Recent labour market studies have focussed on the increasing importance of non-standard forms of employment. This study on agency temps aims to contribute to this body of literature, but proposes an alternative perspective. Focussing on the temp's particular employment relationship rather than on the approach of the secondary labour market or the currently fashionable 'flexibility debate', this thesis suggests that the temp's three-way employment relationship is a determinant of the temp's working situation. Labour law literature has shown that the temp's employment status is open to conjecture because of what has been called this 'ambiguous, legal relationship. Using this approach, this thesis suggests that the temp has two 'social' employers, who must be recognised as, important before categorising temps as either 'flexible' or part of the secondary labour market. Furthermore, the temp's situation is characterised by temporality and mobility which give rise to certain feelings of freedom. The temp's status as 'stranger' and the way in which this operates within the three-way employment relationship are therefore an important influence on the temp's experience of work. This thesis suggests that the, temp is a 'stranger'/outsider to the workplace. Temps occupy a position of mobility and temporality defined by their threeway employment relationship. Temps may therefore say that they feel 'free' because they have two social employers and they do not feel that they are employees of either. Temps may experience certain perceptions held by management and permanent co-workers about their ability to perform certain work tasks. Indeed, temps may find that the work they are given is boring and routine. This thesis argues that these conditions are influenced by the structure of the temps' three-way relationship within which temps are 'strangers'. It is not merely a case, then, that temps occupy a secondary labour market position, for example, but that this position must be recognised as including two nominal employers who may collude together in determining the temp's working situation.

This thesis examines the development of management in financial services and its implications on managers' activities and socialisation. The thesis uses gender and emotional labour as the main themes for the discussion of management in the financial services. The thesis reports on two ethnographic case studies within two UK retail banks. Analyses are based on data derived from interviews, observations and documents. Both the literature and data suggest that management in the service sector centres around the management of organisational cultures. Managers must disseminate the organisational values in order to extract excellent customer service from the front-line staff. Managers themselves are acculturated into the organisation and its values, in order to more easily acculturate their staff. The data indicates that although management appears to have been feminised, masculine values still dominate. Managers are socialised into organisational cultures in which human relations rhetoric looms large and both male and female managers employ 'feminine' management styles. Confusingly however, male managers' skills seem to be valued more and male-dominated business areas receive greater kudos. A disjunction between rhetoric and reality is thus evident. In addition, both management and emotional labour are presented as gendered in sociological literature. The data indicates that although management styles and practices are perceived to be gendered, there is little evidence to support the stereotypes. Both men and women can be seen to be performing emotional labour too, but it is the expectations of others and their different life experiences that can lead to gender differences in the way that emotional labour is displayed.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1996. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2951. Typescript. Abstract precedes second title page. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-110).

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study examines organizational learning (OL) with member organizations of a state association for children and family services. OL has been studied in business organizations, but the concept has value in the context of Human Service Organizations (HSOs) as well. HSOs face increasing demands for accountability through evaluating outcomes, requiring new organizational skills and activities. The state association has collected outcome data from member organizations for nine years, and has recently provided external consultants to help organizations interpret and make use of the information to improve organizational functioning. The process of OL was measured pre- and post-external consultation using an OL questionnaire developed by Templeton, Lewis, and Snyder (2002). Sixty-two member agencies received questionnaires and 42 responded for a response rate of 67%. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 CEOs/Executive Directors of HSOs. The OL questionnaire was found to have sufficient reliability and validity for the sample of HSOs in the study. Two factors were identified through factor analyses, Organizational Culture and Environmental Awareness. Satisfaction with an external consultant was not found to be related to increased OL. In the qualitative findings, the origins of learning themes that were identified were External Pressures, Philosophy, Planning, and Financial Pressures. The facilitating factor themes identified were Leadership, Philosophy, New Staff/New Leadership, Willingness, Planning, and Training. The perceived obstacles to OL were Resistance, Philosophy, Finances, and Time. External consultants were found to contribute to Evaluation, Awareness, Motivation, and Training. The main practice implication of the study is the identification of an instrument that may be used to examine OL in HSOs. The identification of facilitating factors and factors that may impede OL is a valuable contribution, as is the use of a standard definition of OL. The educational implications are for awareness in the education of future leaders by introducing OL and the application to HSOs. Future research is needed to address the development or modification of a better matched instrument for use with HSOs.

Thesis (M Social Work (Social Work))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / This research addresses the problem of how formal organisations can assist on building the capacity of informal community based organisations (CBO’s). Although informal CBO’s are being regarded as valuable resources rendering much needed services to marginalized communities, they are at present still exclude from governmental funding, because they do not meet the requirements prescribed by the state. To obtain the funds which will enable informal CBO’s to render effective and sustainable services to marginalized and poor vulnerable communities, it is from the developmental perspective in welfare crucial to build the capacity of these informal CBO’s. As a point of departure the researcher provides a general picture of the current structure of social service providers in South Africa. This is done, first of all, by conceptualizing “social service providers” within the context of general concepts such as “social welfare” and “social work”. In this respect a schematic representation provides a general picture of the various categories of social service providers involved, followed by a concise description of each, including their focuses, roles and responsibilities. This necessitates that a distinction should be drawn between the government sector, parastatal organisations, profit-yielding non-governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations without a profit-seeking motive. The concept “capacity building” is explored in accordance with the policy and legislative framework applicable to the capacity building of informal CBO’s by formal welfare organisations. This framework is supplemented by a description of other key concepts which have a bearing on the capacity building of informal CBO’s by formal welfare organisations, such as “empowerment” and “development”. Emanating from this an attempt is made to formulate the objective of the capacity building of informal CBO’s by formal welfare organisations. From the diversity of the developmental requirements and the obstacles informal CBO’s experience, aims for obtaining capacity building are deduced.