No description available.

This research is about the implementation of performance management system called Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) in schools. Educators have always complained that IQMS is a waste of time and energy as well as too cumbersome. This research is intended to find about the feelings of educators about the system. how important the system is and if there is any need for the improvement thereof. The approach to the study has been one of quantitative method. A sample of some 226 participant was done and questionnaires were distributed. This sample had to be representative of all level of educators from the lowest level to the principal teachers. The result of the study are such that educators are positive about IQMS especially those with some status and higher qualifications but those in the lower level are not as positive. Another· interesting observation is that almost all participants feel that the system is not objective enough. Half the number of respondents felt that their principal do not know how to do appraisal. There needs to be an in-depth research on a much broader scale to find out why senior teacher are more positive about appraisal than their junior counter parts. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2010

In today’s Labor market we can see a trend that more and more individuals change jobs moreoften, an unexplained subject in the field of skills supply. The trend places greater demandson organizations to attract, develop and retain their staff. This paper aims to investigate howthis trend can affect organizations work with skills supply and to find out which factorsorganizations are focusing on to keep their staff.This qualitative study that includes eight small and mediumsized organizations from differentindustries shows that some organizations adapt to the trend while others do not. Somemanagers say that the trend is a alternation, something that you are always supposed to beprepared for. Others say that you loose focus on the actual work if you lay your focus on thetrend and how you risk losing your employees. Another part believes that the trend issignificant and that it is important to take into account. The trend has been shown to influenceseveral industries, and many managers choose to focus more on retaining and developing theirstaff today than before. The study also shows that other factors than wages, such asdevelopment and well-being, tend to be more important in today's labor market. / På dagens arbetsmarknad kan vi se en trend att allt fler individer byter jobb oftare, ettoutforskat ämne inom kompetensförsörjning. Trenden ställer högre krav på organisationer attattrahera, utveckla och behålla sin personal. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka hur dennatrend kan påverka organisationers arbete med kompetensförsörjning samt att reda på vilkafaktorer organisationer fokuserar på för att behålla sin personal.Denna kvalitativa studie som omfattar åtta små- och medelstora företag från olika branschervisar att vissa organisationer anpassar sig efter trenden medan andra inte gör det. Vissaverksamhetschefer menar att trenden är en förändring, något som man alltid vara förbereddpå. Andra menar att arbetet förlorar fokus om de tänker på trenden och hur de riskerar attförlora sina anställda. En annan del anser att trenden är betydelsefull och att det är viktigt attman tar hänsyn till den i sin kompetensförsörjning. Trenden har visat sig influera flerabranscher och många väljer att lägga mer fokus på att behålla och utveckla sin personal idagän tidigare. Studien visar även på att andra faktorer än lön, som utveckling och trivsel,tenderar ha större betydelse på dagens arbetsmarknad.

Competence based self-esteem (CBSE) refers to a disposition where an individual strives for self-worth by achievements to compensate a low basic self-esteem (BSE). This kind of self-attitude is linked to burnout. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of an 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention on self-ratings of CBSE, BSE, burnout and mindfulness. Four MBSR groups were enrolled and a total sample comprised 29 participants. Results of repeated measures ANOVAs showed a significant decrease in CBSE and burnout as well as significant increases in BSE and mindfulness. It was further found that pre test - post test change in mindfulness was significantly associated with reduced CBSE. These results indicate the effectiveness of MBSR to reduce burnout and suggest the program’s applicability in treating self-esteem related problems.

No description available.

The overall aim of the study is to investigate tutors’ understanding of a competence-based curriculum (CBC) and how they train the student-teachers to implement CBC in actual classroom situations in ordinary level (O-level) secondary schools in Tanzania. The study employed a qualitative research approach informed by the interpretive paradigm. It involved a total of 12 methodology tutors. The tutors were purposively and conveniently selected from four teachers’ colleges in Tanzania that offer the Diploma in Secondary Education. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document review methods. Deductive and inductive approaches as well as the hermeneutic phenomenology tradition informed data analysis and interpretations, respectively. The findings, in brief, reveal that in certain respects tutors understand CBC in relatively different ways and thus give it different meanings. Two main understandings with regard to CBC’s meaning and intentions are identified: CBC as an application-oriented curriculum and CBC as an activity-based curriculum. In the former, CBC is understood as a curriculum emphasising the building of learners’ ability to become practical, creative, and applying the skills they receive to solving real problems in daily life and become functional in society. In the latter, CBC is understood as nothing but a curriculum emphasising learning through activities in the classroom. The key difference between the two categories of understanding is that, in the latter category, tutors are less sensitive to applying what is learned beyond classroom and subject contexts. As for reasons for the CBC introduction in Tanzania, five categories of understanding are identified, such as education being too theoretical, coping with global trends, the desire for a creative and independent generation, external influences, and poor academic performance. Interestingly, all tutors held an understanding that the teaching approaches relevant for CBC are learner-centred approaches. Moreover, the findings reveal that tutors’ instructional practices contradicted their understanding of CBC as a curriculum that basically emphasises invisible pedagogic practices. The tutors’ instructional practices could be described as more teacher-centred, theoretical, and maintaining instructions of an authoritarian, rather than a learner-centred character, as the new curricula seem to emphasise. Lecture-dominated instructions characterised by strong framing and classification are the norm. The findings of tutors’ understandings and their instructional practices can be attributed to the various contextual factors coined as administrative, pedagogical, and physical and ecological factors. The results show that contextual cues are possibly more powerful factors to explain tutors’ instructional practices and they may thus need to be accorded due attention. The tutors proposed some conditions to establish a long-term framework for tutor learning to support educational change. The tutors’ ideas are theorized in a framework constituting a combination of such conditions as reflection, community, conceptual inputs, action, and an institution dealing with education change. / Abstract (svenska) Avhandlingens övergripande syfte är att undersöka hur lärarutbildare uppfattar en kompetensbaserad läroplan (competence-based curriculum, CBC) och hur de utbildar sina lärarkandidater att realisera den i klassrumssituationer i grundskolan i Tanzania. I avhandlingen användes en kvalitativ forskningsansats grundad i ett tolkande paradigm.  Den omfattar totalt 12 metodiklärare. Urvalet av lärarutbildare gjordes medvetet från fyra lärarhögskolor i Tanzania som erbjuder ämneslärarexamen. Data genererades genom semistrukturerade intervjuer, klassrumsobservationer och metoder för dokumentgranskning. Deduktiva och induktiva tillvägagångssätt tillsammans med traditionell hermeneutisk fenomenologi har legat till grund för analys och tolkning.   Resultatet visar att lärarutbildarna i vissa avseenden skiljer sig åt i sina uppfattningar om CBC och att deras tolkning av dess innebörd skiftar. Två huvudsakliga uppfattningar om meningen och avsikterna med CBC har identifierats: dels CBC som tillämpningsinriktad läroplan, dels CBC som tillämpningsbaserad läroplan.  I den förra uppfattas CBC som en läroplan som betonar uppbyggnaden av studenternas förmåga att arbeta praktiskt och kreativt och att tillämpa de färdigheter de erhållit för att lösa verkliga problem i vardagen och fungera i samhället. Enligt den senare uppfattningen utgör CBC enbart en läroplan som betonar inlärning genom aktiviteter inom klassrummets ram. Den väsentliga skillnaden mellan de två kategorierna är att lärarutbildarna i den senare är mindre mottagliga för att tillämpa vad de lärt sig utanför klassrummets och ämnets kontexter. Vad beträffar motiven för införandet av CBC i Tanzania har fem skäl identifierats, nämligen att: utbildningen är för teoretisk, att den ska anknyta till globala trender, att den strävar efter att forma en kreativ och självständig generation, att den har påverkats utifrån, och att de akademiska prestationerna är för svaga. Intressant nog delade alla lärarutbildare uppfattningen att de undervisningsstrategier som är relevanta för CBC är de som är elevcentrerade. Dessutom visar resultaten att lärarutbildarnas undervisningspraktik motsäger deras uppfattning om CBC som en läroplan som främst betonar en osynlig pedagogisk praktik. Lärarutbildarnas undervisningspraktik kan beskrivas som mer lärarcentrerad och teoretisk med bibehållande av en auktoritativ hållning snarare än den mer elevcentrerade som de nya läroplanerna framhåller.   Normen i lärarutbildarnas praktik utgörs av en undervisning som domineras av föreläsningar inom fastställda ramar och klassifikationer. Slutsatsen beträffande lärarutbildarnas uppfattningar och undervisningspraktik kan tillskrivas olika kontextuella faktorer såsom administrativa, pedagogiska samt fysiska och ekologiska. Kontextuella aspekter förklarar eventuellt en större del av hur lärarutbildarnas undervisningspraktik ser ut, och dessa aspekter bör ges vederbörlig uppmärksamhet. Lärarutbildarna föreslog själva vissa förutsättningar för att upprätta långsiktiga ramar till stöd för deras eget lärande om att stödja förändringar i utbildningen.  Uppfattningarna hos lärarutbildarna har teoretiserats inom en ram som utgör en kombination av förutsättningar som reflektion, gemenskap, begreppstillskott, handlande, samt en organisation som kan handskas med förändringar i utbildningen.

