The main objective of this study was to investigate different forms of worker participation programmes and their implementation in selected countries including South Africa. Another objective was to study perceptions of managers and workers on forms of participation at two mining companies in South Africa, namely Vaal Reefs and Ergo Mines. The two mines were selected because they had dissimilar characteristics which would affect attitudes differently. Vaal Reefs Mine had a well established trade union movement whereas Ergo Mine was not very strongly unionised. The study focused on a comparison between the attitudes of managers and supervisors toward worker participation, at both mines. At Ergo Mine there was no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of managers and supervisors on a large number of variables which was not the case at Vaal Reefs Mine. The results seem to indicate that at Vaal Reefs, supervisors tended to identify with workers on the shop-floor. Workers at Ergo Mine seemed to prefer direct forms of participation whereas the workers at Vaal Reefs Mine seemed to want to participate in management decision through trade union representation and other forms of indirect participation. The main conclusion was that the form of worker participation in a particular environment depends to a large extent, on historical and prevailing conditions. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1995.

In this current hypercompetitive environment organisations are forced to become more efficient and effective. In this respect, one of the most popular tools used to streamline and improve service delivery is the application of performance appraisal systems. The objective of this study is to determine the extent to which the current performance appraisal system of BCS-Net Pty Ltd complies with the requirements and guidelines for performance appraisal as stipulated in the literature, in other words how effective is the current performance appraisal system utilised by BCSNet Pty Ltd. A quantitative research method was used to seek answers to the research questions. Survey questionnaires were sent to various respondents for data collection. The questions in the survey questionnaire were grouped into various criteria for an effective performance appraisal. All employees that were previously evaluated by the organisation were allowed to participate. A literature review was conducted to determine what criteria constituted an effective performance appraisal system. After analysing the relevant information from the organisation's employees it became apparent that the current performance appraisal system of the organisation was ineffective and it did not meet all the requirements for the criteria for a successful and effective performance appraisal system. Secondly, there was a clear indication that not all the supervisors/managers were adequately trained to conduct a performance appraisal and there was no consistency with regards to the implementation of the current performance appraisal system across the organisation. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

More than ever, business leaders are focused on growing revenues, containing costs and providing a higher level of customer support, whilst reducing the cost of business support activities, such as information technology costs. One method of achieving these apparently contradictory goals is through the use of thin-client computing. There has certainly been a contradicting view held by many industry pundits such as Gartner and International Data Corporation on whether this is indeed the case. This dissertation is a case study that focuses on what thin-client technology's impact is on the Total Cost of Ownership in the desktop computing environment relative to the traditional use of laptops and PCs, now commonly referred to as fat-clients. The factors and elements that contribute to a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for desktop computing will be explored. This study endeavors to douse the contradictory philosophies that claim for and against a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in deploying thin-clients. The literature review presented outlines the contradictions in philosophies. Research will be undertaken on National Ship Chandlers, which is in the largest ship chandler in Africa. National Ship Chandlers was migrated from a fat-client to a thin-client environment in 2002. National Ship Chandlers management seeks to understand whether they have realised a lower Total Cost of Ownership as a result of the migration. In this context, this study seeks to clarify which of the computing environments, thin-clients or fat-clients yield a lower Total Cost of Ownership within an outsourced desktop environment. In so doing it may assist in bringing clarity to the ongoing feud on the contradicting philosophies and technology claims. There has been no significant academic research undertaken on the Total Cost of Ownership of thin-clients in relation to fat-clients in an outsourced desktop environment. Both qualitative and quantitative research techniques are employed. The conclusions from this will be evaluated and presented. Based on these findings recommendations will be made to National Ship Chandlers management on a strategic direction for their desktop computing environment. This study reveals that for an outsourced desktop computing environment using thin-clients, National Ship Chandlers could realise an approximate 23% saving over a fat-client implementation. This excludes the benefits that can be realised from aspects of information security, ease of the operational platform and greater system availability. Thin-client technology has provides CEOs and CIOs compelling reasons to deploy as a desktop computing architecture and will continue to grow its' market-share into the future. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

