M. Ed. / The purpose of performance appraisal can be seen as a means to improve the organization's performance through the enhanced performance of individuals. When people think about performance appraisal, they often refer to a number of more specific positive objectives such as, (Fisher, 1996:11): to review past performance; to assess training needs; to help develop individuals; to audit the skills within the organization; to set targets for future performance; and to identify potential for promotion. The problem, however, often stems from the negative perception of individuals that may believe that performance appraisal is simply used by an organization to apportion blame and to provide a basis for disciplinary action, or to demote or find fault with employees. Some people see it as a stick (Fisher, 1996:11) that management has introduced with which to beat people. And if that is their attitude — with or without cause, performance appraisal is doomed to failure. Improvement in performance (Redfern, 1984:1) is widely acclaimed as a most desirable goal of personal evaluation or appraisal, yet the types and kinds of evaluation procedures developed often make the attainment of this goal very difficult. A performance appraisal provides a periodic opportunity for communication between the person who assigns the work, and the person who performs it, to discuss what they expect from the others and how well those expectations are being met (Maddux, 1986:9). Performance appraisals are not hostile proceedings, nor for that matter are they social chitchat. They are an essential communication link between two people with a common purpose. Leading these discussions is not always easy, but the principles and techniques for effective sessions can be learned and applied by everyone. Too often appraisals are left until the last minute and then done in a hasty and unprofessional manner. When this occurs, the results are poor. The superior feels guilty and the employee unimportant and let down. The Government's educational reforms have created an unprecedented rate of change in schools (Healy, 1994: 9). They have also raised basic questions about the purpose of education and the nature of school management and leadership. In this context, there is an urgent need for all of us with an interest in education to step back and reflect on recent educational reforms, to reaffirm old truths and successful practice where appropriate. We need to sift out and implement the best of new ideas, modifying or abandoning those, which are a distraction from the central purpose of schools. This will ensure that an education of high quality is a guaranteed opportunity for all children and young people. Few in education would seriously question the principle of appraising the performance of educators. It is clear that leadership of high quality is a crucial ingredient of successful schools. We should therefore be seeking new insights into ideas, which contribute to effective leadership and making sure that we learn the lessons when things go wrong.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / The aim of this dissertation is focused on the composition of funded guideliness for effective teacher evaluation. A literature study is undertaken in this dissertation to gain background on the problematic nature of teacher evaluation. Emphasis is placed on: * the essential aspects of teacher evaluation * the negative symptoms of teacher evaluation * the difficulties (bottle-neck) in teacher evaluation, and * the characteristics of unsuccessful teacher evaluation. The aim of this research is not to focus on the global aspects of teacher evaluation, but to focus on the problematic nature that surrounds teacher evaluation. The literature study is of great importance for this study, because it creates the basis for the empirical study. The empirical study focuses on the meaningfulness of evaluation for the teacher as currently implemented in the school, and also to identify the difficulties in the evaluation practice. Both aspects are integrated in the guidelines for teacher evaluation, contribute to a positive attitude and teacher evaluation.

M.Com. / Various ethical challenges occur in the performance appraisal process. It was postulated that the lack of transparency that often characterises performance appraisal could be a major contributing factor to the occurrence of ethical challenges in appraisal. Transparency in performance appraisal is described as an attempt to optimally reveal all relevant information regarding the performance appraisal process to key stakeholders concerned, without putting anyone at risk. A dearth of research on the role of transparency in performance appraisal prompted an attempt to isolate and describe transparency in relation to the performance appraisal process. An exploratory phenomenological approach was selected as research strategy, and within this strategy, semi-structured in-depth interviews (n=7) were utilised to explore the nature of transparency in the performance appraisal process. The participants were in a managerial role with experience in conducting performance appraisal, and have been subject to performance appraisal themselves. Systematic content analysis of data produced results that indicated that transparency does not operate in isolation but in conjunction with other ethical dimensions (trust, fairness, integrity, maturity, respect, responsibility, and honesty). Effective and sufficient communication of information before, during, and after the performance appraisal process was identified as a crucial element in creating a perception of transparency with key stakeholders involved. An adherence to principles of transparency in performance appraisal could potentially build trust between parties involved, increase fairness in the appraisal process, validate the organisation's integrity, and create mutual respect amongst stakeholders. Although applying transparency in appraisal has many benefits, it should be handled with caution as sensitive information has the potential to cause harm or put stakeholders at risk.

