The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of organizational characteristics, nature of the decision problems, and the personality of the controller on the choice of control strategies within organizations. A review of the literature on control systems was conducted as a first step. The review indicated that research on control systems until now is characterized by global normative models and theories focusing on single independent variables as predictors of appropriate control systems within organizations. Depending upon the specific researcher's inclinations, various constructs such as organizational structure, technology, environment and member needs have been suggested in the past as determinants of optimal control systems within organizations. An attempt was made here to formulate a model which considers all the above variables and integrates the several (and often conflicting) past findings. One major segment of the above model was tested during the present study. For this purpose control behaviors were classified into two major categories: behaviors that influence the 'intrinsic' motivation of the subordinates and Behaviors that influence the 'extrinsic' motivation of the subordinates. Four major hypotheses were formulated. The first hypothesis suggested that members of 'organic' organizations are more likely to use 'intrinsically' motivating control behaviors than those who work in 'mechanistic' organizations. Conversely, members of 'mechanistic' organizations were hypothesized to use 'extrinsically' motivating control behaviors more frequently than those in 'organic' organizations. The second hypothesis related the controller's tolerance of ambiguity with his or her choice of control behaviors. Specifically, it was suggested that individuals with high tolerance of ambiguity are more likely to initiate 'intrinsically' motivating control behaviors than those with low tolerance of ambiguity. The third hypothesis suggested that individuals are more likely to choose 'intrinsically' motivating control strategies when they are faced with an unimportant decision problem than when faced with an important decision problem. Conversely, it was suggested that individuals are more likely to use 'extrinsically' motivating control behaviors when faced with an important decision problem than when faced with an unimportant decision problem. The final hypothesis attempted to examine the combined effects of, three independent variables; it was, suggested that individuals who have high tolerance of ambiguity working in 'organic' firms and making unimportant decisions are most likely to use 'intrinsically' motivating control strategies and least likely to use 'extrinsically' motivating strategies. Conversely, persons with low tolerance of ambiguity working in: 'mechanistic' firms and making important decisions were hypothesized to make maximum use of 'extrinsically' motivating strategies and minimal use of 'intrinsically' motivating strategies. A laboratory experiment (n = 172) was conducted to test the various hypotheses. The first and third hypotheses were sustained; the fourth hypothesis received moderate support and the second hypothesis was at best partially supported. The research methodology used in the study, the implications of the present findings and directions for future research in the area of choice of control strategies are discussed. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

D.Comm. / South African organisations seem to do very little to enhance business ethics, nor do they seem to promote employees' ethical behaviour. The possibility that the human resource management (HRM) practitioner may act as facilitator of organisational ethical behaviour was proposed as a possible solution to the aforementioned problem. This possibili~y was formulated in the form of a research question. An interdisciplinary approach which consisted of the fields of business ethics and industrial psychology, with the latter being operationalised as human resource management (HRM), was applied as theoretical foundation. It was also decided to utilise a literature study as research method. The analysis was conducted at the micro level, i.e. the intra-organisational level of business ethics analysis. The type of ethical analysis chosen for this purpose was descriptive ethics. An exploration of the importance of business ethics, and the necessity to do something about it, yielded, the following findings amongst others: empirical proof that ethics is also good business exists, it is a cost-effective option to invest in morality, and the cost of immorality is frighteningly high. It was also found that it is indeed possible to learn ethical behaviour in an organisational setting. This may be accomplished as a result of the reciprocity of social interaction which presupposes moral learning. The aspects that determine ethical behaviour in organisations were categorised as individual, external environmental and organisational determinants. Managerial interventions which can be applied at the strategic and systems levels to facilitate ethical behaviour and to create an ethical organisational culture, were identified and described. An analysis of the nature and role of the HRM function in organisations, as well as a critical exploration of the question relating to the possible role of the HRM practitioner being the most suitable candidate to assume responsibility for managing ethics in organisations, revealed that the practitioner does indeed have such a role. HRM practitioners have a responsibility for human ethical behaviour, by virtue of their knowledge of and functional involvement with human behaviour in the organisational setting. It was further determined that the HRM practitioner features as the most prominent contender to facilitate ethical behaviour in the organisation. HRM practitioners may use the principle of stewardship as the main source of energy in the establishment of an ethical orientation to enable them to facilitate ethical organisational behaviour at the strategic, systems and operational levels. Should the HRM practitioner assume such a role, a number of attitudinal, competence and accountability implications may apply. In addition to this, several factors that may inhibit the optimal fulfillment of this "new" role were identified, e.g. generic factors, factors specific to the HRM profession as well as factors unique to the South African situation. The most significant finding of this research endeavour was that despite their existing high workload, HRM practitioners are the suitable candidates to act as business ethics functionaries, e.g. as organisational ethics officers. This finding remains valid irrespective of the possibilities that this may only be a temporary• role and that practitioners may not necessarily embrace this role without reservation. The role was explained by means of a descriptive model. It is shown in the model how certain determinants (as inputs), can be transformed by practitioners possessing a specific orientation and attributes, to produce certain outcomes, which may be typified as characteristics of an ethical organisation. This transformation is executed despite the presence of some inhibiting factors.

