The South African property sector is characterised by property practitioner firms that fail to comply with the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) code of conduct and firms having inefficient systems which are unable to combat hacking and cybercrime in the sector. Although property practitioner firms have systems and processes in place, there are still instances of unethical behaviour. Failure to prevent client personal information from being leaked is still a major problem in the sector, this issue can be addressed by demonstrating due diligence with respect to safeguarding sensitive information. The accuracy of information is also a problem in the sector and requires firms to resort to analysing collected data before capturing it, in order to maintain accuracy. The sector encounter illegal access to systems including breaking the password protected websites and password protection on a computer system. The objectives for this study were to investigate the extent to which firms enforce Information Ethics (IE), explore the systems and processes put in place by firms to enforce IE and to explore the challenges experienced by the firms in the Gauteng province when enforcing IE. The study was qualitative in nature and indepth interviews were conducted to gather information from five managers and five employees within the firm situated in Gauteng province. The study found that these property practitioner firms enforce IE to a certain extent. These firms use (22) systems and processes to enforce IE and experienced (5) challenges during the enforcement of IE. The study concludes that these property practitioner firms enforce IE using different systems and processes and experience challenges during enforcement. The list of IE enforcement systems and processes and challenges identified in this study will assist policy makers in compiling IE policies. The findings will also assist firms in IE enforcement and reduction of IE enforcement challenges. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

<div>This work proposes a framework for modeling an organization as a network of autonomous design agents who collectively work on the design of a complex system. The research objective is to identify a design process policy which best suits the current organization evaluated on the basis of the value that it provides to the organization. Consequently, the research question is, "How does an organization comprised of autonomous design teams select a design process policy which provides the highest value?" The proposed framework models design teams as agents who adapt their behavior using information on design variables available from other teams and the incentives in form of rewards from a system-level designer.</div><div><br></div><div><div>While extant literature on complex systems design has proposed several models of design processes, there is still a need for models that are versatile enough to represent different types of purposes and scopes of hierarchical levels. Further, models still do not account for the social, cultural, and political aspects of design. Due to the invariably long development times of a complex system, the environment's dynamics such as changing requirements would require all design teams to update their models and decisions during the process. They have to do this while accounting for the decisions of the other teams. The system-level designer, on the other hand, has to ensure that the design teams' decisions are in the best interest of the organization, which is to maximize value. The work proposed in this research addresses these issues by taking a bottom-up approach to modeling this complex, dynamic and uncertain design environment, where organizational-level outcomes are modeled as a result of decisions of individual teams who respond to local incentives.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div>The system-level designer and the subsystem design teams, are modeled to interact with other agents with whom they share design variables. The subsystem teams first solve their local design problems, and then exchange the results of these problems with other teams. The proposed modeling is versatile to represent human behaviors such as their adding of margins to design variables during the process of information exchange. In each interaction, the receiving teams make decisions to update their local variable values with the one newly available or to continue to use their own value. They make these decisions on the basis of which decision leads to the highest utility measured by a predened value function. Thus, each team acts in its self-interest and maximizes its local value. In case they do not arrive at a common design, the system-level designer attempts to assign rewards which incentivize the teams to update designs such that they are compatible with the other teams. In such cases, the teams would be willing to forgo a portion of their utility obtained from the design outcome if they are compensated for this loss by the system-level designer. Therefore, the task of a system-level designer is to solve a compatibility problem which trades off between different subsystems outcomes and arrives as the final design while maximizing the organization's value.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div>The framework is developed and then described through a series of increasingly complex design cases using a synthetic optimization problem. Following this, an aircraft design problem serves as a demonstration of application of this framework. The results obtained from both the synthetic and the demonstration problem then inform the discussion of various characteristics of a complex systems design process.</div></div>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Richard J. Braun, Dept. of Mathematical Sciences. Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) -- Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: Computer aided manufacturing planning; Object-oriented systems analysis (OSA); Feature; manufacturing resource capability; setup planning; multi-part fixture Includes bibliographical references (p.146-154).