Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The modern public sector and system of administration in Ethiopia began at the time of the imperial period, in the early 1960s. But this sector and the tradition of administration itself, compared with other countries, is not yet strong enough to play its role as a catalyst in the development and growth of the country. This study explores the wide array of public sector administration and reform practices in other countries and compares them with Ethiopia. More specifically, it looks into Business Process Re-engineering, a recently adopted type of reform, which originated in the private sector. Commonly termed BPR, Business Process Re-Engineering is a reform mechanism to uproot age-old systems of thinking and functioning in any organization and replace them with new paradigms and more efficient and lean systems that will lead to visible results. The literature reveals that it has had mixed results of improvement, both in the private sector and in the public sector in many countries. This study sets out to analyse whether this is just another fad of reform being adopted in order to fulfil a completely different objective of political reform, or whether it is a real effort to bring about changes in the way the public sector conducts its business. From its wide application in the country, two varying sectors have been chosen for this analysis. One is a service-giving institution in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which has frequent interaction with citizens and, most importantly, investors and business organizations. The other sector is the policy, programming and legal framework designing institution in the Ministry of Works and Urban Development, an institution that depicts one of the core tasks of the public sector. As a result, the findings indicate mixed results in its application. In an institution where there are clearly defined tasks and deliverables, the BPR application seems to have generated visible results with potential continuity. On the other hand, in core public sector tasks, where government plays the regulatory and policy guiding roles, the initial outcomes of the re-engineering process do not look that promising. The newly designed and presented processes seem to be quite superficial, contrary to the principles of the BPR concept. In conclusion, re-engineering is not an across-the-board application when it comes to the public sector, as there are core functions of the government to which it does not apply. In addition, this leads the study to the conclusion that reforms are appropriate in the public sector, so long as they generate tangible results and changes.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This dissertation assumes an explorative and descriptive approach rather than a comparative approach. It aims at offering the concept of Leadership Ethos (LE) and its inherent Critical Success Factors (CSFs) as a paradigm in the quest to secure organisational efficiency and effectiveness in public management, with a particular focus on the public policy implementation process. It begins by presenting the background to the study, providing relevant information about the problem and the methodology followed. It then introduces the context of the problem of the study, sketching the context of civil service leadership before the advent of democracy in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and prior to independence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These two countries serve as the case study through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Ministry of Economy (ECONAT) respectively. This is followed by the presentation of the theoretical framework of the study, defined within the context of compliance-based and integrity-based approaches to leadership, resulting in discussions on leadership theories. This leads to an examination of public administration reforms (PARs) in the context of LE, illustrating how PARs have resulted in a change in organisational focus and culture of the public sector. The study examines relevant economic policies in the RSA and the DRC with a view to illustrate the effects of LE and its subsequent CSFs on performance in public management, in particular, with respect to the implementation of public policies. Data were then presented and analysed with the purpose of probing the understanding of LE and its inherent CSFs. It considers how LE enhances organisational efficiency, which in turn will enhance social transformation, by guaranteeing the successful implementation of economic policies. The study then presents a summary of the main findings in both case study research areas. In its conclusion, the study proposes recommendations towards a LE that contributes to more effective public policy implementation processes.

The primary goal of this study is firstly to analyse the Fraud Prevention Policy and Strategy, the Policy on Protection of Whistle-Blowers, and the Policy Document on Forensic Audit Process of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in order to establish the reason for the ongoing spate of fraudulent and corrupt activities among employees within the DTI Head Office, regardless of the relevant policies put in place. Secondly, another goal is also to establish other reasons that could be linked to the reoccurrence of fraudulent and corrupt activities within the DTI. During the research survey questionnaires were administered to employees of the DTI. Furthermore, online interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample within two divisions of the DTI. In addition, a literature study was conducted to acquire relevant information and perspectives from available national and international literature. Various objectives were fulfilled in this study as follows:  It was established whether the reporting of internal or external fraud and corruption and the relevant policies put in place contribute in any manner to the prevention of fraudulent and corrupt activities at the Department of Trade and Industry's national office.  It was determined if there is a policy document on measuring these policies after they have been implemented.  It was determined how the Department of Trade and Industry's national head office addresses fraud and corruption. Other possible reasons for the Department of Trade and Industry employees' lack of reporting fraud and corruption in their departments, other than the fear of being victimised, were identified.  The views and opinions on the internal reporting of fraud and corruption were determined.  The degree of awareness of the investigative procedures related to fraud and corruption among the Department of Trade and Industry management and their employees were determined.  It was established if employees have faith in the Department of Trade and Industry's investigative procedures to fraud and corruption.  The extent of knowledge on the importance of reporting fraudulent and corrupt activities in the DTI were established.  Feedback to help minimise fraud and corruption within the Department of Trade and Industry and improve future strategies was provided. This study contributes to the knowledge base with regard to fraud and corruption within the Department of Trade and Industry. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech (Policing)

