Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Technologiae: Public Management in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / Service delivery is one of the key aspects of public and private organisations. It is therefore important for organisations to have a Performance Management System in place to monitor and evaluate the efficiency of its employees. A good Performance Management System sets a standard that determines whether an employee’s performance is of merit or has shortcomings. Furthermore it will aid the employee in being proficient in his\her work environment. This research project examined the effectiveness of the Performance Management System used within the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in the Western Cape, South Africa. Problems encountered by employees were identified by the researcher and recommendations were forwarded to the employees on how to improve the Department’s Performance Management System. The researcher undertook a quantitative research approach by administering a closed-ended questionnaire which was analysed by a registered statistician. The study found that most of the participants understood the Performance Management System used by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. Furthermore the majority of participants understood their role within the Department and how they could meet the Department’s strategic objectives as set out in the Department’s annual performance plans..à h.

M.A. / This study comments on the debate surrounding the impact of measurement on the effectiveness and accountability of the social work profession. The basic objective of this study is to determine whether the utilization of the " single subject design " and " standardized measurement scales " have an impact on the effectiveness of social work service delivery. For this research study the experimental design, and specifically the comparison Pretest-Posttest design, is utilized. The experimental group was exposed to the " single subject design " and " standardized measurement scales " as intervention techniques. The control group was not exposed to measurement as an intervention technique. The results of this study indicates a statistically significant difference in growth towards target, between the experimental group and the control group. Clients in the experimental group achieved a higher level of positive growth compared with clients in the control group. Service delivery within the experimental group was therefore more effective than service delivery in the corresponding control group. This study concludes that the utilization of measurement has a positive influence on the effectiveness of social work service delivery. According to the study, social workers that apply measurement as part of their intervention techniques are more effective than social workers who do not apply measurement. It is therefore recommended that measurement should be part of all social work service rendering in order to enhance effectiveness.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for Doctor of Technology Degree in Human Resources Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, 2017. / The proposed contribution of this empirical study was the formulation of an exploratory human capital development model aligned to performance management for administrative employees at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). The human capital development model comprised of elements that encapsulated the link between performance improvement aided with human capital development strategies and the positive outcomes that stems from improved performance. In the context of the study, there is no standardised human capital development model for administrative employee at DUT. Hence, the study seeks to develop a human capital development model for administrative employees. The objective of the study was to develop a model that integrates the procedures of managing institutional performance with the development of its employees. The research design adopted a quantitative paradigm, using a self- administered questionnaire that was mailed to a sample 254 administrative employees. A significant response rate of 68.1% was obtained as 173 respondents returned the questionnaire. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24 for Windows. There were some significant findings that emerged from this study. It was indicated that 99.4% of respondents were not subjected to a performance evaluation, while 74% of the respondents showed that human capital development improved performance. A further 87.7% of the respondents reported that human capital development influence promotional opportunities, while 74.5% of the respondents responded to human capital development being linked to succession planning. A further 61.85% of the respondents also indicated that management commitment was imperative for the effective implementation of performance management systems. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and the Barlett’s Test of Sphercity indicated the factorability of the measuring instrument. Correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relation between the variables that formulated the human capital development model. Eight of the ten analysis showed that there was a relationship between the variables. The Pearsons Chi-Square test showed a significant correlation for the hypothesis that tested the variables of the study. One of the recommendations suggested is for top management to buy-in to performance management so that their leadership can encourage supervisors to commit to the process. Effective feedback, training, development, mentoring and coaching are recommended to improve the performance of administrative employee. Recommendations suggested the development of a succession planning and career advancement policy for the institution. The study concluded with suggestions for future research. / D

The purpose of this study was to look at the social facilitation effect and analyze it as it pertains to employee electronic performance monitoring .

