The hypothesis of this research was that Personal and Professional Leadership Individual Facilitation (PPLIF) could help people with problems or who are in difficult situations to deal with the problems they are experiencing. The main aim and objective of this research was to describe the nature and importance of PPLIF and suggest the possible contribution, it could make as a new concept in the Personal and Professional Leadership (PPL) field. The qualitative research methodology used in the research includes general, hermeneutic and descriptive strategies. The research methods used include a word and concept analysis, a literature study, and problem defining and critical analysis in order to clarify concepts central to the research. Case studies were also made to clarify the application of PPLIF to the problems experienced by participants from diverse backgrounds. PPLIF can be defined as a holistic leadership guide that helps an individual to grow in order to achieve his full potential. PPLIF is a facilitative approach. It presents a radical new method for addressing an individual's problems by obtaining information, developing new perspectives and therefore resolving problems that are deep-rooted in a person. PPLIF aims at a positive outcome and works with the here and now to change the future for the better. PPLIF is a structured conversation that is more facilitative than prescriptive and involves the support and encouragement of the client. PPLIF does not “solve” but tries to help to review options or choices. It uses informal facilitation to keep the client focused on the objectives of the session to clarify misunderstandings and support the person to solve problems themselves by achieving their goals. PPLIF consist of four stages: connecting, understanding, deciding and executing. These stages are designed and developed to increase personal, xiii interpersonal and professional growth strategies, which could lead to progressively higher forms of responsible independence and effective decision making. PPLIF aims to align the client with his/her goals. The PPLIF practitioner systematically develops the skills and leadership abilities of the client and helps the client realise where he wants to go. A PPLIF practitioner surveys the problem or situation by asking questions. The PPLIF practitioner tries to equip clients with the tools, knowledge and opportunities they need to develop themselves and to become successful. PPLIF’s clients are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning outcomes. PPLIF focuses on personal development and mastery, and could guide and support a client in situations where, for example, they have to cope with change, set goals, develop action plans, progress in careers, enhance self-esteem and restore a holistic life balance. PPLIF could thus enable people to gain greater control over their lives, which in turn will create a sense of meaning. The research concludes by indicating that PPLIF can make a valuable contribution to supporting people with problems in their lives. / Prof. DPJ Smith

M.Comm. / The general purpose of this study is to determine whether a professional South Africa services organisation has in general adapted to the principles of the fifth discipline as identified by Peter Senge. An empirical study was conducted to determine to what extent the organisation is implementing each of the five learning organisation disciplines, namely: (i) personal mastery, (ii) mental models, (iii) shared vision, (iv) team learning and (v) system thinking. A non-probability sampling design method was chosen to determine the research group of which 242 individuals from the chosen organisation responded. The statistical procedures utilised in the data analyses included the analysis of frequencies, reliabilities, significance, correlations as well as a factor analysis. The research indicated that the chosen organisation has to a large extent adapted to the first three principles of a learning organisation. The fourth discipline was moderately to a large extent implemented while the fifth discipline was in a small to moderate extent implemented. The organisation can therefore not be classified as a learning organisation. This research group was selective and is not representative of other professional services organisations. It is therefore not possible to generalize the findings of this study. Recommendations made to the organisation included: ensuring continuous employee learning opportunities; ensuring a culture where learning is encouraged and embraced; performance review practices to ensure goal setting; as well as measuring of progress towards goals and implement knowledge management databases to ensure data, information and knowledge are stored for future reference. Management should furthermore encourage employees to participate in worthwhile dialogue and discussions to ensure optimal learning. Continuous feedback need to be established in order to ensure further team learning and to enhance system thinking.

