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The final thesis deals with the substantiation of primary prevention programmes in primary schools in the Czech Republic, which are carried out by external employees in non-profit organizations. The first part is characterized by contemporary youth in the context of the society. The second part is devoted to high-risk behavior. This section describes the different forms of high-risk behaviour and factors that affect its origin. The third section describes the historical context of primary prevention, principles of effective primary prevention and the implementation of primary prevention programmes in Czech schools. The fourth section examines the ethical issues. The individual interests of persons involved into primary prevention are described here. The last part deals with the individual principles of effective primary prevention and evaluate the real level of fulfillment of these principles. The effectiveness and conclusion of this work is based on the results of evaluating these programmes. The conclusion applies to the evaluation, importance and relevance of the identified aspects of primary prevention programmes in schools.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study sought to develop and validate a model of propensity to indebtedness from behavioral factors. For this, we carried out are search survey with 1046 residents of the town of Santa Maria (RS). As an instrument of data collection adopted a structured questionnaire, consisting with ninety questions, that addressed demographic and cultural variable sand seven behavioral factors (financial education, risk perception, risk behavior, emotions, materialism, debt and money values). The analysis was performed by structural equation modeling, and the influences of cultural and demographic variables were measured by parametric hypothesis tests. The results demonstrated that the initial assumption of ten, eight were confirmed. The final model presents four factors directly related to indebtedness: amounts of money, materialism, perception and risk behavior. Due to problems of adjustment, the construct of financial education was excluded from the final model, not interfering with the propensity to indebtedness. The descriptive statistics of the factors showed low level of debt and materialism of the in habitants of Santa Maria (RS). Furthermore, we found a higher risk perception, and consequently a more conservative risk behavior. Hypothesis tests showed a significant difference in the level of debt as age, gender, marital status, education, religion, religious principles, occupation, family income, credit card, reliance on credit and spending. As for income, it is emphasized that people with higher income groups received most media, or, in other words, more prone to debt. / O presente estudo buscou propor e validar um modelo de propensão ao endividamento, a partir de fatores comportamentais. Para isso, realizou-se uma pesquisa survey com 1.046 habitantes da cidade de Santa Maria (RS). Como instrumento de coleta de dados adotou-se um questionário estruturado, composto por noventa questões, que abordaram variáveis demográficas e culturais e sete fatores comportamentais (educação financeira, percepção de risco, comportamento de risco, emoções, materialismo, endividamento e valores do dinheiro). A análise foi feita pela modelagem de equações estruturais, sendo que a influência das variáveis demográficas e culturais foi mensurada pelos testes de hipóteses paramétricos. Os resultados demonstraram que das dez hipóteses iniciais, oito foram confirmadas. O modelo final apresenta quatro fatores diretamente relacionados ao endividamento: valores do dinheiro, materialismo, percepção e comportamento de risco. Devido a problemas de ajuste, o construto de educação financeira foi excluído do modelo final, não interferindo na propensão ao endividamento. A estatística descritiva dos fatores demonstrou baixo nível de endividamento e materialismo dos habitantes de Santa Maria (RS). Além disso, encontrou-se uma percepção de risco mais alta, tendo consequentemente um comportamento de risco mais conservador. Os testes de hipóteses apontaram diferença significativa no nível de endividamento conforme idade, gênero, estado civil, escolaridade, religião, princípios religiosos, ocupação, renda familiar, cartão de crédito, dependência do crédito e gastos. Quanto a renda, ressalta-se que as pessoas com maiores faixas de renda receberam a maior média, ou seja, maior tendência ao endividamento.

The M.A. thesis "The Prevention of hazardous Behaviour" researches the cooperation and interconnectedness of three professional groups and conducts a describes their experience and opinions in the field of child and youth risk-behaviour. The three (target) respondent groups are: primary school prevention methodists, OSPOD social workers and a group of professional lecturers of primary prevention of risk behaviour. The theoretical part introduces definitions and theoretical concepts of hazardous behaviour and types methods of their prevention. In its conclusion, the theoretical part summarizes of selected primary laws. The practical part of the thesis presents a summary and an analysis of data gathered through a survey among the respondent groups.