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Purpose - The purpose of this research is to analyse how employees’ perception of customer service is linked to the brand. The aim is to analyse the connections between brand and the employees’ perceptions and develop managerial implications based on those findings. Problem – Davis et al. (2008) brought the attention of the influence employees have in increasing or decreasing the firms’ brand. Connecting the employees work role in customer service to see how these influence the brand in reality at LSPs.   Method – A deductive mixed method was applied throughout this research and used in the format of several case studies. The qualitative data was retrieved from interviews with employees at LSPs both in Thailand and Sweden and regarded as the primary source of data collection with the quantitative data as support. The survey, based on the frame-work of SERV*OR, was structured on a 7-point Likert Scale and distributed from the same sampling as for the interviews. Pattern matching was applied to analyse the qualitative and quantitative data to determine if reality matched theory.   Conclusions – As seen from the findings, employees and customer service are inter-twined and not separate entities. This is due to them reflecting on their personal perception of what customer service is and how they view their position. Through customer service, employees become an extension of the firms’ brand and based on their individual perception they will project it to the customer thus being able to influence the customer’s overall perception. This shows how brand and employee-customer service are interdependent in the communication which is often based on individual perceptions and not from what the LSP wants their employees to perceive of their brand.   The branding of the firms in this study is perceived by employees in a way that reflects their individual roles in customer service in terms of being fast, professional and having the ability to problem solve. It is also indicated that employees wish for more training and guidance from managers, consequently they have needed to rely on each other to handle the function of customer service at the LSPs.

Eighty one percent of employers offer programs that focus on wellness (Hewitt, 2005 & Collins, 2004), but most do not have the resources to hire a health professional, and less than 40% of those that implement wellness programs have training. Qualitative and quantitative data were used to identify ways health professionals can support practitioners who are implementing wellness programs.Results showed that survey respondents are involved with wellness of their personal interest (94%, N=52). Since few have had training, workshops in a community setting are a good way for implementers to discuss challenges, successes, and ideas.Recommendations from this study include facilitating more canned programs that allow for tailoring, creating networking opportunities for wellness program implementers, allowing for more time during workshops for discussion of program materials, focusing on ways to overcome barriers. / Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology

Two groups of employees who worked in a residential institution were subjects in an experiment testing the effects of an incentive program designed to improve attendance. Each employee in the experimental group who attended work on a scheduled day received one poker card from a standard deck of 52 playing cards. At the end of each week, the employee holding the best poker hand was awarded $25 by the manager of the facility and was commended for his or her attendance. Employees in the comparison group received no special treatment and were maintained under the previously established attendance policy. Results of the study indicated that absenteeism for the experimental group decreased by approximately 50% during the poker phases of the experiment. Inferences based on the data, however, were difficult because the scientific reasoning used in the study was undermined due to similar changes in the comparison group's absenteeism. Implications of the results were discussed in terms of improvements and suggestions for future research.

