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This study sheds light on the firm-lifecycle and the impact of leadership and how itdevelops negatively when the entrepreneurial firm becomes administrative andmanagerial. The ambivalent fact is that the firm, when growing in size, need to becomemore managerial, though without undermining the previously entrepreneurial mind-setthat pervade the organization. The term corporate entrepreneurship has emerged andcomprises that the firm can continue to be entrepreneurial in the managerial stage. Thatis to resume the firm’s work to keep innovative. The article seeks to find out how theleadership can be adapted for the firm to stay innovative through the managerial stage.

The major purpose of this study was to test the ability of the MyersBriggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to predict job satisfaction. Sixteen hypotheses were advanced and tested. They were grouped into four categories: (a) the ability of Judges to predict a subject's job satisfaction based upon their assessment that the subject's MBTI Type was compatible with their occupation; (b) the ability of the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (MIQ) to predict job satisfaction; (c) acomparison of the predictive ability of the MBTI with the MIQ; (d) and, an exploration of the relationship of MBTI Type with the Needs measured by the MIQ.A review of related literature showed that the ability of the MBTI to predict job satisfaction had not been demonstrated satisfactorily in previous research while the MIQ had a demonstrated ability to predict satisfaction. Therefore, the MBTI was compared with the MIQ to see which could better predict satisfaction.The subjects used in this research were 369' Masters in Business Administration students from a medium sized private college in the Midwest. Sixty-five percent of the subjects were male and 35% were female. They had an average age of 30.5 years and 93% of the subjects were employed full-time.Three test instruments were used in this study. The MBTI was used to assess Psychological Type. The MIQ was used to measure Vocational Needs. A biographical information form was used to gather demographics on each subject. A question from the Hoppock Job Satisfaction Blank was included on the information form to measure job satisfaction.This study found that MBTI Type and various components of Type could be used by judges to predict job satisfaction based on judges' assessment of congruence between Type and occupation. It was found that the MIQ could predict job satisfaction based on congruence between MIQ profile and occupation. Comparison of the MBTI and MIQ showed that the MIQ was the better predictor of satisfaction but neither instrument was able to account for more than a small part of the satisfaction variance. Last, it was found that several of the MIQ Needs were related to components of the MBTI.This study provided support for the predictive ability of both the MBTI and the MIQ. It supported the use of the MBTI in career counseling and theory and pointed to several areas where additional research is needed. It provided an initial exploration into the relationship of the MBTI to the domain of vocational Needs as measured by the MIQ. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study is undertaken to investigate the effect job satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) has on the employees of Xstrata Alloys. Specifically, the focus falls on the supervisors employed at Xstrata’s Boshoek plant. The supervisors form the first line of management and therefore have the opportunity to influence the work force, be it intentionally or unintentionally, either positive or negative. It is the responsibility of every organisation to put measures in place to ensure a workforce of satisfied employees as the productivity and performance of the entire company could rest on this. This research study focuses on the quantitative method to obtain the necessary data. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) short form is specifically used in the collection of data for this study. A few interesting findings are evident: supervisors that have been in a certain line of work for longer periods of time, perceive themselves to experience less praise for jobs well done, whereas employees who have been appointed in supervisory positions for longer periods of time, have even lower levels of general satisfaction. The supervisors in the different departments are found to differ in their perceptions of certain job satisfaction items. Supervisors in the Admin and Production departments, harbour more positive feelings about some of the items than the supervisors in the Engineering department. A difference in perception is also noted between the supervisors with Afrikaans and other languages as home language, regarding their perception of some of the items of job satisfaction. It is recommended that future studies should focus on including the whole workforce, opposed to only the supervisors. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This study is undertaken to investigate the effect job satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) has on the employees of Xstrata Alloys. Specifically, the focus falls on the supervisors employed at Xstrata’s Boshoek plant. The supervisors form the first line of management and therefore have the opportunity to influence the work force, be it intentionally or unintentionally, either positive or negative. It is the responsibility of every organisation to put measures in place to ensure a workforce of satisfied employees as the productivity and performance of the entire company could rest on this. This research study focuses on the quantitative method to obtain the necessary data. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) short form is specifically used in the collection of data for this study. A few interesting findings are evident: supervisors that have been in a certain line of work for longer periods of time, perceive themselves to experience less praise for jobs well done, whereas employees who have been appointed in supervisory positions for longer periods of time, have even lower levels of general satisfaction. The supervisors in the different departments are found to differ in their perceptions of certain job satisfaction items. Supervisors in the Admin and Production departments, harbour more positive feelings about some of the items than the supervisors in the Engineering department. A difference in perception is also noted between the supervisors with Afrikaans and other languages as home language, regarding their perception of some of the items of job satisfaction. It is recommended that future studies should focus on including the whole workforce, opposed to only the supervisors. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Purpose: To accurately and precisely evaluate the validity and reliability of the English-language Pelvic Floor Inventories (PelFIs) administered questionnaire. Participants: Fifty female patient volunteers (ages 24 to 82 years) plus fifty female control volunteers (ages 21 to 83 years) completed the 149-item questionnaire. Results: Construct validity of the English-language PelFIs was established by quantifying the differences in prevalence of pfm dysfunction between the patient population and the control population. Very significant findings of F=10.83, p<0.0001 were found for the document as a whole. Content validity was attained by experts, and additional information gathered for further improvement of this tool. Test-retest reliability for all domains was established with ICC=0.905 and no significant differences were found between time-one and time-two. Internal consistency was obtained with significant Pearson's Correlation noted between the domains. The prevalence of co-occurrence of pfm disorders with patients presenting for treatment of a single pfm dysfunction was quantified and 100% of the patients reported symptoms in domains additional to the domain they sought treatment for. The presence of pfm dysfunction was also quantified in the control population and 94% were found to display symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. Conclusions: The English-language PelFIs was shown to be valid and reliable. Co-occurrence of pfm dysfunction was found to be highly prevalent.

