The thesis is concerned with organisational consulting, and the 'theories' which guide social and behavioural consultants in what they do. To preserve the 'integrity of the phenomena' the research has utilised an interviewing methodology to obtain accounts which reveal 'personal theories'. The aim has been to achieve an adequate phenomenology of consultants' ideas, rooted in their personal lives and organisational role situations, and not just to treat consultancy as the disembodied application of skills and knowledge. Consultants' ideas and practices can thereby be viewed in relation to their role-contexts, and can be seen as adapted to specific operating situations, particularly in the comparison of internal,commercial and academic consultants. Thus far, the study makes a substantive contribution to the understanding of social consultancy by locating ideas and practices in role circumstances. But such consultants are also ah occupational group, sharing a common role-context. The role is the product of wider organisational and societal processes. Beyond the specific slant given by differences in their immediate work-role, therefore, there appear common features in their working models. Two paradigms, the negotiative and systems, are identified and analysed as projections of consultants' role experiences which were also functional for clients, insofar as they developed the cohesion of managers as a group and their capacity to cope with problems facing organisations in the period 1960-79. Ideas and practices are thus viewed, ideologically, in relation to an historical period and social formation. By considering consultants' ideas, as ideology, in relation to their market situation (expressed in role) we confront a central question in social theory - the relation between ideas and the material structures and processes of society. At this point the study therefore attempts to connect the sociology of knowledge directly with the theory of ideology, and to make a substantive contribution to each.

Die doel van hierdie ondersoek is om die gestruktureerde onderhoud, in die vorm van die Targeted Selection Interview tegniek, as geldige keuringsinstrument ter voorspelling van opleidingsukses van bestuursdienstepraktisyns in die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens te ondersoek. Daar is gebruik gemaak van 'n opnamemetode en die opleidingsprestasie van kandidaatbestuursdienstepraktisyns is vergelyk met die resultate wat kandiddate behaal het in hulle evaluering tydens die gestruktureerde onderhoud. Korrelasies is bereken tussen die tellings behaal vir elke dimensie wat die onderhoud evalueer en die tellings onderskeidelik behaal vir elke opleidingsmodule voltooi tydens die 1 0-weke-bestuurs-dienstesertifikaatkursus wat aangebied word deur die Technikon Pretoria. Die resultate behaal in die ondersoek dui op lae, nie-beduidende korrelasies tussen die gestruktureerde onderhoud as keuringsinstrument en die kandidaatbestuursdienstepraktisyns se prestasie tydens opleiding. Die resultate dui dus daarop dat die Targeted Selection Interview wat die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens toepas, nie opleidingsprestasie voldoende voorspel nie. / The aim of this study is to investigate the validity of the structured interview, in the form of the Targeted Selection Interview technique to predict training success of management services practitioners in the South African Police Service. A survey method has been used to obtain the data regarding the training success of candidates and the evaluation results of the structured interview. The correlation was calculated between scores obtained for every dimension measured by the interview and the scores for every training module compl~ted on the 1 0-week management services certificate course, presented by the Technikon Pretoria. The results obtained indicates low, insignificant correlations between the structured interview as selection instrument and the training results of candidate Management Services practitioners. The results thus indicate that the Targeted Selection Interview as applied by the South African Police Service, does not sufficiently predict training success. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Bedryfsielkunde)

Die doel van hierdie ondersoek is om die gestruktureerde onderhoud, in die vorm van die Targeted Selection Interview tegniek, as geldige keuringsinstrument ter voorspelling van opleidingsukses van bestuursdienstepraktisyns in die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens te ondersoek. Daar is gebruik gemaak van 'n opnamemetode en die opleidingsprestasie van kandidaatbestuursdienstepraktisyns is vergelyk met die resultate wat kandiddate behaal het in hulle evaluering tydens die gestruktureerde onderhoud. Korrelasies is bereken tussen die tellings behaal vir elke dimensie wat die onderhoud evalueer en die tellings onderskeidelik behaal vir elke opleidingsmodule voltooi tydens die 1 0-weke-bestuurs-dienstesertifikaatkursus wat aangebied word deur die Technikon Pretoria. Die resultate behaal in die ondersoek dui op lae, nie-beduidende korrelasies tussen die gestruktureerde onderhoud as keuringsinstrument en die kandidaatbestuursdienstepraktisyns se prestasie tydens opleiding. Die resultate dui dus daarop dat die Targeted Selection Interview wat die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens toepas, nie opleidingsprestasie voldoende voorspel nie. / The aim of this study is to investigate the validity of the structured interview, in the form of the Targeted Selection Interview technique to predict training success of management services practitioners in the South African Police Service. A survey method has been used to obtain the data regarding the training success of candidates and the evaluation results of the structured interview. The correlation was calculated between scores obtained for every dimension measured by the interview and the scores for every training module compl~ted on the 1 0-week management services certificate course, presented by the Technikon Pretoria. The results obtained indicates low, insignificant correlations between the structured interview as selection instrument and the training results of candidate Management Services practitioners. The results thus indicate that the Targeted Selection Interview as applied by the South African Police Service, does not sufficiently predict training success. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Bedryfsielkunde)