Based on Bayer and Gerstein's (1988a) Bystander-Equity Model of Supervisory Helping Behavior, this study examined the relationship between characteristics of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), supervisors, workers, and the EAP referral process. These theorists suggest that individual and environmental variables interact in a dynamic fashion and that one result of this process is a management-initiated EAP referral. Specifically, it was hypothesized that managerial status, type of troubled worker, and EAP location would affect supervisors' likelihood to refer hypothetical impaired employees to an EAP.Graduate students (N = 222) were asked to imagine themselves as supervisors (upper, middle, or front-line) employed by a fictitious manufacturing firm. They were also asked to imagine that they were responsible for some hypothetical workers described in a set of scenarios. Each participant received one of three sets of scenarios (cocaine abuser, alcohol abuser, or job-impaired worker). Additionally, half of the participants were told that their EAP was corporately owned and company-based, and that the personnel were employees of the firm. The other half were told that their EAP was contracted-out to independent practitioners (i.e., not employees of the company), and that the program was community-based. Upon review of each scenario, respondents were asked to indicate their likelihood (OZ-100%) of referring a particular hypothetical employee to their fictitious EAP.Results of an ANOVA revealed no significant interactions. As expected, however, two main effects for type of substance abuse and managerial level were found. Participants were more likely to refer cocaine abusers to an EAP than alcohol or non-substance abusing hypothetical employees. Referral rates were also found to be higher for alcohol abusing workers as compared to non-substance abusers. Additionally, it was discovered that front-line managers were more likely to make referrals as contrasted with upper-level managers. There was no effect found for the location of the EAP.Based on these findings a number of theoretical explanations were offered as were empirical and programmitic implications. Limitations of this project were discussed in terms of the analogue methodology, the single dependent measure (i.e., likelihood to refer), the stimulus materials, and the sample population used. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Research is undertaken into the correlation between shared values and organisational performance. The issue of commitment continuity as a pre-requisite for improved financial and operational performance is investigated in detail. Emphasis is placed on the theories and nature of growth and sustainability; sustainable change within the organisation; and employee commitment emphasising aligned commitment as well as elements constituting the aligned commitment equation. The role of management has been identified as a determining factor that underlies the commitment of employees in an organisation. It is found that organisations should change their definition of “growth” from actual profits to the management of talent within the organisation in order to realise the benefits of sustained commitment. Literature studies into concepts such as shared values and shared vision and how these concepts can be inculcated into organisations through the implementation of effective change management processes is done. Should these concepts be universally accepted throughout the organisation, it will lead to organisational commitment which will eventually evolve into a commitment continuum. The presence of a commitment continuum will inevitably lead to the achievement of sustainable growth and a high performance culture within the organisation. To ensure the process is credible it should at all times adhere to both the spirit and letter of prevailing legislation and regulation as well as accepted norms of good practice. The impact that the concepts such as Knowledge, Information, Empowerment, Performance Strengthening and Shared Values have on the attainment of aligned commitment was examined. Also discussed were the comparisons between the South African and Namibian operations of the financial organisation. This research study was approached from a human perspective and should contribute towards the attainment of a commitment continuum within the organisation, through the aforementioned concept, with specific focus on Shared Values. The study includes both literature and empirical research. The study covers a numbers of disciplines that, when seen together, provides better understanding as how these constructs interact with one another in the attainment of sustained commitment and the presence of a commitment continuum. This, in turn, will lead to improved financial performance on the part of the organisation. The study has practical value in the sense that the newly adapted questionnaire and equation framework should enable organisations to measure the degree to which the influential constructs contributing to aligned commitment, already exist. The results show that a commitment continuum can be established in the financial services sector through aligned organisational commitment, the introduction and development of a shared values system and the establishment and acceptance of a shared vision. Coupled with organisational commitment, this will furthermore lead to growth and sustainability and a high performance culture being attained within the organisation. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The creation of a healthy, motivating organisational climate should be the aim of management. Organisational climate refers to a complex set of forces within an organisation, which have a direct influence on those who work in it. Studying organisational climate is imperative to understanding how organisations function at their core. However, a validated instrument is needed to detect the climate in an organisation. The objective of this study was to validate an organisational climate questionnaire in a corporate pharmacy group. A cross sectional survey design was used. Interviews were conducted with employees and an organisational climate questionnaire was constructed. The Organisational Climate Questionnaire (OCC) was completed by a sample of employees in a corporate pharmacy group (N = 159). Descriptive statistics (e.g. means, standard deviations, skewness and kurtosis) inferential statistics were used to analyse the results. Factors extracted include recognition and feedback, management, work relationships, task characteristics, responsibility, work pressure and decision-making. The internal consistencies of two factors were unacceptable. One-way analysis of variance of organisational climate in different regions showed practically significant differences between North West and Mpumalanga regarding how they currently view management, as well as practically significant differences between North West and both Free State and Gauteng concerning Management. The average responses of the white employees and employees of colour in this study seem to be the same, except regarding recognition and feedback. The average responses of the employees from the two gender groups seem to be the same, except regarding responsibility and work pressure. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.