Thesis (MTech (Busines Administration))--Cape Technikon, 1999. / The purpose of this research is to answer the following fundamental question: "Is the performance bonus approach a viable alternative methodology for implementing a Performance Management and Development intervention in South African companies? " The intention is to use the performance bonus as an entry vehicle for the establishment of a fully functional performance management and development system. The introduction of a performance based bonus system is intended to instill the recognition of "the pay for performance" concept as opposed to one of entitlement. What is expected is that a culture of performance will develop encompassing standards of work performance, goal orientation and a level of individual responsibility for recognition and reward. Understanding and acceptance of the performance bonus will create a platform for the introduction of further levels of remuneration, being increases and finally basic salary becoming performance based. Furthermore, this will allow the development of the further necessary levels of a fully functional integrated performance management and development system. This would entail the inclusion of management levels within the system as well as operational levels (departments, divisions and regions) and finally the organisational level thereby linking all aspects of the system to overall strategy.

D.Comm. / The market orientation construct describes the behaviours and activities necessary for an organisation to become market oriented - in other words reflect its adoption of the marketing concept. In this study an organisation's perceived level of market orientation was determined using salespeople to assess the extent to which their organisations exhibited market oriented behaviours. The results obtained revealed that on the whole salespeople tend to see their organisation as having above average levels of market orientation. Market oriented organisations provide salespeople with a support system that enable them to provide their customers with optimal satisfaction since everyone in the organisation is focused on this objective. Salespeople operating in market oriented organisations will tend to experience less role stress than those salespeople operating in organisations with lower levels of market orientation. Salespeople with certain personality traits are better able to cope with role stress and therefore these individuals would probably be found in organisations with low levels of market orientation. In this study the personality trait profiles of salespeople working for organisations with different perceived levels of market orientation were determined and the results obtained were correlated with their perceptions of their organisations level of market orientation. The results obtained revealed that there was a correlation between two of the salesperson's personality traits namely, gregarious and energies and their organisation's perceived level of market orientation. The personality dimensions measured in this study were also used to develop a model whereby one could predict 68% ofthe overall respondents correctly in terms of their customer or competitor orientations. Two factors namely apprehensive and conservative, with a negative loading entered into the model in this order, would enable one to predict the salesperson's dominant orientation.

M.B.A. / The importance of a free market in a post apartheid South Africa has been acknowledged. The benefits should be spread so that all individuals may be able to share in the wealth generated by the people within the country. Privatization is one mechanism for redistributing the wealth of the State, and the use of an Employee Share Ownership Participation Scheme (E.S.O.P.S.) is away in which the wealth can be spread over a large proportion of the population. This was a basic policy of Thatcher's Government in the U.K. The same rationale is apt for the South African situation. An E.S.O.P.S. is similar to a profit sharing or a pension plan, and may be group with various holistic empowerment strategies. There are however two fundamental differences from these two traditional plans: • It invests only in the equity of the employer • The E.S.O.P.S. provides the organization with an increased finance tool, through an increased ability to borrow. One of the business trends, in the U.S.A. and the U.K. and more recently in South Africa has been to extend the ownership of shares to employees. This secures a stake in the company, an avenue for retiring owners, and as protection against hostile takeover bids. Other motives that have been used are, as an educational experience and also as a part of participative management philosophy. The author heads the Department of Mining Engineering in the new University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Engineering and the Built...

M.A. / The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a worksite-based program designed to assist in the identification and resolution of productivity problems associated with employees impaired by personal and work-related concerns. Although EAPs have been established in government departments in South Africa in recent years, this model has not yet been tried in the Department of Education, Malamulele district. The Department of Education can be described as a work environment that has many characteristics common to most other work environments, but it appears that there are characteristics that are unique to the particular context that have to be considered before establishing an EAP in such context. This study will attempt to provide fresh perspectives to the Department of Education; it may happen that this model can be introduced subsequent to the submission of the recommendations. EAP is regarded as a component for workforce development and quality of work-life in contemporary organizations; therefore it is vital that this program should be established in the Department of Education. The primary aim of this study is to explore the perceptions and needs of teaching personnel regarding the feasibility and the implementation of EAP in the work environment. The objectives are as follows: to peruse the available literature relevant to the research topic, to collect qualitative data from teachers by means of focus groups, to compile a profile of perceptions and needs for the formulation of proposal regarding the feasibility of implementing an EAP in the educational setting, to transcribe, analyze and present the data that was collected in a way that it can generate knowledge about the feasibility of EAP in the rural area of Malamulele, to submit recommendations to the Department of Education and to identify and recommend areas for future research. The study was conducted with 12 teachers and 7 managers (principals) in the Department of Education, Malamulele district, Limpopo. The research findings postulate that teachers perceive EAP as vital and also feasible for their work environment. They articulate that it should have been established long time ago.

