M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand in 50% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public and Development Management. June, 2017 / A way to better understand the returns for investing in education is to identify the gap between education and employment. This issue has been identified not only in South Africa but worldwide. However, while it focuses on the challenges of employability there has been little research on the value of education in relation to employability and career development amongst workers’ productivity in public sector organisations. For this reason, a basic interpretative qualitative study is developed which explores this relationship with a focus on the value of the City of Johannesburg’s (COJ’s) subsidised education scheme in terms of its returns to organisational growth and human development. Through semi-structured interviews and thematic data analysis of employees’ perceptions, it is found that self-enrichment or personal development outweighs organisational benefits. A culture of life-long learning for the COJ employees has been created without the implementation of mentoring and succession planning to minimise mismatches in the workplace in order to enhance productivity. / MT2017

Thesis (MSD(Employee Assistance Programme))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Managing on the middle level of the academic environment has become an essential managerial competency, particularly in a large library of an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution which serves 400,000 students with a diverse student profile. The research focus of this study in the ODL environment is thus on management and organisational theories that indicate what it takes to be a good manager. This is a positivist case study which triangulates data collection methods. Quantitative data and qualitative data were collected. The findings indicate a 94,7% response rate to the survey questionnaire and 100% participation of the invited ODL middle managers in interviews. Interviews were conducted with ODL Library middle managers who operate on the level of supervisor, manager, deputy director and director. Findings revealed ODL Library middle managers‟ perception of success and that they worked and planned for career progression that was facilitated by relevant qualifications and experience, that the external support received from their families and the use of develop ment strategies and various approaches, such as personal career planning; performing secondary management roles in the ODL Library; attendance at management short courses, all influenced their successful appointment as middle managers. It further indicates that an optimum career path is influenced by factors such as ability, communication, hard work and determination. Development strategies pertain to management and leadership development which enable ODL Library middle managers to perform the role of manager in both a Library and Information Science environment, ODL environment and management environment which foster an understanding of their role in strategic planning. The most important competencies to be acquired are planning and administration, emotional intelligence and self-management, communication and teamwork. The study reveals that a high premium was placed on the importance of the selected success definitions, strategies and competencies, but that own success measured against these was lower. The subsequent recommendation is to develop ODL Library middle managers in terms of factors and strategies that lead to career success and to ensure the use thereof. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

M.Comm. / Although "work" is one of the most familiar words in the vocabulary it can be used in many different ways. For the purpose of this dissertation the definition of "work" is taken from the Oxford dictionary as "action involving effort or exertion directed to a definite end; what a person does to earn a living" (Oxford, 1994: 926). Earning one's living does not necessarily mean working for money. Housewives receive no salary for the job they do. Housework does, however, fall within the definition, since it involves considerable effort directed towards family living and creating and maintaining a home. The most obvious feature of work is the vast range of activities by which people can earn their living. Equally vast are the personality and temperament differences between workers that determine their needs and expectations. This radically influences people's perceptions. To an intellectual, the task of working on a production line, the monotony, noise and other discomforts would be almost an unbearable penance. To the person doing the job it is a way of earning a living and it is acceptable as such. The person may not enjoy the task, but at least it is something that he/she knows they can do. When Adam had eaten from the forbidden tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, the Lord said to him: Gen. 3:17-19 "...all the days of your life; ... by the sweat of your brow you will eat bread" (Bible, 1998: 4). Work is a life sentence; it absorbs the major portion of each day; for most of one's life. 1 Workers are not alike; they are not cast from the same mould. They come in assorted shapes, sizes, colours, education and experience, attitudes and ambitions. Some work for a living; for others working is a living. Some think of work as their central purpose in life; others think of work as a way of providing the necessities and look at time away from work as the real joy of living. Thus, there are many different reasons why people work. Since the beginning of this century, employers and social scientists have started looking at the role that work fulfils in satisfying man's needs and in the utilisation and development of his abilities. Emphasis has been placed primarily on the psychological and sociological aspects of work. Management have been interested in these developments primarily for increasing productivity. From this research into man's needs, a number of theories have evolved relating to work motivation. In today's competitive world and market it is essential that a company have positively motivated employees to improve productivity and efficiency. Motivation is one of the factors that influence performance. The purpose of this study is to do a study on motivation of employees within a technical division of Telkom SA. The aim is to establish the causes for the level of motivation and to present to management a proposal on improving the level of motivation.

A report on a research study presented to the Department of Social Work School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Social Work by coursework and research report in Occupational Social Work , August 2017 / In 2004 the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) introduced a health and wellness Programme to manage human risks that negatively influence work performance and the wellness of employees. A qualitative research study was conducted using phenomenology design to explore in-depth experiences of 13 EHWP Coordinators on the implementation of wellness management as one of the four pillars of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) integrated Employee Health and Wellness Strategic Framework (EHWSF), (2008). The EHWSF was created to rapidly transform the nature of holistic support to employees so as to mitigate individual and organisational risks within the public sector. The method of data collection utilised was face to face interviews, with the use of a semi-structured interview schedule as a tool to gather data. Purposive sampling was utilised and the sample selected from a population of twenty nine (29) GPG EHWP Coordinators based on an inclusion criteria. The collected data was analysed utilising thematic analysis to identify themes and patterns in the data, to contextualise and describe the findings. The main findings were the inconsistent understanding in terms of the implementation of the DPSA EHWSF wellness management among participants, which suggest that the programme is not fully implemented in GPG. The lack of capacity, dedicated budge, inconsistent structure and positioning of the programme as well as management support were some of the deterrents in implementing the full scope of the wellness management pillar. Although DPSA EHWSF promotes the integration of four pillars, the study found gaps with the practical implementation of the framework in particular the wellness management pillar which was the focus of the study, there was less emphasis on organisational wellness. The study concludes that the findings will contribute towards review of policy, framework and programme development. / XL2018

To cope with constant changes in the economic environment, organizations continuously strive to implement appropriate business models that will contribute to increased productivity, reduced costs and a competitive advantage. Organisations need however to choose among different business models and select the option that offer the greatest potential to improve their service delivery, reducing costs and enable them to focus on their core business. This study conceptualized the shared services business model, by focusing on key factors, such as the rationale for implementing a shared services unit over other business models, establishing the processes followed by the banking industry with the implementation of a human capital shared services model, identifying the advantages versus disadvantages of the implementation of the model and to provide recommendations for the development and implementation of shared services models within specific organisational context. The researcher conducted mixed method research to address the research problem which incorporated both qualitative and quantitative research. In the study research was conducted in three phases. During the first phase exploratory research was conducted, consisting of desk study research and industry reports as well as surveys, periodicals and academic publications.During the second phase qualitative research was conducted, through semi-structured interviews. Findings from this research phase were used during the third phase, which was a quantitative study, whereby information gathered from the interviews informed the design of questionnaires. It is evident from the results that there were many similarities between the analyses of the interviews and questionnaires in relation to the literature review. Many commonalities amongst the three banks were identified during the implementation process and in many instances corroborated statements by key authors during the literature review. Both the interviews and analysis of the questionnaires confirmed cost savings, improved customer services and standardization as benefits of a shared services model. It was concluded that the implementation of a human capital shared services model within the banking sector in South Africa contribute positively to each of the banks used in the sample, both from a cost perspective as improvement of efficiencies. It was further concluded that the processes, systems and people involved in the implementation process are critical to successful implementation. Based on the information gathered the researcher recommends that a project team be appointed from inception to finalization of the implementation of a shared services model, which will be required to deal with the planning phase, feasibility study and the full implementation plan relating to the implementation of the model. In practice, this study will provide shared services managers with insights with regards to the implementation process to be followed for implementing a human capital shared services model. It can also provide valuable insight to management with regard to important or key factors to consider, ensuring the effective implementation of the model. Findings of this study may also be extended to other organizations in South Africa, considering the implementation of the shared services model. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / Thesis (M.B.A.)

