Thesis (Ph.D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2005. / Title from second page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [2], vi, 72, [22] p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-37).

Legal and scientific imperatives necessitate the validation of a psychometric battery before using it for the purposes of personnel selection and decision- making. The aim of this investigation is to validate a selection battery, i.e. the Ability, Processing of Information and Learning (APIL) Battery and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM), used in selecting university bridging - course students. The empirical study is informed by a literature review focussing on the legal and scientific parameters of psychometrics within selection, the conceptualisation of intelligence and its relationship to academic performance. Hypotheses are posed regarding the predictive power of the selection battery and the effect of biographical factors on academic performance. Results indicate that the APU. Battery apd Raven's APM are both valid predictors of academic performance, ·although the former appears more effective. This investigation emphasises the influence of moderating factors, i.e. factors other than cognitive ability, on academic performance. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Adm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA(Human Movement Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

Throughout the world, including South Africa, various approaches have been identified and implemented in an attempt to ensure that employees in physically-demanding positions are properly managed from a physical work capacity point of view, the primary goal always being to return the employee in need of assistance to full working capacity as soon as possible. The burning question has, however, always remained: “What happens to the employee in the meantime?” This study focused on exactly that question, the aim being to develop a comprehensive tool to assist all parties concerned in managing the affected employee through the application of task-specific job accommodation. The predetermined goal of the study was to develop a task-specific job accommodation tool for a physically-demanding position. This was achieved through a number of steps, which included an extensive literature review, a thorough job analysis, identification of a suitable test battery with related minimum physical requirements and cut scores, interviews, and the eventual development of the tool. Once the task-specific job accommodation tool was completed, the next step was to make use of three case studies to assist in illustrating the way the tool is to be implemented, as well as to show the potential value of its implementation. The information from three actual incapacity cases in the company concerned was used for these case studies. The results from this study are extremely positive and the three case studies have provided a glimpse of the potential value that could be added through the implementation of the job accommodation tool. The final product will greatly assist the company concerned in managing incapacitated employees in a manner that is beneficial to both the company and the individuals involved. Hopefully, this study will contribute to bring about a new era in the way South African companies and their occupational health departments approach the management of their incapacitated employees. Copyright 2008, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Bester, GF 2008, A task-specific approach to job accommodation in physically-demanding positions, DPhil thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10292008-180442 / > D498/gm / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

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Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / The focus of this exploratory study was on competency profile development, specifically the factors impacting on the validity of its development. Given the paucity of research both nationally and internationally into the development of criteria feeding employment practices, as well as the conjectured enigmatic disjuncture between theory, which promotes the almost indispensability of job analysis, and organisational reality which attests to it seldom being performed or performed in a way which would satisfy scientific standards, a qualitative enquiry and a two tiered research design was developed to explore this phenomenon. Through excavating documentary data, the first phase of research intensively explored the work of the City of Cape Town's Competency Framework Team, their particular job analysis processes and their methodology for developing a competency profile for a single incumbent position, namely that of the City Manager's position. The medium of the case study allowed the reader to enter the world of a pulsing organisation and witness such researchers' dilemmas as contemplating whether there is a standard recipe for competency profile generation, the factors influencing choice of methodology, judgment around the relevancy of competencies developed to lead the change process, accurately responding to and managing dramatically skewed samples, the types of interventions to design, etc. The three key results from this phase of research confirmed that: the complexity of change within the City of Cape Town, as well as the types of decisions the various HR functions had to make on the basis of the profile, influenced decisions on how to profile and which methods to use; that stakeholders actively shaped the design and understanding of the particular components of the competency profile as they bring human volition to the areas of challenge arising within the organisation; and on the issue of whether racial composition of a sample was anticipated to have an effect on the competencies generated, it was clear that is not possible to ascertain whether the differences noticed in the behavioural repertoire of an individual are as a function of race or a myriad of other competing variables. The second phase of research studied the behavioural competencies elicited from a sample of Chief Executive Officers when using different job analysis methods to develop these competencies. The results confirmed that the distinctive features of a job analysis method selected or developed may impact on the behavioural competencies generated. These results not only sensitise practitioners to the role of methodology in influencing the derivation of competencies, but also to the many variables within, as well as between chosen methodologies, and to the reality that choice of methodology may influence the degree of confidence with which one interprets the results attained. The study concluded that despite this being a case study, limiting the conclusiveness and generalisability of its findings, the facets of the phenomenon of competency profiling illuminated may have much salience for the art and practice of profiling in general, for users and developers of job analysis processes, instruments, and leadership models, as well as practitioners entrusted with organisational design and redesign.

The sample comprised 92 candidates who have completed the Ground School Phase of the trainee pilot training programme. The independent variables are Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices Test, the Blox Test and the Vienna Determination Test. The dependent variable is the candidates' results after the Ground School Phase of their training. The results indicated that only the Advanced Ravens test and the Vienna Determination test (Phase 3} correlate positively with the Ground School Phase results of the candidates. The current battery emphasises cognitive abilities and psycho-motor functioning and does not cover personality traits of prospective candidates. It is recommended that new instruments are included (to cover the measurement of personality traits), that the sample size should be increased by promoting pilot training among previously disadvantaged students and that the current pilot profile should be updated as a matter of urgency. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

This thesis deals with one of the most debated topics of the Personnel Psychology - the personnel selection. The aim of the thesis is to provide an exhaustive overview of the designing process of the selection procedures with special attention being paid to the various methods of selecting employees. Attention was primarily paid to the effort that the knowledge of the otherwise common methods of selecting employees be put in the new framework and the latest ways of their application. Particular emphasis has been put upon the new approaches to the method of interview, cognitive abilities testing, detection of individual personality at work and new methods in designing assessment centers. An interesting chapter is the use of emotional factors as selection criteria and the application of the attachment theory to work. Considerable extent of the thesis is also devoted to the methods of job analysis and competency modeling, their comparison and applications. Based on the previous theoretical treatise the empirical part attempts at creating a competency model for senior executives in the hotel industry and proposes possible ways of its practical use.

The sample comprised 92 candidates who have completed the Ground School Phase of the trainee pilot training programme. The independent variables are Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices Test, the Blox Test and the Vienna Determination Test. The dependent variable is the candidates' results after the Ground School Phase of their training. The results indicated that only the Advanced Ravens test and the Vienna Determination test (Phase 3} correlate positively with the Ground School Phase results of the candidates. The current battery emphasises cognitive abilities and psycho-motor functioning and does not cover personality traits of prospective candidates. It is recommended that new instruments are included (to cover the measurement of personality traits), that the sample size should be increased by promoting pilot training among previously disadvantaged students and that the current pilot profile should be updated as a matter of urgency. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

This thesis deals with the analysis of personnel work in a selected company and proposing improvement measures for any deficiencies. In the theoretical part are analyzed opinions of authors, who deal with the personnel work. Basic structure of personal work used in this thesis is creation and job analysis, personnel planning, recruitment and selection of staff, their evaluation and remuneration, deployment of staff, termination of employment, education and care for workers, relationships with employers and HR information system. In the pracical part is the analyzed company introduced at first, its business activities and history. Then the basic information about employees are meantioned, their number and changes in last five years. Organizational structure is described here too. At the end of the thesis are improvement neasures for some of the personal work.