The primary goal of this study is firstly to analyse the Fraud Prevention Policy and Strategy, the Policy on Protection of Whistle-Blowers, and the Policy Document on Forensic Audit Process of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in order to establish the reason for the ongoing spate of fraudulent and corrupt activities among employees within the DTI Head Office, regardless of the relevant policies put in place. Secondly, another goal is also to establish other reasons that could be linked to the reoccurrence of fraudulent and corrupt activities within the DTI. During the research survey questionnaires were administered to employees of the DTI. Furthermore, online interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample within two divisions of the DTI. In addition, a literature study was conducted to acquire relevant information and perspectives from available national and international literature. Various objectives were fulfilled in this study as follows:  It was established whether the reporting of internal or external fraud and corruption and the relevant policies put in place contribute in any manner to the prevention of fraudulent and corrupt activities at the Department of Trade and Industry's national office.  It was determined if there is a policy document on measuring these policies after they have been implemented.  It was determined how the Department of Trade and Industry's national head office addresses fraud and corruption. Other possible reasons for the Department of Trade and Industry employees' lack of reporting fraud and corruption in their departments, other than the fear of being victimised, were identified.  The views and opinions on the internal reporting of fraud and corruption were determined.  The degree of awareness of the investigative procedures related to fraud and corruption among the Department of Trade and Industry management and their employees were determined.  It was established if employees have faith in the Department of Trade and Industry's investigative procedures to fraud and corruption.  The extent of knowledge on the importance of reporting fraudulent and corrupt activities in the DTI were established.  Feedback to help minimise fraud and corruption within the Department of Trade and Industry and improve future strategies was provided. This study contributes to the knowledge base with regard to fraud and corruption within the Department of Trade and Industry. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech (Policing)

Hot cracking is a serious problem that encounters during welding of aluminium-magnesium alloys. In the present study, solidification and liquation type of hot cracks in weld metal and the heat-affected zones of 5086-H32 aluminium alloy were investigated by using Modified Varestraint Test (MVT) with TIG-AC and TIG-DC welding. With determining the size, type and number of cracks, a relation was established between welding line energy and strain on the hot crack formation. This information was used to determine the hot crack safe parameter ranges. The hot cracking tendency as a function of applied parameters were discussed in the frame of temperature fields around the moving heat source. Moreover, the characteristic hot crack locations on the 5086-H32 MVT specimens were generalized. The results of the study indicated that the increase in line energy and strain increased the hot cracking tendency of the specified aluminium alloy. In the low line energy range, the main hot cracking mechanism is the solidification cracking which could be overcome by the use of a suitable filler material. At high line energy range, due to the increased amount of interdendritic liquid, the amount of solidification cracking decreases by healing mechanism. However, because of the enlarged-temperature-field around the weld zone, fraction of HAZ cracking increases. The comparison between the hot cracking tendencies in low and high line energies indicates that the low line energy ranges with low augmented strains resulted in hot crack safer parameters.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Johns Hopkins University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 607-641).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 300-315).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--City University of New York, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-141).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 446-485).

Thesis (M.S.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by Nancy Hodges; submitted to the Dept. of Consumer Apparel and Retail Studies. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Apr. 13, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-139).