Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Since the mid 1980s, the Australian VET system has experienced significant reforms in terms of policies and regulatory frameworks, resulting in a system characterised by demand-side requirements that seek to cater to the needs of industry and employers. These reforms were instigated by a perceived change in Australia’s international competitiveness and an overall lack of flexibility that hindered productivity and technological advancements. This thesis draws upon research into the changes in VET policy and the implications for management strategy within the retail industry. It discusses the key elements of the contemporary VET system and outlines the nature and introduction of the National Training Package in Retail. Evidence from case study research into three large Australian retail organisations is presented as a means of contrasting employer experiences in the implementation of retail traineeships. The case studies highlight the different ways the same structural system can be adapted and utilised across different organisations with various degrees of success. In analysing the changes in VET policy and the implications for management strategy in the retail industry it is evident that the outcomes of implementing traineeships will be reliant on the strategic choices made by the employers. / Master of Commerce (Hons)

The experience of occupational stress has long been implicated in the development of negative outcomes for the individual employee and the employing organisation. General well-being as well as levels of job satisfaction and organisational commitment have been identified in the literature as decreasing as a result of the experience occupational stress. The intertwined relationship between occupational stress and emotion has also been proposed to play a role in the stress�outcomes relationship. Although emotions are an integral and inseparable part of everyday organisational life, they are difficult to measure and as such have generally been ignored in the organisational literature. Recent research has begun to focus on the role of emotions in the workplace and a development from this approach has been to conceptually examine the relationship between cognition and emotions. This movement has largely been attributed to new research around the construct of Emotional Intelligence (EI). Emotional Intelligence involves behaviours related to the experience of emotion; specifically EI involves expressing, recognising, understanding and managing emotions. Despite the interest in workplace EI, very little empirical research has examined the role EI may play in occupational stress. This thesis systematically examined the relationship between EI and the occupational stress process, including stressors, strains (health), and outcomes of stress (job satisfaction and organisational commitment). The first study of this thesis involved the administration of a questionnaire to 320 employees. The results of Study 1 indicate that four dimensions of EI were particularly important in the occupational stress process: Emotional Recognition and Expression, Understanding Emotions, Emotional Management and Emotional Control. It was concluded that utilising EI was related to the experience of occupational stress, and to the outcomes of occupational stress (both health and attitudes), such that employees who reported using EI were less likely to report feelings of stress, ill-health and lowered satisfaction and commitment. The results of Study 1 provided a rationale for the development of an EI training program, a program to teach employees how to utilise the dimensions of EI more effectively in the workplace and to teach them how to deal with the negative emotions that arise from the experience of occupational stress. The prevalence of occupational stress in the Australian workforce is increasing and as a consequence many stress management intervention programs have surfaced in the literature, although none with emphasis on utilising emotions more effectively. The aim of Study 2 in this thesis was to develop, implement and evaluate an EI training program which had an emphasis on stress management. Study 2 involved the development of a five-session group training program and a standardised training manual. The training program was evaluated in terms of the variables identified in Study 1 (EI, occupational stress, strains, and outcomes of stress). The sample consisted of 79 teachers (55 with complete data sets). Baseline measures were taken at two time intervals prior to participation in the EI training program. Participants were assessed immediately after participation in the program and at a five-week follow-up interval. The findings of Study 2 demonstrated the effectiveness of the EI training program in terms of improving levels of EI, decreasing feelings of stress and strain and improving the outcomes of stress. These changes were evident immediately after completion of the training program and were maintained (or improved upon) at the follow-up time period. However there were some limitations to Study 2. Specifically, the short duration of the training program, the short follow-up time interval (of only five weeks) and the use of secondary stress management prevention tools were each limitations of this training program. Further research is necessary to address these limitations and to more accurately determine the efficacy of the training program developed in this thesis. Despite the limitations of Study 2, the EI training program implemented and evaluated in this thesis illustrated that a training program focussed on the emotional experiences of employees is able to successfully engage employees and assist them in dealing with the experience of occupational stress and the consequences of stress. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that the EI training program was successful in improving the employee�s level of EI, providing support for the theory that EI can be learned and developed. Overall, the development and implementation of an EI training program, in this thesis, demonstrated that behaviours underpinning the dimensions of EI can be learned and that training programs focussed on the emotional experiences of employees in the workplace can be effective in improving employee well-being and in decreasing feelings of occupational stress. The results of this thesis therefore provide support for including EI training programs as part of stress management for employees.

Job aids are instruments used on the job to improve human performance by enhancing the knowledge and/or skills of performers. Conventional job aids are usually printed on paper; examples include checklists, recipes, and decision tables. Expert systems are computerized job aids which interact with novices to help solve problems normally reserved for human experts. Because expert systems emulate human intelligence, they are sometimes called intelligent job aids. The purpose of this study was to extend the body of knowledge concerning conventional and intelligent job aids. The intent was to learn what major differences and similarities exist in the design, development, and application of conventional and intelligent job aids. If meaningful differences in the application were found, an additional aim was to determine why they existed. Job aids were developed to assist technicians in diagnosing problems with Robert Bosch electronic fuel injection systems found on certain John Deere diesel engines. The job aids were validated and then field tested by 42 John Deere technicians. Subjects used both job aids to solve problems with a mock fuel system. The diagnoses were video-taped for later evaluation, and subjects proffered their opinions about the job aids through questionnaires and in interviews. For this project, the intelligent job aid contained more textual and graphical content and required significantly more time and resources to develop. In terms of accuracy and efficiency, the job aids were comparable. Most users preferred the intelligent job aid though it required more time to learn to use than the conventional job aid. The age, education, or experience of the users did not influence their opinions of the job aids. However, the order in which the job aids were used did affect opinions; subjects that used the conventional job aid prior to the intelligent job aid were more likely to prefer the intelligent job aid. Implications for job aid project selection, design, and application are provided. / Graduation date: 1991

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 194-203). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3024527.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-277). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Historically, the majority of South African people, particularly Blacks, were denied access to free, compulsory basic education. This means that many citizens did not have access to education that would provide them with the skills necessary for quality work performance. Various arguments in this study imply that work performance is linked to the skills employees have in the work they do. The previous Bantu education system failed to produce people with the necessary skills for the economy of the country. To compensate for this situation the present South African government introduced the Skills Development Act and Skills Levies Act which intended to provide the unskilled workforce with an opportunity to be trained and acquire skills. This is an investment in people through skills development, which is aimed at the improved work performance of the country's workforce. The study aims to: • Determine the impact of skills development programmes on employees' work performance; • Determine whether the skills learned are actually applied in practice; • Assess the general performance of a company through skills development of its workforce; and ••• Determine how accessible skills development programmes are to employees in this company. The research sample comprised ten facilitators, 15 employees and one employer. The data collected from the sample attempted to answer the following research questions: => What impact will skills development programmes have on employees' work performance? => What evidence there is that skills learned are actually applied in practice? => How the company performs in general when the workforce has undergone skills development programmes? => Whether the skills development programmes are accessible to the employees of the company? The findings revealed that skills development programmes in the company under investigation were valuable and useful to employees. This is evident from the improved work performance of employees as observed by the employer, who confirmed that the employees do job more quickly with less wastage and less supervision. The employer further confirmed that his company has attracted new clients who come for the sake of the service the company renders. The researcher concludes with the following recommendations: • The company should draw up a skills development programme schedule that will fit in well with its objectives. It is emphasised that these two aspects must not clash with each other, but instead complement each other so as to meet the set goal, that is, reselling of the workforce. This should be integrated to the organisational goal. • The company should spell out the aims of the skills development programmes and must make sure that these are well understood and adhered to by everyone in the company. This will aid in designing the programme according to the company's needs. • The fact that very little evaluation of training is done indicates the probability that although expenditure on training is great very little is done to ensure to improved competence and performance. The vast majority of employers still see training and development as purely cost, not investment. In this instance, the employers should be educated on the importance of investing in people through skills development programmes in order to gain improved work performance. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This study focuses on the strategic employee training and development initiatives of private sector employment as a means to develop employees in gaining a competitive advantage in the market. This study takes a theoretical and descriptive stance as it draws from the work of authors in the field of human resources and strategic training and development. There is a strong focus on human relations and the transformation of human resources in South Africa that brings to light practices of human resource management. Furthermore, the concepts training, education and development are defined and discussed as cornerstones to the employee growth process. Theories, techniques and models are used as a tool in highlighting the needs analysis and designing of training programmes in the South African private sector. Business strategy and its connection to training and development are expanded upon as this topic entails a strong future-oriented approach. Pick In Pay was chosen as a case study as it is a South African company. The company's training and development policies and procedures are discussed, unstructured interviews were conducted with Jackie Suhr who is the Senior Human Resource manager, Ravi Naidoo who is the Area manager at Durban North as well as staff members from Pick In Pay. The information gathered will be discussed to evaluate the effectiveness of the company's training and development initiatives as a means to empowering, developing and positively reenforcing their employees. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu Natal, 2005.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2001.