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The selection of one medium of communication above another may appear to be a matter of personal choice, and of little research consequence. Yet, insight into media preference when it comes to receiving internal communication messages may mean the difference between effective communication and lack of communication within an organisation. A number of theoretical perspectives have been advanced to explain communication media choice decisions. For the purpose of this study, the Media Richness Theory (MRT) and the Symbolic Interactionism Theory (SIT) were used to explore media selection at the University of Pretoria (UP). The MRT is concerned with identifying the most appropriate medium in terms of "medium richness" for communication situations characterised by equivocality and uncertainty. The SIT concurs with the MRT, but goes further and predicts that situational determinants such as distance and time and the symbolic cues provided by a medium, also influence media choice. The hypotheses were tested with data obtained from 174 employees (academic and non-academic) based on the main campus of the UP. A mail questionnaire was used to gather data. The questionnaire was developed to test MRT and SIT predictions with regard to media selection. The gathered data were analysed to reach general findings from the descriptive statistics and to test the hypotheses by using inferential statistics such as (a) chi-square tests, (b) analysis of variance (ANOVA) and (c) factor analysis. Research findings indicate that employees at UP tend to select face-to-face media for highly equivocal messages and written media for clear, objective messages. The results also indicate that where situational constraints such as distance and time pressure are present, people tend to choose "leaner" media, such as telephone and computer-mediated communication media, irrespective of the contents of the message. When symbolic meaning is intended, however, such as a desire for teamwork and trust, a "rich" medium is preferred. These findings are in support of MRT and SIT predictions. The results from the factor analysis indicate that organisational culture in UP plays a more significant role than the communicator or recipient where media selection is concerned. Based on this research, it can be accepted (at a 95% confidence level) that:<ul> <li>media selection is determined by message equivocality, message uncertainty, situational constraints and symbolic meaning; </li> <li>there is no significant dependence between years service and media selection; </li> <li>there is a tendency to use computer-mediated communication media as much as or more than conventional media where messages of a non¬personal nature are concerned; this is, however not true for messages of a personal nature.r</li></ul> In conclusion, although the findings of this study are only of an exploratory nature and based on a small section of the employees at UP, the results indicate the existence of a significant relationship between message contents, situational factors and media selection. Thus, effective internal communication may mean selecting the right medium to fit message contents and the situation in order to achieve mutual understanding and success. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Communication Management / MA / Unrestricted

