Kwan Yee-fai. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Thesis (MBA)--Chinese University of Hong Kong. / Bibliography: leaves 42-43.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries / Department: Computer Science.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980.

Diversity and transformation demands on higher education require that all universities of technology revisit and redesign their qualifications and curricula in order to meet the challenges facing the higher education system in the 21st century, and to align with the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework. The study focused on the knowledge bases of the current and new Diplomas in Office Management curricula, and how these were aligned with the broader aim of enhancing the employability of graduates. The problem investigated was the contribution of higher education to the work readiness of graduates within a diploma curriculum at a university of technology. This thesis argues that employability is enhanced by the programme and its content. The National Diploma in Office Management is currently being phased out, and a new programme, the Diploma in Office Management, is being developed. These two qualifications are the main focus of this thesis. Knowledge is considered an important component of modern societies, and thus the knowledge bases of the Office Management curricula can play a vital role in fostering the employability of graduates. The theoretical framework draws on three dimensions of Maton’s Legitimation Code Theory. These dimensions are Autonomy, Semantics and Specialisation, which allow for the analysis of the Office Management curriculum to enable the researcher to develop an understanding of the knowledge base of service and professional knowledge bases of the curriculum. The recontextualisation processes for professional curricula involve the recontextualisation of work practices into academic subjects as well as the recontextualisation of disciplinary knowledge into applied subject areas. This process involves a series of knowledge translations involving choices and struggles, for example, to determine which disciplines are essential in a National Diploma Office Management curriculum. These choices of what makes different categories of knowledge practices legitimate, and the purposes and interests they serve are conceptualised in Legitimation Code Theory. The use of Legitimation Code Theory determined the multi-method approach used to include the views of graduates, employers and academics, who were able to bring their own experiences, expectations, concerns and perspectives into the research process. The methods of data collection included Delphi surveys, documentary data from minutes of DACUM and curriculum workshops, curricular documents and course material, third-year student and alumni surveys, and interview documentation with academics from international and local institutions. These sources were used to secure triangulation of data gathering. The Autonomy dimension of Legitimation Code Theory was drawn on to analyse the documentary and curricular data to examine the history, origin and mission of the Office Management curricula to determine who decided on the knowledge bases of the curricula. The Delphi survey was designed to determine the knowledge areas which form the basis of the Office Management curricula, and to obtain additional content which had been omitted from the current curriculum to assist with the recurriculation of the new Diploma in Office Management. The data from the Delphi surveys, curricular and documentary data and interview data, were analysed by drawing on the Semantic dimension of Legitimation Code Theory to examine the content and knowledge areas which give the Office Management curricula meaning. The design of the Delphi survey also aimed to determine the attributes necessary for the role of the office administrator. The analysis of data produced from a variety of sources utilising the dimensions of the Legitimation Code Theory established that the knowledge base of office management work is that of professional service and support. The findings show that the Office Management curricula focus on technical and highly practical and contextual components with less emphasis given to the significant role of the linguistic knowledge base. Language, writing and oral communication skills are the foundation of the work of office administrators and office managers who are required to communicate at all levels of the organisation with employees and senior staff, and between the company and its stakeholders. The workplace demands of the field of information technology are continuously changing, and focusing on the “technology” without focusing on the communication knowledge principles that support this technology, gives evidence of what Maton calls knowledge blindness in the curriculum. This harks to when the focus on the mechanics of typing and shorthand caused the work of secretaries to become underrated as the focus was not on the multiple and complex literacies associated with this work. A solid disciplinary core of communication theory and a sound knowledge of business communication genres and technical communication are essential for graduates. This will provide graduates with the complex knowledge they will need to draw on to cope with the demands of the dynamic workplace, changing technology and society, and an unknown future.

