D.Litt. et Phil. / The growing number of married women with children who enter the work force is widely documented. In addition, the last decade has seen the number of self-employed women increase dramatically. The homemaker role, which remains an important adult attainment fora large segment of the female population for at least some portion of their adult lives, has received little attention. The career of the homemaker is omitted both in the traditional definition of the labour force and by the career counselling profession. Because of the rise in women's labour force activity there has been increased concern with the psychological implications of occupying family and work roles simultaneously. Married women who obtain employment typically experience role expansion and such expansion has potential repercussions for the women themselves, for their families and for their employing institutions. Although these women are assuming the demanding role of employee, they are typically not free to relinquish any of their previous traditional roles - the major responsibility for household work and parenting chores still appears to be the province of women. Presently, the empirical evidence of the psychological effects of maternal employment is equivocal, suggesting both positive and negative effects are possible. On the one hand paid employment has been related to increased self-esteem, status and life satisfaction in working mothers. On the other hand, maternal employment has also been associated with role conflict, life dissatisfaction and family stress. A wide variety of correlates of home-career conflict has been studied. The accumulation of empirical studies has not, however, been integrated in a way which advances understanding of the interrelationships of variables associated with home-career conflict. The purpose of the present study was to investigate from within an integrated framework the relationship between work and family domains and their impact on the life satisfaction of women who re-enter the labour market, women entrepreneurs and homemakers.

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This dissertation examines the effect that the introduction of an advanced manufacturing technology, specifically robotics, has on the work force of an aerospace defense company. In this endeavor, there are two main objectives. First, this study determines whether workers feel that their jobs are threatened by the introduction of robotic technology. Secondly, the research compares the degree to which workers from different labor types feel this threat. A review of the literature reveals that the technical factors involving manufacturing technology have been thoroughly examined and discussed, but the effect that they have on the work force has been somewhat neglected. This dissertation develops ten hypotheses to ascertain the perceived threat to job security for workers within an aerospace defense company. This study is based on an employee survey that examined the employee's perceived threat to job security by the introduction of robotics. The primary research was obtained from employees within an aerospace defense company through the use of questionnaires in a three phase approach. The first phase utilized a pretest that sampled the questionnaire prior to the company-wide solicitation. The second phase administered the questionnaire to the three labor types within the work force. Phase three consisted of data reduction and the comparison of the primary data to the research hypotheses. The results of the study concluded that workers closer to the robotic technology (hands-on employees) felt more threatened about their job security than workers more removed from the technology (support personnel and management). It was further found that the hands-on workers felt that the major factor that lead to the introduction of robots was the desire to lower labor costs while support personnel and managers felt that the major factor that lead to the introduction of robots was due to increasing productivity. Additional hypotheses tested in this study include the effect that robots have on the perceptions of the work force toward the company's employment level, worker apprehension and reaction, training, safety, health, and competition.

The general aim of the research is to determine the relationship between personality traits as measured by the Customer Contact Styles Questionnaire (CCSQ 7.2) and work performance as measured by means of internal company data sources, of call centre agents. Recent literature indicates a significant relationship between personality traits and work performance. The emphasis in this research is on the factor analytical or trait approach of personality. The sample consisted of 300 call centre agents. The relationship between personality traits and work performance is discussed in terms of descriptive statistics, correlations and multiple regression analyses. The results indicate a relationship between the personality traits of analytical thinking, detail consciousness, conscientiousness, structuredness and work performance as measured by the level of financial incentives for call centre agents. This finding could be implemented in the selection and performance management of call centre agents. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership among senior leaders in a South African financial services organisation. The sample consisted of 973 participants. A convenience sample was used, as the leaders were part of a strategic organisational initiative and completed measurement instruments as part of this process. All participants completed the Bar-On EQ-i, in order to measure emotional intelligence, whereas the leadership data were obtained from an organisation-specific multi-rater which accessed self-ratings, peer and subordinate ratings as well as manager ratings in terms of leadership behaviours linked to organisational worldviews of leadership effectiveness. The results show that there was a statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership among the leaders, but that there was poor predictive strength between these variables. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between perceived organisational ethical climate and employee commitment within an Australian hospitality organisation, with the objective of determining whether employees' perceptions of the organisational ethical climate influenced their commitment towards their organisation, as well as the associated implications. The Ethical Climate Questionnaire and the Employee Commitment Survey were utilised as measuring instruments. The overall finding revealed a statistically significant relationship between the two variables with the results indicating that organisations possess numerous ethical climates which are perceived by employees in a manner which in turn affects their commitment towards their organisation. It is concluded that employees who are more committed to their organisations have improved attendance records and show lower absenteeism and turnover rates. The findings of this study confirmed existing research and generated new knowledge applicable to the hospitality sector. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / MCOM (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The general aim of the research is to determine the relationship between personality traits as measured by the Customer Contact Styles Questionnaire (CCSQ 7.2) and work performance as measured by means of internal company data sources, of call centre agents. Recent literature indicates a significant relationship between personality traits and work performance. The emphasis in this research is on the factor analytical or trait approach of personality. The sample consisted of 300 call centre agents. The relationship between personality traits and work performance is discussed in terms of descriptive statistics, correlations and multiple regression analyses. The results indicate a relationship between the personality traits of analytical thinking, detail consciousness, conscientiousness, structuredness and work performance as measured by the level of financial incentives for call centre agents. This finding could be implemented in the selection and performance management of call centre agents. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership among senior leaders in a South African financial services organisation. The sample consisted of 973 participants. A convenience sample was used, as the leaders were part of a strategic organisational initiative and completed measurement instruments as part of this process. All participants completed the Bar-On EQ-i, in order to measure emotional intelligence, whereas the leadership data were obtained from an organisation-specific multi-rater which accessed self-ratings, peer and subordinate ratings as well as manager ratings in terms of leadership behaviours linked to organisational worldviews of leadership effectiveness. The results show that there was a statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership among the leaders, but that there was poor predictive strength between these variables. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between perceived organisational ethical climate and employee commitment within an Australian hospitality organisation, with the objective of determining whether employees' perceptions of the organisational ethical climate influenced their commitment towards their organisation, as well as the associated implications. The Ethical Climate Questionnaire and the Employee Commitment Survey were utilised as measuring instruments. The overall finding revealed a statistically significant relationship between the two variables with the results indicating that organisations possess numerous ethical climates which are perceived by employees in a manner which in turn affects their commitment towards their organisation. It is concluded that employees who are more committed to their organisations have improved attendance records and show lower absenteeism and turnover rates. The findings of this study confirmed existing research and generated new knowledge applicable to the hospitality sector. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished