Acompanha: Guia didático para o ensino de psicologia organizacional com foco na sustentabilidade. / O ensino de Psicologia Organizacional em cursos da área tecnológica proporciona uma base para a gestão de pessoas a tecnólogos e engenheiros que, frequentemente, ocupam cargos de liderança no trabalho. Esta costuma ser uma das poucas disciplinas da área de gestão humana a compor os currículos deste tipo de curso. Partindo de uma preocupação com as repercussões socioambientais dos processos de gestão, o presente estudo teve por objetivo abordar o ensino de Psicologia Organizacional por meio de estratégias que propiciem reflexões acerca das repercussões socioambientais dos valores vivenciados no trabalho. A implementação da proposta intentou: a) oportunizar aos alunos reflexões sobre a influência que a cultura competitiva e seus valores subjacentes exercem sobre as atitudes adotadas no ambiente de trabalho; b) promover reflexões acerca da influência que os valores e atitudes cultivados no interior das empresas têm nos rumos do desenvolvimento tecnológico e, consequentemente, na sustentabilidade planetária; c) proporcionar reflexões sobre a necessidade de se problematizar o atual lema empresarial ‘colaborar para competir’; d) identificar as contribuições das estratégias utilizadas para o ensino de Psicologia Organizacional por meio da abordagem CTS; e) produzir um guia didático para o ensino de Psicologia Organizacional com foco nos valores da sustentabilidade. O trabalho foi desenvolvido com uma turma de 6º período de um curso de Tecnologia em Alimentos, consistindo numa pesquisa qualitativa de natureza interpretativa, por meio de observação participante. A abordagem dada ao fazer pedagógico fundamentou-se nos referenciais CTS, utilizando como estratégia didática os 'três momentos pedagógicos', que consistem numa adaptação dos referenciais freirianos. Tal abordagem possibilitou problematizar os valores contrários à sustentabilidade, culturalmente arraigados nos alunos, bem como a sua visão fragmentada em relação aos efeitos socioambientais do comportamento humano no trabalho. A receptividade positiva e a motivação dos discentes com a proposta conferiu validade ao seu potencial para a aprendizagem e para a formação de consciência crítica sobre os valores que permeiam o trabalho das organizações. Em decorrência, percepções e valores inerentes à sustentabilidade foram despertados, conferindo-se à compreensão dos conteúdos formais um caráter que possibilita o protagonismo em relação às necessárias transformações sociais. / The Organizational Psychology teaching in courses of technological area provides a basis for people management to technologists and engineers who frequently take positions of leadership at work. It's one of the few disciplines of human management that compose the curriculum of this type of course. Starting from a preocuppation with the impact socio-environmental of the management processes, this study aimed at addressing the teaching of Organizational Psychology through strategies that provide reflections about the social and environmental impact of values experienced in the work. The implementation of the proposal aimed: a) create opportunities for students to reflect about the influence that the competitive culture and its underlying values have on the attitudes adopted in the workplace; b) promote reflections about the influence that the values and attitudes cultivated within enterprises exert over the course of technological development and, consequently, in planetary sustainability; c) provide reflections upon the need to problematize the current corporate slogan 'collaborate to compete'; d) identify the contributions of the strategies used for Organizational Psychology teaching using the STS approach; and e) produce a didactical guide for the Organizational Psychology teaching with a focus on the values of sustainability. The work was developed with a 6 th period class of a Food Technology course, consisting of a qualitative interpretative research done through participant observation. The pedagogical practice approach was based on the STS references, using as teaching strategy the 'three pedagogical moments', which consist in an adaptation of Paulo Freire references. Such approach allowed to question the contrary values to sustainability, culturally ingrained in students, as well as their fragmented view about social and environmental effects of human behavior at work. The positive reception and motivation of students with the proposal gave validity to their potential for the learning and for the formation of critical consciousness about the values that permeate the work of organizations. As a result, perceptions and values inherent to sustainability have been awakened, giving for the understanding of formal contents a feature which enables protagonism in relation to the necessary social transformations.

