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

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of tho Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the Degree of Mastel' of Arts. Johannesburg 1991 / The industrial supervisor is the classical example of the person in the middle or the 'marginal person' Placed between management and the workforce, supervisors encounter conflicting expectations and demands. For the black supervisor in South African industry, these problems are exacerbated, typically having been promoted from the ranks and operating at an essentially white management, black workforce interface. Previous researchers have discussed the dysfunctional consequences faced by these people and, further, have alluded to the possible relationship between this and supervisors' dual loyaltles. This research examines the marginality of black supervisors and how this relates to their possible dual commitment. Towards this end, a psychometrically sound measure of psychological marginality was constructed, following which an empirical investigation was undertaken to investigate the relationship between black supervisors' psychological marginality and their dual allegiances. Factor analytical techniques revealed that black supervisor's marginality comprises two variables; namely, management marginality and worker marginality. The relationships between both marginality variables and levels of organisational commitment, union commitment and dual commitment were not significant. This suggests that the management and worker marginality experienced among black supervisors is not related to dual commitment, unilateral commitment and alienation. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed and directions for future research provided. The primary shortcoming of the study was small sample sizes as a result of the sensitive nature of the subject. However, this was mediated by the rigorous methodology adopted throughout.

M.A. (Industrial Relations) / The objective of this study is to examine the way in which the traditional role of the supervisor in South African industry is changing in the context of the social, political and economic transformation of the country. Because the author is on an overseas posting for the duration of the study period, it is not possible to conduct empirical research of any depth. Therefore, the dissertation is mainly a literature study based on the historical and present development of labour relations and the changing role of the supervisor. Where possible, the literature study is supplemented by unstructured interviews with training, personnel and industrial relations managers, supervisors and trade union representatives and workers in Scotland, Kenya and South Africa. It will be found that the changes to the position and role of the first line supervisors in the USA, UK, and Germany are more extensive than in South Africa. However, there is clear evidence that the management of South African firms are realising the advantages of long term strategies of empowering their employees, sharing information, and of good training and development programmes. within this context the study will establish that the role and position of the South African supervisor is indeed changing. It will also be pointed out that a significant problem facing firms in the "new" south Africa is a shortage of managers who are not only trained within their own sphere of work, but who are capable of recognising the role they and their subordinates play in the labour relations climate of their firm. The supervisor, at the interface between management, workers and shop stewards, is a key actor responsible for shaping and maintaining the firm's labour and human relations...

M.Com. (Business Management) / Personnel motivation is one of management's most important tasks, but due to a lack of understanding of the nature of motivation, it is also frequently neglected resulting in losses to the organisation. The purpose of this document was to perform a motivation study on the supervisory staff of a railway maintenance depot. With the results of this study the cause of the low level of motivation was determined, followed by recommendations to management in order to address these problem areas ...

M.A. (Industrial Psychology) / South Africa is a country richly blessed with natural and human resources. Optimal utilization of human resources is of great importance for economic development, but a number 9f factors with specific reference to the South African situation restrain this development, i.e; A shortage-of skilled labour 2. A small white population that has to satisfy the demand for skilled labour, and 3. A shortage of supervisory and middle management. By means of training, the shortage of skilled labour can be reduced and by placing Blacks in supervisory positions the demand on the white population can be eased. One of the first levels of management is that of the first line supervisor. The position of the Black first line supervisor is receiving more and more attention from industrialists who realise the importance of these supervisors for the healthy functioning of an organisation. Black supervisors can be effective, but they have to be selected and trained correctly. The focus of this study is placed on the selection of Black first line supervisors. Two selection instruments, The Work Preference Questionnaire (WPQ) and the Picture Situation Test (PST) were specifically developed for this purpose, but the metric qualities of the tests were not known until now. The aim of this study is to determine the validity of these two selection instruments. The model for concurrent validity is used.

M.A. (Sociology) / The increasing deployment of clothing factories in the border industrial areas, has resulted in an increase in the demand for black female labour in this industry. This need, together with a sharp decline in the number of black male employees in the clothing industry, traditionally employed in all functional levels, forced employees to invest in black female labour on a large scale. It is practice to select first level supervisory staff from the higher operator levels, but a shortage of male workers in these positions created opportunities for black female operators to fulfil the need for supervisory staff. This however resulted in complications for both black women and employers, since factors emerged that could affect the black woman's achievement orientation. The objective of this research is to determine a job profile for the black woman in terms of her achievement orientation and also to investigate other variables that relate to her job profile and achievement orientation. Research conducted in this field on the European woman's achievement orientation, provided a framework for an explorative and qualitative research study on the achievement orientation of 15 non-supervisory and 15 supervisory black women. In order to gather sufficient information, interview guides were developed as an aid to conducting personal interviews with the sample group. A similar method was applied in investigating the attitude towards black female supervision, of 15 black male supervisors and 4 employers. From the case studies, three job profiles were distinguished namely a high achievement/high economical, a moderate achievement/moderate economical and a non-achievement/low economical orientated profile. For purposes of analysis the three profiles were reduced to two, namely an achievement/economical and a non-achievement/low economical orientated profile.

