The advent of democracy in the Republic of South Africa has brought about fundamental changes in the spheres of governance. One of these changes is the implementation of the employee performance management and development system in the public service. One of the Constitutional imperatives of the country requires all government institutions to cultivate good human resource management and career development practices to maximise human potential. The Gauteng Department of Social Development and in particular, Father Smangaliso Mkhatswa Centre, is also expected to implement the employee performance management and development system. The study seeks to examine to what extent performance management can enhance employee‟s performance. To achieve this, a semi-structured interview was conducted with employees of Father Smangaliso Mkhatswa Centre. The findings indicate that managers use performance management as a tool to control and discipline subordinates, whilst subordinates use performance management as a means of getting extra money through performance bonuses. This could be the reason that performance assessment period is viewed as a period of high tension between supervisors and subordinates. / Public Administration & Management / M.P.A.

The number of students with learning disabilities entering the higher education system in South Africa is increasing dramatically. At the same time, the misconceptions about disabilities can have distressing consequences for disabled students. A thorough understanding of current staff attitudes and knowledge of learning disabilities will assist when setting up interventions aimed at improving perceptions. This qualitative, phenomenological case study uses the bio-psycho-social model of disability to explore staff perceptions at the University of the Witwatersrand. Interviews with staff members showed that a wide range of opinions and attitudes exist. Although perceptions varied between participants, the main findings indicated that they presented a poor understanding of what disability, and in particular, learning disability means. The conclusion was drawn that Wits University should be proactive in empowering their staff by providing them with opportunities to learn about disabilities. This investment in staff development should ultimately lead to a richer campus life where all students feel welcome. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

The dissertation discusses the impact of change management during the implementation of an IT system. The theoretical part of the dissertation is aimed at gaining information about human performance, and the implications during the implementation of the system, and also post-implementation. Literature suggests that the human factor is the key to the successful implementation of system projects. The study, which is qualitative in nature, makes use of face-to-face interviews for the collection of evidence, as well as questionnaires as add-on tools to support the underlying constructs and research questions posed within the study. The use of data obtained from the research interviews, as well as survey data, has provided the research study with the necessary validity, reliabilityand trustworthy data to support the research results, findings – and to be able to make some recommendations. The reason for the failure of system implementation projects is often due to poor implementation during the project. It is important to place the importance of people on a par with technology and processes. A holistic approach would be the most likely to result in the acceptance – and the efficient and effective use of the implemented system. Communication, training and management participation are common means of addressingany fears of change, and to build trust. This information should be utilised by project teams during implementation projects, as it should help to provide the necessary framework to ensure the success of the change initiatives. / Human Resource Management / M. Tech. (Human Resource Management)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between attitudes towards supervisory support after training and work performance of employees at the Department of Education’s Nkangala District in Mpumalanga during 2008. The sample comprised a complete sampling frame of HR and finance personnel. A five-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the attitudes of respondents towards supervisory support, and their work performance scores were correlated with the ratings of the attitudes towards supervisory support after training. Pearson’s product- moment correlation coefficient (PPM) was used to assess the relationship between the two variables. The results showed no significant relationship between attitudes towards supervisory support and work performance. The ANOVA test found that a significant (p= .016) difference only existed between attitudes towards supervisory support and educational level. The hypothesis stated in this study was therefore rejected. / Human Resource Management / M. Tech. (Human Resource Development)

The number of students with learning disabilities entering the higher education system in South Africa is increasing dramatically. At the same time, the misconceptions about disabilities can have distressing consequences for disabled students. A thorough understanding of current staff attitudes and knowledge of learning disabilities will assist when setting up interventions aimed at improving perceptions. This qualitative, phenomenological case study uses the bio-psycho-social model of disability to explore staff perceptions at the University of the Witwatersrand. Interviews with staff members showed that a wide range of opinions and attitudes exist. Although perceptions varied between participants, the main findings indicated that they presented a poor understanding of what disability, and in particular, learning disability means. The conclusion was drawn that Wits University should be proactive in empowering their staff by providing them with opportunities to learn about disabilities. This investment in staff development should ultimately lead to a richer campus life where all students feel welcome. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