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2008. / The amalgamation of municipalities came into effect as a legislative requirement brought about a number of challenges for the local government. One such major challenge relates to the impact that these amalgamations will have on human resource practices of the various municipalities. Literature study reveals that during any merger or amalgamation, less attention is paid to the human element of a merger until the merger is almost complete. This lack of attention impacts negatively on the merger results. Like other municipalities, Ethekwini Municipality is a product of this legislative requirement. It was formed as a result of the amalgamation of different municipal entities that had different human resource practices. The problem facing eThekwini Municipality is the misalignment of human resources policies and their effect on the working environment. This study looks at the impact of this amalgamation on the human resources practices of the eThekwini Municipality. The sub-objectives of the study are: to ascertain employees' perceptions of amalgamation; to determine whether employees believe that the human resources' matters are handled in a manner that will bring about stability and equity in the workplace; and to establish whether different perceptions exist between employees of the former Durban Metro Central and those of the erstwhile entities. A stratified random probability sample of 150 employees was selected. The sample was drawn from 5 former entities that now form eThekwini Municipality, namely: Inner-west, Outer-west, Metro Central, North and South Operational entities. Using face-to-face interviews, employees were asked to complete a questionnaire. The results of the research revealed that there was generally a positive perception of the amalgamation process amongst employees. The study also revealed that different perceptions exist between the employees of the former entities and those of Metro central It is recommended that, during a merger, management should have detailed work plans. The plans should detail how the organization will deal with the structure of the organization, its people, culture, technology and processes. Secondly, management should consider a total reward system as opposed to total cost package. / M

Mini-thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Management in the field of Security (MM-S) In the Graduate School of Public and Development Management University of Witwatersrand February 2017 / This is a report on Security Vetting in the Department of Home Affairs. The South African Public Service (including the Department of Home Affairs) as an employer has an obligation to deliver services in an accountable and transparent manner and because of that people who obtain employment in the public sector are expected to possess a high level of integrity and professional ethics. The Security Screening Investigation (SSI) commonly known as Security Vetting or Vetting was introduced in government departments with the objective of ensuring that all the individuals employed in government with access to classified information possess the qualities that will enable them “not to cause classified information or material to fall into unauthorised hands, thereby harming or endangering the security and/or interests of the State”. The process of vetting is, however, the mandate of the State Security Agency (SSA), with the responsibility of a larger portion of the vetting process while the smaller portion of the function lies with some government departments, of which the DHA is one. It has been observed that regardless of the decentralization of the functions of vetting by the SSA, there are still challenges that are experienced in DHA with the current vetting approach/strategy. This study was undertaken with the purpose of identifying and describing the challenges relating to the current vetting process in the DHA and as a follow-up to determine the possibility of establishing a strategy that will address the current shortcomings. Interviews were undertaken with Home Affairs officials to collect data on the effectiveness and efficiency of the current vetting strategy in the department, the challenges and the shortcomings concerning vetting, as well as how vetting strategy can be constructed in order to alleviate the challenges and the shortcomings. The findings indicate that the current vetting strategy is neither effective nor efficient. The report further indicates that there are several challenges with the current vetting strategy in DHA, such as DHA reliance on SSA for the completion of the vetting process, a shortage of vetting officers in the department, delayed turnaround times on the conclusion of the vetting process as well as failure in the implementation of the vetting strategy. The conclusion is that the current vetting strategy needs to be reviewed and improved. / MT2017

M. Tech. Business Administration / The purpose of this exploratory research was to determine the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of employees managing projects in the GDoH with regard to project management (PM) within the department; and to determine the training required by employees to manage the infrastructure related projects more effectively. The researcher made use of quantitative and qualitative research designs to gather data.