Although schools and industrial organisations have historically been, and in some cases still are, considered completely different entities, there is nevertheless an increasing awareness that similarities also exist. It can be a determining factor for the roles and competencies of school principals as leaders if indeed there is truth in the conception that schools ought to be led and managed as businesses (industrial organisations, companies). The aim of this study was to determine which comparisons (similarities and differences) can indeed be drawn between the environments in which school principals as leaders of education on the one hand and leaders of industrial organisations on the other operate. For this purpose the nature of a school and that of an industrial organisation were investigated. Furthermore, it was attempted to draw a comparison between the roles and competencies of leaders in both environments with the expectation that the roles which successful leaders fulfil in the industrial organisation and the competencies they should have at their command, can provide important guidelines for nurturing more efficient and more successful leaders in schools. In order to reach the afore-mentioned goal, a literature study was done on the nature of an industrial organisation and of a school and on the roles and competencies of leaders of organisations and leaders of education. Subsequently, as second objective, a quantitative investigation was undertaken, based on a questionnaire which was forwarded to school principals in the Gauteng Province. A representative sample of 400 school principals from all schools in the province was drawn for this purpose and the responses were statistically analysed with a view to establish which of the roles and competencies indicated by the literature study are indeed considered important and which of these roles and competencies are prominent among school principals. The first research objective was to determine the roles and competencies of managerial leaders, and it was found that they must have command over visionary thinking, be capable of planning strategically, be motivators and change agents, be able to communicate well and be capable of working with people, be able to manage and be adaptable themselves, be able to lead, be able to empower people and to evaluate them. Subsequently common orientations for industrial leaders and leaders of education were determined. Here, dealing with personnel was very evident, especially with regard to staff development., sound relationships with members of staff, acknowledgement of staff performances, teamwork, the integrity of the leader, as experienced by the staff, the climate within and culture of the organisation, how energetic the leader is and his/her abilities to organise, and to which extent standards are maintained. The information obtained by the research led to reaching the third objective, namely designing a model for improving the efficiency of the leader of education regarding his/her roles and competencies. The model recommends intervention from the part of the Department of Education as well as ways in which the school principal him/herself takes responsibility for improving the efficiency of school principals. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

In South Africa there is a shortage of systems engineers which is being addressed by a systems engineering (SE) development program. The purpose of this research was to design a selection method that could be used to select candidate systems engineers with potential thus increasing the probability of successful development of SE competencies. Based on literature and practical considerations, the following research question was formulated: Can a candidate’s SE competence potential can be predicted from personality preferences, cognition, and values (the SE Profile)? Design science research was used as the research methodology. The 15 Factor Questionnaire Plus was used to assess personality, the Cognitive Process Profile for cognition, and the Value Orientations to assess values. The 21 SE competencies were assessed using the INCOSE Systems Engineering Competencies framework. Specific values (high or low) on a combination of psychological measures are useful for predicting high competence and these vary between SE competencies. Thus psychological measures for SE as a whole cannot be identified as has been done in the literature. The number of engineers with high SE competence is inversely proportional to the number of SE competencies. Cognition measures seem more useful in identifying risk, but do not strongly predict SE competence for the given sample. From this research, no evidence was found that values have been considered previously in the SE selection literature, but values are useful for predicting high competence on at least 11 SE competencies. Because the various SE competencies require different profiles, there are few “super systems engineers”. SE competence required for the project can be achieved through a team rather than a single systems engineer. Assessment can be used as a tool for SE development by detecting anomalies and selecting candidates which have the potential for faster successful development. / Thesis (PhD (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

In South Africa there is a shortage of systems engineers which is being addressed by a systems engineering (SE) development program. The purpose of this research was to design a selection method that could be used to select candidate systems engineers with potential thus increasing the probability of successful development of SE competencies. Based on literature and practical considerations, the following research question was formulated: Can a candidate’s SE competence potential can be predicted from personality preferences, cognition, and values (the SE Profile)? Design science research was used as the research methodology. The 15 Factor Questionnaire Plus was used to assess personality, the Cognitive Process Profile for cognition, and the Value Orientations to assess values. The 21 SE competencies were assessed using the INCOSE Systems Engineering Competencies framework. Specific values (high or low) on a combination of psychological measures are useful for predicting high competence and these vary between SE competencies. Thus psychological measures for SE as a whole cannot be identified as has been done in the literature. The number of engineers with high SE competence is inversely proportional to the number of SE competencies. Cognition measures seem more useful in identifying risk, but do not strongly predict SE competence for the given sample. From this research, no evidence was found that values have been considered previously in the SE selection literature, but values are useful for predicting high competence on at least 11 SE competencies. Because the various SE competencies require different profiles, there are few “super systems engineers”. SE competence required for the project can be achieved through a team rather than a single systems engineer. Assessment can be used as a tool for SE development by detecting anomalies and selecting candidates which have the potential for faster successful development. / Thesis (PhD (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Intercultural communication addresses some of the apparent challenges that surface from interactions among diverse people. The concept stretches beyond language and dialect barriers and includes the ways in which culture influences how people understand, create and respond to communication depending on where they are from, their life experiences, social structure, ethnicity, religion, education, occupation, and so on. This research acknowledges that culture is a broad and difficult to define concept because it influences individuals and groups in different ways, especially in an era of globalization. Through an exploration of literature, semi-structured interviews and a focus group, and applying the concept of intercultural communication to active planning practice, the research examines how a sample of Winnipeg planners learn and practice such intercultural communication. Their perspectives on this practice are then considered in the context of collaboration, where it is concluded that intercultural communication competencies can directly foster collaboration. The practice has potential benefits for the many diverse publics that now need to be better served through planning processes. Intercultural communication is an important practice of planners in culturally diverse cities such as Winnipeg because planners often find themselves in intermediary 'bridging' roles among diverse cultures. It is confirmed that intercultural communication requires a necessary set of competencies, values and skills that must influences one's planning practice.