Au cours des dernières années, le nombre de catastrophes naturelles a subi une augmentation effrayante partout dans le monde. Même si le nombre de décès déclarés a diminué sur les dernières années, le nombre de personnes affectées ne cesse pas d'augmenter, ayant un grand impact dans la façon dont les opérations d'aide humanitaire sont développées. L'aide humanitaire comprend une myriade d'acteurs parmi lesquels on trouve les donateurs, les agences d'aide, les organisations non-gouvernementales (ONG), les gouvernements et les prestataires de service logistique. Dans ce contexte, la logistique représente 80% des activités, et est impliquée dans les trois phases du cycle de la gestion des catastrophes. Dans l'industrie, logistique est considéré comme une source d'avantage concurrentiel, expliquant les différences de performance entre les entreprises. Pour le contexte humanitaire, la logistique a la capacité d'assurer le succès des opérations, de contribuer à la stratégie d'une organisation et permet aux bénéficiaires et aux donateurs de distinguer une ONG d'une autre. Cela est possible grâce au développement des compétences et capacités logistiques organisationnelles. L'objectif de cette thèse est donc d'identifier ces compétences et capacités logistiques organisationnelles qui peuvent assurer le succès des opérations humanitaires. À travers d'une étude de cas unique effectuée au sein de MSF Logistique, la centrale d'achat et d'approvisionnement de Médecins Sans Frontières, cette thèse fournit la preuve du rôle stratégique que la logistique joue dans les activités de l'organisation et propose un modèle de compétences et capacités logistiques pour le contexte humanitaire. / Over the past years, the number of natural disasters reported has suffered a frightening increase all around the world. Even though the number of people reported killed has decreased on the last years, the number of people reported affected has augmented having a great impact in the relief operations undertaken. Humanitarian relief comprises a myriad of actors which include donors, aid agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), governments and logistics providers. In this context, logistics accounts for 80% of the relief effort and is involved in all three of the disaster management phases. In industry, logistics is considered to be a source of competitive advantage, explaining the differences in performance among firms. Moving this to the humanitarian context, logistics has the capacity to ensure the success of the operations, to contribute to an organization's strategy, and allows beneficiaries and donors to distinguish an organization from another. This is only possible through the development of organizational logistics competences. The purpose of this thesis is thus to identify those organizational logistics competences and capabilities that can ensure the success of humanitarian relief operations. Through a single-embedded case study performed with MSF Logistique, the international logistics platform for Médecins Sans Frontières France, this thesis provides evidence of the strategic role that logistics plays in the organization's activities, and proposes a Logistics Capability and Competence Framework for Humanitarian Relief.

Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar a visão dos trabalhadores sobre o sistema de gestão por competências e sua percepção sobre o ganho social agregado aos trabalhadores por meio da implementação desse sistema. O estudo originou-se da inquietação relativa à crescente adoção de sistemas de gestão por competências pelas organizações no Brasil, acenada como uma nova tecnologia de gestão e/ou ainda, como uma ferramenta inovadora de gestão de pessoas. O pressuposto foi o de que os sistemas de gestão por competências adotados deveriam agregar valor econômico para as organizações e valor social para os indivíduos. Tal ganho social foi definido como um conjunto de aspectos que favorece o desenvolvimento do trabalhador como ser humano, em sua dimensão mais ampliada: como pessoa, profissional, cidadão, política e socialmente determinado. Considera-se relevante, não apenas a perspectiva do desenvolvimento profissional do trabalhador, mas sua inserção na sociedade e os impactos que, por meio dele, o grupo social pode auferir. Para alcançar os objetivos foi realizado um estudo de caso, de caráter qualitativo, em organização multinacional que adota a gestão por competências verticalmente, desde os níveis executivos até a base. Foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os trabalhadores que vivenciam o processo de adoção do sistema de gestão por competências, além de profissionais responsáveis pelas ações de Recursos Humanos e um profissional de consultoria em gestão por competências. O ganho social foi aferido por meio de categorias, subcategorias e seus respectivos componentes de análise construídos a partir de levantamento e análise da literatura. São três as categorias propostas e suas respectivas subcategorias de ganho social ? funcional (carreira, desenvolvimento, remuneração, conhecimento e capacidade cognitiva, compreensão conceptual da organização); comportamental (participação, autodesenvolvimento, comunicação e feedback, realização profissional); pessoal (identidade e significado do trabalho; equilíbrio entre vida pessoal e profissional, interesse social e valores). A revisão da literatura contemplou a gestão por competências, as transformações no mundo do trabalho, mudanças nas relações entre empregadores e trabalhadores e o posicionamento contemporâneo da área de Recursos Humanos, bem como processos de certificação de competências profissionais. Os resultados deste estudo indicam que a gestão por competências resulta em implicações contraditórias para o trabalhador. Por um lado, aponta para um caminho de valorização do trabalho e do trabalhador que passa a ser demandado com novas e mais complexas competências para atender às crescentes exigências do mercado; por outro, pode servir como estratégia para o aumento das demandas sobre o trabalhador, em termos de maior pressão sobre resultados, prazos e aumento das qualificações, crescente insegurança e instabilidade no emprego e ascendente individualização com a redução da força de representação coletiva e transferência de responsabilidade para o indivíduo. Na percepção do trabalhador, três subcategorias de ganho social na adoção do sistema de gestão por competências, destacaram-se como valor adquirido: autodesenvolvimento, compreensão conceptual da organização e interesses sociais e valores. As demais se apresentam, na realidade organizacional e na vivência dos trabalhadores, com um alcance ainda tímido e impactadas negativamente pelas contingências do mercado e da organização. / This study aims to analyze some workers? view on competence-based management as well as their perception of the social gain aggregated to workers when such a system is used. This present study has its origin in concerns with the increasing use of competence-based management by Brazilian organizations, as it has been considered a new management technology and/or an innovative tool in human resources management. The main assumption was that the use of competence-based management should aggregate both economic value to the organizations and social value to the individuals involved. Social gain was defined as a set of features that foster workers? development as human beings in their utmost dimension: as persons and professionals, and also as politically and professionally influenced citizens. The relevance of the workers? development as professionals was taken into account as well as their insertion into society and the impacts they can cause in their social group. In order to achieve the goals proposed, a case study was carried out through a qualitative research in a company located in the state of Minas Gerais. This company uses the competence-based management in a vertical way, i.e., from the executive level to the basis. Semi-structured interviews were done with workers that had undergone the process of competence-based management, Human Resources professionals involved in the actions taken, and a competence-based management consultant. The social gain was measured through categories and subcategories, and their respective analysis components were construed from a review of the literature available. The categories and their subcategories of social gain are three ? functional (career, development, payment, knowledge and cognitive capacity, conceptual understanding of the company); behavioral (participation, self-development, communication and feedback, professional accomplishment); personal (identity and job meaning; balance between personal and professional life, social interest and values). The literature review considered the competence-based management, transformations in the labor world, changes in the relationship between employers and employees, the contemporary position of Human Resources as well as certification processes of professional competences. The study outcomes indicate that the competence-based management causes contradictory implications on the workers. On one hand, it points to some valorization of the work and the workers, who are more required by the new and more complex competence in order to meet the growing demands of the market. On the other hand, this system can be used as a strategy to increase the demands on workers as for pressures on results, deadlines and qualifications, more insecurity and instability on the job, and a tendency to individualize and thus reduce the strength of representation of workers as groups. In the workers? perception, three categories of social gain in the use of competence-based management were pointed out as an aggregated value: self-development, conceptual understanding of the organization and social values. The remaining categories have a small significance in the organizations? reality and in the workers? experience, and have had negative impacts from the market and from the organization itself.

No description available.

How can we understand the innovativeness of firms or organizations in general, and how should we assess it in terms of nontechnological innovation? My paper deals with these two questions. The “ability” of companies to adapt to new circumstances, to create new products, processes and new knowledge, has been conceptualized in many approaches. Some of them simply define a list of “(critical) success factors” or “(key) performance indica-tors”, as tools for ranking and evaluation, without any theoretical reference. Others, like the resource-based or capability-based approach(es), work with theoretical references, but are still very weak in operationalizing of what they call “capability”. My paper gives a critical description of this situation and offers a new proposal to classify and to measure the “inclination” of organizations to innovate in all dimensions. This proposal roots in pragmatistic thinking as represented in the theory of reflexive modernization and in the pragmatist version of organizational learning theory. Empirically, it has been applied merely in case studies yet. A survey project is in preparation.