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Performance management processes in the South African public service are often perceived and implemented in isolation from other organisational and management policies, strategies, systems and processes. The central problem addressed in this study concerns the lack of integration of different aspects of performance management into a coherent system. This problem affects motivation and performance of staff.This study provides an overview of the broad field of performance management and specifically focuses on public service integrated performance management systems. One of the main objectives of this study is to identify performance management challenges from an integrated perspective and to develop potential solutions for these challenges.In order to achieve this objective, a literature review and data collection processes were conducted, which served as the foundation on which the research was based. The qualitative research methodology was chosen as it allows for interpretative research and a holistic approach to the research process, which ensures the best way of representing and addressing the complexities of integrated performance management systems and motivation within the context of the public sector. Seventy-six respondents, mainly senior and middle managers from various national and provincial government departments, participated in the study.The fieldwork results identified major strengths, weaknesses and proposed suggestions for the improvement of the existing performance management systems in the public service. Results were analysed, interpreted, discussed and incorporated into the recommendations. Contrary to some negative public perceptions and anecdotal evidence of poor public service performance management, the majority of senior managers in government departments are satisfied with the overall quality, value for money, relevance, appropriateness and simplicity of the process. Integration of various subsystems of performance management system is facilitated by policy initiatives such as cooperative governance and intergovernmental relations. One of the major areas of dissatisfaction is the time required for conducting the performance management process, which is often seen as a last minute compliance exercise. The performance management system has become an isolated activity, not linked to organisational strategy and processes. Additional major weaknesses of the performance management system are identified in the areas of the reward system, design of the system, objectivity of performance judgement, lack of skills and leadership support in the implementation process, communication,and monitoring and evaluation processes.The study recommends that performance management has to be approached from an integrated perspective. The process of the design of performance management must include a thorough consultation with major stakeholders.The implementation of the system has to be supported and driven by top leadership and management. The change management process should be supported by a proactive communication strategy and it should be managed strategically and by competent staff. A reward system that distinguishes high from mediocre performance should be put in place. Programmes must be implemented to ensure high levels of staff motivation. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms must be put in place to ensure implementation of sustainable performance management systems. These recommendations led to the design of an integrated performance management system.The study concludes that integrated performance management, as a multidisciplinary methodology related to organisational strategy, structure,culture, systems and processes, should be regarded as a critical tool for improving motivation and performance of individuals, teams, departments and the public service as a whole.

This study investigated the role of two cardinal external control agencies, the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) and the Inspectorate of Government (IG) in the enhancement of accountability in Uganda’s local government (LG). In Uganda, local governments’ accountability failures are relentlessly blamed on the weak internal systems of control, despite the existence of external controls. This study departs from the premise that, the institutional predicaments of LGs do not only represent poor internal systems, but also signify deficits in the external control mechanisms. The evaluation of external control agencies was based on four main fronts: their institutional capacity to enhance accountability; how they have promoted the operationalisation of legislation and regulatory framework pertaining to accountability; how they have enhanced LG systems and processes towards accountability; and, how far they have helped to strengthen the potential of civil society in fostering accountability in LGs. A largely qualitative research approach was employed, but with some elements quantitative data. Interviews, documents review and direct observation were used as instruments of data collection. The study established that the IG and the OAG exhibit mixed fortunes of institutional capacity, punctuated by financial and human resources limitations; deficiencies in the enabling legislation; and poor support from various stakeholders. The study revealed a stupendous effort by the IG and the OAG in operationalising legislation, but they perform dismally in enhancing local government systems and processes; and in strengthening civil society capacity towards accountability. There is lack of a harmonised policy and coordinated mechanisms to support supervision, mentoring and inspection of LGs by the external control framework. The thesis argues that, reforming local government requires changes in the approach of individual and organisational culture. The mere crackdown and reprimands meted out on those that abuse public trust do not necessarily improve accountability. Thus, commitment should be put on identifying the organisational-structural deficiencies and possible system reforms, rather than mere inspections and monitoring exercises that encourage mediocrity. Hence, those who inspect, audit and review local governments should be able to recognise the inherent system challenges, but also appreciate the constraints under which the public servants operate, or where they have little or no control. In the end, improved performance and accountability depend on the extent to which people appreciate them as legitimate goals, both within the administration and within the external control agency system. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-201) and index. Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Este trabalho se propõe avaliar e investigar novas tecnologias construtivas de madeira para habitação social no Brasil. O campo desta investigação é o conjunto residencial social de \"Via Cenni\" em Milão Itália. O estudo do caso Cenni, dos seus aspectos financeiros-econômicos, projetuais, construtivos de madeira e de ocupação do conjunto, relacionará este conjunto habitacional às possíveis diretrizes e estudos preliminares para sistemas construtivos de madeira no Brasil. Pretendemos difundir o uso da madeira na construção habitacional social com sistemas semelhantes ao CLT (cross laminated timber) ou XLAM (painéis de laminas maciças fixadas em X) e criar melhoria das condições de vida da população urbana e rural mais necessitada. / The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate and reserch new technologies in wood construction for social housing in Brazil. The field of this investigation is the \"Via Cenni\" residential complex in Milan, Italy. The study of \"Via Cenni\"\'s case, its financial and economics aspects, projectuals, wood building and the complex occupation will connect this residential complex to possible guidelines and to preliminary studies for wood constructions systems in Brazil. It is expected to diffuse the uses of wood in the social housing construction with similar systems to CLT(cross laminated timber) or XLAM (solid blades panels fixed in X) and to improve life conditions to the needy urban and rural population.