The aim of the dissertation was to investigate the demographical differences on Work-SoC, and the relationship between work-related sense of coherence (Work-SoC) and work engagement in a motor retail organisation in Gauteng. The Work-related sense of coherence (Work-SoC) scale, Utrecht work engagement (UWES-9) scale and a biographical questionnaire were applied in the data collection from 326 employees in a motor retail organisation in Gauteng. The results indicated a strong relationship between Work-SoC and work engagement and that Work-SoC does predict work engagement. Except for tenure and gender, all demographical variables showed statistically significant mean differences on Work-SoC. The study has added valuable knowledge to the existing literature as it was the first to investigate mean differences on Work-SoC for different demographical groups and also investigate the relationship between Work-SoC and work engagement in the South African environment. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Orientador: Ricardo Luiz Coltro Antunes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T10:32:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pinto_GeraldoAugusto_D.pdf: 3740087 bytes, checksum: 69a9eaea78524b43a0163c2b3f00a928 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: A década de 90 trouxe grandes mudanças nas relações entre o Estado, as empresas e os trabalhadores no Brasil. Na indústria automotiva, a abertura comercial permitiu às montadoras aplicar estratégias globais no suprimento de autopeças, configurando uma cadeia de fornecimento hierarquizada, onde, nos primeiros níveis, estão as fabricantes de sistemas completos dos veículos (sistemistas), as quais também reproduzem estas relações com suas fornecedoras. Acompanhando este processo, mudanças na gestão do trabalho têm reformulado as estruturas de cargos nas plantas, exigindo novas competências aos assalariados e alterando o relacionamento que mantêm entre si nas esferas gerenciais e operacionais, fatos que se refletiram na própria organização do movimento sindical. Focando tais transformações no setor de autopeças da região de Campinas, os objetivos desta tese são compreender: (1) os principais aspectos das relações estabelecidas entre plantas filiais de grupos transnacionais com suas matrizes, bem como com suas clientes e fornecedoras, nos processos de hierarquização e redução da cadeia automotiva, cujo deslanchar no Brasil ocorreu em meio à desnacionalização deste setor; (2) como estes aspectos se relacionam com a implantação da gestão flexível do trabalho nestas plantas filiais, inclusive no tocante à conjugação de métodos dos sistemas taylorista/fordista e toyotista; (3) como tais mudanças têm afetado os trabalhadores, seja quanto aos perfis profissionais e educacionais exigidos e o montante de empregos ofertados, seja quanto às formas de mobilização e negociação sindicais construídas neste contexto. Para a consecução destes objetivos, revisamos a literatura sobre a reestruturação produtiva e sua difusão no Brasil após os anos 90, e realizamos um estudo de caso empírico numa empresa transnacional, situada na região de Campinas e fornecedora tanto de grandes sistemistas de autopeças quanto de montadoras. O Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de Campinas também foi pesquisado, mediante entrevistas junto à sua direção e presidência, nas quais se abordaram as ações desta entidade em face da reestruturação produtiva nas empresas e das políticas neoliberais, suas concepções acerca das conseqüências destes processos sobre os trabalhadores, bem como o relacionamento que o sindicato vem tendo com a CUT. Os resultados mostram que a desnacionalização do setor de autopeças brasileiro teve profunda relação com as estratégias globais dos grupos transnacionais desta indústria, refletindo um embate entre corporações dos EUA e da Europa frente ao avanço da concorrência nipônica, liderada pela Toyota, embate no qual têm contado com a atuação dos Estados e das classes trabalhadoras. A implantação da gestão flexível nas plantas filiais de países periféricos, por sua vez, não apenas é parte desta luta mundial pela acumulação de capital, como a reproduz no próprio relacionamento cotidiano entre os assalariados, das gerências ao chão de fábrica, onde a hibridez do taylorismo/fordismo com o toyotismo tem configurado perfis de qualificação que fragmentam social, econômica e politicamente os trabalhadores. Por fim, a terceirização e o desemprego que emergiram destes processos têm imposto obstáculos à ação sindical, levando tensões e rupturas entre instâncias locais, estaduais e federais nos setores mais combativos, como ilustra o rompimento do Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de Campinas com a CUT / Abstract: The Nineties brought significant changes to the relations among the state, the companies and the working class in Brazil. In the automotive industry, the commercial opening allowed car assembly companies to utilize global strategies on its parts supply, forming a hierarchized supply chain where, in the first levels are the manufacturers of complete vehicle systems (systemists), which also reproduce these relations with their suppliers. Following this process, changes in work management have remodeled the position structures in plants, demanding new competences to working class and altering the relationship that is maintained among them on the operational and managerial aspects, facts that reflected in the own union movement organization. Focusing on such transformations in the automotive components sector in the region of Campinas, this study is aimed at: (1) the main aspects of the relations established among branch plants belonging to transnational groups towards their headquarters, clients and suppliers, in the hierarquization and reduction of automotive chain whose boom occurred during this sector¿s denationalization; (2) how these aspects are related to the implantation of flexible work management in these branch plants, including when it comes to the taylorist/fordist and toyotist systems; (3) how these changes have affected working class, whether to their required personal and educational skills, whether to their union mobilization and negotiations build in this context. In order to achieve these goals, we went over the literature about productive restructuration and its spread across Brazil after the nineties, and we carried out an empirical study case in a transnational company, located in the region of Campinas and both supplier of big automotive components and assembly companies. The Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de Campinas was also surveyed, through interviews along with its management running, in which actions of this institution were approached in the face of companies productive restructuration and neo-liberal policies, their conceptions about the consequences of these processes to the working class, as well as the good relationship the union has had with CUT. Results have shown that the automotive components sector denationalization had a deep relation with the global strategies of transnational groups of this industry, reflecting a struggle between American¿s and European¿s corporations against the Nipponese competition, led by Toyota, struggle which has counted on States and the working class. The flexible management implantation in the branch plants of peripheral countries, on the other hand, is not only part of this world struggle for capital accumulation, as well as the reproduction on the daily relations among in shop floor managers, where the taylorism/fordism hybridity along with toyotism systems have formed profiles of qualification that fragment socially, economically and politically the working class. Lastly, outsourcing and unemployment which rose from these processes have build big roadblocks to union actions, conducting strains and ruptures among local, state and federal institutions in the most combative sectors, as it has shown the disruption between Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de Campinas and CUT / Doutorado / Sociologia / Doutor em Sociologia

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.

This investigation was undertaken to explore an incentive system to maximize performance in an automotive manufacturing environment. The unit under study was a motor manufacturing company in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The approach to this investigation was to start with a quantitative analysis to identify if there was a relationship between the incentive reward and employee satisfaction. This was to be done by correlation analysis between the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and the performance related incentive reward (PBR) of the abovementioned company. The data was then used to develop an interview guide, which was used in a focus group study, to evaluate the current incentive system as a motivator of performance. The analysis of the qualitative interview data was to be done through the use of thematic analysis. Using a percentage based estimation per production line, 150 workers were selected from the 2100 shop floor workers. The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) questionnaires were used to measure the satisfaction index of the workers. The performance data was gathered from the company's incentive statistics over the past year, 2004. All other related data was obtained though thematic analysis by the researcher, who was interested to get the insiders' view. From the emic perspective, more data could be obtained by the researcher by probing with follow-up questions. After both the quantitative and qualitative procedures were completed, the results of the study were found to be much the same as those described in the reviewed literature. The quantitative analysis did not prove a significant correlation between incentive reward and satisfaction; and employees were most satisfied with work, supervision and co-workers and less satisfied with pay and promotion. The qualitative procedure (thematic analysis) highlighted that the current reward system was not motivating performance, but rather demoralised employees, as it was used as a punitive measure to encourage work attendance. The current system also confirmed the error made by many organisations, where the organization purely concentrates on motivating employees with extrinsic rewards and little thought is given to intrinsic recognition.