Globalization, global competitive market forces and technological progress have made Geographically Distributed Development (GDD) possible and a necessity for most companies in the world. The software industry has consistently been at the forefront of exploring and implementing this business model. This thesis studies the key drivers of GDD, identifies the major challenges which global virtual teams face and existing frameworks for successful global virtual teams. A case study is used to validate the challenges and concerns of managing a global virtual team and a framework is proposed to help overcome the challenges and enable successful global software development. / text

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty Of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Of Master Of Education (Social Science Education) in the Department Of Comparative and Science Education at the University Of Zululand, 2017 / The study focused on classroom management challenges experienced by female educators in King Cetshwayo District secondary schools. The aim of the study was to explore classroom management challenges faced by female educators in secondary schools and find establish the behaviour of learners towards female educators. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. A structured questionnaire with close and open ended questions was used to collect data from participants. The sample consisted of 280 female educators from 20 secondary schools in King Cetshwayo District. The demographic variables of the study show that there are higher numbers of female educators than males, the age of respondents reveal a youthful population of educators, teaching experience of educators average at 51% and shows a relatively experienced population, the majority of educators prefer teaching Grade 10 and below. Educators in secondary schools are mostly female (61%). The findings of the study show that educators were of the opinion that youthful exuberance and lack of positive role models are responsible for the unruly behaviour of the learners, female educators respond well to the needs of individuals and groups, educators are overburdened with overload and limited resources, also, learners misbehave towards female educators because they know that corporal punishment is prohibited by the schools and government as well. In view of the outcome of the research, it was recommended that workshops should be organised to address and empower educators on the appropriate teaching techniques to empower them cope with contemporary teaching challenges. It is also recommended that massive employment of educators be embarked upon in order to reduce the workload of educators and reduce work related stress. Appropriate funding should be made available to encourage educators to upgrade their knowledge in a manner that will support their career progression. Personnel like Psychologists, Nurses and Social Workers should be employed to serve as Educator supporting structures to help reduce workloads in the school environment

The trend for global software development is increasing day by day. Global software development takes into account, the development of software globally by bringing knowledge about the market. There are several challenges that have an impact in developing software globally. In this study we investigate several management challenges faced in globally distributed projects and scrum practices that are being implemented by the organization. We also study the benefits in implementing scrum. For our research, we have performed literature review to find out the various challenges in managing globally distributed software projects and various scrum practices that are discussed. We conducted industrial case studies to find out the challenges being faced by them in globally distributed projects and the various scrum practices that are followed by them to overcome those challenges and also to know the benefits of implementing scrum in GSD. In order to provide quantitative support of management challenges and scrum practices discussed in the literature review, surveys have been conducted. We used grounded theory for analyzing the data gathered during the study. There are several challenges that are being faced by the organizations while developing software globally. There are also several scrum practices that have been found from the interviews. There are few challenges that need to be addressed in future research. / The trend for global software development is increasing day by day. Global software development takes into account, the development of software globally by bringing knowledge about the market. There are several challenges that have an impact in developing software globally. In this study we investigate several management challenges faced in globally distributed projects and scrum practices that are being implemented by the organization. We also study the benefits in implementing scrum. For our research, we have performed literature review to find out the various challenges in managing globally distributed software projects and various scrum practices that are discussed. We conducted industrial case studies to find out the challenges being faced by them in globally distributed projects and the various scrum practices that are followed by them to overcome those challenges and also to know the benefits of implementing scrum in GSD. In order to provide quantitative support of management challenges and scrum practices discussed in the literature review, surveys have been conducted. We used grounded theory for analyzing the data gathered during the study. There are several challenges that are being faced by the organizations while developing software globally. There are also several scrum practices that have been found from the interviews. There are few challenges that need to be addressed in future research. / Phone number: +4552633534