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 xii, 117 leaves / In 2005, Masonite (Africa) Ltd embarked on a level 1 learnership program, in line with the National Skills Development Strategy. Within a few months, it became apparent that there was a need to investigate the job satisfaction of the level 1 learners (learners) in the work component of their learnership program. To investigate their job satisfaction, a study was conducted which was guided by three objectives. These were: firstly to determine the general job satisfaction of the learners; secondly, to assess the satisfaction of the learners according to twenty dimensions of the job, as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and thirdly, to investigate the relationship between the job satisfaction of the learners and their demographic variables gender, age, work experience and level of education. / M

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 xii, 117 leaves / In 2005, Masonite (Africa) Ltd embarked on a level 1 learnership program, in line with the National Skills Development Strategy. Within a few months, it became apparent that there was a need to investigate the job satisfaction of the level 1 learners (learners) in the work component of their learnership program. To investigate their job satisfaction, a study was conducted which was guided by three objectives. These were: firstly to determine the general job satisfaction of the learners; secondly, to assess the satisfaction of the learners according to twenty dimensions of the job, as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and thirdly, to investigate the relationship between the job satisfaction of the learners and their demographic variables gender, age, work experience and level of education.

Volvo Group Trucks Operations tillverkar motorer, växellådor och lastbilar till koncernens varumärken Volvo, Renault, Mack och UD-Trucks. Powertrain Production är produktionsenheten inom AB Volvo som producerar dieselmotorer och motorkomponenter. I Skövde består Volvos produktionsprocesser av gjutning, bearbetning och montering. Gjuteriet använder metaller och legeringar för att producera färdiga komponenter och delar. Tillverkningsmaterialet förvaras och hämtas från fabrikens materialgård. Materialgårdens tillväxt har skett okontrollerat genom åren. Material har placerats efter möjlighet och skapat ett komplext flöde. Volvo uppfattar området vara riskfyllt på grund av det trånga utrymmet personalen delar med inkommande och utgående trafik. Logistiken upplevs därför rörig, ineffektiv och oorganiserad. Syftet var att utföra en nulägesanalys av materialgården utifrån kriterierna layout, personal och fordon, inköp och materialhantering, flöde, arbetsmätning samt riskanalys. Därefter konstruerades ett nytt förslag baserad på nulägesanalysen. Metodiken har baserats på intervjuer och observationer. Teori har studerats för att praktiskt genomföra en layoututformning, analys av logistik och flöde samt arbetsmätning och riskanalys. Revit Architecture har använts för att visa dagens layout och ett koncept av en ny materialgård. Dagbok användes som hjälpmedel efter varje besök. Resultatet av nulägesanalysen visar att aktuell layout skiljer sig avsevärt från tidigare upplägg. Logistiken och materialhantering visar en hög omsättning och ett komplext materialflöde. Arbetsmätningen indikerade på onödiga transportsträckor och långa väntetider. Riskanalysen stärkte tidigare misstankar om osäker arbetsplats.   I förslaget på ny layout presenteras ett upplägg baserat på ”Struktur, Effektivitet och Säkerhet” med en avsevärd minskning av både materialhantering och trafik inne på materialgården. Materialgården är ett exempel på en del av verksamheten som inte har utvecklats i takt med Volvos expansion. Det visar på en oprioriterad verksamhet där planering och struktur har varit eftersatt. För materialgården rekommenderas att Volvo ser över sin materialverksamhet och strukturerar om från grunden. Genom tydligare planering erhålls en effektivare produktion och därigenom bättre lönsamhet. Det kräver att företaget ligger steget före i utvecklingen. Åtgärder bör implementeras om gjuteriet ska uppvisa konkurrensfördelar i Volvos verksamhet. / Volvo Group Trucks Operations manufactures engines, transmissions and trucks to the Groups brands Volvo, Renault, Mack and UD Trucks. Powertrain Production is the production unit within AB Volvo producing diesel engines and engine components. Volvo´s production in Skövde consists of casting, machining and assembly. The foundry uses metals and alloys to produce finished components and parts. The material is stored and retrieved from the factory´s material yard. The material yards growth has occurred uncontrollably through time. Materials have been placed according to feasibility and has created a complex flow. Volvo perceives the area to be unsafe because of the confined space the staff shares with incoming and outgoing traffic. Therefore the logistics are turbid, inefficient and disorganized. The purpose was to perform a current state analysis of the material yard based on the criteria´s layout, employees and vehicles, purchasing and material handling, material flow, work measurement and risk analysis. Subsequently a new proposal was created based on the current state analysis. The methodology was based on interviews and observations. Theory has been studied for the practical implementation of a layout design, analysis of logistics and flow as well as work measurements and a risk analysis have been performed. Revit Architecture has been used to demonstrate the current layout and a concept of a new material yard. Diary was a used tool after each visit. The result of the current state analysis shows that the current layout differs substantially from previous layout. Logistics and material handling shows a high turnover and a complex material flow. Work measurements indicate in unnecessary distances and long waits. The risk analysis strengthened earlier suspicions of an unsafe workplace. The new proposal presents a layout based on "Structure, Efficiency and Security" with a significant reduction in both material handling and traffics inside the material yard. The material yard is an example of a part in the company that has not evolved in line with Volvo´s expansion. This shows an unprioritized part of the business where planning and structure has been neglected. For the material yard it is recommended that Volvo reviews their material activities and tackle their operations from the basis. Through planning, a more efficient production is obtained and thereby improved profitability. It requires that the company is at the forefront of development. Actions should be implemented if the foundry seeks a competitive advantage in Volvo´s operations.

