The importance of employment in our society is unmistakable. The financial outcome of employment allows us to provide for ourselves and others. Furthermore, our employment status, and the work in which we engage, play a part in defining our self-concept. For many people, however, sustained employment remains elusive. The unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities is staggering, and the consequences of being without a job affects those who are unemployed, their families, and our society. There are many issues that directly challenge the employment status of people with disabilities. Some of these include funding for supported employment programs, employer bias, and the outcomes of our country's educational system. Another issue that affects the employment of individuals with disabilities is the manner in which they are prepared prior to employment and coached while on the job. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of performance feedback delivered via covert audio coaching on the job performance of supported employees. A multiple baseline design across participants and work tasks was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention on the participants' work performance (accuracy and speed of task completion). The results demonstrated that the supported employees made substantial improvements on their accuracy and speed of completing the selected work tasks. The results also showed that the improvements maintained for 4-5 weeks following the removal of the intervention. / by Kyle D. Bennett. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

O objetivo deste estudo exploratório descritivo é analisar a atuação das tropas brasileiras em operações de manutenção da paz empreendidas pela ONU sob a ótica dos parâmetros de excelência identificados nos relatórios oficiais emitidos pela Organização e na literatura existente sobre o tema. O estudo inclui uma extensa pesquisa bibliográfica e documental que culminou na seleção de parâmetros de excelência os quais serviram de base para realizar a análise. Os dados foram coletados por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental e de entrevistas estruturadas e analisados segundo técnicas de análise de conteúdo (categorização e validação). Os resultados mostram que as tropas brasileiras atuam em consonância com os parâmetros de excelência estabelecidos pela ONU e encontrados na literatura, ainda que tenham sido identificados alguns pontos passíveis de melhoria, o que demonstra o bom desempenho da atuação dos militares brasileiros em operações de manutenção da paz. / The target of this descriptive exploratory study is to analyze the performance of the Brazilian troops in United Nations\' Peacekeeping Operations according to the performance standards identified in the Organizations\' official reports and in the existing literature about the subject. This study includes a wide bibliographical and documental research that allowed to select performance standards that were used as reference to conduct the analysis. The data were collected through bibliographical and documental research and also through structured interviews and were analyzed according to content analysis techniques (categorization and validation). The results show that the Brazilian troops perform according to the performance standards established by the UN and found in the literature, although there have been identified a few points that could be improved, which demonstrates the good performance of the Brazilian troops in Peacekeeping Operations.