The thesis deals with the topic of poverty and social exclusion in the context of education on the theoretical and empirical level. The theoretical part of the thesis concentrates on summary of poverty and social exclusion. It specifies the fundamental definitions, concepts and causes of its formation. Further, the thesis deals with the risks in the context of education, concentrates on government strategies, educational policy and institutions in the Czech Republic. Also, it describes the situation in the Czech Republic and concentrates on the demographic development of the Praha- západ county. The aim of the thesis is to find out how the social workers of Městský Úřad Černošice reflect poverty and social exclusion and whether it has any influence on school results. As far as the empirical part of the thesis is concerned, it contains qualitative research based on interviews with the social workers. The content of the interviews is based on the content analysis of the topics in the theoretical part of the thesis. Key words: poverty, social exclusion, child protection, equal access to education, risk behavior, education policy, district Prague-west

This research study seeks to enhance previous mentoring literature (Converse & Lignugaris, 2008; Cavell, Elledge, Malcolm, & Faith, 2009; Devenport & Lane, 2009) by further identifying the strategies and skills which help mentors form quality relationships and ultimately impact the resilience of at-risk adolescent mentees. Specifically, this study investigates volunteer mentors’ perceptions of incorporating the positive coping strategies of active listening, emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and future orientation within the initial stages of the mentoring process. Participants in this study are divided into two groups: the Coping Strategies (CS) Group and the Untrained Group (UG). The CS Group mentors have been individually trained to use the aforementioned coping strategies prior to being matched with mentees. The Untrained Group consists of mentors who received no formal training. Semi-structured interviews, which were conducted between three and four months into each mentoring relationship, reveal that focusing on relationship building and creating a level of comfort and trust with mentees were viewed by mentors from both groups as the paramount objectives during these beginning stages. Active listening is identified by a majority of participants as crucial for establishing a connection between mentor and mentee, building trust within the relationship, and engendering meaningful dialogue during beginning mentor sessions. Ultimately, this study finds that active listening training can be useful for helping mentors establish the foundation for a quality mentoring relationship, as well as for the use of additional coping strategies.

The diploma thesis is devoted to the area of mental health problems / mental illnesses as a possible topic of general primary prevention in the school environment. It points out, that the mental health and illness is not being systematically solved. In the area of primary prevention is not given the kind of attention it deserves. In the theoretical part, basic notions are defined first, such as mental health and illness, risk behavior, stigma and prevention. The focus is on the period of adolescence and the perspective of possible links between risky behaviors and mental health problems/illnesses. The theoretical part of the work is also centered on the coping strategies of adolescents and the area of general primary prevention of risk behavior in the current concept of the Ministry of Education. That includes ensuring and controlling the quality and effectiveness of primary prevention programs. In brief, follow-up care - supported education and early intervention is discussed. The aim of the work is to map the relation of the needs of young people with mental illnesses and primary prevention. In addition, the findings will be a base for recommendations how to incorporate the topic of mental health and illness into the existing system of primary prevention. The methodology is based on a qualitative research...

The diploma thesis is focused on the problem of risk behavior and its prevention in primary schools of selected Central Bohemian micro-region. The work evaluates and compares the individual programs of primary prevention of schools. In connection with these findings, interviews with school prevention methodologies are analyzed and information is supplemented. The aim of this thesis is to find out how primary prevention programs of selected schools are implemented and to compare the content of programs with the actual implementation. Another aim of the thesis is to find out and recommend good practice, based on the experience of these schools. The whole work is divided into two basic parts, which are theoretical basis and practical part including research. The theoretical part introduces the current terminology in this area. The practical part describes the research, which took place in two stages. First, the primary prevention programs were analyzed from the content and these findings were subsequently supplemented by interviews with school prevention methodologies of schools in the selected Central Bohemian micro-region. The output of the work is a summary of findings of content analysis in comparison with interviews with school prevention methodologies and a summary of recommendations in the...