A la fin du XIXe siècle, dans le contexte de la mise en place de la société salariale en Europe, émerge un projet positiviste d’étude du travail humain que l’on n’a pas hésité à appeler « ergologie ». Ce projet, qui traversera différentes sciences humaines, cherchait à définir et à encadrer normativement le travail humain en partant de l’étude des potentialités et des limites psycho-physiologiques de l’activité corporelle (fatigue, aptitudes psychomotrices, monotonie, attention..). En ce sens, l’étude psycho-physiologique s’inscrivait dans un projet plus large d’« optimisation » de l’activité humaine (hygiénisme, paix sociale, eugénisme...), en ce sens la connaissance du corps au travail apparaissait comme une partie de la rationalisation de son « usage ». C’est dans cette perspective que certains historiens ont interprété le programme ergologique comme une tentative de « chosification » du corps dont le but serait de le transformer en instrument au service du profit capitaliste et/ou en support du contrôle disciplinaire de l’Etat (Rabinbach, 1992). Or, en observant le développement épistémologique et politique de ce projet « ergologique », on peut s’apercevoir que les tentatives de mesurer et de gérer le corps entendu comme instrument de la production montrent en continuation la nécessité de prendre en compte le choix volontaire par laquelle l’homme définit le but pour de son activité corporelle. En effet, si le travail humain ne peut être défini que comme une activité instrumentale pour atteindre un but « voulu », l’homme serait donc celui qui fait usage de son propre corps pour réaliser un « projet ». Ainsi, mesurer et gouverner les hommes par le travail du corps, tel que cherche à le faire « l’ergologie », n’équivaut pas simplement à réduire celui-ci à un objet malléable, mais également à penser l’activité corporelle instrumentale comme le moment où l’homme définit les objectif de son action en fonctions des différentes contraintes qui déterminent son action vitale. / At the end of the nineteenth century, in the context of the implementation of the “wage society” in Europe, appears a positivist project for studying human labor, which does not hesitate to define "ergology." This project, that cross different human sciences, sought to define and guide the normatively human work on the basis of the study of the psycho-physiological potentiality and limits of body’s activity (fatigue, attitudes, monotony, attention ...). In this sense, the study of psycho-physiological motions is part of a project about the "optimization" of human activities (hygienism, social peace, eugenics ...). From this perspective, some historians have interpreted the “ergology” as a form of "mechanization" of the body that would transform it into an instrument at the service of the capitalist profit and/or into a support of the disciplinary control of the State (Rabinbach, 1992) . However, observing the epistemological and political development of the "ergological project ", we can see that to measure and to management the man as an instrument of the production it need to take into account the voluntary action by which man defines the goal that his bodily activity. If human labor can be defined as an activity instrumental to achieve a goal "desired", so the man appears as the “master” of his body for the accomplishment of a “project”. So, measure and govern men through the work of the body does not just mean reducing the latter to object malleable, but also think the work as the action through the organic activity can be the support for a “human” realization.