The purpose of this non-experimental study was to determine whether teacher cognitive and behavioral agility relates to student achievement as measured by their value-added model (VAM) score and their performance evaluation measured through the Marzano instructional practice (IP) framework, and whether that relationship is moderated by contextual variables. Cognitive agility, measured through the Strategic Thinking Questionnaire for Teachers (STQ T TM), refers to the leader’s ability to use their repertoire of thinking skills. Behavioral agility, measured with the Strategic Leadership Questionnaire for Teachers (SLQ T TM), relates to the leader’s ability to use a wide array of leader influencing actions. Teacher VAM score is the percent of the teacher’s students that met or exceeded a statistically predicted score on the end of year assessment. Teacher IP scores were also collected and were based on classroom walkthroughs, and other factors, conducted by their respective school-based administrator(s). The study included 75 teacher participants at the middle and high school levels and used correlational, linear regression, moderator, and mediation statistical analyses. The research findings indicate that cognitive agility continues to be a significant predictor of behavioral agility and that both cognitive and behavioral agility were significantly related to VAM or IP in teachers over the age of 50. Additionally, VAM scores significantly increased through the use of reframing and IP scores increased when utilizing bridging leader actions. However, it was also found that VAM scores were negatively correlated to the managing leader actions in the total population. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers who use thinking and leading actions have higher student achievement as measured by the teacher’s Value Added Measure (VAM) score. A quantitative non-experimental design investigated the relationships between teacher cognitive and behavioral agility and student achievement. Cognitive agility, measured through the Strategic Thinking Questionnaire for Teachers (STQT ), refers to the leader’s ability to use their repertoire of thinking skills. Behavioral agility, measured with the Strategic Leadership Questionnaire for Teachers (SLQT ), denotes the leader’s ability to use a wide array of leader influencing actions. Teachers were surveyed and the data were analyzed through correlation and multiple regressions to determine the relationship among the variables. Although the cognitive and behavioral agility was not correlated with a teacher’s VAM score, the results indicate that teachers do perceive themselves as leaders in their classrooms. Educational leadership certification, higher degrees, and years experience of a teacher did moderate the relationship between local VAM and both cognitive and behavioral agility. The sub-scales of systems thinking and transforming of the survey instruments also were significant to the results. Theoretically, this study contributes to the teacher leadership literature, focusing on the classroom teacher and their effect on student achievement. Practically, with educational accountability changing the landscape, school districts should train teachers to engage in leadership skills, reward teachers for earning a Master’s degree in leadership, and work to retain high quality teachers who are leaders within their classroom. Greater student achievement could be the result. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Since the American Revolution free public education has been a discussion of political debate. The purpose that such an institution should play in society is a debate fervently argued when the founding fathers wanted to build a republic based on meritocracy. The problem this study addresses is the undefined relationship between the goals of schooling relevant to Georgia and the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) which is a critical piece to creating a complete systemic view of public schooling in Georgia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the alignment between the GPS and schooling goals. The guiding question and sub-questions are: How well are the GPS, or the intended curriculum of Georgia schools, and each of the various stated goals of schooling aligned? How relevant are the eighth-grade GPS to the latent themes of each of the stated goals of schooling? How balanced are the latent themes of each of the stated goals of schooling in the eighth-grade GPS? Through a historical investigation of the literature and current policy the author establishes the currently relevant goals of schooling which serve as the latent goals for which the method will seek to find evidence within the Georgia Performance Standards. The study employs a quantitative content analysis of a significant section of the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) looking for themes associated with various stated goals of schooling as indicated by the literature review. The manifest themes, developed from the latent goals of schooling, are incorporated as the dependent variables in the study, while the GPS serve as the independent variable. Neuendorf’s (2001) framework for content analysis is used to develop a new method for investigating the goal-curriculum alignment relationship through new measures of Curricular Balance, Curricular Relevance, and Manifest Theme Presence. This study presents a new visual model to compare a curriculum’s alignment to multiple goals of schooling called the Goal-Curriculum Alignment Measures (G-CAM) model. This study finds that the GPS are strongly aligned to the goals of Americanization, high student test scores, post-secondary enrollment, and national gain, while poorly aligned to democratic participation and social justice. Evidence for these conclusions are discussed and related to the current socio-political literature.

The costs of obtaining and maintaining ISO certification are high. Moreover, studies have shown mixed results on the benefits of the certification. Consequently, the objective of this research was to verify whether or not companies do value maintaining the ISO 9000 certification. The empirical study was conducted on 41 U.S. companies that were first certified in 2000. The companies formed an existing database as they were used by Dr. Arbuckle in 2004 in his doctoral dissertation. Of the 41 companies, 12 were found to be out of business, leaving a final sample size of 29. Data were gathered from this sample through telephone interviews and verified through the organizations’ online documents. In this group, 23 companies were found to be still maintaining the ISO 9000 certification as of 2009. When the statistical analyses were performed, the results clearly indicated that companies do significantly value maintaining the ISO 9000 certification. However, it was interesting to note that the primary reason behind maintaining the ISO 9000 certification was pressure from customers and not necessarily as a tool towards achieving quality production or continuous improvement. Indeed, such an observation may help to explain why even certified companies sometimes produce goods and services of inferior quality.

