analytical framework that is used to study the implementation of social intervention programmes. Research data was obtained using a triangulation of research methods (case study, evaluation research and survey method) and data sources (literature review, document analysis, self-administered questionnaires and follow-up personal interviews). A sample of 90 respondents was selected using the purposive sampling strategy. The study found that the implementation of the performance management system in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation was problematic because of unclear and ambiguous foreign policy goals and objectives; lack of broad-based support and critical mass of champions of the performance management system; use of command-and-control management model rather than empowerment and the adaptation model; inadequate human and institutional capacities; ineffective supporting systems of the performance management system; weak accountability and responsibility mechanisms; weak intra-ministerial and inter-ministerial communication, co-operation, collaboration and co-ordination; inadequate information and communications technology infrastructure and unfavourable international environment. This study contributed to the existing literature by investigating the implementation of the performance management system in the global environment from a public service perspective rather than a private sector perspective, which relies on the experiences of multinational companies. The study findings provide some invaluable insights that may improve the implementation of the performance management system in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of the Botswana public service by proposing recommendations to the identified problems. The recommendations include: setting clear and specific foreign policy objectives; creating a critical mass of champions of the performance management system; strengthening human and institutional capacities; promoting effective implementation and use of supporting systems of the performance management system; strengthening accountability and responsibility mechanisms; strengthening intra-ministerial and inter-ministerial communication, co-operation, collaboration, and co-ordination; strengthening decentralisation and empowerment principles and upgrading information and communications technology infrastructure. / Public Administration and Management / DPA

This study sought to determine the impact of a training and development (T&D) programme on the perceived performance of human resource assistants at a platinum mine in South Africa according to the following four performance dimensions: (i) personal (ii) customer; (iii) internal business; and (iv) learning and growth. A non-experimental design was used for this study, which was predominately quantitative in nature. Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of closed-ended questions. Based on the results obtained in this study, it was apparent that the T&D programme contributed significantly to an increase in the performance of employees. However, there are certain areas that can be improved in order to maximise and optimise the learning of employees. Recommendations were made regarding areas for improvement and possible future research. / Human Resource Management / M. Tech. (Human Resources Development)

One of the fundamental objectives of the criminal justice system in any country is to punish, rehabilitate, deter, incapacitate and reintegrate offenders into communities. The main motive of punishment therefore is to transform criminals into responsible and law-abiding citizens. Parole is acknowledged as an internationally accepted mechanism that allows for the conditional release of offenders from correctional centres into the community and forms one of the most important components of the criminal justice system value chain. The release of the offenders on parole therefore, does not negate the objectives of punishment but entrenches them through setting conditions by which all parolees must abide by. In other words, all offenders released on parole are supervised at all times by parole officials within their communities to ensure that they comply with their conditions. It is for this function- to grant parole to offenders, that the parole boards have been established in different countries. The Department of Correctional Services in South Africa has adopted the independent model of parole which provides for the parole boards that are headed by independent members from the public appointed by the Minister of Correctional Services. Parole is administered by the parole boards and has, as one of its main functions the release of offenders based on their eligibility. The absence of the performance management system for the parole board makes parole board decision making less transparent and government accountability difficult to establish. Performance management systems have been used to strengthen good governance. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the design of a model of performance management of the parole boards in the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa. / Penology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Penology)

This study sought to determine the impact of a training and development (T&D) programme on the perceived performance of human resource assistants at a platinum mine in South Africa according to the following four performance dimensions: (i) personal (ii) customer; (iii) internal business; and (iv) learning and growth. A non-experimental design was used for this study, which was predominately quantitative in nature. Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of closed-ended questions. Based on the results obtained in this study, it was apparent that the T&D programme contributed significantly to an increase in the performance of employees. However, there are certain areas that can be improved in order to maximise and optimise the learning of employees. Recommendations were made regarding areas for improvement and possible future research. / Human Resource Management / M. Tech. (Human Resources Development)

The main aim of this study was to investigate the implementation of the performance management system in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of the Botswana public service and to identify the factors that facilitated and hindered the successful implementation of the programme. This study used a mixed methods research design which combines both qualitative and quantitative research design. The study used the model of social programmes, which is a holistic and comprehensive analytical framework that is used to study the implementation of social intervention programmes. Research data was obtained using a triangulation of research methods (case study, evaluation research and survey method) and data sources (literature review, document analysis, self-administered questionnaires and follow-up personal interviews). A sample of 90 respondents was selected using the purposive sampling strategy. The study found that the implementation of the performance management system in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation was problematic because of unclear and ambiguous foreign policy goals and objectives; lack of broad-based support and critical mass of champions of the performance management system; use of command-and-control management model rather than empowerment and the adaptation model; inadequate human and institutional capacities; ineffective supporting systems of the performance management system; weak accountability and responsibility mechanisms; weak intra-ministerial and inter-ministerial communication, co-operation, collaboration and co-ordination; inadequate information and communications technology infrastructure and unfavourable international environment. This study contributed to the existing literature by investigating the implementation of the performance management system in the global environment from a public service perspective rather than a private sector perspective, which relies on the experiences of multinational companies. The study findings provide some invaluable insights that may improve the implementation of the performance management system in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of the Botswana public service by proposing recommendations to the identified problems. The recommendations include: setting clear and specific foreign policy objectives; creating a critical mass of champions of the performance management system; strengthening human and institutional capacities; promoting effective implementation and use of supporting systems of the performance management system; strengthening accountability and responsibility mechanisms; strengthening intra-ministerial and inter-ministerial communication, co-operation, collaboration, and co-ordination; strengthening decentralisation and empowerment principles and upgrading information and communications technology infrastructure. / Public Administration and Management / DPA