This study investigated the impact of intrinsic motivation and job involvement, with employee retention acting as a mediating variable. As most organisations want to retain their best employees and sustain their organisational performance, this study strives to add to the body of knowledge on motivation, job involvement and employee retention, with specific reference to selected departments within the Eastern Cape Provincial Government in the South African context. Intrinsic motivation and job involvement were used as the independent variables. Employee retention is the dependent variable, which was measured using the cumulative Michigan Organisational Assessment Two-item Questionnaire (Camman, Fichman & Klesh, 1979) and a third assessment item from Landau & Hammer (1986). A quantitative relational design was employed to investigate the degree to which intrinsic motivation and job involvement predict an employee’s intention to quit their job. The data were collected through a self administered questionnaire from a convenience sample of 160 employees within the selected government departments in the study. The empirical results obtained from the data; using the Pearson correlation coefficients, indicated significant relationships between intrinsic motivation, job involvement and employee retention. Evidence was further found that employees’ intrinsic motivation and job involvement influenced the extent of employees’ intention to quit. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis of the data indicated that intrinsic motivation is the strongest predictor of employee retention, followed by job involvement.

Job satisfaction is one of the key antecedents to organizational performance, growth and survival. The attitude employees have towards their work significantly affects employees and organizational performance. The main objective of this study was to develop a job satisfaction model for organizational performance in armed conflict societies. The study examined how the effects of armed conflicts affect job satisfaction among workers working in armed conflict societies. A concurrent triangulation mixed approach, that is a mixture of qualitative and quantitative was employed to establish the relationship between the effects of armed conflicts and job satisfaction. The study population comprised 13 organisations drawn from Tete province. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires from 200 respondents while qualitative data was gathered from 20 participants using an interview schedule. The Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and thematic data analysis methods were used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis, correlational analysis and the t-tests. The study showed that there is a strong correlation between the effects of armed conflict and job satisfaction. The intensity of the war determines the level of job satisfaction among workers working for organisations in armed conflict societies. The study established that job satisfaction in armed conflict societies is also influenced by the destruction of the economic infrastructure, destruction of interpersonal relationships, intercommunity violence, political interference, killings and torture of civilians, deterioration of health and education systems, economic depression and displacement of people. The study further found out that job satisfaction in armed conflict societies negatively affects key organizational performance antecedents such as rate of absenteeism, labour turnover, employee loyalty and commitment, psychological status of employees and health of employees. Job satisfaction in armed conflict societies directly and indirectly affects organizational performance, profitability, value of shares, market share and organizational growth. To minimize the consequences of low job satisfaction on organizational performance, organizations should put in place measures that propel job satisfaction such as providing counselling services, social services and financial and non-financial support. The study concluded that job satisfaction can be increased by any or all of the following strategies:1) flexible work organisation and establishing an effective team, 2) provision of secure staff offices and residences, 3) compensating employees for war related injuries and deaths, 4) provision of better social services, 5) provision of leisure, recreational activities and infrastructure, and 6) provision of counselling platforms. The study contributed to the body of knowledge by developing a job satisfaction model for organizational performance in armed conflict societies. Furthermore, contrary to other researchers whose studies concentrated on job related factors of job satisfaction, this study focused on how the effects of armed conflict influence job satisfaction. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / D. B. L.

The advent of democracy in the Republic of South Africa has brought about fundamental changes in the spheres of governance. One of these changes is the implementation of the employee performance management and development system in the public service. One of the Constitutional imperatives of the country requires all government institutions to cultivate good human resource management and career development practices to maximise human potential. The Gauteng Department of Social Development and in particular, Father Smangaliso Mkhatswa Centre, is also expected to implement the employee performance management and development system. The study seeks to examine to what extent performance management can enhance employee‟s performance. To achieve this, a semi-structured interview was conducted with employees of Father Smangaliso Mkhatswa Centre. The findings indicate that managers use performance management as a tool to control and discipline subordinates, whilst subordinates use performance management as a means of getting extra money through performance bonuses. This could be the reason that performance assessment period is viewed as a period of high tension between supervisors and subordinates. / Public Administration and Management / M.P.A.

The master’s thesis deals with the design of a management information system, which is represented by a set of dashboards and reports. The main purpose of the system is to provide technological and information support to the management of company in terms of managing strategic goals and business performance. The information obtained by analyzing the company and its surroundings are subsequently used for draft creation. The thesis draft contains a project plan for the design and implementation of the system, the design of the system itself - its content and technical aspects, furthermore, we also deal with the implementation of the system and the management of this change.

