No description available.

Thesis (MBA) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Every employee at any institution has to be inducted upon employment. Induction is a very important aspect of any organization to prepare the new and existing employees for the new environment or workplace. It is therefore very important for any institution to design induction programme that caters for the needs of its employees. Teaching institutions might require a different approach to induction as compared to industrial institutions. It is therefore incumbent of the institutions depending on the type of business to design their programmes to address the needs thereof. Every institution thus needs to come up with strategies to compete better both nationally and globally. University of Limpopo has very good policies on recruitment, selection, and employment. It is one of the traditional universities in South Africa, and it is based in Mankweng in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. This university faces many challenges such as staff retention. The university loses many knowledgeable employees to its competitors. Many speculations are that some of the challenges include the wellbeing of the staff members, and this starts immediately after employment and goes throughout. Induction is one of the challenges that the university is suspected of not performing adequately. This study was therefore designed to establish if the university is running a successful induction, to evaluate if this programme is effective and efficient, and assess if it meets the 21st century induction standards. The study was designed to apply the descriptive approaches, using structured questionnaires and interviews. The study population included at least 50 employees which 25 were academics and 25 non-academics. Relevant supporting departments were also sampled to participate in the study. Stratified sampling techniques were used during sampling. Both primary and secondary data was collected and analysed. Ethical guidelines set by the university were observed during the study. Relevant statistical techniques were applied to analyse the data. Findings the study suggest that very few employees were inducted. All levels of induction from the corporate, departmental, and local were not fully executed. Mentors and buddies were hardly used or only used on request by the new employees. Only a limited content of the induction was covered and this was not consistent with all employees inducted. The results of the study show that the duration of induction programme was also not consistent. In addition, the perceptions of the employees was that the university was doing poorly to induct employees. Conclusions drawn were that the university is doing poorly on induction. The programme was not consistent and effective. Very few employees were inducted on which just a brief orientation. It was however established that the CAE had a programme that was on average adequate to equip the academics for the working environment, but the same cannot be mentioned on the corporate induction.

University of Technology, Sydney. / The study critically examines definitions of "informal learning", focussing on the term's application in workplace training contexts. Drawing on Foucault, Heidegger and Habermas, it is argued that we cannot understand ourselves (and thus our informal learning) without challenging the assumptions of modernity and coming to terms with what Lyotard has termed "the postmodern condition". Industry trainers are at the forefront of implementing "designer" corporate cultures which, in the rhetoric of "work-based learning", make enterprises more innovative and competitive. This study challenges that rhetoric, showing that the implicit philosophy of contemporary workplace learning and training is framed by an economistic "human capital theory". The "stories" of industry trainers from several multinational corporations challenge assumptions about what is learnt through competency-based training and about corporate uses of informal learning. It is argued that being at work entails far more than simply performing the tasks one is required to do, which, in turn, effects the links between informal learning and formal education. The final chapters are directed towards expanding and realigning interpretations of "informal learning" away from the narrow and instrumental purposes for which the term has been appropriated. Equity, respect for the dignity of others, and a philosophy of ethics have a place in "workplace learning". Informal learning is shaped by our deepest ethical and moral responses. It does not follow that measurable tasks, what one can be observed doing at work, represent one's learning.

University of Technology, Sydney. / The study critically examines definitions of "informal learning", focussing on the term's application in workplace training contexts. Drawing on Foucault, Heidegger and Habermas, it is argued that we cannot understand ourselves (and thus our informal learning) without challenging the assumptions of modernity and coming to terms with what Lyotard has termed "the postmodern condition". Industry trainers are at the forefront of implementing "designer" corporate cultures which, in the rhetoric of "work-based learning", make enterprises more innovative and competitive. This study challenges that rhetoric, showing that the implicit philosophy of contemporary workplace learning and training is framed by an economistic "human capital theory". The "stories" of industry trainers from several multinational corporations challenge assumptions about what is learnt through competency-based training and about corporate uses of informal learning. It is argued that being at work entails far more than simply performing the tasks one is required to do, which, in turn, effects the links between informal learning and formal education. The final chapters are directed towards expanding and realigning interpretations of "informal learning" away from the narrow and instrumental purposes for which the term has been appropriated. Equity, respect for the dignity of others, and a philosophy of ethics have a place in "workplace learning". Informal learning is shaped by our deepest ethical and moral responses. It does not follow that measurable tasks, what one can be observed doing at work, represent one's learning.

Job aids are instruments used on the job to improve human performance by enhancing the knowledge and/or skills of performers. Conventional job aids are usually printed on paper; examples include checklists, recipes, and decision tables. Expert systems are computerized job aids which interact with novices to help solve problems normally reserved for human experts. Because expert systems emulate human intelligence, they are sometimes called intelligent job aids. The purpose of this study was to extend the body of knowledge concerning conventional and intelligent job aids. The intent was to learn what major differences and similarities exist in the design, development, and application of conventional and intelligent job aids. If meaningful differences in the application were found, an additional aim was to determine why they existed. Job aids were developed to assist technicians in diagnosing problems with Robert Bosch electronic fuel injection systems found on certain John Deere diesel engines. The job aids were validated and then field tested by 42 John Deere technicians. Subjects used both job aids to solve problems with a mock fuel system. The diagnoses were video-taped for later evaluation, and subjects proffered their opinions about the job aids through questionnaires and in interviews. For this project, the intelligent job aid contained more textual and graphical content and required significantly more time and resources to develop. In terms of accuracy and efficiency, the job aids were comparable. Most users preferred the intelligent job aid though it required more time to learn to use than the conventional job aid. The age, education, or experience of the users did not influence their opinions of the job aids. However, the order in which the job aids were used did affect opinions; subjects that used the conventional job aid prior to the intelligent job aid were more likely to prefer the intelligent job aid. Implications for job aid project selection, design, and application are provided. / Graduation date: 1991

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

No description available.

This exploratory study examined the predictive ability of perceived work environment characteristics on employees' level of motivation to learn and growth need strength. It looked at motivation to learn within the context of two types of training: formal training and on-the-job training. It also examined the existence of group differences in motivation and in perceptions of the work environment. The sample was 117 middle management staff at a Canadian research university, varying in age, level of education, job classification, work unit, and job and institutional tenure. Data was collected using a questionnaire consisting of scales from the management and educational literature. Using multiple regression analysis and MANOVAs, workplace environmental characteristics were found to be predictors of employee motivation. The best predictor of motivation to learn was a composite measure of incentives, while the best predictor of growth need strength was a composite measure of lack of independence and freedom of choice. No group differences in motivational characteristics were found, however, there were differences in perceptions of the work environment.

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