Magister Curationis - MCur / Occupational health nursing (OHN) as a specialist area has become increasingly popular in South Africa for registered nurses. With developing legislation in South Africa regarding occupational health in the workplace, there is a growing need for occupational health nursing practitioners to be adequately prepared to practice according to the competencies set out by the South African Nursing Council on completion of their study programme. No significant research studies have been done on the perceived readiness of occupational health nursing practitioners to practice occupational health nursing in South Africa. The aim of the study was to explore the perceived readiness of the 2015 graduating OHN students to practice OHN. The study used a qualitative research approach, using an exploratory descriptive design. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who were enrolled in the occupational health nursing programme during their final year of study at a specific university in South Africa. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews from participants and were analysed using thematic content analysis. Five major themes were identified: Perceived confidence to practice OHN; Readiness for the unique field of OHN; Readiness for professional and self development; Readiness for a leadership role in occupational health management; and Perceived readiness for a research role in OHN and future implications.The researcher concluded, on the basis of the findings, that occupational health nurse practitioners are generally ready to practice as competent and independent OHN professionals.

The purpose of this study was to explore perceived importance of cultural values and affective components in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and their relationships. This study identified which of the nine affective components of global competence and four higher order cultural values were perceived to be important in the MENA region. It also examined the correlations between cultural values and affective components and whether significant differences existed based on gender, age, and country of citizenship. This research involved the combination of Wallenberg-Lerner’s Affective Component Questionnaire (ACQ) and Schwartz’s Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ). In conjunction with a demographic information form, the Affective Component Value Questionnaire (ACVQ) was developed. A panel of experts assisted in establishing the validity of the instrument. All nine affective components were perceived to be important in this global era. Self-assurance, Tolerance for Ambiguity, and Connectedness were perceived to be the most important affective components of global competence, while the cultural value of Self-transcendence was recognized as the most important. Several positive correlations existed between three cultural values and eight affective components. The cultural value of Self-transcendence had the highest number of positive correlations with the seven affective components. Self-enhancement did not reveal any correlations. Analysis of variance was conducted to determine the differences in perceptions based on age, gender, and country of citizenship. No significant differences were present in the perceptions of the affective components and the cultural values based on gender. Perceptions by age were similar for the affective components, but differed for the cultural values. MENA citizens between the ages of 18-25 years more highly regarded the cultural value of Openness to Change and the 46 years and older age group more highly regarded Conservation than the other groups. Perceptions by country of citizenship differed for the affective components, but were similar for the cultural values. Lebanon more highly regarded the affective components, of Adaptability and Empathy. Morocco more highly regarded Connectedness while Tunisia more highly regarded Curiosity. The findings of this research could have a global benefit of raising the awareness and the integration of the MENA’s perceptions of global competencies into the areas of education, research, policy initiatives, and the private sector.

Project management is undeniably the fastest growing discipline as organizations move into the euphoria of projectification of their operations. Though projects have been a part of human life since time immemorial, there is a sudden realisation of the effectiveness of the methods used in project management. The enrolment of students studying for project management in tertiary institutions has shown tremendous increase. Yet the project execution process is mired by high failure rates and absence of clarity on the necessary skills required for effective project execution. The authority-gap in project management presents political and operational conflicts, and new innovative ways of authority-gap reduction need to be identified and taught in training programs. Simultaneously there is a realisation by both academics and practitioners that there is a difference between managers and leaders. Extensive studies on leadership have not allowed for a one-stop-leadership-style to be used in leadership of any form, let alone project leadership. In fact there is no standard definition of leadership as this has been heavily contextualized and thereby disallowing the creation of a universal definition. No cast-in-stone leadership styles are known and thereby leaving the research on leadership to concentrate on critical competencies required for effective leadership of projects. This study seeks to establish the core competencies needed by the project leaders and other practitioners to reduce the failure rate and maximise the benefits currently sought after by organisations. Studies have shown that the matrix structure within which the embedded projects work is a contributing factor to the failure of projects. Because projects are executed by people, it would be the proper utilisation of people’s talents and competencies that are expected to yield favourable results. Thus, whilst the matrix structure creates the authority-gap that presents a problem for effective project execution, management-by-projects still remains the best way known to add economic value to performance and productivity. The study therefore focuses on those characteristics of project leaders that will most likely make the difference in the way people perform in the workplace. The research findings emphasised the importance of empowerment of project managers and the development of their interpersonal skills of the project leader with special emphasis on extroversion, genuineness of senior management, and the responsiveness of the project leaders as important requirements for effective authority- gap reduction. These critical competencies will therefore facilitate the project execution process and enhance the empowered project leader’s ability to reduce the high project failure rate and high cost overruns. These competencies apply specifically to the human element as it relates to the role of the project leader and the interaction with the team members, this new knowledge needs to be introduced into training programs and project practitioners.