The overall aim of this study is to determine whether and how the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) can improve organisational performance in the Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality. There is a reason to believe that TQM can be and is a viable approach for improving productivity and performance in the public sector. TQM principles centred on customer satisfaction, process orientation and continuous improvement are very compatible with preferred public sector management styles. Therefore, a theoretical and conceptual analysis is undertaken of TQM as it is discussed in various volumes of published literature. As a result, quality is examined in terms of how it historically evolved during the various stages of development of mankind and overview of essential concepts that contributed to modern professional practice of the concept. Furthermore, TQM defined within a broad framework of management theory and its dimensions are scrutinised. These dimensions are analysed in such a way that describe a model of how organisations could use TQM as a management theory. A thorough analysis of individual dimension and unique contribution of each to organisational performance is made. The role of managers to implement TQM principles and practices is analysed as well as factors contributing to failures as a check list of what managers must avoid in order to implement TQM effectively. Moreover, the criterion upon which TQM in public institutions could be evaluated is also discussed as the corner stone of a performance measurement system. Local government introduced municipal performance management systems as part of the new public management paradigm shift, adopted in an attempt to find more effective and efficient methods of delivering services. Therefore, the concept of performance management and its impact on TQM on municipal performance is thoroughly discussed. The meaning of quality and performance is defined and evaluated in terms of components of performance management. In this way the fundamental value and impact TQM may have on performance management can be determined. To determine whether and how the application of TQM can improve organisational performance in the Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality, a structured questionnaire survey is undertaken based on nine TQM dimensions identified in the study. / Public Administration and Management / M.A. (Public Administration)

An increased competitive climate has enhanced the importance for companies to differentiate from other companies. Today, the customer support within service organizations are often disregarded as a source of value due to the focus on costs. Further, it has become more important to leverage the contact with the customer at all encounters. New technological advancements within Business Intelligence have also enabled companies to increase their competitiveness through improved decision support. The objective of this thesis is through a case study investigate how an insurance company could leverage its customer support as a source of creating shareholder value as well as how to apply trends within Business Intelligence for increased decision support. This was done through developing a conceptual model based on academic theory in order to provide a tool for analysis and development of a customer support. The research questions intends to investigate how an customer support can contribute to, and balance a focus on service quality, costs and sales in order to enhance shareholder value. A business driven approach was further used in order to understand how a customer support could leverage the emerging trends of Business Intelligence. This since the thesis also aims to provide some first insights into how to leverage the trends of mobile- and Self-Service- Business Intelligence within the customer support within insurance companies. The research emphasizes the need to have a holistic view of what drives value and costs with regard to the retention, growth and acquisition of customers when viewing the customer support as a source of value. The thesis concludes that both the trends of mobile- and Self-Service- Business Intelligence could enable an insurance company to gain new insights through utilizing existing internal as well as external data in order to conduct a more continuous and flexible analysis of important matters.