Globalization has had a profound impact on the business environment of organizations and on the lives of employees in most countries. Previously sheltered markets were suddenly opened up to intense international competition. Organizations had to improve the efficient and effective utilization of resources to retain and gain market shares. Even organizations which are still prospering today in the face of serious competition, cannot be sure of continued success in the next financial year. Astute owners and managers are acutely aware of the need to continually and consciously seek the competitive edge for their businesses. Market forces exert continuous pressure on organizations and their employees to increase performance to keep up with ever rising demands. Concurrently there are rising pressures from civil society, easily mobilized through social media, for organizational leaders to be more ethical, moral and socially responsible. Employers are currently expected to not only take care of the wellbeing of their employees, but also the wellbeing of the communities in which they operate. The challenge is clearly to find a business model that can increase individual and organizational performance, while at the same time create high levels of wellbeing for employees and thereby creating a spill-over effect to influence the wellbeing of their social environment positively. To this end, the literature was reviewed to identify constructs which could provide a solid ethical and moral managerial foundation, increase performance and create high levels of wellbeing at the same time. Servant Leadership, Workplace Trust, Work Engagement and Workplace Wellbeing were identified as constructs which could fulfill these requirements. As measurement lies at the heart of scientific endeavour, the selection of appropriate measuring instruments was considered to be equally important. The Servant Leadership Survey (Van Dierendonck and Nuijten, 2011), the Workplace Trust Survey (Ferres, 2001), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli et al, 2002) and the Work Wellbeing Questionnaire (Parker and Hyett, 2011) were selected as the most suitable instruments. These instruments are deemed to measure the constructs thoroughly through a combined total of 114 items and 18 dimensions. Three primary aims were identified for the study namely, determining the configurational portability of the instruments, investigating the relationships between the variables to determine their direct and sequential effect on wellbeing and establishing whether structural models of the findings could be built. The main findings indicate that each of the variables explain significant proportions of the variance in Work Wellbeing directly as well as indirectly through their effect on the other variables of the study. It seems that these variables contribute to fostering a psycho-organizational climate conducive to increased wellbeing.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Ronald G. Downey / The harmful workplace behavior field, although relatively new, is fragmented. Despite a few collaborative efforts (Fox & Spector, 2005; Keashly & Jagatic, 2003; etc.) there is no agreement on the correct terminology to employ. The current paper corrects this by developing a new scale that is a combination of similar, but previously distinct, variables and concepts. This new scale is comprehensive and based off of an intensive review of the literature.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Ronald G. Downey / Work engagement has received increased attention by both practitioners and academicians. Researchers and practitioners have focused on the antecedents of employee engagement and the positive outcomes of an employee being engaged. This study served to expand the literature on antecedents and outcomes of work engagement to include human resources practices, such as Realistic Job Previews (RJP) and selection tests, as antecedents. A sample of 161 Information Technology help desk support representatives, who were grouped by receiving or not receiving an RJP and a selection test, were assessed on the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma, and Bakker, 2002). Significant differences were found for individuals who recalled receiving an RJP on work engagement. Significant differences were not found for the selection test group on work engagement. Additional analyses were conducted to determine the predictability of engagement on individual (e.g., personal health and job satisfaction) and organizational outcomes (e.g., turnover intentions and performance). Overall, results suggest that human resources practices should be included in the work engagement model. Additional research directions and organizational implications were discussed.

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / Orientation: In this study the construct of psychological flow, a form of optimal experience, amongst a small group of South African engineers were explored. Research purpose: The main objective of this dissertation was to explore, describe, and gain an understanding of engineers‟ flow experiences at work. Motivation for the study: The motivation to embark on this study was threefold and based on a personal interest in flow, engineering and qualitative research. Research design, approach and method: I adopted a qualitative research approach by employing a multiple case study that is instrumental and explorative by nature. Three engineers from different fields provided their views and experiences on flow through semi-structured and structured interviews, as well as by keeping a diary. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Main findings: Confirmation has been found for the nine characteristics of flow according to Csikszentmihalyi (1990). A possible tenth characteristic, namely optimal pressure has emerged from the data where the participants indicate that they also experience forced flow. Implications of findings and discoveries: The understanding of flow and what it constitutes has implications for how engineers can „craft‟ their jobs, how managerial engineers may experience flow and how „incubating‟ engineers can experience flow and improve their performance. Contribution: This study offers a modest contribution to the world of engineering in that it can help engineers to know what is required in order to experience their work in an optimal manner. Furthermore, this study expands on current theoretical work conducted on flow by suggesting a possible tenth characteristic.

Abstract not available.