Globalisation has taken root at all economic levels and has forced organisations to skill their employees in order for them to compete on unprecedented levels. Companies can no longer afford to see themselves in operation outside of the global village. Those that have not yet been absorbed into the global economy are moving faster than ever before towards the information age, focusing on people as the greatest competitive edge. Survival in a global economy is not only dependent on how quickly an organisation is able to respond to the changing economic environment but also on the ability of the business to learn. The concepts of a network organisation and a learning organisation have redefined how suppliers, employees and customers interact and how learning in organisations takes place. Traditional learning processes are no longer adequate for meeting the demand for faster just-intime learning. The benefits of anytime, anywhere access to learning and information offered by the Internet and the World Wide Web are fundamentally changing the way many companies operate and interact. In the field of mass education the Internet is changing instruction, research, and administration. The prospects of e-learning have far-reaching implications for business organisations by virtue of the enabling technologies that are removing distance and fostering collaborative on-demand learning. The business case for investing in e-learning is evident in the myriad new products, services, and providers that are entering the e-learning domain. Curriculum and content development through software learning environments, teleconferencing, and integrated learning delivery systems have a fundamental impact on the growth of the e-learning industry. Companies are not the only entities affected by the new economy. Governments across the world have become increasingly involved at a macro-economic level in fostering skills development as a means of competing in the global arena. South Africa has approximately 5 million economically active citizens, compared to the UK with 15 million and the USA with 25 ii million. In response to the skills shortage, South Africa has proposed a Human Resources Development (HRD) strategy, entrenched in an outcomes-based learning methodology and enacted through various pieces of legislation, including the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Act 61 of 1995. The national HRD strategy, by virtue of this legislative element, has been cascaded to organisational level to ensure the requisite skills development across all sectors of the economy. Organisational training and development strategies are influenced by the national outcomesbased- learning methodology. The development of skilled individuals through interventions such as workplace skills programme and learnerships must conform to SAQA requirements in terms of unit standards, assessment, quality assurance, the National Qualification Framework, and registration as a training provider. African Oxygen Limited (Afrox) is one such South African Company that must conform to such legislation in developing its employees. Afrox is in the business of gases, welding products and healthcare. The Company was established in 1927 and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (now referred to as JSE Securities Exchange) in 1964. It has a market capitalisation of over R5,5 billion and 343 million shares in issue. The group comprises of two focused listed companies: gases and welding, and healthcare. Afrox is South Africa’s 17th largest employer with over 16 000 employees in both lines of business. The company is part of the BOC group plc affording it the status of a global company. The BOC Group has operations in 50 countries on five continents and owns 55% of the shares of Afrox. Afrox can rely on its parent company to provide the latest in technology, research and development and other leading global business practices. A historical feature in Afrox (and the BOC Group) has been the regional basis on which the company was organised and structured, with some employees operating in fairly remotes sites. The geographical composition and proximity of the customers and markets, as well as transportation constraints has influenced the establishment of three regional centres from which to distribute product and service customers. The challenge in Afrox is to refine how learning systems that involve the use of technology take place. All employees in Afrox have a competency profile on the e-learning systems of the organisation. However, in recent focus group sessions perceptions of e-learning have been found to vary among e-learners. The study is therefore concerned with investigating the iii perceptions of e-learners in order to position the company to capitalise on the advantages that elearning offers the business world. A literature review of key aspects of e-learning systems will be presented relative to the learning systems within Afrox. An empirical exercise involving a telephonic survey is offered, based on a stratified sample of respondents in Afrox to determine their perceptions of key aspects of elearning. / Ms. H. Jacobs

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985.

Organisations are changing rapidly due to the multitude of environmental factors and pressures with which they are faced. In order for them to remain current and competitive they need to constantly learning and adapting to these changes. Having learning entrenched into the culture of the organisation would ensure that it is always ready for change and that it is also able to move toward the state of a learning organisation. The Standard Bank of South Africa’s Retail Bank branch network was perceived as not having an adequate learning culture, as displayed by an apparent lack of focus and responsibility being taken for learning by employees. A literature review was conducted to better understand a number of fundamental concepts such as learning, culture and organisational learning, as well as the nature and meaning of what a learning culture is. The literature review was also used to identify key elements within organisations, which could be considered vital for the creation of a successful learning culture. It was these elements against which the SBSA Retail Bank branch network was to be measured against, during the course of an empirical study, to determine the nature and extent of their existing learning culture. The empirical study made use of a quantitative descriptive research design, due to the large numbers of SBSA employees involved, who were widely dispersed across the country. Two electronic questionnaires were placed on the SBSA Intranet site for one week, to cater for both managerial and non-managerial responses, and a response rate of 95% was achieved for both groups. The research data was given to Statkon, (Rand Afrikaans University’s statistical consultation department) for analysis. The results of this survey indicated that the Branch network do in fact have an established learning culture, however this needed to be further developed and improved to ensure a greater alignment to the elements identified in the literature review. Incorporating the recommendations that are proposed will assist this development and improvement of the existing learning culture further, as will by taking note of the learning culture strategy and implementation suggestions put forward. Further investigation will still be required for some of the learning culture aspects, to better understand their nature and situation, as well as their possible impact. Suggestions are also identified for possible further research, some of which relate to researching the finer relationships and trends within the SBSA Retail Bank branch network, such as demographic factors and the development of a comprehensive learning culture strategy. All of this is necessary to ensure the creating and sustaining of a learning culture that will support and facilitate the development of a learning organisation. / Hannelize Jacobs

