M.Inf. / This study was conducted within the context of human resources management. The empirical investigation involved nine provincial library and information services. A questionnaire was sent to nine directors with the purpose of investigating how provincial library services have changed to accommodate needs of diverse human resources. The aims of the research were to explore the perceptions managers have on differences brought by diverse cultural backgrounds, and how they have aligned management practices to suit the changed needs. It was found from the empirical research that most of the managers are aware of the changes that have to take place, but very little has been done to address changes in a constructive, organised manner. Recommendations are made on specific areas that need to be addressed, with a view to efficiently manage employees who come from different cultural backgrounds.

D.Phil. / In its exploration of workplace bullying, this doctoral study applies elements of two particular types of autoethnography, namely, personal narrative and analytical autoethnography. This unconventional qualitative approach focuses on my own experiences of being bullied as an employee at an organisation where, according to management, bullying was deemed to be an acceptable practice. In the study I describe typical bullying events, related interpersonal dynamics, and the clandestine tactics of bullies. I reveal how bullying affected me, and how I coped with the emotional turmoil and humiliation caused by it. An appreciation for both modernism and postmodernism influenced me to combine elements of these paradigms in the study. In the spirit of postmodernism I share my lived experiences of bullying in an attempt to appeal to the reader‟s empathy and hopefully his or her co-construction, to enhance emotional understanding, and to create a willingness amongst concerned parties to unite in facilitating social change. I also explain the emotional demands and the therapeutic effects on the writer when producing an autoethnography. Regarding the modernist elements, I apply theoretical concepts and research findings on bullying found in the literature to contextualise and make sense of my experiences. In addition, I engage in various levels of analysis and thematically analyse the data contained in the autoethnography, as well as material offered by six people who either witnessed or experienced bullying. This autoethnographic work led to interesting realisations. For example, I found that targets tend to become aware of only the negative characteristics in bullies and disregard their positive qualities. They often fantasise about escaping, though they do not actively take steps to acquire alternative employment, because they have been indoctrinated to believe that they are worthless. I once again realise that all human beings are capable of good deeds, as well as evil ones, and that circumstances often determine who will revert to bullying, and who will become targets. Particularly striking are the study‟s findings that remnants of the ancient practice of sacrificing one person to ensure the survival of the group may be present in modern organisations. Based on the insights gained from this study, I recommend that workplace bullying awareness campaigns should be increased, and, in particular that – (i) employers and unions should be informed about the covert nature of bullying and the consequences for all involved; and (ii) organisations should establish structures and procedures for reporting bullying and counselling targets and bullies.

ABSTRACT Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the most effective exercise program for the management of occupational lower back pain. Background: Occupational lower back pain accounts for 25% of workdays lost. The annual occurrence of occupational related lower back pain among blue collar workers in South Africa has shown to be between 55,7% and 63,9%. Methodology: Primary studies were searched with the use of the Entrez-cross-database search tool. Methodologies were assessed and critiqued. Data which included exercise detail, outcome measures of lower back pain intensity, painful episodes, sick leave and physical measures with statistical p-values was then extracted. Results: Nine primary studies, which included 11 exercise groups, complied to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These studies proved to be of high methodology quality with quality scoring 70% on the quality assessment checklist. Exercise regimes, which included stretching, strengthening, endurance exercises and the combination use of stretching, strengthening and endurance exercises were identified and grouped according to the corresponding outcome measures. No meta-analysis could be done as no similar exercises with similar outcome measures could be found. Discussion: The limitations in the nine selected studies methodological quality were the lack of blinding of the assessors and subjects, and in six of the nine studies the lack of adequate participation rate among the intervention subjects. The validation process is acknowledged as a weakness within this study. Stretching, dynamic strengthening and endurance exercises were not statistically significant. Isometric exercise was statistically significant for lower back pain relief when the control group (p<0,0001) was compared to the experimental group. Isometric exercise however had no significant effect on abdominal strength at 9 months follow up period. Functionalexercises were statistically significant when the exercise group was compared to the control group with lower back pain intensity relief (p<0,018), painful episodes (p<0,018), sick leave (p< 0,0044). Functional exercises also had a long-term statistically significant effect on back muscle strength. A meta analysis could not be done due to insufficient similar studies. Conclusion: Although the methodology quality of the nine primary studies showed to be of high quality the validation process was a weakness within this study. Functional strengthening exercises were the most effective type of exercise for the management of occupational lower back pain among blue-collar workers. Future similar randomized control trials on exercise as an intervention to occupational lower back pain are needed to conduct a meta analysis. A meta analysis will be able to provide more evidence to establish which exercise regime is most effective for the management of occupational lower back pain.

