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)

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Life Orientation, a core subject of the South African secondary school curriculum since 1996, is still not taught successfully in the majority of secondary schools. This study was conducted in former Model C secondary schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropole in order to identify challenges and problems with regard to the management of the teaching of the subject. If the subject were managed properly by principals the Departmental outcomes would have been achieved and problems would not have existed. In this study the managerial challenges of the teaching of Life Orientation have been identified by means of mixed method research, in terms of the four main management tasks, namely leading, planning, organising and controlling. The views of principals were obtained through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The data was synthesised, multi-dimensional management problems were identified and recommendations were made with regard to managing the important subject of Life Orientation. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

This study explores teachers’ experiences with the principals’ instructional leadership styles in primary schools in Gauteng province. A qualitative research design was employed in the study to answer the research question. Data was generated by means of semi structured interviews which involved the three HODs and nine ordinary teachers from the three sampled schools so as to provide a rich description, explanation, experiences, challenges and barriers that instructional leadership brings into the teaching and learning process in their particular schools contexts. The interest in the phenomenon emerged on the perspective of principals’ instructional leadership as often seen as the contributor to the challenges that are experienced by Primary school teachers during the learning process. Principals are viewed as contributing to South Africa’s education crisis and the overall ineffectiveness of the school system resulting in poor academic results. The instructional leaders who are not doing their jobs competently because of their leadership styles and lack of supervision skills, have caused this. This includes proper knowledge of how to run the schools and motivating staff to work, to enhance classroom instruction. Sometimes they do not involve the community and other stakeholders in the decision making process. Teachers who provide moral support and professional growth in the schools are also ignored. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Life Orientation, a core subject of the South African secondary school curriculum since 1996, is still not taught successfully in the majority of secondary schools. This study was conducted in former Model C secondary schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropole in order to identify challenges and problems with regard to the management of the teaching of the subject. If the subject were managed properly by principals the Departmental outcomes would have been achieved and problems would not have existed. In this study the managerial challenges of the teaching of Life Orientation have been identified by means of mixed method research, in terms of the four main management tasks, namely leading, planning, organising and controlling. The views of principals were obtained through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The data was synthesised, multi-dimensional management problems were identified and recommendations were made with regard to managing the important subject of Life Orientation. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Abstract The main objective of this study is to clarify the current challenges and preconditions relating to product portfolio management (PPM) and widen the PPM framework over horizontal and vertical portfolios, including a related governance model, strategic performance management and the PPM process. This study analyses comprehensively the current PPM literature and the relevant practices of 10 case companies representing business areas such as hardware (HW), software (SW) and Services. This study approaches PPM from a more comprehensive viewpoint as all product life cycle phases and product structure levels are not covered well in this context by the earlier literature. The principal results of this study involve revealing the need for a new PPM governance model including strategic targets, KPIs and the PPM process according to vertical and horizontal portfolios. The created PPM framework clarifies the strategic role of PPM in cross-functional analysis and decision making for commercial and technical portfolios. The role and the impact of strategic PPM have been further enhanced by positioning the PPM process on the level of other business processes. The created PPM framework enhances the collaboration between business and engineering teams. The managerial implications include the potential preconditions of clarifying the dynamic and active role of PPM at the level of other business processes. The findings can aid business managers in understanding PPM as an entity that has a role in managing the entire product portfolio and its renewal based on strategic performance measures over horizontal and vertical portfolios according to cross-functional governance bodies. This highlights the criticality of managing all items both in commercial and technical portfolios. The role of other business processes should be highly operational by executing product development, marketing and sales, delivery and care activities according to PPM decisions. The primary role of PPM should be active management of the entire product portfolio over product life cycle phases and product structure levels, instead of merely focusing on new product development, to ensure product portfolio renewal. / Tiivistelmä Tämä tutkimus selventää tuoteportfolion hallintaan liittyviä edellytyksiä ja haasteita, sekä laajentaa tuoteportfolion hallintamallia, suorituskyvyn johtamista ja prosessia horisontaalisesti ja vertikaalisesti. Tuoteportfolion hallintaa on lähestytty kattavasti analysoimalla nykyistä kirjallisuutta, sekä kymmenen kohdeyrityksen käytänteitä nykytila-analyysin keinoin. Kohdeyritykset edustavat useita liiketoiminta- ja tuotealueita kattaen laitteiston, ohjelmiston ja palvelut. Tämä tutkimus lähestyy tuoteportfolion hallintaa laajemmalta katsantokannalta kuin nykyinen kirjallisuus joka ei kata kaikkia tuotteen elinkaaren vaiheita ja tuoterakennetasoja. Tämän väitöstutkimuksen tärkeimmät tulokset liittyvät uuden tuoteportfolion hallintamallin tarpeellisuuden esille tuomiseen, sisältäen tuoteportfolion strategiset tavoitteet, suorituskykymittarit ja hallintaprosessin perustuen vertikaalisiin ja horisontaalisiin tuoteportfolioihin. Luotu viitekehys selkeyttää tuoteportfolion hallinnan strategista roolia organisaatiorajat ja liiketoimintaprosessit ylittävässä analyysissa ja päätöksenteossa liittyen kaupallisiin ja teknisiin tuoteportfolioihin. Strategisen tuoteportfolion hallinnan roolia ja merkitystä on erityisesti korostettu nostamalla tuoteportfolion hallintaprosessi muiden liiketoimintaprosessien tasolle. Tässä tutkimuksessa luotu tuoteportfolion hallinnan viitekehys vahvistaa yhteistyötä liiketoiminnanjohto- ja insinööritiimien välillä kaikilla organisaatiotasoilla. Työn kontribuutiot yritysjohdolle korostavat tuoteportfolion hallintaprosessin keskitettyä, dynaamista ja aktiivista roolia johtaa yrityksen kaupallisia ja teknisiä nimikkeitä horisontaalisesti ja vertikaalisesti kokonaisuutena perustuen strategisiin suorituskykymittareihin. Tuoteportfolion hallinta yli horisontaalisten ja vertikaalisten portfolioiden mahdollistaa tuoteportfolion uudistumisen yli kaikkien elinkaarivaiheiden ja tuoterakennetasojen. Muiden liiketoimintaprosessien roolin tulisi olla selkeästi operatiivinen toteuttaen tuotekehitykseen, markkinointiin, myyntiin, tilaamiseen, hankintaan, toimittamiseen ja huoltoon liittyviä tehtäviä perustuen strategisiin tuoteportfolion hallinnan tavoitteisiin ja suorituskykymittareihin.