According to Oliver (2002) the success of turnaround maintenances is measured in terms of the cost of completion, time, safety performance and the performance of the plant afterwards. The Escravos gas plant (EGP) is a gas processing plant that converts associated gas from Chevron owned crude oil wells to liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas and gas condensate (Chevron intranet. Website assessed on September 14, 2007). According to the EGP plant operations coordinator (See interview Appendix A), the plant undergoes a turnaround maintenance exercise once every two years. The major tasks done during these turnaround maintenances are 1. Change–out of three molecular sieve beds. 2. Servicing of three compressor turbines. 3. Servicing of expander turbo–machinery. 4. Clean–out of fired gas heater tubes and burners. 5. Tie–ins for major upgrades. The EGP management does not involve the contractor personnel that carry out the tasks in the management of the turnaround maintenance. The contractor’s personnel simply follow the work plans and instructions developed by the EGP management. The EGP turnaround management team consists of the coordinator who is the head of the turnaround maintenance team, shift supervisors, maintenance supervisors (rotating equipment maintenance supervisor, instrumentation and electrical maintenance supervisor, and static equipment maintenance supervisors), safety supervisors, maintenance planners, process engineers and construction supervisors. All these listed personnel in the preceding paragraph and the supervisors of the contractor teams participate in the pre–turnaround meetings which happen once a month for the first 10 months of the 12 months leading to the turnaround. The meeting frequency increases to once every two weeks during the last two months leading to the turnaround maintenance. The meeting is held daily during the turnaround maintenance and once every two weeks for the first month after the turnaround maintenance. During the preceding months to the turnaround maintenance, the work scope is defined, the job sequence outlined and schedules are developed. Resources requirements are detailed and procured. During the turnaround maintenance the focus of the turnaround meeting is to discuss potential deviations, observe at–risk behaviors and likely challenges. Plans are then made to address these deviations, challenges and at–risk behaviors. After the turnaround maintenance, “lessons learnt” are captured and the turnaround maintenance is closed out. According to the EGP coordinator (see interview in appendix A), the success of its turnaround maintenance is measured by the time used to complete the turnaround maintenance, the total recordable incident rate during the turnaround maintenance, the days away from work, the lost time injury(LTI) and the cost incurred. Poling et al noted that it is difficult to rate turnaround maintenance projects because no two turnaround maintenances strategies are exactly the same. They iterated that the most common tactics used is benchmarking and that benchmarking enables a company to measure and compare its performance against peer companies in a constructive and confidential manner. They pointed out that the quantitative differences computed between a plant and other similar plants using detailed data taxonomy can provide invaluable information regarding improvement opportunities. This is a way of effectively extending a “lessons learned” exercise across multiple companies. According to then however a critical attribute of effective reliability and maintenance benchmarking is the ability to compare disparate assets; but even small differences for similar plants can alter the value of the comparison. Existing literature indicate that the parameters the gas plant management use to rate the safety of its turnaround maintenance (i.e. the total recordable incident rate, the days away from work and the lost time injury)are reactive in nature. They are otherwise called lagging indicators. Lagging indicators are safety performance metrics that are recorded after the accident or incidents has occurred. For example lost time injury is any work related injury or illness which prevents that person from doing any work day after accident (E&P Consultancy Associates. Website assessed on June 15, 2009). In contrast the other group of metrics called pro–active metrics or leading indicators such as at–risk behaviors, near misses and preventive maintenance not completed are parameters that measure safety performance before accident occurs. Leading indicators gained popularity in the 1930’s after Heinrich postulate his iceberg theory (Wright, 2004). Heinrich’s used the iceberg analogy to explain reactive (lagging) and proactive (leading) indicators. Heinrich likened accident and at–risk behaviors to two parts of an Iceberg; the part you see above water and the part hidden under the water. The size of the iceberg above water is relatively small compared to that under water. The iceberg starts to grow under the water and only after they reach a certain size does part of the ice begin to appear above water. Heinrich believed that accidents are the result of root causes such as at–risk behaviors, inconsistencies, wrong policies, lack of training and lack of