This is a study investigating employee behavior within the work group as structured by the technology utilized in the work process. While it is true that factors other than the form of technology influence work group behavior, a sincere attempt is made to reveal the frequency and type of behavior that may be attributed to a particular educational form. It is assumed that a plant has specific types of technology, that is, the technology is set; therefore, the question is what behavior will result from a specific technology, given a certain mix of variables? The object of this study based on Sayles' Behavior of Industrial Work Groups, Walker and Guest's The Man on the Assembly Line, and Blauner's Alienation and Freedom is threefold: 1. To investigate the direct influence of technological characteristics on organizationally relevant behavior. The technological characteristics deemed meaningful are the form of transfer technology binding the group, the form of conversion technology involved in product manufacture, and the number of cycles per hour passing through the group. The technologically dependent factors expressed in organizationally relevant behavior are the degree of grievance and pressure activity, the number of unplanned spontaneous outbursts, the participation of the group in union activities, the amount of voluntary turnover, and the degree of absenteeism. 2. To investigate the influence of technological characteristics on the behavioral consequences of the technology. The behavioral consequences of the technology are the intervening variables that are associated with a particular technological form and may influence the ultimate behavior pattern. They are: attention requirements of the job, frequency of break in the job routine, mobility of workers in the group, work standards involving judgment, the degree of conversation, group status, and group cohesiveness. 3. To investigate the influence of the behavioral consequences of the technology on organizationally relevant behavior. The method of investigation is through the direct observation of the aforementioned variables as recorded on a predetermined scale. The direct observations are then supplemented by descriptive information obtained from an interview schedule with first level supervisors and other levels of management. The results of these methods of investigation are presented in the body of the thesis. The general conclusions reached are as follows: 1. No direct trend relationship is found between the degree of technological characteristics and the degree of organizationally relevant behavior. On the whole, a curvilinear relationship between the technological form and organizationally relevant behavior as described by Blauner in Alienation and Freedom is discernable; however, there are many exceptions. 2. The degree of the behavioral consequences of the technology such as attention requirements of the job, frequency of break in the job routine, mobility of workers in the group, work standards involving judgment, and the degree of verbal communication are found to be related to the form of technology. However, no relationship was found between the degree of status or cohesion and technological form. 3. The behavioral consequences of the technology such as attention requirements of the job, frequency of break in the job routine, mobility of workers in the group, and work standards involving judgment play an important role in explaining work group behavior. In-group communication, and group cohesiveness have little influence on organizationally relevant behavior. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

M.A. (Labour Relations) / Never before has South Africa undergone as many changes as is currently the case. With the abolition of apartheid, the looming prospect of affirmative action legislation and the need to foster a positive economic growth rate, South African human resource managers are faced with unprecendented challenges. The biggest of these challenges is the effective management of human resources in a diverse organisational environment, which has, until recently focussed almost exclusively on the development of white employees. In order to increase the competitiveness of South African organisations and to generate income for the economy, human resource management policies and systems have to be adapted. These adaptions should focus on the needs of black employees, especially in the area of organisational culture, which was traditionally based exclusively on the values of white management. In view of the above it is the goal of this study to create a system of value management to integrate the traditional cultural values of employees with the core organisational values of a specific hotel complex. The study is a combined literature study and an empirical enquiry. In the empirical enquiry the core organisational values of the hotel complex are investigated, in support of the hypothesis that South African human resource management policies are not sufficiently cognisant of the traditional values of employees. Subjects such as the nature of traditional Batswana cultural values and a value management model for the integration of organisational and cultural values will furthermore be addressed in this study.

In a small, owner-managed, knowledge work firm, assessments were completed on the owners as a method to complete job analysis—surfacing tacit knowledge such as personal characteristics, cognitive style, values and philosophy that contributed to success. Business strategy is often strongly influenced by the tacit knowledge and competencies of the owners, and their unique perspective on the company and marketplace.

A thesis submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, January 2018 / The goal of this research was to develop a comprehensive theoretical perspective on values and framing of sustainability in the context of strategic transformation in an organisational field. This perspective aimed to address the gap in understanding of the role of values within and across framing levels in the sustainability discourse. The goal of this research was accomplished in two stages. Firstly, a conceptual review of the previous research was used to develop an initial model of the valuebased framing of sustainability. Secondly, a case study based on framing analysis was conducted to verify the model. To accommodate the diversity of framing sources, a framing analysis methodology was developed based on the previous methodologies of value elicitation and framing research. The results confirmed the usefulness of the framing analysis in understanding the meaning construction and the outcomes of change, conflict, or resistance to change in strategic transformation. Additional insights from the empirical case revealed both value-framing divergence and convergence and the influence of the roles of frame actors in such processes. The framing analysis also indicated that some values might be associated with silencing sensemaking. The original contribution is three-fold. Firstly, an integrated model was developed based on the conceptual synthesis and the case study. The model differentiates sensemaking, sensegiving, and silencing sensemaking as sub-processes within the framing mechanism of sustainability transformation. The model clarifies the role of values as inputs, outputs, and strategic devices. The model outlines the processes of value-framing divergence and convergence. This model forms the foundation for the value-based theory of sustainability framing. Secondly, a new approach to framing analysis was developed that facilitates analysis of diverse communication styles in a comparable way. Thirdly, this research resulted in the development of an agenda for the advancement of the value-based theory. / XL2018