A thesis submitted to the faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, 2017 / Despite slow pace of transformation in post-apartheid South Africa’s corporate sector, the department of labour recently showcased some Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed corporations for executing effective diversity strategies. The strategies and discourses of diversity in these appraised corporations had not been studied scholarly, particularly from a critical perspective. This inquiry adopted a multiple case study design and the framework of critical diversity literacy to study the nature, texture, and the depth of strategies and discourses of diversity in three of these appraised corporations in the financial, retail, and private healthcare sectors. Research entailed analysis of 35 published documents to examine conceptual framing of diversity; indepth semi-structured interviews with 6 transformation managers to explore prevailing organisational diversity culture and the designed strategies to transform such dynamics; and focus groups with 32 employees from dominant and subordinated groups to gauge the efficacy of executed strategies in promoting equality and social justice. The findings suggest that appraised corporations mainly complied with prescripts of employment equity law and executed managerial instrumentalism oriented diversity initiatives. Diversity conceptual frameworks regarded inequality, oppression and dominance as historical legacies, rather than present day phenomena that are tied to coloniality of power and being and reproduced through neoliberalism. Diversity initiatives were minimalistic and impelled identity siloism, race and gender blindness, medicalization and hyper-individualisation of disability, nurturing of white fragility, and reproduction of gender binaries. Blacks, women, queer persons and persons with disabilities were barely visible in positions of power, strategic influence and high income. These subjugated groups constantly performed whiteness, normative masculinity, ablebodiedness and heteronormativity in order to fit in. This performance is systematised under the guise of merit without recognising its dehumanising effects. The findings suggest the inadequacy of employment equity legislation driven reform to produce real equality as this law is a product of ILO’s neoliberal “Decent Work” rhetoric. The study contributes to the closure of lacunae concerning paucity of agentic critical diversity studies that examine effective organisational diversity discourses. The study accentuates the importance of situating effective diversity discourses being evaluated in the broader context of contemporary global system of power and related hegemonic ideologies that re-produce inequality. By so doing scholars will be able to analyse the studied diversity discourses holistically and make informed decisions on their efficacy to yield social justice for the marginalised across various intersections of power, inequality and identity differences. / XL2018

Thesis advisor: Ruth McRoy / Creating gender equality in situations of perceived organization exclusion-inclusion (OEI-the degree to which individuals feel a part of critical organizational processes such as access to information and influencing decision making processes) is a critical social and organizational justice concern (Mor Barak, 2011). Given the lack of understanding about gender differences in OEI, this study investigated this issue, as well as, the determinants of OEI, and the sources of gender differences in OEI across multiple worksites in different countries. Job status, work- and family-role investments, perception of work-family culture and gender-role beliefs were hypothesized as the main determinants and sources of gender differences in OEI. Data collected by the Sloan Center on Aging and Work for the Generations of Talent Study (GOT) in 2010-2011 were used to investigate the gender differences in OEI. Bivariate statistics, multivariate fixed effects models, and Blinder-Oaxaca regression decomposition analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Findings suggest that women's sense of OEI is significantly lower than that of men. This difference, although smaller, remains statistically significant after accounting for job status, work- and family-role investments, perception of work-family culture, gender-role beliefs, worksite variances, and control variables (age, race/ethnicity, optimism). Of these factors, job status and work-role investment differences between men and women are the greatest sources of the gender gap in OEI. No support was found for the influence of gender differences in family-role investments, gender-role beliefs, and perception of work-family culture on the gender OEI gap. Finally, women's more optimistic outlook on life, compared to men, attenuated the gender OEI gap. Guided by these findings, potential policy and/or practice interventions should be aimed at advancing greater gender equity in job status and supporting women's work-role investments. However, interventions aimed at changing women's work attitudes should not promote conformity to gendered organizational norms. Future research should aim to better understand the relationship between contextual factors and gender differences in OEI, and to examine the role of positive psychological characteristics (e.g. optimism) in OEI and the consequences of gender differences in OEI. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Thesis advisor: Cherie McGill / We often hear about the value of a diverse society, workplace, classrooms, and so on, but what exactly do diversity and inclusion involve, and why do we value them? In this thesis, I will explore philosophical concepts of diversity as it relates to race and gender in the workplace. First, what, exactly, do these terms mean? What is the difference between ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion’, and how are we to understand these concepts as they apply to institutions like the workplace? Secondly, why should we want diverse or inclusive institutions? Mission statements, for most organizations indicate a commitment to diversity. But, what’s valuable about diversity? Put differently, what is problematic about a lack of diversity in our institutions? / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Philosophy.