information. When the number of accidents that occur in an endeavor is measured you get relatively smaller numerical quantities when compared to the number of at–risk behaviors. Heinrich suggested that to eliminate accidents that occur infrequently, organizations must make effort to eliminate the root causes which occur very frequently. This makes sense because imagine a member of personnel coming to work intoxicated every day. Binging intoxicated at work is an at–risk behavior. The employee is very likely to be involved in an accident at some time as a result of his drinking habit. The number of times he is intoxicated if counted will be huge when compared to the impact of the accident when it does occur. The iceberg theory is supported by work from Bird (1980) and Ludwig (1980) who both attempted to establish the correct ratio of accidents to root causes in different industries. Heinrich suggested a ratio of three hundred incidents to twenty nine minor injuries to one major injury. This researcher chose to use the number of at–risk behavior exhibited by the turnaround maintenance teams to rate the safety performance of tasks despite criticism from individuals like Robotham (2004) who said that from his experience minor incidents do not have the potential to become major accidents and Wright et al (2004). Leading indicators are convenient to analysis because of their relative large quantity. In a turnaround environment, the numbers of accidents that occur are relatively few unlike the number of near misses (Bird, 1980). It is easy to statistically analyze thirty at–risk behaviors than four accidents. In addition Fleming et al (2001) noted that data from industry show much success by companies in the reduction of accidents by efforts at reducing the number of at–risk behaviors, increase the number of safety audits, and reduce the number of closed items from audits etc. Phimister et al made similar claims when they said Near miss programs improve corporate environmental, health and safety performance through the identification of near misses. Existing literature also reveals many theories about management styles and their possible impact on performance. The theories are grouped into trait theories, situational theories and behavioral theories. The trait theories tries to explain management styles by traits of the managers like initiative, wisdom, compassion and ambitious. Situational theories suggest that there is no best management style and managers will need to determine which management style best suit the situation. Behavioral theories explain management success by what successful managers do. Behavioral theorists identify autocratic, benevolent, consultative and participatory management styles. Vroom and Yetton (1973) identified variables that will determine the best management style for any given situation. The variables are; 1. Nature of the problem. Is it simple, hard, complex or clear? 2. Requirements for accuracy. What is the consequence of mistakes? 3. Acceptance of an initiative. Do you want people to use their initiative or not? 4. Time–constraints. How much time do we have to finish the task? 5. Cost constraints. Do we have enough or excess to achieve the objective? A decision model was developed by Vroom and Yago (1988)to help managers determine the best management style for different situations based on the variables listed above (See figure six). They also defined five management style could adopt, namely the; 1. Autocratic I style 2. Autocratic II style. 3. Consultative I style 4. Consultative II style 5. Group II style The autocratic I management style is a management style where the leader solves the problem alone using information that is readily available to him/her, is the normal management style of the Escravos gas plant management in all turnarounds prior to 2009. However the Vroom and Yago model recommends the Consultative II management style for the type of work done during the Escravos gas plant turnaround maintenance. According to Coye et al (1995), participatory management or consultative style II creates a sense of ownership in organization. In this management style the leader shares problem with group members individually, and asks for information and evaluation. Group members do not meet collectively, and leader makes decision alone (Vroom and Yago, 1988). Coye et al believe that this management styles instills a sense of pride and motivate employees to increase productivity. In addition they stated that employees who participate in the decisions of the organization feel like they are a part of a team with a common goal, and find their sense of self–esteem and creative fulfillment heightened. According to Filley et al (1961), Spector and Suttle did not find any significant difference in the output of employees under autocratic and participatory management style. This research studies if and how the Escravos gas plant turnaround maintenance can be improved by changing the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style. Two tasks in the turnaround were studied; namely the change out of the molecular sieve catalyst beds and the servicing of the turbine engines. The turnaround contractor Techint Nigeria Limited divides the work group into teams responsible for specific tasks. Six