The pursuit for improved productivity through human resources has its beginning in the early 1900's. Taylor's scientific management principles created an awareness regarding human resources. It was earlier considered as a mere instrument of production ready to work from dawn to dusk under whatever conditions and being motivated by the lure of money. From then onwards research and experiments have been undertaken to understand human beings at work and the ways to improve their job satisfaction, balanced with the aim of the organizations to combine better productivity with job and employee satisfaction. The concept of QWL (quality of work life) has originated from the continuous research process. The term QWL was introduced by Dav is (1972) at the first International QWL conference held in Toronto. The focus of this research concerns a study of the quality of work life for the employees at SARS in the Mmabatho Branch in the North West province. The aim of this paper was to determine whether and how quality of work life affects the satisfaction level of the employees and the implications of these findings suggest that the quality of work life at SARS can be enhanced by factors such as adequate income and fair compensation, safe and healthy working conditions, opportunities for career growth and development of human capabilities and social integration in the workforce. A convenience or accidental sampling was used for this study, out of93 questionnaires sent out, a total of 77 usable questionnaires were returned, representing an overall response rate of (82,8%). The study reveals that a clear and consistent communication of the organisational goals and objectives is essential to both employer and employees. The study also recommends that an establishment of new policies and practices that promote a workplace culture that stimulates employees with the aim of reducing stress, poor performance and low morale of employees. Alignments of organisational goals to day-to-day work by maintaining healthy working conditions: reduce high absenteeism levels and occupational burnout and fair remuneration of employees. The study also recommends that maintenance and open dialogue among the middle and junior employees. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011

A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters by Coursework and Research Report in the field of Industrial Organisational Psychology in the faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand. / The state of public health service and delivery in public hospitals in South Africa is concerning. Allied to this, is the prevalence of nursing shortage experienced in public hospitals in the country. Nursing shortage is an outcome that results from various factors; one such factor is actual turnover, preceded by intent to leave. Intent to leave is a strong predictor of actual turnover. It has been found to be negatively correlated with organisational commitment and job satisfaction. Organisational commitment and job satisfaction stem from various work states such job demands and job resources. It is important to understand that all occupations have job demands that are to be met by the required and relevant job resources. Failure to meet job demands with job resources results in numerous negative employee and organisational implications. In the nursing sector for instance, employee implications were found to include undesirable work behaviours (such as intent to leave) exerted by nurses which ultimately affect the state of the healthcare service and healthcare delivery. The purpose of the current research was to investigate the nature of relationships that exist among organisational commitment, job satisfaction, demographic variables and intent to leave among nurses working at a public hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. The research postulated three hypotheses that were tested and proven Hypothesis 1: Organisational commitment (O_C) statistically predicts intent to leave (I_T_L) among nurse working at a public hospital; Hypothesis 2: Job satisfaction (J_S) statistically predicts intent to leave (I_T_L) among nurses working at a public hospital; Hypothesis 3: Demographic variables can also statistically predict intent to leave (I_T_L) among nurses working at a public hospital. Furthermore, the research aimed to find the best predictive model of the data. Lastly, the research investigated the relative importance of each significant independent variable in predicting intent to leave. The research design was a correlational cross-sectional. The public hospital received 200 questionnaires, of which 136 questionnaires were returned, with only 112 usable questionnaires to be analysed. Due to this, there were 112 participants. The sample fell predominantly in the 26-35 and 36-45 age categories. On the data collection days, nurses working in different wards received approximately three hours to complete a selfadministered questionnaire. Participants provided informed consent to be part of the research. The questionnaire collected demographic information, the respondent’s organisational commitment level, job satisfaction level and intent to leave level. All the three hypotheses were statistically proven, as indicated by results of the multiple linear regression. O_C was a statistically significant predictor of I_T_L (p < .05) among nurses at a public hospital. J_S was a statistically significant predictor of I_T_L (p < .05) among nurses at a public hospital. Nursing_position (category) as a demographic variable was also a statistically significant predictor of I_T_L (p < .05) among nurses at a public hospital. Hierarchical regression found the best predictive model of the data; the final predictive model was Model 3, which explained 17.3% of the variance in intent to leave. Model 3 included organisational commitment, job satisfaction and nursing position (category). Model3 equation = 61.848 + 2.395Nursing_position (category) + -.170O_C + -.111J_S. Lastly, the dominance analysis technique was applied in order examine the relative importance of each independent variable, to understand the role of each independent variable, and to assess the additional contribution of each independent variable in predicting intent to leave. O_C was found to have the additional contribution in predicting intent to leave. The current research showed that organisational commitment and job satisfaction remain applicable when examining intent to leave in the organisational behaviour. Therefore, the research findings are consistent with what has been previously discovered in the mid-nineties. Numerous strategies and plans have been put forward to increase organisational commitment and job satisfaction experienced by employees in order to mitigate nursing shortage, and to respond to the state of healthcare delivery in public hospitals. The challenge remains to be to translate these strategies and plans into actions. As it stands currently, thi is the only way to respond meaningfully to the highlighted phenomenon.