This study investigated the factors that influence the adoption of ESOPs in Nigeria. Furthermore, the study investigated the influence of the adoption of ESOPs on organisational performance, employee retention and employee commitment. The study results reveal that trade union responsiveness, reforms, awareness of employee benefits and taxation implication positively influence the adoption of ESOPs based on transparency. The results in this study further reveal that trade union responsiveness, takeovers, reforms, awareness of employee benefits and taxation implication effectively influence the adoption of ESOPs based on two-way communication. In addition, the study results reveal that trade union responsiveness, takeovers, reforms, awareness of employee benefits and trust positively influence the adoption of ESOPs based on empowerment. The study further reveals that adoption of ESOPs based on transparency, two-way communication and empowerment leads to organisational performance, employee retention and employee commitment. This study, being the first of its kind in Nigeria, filled the gap that existed in the Nigerian literature in respect of the awareness and adoption of ESOPs. This study provides literature and theoretical model that can be used as a foundation by organisations and the government to start up the adoption of ESOPs. This study showed that ESOPs is beneficial to boost the economy, enhance desired organisational outcomes (organisational performance, employee retention and employee commitment) and meet the financial and retirement needs of employees. However, for organisations and employees to enjoy the full benefits of ESOPs, underlying forces such as, trade union responsiveness, takeovers, reforms, awareness of employee benefits, trusts and taxation implication must be taken into account. Furthermore, the adoption, implementation and operations of ESOPs will be successful management, trade union leaders and employees utilise strategies such as, transparency, two-way communication and empowerment.

The purpose of this study was to document and assess the consequences of implementing employee involvement in a manufacturing setting. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study utilized information from various sources of data including archives, interview, and questionnaire data for a three to four year period. Time series comparisons were used. The results indicated that production increased initially, but then dropped back to original level. Quality of products increased and continued to improve gradually. The highest rate of improvement was observed in safety. An attempt was made to measure current level of commitment at the plant but was unsuccessful due to a low return rate of questionnaires. Overall, data collected partially support the hypotheses. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Successful implementation of organizational redesign depends on the support of employees at all levels of the organization. This study looked at some of the factors that are related to employee support for organizational redesign. Subjects (82 support staff members of a small manufacturing plant undergoing organizational change) were administered a survey which measured employee perceptions about the change management process and the disruption the change caused to their daily routine. Eleven variables were assessed as independent variables in terms of their relationship to the dependent variable which was employee support of the organizational change. All eleven variables were significantly related to the dependent variable. The implications of these results and issues for further research was discussed.

M.A. (Industrial Relations) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Magister Artium - MA / The aim of the study is to prove that a correlation exist between job satisfaction and the levels of absenteeism, turnover, performance and customer satisfaction. Data were collected using the Job Satisfaction Survey which is a self-administered questionaire to measure job satisfaction of call centre representatives. Additional data were collected using the company's existing measures for measuring absenteeism, turnover, performance and customer satisfaction. The study found a relationship between job satisfaction and performance, between job satisfaction and turnover and between job satisfaction and customer service. However, no relationship was found between job satisfaction and absenteeism, which is consistent with previous studies. / South Africa

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Through the Health and Safety Act, government has placed pressure on corporate organisations to exercise their duty of care and provide support to employees who may have psychological difficulties. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) is the one way in which organisations can fulfil their duty according to the Health and Safety Act. Human Resource is most important and valuable resource an organisation has which is often not even recognized. The effectiveness of an organisation is to a large extent dependent on the well-being of its staff. An employee assistance programme is designed to help employers manage issues of performance in the workplace. Employees manage the balance between work and personal pressures which have become increasingly part of daily life. Furthermore, the success of this programme depends on the flexibility it has according to the ever-changing needs of employees, organisations and society. The organisation in this study does not have formal assistance programmes in place to provide support to its employees who may have psychological difficulties. This study examines the need of an Employee Assistance Programme from the perception of both the employer and the employee and reveals that both groups have different needs, experience different types of problems and view the EAP in different contexts. Despite the differences in opinion, the evidence indicates that both employer and employee perceive there to be a great need for an EAP.