teams (team A, B, C, D, E and F) were studied. EGP management will not allow the researcher to study more than these six teams for fear of the research disrupting the work. The tasks completed by these teams are amongst those not on the projects critical path so delays caused by the research will not impact the entire turnaround project provided the float on these activities were not exceeded. They also had the fewest number of personnel, so cost impact of the research work could be easier to manager. Teams A, B and C are different maintenance teams comprising of eight personnel each. They were responsible for changing the EGP molecular sieve beds A, B and C respectively in the 2007 and 2009 turnaround. Their tasks are identical because the molecular sieve beds are identical. Teams E, D and F are also maintenance teams comprising of six personnel each. They were responsible for servicing the EGP turbine engines A, B and C during the 2007 and 2009 turnaround maintenance. Their tasks are also identical because the turbine engines are identical. Consultative management style II is exercised by involving team A and team D in the development of the procedures, processes and job safety analysis of all tasks that they were assigned to complete during the 2009 turnaround maintenance. They were also permitted to participate in the turnaround maintenance meetings and to make contributions in the meetings. In the 2007 turnaround maintenance team A and team D only carried out their tasks. They did not participate in the development of procedures and job safety analysis neither did they participate in the turnaround maintenance meetings. The other four teams; team B, team C, team E and team F are used as experimental controls for the research. They did not participate in the development of the procedures, processes nor the job safety analysis for the tasks in either of the turnaround maintenance. They were also not permitted to attend the daily turnaround meetings. They only completed their tasks based on instructions given to them during the 2007 and 2009 turnaround maintenance. It was necessary to study the experimental control teams as the researcher was not sure whether task repetition, increased knowledge or improved team cohesion would lead to a reduced time or a reduced numbers of at–risk behavior. ix The research tested the hypothesis 1H0 and 1H1 and 2H0and 2H1 at the 0.025 and 0.05 level of significance as follows; Null hypothesis, 1H0: There is no significant difference in the time spent by team A and team Din 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the time in 2009 when they did(u1-u2=0). Alternate hypothesis, 1H1: There is a significant difference in the time spent by the team A and Din 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the time in 2009 when they did (u1-u2!=0). Null hypothesis, 2H0: There is no significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors observed to have been exhibited by the team A and team D in 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the number in 2009 when they did (u1-u2=0). Alternate hypothesis, 2H1: There is a significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors observed to have been exhibited by the team A and team D in 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the number in 2009 when they did (u1-u2!=0). The student t test was used to analyze these times and number of at–risk behavior. At the 0.025 and the 0.05 level of significance, the data show that there is no difference in the times all the teams used to complete their task in 2007 and in 2009. The researcher concludes that a change in the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style did not lead to a reduction in the time used by any team to complete their task. However at the 0.025 and the 0.05 level of significance, there is a significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors of the research team A and team D. There is however no significant difference in the number of at–risk behavior of the control team B, team C, team E and team F at the same level of significance. The researcher concludes that a change in the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style lead to a reduction in the number of at–risk behavior of team A and team D. In addition the reduction in the number of at–risk behavior of team A and team D could not have been because of task repetition, increased knowledge or improved team cohesion since there is no significant difference in the number of at–risk behavior exhibited by team B, team C, team E and team F. The research can be used by the Escravos gas plant management and the management of any similar process plant to fashion out more cost effective, time effective and safer methods for carrying out their turnaround maintenance. A change in management styles may just be a better approach to improving productivity than giving financial incentives to contractors and personnel. Changes in management style will have to be managed. The change must be gradual because sudden change can be detrimental as people may just need to understand and adapt to the change. The turnaround personnel must also understand the intent so as to prevent conflicts. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