M.Com. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This thesis takes the form of three essays about the labour market implications of job quality. In the first essay, I demonstrate, by analysing a two-type, two-period example, that high introductory wage offers can signal the quality of experience jobs. In this game, one type of firm - the “good” type - offers higher expected quality jobs. If this type is less likely to exit from the industry than the “bad’ type, it can increase expenditure on introductory wages without being mimicked, distinguishing it from its inferior. The game has many equilibria with these separating wages. In each, the introductory compensating differentials have the opposite sign to the usual case: higher expected quality jobs pay more, rather than less. In the second essay, I present Canadian evidence that tests and supports the theory of compensating differentials for a variety of job characteristics. The data used are from the National Survey of Class Structure and Labour Process in Canada (NSCS). These self-report data are preferable to the more conventional occupational-trait data; they provide information on individual jobs rather than averages across broad occupational categories and industries. In the third essay, I focus on the mismatch between the educational requirements of jobs and the educational attainments of workers. Using NSCS data, I find that the returns to over- and undereducation for males are sensitive to the level of required education. There is evidence of positive returns to overeducation for jobs that require a university bachelor’s degree; but, in general, the returns are insignificant. Undereducated workers are penalised in jobs with low educational requirements. For females, I find that the returns to over- and undereducation are insignificant for all levels of required education.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1993. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-53).

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Psychology, Committee on Human Development and Mental Health Research, March, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

This thesis takes the form of three essays about the labour market implications of job quality. In the first essay, I demonstrate, by analysing a two-type, two-period example, that high introductory wage offers can signal the quality of experience jobs. In this game, one type of firm - the “good” type - offers higher expected quality jobs. If this type is less likely to exit from the industry than the “bad’ type, it can increase expenditure on introductory wages without being mimicked, distinguishing it from its inferior. The game has many equilibria with these separating wages. In each, the introductory compensating differentials have the opposite sign to the usual case: higher expected quality jobs pay more, rather than less. In the second essay, I present Canadian evidence that tests and supports the theory of compensating differentials for a variety of job characteristics. The data used are from the National Survey of Class Structure and Labour Process in Canada (NSCS). These self-report data are preferable to the more conventional occupational-trait data; they provide information on individual jobs rather than averages across broad occupational categories and industries. In the third essay, I focus on the mismatch between the educational requirements of jobs and the educational attainments of workers. Using NSCS data, I find that the returns to over- and undereducation for males are sensitive to the level of required education. There is evidence of positive returns to overeducation for jobs that require a university bachelor’s degree; but, in general, the returns are insignificant. Undereducated workers are penalised in jobs with low educational requirements. For females, I find that the returns to over- and undereducation are insignificant for all levels of required education. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

by Chan Mei-Yuk, Janice, Li Kam-Pui, Tony. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-100). / Questionaire in Chinese. / ACKNOWLEDGMENT --- p.ii / ABSTRACT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.v / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.2 / Chapter III. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.8 / Measures --- p.8 / Sample and Procedure --- p.9 / Chapter IV. --- RESULTS --- p.17 / Definition of work --- p.17 / Work Centrality --- p.23 / Work functions --- p.29 / Work goals --- p.31 / Societal Norms --- p.35 / Job satisfaction --- p.39 / Ideal Job --- p.43 / Chapter V. --- DISCUSSION --- p.49 / Definition of Work --- p.49 / Work centrality --- p.51 / Work functions --- p.54 / Work goals / Societal norms --- p.58 / Job Satisfaction --- p.59 / Ideal Job --- p.60 / Chapter VI. --- CONCLUSION --- p.63 / Chapter VII. --- LIMITATIONS OF OUR STUDY --- p.66 / APPENDIX --- p.67 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.94

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Saint Mary's University, 2009. / Running head: Interventions to increase worker happiness. Includes abstract and appendices. Supervisor: Kevin Kelloway. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-55).