Self-assessment is an important tool for evaluating behaviour and for gaining self-knowledge. However, self-assessment is prone to biases that contaminate the accuracy of the evaluation. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of a standard – an objective description of a standard of competent practice – within self-assessment measures would reduce such biases and enhance the validity of self-assessment. Psychology graduate students were randomly assigned to complete self-assessments of research and clinical supervision competency that either included, or did not include, a standard. The presence of a standard had no effect on self-assessment means, but amount of training was associated with perceived competence within the same domain among those who completed the survey with the standard. The findings suggest that the inclusion of a standard has a complex effect on self-assessment scores that does not simply reduce self-enhancement effects but nonetheless improves the construct validity of the measure.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Studies which examine conflict have identified coping strategies as potent variables for the social competencies of children. To extend these ideas to more specific indicators of social adjustment this study examined emotional impairments and coping strategies of victims and bullies. Inventories measuring emotional impairment: depression, anger, anxiety and self-concept were completed by 103 primary school children aged 9-11. A questionnaire measured five coping strategies: problem solving, social support seeking, distancing, externalising and internalising. Bully and victim nominations identified almost 5 times as many male bullies compared to girls therefore findings which specifically relate to bullying refer to boys only. Emotional impairments were identified as predictory variables for bullying and victimisation particularly for boys where anger was identified as moderating the relationship between externalising and bullying behaviour while anxiety was identified as a mediating variable between problem solving and victimisation. Findings here also suggest that all children learn how to cope with negative emotions through their experiences with adults. For bullies internalisation as a result of poor experiences during problem solving with adults makes problem solving with peers less likely.

Although schools and industrial organisations have historically been, and in some cases still are, considered completely different entities, there is nevertheless an increasing awareness that similarities also exist. It can be a determining factor for the roles and competencies of school principals as leaders if indeed there is truth in the conception that schools ought to be led and managed as businesses (industrial organisations, companies). The aim of this study was to determine which comparisons (similarities and differences) can indeed be drawn between the environments in which school principals as leaders of education on the one hand and leaders of industrial organisations on the other operate. For this purpose the nature of a school and that of an industrial organisation were investigated. Furthermore, it was attempted to draw a comparison between the roles and competencies of leaders in both environments with the expectation that the roles which successful leaders fulfil in the industrial organisation and the competencies they should have at their command, can provide important guidelines for nurturing more efficient and more successful leaders in schools. In order to reach the afore-mentioned goal, a literature study was done on the nature of an industrial organisation and of a school and on the roles and competencies of leaders of organisations and leaders of education. Subsequently, as second objective, a quantitative investigation was undertaken, based on a questionnaire which was forwarded to school principals in the Gauteng Province. A representative sample of 400 school principals from all schools in the province was drawn for this purpose and the responses were statistically analysed with a view to establish which of the roles and competencies indicated by the literature study are indeed considered important and which of these roles and competencies are prominent among school principals. The first research objective was to determine the roles and competencies of managerial leaders, and it was found that they must have command over visionary thinking, be capable of planning strategically, be motivators and change agents, be able to communicate well and be capable of working with people, be able to manage and be adaptable themselves, be able to lead, be able to empower people and to evaluate them. Subsequently common orientations for industrial leaders and leaders of education were determined. Here, dealing with personnel was very evident, especially with regard to staff development., sound relationships with members of staff, acknowledgement of staff performances, teamwork, the integrity of the leader, as experienced by the staff, the climate within and culture of the organisation, how energetic the leader is and his/her abilities to organise, and to which extent standards are maintained. The information obtained by the research led to reaching the third objective, namely designing a model for improving the efficiency of the leader of education regarding his/her roles and competencies. The model recommends intervention from the part of the Department of Education as well as ways in which the school principal him/herself takes responsibility for improving the efficiency of school principals. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 114-123).