The performance of state-owned enterprises in Namibia has been in the spotlight for many years, resulting in the Government of the Republic of Namibia to introduce interventions and strategies to address and improve this performance. The poor performance of state-owned enterprises has been studied in terms of financial aspects with less attention, however, on human resources as a key success factor in contributing to performance. Studying performance in terms of the human resources is an important area for research and intervention. The Government introduced several measures to ensure the efficient governance and monitoring of state-owned enterprises and to ensure that they are performing to the satisfaction and expectations of the stakeholder. These measures included the introduction of the State-Owned Enterprises Act (Act 2 of 2006) of Namibia, as well as governance structures to ensure that the performance of state-owned enterprises is properly maximised. Despite these efforts by the Government to regulate state-owned enterprises with the intention to improve performance, to date the poor performance of state-owned enterprises is still a topical issue in Namibia. Almost a decade after the promulgation of the State-Owned Enterprises Act, in 2006, the government is still financially bailing out a number of the state-owned enterprises. State-owned enterprises need to take a positive approach that recognise and leverage human resources for contribution to sustainable growth, competitive advantage and performance. Positively oriented high-performance work practices are conceptualised within the context of positive organisational behaviour. Positive organisational behaviour as characterised in the form of psychological capital, with antecedents such as authentic leadership and supportive organisational climate and employee outcomes such as job satisfaction, intention to leave, engagement in the Namibian state-owned enterprises context are the main focus of this study. The study aimed to assess the relationship between psychological capital, authentic leadership, supportive organisational climate, job satisfaction, intention to leave, employee engagement and performance for employees in state-owned enterprises in Namibia. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather data regarding all these constructs as experienced by employees. A convenience sample (N = 452) of employees from 20 state-owned enterprises participated in the study. The measuring instruments used were the Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Performance-related Attitudinal Questionnaire, Job Satisfaction Scale, Turnover Intention Scale, Engagement Scale, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Supportive Organisational Climate Questionnaire and a biographical questionnaire. The results of study 1 showed that authentic leadership was positively associated with psychological capital (i.e. experiences of hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience) and job satisfaction. Authentic leadership affected job satisfaction indirectly via psychological capital. Psychological capital had a medium to large indirect effect on employees’ intentions to leave. The findings suggest that authentic leadership and psychological capital explain job satisfaction and retention of employees in state-owned enterprises. Study 2 showed that authentic leadership and psychological capital predicted employee engagement. A supportive organisational climate was related to employee engagement on individual level, but only if authentic leadership and psychological capital were not included in the model. Psychological capital mediated the relation between authentic leadership and employee engagement on an individual level in state owned enterprises. The results of study 3 showed that authentic leadership and a supportive organisational climate had a positive impact on psychological capital. Psychological capital predicted job performance on an individual level. Psychological capital was not associated with organisational performance. Recommendations for interventions to promote psychological capital, its antecedents and outcomes were made.