Knowledge about personal branding, the development and sustaining of a personal brand and the link between personal branding and career success did not exist in a scientifically structured manner. The purpose of this study was to understand what the elements of personal branding are and what it takes to develop a personal brand in the corporate environment. It was also important to identify whether personal branding is key to career success. The systematic literature review procedure was used to identify, analyse and critically evaluate both empirical studies and popular literature relating to personal branding. The current body of knowledge was ill defined and a six step model detailing how to develop and maintain a personal brand was developed as a result of a content analysis of the available popular literature. A measure of a complete personal brand within the workplace was subsequently developed. In this study, the hypotheses of a possible relationship between personal branding and career success (performance appraisal score, 360 leadership evaluation and talent board placement) were tested. It was found that talent board placement was statistically significant and practically related to personal branding. The study was the first to provide a measurement tool as well as empirical evidence on the relationship between personal branding and career success and, as such contributed significantly to the body of knowledge. This study also opened avenues for further research. / Daar was min kennis oor ’n persoonlike handelsmerk, die ontwikkeling en handhawing van ’n persoonlike handelsmerk, en die verband tussen ’n persoonlike handelsmerk en loopbaansukses in die wetenskaplike domein beskikbaar. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die elemente van ’n persoonlike handelsmerk te begryp, asook om te bepaal wat dit behels om ’n persoonlike handelsmerk in die korporatiewe omgewing te ontwikkel. Dit was ook belangrik om te bepaal of ’n persoonlike handelsmerk deurslaggewend is tot loopbaansukses. ‘n Sistematiese literatuuroorsig is gedoen om empiriese studies asook gewilde literatuur oor ’n persoonlike handelsmerk te identifiseer, te ontleed en krities te evalueer. Gegewe beperkte akademiese kennismateriaal, en na aanleiding van die inhoudsontleding van die beskikbare gewilde literatuur, is ’n sesstapmodel ontwikkel om aan te dui hoe ’n persoonlike handelsmerk ontwikkel en gehandhaaf kan word. Na aanleiding hiervan is ’n instrument ontwikkel om ’n person se handelsmerk omvattend in die werkplek te meet. Dit is gevolg deur hipoteses van ’n moontlike verband tussen ’n persoonlike handelsmerk en loopbaansukses (prestasiebeoordelingtelling, 360-leierskapevaluasie en talentplasing) te toets. Die studie het bevind dat ’n persoonlike handelsmerk statisties beduidend en prakties relevant is tot talentplasing. Hierdie navorsing lewer ’n omvattende meetinstrument vir die meting van ’n persoonlike handelsmerk, asook empiriese bewyse rakende die verhouding tussen ’n persoonlike handelsmerk en loopbaansukses. Die studie maak in dié opsig ‘n beduidende bydrae tot die gebrekkige akademiese kennismateriaal wat oor hierdie onderwerp beskikbaar is. / Ulwazi nge-branding yomuntu siqu, ukuthuthukiswa kanye nokuqhubekela phambili kwe-brand yomuntu siqu kanye nokuxhumana phakathi kwe-brand yomuntu siqu kanye nokuphumelela emsebenzini bekuyizinto ebezingahlelekile ngendlela yesisayense. Inhloso yalolu cwaningo bekuwukuqondisisa ukuthi ngabe iyini imikhakha ye-branding yomuntu siqu kanye nokuthi yini okudingekayo ukwenza ibrand yomuntu siqu emkhakheni wezamabhizinisi. Bekubalulekile nokubheka ukuthi ngabe i-branding yomuntu siqu isemqoka kangakanani ekuphumeleleni emisebenzini. Inqubo yokubuyekeza imibhalo ngendlela ehlelekile iye yasetshenziswa ukuphawula, ukuhlaziya kanye nokuhlola izifundo ezinobufakazi ezenziwe kanye nemibhalo edumile maqondana ne-branding yomuntu siqu. Imikhakha yolwazi ekhona ibingachazekile kahle, kanti kuye kwalandelwa imodeli yezinyathalo eziyisithupha echaza imininingwane ngokwenza kanye nokugcina i-brand yomuntu siqu, iye yenziwa ngakho-ke kwase kuhlaziywa ingqikithi yemibhalo edumile ekhona. Kwenziwe i-brand yomuntu siqu ephelele emkhakheni wezemisebenzi. Kulolu cwaningo, kuhlolwe i-hypotheses yobudlelwane phakathi kwe-branding yomuntu siqu kanye nokuphumelela emsebenzini (amaphuzu ohlolo lokusebenza ngendlela efanele, uhlolo lobuholi obungu 360, kanye nokubekwa kwebhodi yamathalente endaweni efanele) kuye kwahlolwa. Kutholakale ukuthi ukubekwa kwebhodi yamathalente endaweni efanele yinto esemqoka ngokwamastatistiki kanti futhi kuhambisana ne-branding yomuntu siqu. Ucwaningo belungolokuqala ukuhlinzeka ngethuluzi lokukala kanye nocwaningo obunobufakazi obubambekayo ngobudlelwane phakathi kwe-branding yomuntu siqu kanye nokuphumelela emsebenzini, kanti-ke, lokhu yikho okuye kwaba nomthelela obabalukile kulwazi. Lolu cwaningo luvule imikhakha lapho okungenziwa khona ezinye izinhlobo nemikhakha yocwaningo. / Business Management / DBL

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Improving performance management is a high priority for many organizations that want to improve the performance of their employees. Recently, researchers have focused on the social context to promote behavioral change, and have created new scales to examine context, such as the feedback environment. The current study examined internal and external accountability as mediators of the relationship between the feedback environment and developmental behaviors. Participants each completed three scales measuring the feedback environment, internal and external accountability, and developmental behaviors. Results suggested that internal and external accountability both mediate the relationship between the feedback environment and developmental behaviors, but neither is a stronger mediator than the other. In addition, internal and external accountability both mediate the relationship between each component of the feedback environment and developmental behaviors, but again neither is a stronger mediator than the other. This study contributed to the literature on performance management, and emphasized the importance of training supervisors to use the feedback environment to increase perceptions of accountability for employees.