Managers today are faced with a bewildering choice of Management Standards that are being promoted to improve personal and organisational performance by a wide range of Standards-setting bodies. Standards-based management is a well-researched field, but all the research concentrates on individual Standards such as ISO 9000 and 14000 without identifying the influences of other Management Standards. This research seeks to extend the debate about Standards-based management and to encourage other researchers to consider it as both an entity and a phenomenon and to note its divergence from other management theories. A taxonomy of Management Standards is presented to enable the principal Standards to be categorised and a definition of a Management Standard is proposed to enable the distillation of the considerable body of literature into more manageable proportions. A chronology of Management Standards development is tabled and compared with the evolution of Quality Management and Total Quality Management (TQM) and the possible future development of Management Standards is examined. The literature research confirmed that Standards-based management approaches had increased very significantly, despite a lack of empirical research to show that this method of management yielded uniform improvements. It identified a trend for integrating Management Standards and creating a “super” Management Standard that would incorporate all the functions of management within an organisation. The Scottish Quality Management System (SQMS) is an integrated Management Standard that incorporates many of the key functions of management within an audited Management Standards framework that its architects claim is based on the principles of TQM. While originally developed for the Scottish training provider network in 1993, it has spread internationally and is currently in use by circa 600 organisations in several countries. It is the only example of a Management Standard of this kind, and despite its longevity, extensive coverage and significant public investment, it has not attracted any previous research interest. The SQMS project was ambitious, seeking to impose a major new Standard on a diverse and predominately unsophisticated population of organisations within a tight time frame. The field research surveyed the entire SQMS registered organisation population using a questionnaire that was based upon the principles of ISO 9004: 1994 and some preliminary research. The questionnaire was designed to examine attitudes and motivation, as well as gauging the effectiveness of the SQMS Standard as determined by an analysis of the improvements that could be directly associated with its implementation. The survey achieved over 70% response rate and the resulting data set was comprehensive and the analysis robust. An additional element of the research compared the results of the questionnaire response analysis with the perceptions of the SQMS Auditors who had audited a majority of the respondent organisations. The field research showed that the SQMS population was very experienced and had been working with SQMS for well over three years. This is a period that the literature research indicated was the minimum time required for the benefits of quality improvement initiatives to become measurable. In the absence of any clear published objectives for the implementation of SQMS, a number of likely objectives were postulated and these objectives were measured against the results of the research. The results of the research suggest an attitude of compliance, rather than improvement as the underlying mind-set of the SQMS organisations and an absence of quality improvement planning or measurement of key performance indicators. This attitude was no different among organisations that had also adopted ISO 9000 and IiP. SQMS accreditation had not shown to provide any marketing or promotional benefit in the same way as ISO 9000 and it had not led to increased market share or profitability. Few of the possible benefits of applying a Standard of this nature had been realised by the majority of organisations and there was little evidence of tangible organisational improvement. The Standard could not be deemed to have met its proposed objectives and a comparison with an accepted model of TQM did not find sufficient compatibility to designate SQMS as a tool for TQM implementation. The interviews with SQMS Auditors identified major discrepancies between their perceptions and the views of the organisations that they audited. The admission by over half of the respondent organisations that they produced evidence purely to satisfy audits raised questions about the effectiveness of the Standard and its audits and the competence of auditors to audit “super” Standards. The novelty of the research is examined and suggestions for future research proposed.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The aim of this research was to determine factors that contribute to improving performance of employees in the SAPS and those factors that hinder efficiency during performance appraisals. To achieve these objectives, the study used a qualitative approach to explore and obtain a complex and detailed understanding of factors that influence the performance management system (PMS) of the SAPS.

M.Tech. Business Administration. Business School. / Optimal performance outcomes when working from home (small office home office) (SOHO) refers to the impact of job satisfaction and work-life-balance on it. Working from home doesn't have an effect on job satisfaction but does influence work-life-balance positively. Two hypotheses were investigated: (1) whether the job satisfaction of employees working from home at Alexander Forbes was affected and (2) whether the work-life-balance of employees working from home at Alexander Forbes was affected.

Assessment Centres within the South African Workplace: Relationship between a Situational Judgement Test and Ability and Personality Measures.This research investigates the relationship of a specific situational judgement test, Scenarios, to that of ability and personality measures through a discriminant validation study. The Scenarios Test was developed in order to assess the construct of Managerial Judgement within the work context. Despite the fact that this instrument has demonstrated reliability and validity evidence, this has been primarily obtained within a European context. Therefore, this study will contribute towards the growing body of evidence supporting the psychometric integrity of the use of Scenarios within a South African context. Moreover, this research aims to determine whether or not a situational judgement test of Managerial Judgement provides information relating to constructs which are not sufficiently measured by ability tests and personality questionnaires. The results indicate that there is significant inter-correlation between the scales of Scenarios, but not between Scenarios and the other instruments used (cognitive ability tests and a trait personality measure). This may support the hypothesis that SJTs could measure a broader underlying construct, such as tacit knowledge, as well as the fact that they may provide unique information relating to candidates‟ potential job performance which is not provided by tests of ability and personality. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.