According to Oliver (2002) the success of turnaround maintenances is measured in terms of the cost of completion, time, safety performance and the performance of the plant afterwards. The Escravos gas plant (EGP) is a gas processing plant that converts associated gas from Chevron owned crude oil wells to liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas and gas condensate (Chevron intranet. Website assessed on September 14, 2007). According to the EGP plant operations coordinator (See interview Appendix A), the plant undergoes a turnaround maintenance exercise once every two years. The major tasks done during these turnaround maintenances are 1. Change–out of three molecular sieve beds. 2. Servicing of three compressor turbines. 3. Servicing of expander turbo–machinery. 4. Clean–out of fired gas heater tubes and burners. 5. Tie–ins for major upgrades. The EGP management does not involve the contractor personnel that carry out the tasks in the management of the turnaround maintenance. The contractor’s personnel simply follow the work plans and instructions developed by the EGP management. The EGP turnaround management team consists of the coordinator who is the head of the turnaround maintenance team, shift supervisors, maintenance supervisors (rotating equipment maintenance supervisor, instrumentation and electrical maintenance supervisor, and static equipment maintenance supervisors), safety supervisors, maintenance planners, process engineers and construction supervisors. All these listed personnel in the preceding paragraph and the supervisors of the contractor teams participate in the pre–turnaround meetings which happen once a month for the first 10 months of the 12 months leading to the turnaround. The meeting frequency increases to once every two weeks during the last two months leading to the turnaround maintenance. The meeting is held daily during the turnaround maintenance and once every two weeks for the first month after the turnaround maintenance. During the preceding months to the turnaround maintenance, the work scope is defined, the job sequence outlined and schedules are developed. Resources requirements are detailed and procured. During the turnaround maintenance the focus of the turnaround meeting is to discuss potential deviations, observe at–risk behaviors and likely challenges. Plans are then made to address these deviations, challenges and at–risk behaviors. After the turnaround maintenance, “lessons learnt” are captured and the turnaround maintenance is closed out. According to the EGP coordinator (see interview in appendix A), the success of its turnaround maintenance is measured by the time used to complete the turnaround maintenance, the total recordable incident rate during the turnaround maintenance, the days away from work, the lost time injury(LTI) and the cost incurred. Poling et al noted that it is difficult to rate turnaround maintenance projects because no two turnaround maintenances strategies are exactly the same. They iterated that the most common tactics used is benchmarking and that benchmarking enables a company to measure and compare its performance against peer companies in a constructive and confidential manner. They pointed out that the quantitative differences computed between a plant and other similar plants using detailed data taxonomy can provide invaluable information regarding improvement opportunities. This is a way of effectively extending a “lessons learned” exercise across multiple companies. According to then however a critical attribute of effective reliability and maintenance benchmarking is the ability to compare disparate assets; but even small differences for similar plants can alter the value of the comparison. Existing literature indicate that the parameters the gas plant management use to rate the safety of its turnaround maintenance (i.e. the total recordable incident rate, the days away from work and the lost time injury)are reactive in nature. They are otherwise called lagging indicators. Lagging indicators are safety performance metrics that are recorded after the accident or incidents has occurred. For example lost time injury is any work related injury or illness which prevents that person from doing any work day after accident (E&P Consultancy Associates. Website assessed on June 15, 2009). In contrast the other group of metrics called pro–active metrics or leading indicators such as at–risk behaviors, near misses and preventive maintenance not completed are parameters that measure safety performance before accident occurs. Leading indicators gained popularity in the 1930’s after Heinrich postulate his iceberg theory (Wright, 2004). Heinrich’s used the iceberg analogy to explain reactive (lagging) and proactive (leading) indicators. Heinrich likened accident and at–risk behaviors to two parts of an Iceberg; the part you see above water and the part hidden under the water. The size of the iceberg above water is relatively small compared to that under water. The iceberg starts to grow under the water and only after they reach a certain size does part of the ice begin to appear above water. Heinrich believed that accidents are the result of root causes such as at–risk behaviors, inconsistencies, wrong policies, lack of training and lack of information. When the