Cybercriminals threaten strategic and efficient use of the Internet within the business environment. Each year, cybercrimes in the United States cost business leaders approximately $6 billion, and globally, $445 billion. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the operational strategies chief information security officers of high-technology companies used to protect their businesses from cyberattacks. Organizational learning theory was the conceptual framework for the study. The population of the study was 3 high-technology business owners operating in Florida who have Internet expertise and successfully protected their businesses from cyberattacks. Member checking and methodological triangulation were used to valid the data gathered through semistructured interviews, a review of company websites, and social media pages. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which supported the identification of 4 themes: effective leadership, cybersecurity awareness, reliance on third-party vendors, and cybersecurity training. The implications of this study for positive social change include a safe and secure environment for conducting electronic transactions, which may result in increased business and consumer confidence strengthened by the protection of personal and confidential information. The creation and sustainability of a safe Internet environment may lead to increased usage and trust in online business activities, leading to greater online business through consumer confidence and communication.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / The primary objective of the current study was to establish the impact that certain push factors (namely, job satisfaction and organizational commitment) have on the intent to quit amongst private security officers. Literature indicate that a strong negative relationship exist between both job satisfaction and organizational commitment and the employee's intent to quit his or her employing organization. Moreover, a number of studies indicate that push factors, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment, are antecedents to turnover intentions and that both these variables are negatively related to intent to quit (Chen, 2006; Elangovan, 2001; Slattery & Selvarajan, 2005). "For too long, private security has been rated an inferior job" (Potgieter, Ras & Neser, 2008, p. 39). Berg (2007) proffers that government officials have frequently commented on the poor treatment of security officers in terms of the long hours, low pay and job instability. The current study investigates whether security officers are satisfied with their jobs, and if not, which facets of satisfaction they are least satisfied with. Furthermore, the current study attempted to establish which of the two variables (namely, job satisfaction and organizational commitment) predicts intent to quit better. The literature presents opposing views with regards to this; however, various researchers (Bateman & Strasser, 1984; Ben-Bakr, Al-Shammari, Jefri & Prasad, 1994; Slattery & Salvarajan, 2005; Elangovan, 2001) postulate that organizational commitment predicts intent to quit better than job satisfaction. Despite the differences in views in the literature, there is overwhelming evidence that both job satisfaction as well as organizational commitment are strong predictors of intent to quit (Chen, 2006; Firth, Mellor, Moore & Loquet, 2004; Igbaria & Greenhaus, 1992; Slattery & Selvarajan, 2005; Tumwesigye, 2010) and it is a topic worthwhile investigating, especially in a South African private security industry context. Purposeful sampling was used to select the sample for the current study. Security officers with a grade 10 qualification and higher were selected whilst those with qualifications lower than grade 10 were excluded from the selection process as the researcher felt that respondents may have found it difficult to interpret the questions as a result of their literacy level which, in turn, might have an impact on the results of the study. The sample of the current study consisted of (n=143) private security officers employed at a private security organization operating in the Northern suburbs of the broader Cape Town area. Three standardized questionnaires and a self-developed biographical questionnaire were used to collect the data for the current study. The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) which was developed by Spector in 1985 was used to assess an employee's attitude towards his/her job and which facet of his/her job he/she is satisfied or dissatisfied with. The Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) developed by Porter and Smith in 1970 but further developed later by Mowday, Steers and Porter in 1979 was used to measures a respondent's commitment to his/her employing organization. Intent to quit was measured by making use of the Intent to Quit Questionnaire which was developed by Roodt (2004). All of the measuring instruments possess sound psychometric properties with respect to validity and reliability. The results of the study indicate that both job satisfaction as well as organizational commitment is negatively related to intent to quit. The results further indicate that private security officers are least satisfied with their pay followed by promotional opportunities and that they are most satisfied with coworkers followed by communication. With regard to the strength of the relationship between job satisfaction and intent to quit and the strength of the relationship between organizational commitment and intent to quit, the results of the current study indicate that organizational commitment is a stronger predictor of intent to quit which is in line with the results of previous studies.The current study has a number of limitations. These limitations as well as recommendations for future research and the organization are put forth.