Magister Educationis - MEd / In this minithesis I attempt to explain what could be meant by an objective and democratic teacher evaluation system. The central question which I address is whether the current South African teacher evaluation system could lay claim to the kind of objectivity and democracy I develop in my minithesis." / South Africa

Teacher appraisal has long been a contentious and contested area in educational management. The recent implementation of a new system of appraisal in Eastern Cape Schools has led to renewed interest in the role and management of appraisal. The objective of this study was to investigate principals' perception of the management of staff appraisal. An interpretive paradigm was adopted and the research is a case study of four secondary schools in Port Elizabeth. Two methods were used in collecting data, namely, questionnaires and interviews. The content comparative method was used to analyse the data. The findings of this study showed areas of continuities and discontinuities with the literature and the new document on appraisal. There is a clear understanding among the principals interviewed that staff appraisal should be used to assess individual teacher performance and that it should also be developmental. There is clear support from the principals on the involvement of other stakeholders. They see the process as transformative and participatory. They find it acceptable and are willing to be involved. However, the findings also indicate a lack of readiness on the part of the principals to fully embrace a fully participative and developmental approach to appraisal. On the strength of these findings I conclude the thesis by making recommendations for policy, principals, teachers and for future researchers in the field.

The performance management system has become a vital process of retaining skilled employees, helping to improve communication between the employees and management, providing feedback to employees and clear understanding of job expectation. A performance management system assists the firm to identify the ways to improve individual and firm performance and provides the opportunity for discussion about individual career direction and growth within the firm. It provides the opportunity to set employee targets linked to the departmental targets. The performance management system is the catalyst for firms to become globally competitive and be able to meet targets. Over the years the firm has introduced a performance management system to help employees to achieve their targets, which will result in the company meeting its own objectives. The study focused on the factors that affect the performance management system. The objective of the research was to improve the performance management system of the firm. The study was conducted to assess the effect of the following independent variables on the improvement of the performance management system: leadership style, training, organisational culture, reward system and organisational communication. The sample consisted of only the employees of the firm selected for the study. One hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were distributed, but only seventy-six (76) respondents (response rate = 50.7 percent) participated in the final study. The empirical results revealed that the three independent variables play a very important role in improving a performance management system. These three variables are organisational culture, training, and reward system. Implementing the recommendations that came from these results will go a long way to making sure that the firm will improve its performance management system.

This paper performs an analysis of rating agencies and evaluates their importance for financial markets and economic policy. The importance of rating agencies and their ratings is assessed based on two criteria -- independence and accuracy of ratings, both criteria are analysed in detail from different views throughout this paper. Independence of rating agencies is considered in terms of historical context and the most important development milestones and trends, in terms of market positioning and demand for services of rating agencies, in terms of ownership structures and financing models. Accuracy of ratings is considered by historical analyses of sovereign ratings from the times of the Asian financial crisis, the European debt crisis and sovereign debt defaults and restructuralisations since 1990. In the issue of independence, the paper has revealed several risk factors, mainly in relation to financing model "issuer pays". In the issue of sovereign rating accuracy, the paper has come to a conclusion that rating agencies were only able to identify the most visible negative trends -- defaults and restructuralisations of debts in countries, where the problems had developed gradually. On the other hand, in surprising and sudden cases such as the Asian financial crisis and the European debt crisis, rating agencies were suprised just like the wider investor's public.

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Ed. (Educational Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The thesis is devoted to the position of rating agencies in the financial markets. The main aim is to predict the position of these companies, which is currently mainly influenced by the European politicians. Politicians criticize them and try to limit their power. The essence of this thesis is to summarize the reasons for their criticism, focusing on reduction of sovereign ratings. Then it's discussed a downgrading the USA and France. For the first time in a history they lost their AAA rating. The last chapter is devoted to the possible position of rating agencies. The first option is the establishment of the European rating agency, the other one is tightening regulation and the last is a situation if the rating agencies were abolished.