Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1972. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-150). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University.

This thesis examines personnel management policies and practices within the State Economic Development Corporations (SEDCs) of the Malaysian economy. It is concerned to explore and access the contemporary influence and significance of personnel managers and their policies on routine SEDC practices. Under the Malaysian government's New Economic Policy (NEP) of 1970, SEDCs are expected to provide employment, training and development of Bumiputra employees (i.e. Malay and other indigenous groups), to produce Bumiputra entrepreneurs and to increase their participation and ownership in the Malaysian commercial and industrial sectors. The empirical research which informs this thesis was designed to examine, first, whether these political, social and economic commitments have and do facilitate the development and emergence of personnel management in the SEDCs. Second, whether personnel managers currently play a significant role in ensuring that these objectives are met, and third whether there is a more significant contribution that personnel managers and policies could potentially make to the employment practices of SEDCs. An overall finding of the empirical research is that there are significant barriers restricting the presence and influence of professional personnel managers in SEDCs. In 8 out of 11 SEDCs there was no separate personnel function or specialised, trained personnel manager. These primary research findings both reflect and reinforce a theme that can be found in some of the more critical personnel management literature which highlights the potential difficulties faced by some personnel managers and the negative consequences of the absence of personnel department in a great variety of organisations, industries and countries. Studies of personnel management suggest that barriers to effective personnel management practices include: the low status of personnel managers, their subordinate relationship to line managers and the prevailing definition of organisational effectiveness that concentrates exclusively upon financial results. Many of the negative consequences of the absence of personnel management such as informalisation, inconsistency, inefficiency of personnel practices have been pointed out. In this research, various cultural, political, legal and structural factors that constitute barriers to personnel management were found. In most SEDCs, the economic and social contributions of the personnel management and the significant role of personnel managers were de-emphasized and neglected. The absence of formalised, decentralised and standardized personnel management causes ad hoc and unsystematic manpower planning and training, discrimination in selection and promotion and a lack of motivational practices. In addition to examining these barriers, the thesis also seeks to highlight where appropriate facilitators to the development of personnel management as well as the potential impact on SEDCs employment practices of personnel management practices and initiatives.

Thesis (Masters Diploma ( Personnel Management) -- Cape Technikon, Cape Town,1993 / The worsening unemployment problem and lack of skilled manpower in South Africa, is not confined only to the lower levels of the organisation hierarchy. Effective managerial skills are in short supply, and training and educational programmes therefore need to be geared to the provision of these skills. This type of training and education is the domain of tertiary educational institutions, such as technikons. It is pertinent then, to consider whether the current syllabi of management educational programmes at the technikons in fact reflect in their content, the skills required by the workplace. This line of thinking may be taken further, in that one must reason that even if the syllahi content are rele";.ant to industry needs, the relevance of the weighting or focus areas in the syllabi content, need to be consistent with the requirements of industry. This study was undertaken to examine the relevance of the skills acquired by diplomates - through the tuition received and experience gained - while studying towards the National Diploma: Personnel Management In order to achieve the goal of the study, a semi-structured questionnaire and interview approach was utilised, to ascertain the human resource management skills needs of a sample of industries in the Western Cape. A comparison of these two sets of data was then made, and the relationship between them established. The comparison was intended to serve as a guide, in order that any syllabi adjustments which might be indicated, could be targeted to meet specific industry needs.

The aim of the study was to obtain new insight into the phenomenon of knowledge management (KM) in modern-day organisations and the role Human Resources (HR) plays in facilitating access to knowledge via knowledge holders (employees). The study aims to contribute to both theoretical and practical use of KM and HR in the South African context. A qualitative methodological approach, modern qualitative research, and more specifically the grounded theory approach of Strauss and Corbin was used to carry out the research. The study’s unit of analysis was individuals, viz knowledge managers in organisations or individuals knowledgeable about the topic within organisations in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. The particular qualitative selection procedure used was theoretical sampling with snowball or chain sampling employed as sampling method. Although multimethods of data collection were used, the principal method consisted of unstructured in-depth interviews supported by participant observation. Three preliminary interviews were conducted during the feasibility study and followed by seven focussed interviews. The unstructured data was systematically analysed utilising the grounded theory methodology aimed at the development of a substantive theory. Three themes, namely Organisation, Human Resources and Knowledge Management were found to be particularly prominent in influencing the role HR plays in relation to and in support of KM in organisations. Three categories developed from the data analyses were the importance of organisational knowledge, management of knowledge and linking people to share knowledge. This triad formed the cornerstones of the theory. After conclusion of the data analysis a literature review was conducted to establish what the current literature reveals on the topics of KM and HR. To further substantiate the theory, it was compared with prominent concepts from the relevant theoretical and empirical research. From this it became clear that the role of HR in the knowledge organisation had changed and the prime focal point of HR would be the facilitation of knowledge sharing by linking people with one another and creating opportunities during which they could request and discuss specific knowledge. These linking processes may entail structural and paradigm adjustments, and initiating and encouraging informal shared learning opportunities. This resulted in changes in the role of HR and human resource management (HRM) practices, philosophies, and principles. As key holders of knowledge assets, employees have to be approached and managed differently, and at the same time understand their roles and responsibilities in the knowledge organisation. Essentially, optimal knowledge creation and use need to take place in a trusting environment and culture that supports, motivates and acknowledges knowledge sharing amongst employees. This study stresses the importance of the relationship between and the dependence of KM on HR and human resources in knowledge organisations. This would however require changes in the HR field and recommendations in this regard were made. / Dr. Willem Schurink

M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Cur. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.B.A. / The main thrust of this research is its critical perspective on the current situation faced by corporate South Africa. This involves the deliberate attempt to make a contribution in dismantling the deeply rooted problems of the past. The research has specifically focused on the transformation of all organisations in the country. The study then chooses to argue that for corporate South Africa to undergo a smooth planned change and overcome resistance to transformation, it has to go via the cultural diversity route. There is a need to prioritise and find new solutions. There is much work to be done. The major motivation behind the study was the very perception that South Africa is a multicultural country having all members aspiring to have their voices heard. The study then further argues that it will be best timing to activate economic transformation simultaneously with political transformation with particular emphasis on corporate South Africa. Hence the need to develop an integrated and formalised methodology for managing corporate planned change in its entirety. The development of the model is thus intended to provide management with a holistic methodology to internalise, think, plan and in the process of its implementation, incorporate all members of the organisation in decision making. This work has attempted through conceptual literature, to create an outcome that will influence other disciplines in different spheres, generate constructive arguments and activate further research. The work also intends to create a new perception that South Africa be seen as doing something concrete- about its corporate impasses.

M.Ed. / While there is a new vision and direction as set out in the new education policy frameworks, human resources management in schools is still shaped by disempowering autocratic ethos, systems and procedures inherited from the apartheid era. Consequently, the management styles required to rehumanize the staff in schools, especially black township schools, is absent. Capacity building for service delivery is lacking. In this study, the researcher uses a qualitative research based on multiple selected sites to explore what barriers stand in the path of employees at school level with regard to the delivery of the expected learning outcomes and also to suggest ways and means to remove or limit these barriers. Research findings from this study suggest that managers in schools should not limit employees through their managerial actions, but rather empower their school staff by means of anchored freedom and enhance their performance through managing the environment surrounding them.

M.Com. (Enterprise Management) / In quest of being the best coal mine complex in the world, Secunda Collieries has to enter a second growth phase. Amidst an ever changing environment the development of organizational structure, human resources and organizational culture play a important role in the consistent success of a company. Without the ability to evaluate the performances of this environment and the ability to adapt, no organization can thrive. Organizations tend to go through stages of organizational growth, with each stage progressing from a period of relative calm to a management crisis. How well the organization anticipates and deals with the crisis determines whether it leads to organizational decline or opportunities for renewal and future growth. The characteristics of the four-stage life-cycle model show how an organization can evolve from an informal, one-person show, in the entrepreneurial stage, to a bureaucratic teamwork emphasis in the decline stage. By applying the life-cycle metaphor to organizations, we are saying that there are distinct stages through which organizations proceed, that the stages follow a consistent pattern, and that the transitions from one stage to another are predictable rather than random occurrences. The placing of organizations, however, within these life-cycle stages, is independent of chronological age. The growth of the Sasol Coal division has been influenced by the growth of the Sasol group. Since its founding in the 1950's as a single division, the Sasol group has grown to twelve divisions. The coal division has grown from a single mine to the world's biggest underground mining complex...