After sixteen intensive months, I quit my employed position as a security guard at a local hospital. By drawing on my autoethnographic experiences in the form of “ethnographic fiction writing”, as well as eight interviews with my former male colleagues, I explore how the guards’ constructions of masculinity intersect with their security assessment and subsequent application of force, chemical incarceration, and other coercive security tactics on involuntarily-committed mental health patients. The narratives are framed by the available literature on gender and masculinity within the security, police, prison and military institutions, as well as the theoretical notions of gendered institutions (Acker), hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt), doing gender (West & Zimmerman), and Dave Holmes’s application of Foucauldian biopolitical power to forensic healthcare settings. These concepts are used in tandem with a creative methodological tool to reveal the “messy”, “bloody” and “gendered” ways in which hospital life unfolds between the guard, the nurse, and the patient prisoner. By escaping more traditional forms of academic writing, I am able to weave raw, sensitive and reflexive thoughts and emotions into the research design and analysis. The analysis is divided into two narratives: “Us” and “Them”. “Us” emphasizes the gendered ways in which the hospital guard learns, reproduces, resists, lives up, or fails to live up to the masculine codes of the profession. Here, the guard must confront cultural demands to demonstrate physical prowess, authority and heroism during a patient battle. “Them” explores how hegemonic masculinity shapes the hierarchical and coercive relations between the guard, the nurse, and the patient, and reinforces psychiatrized discourses that promote punishment, pain, bureaucracy and control. Overall, these findings call for the abolition of physical restraint, chemical incarceration and other coercive security measures within our healthcare institutions, and encourage future research to give voice to the lived experiences of women guards and security management teams.

CHDS State/Local / Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis argues that first preventers are not limited to law enforcement and/or intelligence personnel. Private security officers are our true first preventers because they control access to the myriad of facilities we enter and exit every day. They are the individuals with their boots on the ground in our efforts to recognize abnormal or unusual activity. Based on the observation by President George W. Bush in the National Strategy for Homeland Security that 85% of the nation's critical infrastructure is owned by private agencies and organizations, one conclusion is incontrovertible: No one is in a better position to be a first preventer than the private security officer in America. In New York State, a professionally trained and licensed security officer's primary directive is defined as detecting, deterring and reporting on conditions which might harm life or property. It is incumbent upon government public security officials, and private security executives themselves, to cultivate and exploit this undervalued segment of our efforts to combat terrorism on a national basis. In order to do so, and to assure the public of the competency of the private security workforce, it is imperative that private security officers be mandated to meet minimum standards. Therefore, this thesis makes the argument that advocating nationwide, state controlled licensing and training of private security officers is essential to the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security to employ 'First Responder' and 'First Preventer' strategies in the war on terrorism. / Civilian, Chief of Staff, New York City Police Pension Fund

After sixteen intensive months, I quit my employed position as a security guard at a local hospital. By drawing on my autoethnographic experiences in the form of “ethnographic fiction writing”, as well as eight interviews with my former male colleagues, I explore how the guards’ constructions of masculinity intersect with their security assessment and subsequent application of force, chemical incarceration, and other coercive security tactics on involuntarily-committed mental health patients. The narratives are framed by the available literature on gender and masculinity within the security, police, prison and military institutions, as well as the theoretical notions of gendered institutions (Acker), hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt), doing gender (West & Zimmerman), and Dave Holmes’s application of Foucauldian biopolitical power to forensic healthcare settings. These concepts are used in tandem with a creative methodological tool to reveal the “messy”, “bloody” and “gendered” ways in which hospital life unfolds between the guard, the nurse, and the patient prisoner. By escaping more traditional forms of academic writing, I am able to weave raw, sensitive and reflexive thoughts and emotions into the research design and analysis. The analysis is divided into two narratives: “Us” and “Them”. “Us” emphasizes the gendered ways in which the hospital guard learns, reproduces, resists, lives up, or fails to live up to the masculine codes of the profession. Here, the guard must confront cultural demands to demonstrate physical prowess, authority and heroism during a patient battle. “Them” explores how hegemonic masculinity shapes the hierarchical and coercive relations between the guard, the nurse, and the patient, and reinforces psychiatrized discourses that promote punishment, pain, bureaucracy and control. Overall, these findings call for the abolition of physical restraint, chemical incarceration and other coercive security measures within our healthcare institutions, and encourage future research to give voice to the lived experiences of women guards and security management teams.

After sixteen intensive months, I quit my employed position as a security guard at a local hospital. By drawing on my autoethnographic experiences in the form of “ethnographic fiction writing”, as well as eight interviews with my former male colleagues, I explore how the guards’ constructions of masculinity intersect with their security assessment and subsequent application of force, chemical incarceration, and other coercive security tactics on involuntarily-committed mental health patients. The narratives are framed by the available literature on gender and masculinity within the security, police, prison and military institutions, as well as the theoretical notions of gendered institutions (Acker), hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt), doing gender (West & Zimmerman), and Dave Holmes’s application of Foucauldian biopolitical power to forensic healthcare settings. These concepts are used in tandem with a creative methodological tool to reveal the “messy”, “bloody” and “gendered” ways in which hospital life unfolds between the guard, the nurse, and the patient prisoner. By escaping more traditional forms of academic writing, I am able to weave raw, sensitive and reflexive thoughts and emotions into the research design and analysis. The analysis is divided into two narratives: “Us” and “Them”. “Us” emphasizes the gendered ways in which the hospital guard learns, reproduces, resists, lives up, or fails to live up to the masculine codes of the profession. Here, the guard must confront cultural demands to demonstrate physical prowess, authority and heroism during a patient battle. “Them” explores how hegemonic masculinity shapes the hierarchical and coercive relations between the guard, the nurse, and the patient, and reinforces psychiatrized discourses that promote punishment, pain, bureaucracy and control. Overall, these findings call for the abolition of physical restraint, chemical incarceration and other coercive security measures within our healthcare institutions, and encourage future research to give voice to the lived experiences of women guards and security management teams.