number of accidents that occur in an endeavor is measured you get relatively smaller numerical quantities when compared to the number of at–risk behaviors. Heinrich suggested that to eliminate accidents that occur infrequently, organizations must make effort to eliminate the root causes which occur very frequently. This makes sense because imagine a member of personnel coming to work intoxicated every day. Binging intoxicated at work is an at–risk behavior. The employee is very likely to be involved in an accident at some time as a result of his drinking habit. The number of times he is intoxicated if counted will be huge when compared to the impact of the accident when it does occur. The iceberg theory is supported by work from Bird (1980) and Ludwig (1980) who both attempted to establish the correct ratio of accidents to root causes in different industries. Heinrich suggested a ratio of three hundred incidents to twenty nine minor injuries to one major injury. This researcher chose to use the number of at–risk behavior exhibited by the turnaround maintenance teams to rate the safety performance of tasks despite criticism from individuals like Robotham (2004) who said that from his experience minor incidents do not have the potential to become major accidents and Wright et al (2004). Leading indicators are convenient to analysis because of their relative large quantity. In a turnaround environment, the numbers of accidents that occur are relatively few unlike the number of near misses (Bird, 1980). It is easy to statistically analyze thirty at–risk behaviors than four accidents. In addition Fleming et al (2001) noted that data from industry show much success by companies in the reduction of accidents by efforts at reducing the number of at–risk behaviors, increase the number of safety audits, and reduce the number of closed items from audits etc. Phimister et al made similar claims when they said Near miss programs improve corporate environmental, health and safety performance through the identification of near misses. Existing literature also reveals many theories about management styles and their possible impact on performance. The theories are grouped into trait theories, situational theories and behavioral theories. The trait theories tries to explain management styles by traits of the managers like initiative, wisdom, compassion and ambitious. Situational theories suggest that there is no best management style and managers will need to determine which management style best suit the situation. Behavioral theories explain management success by what successful managers do. Behavioral theorists identify autocratic, benevolent, consultative and participatory management styles. Vroom and Yetton (1973) identified variables that will determine the best management style for any given situation. The variables are; 1. Nature of the problem. Is it simple, hard, complex or clear? 2. Requirements for accuracy. What is the consequence of mistakes? 3. Acceptance of an initiative. Do you want people to use their initiative or not? 4. Time–constraints. How much time do we have to finish the task? 5. Cost constraints. Do we have enough or excess to achieve the objective? A decision model was developed by Vroom and Yago (1988)to help managers determine the best management style for different situations based on the variables listed above (See figure six). They also defined five management style could adopt, namely the; 1. Autocratic I style 2. Autocratic II style. 3. Consultative I style 4. Consultative II style 5. Group II style The autocratic I management style is a management style where the leader solves the problem alone using information that is readily available to him/her, is the normal management style of the Escravos gas plant management in all turnarounds prior to 2009. However the Vroom and Yago model recommends the Consultative II management style for the type of work done during the Escravos gas plant turnaround maintenance. According to Coye et al (1995), participatory management or consultative style II creates a sense of ownership in organization. In this management style the leader shares problem with group members individually, and asks for information and evaluation. Group members do not meet collectively, and leader makes decision alone (Vroom and Yago, 1988). Coye et al believe that this management styles instills a sense of pride and motivate employees to increase productivity. In addition they stated that employees who participate in the decisions of the organization feel like they are a part of a team with a common goal, and find their sense of self–esteem and creative fulfillment heightened. According to Filley et al (1961), Spector and Suttle did not find any significant difference in the output of employees under autocratic and participatory management style. This research studies if and how the Escravos gas plant turnaround maintenance can be improved by changing the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style. Two tasks in the turnaround were studied; namely the change out of the molecular sieve catalyst beds and the servicing of the turbine engines. The turnaround contractor Techint Nigeria Limited divides the work group into teams responsible for specific tasks. Six teams (team A, B, C, D, E