The research focused on an alternative partnership as an intervention strategy with regard to addressing problematic learner behaviour within the broader system and takes into account that there are practitioners who are experts with specialized knowledge and pooling of such resources would lessen the burden on those currently involved. The current position is that when a learner is considered to be presenting with challenging behaviour, the policies and referral procedures of the Department of Education deem it necessary that the learner is referred to the Department of Social Development, which is mandated to provide statutory services to children up to age 18years. The research strategy focused on the challenges in the current partnership between the respective departments through the collection of data from educators and social workers. A review of policies and procedures that address problematic behaviour among children under the age of 18 years was also undertaken with the objective of identifying gaps and challenges posed in their implementation when addressing learner behaviour. While the research focused on the partnership between the Department of Social Development and the Department of Education in the management of learner behaviour, an alternative partnership was implemented as part of an „action research‟ project and which includes other Departments, Non Governmental Organizations and Community Based Organizations thereby adopting a holistic approach in addressing problematic learner behaviour. Critical Systems Thinking and its metamethodology of Critical Systems Practice, utilizing Soft Systems Methodology as the dominant method of data collection, influence it. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Educators from five schools and focus group discussions held with Social Services Practitioners to identify an effective partnership while engaging in continuous learning. An analysis of the responses revealed that the notion of a community of practice prevailing within the Department of Social Development can be extended to include other Social Workers who are experts in their respective fields of service, other professionals and Educators, all of whom have the common goal of uplifting humanity. The research, based on a core competence partnership approach, revealed that it is possible to implement the Integrated Service Delivery Model to the problem situation giving effect to its purposes, one of which is to develop and empower vulnerable groups in society, in this instance, learners at secondary schools as well as their parents thereby regenerating sound morals and values. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.

Chapter 1 will cover the general background on training outside and inside Eskom. It will scrutinise the existing training programme taking into account the factors that inform this training. An assessment will also be made of the training strategy that the CED is already using. Chapter 2 will present an in-depth literature review that will serve as a guide in scrutinising training and development of the organisation and the staff. The literature in question covers coaching, mentoring, staff development, communication as a factor of training, induction, orientation, skills sharing, training evaluation, training objectives, job rotation, and skills knowledge. This literature will allow me to compare training in Eskom with that which is suggested from the literature review. This will be done in order to recommend solutions for training strategy problems in the CED. Studies touching on training have been undertaken in the past and this dissertation will also make use of them as references. Chapter 3 describes the research methodology used and the method of data collection. The three groups of staff that have been used to obtain data in the CED Camden Power Station, namely, discipline engineering managers, senior engineers and graduates in training, are also discussed. Chapter 4 presents the data analysis. All the data obtained from questionnaires and literature is analysed here. The analysis makes use of pie charts to analyse the data obtained from the respondents. Chapter 5 covers recommendations and conclusions. Recommendations are made based on responses to the research questionnaires. Research questionnaires that were used to obtain data are in the appendices. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

The study conducted was An Appreciative Inquiry approach into the post-merger Campbell Collections at UKZN. The study was meant to explore and discover the value of the Campbell Collections in the new merged institution, which is the University of KwaZulu- Natal. The study was appreciative in nature, and it took the complete interconnected elements that affect the system into consideration. Every year since 2004, when the University of Natal and the University of Durban Westville were officially declared as merged, there have been various changes that took place. The merger is one huge change project that the universities engaged in. Thus the concepts ‘merger’ and ‘change’ were used inter-changeably in the study. The background on the merger was brought into perspective, and an in-depth literature review on Appreciative Inquiry was conducted. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) introduced to the study a research perspective that was very different in focus from more traditional approaches. AI is a highly participative, systemwide approach that seeks to identify and enhance the life-giving forces. It concentrates on things we want to increase to add value, and it is a radical approach to understanding the social world. It concentrates on exploring ideas that people have about what is valuable in what they do and then tries to work out ways in which this can be built on. The emphasis is strong on appreciating the activities and responses of people, rather than focusing on their problems. Appreciative Inquiry is declared to be a strong pillar of research which looks to build a productive link between people and the substance of what they talk about as past and present capacities. In general AI studies are carried out through the use of 4-D Cycles. The 4-Ds represent: discovery; dream; design and destiny. This study was conducted through the application of only two Ds which are discovery and dream phases. The questions used in data gathering were crafted based on affirmative topics to meet the principles of AI. The interview technique was employed and carried out in the form of individual/one-one interviews as well as through focus groups. All Campbell Collections’ staff members were invited to participate in the study, and a few former staff members were also part of the study. The strategic decisions made about whom to invite to take part in a study were based on their experience, familiarity, and understanding of Campbell Collections and the merger. The study findings revealed the strengths and value of Campbell Collections as well as the impact of the merger, mainly in terms of decisions taken at the University’s executive level. One limitation of the study was that it was bound to Campbell Collections; therefore, the information generated could not be generalised and remained specific to the particular case studied. However, the same research can be studied further to evaluate the entire postmerger system of the University. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