While as South Africans, we support the dream of an African Renaissance our developing country and economy has experienced a critical shortage of skills, which is clearly reflected in our matured gold mining industry. Against this background, I undertook a modernist qualitative study to (i) capture, describe, understand skills development on a marginal South African gold mine, and (ii) create a development framework for human development. Using symbolic interactionism as broad theoretical framework I designed a single case study, gathered material first hand through 22 unstructured in-depth interviews and other data sources, analysed the material by applying a blended strategy of grounded theory and analytical induction created with a black male skills development facilitator storyteller his life history. Exploring the fifteen sets of legislated transformational requirements, over forty practical opportunities emerged, including an indigenous mindset and cultural theme, UBUNTU. In addition to the range of recommendations, an UBUNTU driven skills development framework is suggested as catalyst for optimizing human resources development on our marginal gold mines. This broad framework could facilitate a learning culture where people could experience service delivery of legislation, implementation of existing policy, and effective skills development. The two-year study was generally written as a realist tale, which as I left the research scene represented a co-constructed story bordering an autoethnographical tale. / Prof. Willem Schurink

Three methods of training procedural tasks were studied. Forty-five high aptitude and fourth-five low aptitude Naval trainees from the Basic Electronics and Electricity School, Orlando, Florida, were given training with either a programmed instruction text with a pictorial-print information presentation format, or a standard narrative text. The effects of instructional method and aptitude on the performance of a procedural task after 1 1/2 hours of study and after on week's time were evaluated. It was shown that subjects who studied the programmed instruction text with the pictorial-print information presentation format made significantly (p<.0001) fewer performance errors, immediately after study and after one week, than did the subjects who studied the other methods. It was also shown that high aptitude subjects performed significantly (p<.0001) better than low aptitude subjects, regardless of training method. However, it was found that the low aptitude subjects who studied the programmed instruction text with the pictorial-print information presentation format performed significantly (p < 0.1) better than the low aptitude subjects who studied the other materials. These low aptitude subjects who studied the other materials. These low aptitude subjects also performed significantly (p < .01) better than the high aptitude subjects who studied the standard narrative text.