and F) were studied. EGP management will not allow the researcher to study more than these six teams for fear of the research disrupting the work. The tasks completed by these teams are amongst those not on the projects critical path so delays caused by the research will not impact the entire turnaround project provided the float on these activities were not exceeded. They also had the fewest number of personnel, so cost impact of the research work could be easier to manager. Teams A, B and C are different maintenance teams comprising of eight personnel each. They were responsible for changing the EGP molecular sieve beds A, B and C respectively in the 2007 and 2009 turnaround. Their tasks are identical because the molecular sieve beds are identical. Teams E, D and F are also maintenance teams comprising of six personnel each. They were responsible for servicing the EGP turbine engines A, B and C during the 2007 and 2009 turnaround maintenance. Their tasks are also identical because the turbine engines are identical. Consultative management style II is exercised by involving team A and team D in the development of the procedures, processes and job safety analysis of all tasks that they were assigned to complete during the 2009 turnaround maintenance. They were also permitted to participate in the turnaround maintenance meetings and to make contributions in the meetings. In the 2007 turnaround maintenance team A and team D only carried out their tasks. They did not participate in the development of procedures and job safety analysis neither did they participate in the turnaround maintenance meetings. The other four teams; team B, team C, team E and team F are used as experimental controls for the research. They did not participate in the development of the procedures, processes nor the job safety analysis for the tasks in either of the turnaround maintenance. They were also not permitted to attend the daily turnaround meetings. They only completed their tasks based on instructions given to them during the 2007 and 2009 turnaround maintenance. It was necessary to study the experimental control teams as the researcher was not sure whether task repetition, increased knowledge or improved team cohesion would lead to a reduced time or a reduced numbers of at–risk behavior. ix The research tested the hypothesis 1H0 and 1H1 and 2H0and 2H1 at the 0.025 and 0.05 level of significance as follows; Null hypothesis, 1H0: There is no significant difference in the time spent by team A and team Din 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the time in 2009 when they did(u1-u2=0). Alternate hypothesis, 1H1: There is a significant difference in the time spent by the team A and Din 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the time in 2009 when they did (u1-u2!=0). Null hypothesis, 2H0: There is no significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors observed to have been exhibited by the team A and team D in 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the number in 2009 when they did (u1-u2=0). Alternate hypothesis, 2H1: There is a significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors observed to have been exhibited by the team A and team D in 2007 when they did not participate in the development of the procedures and processes with the number in 2009 when they did (u1-u2!=0). The student t test was used to analyze these times and number of at–risk behavior. At the 0.025 and the 0.05 level of significance, the data show that there is no difference in the times all the teams used to complete their task in 2007 and in 2009. The researcher concludes that a change in the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style did not lead to a reduction in the time used by any team to complete their task. However at the 0.025 and the 0.05 level of significance, there is a significant difference in the number of at–risk behaviors of the research team A and team D. There is however no significant difference in the number of at–risk behavior of the control team B, team C, team E and team F at the same level of significance. The researcher concludes that a change in the management style from autocratic I style to consultative II style lead to a reduction in the number of at–risk behavior of team A and team D. In addition the reduction in the number of at–risk behavior of team A and team D could not have been because of task repetition, increased knowledge or improved team cohesion since there is no significant difference in the number of at–risk behavior exhibited by team B, team C, team E and team F. The research can be used by the Escravos gas plant management and the management of any similar process plant to fashion out more cost effective, time effective and safer methods for carrying out their turnaround maintenance. A change in management styles may just be a better approach to improving productivity than giving financial incentives to contractors and personnel. Changes in management style will have to be managed. The change must be gradual because sudden change can be detrimental as people may just need to understand and adapt to the change. The turnaround personnel must also understand the intent so as to prevent conflicts. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.