Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 15, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Barbara N. Martin. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: School of Education. Bibliography: leaves 215 - 224. Also available online via the Internet.

Thesis, PlanA (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

This baseline study was designed to better understand non-withdrawing student leavers. An exploratory research design was utilized which consisted of pilot interviews and a survey. The pilot interviews in this study consisted of five on-campus Fall 2005 undergraduate student leavers. Leaver insight from the pilot interviews served as the foundation for the student leaver satisfaction survey. The student leaver satisfaction survey was administered to Fall 2005 non-withdrawing student leavers. Additionally, National Student Clearinghouse Student Tracker enrollment information was reviewed to determine whether the leaver respondents continued their education. A total of 30 non-withdrawing leavers provided insight of the reasons why they left the university. The average respondent was a traditionally aged (under 25 years old) White student leaver. Most of the leavers self-reported good grades during the Fall 2005 semester. Undergraduate students graduating in Fall 2005 served as a comparison group in this study. Sixty-three graduates responded to the survey. Both the leaver and graduate responses were analyzed. The results indicated that non-withdrawing leavers most often left due to employment reasons, attending another institution, and wanting to be closer to family. A Chi-Square analysis was employed for both leavers and graduates based on survey information related to university involvement. The Chi-Square analysis revealed that leavers were significantly less likely to be involved in university activities compared to graduates. Another finding in this study was that many of the leavers continued their education and some even graduated. Further, a majority of the student leavers in this study had not been contacted by university officials since leaving the institution. Recommendations were given to higher education practitioners for tracking and communicating with this leaver group.

They would possibly be less contentious if there was conclusive proof that managers were better allocators of capital generated through income retained than investors. Against this backdrop, this study examines the question of whether correlations exist between the amount of income retained by managers to fund capital and various financial management and investment performance metrics. The objective of the study is to test various hypotheses for relationships between the retention ratio and various management and investment performance metrics. The hypotheses includes testing whether dividends are a significant contributor to investor returns, whether there is a correlation between the retention ratio and the share price, between the retention ratio and total investor returns and between the retention ratio and return on equity. A last hypothesis is to test whether there is a correlation between total returns to investors and return on equity. The results of the study did not support any of the hypotheses and the indication is that no firm or clear relationship between the retention ratio and various performance metrics exists for the sample of South African firms over the survey period, namely share price, total investor returns and return on equity. The study could therefore not conclude whether managers were either good or poor allocators of capital generated through income retained. The study could also not determine whether capital retained did impact on future performance measures of a company or not. This outcome of the study was surprising. It was anticipated that there would be either positive correlations supporting managers’ ability to allocate retained income or negative correlations refuting managers’ ability to allocated retained income. This, however, was not evident. The literature reviewed was clear regarding the mystery surrounding dividend distributions and its role within iii corporate finance, but was divided on the drivers of the behaviour. It was hoped that this study would have been able to provide some explanation for dividends in a South African mining industry context. The reasons for the outcome are varied but include the questionable credibility of the data with regards to the size of the sample and the period of study. Therefore, no certain conclusions could be made about managers’ ability to allocate capital generated through retained income and the recommendation is for further research to be conducted with a larger sample over a longer period of study before the results are given undue significance. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The recruitment and retention of personnel plays an important role in assisting organisations to adapt and remain competitive, thus ensuring their financial sustainability and becoming a leader in the market. It is also a crucial element in assisting organisations in reaching their long and short term goals. The employment and retention of highly skilled employees is a costly exercise and staff turnover impacts negatively, not only on a financial level but also on the organisation as a whole. The immediate implementation of specific strategies that ensures the recruitment and retention of these employees will guarantee a reduction in employee turnover thus ensuring organisational competitiveness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the organisational factors impacting on employee retention at Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). The population group for the study included 34 TFR employees from the G graded salary scale. The response rate for the questionnaire was 100% with the Likert scale instrument consisting of 27 questions divided into two sections: Section one explored the demographic profile of the respondents; Section two focused on getting responses on the five organisational factors impacting on employee retention namely: organisational association; monetary compensation; work satisfaction; work enrichment; career development. The following research design was adopted: Step 1: A literature review was conducted to determine the various organisational factors impacting on employee retention. Step 2: From the literature review the researcher structured the research questionnaire. Step 3: The results of the survey were analysed and interpreted. Step 4: Conclusions and recommendations were done.