M.Ed. / It is of outmost importance that technical officers in Telkom are effective technological problem solvers. All prospective technical officers in Telkom are subjected to a selection process before starting with technical officer's training. The selecting process consists of two stages, namely: (1) the Senior Aptitude Test (SAT), and (2) the Introduction to the A-course. The problem statement of this study is: No scientific investigation is done on the effect of the Introduction to the A-course on the technological problem-solving style of prospective technical officers. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of the Introduction to A-course on the technological problem-solving style of prospective technical officers, when measured with the PSI-TECH inventory. The PSI-TECH inventory (technological problem-solving in-ventory) is used as a pre-test and a post-test to measure the technological problem-solving styles of 119 prospective technical officers in Telkom. The Introduction to the A-course (independent variable) serves as the treatment. In the process of measuring technological problem-solving style, differentiation occurs between effective and ineffective technological problem solvers. The PSI-TECH inventory performed very well in terms of reliability and validity in this study. Two conclusions were drawn from this case study, namely: (1) the Introduction to the A-course does not contribute towards the technological problem-solving styles of prospective technical officers and, (2) the PSI-TECH inventory can serve as a discriminator to determine who are effective and ineffective technological problem-solvers.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is taking on a developmental stance in Third-World Countries. Old Mutual, through its partnership with the South African govemment, set up a trust to assist govemment in skills development at local, provincial and national level and small enterprises. Old Mutual's retired senior employees were taken on as consultants in Project iLima to share their experience and expertise with government employees. Literature on mentoring is reviewed, covering the definitions of mentoring, the different phases of mentoring and the competencies required for each phase for the mentor and mentee. Finally the benefits of mentoring are addressed. The method used to uncover the business system involved primary research and a synthesis process. Interviews were held with two iLima consultants, after which questionnaires were used to gather qualitative feedback from the iLima consultants and their clients. The feedback was synthesized until business objectives and activities were identified. The study project sheds light on iLima's business system. This is done through a method of synthesis, which seeks to get to the underlying meaning of the responses. Eight key business objectives are identified. These can be achieved through managing twenty-one business activities. The business model provides a compass or map from which business solutions can be aligned to business opportunities and problems. The model is a one-page representation of the entire business system that Project iLima ought to put under strong management, in the writer's view. The iLima business model may be summed up as follows: "Through the attractiveness of the iLima purpose and culture, a strong client engagement model and successful project delivery, Project iLima can build a strong ccnsulting brand and adopt a viable business strategy beyond its four year funding limit." The contribution this thesis makes to the business-modeling domain is to use a noncollaborative method to generate a systemic business model. The thesis demonstrates a simple synthesis process to generate the business model provided there is access to a sufficiently broad-based, but not necessarily deep, knowledge repository. Recommendations were made as to how Project iLima's management can introduce the business model as a management tool. It is recommended that a further study be done to test the acceptability and adoption of the model. In addition to the presentation of the iLima business model, CSR trends locally were explored. It appears from the trends covered that targeted skills development is still a fairly new phenomenon in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Korporatiewe Sosiale Verantwoordelikheid is aan die ontwikkel in Derdewereld lande. Ou Mutual het 'n trust in vennootskap met die regering gestig om die regering te help met die ontwikkeling van vaardighede op 'n lokale, provinsiale en nasionale vlak. Afgetrede senior werknemers van Ou Mutual is as konsultante aan boord gebring by die iLima Trust om hul ondervinding en kennis met regeringsamptenare te deel. Hierdie studie bespreek die besigheidsmodel van iLima. Die model identifiseer agt sleutel besigheidsdoelstellings wat bereik moet word deur die bestuur van een-en-twintig besigheidsaktiwiteite. Dit verskaf ook 'n kompas of riglyn waardeur besigheidsoplossings in lyn gebring kan word met besigheids-geleenthede of bedreigings. Die model is 'n voorstelling op een bladsy, van die hele besigheidstelsel wat iLima Trust onder effektiewe bestuur moet plaas. Die iLima se besigheidsverhaal kan as volg opgesom word: "Deur die aantreklikheid van die iLima doel en kultuur, 'n sterk kliente-verhoudingsmodel en suksesvolle projeklewering, hoop iLima Trust om 'n sterk konsultasie handelsmerk te bou en om 'n lewensvatbare besigheidstrategie te implementeer wat sal voortbestaan na die einde van die vier jaar van befondsing". Die metode waardeur die besigheidstelsel ondersoek is, het primere navorsing en 'n proses van sintese behels. Onderhoude is gevoer met twee iLima konsultante, waarna vraelyste gebruik is om kwalitatiewe terugvoering van die iLima konsultante en hul kliente te verkry. Die terugvoering is deur 'n proses van sintese geneem om besigheidsdoelstellings en aktiwiteite te identifiseer. Die bydrae van hierdie tesis tot besigheidsmodelering is om op 'n nie-kollaboratiewe wyse 'n sistemiese besigheidsmodel te genereer. Die tesis demonstreer 'n eenvoudige sinteseproses om die besigheidsmodel te genereer, gegewe toegang tot 'n wye, maar nie noodwendig diep, versameling van inligting. Aanbevelings is gemaak waardeur iLima se bestuur die besigheidsmodel kan bekendstel as 'n bestuurstegniek. Daar word ook aanbeveel dat 'n verdere studie onderneem word om die aanvaarbaarheid en aanneming van die model te toets. Bykomend tot die bespreking van die iLima se besigheidsmodel, is 'n ondersoek en bespreking van Korporatiewe Sosiale Verantwoordelikheids-tendense op 'n nasionale en internasionale vlak. Geteikende vaardigheidsontwikkeling is in die verband nog steeds 'n redelik nuwe verskynsel in Suid Afrika.

The thesis deals with the education and development of employees in the company providing logistics services. The company wished to remain anonymous, and therefore for the purposes of the thesis entitled NOVACS. The work is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical section contains basic definitions of concepts, relationships and connections related to the issue of education and staff development. The methodology used in the theoretical part includes an analysis of available literature and supplementary documents. Practical content is an analysis of staff education and development in the department of informational technologies of the company NOVACS. The practical facts are compared with findings in the theoretical part. The system of education and staff development at NOVACS is examined and assessed from the perspective of senior manager of IT department, whose job performance in the field of education and staff training and development is analyzed too. The result of the thesis are identified strengths and weaknesses of the education and development of employees in NOVACS, and the related advices and recommendations to improve the system by the author of the thesis.