Recent applications in three-dimensional (3-D) presentation of information has emphasized the use of field-sequential stereoscopic CRT displays. The usefulness of stereopsis to present depth information has been studied in terms of performance measures such as search time, search accuracy, and subjective image quality ratings. Few, if any, studies have been conducted to investigate the influence of stereopsis upon cognitive workload. This dissertation is a description of two experiments using 3-D images presented on a Tektronix SGS 620 field-sequential stereoscopic CRT. Comparisons were made between presentations incorporating monocular cues only (2 1/2-D) and scenes containing monocular cues plus retinal disparity (3-D). In the first experiment, 11 participants were required to make inter-elements distance judgments under conditions of varying perspective angle, scene complexity, and depth cues while performing an interval production task. Accuracy was found to be significantly enhanced by the addition of retinal disparity as well as by decreases in the complexity of the presented scene. Cognitive workload increased significantly with increases in scene complexity, but no significant difference in workload was found between the stereoscopic and non-stereoscopic presentation formats. The second experiment investigated the effects of stereopsis on target identification under varying conditions of background complexity, target coding schemes, number of elements, signal-to-noise ratio, and depth cues. Accuracy measures, response time, and workload ratings were degraded by increases in scene background complexity, signal:noise ratio, and number of elements. Target coding methods which incorporated color were found to be significantly better than those in which targets were identified by shape only. No significant difference was found between 2 1/2-D and 3-D presentation for any of the dependent measures. The results indicate that retinal disparity it most appropriate for tasks, such as determination of object location in depth, in which the additional information provided by the depth cue is directly related to the task. Retinal disparity provides the most benefit for depth judgment tasks involving highly complex scenes. In cases of very simple tasks or simple scenes, the addition of retinal disparity is contra-indicated. / Ph. D.

The focus of this investigation was an analysis of the work demands being placed on South African automotive industry workers as there is a recognised problem with regard to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Preliminary work was conducted to highlight the dominant risks and areas which elicited higher numbers of MSDs within the chosen automotive plant. An area of concern was highlighted through medical record analysis and the use of risk assessment tools, thereby prioritising the need for ergonomic intervention. In particular, the effects of varying restricted and overhead work heights on the biomechanical, physiological and psychophysical responses of an individual were investigated. Twenty-eight subjects were required to complete sixteen conditions. The conditions consisted of the adoption of restricted and upright overhead static postures, with half requiring the holding of four kilograms of weight in the hands and the remaining eight conditions having no weight. Testing was carried out using an electromyography unit, ergospirometer and a perceptual Body Discomfort Map and Scale. This involved a habituation and testing session. The results of the testing revealed the biomechanical and physiological responses were dependant on the change in height. Body discomfort was also shown to be variable over the changing height conditions. This indicates that there is a significant effect of height on an individual’s responses during overhead work. The extreme restricted (-200mm and -100mm) and upright (+300mm and +400mm) overhead conditions within this study were limiting, as they elicited the highest muscle activation, physiological responses and body discomfort ratings. Positions that are preferable to adopt, which were identified from the results in this study, indicate conditions closer to head height (0mm and +100mm) were favourable. The results therefore illustrate how awkward working postures during work are likely to elicit higher demands from an individual, which could lead to an increased risk for the development of a musculoskeletal disorder. The added factor of weight elicited significant results over all variables, excluding a respiratory The focus of this investigation was an analysis of the work demands being placed on South African automotive industry workers as there is a recognised problem with regard to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Preliminary work was conducted to highlight the dominant risks and areas which elicited higher numbers of MSDs within the chosen automotive plant. An area of concern was highlighted through medical record analysis and the use of risk assessment tools, thereby prioritising the need for ergonomic intervention. In particular, the effects of varying restricted and overhead work heights on the biomechanical, physiological and psychophysical responses of an individual were investigated. Twenty-eight subjects were required to complete sixteen conditions. The conditions consisted of the adoption of restricted and upright overhead static postures, with half requiring the holding of four kilograms of weight in the hands and the remaining eight conditions having no weight. Testing was carried out using an electromyography unit, ergospirometer and a perceptual Body Discomfort Map and Scale. This involved a habituation and testing session. The results of the testing revealed the biomechanical and physiological responses were dependant on the change in height. Body discomfort was also shown to be variable over the changing height conditions. This indicates that there is a significant effect of height on an individual’s responses during overhead work. The extreme restricted (-200mm and -100mm) and upright (+300mm and +400mm) overhead conditions within this study were limiting, as they elicited the highest muscle activation, physiological responses and body discomfort ratings. Positions that are preferable to adopt, which were identified from the results in this study, indicate conditions closer to head height (0mm and +100mm) were favourable. The results therefore illustrate how awkward working postures during work are likely to elicit higher demands from an individual, which could lead to an increased risk for the development of a musculoskeletal disorder. The added factor of weight elicited significant results over all variables, excluding a respiratory individual.