Dialekter jämnas allt mer ut och utpräglade dialekter är sällsynta i dagens samhälle. I denna utjämning har skolan spelat en stor roll då det under 1800-talet förespråkades en utrotningspedagogik på grund av språkliga fördomar. Trots att det idag finns en större medvetenhet om dialektens betydelse för den enskilda individen är skolans språknorm ännu rikssvenska. Denna studie har för avsikt att undersöka hur lärare hanterar motsättningen mellan skolans språknorm och elevers identitetsutveckling i sin yrkesroll. Deras egna dialektbruk och dialektattityder studerades för att få en uppfattning om hur de förhåller sig till dialekter i klassrummet. För att undersöka hur verksamma lärare i de lägre årskurserna på Gotland förhåller sig till dialekter genomfördes en enkätundersökning och en intervjuundersökning. Resultatet visar att trots en positiv attityd till den egna dialekten och dialekter generellt väljer respondenterna i sin yrkesroll bort den egna dialekten. Respondenterna har generellt en positiv inställning till elevers dialekter i klassrummet, men eftersom dialekten dels anses ha en negativ inverkan på skriftspråket och dels inte anses höra hemma i skriftspråket prioriteras dialekten bort. Elevers dialektala drag i skriftspråket korrigeras istället för att eleverna ges de förutsättningar som krävs för att kunna anpassa språkform till mottagare, oavsett om det är i tal eller skrift. Slutsatserna är att elevers identitetsutveckling tenderar att prioriteras bort samt att det finns en risk att elever väljer bort den egna dialekten för att undvika den förödmjukelse som en språkkorrigering innebär. Utifrån studiens slutsatser kan skolan fortfarande anses bidra till dialektutjämningen. / Dialects currently lose their distinct features, and linguistic characteristics have been neglected in modern society. A large contributor to the phenomenon of disappearing dialects can arguably be the school system. In the 19th century schools placed emphasis on the language at schools, at the cost of the personal development of not tolerating and accepting the use of dialects. Despite a current understanding and appreciation of the influence of dialects on identity on an individual level, the school system implemented the national Swedish language as the standard form, which continues to this day. The purpose of this study is to investigate how teachers cope with the contradiction between written language development, and continuously strengthening pupils’ self-esteem. Teachers’ attitudes towards dialects have been studied with the intention to an understanding of how they relate to dialects in academic settings. To investigate how teachers in primary education on Gotland handle dialects, a questionnaire was created along with a procedure of interviews. The results show a positive attitude towards the native dialect on Gotland, and other dialects in general. Among the results, there was an indication that the respondents have dropped their native dialects. Among the student population, dialects are generally received in a positive manner. However, due to a perceived negative impact on the written the use of dialects has been more and more disliked and treated as language usage in written assignments. Students’ individual dialects are corrected when used in the written form instead of being given the proper condition to adapt their language to the recievers, regardless if it´s in spoken or written form. One of the conclusions is that the students can experience a significantly decreased focus on the development of their feeling of self-esteem and identity. Another conclusion is that students may choose to avoid using dialects to hinder the risk of humiliation. Based on these conclusions, the school system still can be considered to contribute to dialect equalization.