This study aims to undertake a thematic investigation of core issues and concerns around peace, conflict and security for residents of three municipal wards of Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. I provide a contextual analysis of the socio-economic and political circumstances prevailing in 3 municipal wards of Richmond, suggest core contextual issues to consider when designing a sustainable peace education programme for Richmond and finally, reflect on my application of Freirean methodologies in the study. While collecting the data I was project manager of a UKZN peace education programme in Richmond and my research participants were either directly involved in the programme, or peripherally, as NGO workers in complementary peace projects in the area. Data was gathered from minutes of project meetings, structured interviews, and collegial reflections on the project work, but predominantly from informal face-to-face, telephonic and email dialogues with participants during the course of regular project work. Both the theoretical and methodological approaches I adopt for this action research study are centrally framed by a Freirean pedagogy which emphasizes authentic dialogue, praxis, problem-solving education, the importance of social and personal transformation, collaborative inquiry and the production of knowledge that is collectively owned and shared. My findings, which I present in the form of discussions around the generative themes which emerged from the data, largely corroborate my documentary analysis of the context. Historical violence issues such as “unfinished business”, police and military complicity in the political violence, and the proliferation of weapons emerge as powerful generative themes, while displacement of people and families, trauma and fractured families (which also stem from the history of violence), emerge as serious current social challenges to peace and stability. Substance abuse and prostitution, poverty and unemployment, and lack of development also feature strongly as generative themes. One of the key findings of this study is the extent to which political partisanship, power struggles and patronage hamper the implementation of peace and development initiatives. While I suggest some specific contextual issues which need to be considered when designing an holistic peace education programme for Richmond, I recommend that significant stakeholders (including affected communities and their leaders, the university, various NGOs, religious groupings, organs of state, and traditional healers) unify and direct their respective capacities towards a common goal of peace and reconciliation in order to address these issues: creating a culture of healing through jointly organizing cultural events and peace rallies, helping to establish and support Peace Committees, training people in non-violent conflict resolution skills, providing counseling for survivors of political and domestic violence, supporting fractured and vulnerable families, providing better recreational spaces and job opportunities for the youth. Each of these initiatives would furthermore provide a useful opportunity for non-formal peace education. In addition, I suggest the university could partner with the provincial Department of Education to explore ways of integrating peace education throughout existing school curricula, and the establishment of learner peace clubs where learners could form peace committees to provide in-school peer mediation services. I conclude by reflecting on my application of Freirean methodologies. While I lament my failure to apprehend the extent to which my privileged background and my position as a member of the elite class prevented me from experiencing authentic dialogue with my primary participants, and how I consistently missed opportunities to dialogue and employ core Freirean pedagogical techniques such as problem-posing, and how I failed to get to the point of “re-presenting” to participants the generative themes as problems, and coinvestigating solutions to these problems, I manage to end on an optimistic note by recognizing the significance of the personal transformative learning I gained from the experience. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