This study explores the conceptualisation of glass ceiling by Bahraini female managers in their bid to attain senior management position as a career advancement. It assesses their perception of the concept of the glass ceiling, and what coping mechanisms adopted in eliminating barriers and empowering women to attain senior executive positions in the finance sector. The study identifies gender discrimination as a cause that impedes female career progression to senior management levels in the banking industry which originate in multiple environmental levels: organisation barriers (i.e. meso level), societal barriers (i.e. macro level) and individual barriers (i.e. micro level). The study adopts a qualitative approach to uncover the research questions and conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 37 Bahraini female managers in the banks to extract their lived experiences on barriers that hamper their advancement to senior levels. The study captures barriers common to women within an Arabic-Islamic cultural context and seeks to explore its differences from the barriers experienced by western women in their career. The study found out that women’s career progression is affected by social, religious and cultural dogmas, gender stereotype, individual limitations, and organizational structures. This study finds that patriarchal societal pressures, cultural norms, and religious studies influence glass ceiling experienced by Bahraini women. The findings also revealed the limited ability of women to take decisions that affect their advancement. Furthermore, this study highlights the differences in experiences between the majority of women in Western countries where they have autonomy and freedom as their male counterparts in the society. The societal norms and culture appear to undermine women’s empowerment and result in stress, tension and losing valuable talent within the work milieu. The research also revealed the strive by women under the pressure of organisational, societal and individual barriers and the influence of the religious aspects impeding their career progression. The study has added a new insight by emphasising on the value of empowerment for women as a key to breaking the glass ceiling. The analysis shows barriers are varied by the level of empowerment of women, where empowered women can overcome the barriers they encounter while disenfranchised women believed that the barriers operate to their disadvantage and justification for not attaining senior executive positions by making it stiffer. The study concludes there is a need for the re-evaluation of the foundational rubric of the education system on gender equality at an early stage and empowering women in several aspects. These include building up women's capacity by training, mentorship, and networking, presenting inspiring female role models, temporary measures such as mandatory quota, and raising awareness regarding gender equality and emphasis on revising the educational curriculum at schools.

Rapid economic growth, urbanisation and increasing population have caused (materially intensive) resource consumption to increase, and consequently the release of large amounts of waste to the environment. Numerous technological and operational approaches to resource management have been introduced throughout the system of production, consumption and waste management. This thesis concludes that the current, rather isolated, efforts to influence different systems for waste management, waste reduction and resource management are indeed not sufficient from a long-term sustainability perspective. To manage resources and waste sustainably, resource management requires a more systems-oriented approach, which addresses the root causes of the problems. This thesis identifies and discusses different sustainability challenges facing the global waste management system. To address these challenges a broader systems approach to waste management is proposed. The thesis argues that there is a need to recognise the multitudes of perspectives, cross-scale dynamics and actors’ interactions at various levels. The barriers and limitations to a systems-oriented management of waste generation including design, production, consumption and waste management are discussed. The study utilises soft systems methodology (by Checkland (2000)) within which different concepts and methods are utilised to present a worldwide view on resource dynamics and develop a research heuristic for sustainable resource management. The study emphasises the need for a shared vision among various actors across the chain of production and consumption. To assist better planning, the need for improved databases on resource use and wastes is emphasised. / <p>QC 20140211</p>

The non-interest and profit-loss sharing schemes of Islamic finance (IF) are attracting increasing global attention. Despite exposure to the similar opportunities as other Western countries that have adopted the financial business model there is little evidence of Islamic finance windows operating in the conventional institutions in Canada. This thesis takes a qualitative approach to bring the issue forward in Canadian social science literature by exploring the perceived challenges to, and the potential of, the development of IF offerings with a focus on factors affecting the supply and management decisions in the industry. The study used an inductive approach with archival data and critical survey of literature to arrive at the hypotheses surrounding the challenges. These were tested deductively by semi-structured interviews and panel discussions both in Canada and the US on a sample of senior officials involved in both IF and conventional financial institutions. Using a thematic analysis the study arrived at findings supporting the hypotheses related to awareness, regulation, management intent and internal resources. In the external environment, factors affecting strategic decision on offering IF services are mainly due to regulation, lack of awareness, even among Muslim communities, or misgivings about Sha’riah authenticity. Internally, highly customized IT infrastructures, lack of funds and foreign investment make it unfeasible. Management interest when proposed with the concept is high but not in a top-down manner and there is an overall uncertainty avoidance culture and little proactivity with market research. Access to specific Sha’riah knowledge is not considered a hurdle anymore. It is apparent that investments in Sha’riah compliant stocks would be easiest to set up. Mortgage structures can be affected by the capital market structure, even if not tax structures. Knowledge on this can have implications for banks seeking to expand their investment portfolios and aid government policies.