This study explored the lived experiences of foreign academics’ wellbeing and adjustment and the impact thereof on their job performance in a South African higher education (HE) institution. The qualitative interpretive study reviewed the literature on wellbeing, adjustment and job performance. It explored the impact of wellbeing and adjustment factors on performance, both personally and professionally. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model was applied in the study to demonstrate that when job resources are high, employee wellbeing, adjustment and job performance is enhanced. Purposive sampling was used to draw a sample of five foreign academics who were employed at the HE institution for more than one year and originated from different countries. Online video calling was used to gather data from the participants using semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to create themes and sub-themes from which the study findings were derived and conclusions, as well as recommendations, were made. The study revealed that the wellbeing and adjustment of foreign academics have a significant impact on their job performance. Recommendations were made to the HR managers, I/O psychologists, foreign academics as well as line managers on how to improve the wellbeing and adjustment of foreign academics at the HE institution. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Artificial Intelligence technology has become increasingly important from a business perspective. In strategic sourcing, the technology has not been explored much. However, 67% of CPO:s in a survey showed that AI is one of their top priorities the next 10 years. AI can be used to identify patterns, predict prices and provide support in decision making. A qualitative case study has been performed in a strategic sourcing function at a large size global industrial company where the purpose has been to investigate how applicable AI is in the strategic sourcing process at The Case Company. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, it has been important to understand the strategic sourcing process and understand what AI technology is and what it is capable of in strategic sourcing. Based on the empirical data collection combined with literature, opportunities of applying AI in strategic sourcing have been identified and key areas for an implementation have been suggested. These include Forecasting, Spend Analysis & Savings Tracking, Supplier Risk Management, Supplier Identification & Selection, RFQ process, Negotiation process, Contract Management and Supplier Performance Management. These key areas have followed the framework identified in the literature study while identifying and adding new factors. It also seemed important to consider factors such as challenges and risks, readiness and maturity as well as factors that seems to be important to consider in order to enable an implementation. To assess how mature and ready the strategic sourcing function is for an implementation, some of the previous digital projects including AI technologies have been mapped and analysed. Based on the identified key areas of opportunities of applying AI, use cases and corresponding benefits of applying AI have been suggested. A guideline including important factors to consider if applying the technology has also been provided. However, it has been concluded that there might be beneficial to start with a smaller use case and then scale it up. Also as the strategic sourcing function has been establishing a spend analytics platform for the indirect team, there might be a good start to evaluate that project and then apply AI on top of the existing solution. Other factors to consider are ensuring data quality and security, align with top management as well as demonstrate the advantages AI can provide in terms of increased efficiency and cost savings. The entire strategic sourcing function should be involved in an AI project and the focus should not only be on technological aspect but also on soft factors including change management and working agile in order to successfully apply AI in strategic sourcing. / Artificiell Intelligens har blivit allt viktigare ur ett affärsperspektiv. När det gäller strategiskt inköp har tekniken inte undersökts lika mycket tidigare. Hursomhelst, 67% av alla tillfrågade CPO:er i en enkät ansåg att AI är en av deras topprioriteringar de kommande tio åren. AI kan exempelvis identifiera mönster, förutspå priser samt ge support inom beslutsfattning. En kvalitativ fallstudie har utförts i en strategisk inköpsfunktion hos ett globalt industriföretag där syftet har varit att undersöka hur tillämpbart AI är i strategiskt inköp hos Case-Företaget. För att uppnå syftet med denna studie har det varit viktigt att förstå vad den strategiska inköpsprocessen omfattas av samt vad AI-teknologi är och vad den är kapabel till inom strategiskt inköp. Därför har litteraturstudien gjorts för att undersöka hur man använt AI inom strategiskt inköp tidigare och vilka fördelar som finns. Baserat på empirisk datainsamling kombinerat med litteratur har nyckelområden för att applicera AI inom strategiskt inköp föreslagits inkluderat forecasting, spendanalys & besparingsspårning, riskhantering av leverantörer, leverantörsidentifikation och val, RFQ-processen, förhandlingsprocessen, kontrakthantering samt uppföljning av leverantörsprestation. Dessa nyckelområden har följt det ramverk som skapats i litteraturstudien samtidigt som nya faktorer har identifierats och lagts till då de ansetts som viktiga. För att tillämpa AI i strategiska inköpsprocessen måste Case-Företaget överväga andra aspekter än var i inköpsprocessen de kan dra nytta av AI mest. Faktorer som utmaningar och risker, beredskap och mognad samt faktorer som ansetts viktiga att beakta för att möjliggöra en implementering har identifierats. För att bedöma hur mogen och redo den strategiska inköpsfunktionen hos Case-Företaget är för en implementering har några av de tidigare digitala projekten inklusive AI-teknik kartlagts och analyserats. Det har emellertid konstaterats att det kan vara fördelaktigt för strategiskt inköp att börja med ett mindre användningsområde och sedan skala upp det. Eftersom strategiska inköpsfunktionen har implementerat en spendanalys plattform kan det vara en bra start att utvärdera det projektet och sedan tillämpa AI ovanpå den befintliga lösningen. Andra faktorer att beakta är att försäkra datakvalitet och säkerhet, involvera ledningen samt lyfta vilka fördelar AI kan ge i form av ökad effektivitet och kostnadsbesparingar. Därtill är det viktigt att inkludera hela strategiska inköps-funktionen samt att inte endast beakta den tekniska aspekten utan också mjuka faktorer så som change management och agila metoder.