M.Comm. / South African society is currently experiencing a period of rapid transformation. These sociopolitical changes taking place in the external environment is posing unique challenges to South African business. Salient to these challenges is how the politically powerful, but poor majority will be integrated into an environment that previously excluded them. It is commonly accepted that this integration and the eradication of the economic backlog can not only be achieved through formal education and training, but that it should be supported by programmes aimed at the accelerated development of blacks. As such, the primary role that South African business has to play in the transformation of society as a whole, is the effective integration of marginalised groups into position from which they were previously excluded. In order to ensure that this integration is managed effectively several factors need to be taken into account. Of these, white resistance against affirmative action and the negative attitudes held by them towards blacks in general, pose the greatest threat. The negative impact of the aforementioned on the affirmative action process is heightened when these traits are exhibited by the supervisors of black employees taking part in affirmative action programmes. In order to determine the effect these attitudes have on the job involvement and job satisfaction of black employees, factors inhibiting the occupational mobility of blacks and the role of the immediate supervisor in this process were analysed from literature. It was found that the supervisor plays a distinct role in the upward mobility of his/her subordinates and that this is especially the case where he/she has black subordinates. In chapter 3 the theory underlying job involvement and job satisfaction is discussed. From this discussion it is clear that the job involvement and job satisfaction of the individual influence his/her behaviour within the organisation to a large extent. It was further found that the immediate supervisor influences these variables to a large extent. In the empirical part of this dissertation a sample black employees, currently occupying positions previously reserved exclusively for whites, completed job involvement and job satisfaction questionnaires. Their supervisors completed a questionnaire that measured their attitude towards affirmative action. From the empirical study it was found that subordinates with supervisors who exhibit negative attitudes towards affirmative action do not necessarily have lower levels of job involvement and job satisfaction than those subordinates with supervisors who exhibit positive attitudes. This finding is not consistent with the theorising that supervisor attitudes towards affirmative action should influence the job involvement and job satisfaction of their black subordinates, and could be attributed to a number of factors, amongst others the nature of their jobs. From the study it became clear that urgent attention needs to be given to the determining of those factors that influence the job satisfaction and job involvement in Afro-centric populations. Almost all available research on these concepts focuses exclusively on Eurocentric populations and very little empirical data regarding the study of these concepts among Afro-centric populations exit.

Thesis (M.Ed.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / The Constitution, Act 108(1996:14) states that “everyone has the right to basic education”. This means that all the children of South Africa will be given education at primary level which will be funded by the state. The success, therefore, of both the nation and the state will depend on its education system.Historically, South African education is characterised by two eras of education systems, namely, apartheid education and democratic education. Apartheid education which was racially grounded resulted in poverty, degradation and imbalanced funding in black rural schools. The democratic principles in the new education system have created a space for the redress of inequality in South African schools. This is evidenced in the establishment of the school governing body (SGB) as the legitimate body to take the issue of “redress” forward(SASA, Act 84 of 1996). According to Section 36 of SASA, the state acknowledges its failure to provide sufficient funding to public schools, and mandated the SGB to obtain additional resources in order to improve the quality of education. The money allocated by the state to schools is clearly not enough.Many principals and SGBs are placed under tremendous pressure to manage and raise funds for their schools, because they are unable to work out practical solutions to financial problems, on account of their lack of financial knowledge, skills and expertise (Mestry, 2006:8). This study investigated the effectiveness of fundraising in the rural schools of Groot Letaba Circuit in Limpopo in order to find out whether fundraising is being done, different strategies employed and problems encountered in raising funds in unique rural public schoolsettings. The literature revealed that there are various fundraising strategies that may be used to raise money for schools to improve the quality of education. The study also focused on Potterton et al’s(2002)theory of formulation for successful fundraising. The theory discusses how school fundraising can be done through the partnerships of the following stakeholders: school community, members of the broader community and the business community. The methodology used in this study was a qualitative approach. Phenomenological research design was adopted; and in terms of the data collection tool, semi-structured (open-ended) interviewschedules for both the primary and secondary principals, SGB chairpersons and SGB treasurers.The findings of this study revealed that fundraising in the rural schools of Groot Letaba Circuit in Limpopo Province was not successfully done to cater for the needs of the schools. Recommendations and guidelines were given with the intention of eliminatingor minimising fundraising problems so that schools can function to their maximum potential.

M.A. (Social Work) / The study aimed at determining the nature of social work supervision in welfare agencies in the Sedibeng Region, Gauteng. The research was of an exploratorydescriptive nature. A questionnaire was used as a data collection tool and was self administered by the respondents. A total population of 57 social work supervisors are employed by non-governmental organisations (NGO), community-based organisations (CSO) and government departments in the Sedibeng region and were included in the study. Fifty one completed questionnaires were returned. The research revealed that the majority of the respondents held a management position within the organisation and it is therefore concluded that supervision of social workers formed part of their management function. In addition, the supervisors rendering social work supervision were in possession of a Social Work Degree, which indicated that supervisors met the basic educational requirement to supervise social workers. Fifty eight percent of supervisors had six or more supervisees under their span of control. This is above the current norm set by government of one supervisor to five social workers. Respondents felt they had the knowledge, experience, infrastructure and resources to supervise staff including relevant policies and procedures to guide supervision. Key supervisory roles and qualities that are relevant to supervision were identified by the respondents. Four key roles were identified by supervisors namely, motivating and inspiring staff (88%), facilitating skills development and increasing the knowledge of supervisees (84%), facilitating professional development of supervisees (76%) and developing the social worker to use him/herself more efficiently and effectively (76%). The most important qualities of a supervisor that were identified are: first, openness, Willingness to help and learn from others (76%), second, a supervisor should be calm, focused and goal-orientated (74%). Finally supervisors should be able to deal with conflict (70%). These three qualities were highly rated among the respondents. Barriers to supervision included: increasing work pressures and demands (74%), high staff turnover (54%) and the emphasis on quantity instead of quality social work services (56%). Recommendations included policies that set minimum norms and standards for supervision. The need to prioritise supervision as part of a management function in social welfare settings within Governmental and Non Governmental Organisations, forums to promote dialogue, capacity building and monitoring and evaluation tools are needed to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of supervision provided and its impact.

MEDEM / Department of Curriculum Studies and Education Management