Este trabalho tem como objetivo realizar uma análise da relação entre as âncoras de carreira e atitudes de carreira proteana e sem fronteiras na geração Z. Para isso, foi realizado levantamento bibliográfico sobre o tema “carreira” e mapeamento da geração Z na região da Serra Gaúcha. Após o mapeamento, optou-se por uma amostra não probabilística por conveniência, sendo aplicados instrumentos em alunos de graduação matriculados junto a Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS). Como testes, foram utilizados o inventário de âncoras de carreira de Edgar Schein (1996) e as escalas atitudes de carreira proteana e sem fronteiras de Briscoe et al. (2006). A pesquisa foi aplicada nos meses de agosto e setembro de 2017, obtendo 722 respostas válidas, sendo 538 respondentes com idade entre 18 e 24 anos, ou seja, integrantes da geração Z. Através da análise fatorial, foi possível verificar a existência de novos fatores, conforme o inventário de Schein (1996), sendo eles denominados resignação, criatividade empreendedora interna, especialista pleno e desconexo, além da exclusão da âncora competência técnica funcional, totalizando onze fatores e obtendo-se 60,32% de explicação desses fatores. A mesma análise foi realizada no inventário de atitudes de carreira proteana e sem fronteiras, sendo mantidos os quatro fatores originais e obtendo-se 47,08% de explicação desses fatores. Já através da análise de correlações, pôde-se verificar que ela é significativa em todos os fatores sugeridos por Briscoe et al. (2006): autodirecionamento e valores pessoais, para carreira proteana, e mobilidade física e mobilidade psicológica, para carreira sem fronteiras. Os resultados sugerem que o estudo das âncoras de carreira é relevante para o entendimento das atitudes de carreira do indivíduo da geração Z. Dessa forma, este trabalho apresenta uma contribuição quanto à possibilidade de novas âncoras de carreira e também sobre a tendência de atitudes ligadas à carreira da geração Z. / This work aimed to analyze the relationship between career anchors and protean and boundaryless career attitudes in generation Z. In order to achieve this objective, a bibliographic survey on the career theme and a mapping of generation Z region of the sierra gaúcha. After this mapping, a non-probabilistic sample was chosen for convenience, the inventory of career anchors of Edgar Schein (1996) and the protean and borderless career attitudes scales of Briscoe et al. (2006), in undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Caxias do Sul (UCS). The research was applied in August and September 2017, obtaining 722 valid answers, and 538 respondents are 18 to 24 years old, that is, members of the Z generation. Through the factorial analysis it was possible to verify the existence of new Schein's (1996) inventory factors, being called resignation, internal entrepreneurial creativity, full and disconnected specialist, in addition to the exclusion of anchor functional technical competence, totaling eleven factors and obtaining 60.32% of explanation of these factors, the same analysis was performed in the inventory of protean career attitudes and without frontiers, maintaining the original four factors and obtained 47.08% of explanation of these factors. Already through the analysis of correlations, it can be verified that it is significant in all the factors suggested by Briscoe et al. (2006) who are self-directed and personal values for career protean and physical mobility and psychological mobility for career without frontiers. This suggests that the study of career anchors is relevant to the understanding of the career attitudes of the individual of generation Z. Thus, this work presents a contribution regarding the possibility of new career anchors and also about the tendency of attitudes linked to career, generation Z.

Whether organizational slack contributes to or hampers firm performance is a constant debate in research and practice. Despite of many empirical studies, the issue remains inconclusive. Nevertheless, previous studies have offered valuable insight that monotonically pursuing a one-sided argument to the issue will unlikely leave the predicament. Instead, a more specific analysis of particular types of slack and the institutional context will be more fruitful in advancing research in this subject. Notwithstanding this insight, however, the mainstream in slack literatures largely focused on financial slack. Attention given to human resources slack is sparse, in particular human resources slack in research & development (R&D HR slack). In addition, most empirical works have confined their inquiries around slack in developed countries and drawn on theoretical perspectives that pay little attention to the institutional context in which the decisions in resources selection and utilization are embedded. It is not clear whether their findings could be applied to emerging economies where R&D supportive institutions are generally underdeveloped. Drawing on resource-based view and institutional theory, this study examined the relationship between R&D HR slack and firm performance as well as the moderating role of foreign ownership. This study argued that foreign ownership could bring in new institutional elements and improve the performance of indigenous firms in the long established manufacturing industries in China. The results show that R&D HR slack is positively associated with firms' innovation performance and foreign ownership moderated this positive relationship. In addition, R&D HR slack is also positively associated with firms' stock market performance, and yet unlike innovation performance, this positive relationship is not moderated by foreign ownership. Finally, despite R&D HR slack is positively associated with firms' innovation performance as well as their stock market performance, it has no significant effect on their accounting performance. Based on these findings, this study proposed a new theoretical perspective borrowed from the symbiotic theory to describe the effect of foreign ownership on the relationship between R&D HR slack and firm performance for future studies.

The problem of this study consisted of three divisions: First, to determine the status of personnel policies in their elementary school districts in Stanislaus County having a full-time administrator but with less than 900 average daily attendance. Second, to determine how these districts have developed personnel policies. Third, to apply the results of this study in the development of personnel policy in the Hughson Union School District.

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No description available.

No description available.