In his 2006 State of the Nation Address, President Thabo Mbeki emphasised the need for the development of managerial competencies and other skills to empower the country’s municipalities to meet the needs of the community (Governance and Administration, 2005). In order to meet the needs of the local community, municipalities need to render effective and efficient services. The lack of relevant managerial competencies adversly influences the municipality’s capacity to deliver the required services. In addition, the uneven distribution of capabilities and capacity across different sections within a municipality also poses a great risk to municipal performance and equitable service provision over the medium term. Notwithstanding progress made to date, service delivery backlogs still exist in key areas that affect the daily lives of the community. Where these backlogs coincide with poor municipal capacity, the result is service failure and a government that is incapable of meeting its goals (Governance and Administration, 2005). The objective of the study is to assess the contemporary management competencies that are required to assist municipal management in addressing the challenges of a dynamic, uncertain and complex Local Government environment. A questionnaire was used to gather the perceptions of 26 senior managers. This sample constituted a response rate of 65 per cent of people employed by municipalities within the Eden District Municipality’s service area. The questionnaires were distributed to the senior managers by means of an identified contact person within each municipality. The empirical findings such as the mean, median, standard deviation and pvalues were calculated by means of MS Excel. The main findings of this research indicated that: • Presently the most developed managerial competencies were selfmanagement, strategic action, planning and administration and communication. • The least developed current competency was global awareness. • The managerial competencies regarded as the most important for the next ten years were planning, administration and strategic action. • Global awareness was regarded as the least important competency for the next ten years. This finding points to the need for developing the global awareness competency to ensure that Municipal Managers are more sensitive to cultural cues and are able to adapt quickly in novel situations.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze a problem in a particular company and to suggest a solution based upon a work analysis and a competency model. The theoretical part deals with various approaches to defining competency, its elements and types. Following part of this thesis presents a work analysis, the stages of making a competency model and defines methods of competency measuring. The practical part applies the work analysis and the competency approach to the specific problem of personal management in the particular company. It is focused mainly on creation of the job description and a competency model for specific manager. The last part of this thesis also suggests a method for evaluating of worker on the basis of competency measuring.

This study took place at one of the intercultural universities (IUs) of Mexico that serve primarily indigenous students. The IUs are pioneers in higher education despite their numerous challenges (Bertely, 1998; Dietz, 2008; Pineda & Landorf, 2010; Schmelkes, 2009). To overcome educational inequalities among their students (Ahuja, Berumen, Casillas, Crispín, Delgado et al., 2004; Schmelkes, 2009), the IUs have embraced performance-based assessment (PBA; Casillas & Santini, 2006). PBA allows a shared model of power and control related to learning and evaluation (Anderson, 1998). While conducting a review on PBA strategies of the IUs, the researcher did not find a PBA instrument with valid and reliable estimates. The purpose of this study was to develop a process to create a PBA instrument, an analytic general rubric, with acceptable validity and reliability estimates to assess students’ attainment of competencies in one of the IU’s majors, Intercultural Development Management. The Human Capabilities Approach (HCA) was the theoretical framework and a sequential mixed method (Creswell, 2003; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009) was the research design. IU participants created a rubric during two focus groups, and seven Spanish-speaking professors in Mexico and the US piloted using students’ research projects. The evidence that demonstrates the attainment of competencies at the IU is a complex set of actual, potential and/or desired performances or achievements, also conceptualized as “functional capabilities” (FCs; Walker, 2008), that can be used to develop a rubric. Results indicate that the rubric’s validity and reliability estimates reached acceptable estimates of 80% agreement, surpassing minimum requirements (Newman, Newman, & Newman, 2011). Implications for practice involve the use of PBA within a formative assessment framework, and dynamic inclusion of constituencies. Recommendations for further research include introducing this study’s instrument-development process to other IUs, conducting parallel mixed design studies exploring the intersection between HCA and assessment, and conducting a case study exploring assessment in intercultural settings. Education articulated through the HCA empowers students (Unterhalter & Brighouse, 2007; Walker, 2008). This study aimed to contribute to the quality of student learning assessment at the IUs by providing a participatory process to develop a PBA instrument.

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This study was concerned with which competencies are considered necessary for success as a Texas public school superintendent, and the results were derived from responses to a questionnaire by practicing school superintendents in Texas during the spring of 1975. Summary of Findings: The literature reviewed and the data obtained from the survey instrument appeared to indicate that school superintendents in Texas do need certain competencies in order to adequately fulfill their role in the educational setting. This study was limited to seventy-five school superintendents in Texas. There were variations in their responses depending on: 1. Size according to pupil population. 2. Wealth according to the amount of taxable value located in the school district subject to taxation backing each pupil enrolled. 3. Experience of the superintendent surveyed. There was no effort to develop historically the concepts related to the competencies necessary for success as a school superintendent in Texas. Only opinions of writers and school superintendents of schools serving in Texas schools were used in this study.