The Housing Department of the eThekwini Municipality implemented a home-ownership programme in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province. The programme aimed at selling state-financed flats to tenants of the Municipality. The sale of these flats was in terms of the Sectional Title development scheme. The research study undertaken was to analyze and evaluate the implementation of this programme. In conducting the research study, a global perspective on the delivery of public housing was obtained. There are challenges globally; there is inadequate delivery of housing by governments both in developing and developed countries. Whilst there are new strategies being formulated by governments, for e.g. housing associations and social housing; there is lack of support by government to sustain these housing programmes. The research study was undertaken within a systems approach. The use of this approach enabled a holistic enquiry process into the study. Through the systems approach the researcher was able to look at not only the components in the system, but also the interaction and the connectedness between components. The Critical Systems Thinking as a meta-methodology allowed the use of more than one methodology for the research study, i.e. Critical Systems Heuristics and Quantitative Study. The Critical Systems Heuristics methodology was used to analyze and evaluate a policy decision made by Government to sell State-Financed flats to tenants. This research study focused on the officials of the eThekwini Municipality. The second research study was Quantitative and targeted trustees within bodies corporate. The analysis of the data that was collated highlighted the following: While the decision for the sale of flats to tenants in order to promote home ownership emerged as a good decision, there is never the less a need to include in the programme an extensive post sales programme that includes training, education and a support network for bodies corporate The communication between tenants and the Housing Department was extensive until the transfer of the flats to the tenants and thereafter communication was very limited One of the main challenge faced in this programme is the financial management of bodies corporate There appears to be challenges of promoting and maintaining social cohesion. Whilst the programme to promote home-ownership has been well-received by beneficiaries, the progamme lacked a supportive post-sales programme and hence viewed as incomplete. Two broad recommendations were: Ongoing programme with bodies corporate: There needs to be training and education programmes available for the post sales period. The programmes should be designed to benefit both newly appointed trustees and exiting ones Supportive Network: The Housing Department needs to initially provide funding and facilitate a process to for the creation and sustainability of network forums. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This study sought to investigate the role of church leaders in the prevention and management of HIV and AIDS in the Sweetwaters community. In terms of HIV and AIDS South Africa is the most affected country in sub-Saharan Africa with KwaZulu-Natal as the epicenter of the pandemic. Therefore it is against this backdrop that the researcher articulates the management and leadership roles of church leaders in the prevention of HIV and AIDS as the center of this study. It is imperative that church pastors equip among themselves in order for them to have a significant effect in addressing HIV and AIDS issues in a context like the Sweetwaters community, for example. Church leaders are strategically positioned to play a central role in the combat against the pandemic within their churches and communities. This study has been undertaken using questionnaires and focus group studies with ten church leaders from Sweetwaters the community. The research seeks to: (a) gain a understanding of challenges confronting church leaders; (b) understand how they can tackle this challenge effectively as regards their leadership role. The above mentioned is summed up in the main research question of the study, which is formulated as follows: How do the church leaders understand and respond to their leadership role within their churches and the community in the supervision of a diversity of issues arising from the pandemic. The study pointed out that the involvement of church leaders in the prevention of HIV and AIDS is generally limited to spiritual and relief work. The only structured program available to the particular local churches, and which has been implemented, is to care for orphans. The position taken in this study is that there is a need for church leaders to develop modern realistic HIV and AIDS educational programs and to train their church members to engage in HIV and AIDS issue. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

It is frequently claimed that the role of government, especially that at the local level, is to facilitate the creation and sustainability of a conducive environment in which business may flourish. Indeed, in the National Framework for Local Economic Development, municipalities are urged to promote the conditions in which business enterprises may flourish, economic equitability may be achieved and jobs will be created. (DPLG, 2006) When the exact nature of a conducive environment is considered, however, there is little clarity as to the elements that contribute towards such an environment. In various endeavours to define the desirable elements of a conducive or enabling business environment, agencies, among them the World Bank, have commissioned or produced reports on this subject. In most cases, however, it is a regulatory arena that has been given attention, and this often at the national rather than local level. The primary concern of this study is not a regulatory framework, which in South Africa is only mildly influenced by local government, but the ways in which municipalities create or inhibit hospitable conditions for business through policies and strategies which often appear to be devoid of understanding as to how business operates and what it requires to flourish. The researcher's experience as the manager of a chamber of commerce over fourteen years during which he has engaged with local businesses and their difficulties and successes, has provided a sense of what the factors are that, particularly, inhibit business growth. Respondents, which are companies of all sizes and types within chambers of commerce in various parts of the country, were asked to assess the extent to which these factors inhibit or promote business. They were also asked to add any others that had not been listed already. The suggested elements fall into various categories ranging from the delivery of municipal services in various spheres to assessments of the skills capacity of local communities. It was expected that the responses would enable the researcher to describe more accurately what constitutes a conducive environment in the experience of business enterprises. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) was interested in, and sanctioned, this research which, it is believed could be expanded later into the development of a Hospitability Index by which municipalities may benchmark their establishment and maintenance of an environment conducive to business. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