The performance of state-owned enterprises in Namibia has been in the spotlight for many years, resulting in the Government of the Republic of Namibia to introduce interventions and strategies to address and improve this performance. The poor performance of state-owned enterprises has been studied in terms of financial aspects with less attention, however, on human resources as a key success factor in contributing to performance. Studying performance in terms of the human resources is an important area for research and intervention. The Government introduced several measures to ensure the efficient governance and monitoring of state-owned enterprises and to ensure that they are performing to the satisfaction and expectations of the stakeholder. These measures included the introduction of the State-Owned Enterprises Act (Act 2 of 2006) of Namibia, as well as governance structures to ensure that the performance of state-owned enterprises is properly maximised. Despite these efforts by the Government to regulate state-owned enterprises with the intention to improve performance, to date the poor performance of state-owned enterprises is still a topical issue in Namibia. Almost a decade after the promulgation of the State-Owned Enterprises Act, in 2006, the government is still financially bailing out a number of the state-owned enterprises. State-owned enterprises need to take a positive approach that recognise and leverage human resources for contribution to sustainable growth, competitive advantage and performance. Positively oriented high-performance work practices are conceptualised within the context of positive organisational behaviour. Positive organisational behaviour as characterised in the form of psychological capital, with antecedents such as authentic leadership and supportive organisational climate and employee outcomes such as job satisfaction, intention to leave, engagement in the Namibian state-owned enterprises context are the main focus of this study. The study aimed to assess the relationship between psychological capital, authentic leadership, supportive organisational climate, job satisfaction, intention to leave, employee engagement and performance for employees in state-owned enterprises in Namibia. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather data regarding all these constructs as experienced by employees. A convenience sample (N = 452) of employees from 20 state-owned enterprises participated in the study. The measuring instruments used were the Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Performance-related Attitudinal Questionnaire, Job Satisfaction Scale, Turnover Intention Scale, Engagement Scale, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Supportive Organisational Climate Questionnaire and a biographical questionnaire. The results of study 1 showed that authentic leadership was positively associated with psychological capital (i.e. experiences of hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience) and job satisfaction. Authentic leadership affected job satisfaction indirectly via psychological capital. Psychological capital had a medium to large indirect effect on employees’ intentions to leave. The findings suggest that authentic leadership and psychological capital explain job satisfaction and retention of employees in state-owned enterprises. Study 2 showed that authentic leadership and psychological capital predicted employee engagement. A supportive organisational climate was related to employee engagement on individual level, but only if authentic leadership and psychological capital were not included in the model. Psychological capital mediated the relation between authentic leadership and employee engagement on an individual level in state owned enterprises. The results of study 3 showed that authentic leadership and a supportive organisational climate had a positive impact on psychological capital. Psychological capital predicted job performance on an individual level. Psychological capital was not associated with organisational performance. Recommendations for interventions to promote psychological capital, its antecedents and outcomes were made.

The 21st century has posed challenges and provided opportunities for organisations, and although a large body of research exists on both leadership and organisational climate, these two concepts have become a matter of urgency in South African organisations. The dynamics in the organisation have a direct effect on the people the organisation serves and business performance. The aim of this research was to explore the relationship between leadership and organisational climate in a South African fast-moving consumable goods (FMCG) organisation. There are few research studies that focus on leadership and organisational climate in the South African context and this study builds on limited existing knowledge. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional field survey approach, a sample of 896 participants employed at one organisation was surveyed. Explanatory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling (SEM) multivariate analysis technique revealed a new set of organisational dimensions and confirmed the relationship between leadership and organisational climate and organisational climate and its various dimensions. The findings emphasise the importance of certain generic and specific leadership practices in creating the desired organisational climate in the South African context. This study contributes to knowledge on the relationship between leadership and organisational climate in the South African context. / Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Pharmacists experience high levels of stress at work, especially from factors intrinsic to their jobs and management roles. In South Africa, the public sector is confronted with situational difficulties such as a shortage of staff and poor working conditions Accordingly, a comparative survey was conducted using a self–constructed questionnaire to obtain individual responses from the pharmacists in the public, as well as the private sector. The focus population was the pharmacists in the public, as well as the private hospitals in the North–West Province. The public sector consists of 30 hospitals and the private sector of 20. By using the convenient sampling method, 100 samples were taken. The questionnaire measured six factors of job satisfaction, namely: job design, salary/remuneration satisfaction, performance management, working arrangements, organisational climate, and professional development. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 pharmacists in total, and a response rate of 66% was obtained. The only medium practical significance shown in the results was between the averages of the private sector (2.89) in contrast with the public sector (3.38). This indicates that the public sector demonstrates less satisfaction with their performance management than the private sector. The data also indicated that the public sector pharmacists are less satisfied with job design, performance of management, professional development, and their working arrangements. The private sector showed only a small difference in the means, when compared to the public sector. It is clear that both sectors illustrate a moderate level of job satisfaction. Recommendations, therefore, included the revisiting of the job design by increasing job rotation and task identity. The need for self–actualization has to be acknowledged and the opportunity for promotion needs to be provided. The link between the actual activity and the bonus, with regards to performance management, has to be re–established, and there has to be transparency throughout. Decision–making control is extremely important and seeing that 82% of the pharmacists were female, the employer can consider accommodating family responsibilities, compressed working weeks, flexible working hours, job sharing, and part–time work. Professional development is also very important within any company and it is vital that the employer deposits time, money and skill into the staff. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Pharmacists experience high levels of stress at work, especially from factors intrinsic to their jobs and management roles. In South Africa, the public sector is confronted with situational difficulties such as a shortage of staff and poor working conditions Accordingly, a comparative survey was conducted using a self–constructed questionnaire to obtain individual responses from the pharmacists in the public, as well as the private sector. The focus population was the pharmacists in the public, as well as the private hospitals in the North–West Province. The public sector consists of 30 hospitals and the private sector of 20. By using the convenient sampling method, 100 samples were taken. The questionnaire measured six factors of job satisfaction, namely: job design, salary/remuneration satisfaction, performance management, working arrangements, organisational climate, and professional development. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 pharmacists in total, and a response rate of 66% was obtained. The only medium practical significance shown in the results was between the averages of the private sector (2.89) in contrast with the public sector (3.38). This indicates that the public sector demonstrates less satisfaction with their performance management than the private sector. The data also indicated that the public sector pharmacists are less satisfied with job design, performance of management, professional development, and their working arrangements. The private sector showed only a small difference in the means, when compared to the public sector. It is clear that both sectors illustrate a moderate level of job satisfaction. Recommendations, therefore, included the revisiting of the job design by increasing job rotation and task identity. The need for self–actualization has to be acknowledged and the opportunity for promotion needs to be provided. The link between the actual activity and the bonus, with regards to performance management, has to be re–established, and there has to be transparency throughout. Decision–making control is extremely important and seeing that 82% of the pharmacists were female, the employer can consider accommodating family responsibilities, compressed working weeks, flexible working hours, job sharing, and part–time work. Professional development is also very important within any company and it is vital that the employer deposits time, money and skill into the staff. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This research empirically investigates Locke's (1997) model of work motivation by means of quantitative research. The OCQ consisting of three tiered questionnaires was constructed based on Locke's model. OCQ-Tierl deals with core components of Locke's model. OCQ-Tier2 determines which factors caused the incidence of dissatisfaction in OCQ-Tierl. OCQ-Tier3 enables the identification of corrective actions. The OCQ was administered to financial services employees. The results were analysed and Locke's model was tested by means of structural equation modelling using the AMOS graphics programme. The results indicated that the model, suggesting causal links between components within OCQ-Tierl, could not be confirmed. A better fit was found at OCQ-Tier2 and OCQ-Tier3. In testing the causal links across the three tiers per component, the models did not fit the data for "personal actualisation" and "goal achievement". Moderate confirmation of the models was found in the case of "goal setting" and "goal behaviour" across the three tiers after some adaptations were made to the models on the basis of "modification indices", suggested by AMOS. A reasonably good fit was found for the models across the three tiers for "quality of work life". The level of correlation between factors was high because of this, and in some cases some of the factors were merged. Modification indices in the statistical output suggested that improvement was possible if covariance between error terms in the model was allowed. This suggested possible systematic sources of covariance between items not accounted for by the factors in the models. As confirmed by the Cronbach Alpha coefficients within tiers and across tiers, the general level of internal consistency was very high. Possibly response set and response style were the cause of this. This made the testing of models difficult in the present study. So too was it difficult to draw a conclusion about the internal consistency reliability of the measurement of each component across the three tiers, because the high Cronbach coefficients may to some extent be due to the indiscriminate high correlations between items / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial Psychology)