This project investigated the views of 49 university undergraduate students regarding the phenomenon of bullying in three distinct settings: their memories of compulsory education (primary and secondary), their personal workplace experience (or workplace study placement), and their life at one post-1992 university. The research design used 'active interviews' comprised of phases of interviewing individually and in groups, in which progressively deeper layers of interrogation sought to question their initial constructions of bullying. The study addressed two main research questions: how did students construct the concept of bullying in different contexts or settings, and how did the students explain differences in these constructions. The findings indicated that participants tended to view school-based bullying as being precipitated by within-person traits and personalities, but workplace bullying was thought to be driven by organisational structure or institutional ethos. Bullying at university was more difficult for them to discuss as most claimed little or no experience, directly or indirectly, of bullying while in higher education. As the study progressed, the participants expressed their understanding of bullying firstly through stereotyped and clichéd terms, but became much more critical and analytical when they were presented again with some of the contradictions and anomalies inherent in their earlier descriptions and explanations. Another important contribution to knowledge is the finding that participants viewed the higher education context as having several features that were protective against bullying behaviour, reducing their experience of bullying in HE to almost nil. These features: porosity, value of the learner to the institution, and voluntarism, were shown to hold important implications for understanding bullying in organisations or institutions; they develop and extend existing models found in adjacent fields of study.

by Wong Kam Chau. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Bibliography: leaves 114-121. / Introduction: --- p.1 / Outline of the thesis: --- p.9 / Part I: / List of notations: --- p.12 / Chapter Chapter I: --- Basic model --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter II： --- Self-interested team --- p.21 / Chapter Chapter III --- Altruistic team --- p.33 / Chapter Chapter IV: --- Sub-contracting and supervisory system --- p.45 / Chapter Chapter V: --- Team with leader --- p.55 / Chapter Chapter VI: --- Conclusion of part I --- p.59 / Appendix: --- p.61 / Part II: / Chapter Chapter VII --- The existence theorem of optimal information system of one agent --- p.82 / Chapter Chapter VIII: --- Extension to a team --- p.104 / Reference: --- p.114

The crabs-in-a-barrel (CIB) mentality—a specialized form of incivility that occurs among members of the same ingroup (i.e., intragroup incivility)—is an understudied yet destructive and consequential intragroup phenomenon. As previous studies on the CIB mentality among the Black community have primarily focused on targets of the deviant behavior, this study trailblazed by serving as the first to employ a mixed methods design to investigate the environmental, perceptual, and affective antecedents of instigated Black-on-Black (B-o-B) incivility in the workplace. More specifically, the present study adopted a social-interactionist approach to investigate whether various aspects of work climate (i.e., institutional discrimination, interpersonal prejudice, and competitive work climate); affective states (i.e., emotional taxation); and workgroup composition factors (i.e., perceived collective and competitive minority threats) were positively associated with instigated B-o-B incivility in the workplace. To that end, a cross-sectional design was employed with a U.S. based sample of 523 full-time Black professionals across various organizations and industries. The proposed hypotheses were tested using logistic regression analyses. Overall, the results showed that collective minority threat and experienced incivility were the most consistently significant predictors of instigated B-o-B incivility in the proposed model—with experienced incivility showing the greatest effect on the outcome variable between the two. Moreover, participants reported that there were 10 primary reasons and/or justifications for acting uncivilly towards another Black employee at their job within the past year. This study provides further support and validation to the notion that the CIB phenomenon represents another variant of the workplace incivility construct. Additionally, this study broadens the workplace incivility discussion and research stream by offering unique insight into the perspectives of racial minority instigators of uncivil behavior at work. The results hold considerable implications for practitioners and organizations seeking to better understand, and address, the issue of intragroup incivility in the workplace—particularly as it relates to Black professionals. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