Inequality in South Africa in terms of access to education, finance, food security, and public amenities is worse in rural areas under traditional leadership than in urban areas not under the control of traditional leaders. In most of these areas, people live in abject poverty and underdevelopment is rife with no access to economic opportunities, basic services and economic and social infrastructure. This study attempts to ascertain the involvement of traditional leadership in the Local Economic Development (LED) of these areas. It also explores the mandate given to traditional leadership through government legislation, policies and programmes in LED. The study further seeks to suggest through a model how traditional leadership could be involved in LED. This study focuses on the following questions:  What are the fundamental causes of the exclusion of traditional leadership in LED?  What government policies and programmes are in places that explicitly spell out the role of traditional leadership in LED? and  What are the perceptions of traditional leadership implicit in the government’s LED initiatives? The scope of the study covers the uMgungundlovu District which has 24 traditional councils that form the local House of Traditional Leaders. These traditional councils spread across the seven local municipalities that form part of the District. The data was collected using a qualitative research methodology which focused on interviews with government officials and traditional leaders, to get their perceptions on the role of traditional leadership in LED. Government legislation, policies and programmes have also been reviewed to check the official government position on the role of traditional leadership in LED. Engagement with government officials, traditional leaders and government publications reveals that traditional leadership is not playing a role in LED. There are no LED programmes directed to traditional communities that are led by traditional leaders. There is then a justifiable perception that traditional leaders are being deliberately excluded from government LED initiatives. A review of the government legislation, policies and programmes indicates that they do not bar the traditional leaders from playing a role in LED. The constitution of the Republic of South Africa provides a broad framework with regard to the role of traditional leaders by stating that the national government may provide for a role of traditional leadership in matters affecting their communities. The White Paper on Traditional Leadership and Governance recognizes traditional leadership as an institution located in rural areas that has a role to play in the fight against poverty. The Traditional Leadership Governance and Framework Act states that government may provide a role for traditional leaders in respect of economic development. This study provides a model through which traditional leadership could be involved in LED. The model provides for a role to be played by the provincial House of Traditional Leaders, as part of LED policy formulation; a role for the local House of Traditional Leaders as part of LED strategy development; and for a Traditional Council, as part of LED implementation monitoring. Traditional ward’s headmen are envisaged as assisting in coordination and a ward committee, in which traditional leadership is represented, is envisaged as contributing towards evaluation. The study finally recommends that the Provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism in collaboration with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs should establish a fund for a LED programme for traditional communities. The study further recommends that the conceptualization of LED programmes should be done in consultation with traditional leadership, and that traditional leadership should lead the implementation of the programme in their respective areas. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2012.

The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA) deals with the achievement of equity in the workplace. This involves the promotion of equal opportunities and fair treatment as well as the implementation of affirmative action measures. Telkom, like many other organizations in South Africa was, and is expected to comply with the Act. Compliance includes the development and promotion of female employees into leadership positions. Very few Telkom female employees are in top leadership positions. Even those that are in top positions have been recruited externally. South African history may play a role in the problem by regarding males as leaders at work and at home. The intention of the study was to explore leadership challenges facing female employees within Telkom and to be able to understand the perceptions and realities accompanying these challenges. Theories based on gender, traits, leadership, the hierarchy of needs and development were used as the theoretical framework in this study. The systems thinking approach was used to assist in looking towards a broader perspective. The population of the study was female employees at Telkom Head Office in Pretoria. From these, twelve served as a sample for the study. In gathering data, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Qualitative analysis was used to analyse data. Analysis and interpretation involved identifying themes, coding and interpretation. The findings in the study are: the strong belief that leadership is solely for males or females is incorrect; there are leadership challenges facing Telkom female employees. The study focused on leadership challenges facing Telkom female employees at middle management, junior management and operational level. These are OP to M4. It is for this reason that the researcher thinks that a future study that will focus on leadership challenges facing top and senior female leaders can be conducted for comparison, as well as another study to ascertain the influence of the working environment on these leaders. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.