This study was undertaken to investigate whether there is a performance management system within the security industry, applicable specifically to Security Officers. To investigate which performance factors, apply to security officers and how security officers perceived performance management. The management of Security Officers’ performance is an aspect of management which has not garnered much interest compared to other operational and management areas – hence the paucity of research on the performance management of security officers. They make a major contribution to the labour market with 7 949 security companies listed on the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) website, and 2 973 companies (37%) based in Gauteng alone. However, despite the high number of companies, the industry has attracted the least attention in terms of performance. The overall research purpose of this study was to explore the management of security officers’ performance in a private security company operating in South Africa,focussing specifically on a company based in the Gauteng Province. The scope of the study was aimed at investigating security officers’ perception of performance management and to link performance to actual job performance and security officers’ perceived work performance. The researcher also investigated whether biographical factors had an influence on security officers’ performance. A quantitative research methodology was utilised to conduct the study. The main research instruments were primary data, comprising a self-developed questionnaire and secondary data, comprising company records. The respondents consisted of security officers whom had been subjected to the Dependability and Safety Instrument (DSI) during the period 2013 to 2015, in the region, who were still employed at the company at the time of the study. The findings of the study identified 11 performance management factors and indicated links between self-reported and actual work performance. Biographical characteristics did not seem to influence the work performance of the security officers. However, the results did indicate that employees with less tenure were more prone to disciplinary action by the company and those with higher levels of education were prone to fewer disciplinary actions and dismissals based on AWOL. The study identified the areas that play a significant role in the management of security officers’ performance. The identification of performance management factors in the security industry and security officers’ perceptions about performance management should enable HR officers to develop and implement a performance management system that will contribute to better service delivery to both internal and external clients in this industry. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

The regulation of the private security industry has been an issue of debate for a number of years in South Africa, as well as in the rest of the world. The debate mainly centers around issues such as the need for regulation in this Industry and the objectives of regulation. This thesis argues that regulation is of utmost importance in this Industry and furthermore, that the objective ofregulation should be to set standards in the Industry. If this is the case, the protection of the public interest will be a natural result of regulating the standards. In addition, this thesis argues for the inclusion of the private investigator into the scope of regulation and suggests that this sector should ultimately be regulated through the means of separate legislation. This thesis furthermore provides two models for the regulation of the private security industry in South Africa. These models are described as the Semi-Integrated Wide Model (SIWM) and the Fully Integrated Wide Model (FIWM). These two models provide Government with the option of regulating the Industry without alienating the latter. Government will still have the ultimate responsibility for regulation, but will allow the Industry to be central in setting standards and requirements. In this way, the Industry will not regulate itself and Government will have the ultimate responsibility of protecting the interests of the public and the State / Police Practice / D. litt. et. Phil. (Police Science)

The regulation of the private security industry has been an issue of debate for a number of years in South Africa, as well as in the rest of the world. The debate mainly centers around issues such as the need for regulation in this Industry and the objectives of regulation. This thesis argues that regulation is of utmost importance in this Industry and furthermore, that the objective ofregulation should be to set standards in the Industry. If this is the case, the protection of the public interest will be a natural result of regulating the standards. In addition, this thesis argues for the inclusion of the private investigator into the scope of regulation and suggests that this sector should ultimately be regulated through the means of separate legislation. This thesis furthermore provides two models for the regulation of the private security industry in South Africa. These models are described as the Semi-Integrated Wide Model (SIWM) and the Fully Integrated Wide Model (FIWM). These two models provide Government with the option of regulating the Industry without alienating the latter. Government will still have the ultimate responsibility for regulation, but will allow the Industry to be central in setting standards and requirements. In this way, the Industry will not regulate itself and Government will have the ultimate responsibility of protecting the interests of the public and the State / Police Practice / D. litt. et. Phil. (Police Science)

Effective and satisfactory security service is critical to private security officers (PSOs) working in the private, state-owned and public sectors as it plays a pivotal role in improving organisational productivity and helps to promote good working relationships. When PSOs project poor attitudes, clients are seriously affected by such negative behaviour and the level of service rendered will eventually deteriorate. This study sought to understand and explore the factors that contributed to unsatisfactory services rendered by PSOs at GPW in Tshwane. The researcher utilised a nonexperimental quantitative research approach and a self-administered questionnaire survey was used to collect data. Data collected was analysed and interpreted using quantitative methods and procedures. The findings emanating from the research revealed that the levels of service rendered by PSOs at GPW in Tshwane was ineffective and unsatisfactory and various factors contributed to ineffective service delivery. Several recommendations are proposed to improve the level of service rendered by PSOs. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Security Management)