No description available.

Most LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings are commercial office buildings and multi-use buildings. As of October 2009, 35,000 projects were registered in the LEED system, "comprising over 4.5 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 91 countries." However, as of April 30, 2009, only 43 healthcare projects had achieved LEED certification. Currently, most studies focus on the economic benefits and energy consumption of LEED certified buildings, rather than human factors. A small gain in productivity can result in a heftier financial gain. Even modest improvements in productivity and absenteeism can substantially outweigh the energy cost. This study surveyed 164 staff in the two healthcare settings for case study, and 146 staff in the six LEED certified healthcare settings for the main study in climate zone 2 and 3. Telephone interviews with the six facility managers were used to verify the survey results and further examine the healthcare facilities? performance and the effectiveness of the LEED strategies from facility managers' perspectives. Independent t-test was used to examine the difference between the LEED and Non-LEED hospitals in one healthcare system and results showed that building performance were rated higher by staff in LEED certified hospital than Non-LEED hospital. MANOVA was conducted to compare the staff's ratings between Silver and Gold certification levels, male and female, and also explore the possibility of interaction effect. Multilevel regression modeling was used to test how the building performance variables affect the overall comfort and productivity. Study results showed that staff in the Gold certified hospital had significant higher ratings in most the performance variables. Gold certified healthcare settings were significant better in rated building overall, overall comfort and controllability than Silver certified healthcare settings. And males felt more comfortable in temperature than females in healthcare facilities. Regarding the overall comfort and productivity, building design, efficiency of the space use, temperature comfort and controllability over building system were significant predictors for staff overall comfort; and lighting comfort, temperature comfort and controllability over building system had significant positive relationship with perceived productivity. LEED certified healthcare settings appear to have a good environment and building performance for occupants. Controllability, lighting, temperature, use of space, building design were important factors in staff comfort and productivity.

The effects of the public sector reform impacted on all aspects of public services including the performance of the economy. Central to this argument was the re-organization of the operations of the public service from the traditional administration system to the new public management (NPM). Education, a critical service in any economy was not spared. Literatures around the application of NPM (a derivative of market principles and practices) to education (which was value based) suggested that NPM was dangerous for education and could deplete the value system of education and replace that with a focus on accounting for money by individuals who were self-interested and who would seek to maximize their benefit with guile. Arguments against NPM suggested that the human factor was neglected and that education had led to chaos among professionals, stakeholders and students. However, those who argued for the introduction of NPM suggested that it had made the provision of education more efficient, effective and relevant to the needs to the clients. It held those working in the education sector accountable for the resources used and made the system more responsive to the needs of the clients of education. Education in the Cook Islands experienced many changes since western type education was introduced by the Missionaries in the late 1800s. Cook Islands people have always regarded education as a right and also believed their participation in education would improve their lives as well as positively contribute to economic growth. As the public sector reform was a global phenomenon, the currents of NPM also converged on the Cook Islands and affected the delivery of education. Those changes revolutionalized education in ways that was not commonplace in the Cook Islands. However, professionals and stakeholders within education made the most of the system and diverged some of the practices to suit the need, the environment and the culture of the Cook Islands people. Change also refocused education from teachers teaching to student learning reinforcing the dedication of many teachers and education administrators to ensure NPM served the best interest of their clients; the students, despite the workload placed on them. The challenge in this thesis was to understand how the NPM system affected education and how the Cook Islands education professionals worked within the system in their favour. The stories of teachers and Ministry of Education professionals demonstrated that there was no resistance to the application of NPM system in the Cook Islands. In fact, the system was embraced by the education sector suggesting it was a positive change from their previous system of traditional administration. Much of their system was inherited from New Zealand where the environment, layers of bureaucracy and economic status of the country was different. Instead, it appeared the Cook Islands took much of what others deemed as dangerous for education and turned it into a positive opportunity for the Cook Islands education. This thesis presents the story of the revolution in the Cook Island education system.