The non-interest and profit-loss sharing schemes of Islamic finance (IF) are attracting increasing global attention. Despite exposure to the similar opportunities as other Western countries that have adopted the financial business model there is little evidence of Islamic finance windows operating in the conventional institutions in Canada. This thesis takes a qualitative approach to bring the issue forward in Canadian social science literature by exploring the perceived challenges to, and the potential of, the development of IF offerings with a focus on factors affecting the supply and management decisions in the industry. The study used an inductive approach with archival data and critical survey of literature to arrive at the hypotheses surrounding the challenges. These were tested deductively by semi-structured interviews and panel discussions both in Canada and the US on a sample of senior officials involved in both IF and conventional financial institutions. Using a thematic analysis the study arrived at findings supporting the hypotheses related to awareness, regulation, management intent and internal resources. In the external environment, factors affecting strategic decision on offering IF services are mainly due to regulation, lack of awareness, even among Muslim communities, or misgivings about Sha’riah authenticity. Internally, highly customized IT infrastructures, lack of funds and foreign investment make it unfeasible. Management interest when proposed with the concept is high but not in a top-down manner and there is an overall uncertainty avoidance culture and little proactivity with market research. Access to specific Sha’riah knowledge is not considered a hurdle anymore. It is apparent that investments in Sha’riah compliant stocks would be easiest to set up. Mortgage structures can be affected by the capital market structure, even if not tax structures. Knowledge on this can have implications for banks seeking to expand their investment portfolios and aid government policies.

The purpose of this research is to understand the main managerial challenges that arise in the context of Machine Learning. This research aims to explore the core concepts of Machine Learning and provide the same conceptual foundation to managers to overcome possible obstacles while implementing Machine Learning. Therefore, the main research question is:  What are the phases and the main challenges while managing Machine Learning project in a product based IT organization?   The focus is on the main concepts of Machine Learning and identifying challenges during each phase through literature review and qualitative data collected from interviews conducted with professionals. The research aims to position itself in the field of research which looks for inputs from consultants and management professionals either associated with Machine Learning or they are planning to start such initiatives. In this research paper we introduce ACDDT (Agile-Customer-Data-Domain-Technology) model framework for managers. This framework is centered on the main challenges in Machine Learning project phases while dealing with customer, data, domain and technology. In addition, the frame work also provides key inputs to managers for managing those challenges and possibly overcome them.

This study investigated human resource challenges besetting school managers in Vryheid district in Zululand region in KwaZulu-Natal: an educational management perspective. The target population consisted of school managers in the service of KwaZulu-Natal Province, Zululand Region in Vryheid district in the Department of Education. For educators to perform satisfactorily, their skills, abilities and motives to perform duties must match their job requirements. Managers must recruit and select qualified and dedicated staff members for the effectiveness of the school depends on the effectiveness of the staff. The challenges of school managers are to attract, recruit, retain, motivate and develop the staff. They should not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone. They have to redress the past imbalances when appointing the staff. They work under stressful conditions with different types of people, all with their own beliefs, values, cultures and work ethics. Educators with best results are promoted to senior positions where they are sometimes not utilised. Learners are becoming more uncontrollable, rude, violent and undisciplined. some are promoted and others. Endless strikes, turnover, absenteeism, redeployment, late coming, over-crowded classrooms, many changes, poor performance; hostility is very common in schools. The growing numbers of educators, who die, retire, promoted and resigning each year, resulting in the shortage of experienced educators to substitute them. The lack of reliable resources or help within the Department of Education. . A qualitative explanatory and descriptive approach has been adopted in the present research to investigate school managers’ challenges. The research findings of the investigation confirmed that numerous challenges exist in schools and that school managers require training and intervention strategies to help them cope with the changes in the education system in South Africa. The limitations and recommendations were discussed. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Education Management)

A substantial amount of IT projects fail or stay challenged in meeting their targets based on project schedule, budget and system requirements.  Leading global surveys in the last decade barely indicate any improvement in the statistical performance of IT projects in spite of the fact that a lot of effort has been taken in the past to identify and fix those critical factors on which the success and failure of IT projects are generally based on. The poor trend and the underperformance of IT projects still continue. Different researches based on different approaches identify different critical factors but to a very large extent people and processes are blamed. This thesis is under taken to understand the impact of Information Systems (IS) processes and methodologies in the success and failure of IT projects. Major challenges within IS processes, such as their initial identification, implementation and organizational process awareness are identified through qualitative research methods. ‘Identification and selection of IS process and methodologies’ is identified as a major challenge within IT projects and is discussed in detail as, why and what difficulties organizations face in the process of  selecting processes and methodologies on a given IT project. A couple of methodology selection frameworks to overcome these difficulties are presented along side with their critical review and improvement. We come to a conclusion that there is a growing need for more efficient and competent methodology selection frameworks as the ones which exist today are barely complete and efficient and if they do then only to a limited and partial degree.