This study is within the field of Industrial and Organisational Psychology. It focuses on the relationship between diversity management and organisational climate dimensions. The literature review indicates that most of the research conducted on these two concepts, diversity management and organisational climate investigated the concept diversity, not diversity management (Cox, 1993; Hicks-Clarke & Hies, 2003). This study specifically explores diversity management in a retail organisation. The empirical component of the study includes confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis and a correlational study investigating the relationship between diversity management and organisational climate. It was found that there is a positive and strong relationship between diversity management and organisational climate. Diversity management seems to correlate highly with the following climate dimensions: policies and procedures, discrimination, gender issues, equality in conditions of employment and employment equity. The results indicate that younger employees have more positive views regarding diversity management, and middle aged employees have less positive views regarding diversity management. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Admin (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

MCom (Human Resource Management) / Department of human Resource Management and Labour Relations / Technological advancement and, social and economic issues affecting businesses present a multitude of opportunities and challenges to organisations, leaders and employees. These factors have prompted organisational role players to take responsibility in ensuring organisations’ survival. The study sought to determine the influence of the leaders’ emotional intelligence, role-breath self-efficacy and organisational climate on proactive work behaviour at selected customs clearing companies at the Beitbridge Border Post, Zimbabwe. A selfadministered questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 204 participants, using the simple random sampling technique. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to perform descriptive and inferential statistics. The intercorrelation results showed that leaders’ emotional intelligence, role breadth self-efficacy and the organisational climate were positively and significantly correlated to proactive work behaviour. The following represent the intercorrelation results, leaders’ emotional intelligence (r = 0.34; p < 0.01), role breadth-self efficacy (r = 0.45; p< 0.01) and organisational climate (r= 0.31; p < 0.01). Furthermore, the stepwise multiple regression analysis identified six models in the prediction of proactive work behaviour. Of all the six models identified, the most significant predictor of proactive work behaviour was role breadth self-efficacy (β = 0.46, p < 0.001) with a contribution of 20.7% on proactive work behaviour. The findings were discussed in line with the literature, and the study concludes that employee proactivity at work may differ, based on the leaders’ emotional intelligence, the employees’ role breadth self-efficacy and the organisational climate. The study, therefore, recommends that organisations should take into consideration the factors which influence their employees’ proactivity at work, hence develop programmes to assist the enhancement of such proactiveness. / NRF

The 21st century has posed challenges and provided opportunities for organisations, and although a large body of research exists on both leadership and organisational climate, these two concepts have become a matter of urgency in South African organisations. The dynamics in the organisation have a direct effect on the people the organisation serves and business performance. The aim of this research was to explore the relationship between leadership and organisational climate in a South African fast-moving consumable goods (FMCG) organisation. There are few research studies that focus on leadership and organisational climate in the South African context and this study builds on limited existing knowledge. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional field survey approach, a sample of 896 participants employed at one organisation was surveyed. Explanatory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling (SEM) multivariate analysis technique revealed a new set of organisational dimensions and confirmed the relationship between leadership and organisational climate and organisational climate and its various dimensions. The findings emphasise the importance of certain generic and specific leadership practices in creating the desired organisational climate in the South African context. This study contributes to knowledge on the relationship between leadership and organisational climate in the South African context. / Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

A survey of literature has revealed that there is a need for a reliability study of the Denison Organisational Culture Survey (DOCS) for use in a financial institution in South Africa. The major objective of this research was therefore to determine the internal consistency reliability of the DOCS - in other words, to determine the accuracy or consistency with which the set of survey items measures one particular scale. The total sample of 2 735 individuals used in this research consisted of both male and female full-time employees of a financial institution in South Africa. The results of this introductory study on the reliability of the DOCS in South Africa demonstrated clear support for similar research conducted abroad and proved to be compatible with the cognitive-behaviouristic psychology movement's original concept of organisational culture. The reliability of the DOCS, as applicable to this South African sample, reflects statistical significant internal consistency. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm.