This research empirically investigates Locke's (1997) model of work motivation by means of quantitative research. The OCQ consisting of three tiered questionnaires was constructed based on Locke's model. OCQ-Tierl deals with core components of Locke's model. OCQ-Tier2 determines which factors caused the incidence of dissatisfaction in OCQ-Tierl. OCQ-Tier3 enables the identification of corrective actions. The OCQ was administered to financial services employees. The results were analysed and Locke's model was tested by means of structural equation modelling using the AMOS graphics programme. The results indicated that the model, suggesting causal links between components within OCQ-Tierl, could not be confirmed. A better fit was found at OCQ-Tier2 and OCQ-Tier3. In testing the causal links across the three tiers per component, the models did not fit the data for "personal actualisation" and "goal achievement". Moderate confirmation of the models was found in the case of "goal setting" and "goal behaviour" across the three tiers after some adaptations were made to the models on the basis of "modification indices", suggested by AMOS. A reasonably good fit was found for the models across the three tiers for "quality of work life". The level of correlation between factors was high because of this, and in some cases some of the factors were merged. Modification indices in the statistical output suggested that improvement was possible if covariance between error terms in the model was allowed. This suggested possible systematic sources of covariance between items not accounted for by the factors in the models. As confirmed by the Cronbach Alpha coefficients within tiers and across tiers, the general level of internal consistency was very high. Possibly response set and response style were the cause of this. This made the testing of models difficult in the present study. So too was it difficult to draw a conclusion about the internal consistency reliability of the measurement of each component across the three tiers, because the high Cronbach coefficients may to some extent be due to the indiscriminate high correlations between items / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial Psychology)

Denna studie diskuterar de ledarskapsstilar som används ombord på handelsfartyg. Den syftar till att avgöra huruvida en specifik mål-baserad ledarstil kan anpassas till att användas på ett modernt handelsfartyg. Den teori som används i studien bygger på Edwin A. Locke & Gary P. Lathams arbete inom målsättand psykologi och ledarskap. Den huvudsakliga artikeln vi har använt är “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation, A 35-Year Odyssey (2002)”.   Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ intervjuundersökning. De huvudsakliga variablerna vi undersökte, var de intervjuade sjöbefälsstudenternas inställning till att arbeta med specifikt målsättande ledarskap samt möjligheten att applicera det som ledarskapsmetod ombord på handelsfartyg.   Studenterna fick berätta om sina erfarenheter av ledarskapet ombord på de olika fartyg där de gjort sin praktik under utbildningen till sjöbefäl. Studenterna fick även svara på om ett mål-baserat ledarskap använts ombord.   Resultaten av studien visade att studenterna i allmänhet ställde sig positiva till att pröva de specifika mål-baserade ledarskapsmetoder, som presenterades under intervjuerna. Studien tyder på att en auktoritär ledarstil oftast användes ombord de olika fartygen. Vissa fartyg hade prövat olika varianter av mål-baserat ledarskap, även om ingen använt sig av ledarskap med specifika mål som denna studie syftar till.   Sammanfattningsvis tyder intervjustudien på en god inställning till utveckling i ledarskap ombord på handelsfartyg. Huruvida de specifika målteorier som används inom sjukvården, sport och industrin (Locke & Latham 2002) är den mest effektiva vägen att gå, kanske en framtida experimentell studie kan att visa. / This study discusses leadership styles used on ships and aims to determine whether a Specific Goal based Leadership style could be adapted on a modern merchant ship. The theory used in this study, is based on the work in goal setting psychology, by Edwin A. Locke & Gary P. Latham. The primary article we have used, is “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation, A 35-Year Odyssey (2002).   We have carried out a qualitative interview study. The depended variable was the Interviewed students, attending Kalmar Maritime Academy, and their attitude towards an adaption of Specific Goal setting Theory used as management method onboard merchant vessels.   The students were asked to review their experiences of the leadership and management style, from the various ships they have been mustered on, during their education towards officer. The students also answered whether a goal-based leadership had been used onboard.   The results showed that the students in general had a positive attitude towards the Specific goal based management style that the authors presented. Further the study indicated that the authoritarian method of management were the main one used on the various vessels the students had been in contact with. Some vessels had tried variations of goal-based leadership, although none had adapted the specific goal setting that this study aims to implement in maritime management.   In conclusion the authors find the interview study to show a good attitude towards a change in management style onboard merchant ships. Whether the specific goal setting theories that has been widely spread in health care, sports, and industry (Locke & Latham 2002) is the most efficient way, perhaps a future experimental study will show.