Organisations exist. An organisation is not just a group of people, a workplace, a structure or system; it is a combination of these and many other aspects involved in its operation. In recent years, the nature and needs of organisations have changed dramatically, challenging them to rethinking how they organise themselves and accomplish their goals in a sustainable manner. This is an important, but not easy, task. The research presented in this thesis aims to contribute to organisational development theory and practice, in terms of how to articulate collective organisational values, and upon which to establish a sustainable workplace framework to govern and improve organisational performance. The research was undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 focused on researching organisational values, which is considered as a critical step towards the development of sustainable workplaces. A values and behaviours study was conducted in the UK offices of the sponsoring company. Schwartz's values survey instrument and values theory are, for the first time, applied extensively in an organisational context, as opposed to the comparative intercultural research conducted at the national/cultural level. The study used a structured, mixed methods approach which Involved virtually all employees, whose values profiles were collected and analysed through an organisation-wide survey. Follow-up workshops and post workshop activities with a company Values Group faCilitated the sharing of common values; they then helped staff representatives develop their own organisational values statements, independent of senior management, before a final stage of negotiation. Meanwhile, a set of core-values-related workplace behaviours and relevant mechanisms were identified and communicated across the whole organisation. The core organisational values are fundamental in governing the workplace behaviours, and the mechanisms represented desirable work practices. This values-based approach facilitated the identification of the grassroots demand for continuous improvement of workplace environmental, social and economic performances, hence formed a foundation for the development of sustainable workplaces. The findings from the first phase revealed the core values of the organisation, highlighted the importance of applying the principles of sustainable development to the workplace context, which prompted further research into the nature of a sustainable workplace (phase 2). Although there is an increasing interest in sustainable workplace development, as an emerging and fast developing area, the body of research is still fragmented and unbalanced. In order to establish a holistic and balanced approach to the development of sustainable workplaces, available guidance documents were systematically categorised, compared and synthesised within a clear framework, to facilitate easy understanding and practice. This revealed that, at present, emphasis tends to be placed on environmental impacts arising from workplace activities, and hence the promotion of environmental awareness among the workforce. Whilst this may be appropriate in itself, it is of concern that other key aspects of sustainable development (Le. social and economic aspects) have been overlooked to a significant extent. A sustainable workplace framework was therefore established which provides a balanced approach for governing all aspects of the workplace development. The data obtained from phase 1 not only highlighted the need for such a balanced approach, but also inform the identification and prioritisation of the indicators within the framework, which offer useful measures for organisational behaviours. Meanwhile, the framework can be used as a tool to facilitate the integration of values into workplace development. The research concludes that to develop an organisation in a sustainable manner, a set of collective organisational values must be articulated, which will serve as guiding principles of work place behaviours and practices, and therefore dictate workplace performance. The shaping of collective organisational values should be based on a clear understanding and communication of employees' personal values, and that Schwartz's circumplex model of human values and associated survey instrument are helpful neutral framing devices to initiate and structure such a debate. As all the elements of sustainability are rooted in values, the identification of the collective organisational values could be considered as a critical step towards the development of sustainable workplaces. Furthermore, the research highlighted that the sustainable workplace is a multidimensional concept which requires holistic thinking. The conceptual framework developed in this research joins together the key aspects/criteria of sustainable workplaces, with the aim to balance the workplace environmental, social and economic performances. By linking the organisational values and related key business issues to workplace sustainable development criteria, the development towards sustainable workplaces could consequently enhance organisational values, therefore improving organisational perfonnance as well as employees' quality of life at work.