The South African Revenue Services (SARS) is an amalgamation of the former Departments of Customs and Excise, and the Receiver of Revenue. SARS obtained full autonomy from the Government in October 1997 in order for it to administer its own affairs. SARS has since made great strides in transforming its people and technology, although some growing pains are recently being experienced, i.e. the “retention question”. The problem statement, “What strategies can be implemented for retaining skilled employees within SARS Customs” is derived from a multitude of problematic issues currently being experienced world wide. Problem areas particular to South Africa, include: the mass exodus of white skilled labour; baby-boomers (aged 60 – 65) nearing retirement, affirmative action, employment equity, and a general lack of skills in the employment industry. An employee engagement survey (2007) conducted at SARS, shows figures that further exacerbates the problem. The objectives of the research were therefore, to conduct a literature study of employee retention strategies, investigate the research strategies currently being employed at SARS, the reasons for the low levels of employee engagement and to develop a strategic model for employee retention for use at SARS Customs in the Eastern Cape Region of South Africa The study takes the form of a case study, using quantitative and qualitative methods of research. A questionnaire was distributed to respondents, the results of which were analysed and presented. The findings show that SARS Customs is in a good position with regards to pay and benefits. Areas that require attention though are training, development and career management, effective supervision, and day-to-day activities.

A method of calculating the RP-HPLC retention indices, based on the alkylarylketone scale, has been developed. The retention indices are calculated from the molecular structure of a compound as the sum of the parent contribution, the parent index, the substituent contributions, the substituent indices, and terms to account for the interactions between substituents, the interaction indices.

South Africa has a very low supply of adequately skilled and experience Black Professionals and as a result South African companies find themselves competing for the limited resources that are available. Since the government introduced Affirmative Action and Employment Equity Acts which resulted to an increase in the demand for these professionals, this low supply has lead to increased salaries for these professionals. What has compounded the problem is the staff turnover problem that these organisations are facing. The literature shows that 65% of black professionals leave organisations within three years when it takes five years to recover all the costs of getting that person into the organization. The objective of this research is to uncover the reasons why these professionals change jobs at the rate that they are. It was decided that the best research method to use for this exercise is an exploratory study. Depth interviews were conducted by the researcher and the respondents were chosen through a snow-balling technique where the initial respondents were chosen through a judgmental technique. The following are the top five factors that came out of this exercise which, according to the respondents, push them out of the organisation, these have been listed in order of importance: Career Aspirations and Lack of Mentorship Programmes, Treatment and Respect, Salaries, Affirmative Action and Undermining of Black Skills. The details are discussed in the report. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The retention of skills is central to the sustained success of an organisation. In an environment of increased globalisation and competition for skills, the retention of skills is increasingly important yet difficult to achieve. An inclusive organisational culture and the effective management of diversity play a decisive role in the retention of skills. In turn, leadership is a key element in shaping and influencing the culture of an organisation and creating an inclusive workplace environment in a diverse culture such as that in post-Apartheid South Africa. The explicit objective of the Employment Equity Act (1998) is to transform the racial composition of the South African employment landscape, but what of the implicit aim of transforming the workplace into one that embraces all races and cultures? Has the transformation process, driven by government through legislation, had a positive impact in the workplace and achieved the objectives of the Employment Equity Act? The aim of this research was to establish if the increasing number of black managers have had a positive influence on the culture of South African workplaces resulting in the retention of black talent. The results indicated that the influence of black managers on the culture of an organisation was limited - largely because the environment was not conducive to the change they envisioned. Consequently black top and senior managers have not influenced the decisions of other black employees to seek alternate employment. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted