M. Ed. (Higher Education) / This study seeks to evaluate the processes used in the moderation of School-based Assessment (SBA) in Life Orientation (LO). This subject has been introduced by the Department of Education (DoE) to form part of Grade 12 exit examinations the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). SBA refers to all assessment that is conducted by teachers, and sometimes is known as internal assessment, coursework or continuous assessment...

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The main purpose of this study is to determine whether pupil quality influences educational standards. The development and growth of pupils are the result of hereditary and environmental factors. Environmental factors inter alia include the school's and teacher's involvement with pupils. The role that the school plays in the life of the pupil, is very important for his development. The school is the pupil's living place in which he becomes involved with his peer group. The pupil has to learn to socialise and to respect authority. Knowledge becomes unlocked through the pupil as well as for him. The school is the preparatory phase for his adult life. The qualities that the pupil obtains during his school years, largely determine the career that he will follow, his social status, his economic welfare and his self-concept. The empirical component of the investigation was based on the implementation of a questionnaire. Concerning validity and reliability, a principal component analysis (P.C.A.) was followed by a principal factor analysis (P.F.A.) in the first order analysis. This was followed by a second order P.C.A. and P.F.A. The variables resulting from this factor analysis procedure were then subjected to an item analysis. The identified variables, i.e, sex differences, educational qualifications, occupation, primary and secondary schools, school models, permanent place of residence, religion, marital status, children and income, were used to investigate the importance of pupil qualities and educational standards. The most important findings are: The majority of respondents regards pupil quality as a very important determinant which can influence educational standards. Great emphasis should be placed on reading in primary schools. Pupils with specific reading problems should receive continuing formal reading tuition in the secondary schools. Rationalisation within the teaching profession should not have an effect on support classes and remedial education. As far as achievement oriented education is concerned, care should be taken to ensure that pupils with problems and needs receive the necessary attention. The primary aim should be child centred education.

D.Cur. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Cur. / College management is liable for quality management ofthe college to facilitate quality education. Nursing collegeshave the autonomous responsibility for planning, organising, implementing and controlling nursing education in order to ensure the achievement of programme objectives set by the South African Nursing Council. The college is further accountable to the community for the training of nurses to meet their health needs. Through the implementation of quality improvement strategies, which begin with the description of standards, the college manager accepts responsibility for facilitating quality nursing education through quality management. The purpose of the study was to describe standards for a nursing college, which can be used as a management instrument to facilitate quality education, as well as effective functioning of a nursing college. The aim of the study is justified by means of a descriptive, explorative, contextual research design. Standards for a nursing college were developed and validated by utilising a structured two-phase research method. For the development of standards, the Delphi method, round one, was used to identify subjects for standards, after which a preliminary conceptual framework was compiled. A comprehensive literature control was then undertaken to refine the preliminary conceptual framework. A final conceptual framework was formulated which served as a basis for the description of standards. The final validation of standards occurred in the quantifying phase by means of consensus discussions between experts during round two of the Delphi method. The main subjects for which standards were described, include philosophy, mission, strategic planning, personnel management, general management, research role of the tutor, community involvement, academy, students and quality improvement programme. Structural standards, which can be utilized as a management instrument, were described and represented in the form of an accreditation instrument. The purpose of this instrument is for management to use it for self-evaluation, while the standards are implemented and tested in the nursing colleges.

The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes that regulations seek to make improvements by changing individual or organisational behaviour in ways that generate positive impacts in terms of solving societal and economic problems. At its most basic level, regulations are designed to work according to implementation, leading to changes in behaviours that, in turn, lead to changes in outcomes. Such outcomes can be satisfaction in terms of an underlying problem or other (hopefully positive) changes in conditions in the world. Following this premise, this research project investigates the implications of the 2014 Construction Regulations for the Department of Public Works’ procurement system. The study also examines the contents of the construction Regulations; the impact of the Construction Regulations 2014 – permit-to-work; client / contractor procurement issues; the enforcement of compliance to permit-to-work requirements, and education and training demands in relation to health and safety (H&S) competency. The study shows that even though industry role players are relatively familiar with the Construction Regulations 2014, there is a common concern regarding competency (education and training) levels required for the implementation of the permit-to-work requirement of the regulations. The concerns focus on the ability of the Department of Labour (DoL) to process the permits. Based on the study’s findings, the research concludes that there would be cost implications for project actors when implementing the permit-to-work requirement and this cost factor could delay project initiation and planning, as well as service delivery.

Clinical practice guidelines are one way of ensuring that healthcare is based on the evidence-based practices. In a dynamic unit, like the critical care unit, where sound decision-making and critical thinking are required in the care of critically ill patients, the implementation of such guidelines for care is of utmost importance. Guideline implementation is however not so simplistic, and various studies have proven that there are various barriers linked to guideline implementation. However, most the barriers have proven to be related to individual factors. Therefore, a greater focus has been placed on organisational contextual factors that might have an influence on clinical practice guideline implementation. The research study followed a positivistic, quantitative paradigm, where the hypothesised relationship between the organisational contextual factors and clinical practice guideline implementation were investigated. A structured pre-existing questionnaire, namely the Alberta Context Tool, was used to collect data from 65 registered nurses in private critical care units. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that although the organisational contextual factors were prevalent in the private critical care units sampled, some factors like leadership and culture scored higher than the other factors. Positive relations were reported between the organisational contextual factors and clinical practice guideline implementation. The results imply that the alternative hypothesis H1 is supported, and thus proved that there are significant relationships between organisational contextual factors and clinical practice guideline implementation in private critical care units in the East London area.Recommendations were made on how to enhance organisational contextual factors in the implementation of clinical practice guidelines. Ethical principles were maintained throughout the study.

Transnet is facing challenging market realities and a competitive operating environment. Performance management has been emphasised as a critical tool to guide Transnet in maintaining a competitive advantage. Performance management cannot be viewed in isolation from the organisational context and is inextricably linked to the Human Resources strategy, which in turn is aligned with the overall business strategy. Performance management may be defined as a systematic process by which an organisation involves its employees, as individuals and members of groups, in improving organisational effectiveness in the accomplishment of organisational mission and goals. For the purposes of this study, performance management was explored in terms of purpose, key role players, processes, criteria and challenges. The main research problem of this study was to determine the perceptions of non-bargaining unit employees of the performance management system at Transnet Engineering. The main research problem had three sub-problems which were addressed through the following actions: A literature study was conducted highlighting the importance of an effective performance management system which establishes a foundation for rewarding excellence by aligning individual objectives with organisational mission and objectives. In this way, performance management establishes clear expectations in terms of results, actions and behaviours. Through regular feedback and coaching, performance management provides a mechanism for detecting problems at an early stage and identifies ways in which to take corrective action. Perceptions of performance management are largely centred around fairness, and dependent on a number of issues, including openness, transparency, communication, and equitability, and the establishment of clear parameters of measurement such as whether both skill and effort will be evaluated. This is why it is important to link performance appraisals to employee goals. If mutually negotiated goals, which involve the participation of all stakeholders, are established at the beginning of the performance period and there is on-going feedback to employees about their performance, then performance appraisals may be perceived as objective, fair and reliable. The insights gained from the literature survey were incorporated into a survey questionnaire which was used in the empirical study to investigate the perceptions of non-bargaining unit employees of the performance management system at Transnet Engineering. This study revealed that most of the respondents were not satisfied with the performance management system within Transnet Engineering, that performance management could be enhanced by using multiple measures more frequently and that greater involvement of subordinates at each step in the performance management process would lead to a greater level of acceptance thereof.

After a review of the literature relevant to performance management systems both over time and across different types of organizations, this thesis confines its research To a case study of the Role of Performance Management in The Motivation of Employees in an organization. Important insight was gained into the relative importance of the performance management practices to promote desired employee outcomes. In view thereof that a discussion of performance in organizations is incomplete without reference to the construct of organizational culture, this study also provided propositions to prompt further research on the role of performance management in reinforcing a high performance organizational culture. Insightful conclusions were drawn from the results obtained and recommendations are made for future research.

The study aims to identify which performance appraisal system is currently used in The Cold Chain, how this system compare with the fundamental requirements of a successful appraisal system and what requirements can be adopted to make the way in which Team Leaders are appraised more effective. An introduction into The Cold Chain, the identification of the problem and the relevance of the study is followed by a literature overview of performance management, the role of performance appraisals and the requirements for a successful performance appraisal system. Various appraisal systems, problems associated with performance appraisals and a framework for the development of an efficient system is discussed. Research conducted using a questionnaire sent to Team Leaders in The Cold Chain, delivered results which were analysed and discussed in Chapter four. In addition to biographical information, the function, effectiveness, evaluator involvement, objectives and criteria, requirements for performance appraisals, organisational alignment and evaluator faults were discussed. It was found that the current performance appraisal system in use at Mercor is a trait scale system. A trait scale method of performance appraisals does not reflect measurement against clearly defined job criteria and is difficult to legally defend. The essential elements for successful appraisal systems such as reliability, relevance, sensitivity, uncontaminated information, acceptability, practicality and legality will be present in a 360-degree approach and the implementation of such a system in Mecor was recommended.

M.Com. (International Accounting) / This minor dissertation investigates how the conflict in the classification of financial assets between IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements is being bridged in the financial statements of banks by reviewing the classification of financial assets in the statement of financial position, accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. IAS 39 provides specific classifications for financial instruments, while IAS 1 provides a classification based on liquidity. The minor dissertation applied a quantitative content analysis of the annual financial statements of South African banks for the 2011 financial year. Companies in the sample selection were drawn from the FTSE/JSE classification of the Top 100 companies selected on their market capitalisation on 30 December 2011. Seven banks are included in the Top 100 companies. The minor dissertation found that the classification of financial assets as required in IAS 39 is not shown in the statement of financial position. The statement of financial position is based on the liquidity classification in IAS 1. In contrast, the accounting policies for financial instruments are based on the IAS 39 classification. The structure of the notes to the financial statements follows the classification in the statement of financial position. The minor dissertation further found that the conflict between the IAS 1 and IAS 39 classifications is bridged in the detail of the notes. Two methods are being used to bridge the conflict. The first method is to provide an IAS 39 reconciliation in each applicable note. In this reconciliation, the total amount of the note is allocated to an applicable IAS 39 classification. The second method is that the line items in the statement of financial position are allocated IAS 39 classifications in a table format. The table allocates the amount of individual assets and liabilities as identified in the statement of financial position in the categories required by IAS 39. Through using both Method 1 (reconciliation in each note) and Method 2 (a separate table based on the statement of financial position) the conflict between IAS 1 (liquidity classification) and IAS 39 is bridged. However, the IAS 39 classification is not directly obtainable from the primary financial statements. In the future, the study can be more comprehensively replicated in other countries and international research, as this exploratory research was only limited to seven banks in South Africa. Further research can also investigate entities other than banks to see how they bridge the conflict between IAS 1 and IAS 39. The review of the treatment of financial instruments resulted in the replacement of IAS 39 by IFRS 9 in November 2009. Future research of the new IFRS 9 classifications may assess how the conflict is being treated. In addition, further research can assess the quality of disclosure in the classification of financial assets/instruments in the financial statements of banks and other entities