No description available.

No description available.

Examination of a wide range of literature on both 'career' and 'middle age' finds many concepts ill-defined and underlying assumptions (such as 'development') unquestioned; and an emphasis upon intra-individual rather than contextual factors. The 'career change' research approached the topic from the perspective of the observer and that of the dominant theories as an objective event to be explained in terms of individual characteristics. In the present environment of change, the thesis argues the heed for a wider exploration of this experience within a dynamic and holistic model of 'career' and with the recognition of the significant subjective dimension. The fieldwork attempts this in its biographical approach in unstructured, tape-recorded interviews with 32 men preparing to enter a new occupation. Close textual analysis of the interviews (on a literary model) identifies the influence on the shape of the 'career' of the interaction of factors both exogenous and endogenous to the individual. It is interpreted that the individual negotiates a temporary 'truce' between these factors, which holds until the interacting factors change and cause it to break down. The individual's re-negotiation of the 'truce', as seen in the present phase, may lead to minor adjustments or major re-directions through the several dömains of life. For some, the experience of the present focusses upon the re-definition of self and/or the environment: this 'broken truce' overlays the objective realities of occupational change. The examination of other aspects of this negotiation (use of resources, of advice and information, models and mentors; mode of decision-making) identifies the significance of the 'orientation to the environment': the time perspective and the perception-of and responses to the environment. The implications for research, theory and counselling are noted throughout. The study concludes its evaluation of theory by Suggesting that systems theory offers an appropriate, fruitful and comprehensive approach. However, there remains the need to recognise the actor's view and thus an exploration of the 'soft systems' approach is recommended. Through the thesis note is taken of the 'career' of the research itself and its relationship with the 'career' of the researcher.

Productivity has for many years been an issue for the construction industry in Singapore. The industry is deeply concerned that construction productivity is not only below that of the manufacturing sector, but is also below the national average. The industry has identified several factors that have impeded construction productivity, namely, a shortage of suitably trained, skilled supervisors and workers; a weakening local construction workforce; and a large, mostly unskilled and transient pool of foreign workers. The main objective of the research programme was to assist contractors improve their site productivity performance. A three-pronged approach was adopted, comprising a review of current construction productivity issues affecting the Singapore construction industry; a survey of top civil engineering and building contractors to understand their perceptions on productivity; and a study of measurement techniques of site productivity for on-going building projects. The first phase of the research programme comprised a comprehensive study of construction productivity issues in the Singapore context, followed by an extensive questionnaire survey. The objective of the survey was to identify the perceptions of senior management of large civil engineering and building contractors with regard to: factors that would improve construction productivity; and problems encountered at construction sites. This phase of the research resulted in several recommendations to be made to industry in order to improve construction productivity. These recommendations included the recruitment and training of a new generation of skilled local workers; continuous upgrading of management and technical skills of supervisory staff; the study of long-term viability of construction automation processes; promotion of buildable designs; and extensive use of prefabrication to replace labour intensive operations. The second phase of the research comprised a study of productivity measurement techniques for various on-going building projects in Singapore. Two areas were investigated, namely: measurement of overall site productivity of projects on a monthly basis; and measurement of labour productivity of formwork, reinforcement and concreting operations. A prescribed productivity equation was used for measuring overall productivity, and data included monthly site manpower and monthly progress payments certified by the project consultants. Three categorises of building projects were investigated, namely commercial buildings, public residential buildings and private residential buildings. The findings of the research revealed that public housing projects, being simpler to construct, had higher productivity levels as compared to the other two categories of buildings. Research showed that for individual projects, the monthly productivity figures depended on the value of work done for the month. The productivity figures for commercial and private residential projects, were directly proportional to the architectural manpower used. An increase in architectural manpower would mean more activity in the high cost value architectural works which would increase the productivity figures by pushing up the monthly progress payments. It was also observed that productivity figures were generally lower at the start of the projects, due to the learning curve effect and the fact that manpower needed was mainly for structural works, which had a lower cost value than the architectural works. In the productivity studies of formwork, reinforcement and concreting operations, the research aimed to measure the manpower needed for each of the above trades in order to complete individual typical floors of selected buildings. This would enable a comparison of productivity figures on a floor to floor basis for each of the above three structural trades. The second phase of the research confirmed that it is possible for contractors to monitor site productivity of current building projects, study the variations in monthly productivity values and compare productivity performance of various projects within the same building category as well as for different categories.