No description available.

This thesis focuses on evaluating the performance appraisal system of Filiz Gida, a small food processing company that is located in Turkey. Filiz Gida was established by Dogus Holding in Bolu, and currently employs 284 individuals. Filiz Gida is dedicated to fair and respectful treatment of all workers, offering voluntary benefits in housing programs, health care, education for worker's children, and professional child care services. The importance of quality in production at Filiz Gida is reflected by its receipt of ISO 9002 certification in 1994. In 2003 the Barilla Group, which is one of the giants in the pasta business, acquired Filiz Gida due to financial interests that have not been well documented by public media.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current practices of school and community partnerships in five North Texas elementary schools. In addition, the study focused on the influence community partnerships have on at-risk students based on at-risk indicators data. The literature revealed that when schools, parents, and families work together, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enrolled in coursework beyond high school. The target population included approximately 350 administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals from five North Texas elementary schools. Also included were the respective partners from each of the five elementary schools. This research included online survey instrument and data were gathered and analyzed through a combination of statistical procedures and descriptive and inferential statistics. The results may provide other schools with a profile of school and community partnerships that can be implemented as a method to help their at-risk student populations. Findings included a descriptive analysis of factors that contributed to the success of community engagement efforts as well as those factors that limited those efforts. A secondary purpose of this study was of continuous improvement in developing these approaches through a goal-setting approach. Schools included in the study provided a next steps plan by describing their major goal(s) for improving existing school and community partnerships over the next 3 years.

Strategy instruction can improve memory performance, but some training programs are more effective than others. Some scholars propose that a key element to boosting the benefits from training programs is enhancing or emphasizing self-regulatory factors, such as knowledge about memory, beliefs about ability, or motivational factors. Research supporting this claim evidence adds that programs that enhance trainees’ confidence in their abilities improve memory performance and that multifactorial programs are more effective than strategy-training-only programs. Setting performance goals and receiving feedback are two self-regulatory factors known to relate to memory performance that may sometimes be included in some training programs. However, previous research has not directly compared the effectiveness of strategy instruction with and without goal-setting and performance feedback elements. This was the purpose of the present research: We compared strategy instruction with goal-setting and positively-framed feedback across three assessments of memory performance, strategy use, and task commitment. Participants were 48 university students who were randomly assigned to two conditions: All participants watched a brief memory strategy video, but participants in the Strat+GFB condition set goals for their memory performance and received positively-framed objective performance feedback and participants in the StratOnly condition did not. Research assistants conducted the experimental procedures individually with participants in 1-hour-long Zoom video calls. Primary outcome measures (memory performance, strategy use, and task commitment) were assessed three times, once before and twice after strategy instruction, with or without goal-setting and feedback between each test, depending on condition assignment. Shopping list recall tests were used to assess memory performance, and the number of to-be-recalled stimuli increased at each testing occasion as 15 additional items were added at each trial. Participants recalled more items, but a smaller percentage of the items, over time, and this pattern was not different for the experimental conditions. Additionally, number of strategies used, as self-reported on a retrospective checklist, increased from before to after strategy instruction. Importantly, the Strat+GFB condition maintained levels of commitment to the memory tests across the three trials, whereas the StratOnly condition reported drops in their task commitment. Study results emphasize that including self-regulatory factors, such as setting goals and receiving feedback, may increase commitment to a task, however those benefits may not immediately translate to better memory performance when training and testing is part of a brief, single experimental session. We suggest that future research evaluate a multiday memory intervention with the addition of goal-setting and feedback. Results of this study suggest that including goal-setting and feedback as part of a training program may benefit trainees’ commitment, which we speculate could aid individuals in maintaining persistent effort despite challenges and ultimately lead to better performance over a longer term.

No description available.

MPM / Department of Public and Development Administration

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / See the attached abstract below

This project explores the means of self-efficacy development in competitive athletes. The theoretical part of the project will include sport motivation, performance and most importantly the application of a psychological concept of self-efficacy in individual sports. Additionally, it will discuss various self-efficacy measurements and enhancement techniques in athletes. The empirical part of the project will include qualitative research which aims to explore the level of self-efficacy in modern gymnasts and verify particular techniques of self-efficacy enhancement in their training. Keywords Self-efficacy; Sport Psychology; Motivation to Sport; Imagery; Self-talk; Goal setting