In recent years the real estate business has been subject to a great deal of criticism concerning the organization and management of the business. However, there has been limited evidence to support the criticisms. It was the purpose of this thesis to analyze data which had been collected concerning the real estate business and determine if the business is poorly organized and managed. If the evidence supported the criticisms, an attempt would be made to determine whether improvements were possible within the existing structure of the business or whether imporvements will depend on a change in the structure. Information concerning the real estate business was collected and analyzed under the following headings: (a) Organization of the Real Estate firms. (b) Recruiting, Selecting and Training Real Estate Salesmen. (c) Compensation Plans for Real Estate Salesmen and Managers. (d) The Real Estate Salesmen - Characteristics and Work Habits. The data for this study was collected from the members of the Vancouver Real Estate Board. A total of 192 firms employing 1200 salesmen were included. This represented 66% of the firms and 97% of the salesmen in the study area. The geographic area included Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Port Moody and Coquitlam. In order to collect the required data, two questionnaires were used. One questionnaire was completed by the agent or manager, the other was completed by the salesmen. In addition, each manager or agent was interviewed. The Vancouver Real Estate Board handled the mailing of the questionnaires, each of which was accompanied by a covering letter from one of the executive members of the Board soliciting full cooperation. A total return of 152 usable firm questionnaires representing a 79.1% was received. The return form the salesmen was considerably lower. Only 415 usable questionnaires, representing a 37.5% return were received. The data was coded and tabulated by the I.B.M. 7040 computer. Based on the data obtained it was found that the real estate firms were poorly managed. In particular the areas of recruiting, selecting, training, compensating and supervising salesmen were poorly handled. At present the real estate firms appear to hire unlimited numbers of salesmen without due regard to their chances of succeeding in the real estate business. This has resulted in an excess number of salesmen entering the real estate business. Many of the new recruits have left the real estate business after a short period of time, resulting in a high turnover of salesmen. In addition to the excess number of salesmen, many of the new recruits are entirely unsuited to the real estate business. The real estate firms have failed to provide proper training for their salesmen. The pre-licensing course, which new recruits are required to complete does not include sales training. Because of the high turnover of salesmen and the fact that the salesmen are not paid a salary, the firms appear unwilling to train their salesmen. Without proper training the salesmen require considerably more time to become efficient. During this "Trial and error" period the salesmen earn a relatively low income! This has further increased the turnover of salesmen. Many of the problems facing the real estate business appear to be related to the form of compensation used for the salesmen. At present all salesmen are paid on a straight commission basis. This has limited the firms monetary costs for salesmen and enabled the firms to employ large numbers of salesmen without concern as to their success. The commission plan has also made it very difficult for new salesmen to remain in the real estate business because of the low income for the initial few months! The salesmen were analyzed to determine what type of men and women enter the real estate business! It was found that the average salesman enters the real estate business in his late thirties and the average number of years experience in the real estate business is six and one-half years. The average salesman earns approximately $4,950 per year, however, they must work approximately sixty hours per week to earn this income. The salesmen enjoy few fringe benefits such as medical insurance, pension plans or group life insurance so the income of $4,950 represents their total monetary return. There appears to be a need for substantial improvements in the real estate business and these improvements are possible within the existing structure of the business. Many of the improvements can be made by the individual managers and agents without any support from the other agents. Improvements are possible in the firm's recruiting, selecting and training methods. A change in the form of compensation would require the support of the majority of the agents since the local real estate boards usually establish standards of compensation. However, the agents need not wait until group action is taken, many improvements are possible and necessary on an individual basis. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

An initial review of literature concerned with commercial and industrial office design indicated the need to research and develop a method for the design of the management systems of offices with the purpose of improving the operational effectiveness and alignment to strategy. In particular the literature review indicated that the application of lean methods, in non-manufacturing areas is comparatively rare. A critical review of the literature identified that Value Stream Mapping has been used to map mechanistic task activities, however, a need was identified for a new generation of Value Stream Mapping to map mixed mechanistic and organic task activities. To complement the literature survey and discover if there were significant variables (e.g. task uncertainty, interdependence, task complexity, mechanistic / organic structures, risk, task analysability etc) influencing office design, pilot studies were carried out in a mechanistic and organic office. Several additional variables were identified. From the pilot studies combined with the literature review a conceptual model was formulated which provides guidelines for managers enabling them to design the management systems fully taking all the variables into account. The conceptual model was then tested using a multiple case study design of two small consulting type offices that exhibited mixed mechanistic and organic characteristics. This resulted in an improved version of the model which was then further validated. This validation based upon the opinions of office managers focused mainly on identifying the practical usefulness of the model from an industrial perspective. Following the validation a final form of the model has been proposed in this research. It remains for future researchers to fully test the model by applying it in a wider range of offices. This study makes an explicit contribution to the redesign of offices as well as the utilisation of Value Stream Mapping to the mechanistic and the organic task activities within commercial and industrial offices.