Construction is a labour-intensive industry that places heavy reliance upon the skills of its workforce. Construction companies need to understand and realise the importance of long-term labour resource planning requirements. The overall aim of this thesis is to develop a systematic planning process that offers the opportunity for gathering information for construction labour markets throughout Europe. Such a process would benefit the construction industry by identifying imbalances between the demand and supply of specific construction skills. In order to plan, the construction industry must: appreciate the complexity of labour resource requirements; understand the long-term planning implications; have reliable information; and be aware of any restrictions or limitations on the planning exercise. These have been reflected in the main objectives of this research which were to: identify and collate useful and reliable sources of data on construction labour resources throughout Europe; construct a model to predict labour resource trends; and assess the acceptability of movement between various European regions. Key sources of construction industry labour statistics were identified in several European countries. Descriptions of the information held by each source were obtained through a questionnaire survey that illustrated the extent to which data in individual countries were broken down. Due to the differences in the classification of data, meaningful comparisons of labour statistics from one country to another were difficult to achieve. The future supply of construction skills depends on the recruitment of young people, together with some upgrading of semi-skilled operatives to skilled operatives. The potential for modelling labour supply was identified and could provide an insight into influences on this supply of trainees. A human capital approach to analysing labour supply was used as a theoretical basis for developing such a model. It was found that real craft wage and output have a strong influence on the supply of nerv entrants, along with demographic factors and young people's image of the construction industry. The movement of labour within Europe is more common place in the construction industry than other industries owing to the transient nature of the workforce. Factors governing labour mobility between various regions of Europe were identified through literature review. This research demonstrated that the movement of construction labour depends on several push-pull factors: push factors encourage movement from a particular region; and pull-factors direct movement into a particular region. Mutual recognition of qualification and common labour regulations were found to be less significant factors.

This thesis reports the first independent test of an influential model of employee turnover (Lee, Mitchell, Holtom, McDaniel and Hill 1999). The context for this test is the case of nurse turnover in the National Health Service (NHS). There have been many hundreds of turnover studies in the last fifty years, and many ways of understanding the turnover phenomenon. The thesis organises this literature, by selectively analysing and discussing the more influential of these studies. This selective, critical review allows for the model tested here to be placed in a theoretical and historical context. A critique of the model signalled the need for theoretical development prior to operationalisation. However, the relative paucity of empirical evidence in support of the model suggested that replicating the basic findings of the authors would also be desirable. Accordingly, the case for a critical test was clear, and an outline of the role of this type of replication facilitated this. The research involved eight NHS trusts, in three regions. In total, 352 full-time nurse leavers participated. Data relating to their decision to leave was collected via an eight page survey, which comprised both closed and open items. Analysis and interpretation of these data challenge the current formulation of the model tested, as well as contributing to the understanding of employee turnover and nursing turnover. Note: The term model is defined here as 'conceptual framework'.

This thesis considers the problem of slip, trip and fall accidents (STFA) occurring during the delivery of mail. Its aims are to identify key risk factors and effective countermeasures. 'Falls outdoor' are the largest cause of accident and lost time within the delivery function of the Royal Mail, making up approximately 28 % of accidents at work. The Royal Mail also has a poor safety record compared to other organisations for this type of accident. The research project comprised five studies. The first four studies examined the role of individual, task-related and environmental (physical and organisational) factors in delivery STFA risk. The final study considered the selection, design and implementation of a programme of intervention to impact on key risk factors identified in earlier research. The entire project was undertaken within the Midlands Division of the Royal Mail. The first study involved analysis of in-house accident data relating to 1734 delivery STFA cases reported during a two year period, and a sample of 237 accident reports. Nearly two-thirds of delivery STFA occurred while the employee was walking on the level, and 19 % while ascending or descending steps. Over 50 % of falls resulted from slips, with ice, snow and wet underfoot surfaces the main hazards. Accident-independent investigations undertaken in the second study involved a series of focus groups with PDO, interviews with senior management and safety personnel, and a 'short questionnaire' survey of PDO and delivery office managers. In all cases, respondents were asked to provide information regarding factors they believed increased the risk of delivery STFA. This research was exploratory in nature, and identified a range of possible behavioural, task-related and management risk factors. The third study involved detailed interviews with 40 STFA-involved PDO. The main purpose of the study was to consider the role of risk factors identified in accident-independent research. Interviews took place at the site of the accident. 'Avoidable' environmental hazards, such as damaged paving and inadequate lighting, were involved in 38 % of delivery STFA. The fourth study investigated the use of safety practices relevant to delivery STFA by Delivery Office Managers (DOM). Telephone interviews with managers of 20 'matched' high and low accident-incidence rate offices were undertaken to investigate DOMs' use of 'desirable' safety practices. The final study was concerned with the selection, design and implementation of a programme of intervention. Intervention measures were research-led; designed to reduce the impact of key risk factors identified in previous project research Recommended intervention measures targeted STFA risks at three levels: slip resistance (superior occupational footwear and footwear attachments), exposure to hazardous conditions (e. g. adverse weather practice, hazard reporting and feedback form) and employee behaviour in the face of hazardous conditions (e. g. training workshops and behaviour modification techniques). The use of a participative approach to intervention selection and design allowed safety measures to be placed successfully within the organisational context of the Royal Mail.