The purpose of this survey and study is to attempt the establishment of ways in which the business administration department of Frank Phillips College may help its students to prepare to fill the employment needs in the commercial offices of the area.

This study focused on the hotel front office management course and how this course and related topics were taught in hospitality management programs. The results of the study can guide faculty in developing and expanding the hotel front office management course, related textbooks and teaching resources to best prepare students to meet the future needs of the lodging industry.

O presente trabalho realizou um estudo das possibilidades de posicionamento do escritório de gerenciamento de projetos para contextos estratégicos dentro das organizações. A ênfase do estudo encontra-se em avaliar as dificuldades de se implementar estratégias corporativas através de projetos e a forma com a qual um escritório de gerenciamento de projetos pode, de forma prática, contribuir em processos de formação de portfólio de projetos dentro dos processos de planejamento estratégico e orçamentário das organizações. Como estratégia da pesquisa, foi desenvolvida uma revisão da literatura relacionada aos processos de planejamento estratégico e orçamentário, gestão de portfólio de projetos e das estruturas especialistas conhecidas na literatura especializada como escritórios de gerenciamento de projetos. Desta revisão estabelece-se um modelo de proposição teórica para a inserção de escritório de gerenciamento de projetos em contextos estratégicos. Em um estudo de caso, o trabalho apresenta a comparação dos principais elementos de referência da teoria com as evidências identificadas na prática. A realidade, neste particular contexto, propiciou a validação da aplicabilidade de alguns instrumentos disponíveis e as dificuldades de aplicação dos mesmos, permitindo confirmar a validade teórica do modelo proposto sob vários aspectos. Neste trabalho fez-se também o uso intensivo de conceitos da Cibernética organizacional e do modelo do VSM (Viable System Model), proposto por Stafford Beer. O VSM foi utilizado principalmente como ferramenta de análise e enquadramento do modelo teórico proposto com as evidências do estudo de caso. Muitos dos aspectos, problemas e relações causais apresentados no estudo de caso puderam ser avaliados de forma prática e demonstraram-se coerentes com a proposta de que os problemas de desempenho verificados nas organizações podem ser analisados sob a perspectiva da violação de algum princípio da Cibernética. / The current work presents a study over the positioning possibilities of project management offices in the organization\'s strategic environment. The emphasis of this study is on the assessment of the implementations difficulties of the strategies through projects and how a project management office can contribute to reduce these difficulties by supporting project portfolio selection under corporate strategic planning and budgeting processes. As a research strategy, a literature review was developed covering corporate strategic planning and budgeting processes, project portfolio management as well specialist organizational structures known as project management office. From this review, it was built a theory model proposition for project management office insertion on the corporate strategic environment. Through case study analysis, it is submited conclusions obtained from theory review against the identified practical evidences. In this particular research it was possible identify the applicability and difficulties of some available instruments and the proposed theory model was validated under many aspects. In addition, it was made an intensive use of concepts from the organizational Cybernetics\' theory and the viable system model - VSM, proposed by Stafford Beer. The VSM was useful as holistic analysis tool to categorize the proposed theory models against the evidences identified in the case study. Many aspects, problems and causal relationships presented in the case study were assessed in a practical way and proved consistency with the proposal that organizational performance problems could be analyzed under the perspective of some Cybernetic\'s principies violation.

Thesis. 1976. Ph.D. cn--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILIABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Bibliography: leaves 306-310. / Ph.D.cn