This work constitutes a study of the operations of local authority building direct labour organisations (DLOs) during the 1980s, An overt aim of Part III of the 1980 Local Government, Planning and Land Act was to improve efficiency in the operations of local authority building direct labour organisations (DLOs). Whilst the Act did not specify how DLOs should be organised, the legislation on accounting and accountability clearly had Important organisational implications. Even prior to 1981, some DLOs already obtained the majority of work via competitive tender, had control over their functions and had systems for demonstrating their efficiency. Others were not operated in such ways and fundamental changes were needed to successfully meet the challenge of the new legislation. By 1988, the Audit Commission admitted that DLO5 had very largely been successful in meeting the competitive requirements of the 1980 Act, but expressed concern over the varying levels of effectiveness and efficiency of operation that existed amongst organisations. An objective of the study is to look at the problems associated with efficiency and productivity measurement in the context of DLO performance. The Conservative government of this period had a strong conniitment to the improvement of efficiency of the public sector. In other areas of public services, various forms of performance Indicator were being employed to monitor performance, but for a DLO the sole measure of efficiency was the ability to meet the 5a target rate of return. The concern with efficiency produced new interest in the application of quantitative techniques to provide methods of efficiency measurement. This work undertakes a study of the problems associated with efficiency and performance measurement In this sector of the U.K. construction Industry. The availability of appropriate data at the Individual organisation level from 1981 onwards, enabled, for the first time, viable lnter-DLO comparisons to be undertaken at the micro-level and sectoral comparisons to be made at the macro-level. The data used In the study were obtained over a five year period from a variety of sources of published and unpublished sources. A unique database of expenditure and revenue Information from over 150 DLOs has been developed, which in many ways is even more comprehensive than the 'official' statistics collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Methods used for efficiency measurement With the great emphasis placed on ensuring that the public sector of the construction industry acts in an efficient manner, the data are employed In various methods for the measurement of efficiency. 1. At the sector level, total factor productivity neasurement is used to gauge the rate of growth of the DLO sector of the industry. 2. At the organisation level, 'Farrell' measures of efficiency are used. A model for measuring the efficiency of Individual organisations is presented. Data Envelopment Analysis I used to consider inefficiency that raises Costs above their feasible minimum.

This study is principally concerned with measuring, and identifying the factors that affect, the job satisfaction levels of Saudi nationals employed by companies established as part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Economic Offset Program. The study begins by providing an overview concerning the purpose, potential significance, and achievements to date of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Economic Offset Program, which constitutes a crucial component of the Saudi government’s plans, both for the long-term diversification of the economy, and for the generation of much needed employment for the country's growing population. The study proceeds to consider the potentially very significant but previously neglected topic of job satisfaction levels in the offset companies, addressing the issue in two ways. First, the study considers the underlying causes, and the practical consequences, of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction in light of the considerable body of theoretical and empirical literature that has been produced on the subject in other settings. Second, and more importantly, the study explains the development and presents the results of an empirical research project carried out by the researcher in three of the more developed Saudi offset companies. The study will report that the overall level of job satisfaction in the three companies surveyed is quite high, and will show that job-related factors, such as the nature of an employee’s work itself, recognition and status, were found to be the most important correlates of the high overall satisfaction level. The study also calls attention to some potentially important problem areas, such as worker dissatisfaction with the companies’ policies governing training, dismissals, transfers and promotions.

No description available.