by Chan Chui-mi, Rebecca and Pong Hei-ming, David. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Bibliography: leaf 138. / TABLES OF CONTENTS --- p.ii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.vii / Chapter I. --- BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM STATEMENT --- p.1 / Background on the Yuppie Phenomenon --- p.1 / Baby-boomers and Yuppies --- p.1 / Yuppies in the U.S.A. --- p.1 / The Yuppie Phenomenon in Hong Kong --- p.3 / Statement of the Problem --- p.5 / Chapter II. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.6 / Yuppies : Origin and Definition --- p.8 / Yuppies : Their Inner World --- p.10 / Yuppies : An International Flavor --- p.13 / Yuppies in Hong Kong --- p.15 / Returnees --- p.16 / Working Educated Women --- p.16 / Yuppies : Life-style and Marketing Imp1ications --- p.17 / Yuppies : Fading Away --- p.17 / Conclusions --- p.22 / Chapter III. --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --- p.23 / Hypotheses Development --- p.23 / Psychological Traits --- p.24 / Status Conscious --- p.24 / Quality Conscious --- p.24 / Motivation and Drive --- p.25 / Innovative and Adventurous --- p.25 / Health-conscious --- p.25 / Time-conscious --- p.26 / Concern for Children --- p.26 / Media Selection --- p.26 / Market/Consumption Behavior --- p.27 / Demographic Profile --- p.28 / Target Group Definition --- p.29 / Age --- p.30 / Personal Income --- p.30 / Education --- p.31 / Data Collection --- p.31 / Sampling Frame --- p.31 / Questionnaire Design --- p.32 / Psychological Traits --- p.32 / Market Behavior --- p.33 / Demographic Profile --- p.35 / Data Analysis --- p.35 / Summary --- p.36 / Chapter IV. --- DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS --- p.37 / Pilot Test --- p.37 / Data Collection in Practice --- p.38 / Sample Group --- p.38 / Post-coding of Part I Answers --- p.39 / Post-coding of Part II Answers --- p.39 / Descriptive Statistics --- p.46 / Frequency Statistics --- p.46 / Hypothesis Testing of Psychological --- p.46 / Traits By Two-Sample T-test / Analysis of Yuppies， Consumption By One-Sample Chi-Square --- p.48 / Cross Tabulation and Chi-Square --- p.51 / Statistic on Consumption of Yuppies / Vis-a-vis the Control Group / Demographic Characteristics of Yuppies --- p.54 / Cluster Analysis --- p.56 / Primary Cluster Analysis --- p.56 / Secondary Cluster Analysis --- p.58 / Demographic Characteristics Redefined --- p.62 / Chapter V. --- MARKETING IMPLICATIONS --- p.63 / Executive Summary --- p.63 / Marketing Implications --- p.64 / Marketing of Social Goods --- p.65 / Marketing of Non-social Goods --- p.66 / New Market Segments --- p.67 / New Product Attributes --- p.67 / New Distribution Channels --- p.68 / New Promotion Messages --- p.68 / Differentiated Pricing Strategies --- p.69 / Recommendations for Future Studies --- p.77 / APPENDIX --- p.71 / Chapter 1 --- Initial Questionnaire for Pilot Test --- p.71 / Chapter 2 --- Pilot Test and Spearman Coefficient for Internal Consistency Test --- p.89 / Chapter 3.1 --- Revised Questionnaire in English --- p.91 / Chapter 3.2 --- Revised Questionnaire in Chinese --- p.102 / Chapter 4 --- "Descriptive Statistics on Mean, Standard Deviation, Maximum and Minimum Values of Records" --- p.113 / Chapter 5 --- Hypothesis Testing of Psychological Traits by Two-sample T-test --- p.114 / Chapter 6 --- T-test Results on the Mean Difference for Each Group of Attitude Statements between the Yuppies and the Control Group --- p.116 / Chapter 7 --- One Sample Chi-square Test --- p.120 / Chapter 8 --- Results of One Sample Chi-square on Yuppies， Consumption --- p.121 / Chapter 9 --- Cross Tabulation of Chi-square Statistics on Consumption of Yuppies vis-a-vis the Control Group --- p.127 / Chapter 10 --- Frequency Statistics on Yuppie Demographics --- p.130 / Chapter 11 --- Cluster Analysis --- p.135 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.136

The initial research question for this study asked whether single women were having their employment needs met by the union in a university setting. Twelve single women who were members of a union at a university participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences with the union. To the surprise of the researcher, the single women interviewed felt they had no needs. Drawing from feminist literature on the social construction of gender, this analysis argues that because of the patriarchal nature of our culture, women were raised to be mindful of other's needs and not their own, which made it difficult for participants to identify their own needs. / Graduation date: 2013

The purpose of this research is to determine whether a relationship exists between two constructs, namely managerial motivation and sense of coherence and to determine whether any variance exists between two groups of people in terms of the mentioned constructs. The study was conducted on a total sample of 124 employees of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) which was divided into two groups, namely managers and supervisors in view of the position they held at the Agricultural Research Council. The results of the study indicated that a significant positive relationship exists between the dimensions of managerial motivation and the dimensions of sense of coherence of the total sample. There is also a significant variance in terms of two dimensions between the two groups, namely power motive as dimension of managerial motivation and meaningfulness as dimension of sense of coherence. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between attitudes towards supervisory support after training and work performance of employees at the Department of Education’s Nkangala District in Mpumalanga during 2008. The sample comprised a complete sampling frame of HR and finance personnel. A five-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the attitudes of respondents towards supervisory support, and their work performance scores were correlated with the ratings of the attitudes towards supervisory support after training. Pearson’s product- moment correlation coefficient (PPM) was used to assess the relationship between the two variables. The results showed no significant relationship between attitudes towards supervisory support and work performance. The ANOVA test found that a significant (p= .016) difference only existed between attitudes towards supervisory support and educational level. The hypothesis stated in this study was therefore rejected. / Human Resource Management / M. Tech. (Human Resource Development)

Job satisfaction is one of the key antecedents to organizational performance, growth and survival. The attitude employees have towards their work significantly affects employees and organizational performance. The main objective of this study was to develop a job satisfaction model for organizational performance in armed conflict societies. The study examined how the effects of armed conflicts affect job satisfaction among workers working in armed conflict societies. A concurrent triangulation mixed approach, that is a mixture of qualitative and quantitative was employed to establish the relationship between the effects of armed conflicts and job satisfaction. The study population comprised 13 organisations drawn from Tete province. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires from 200 respondents while qualitative data was gathered from 20 participants using an interview schedule. The Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and thematic data analysis methods were used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis, correlational analysis and the t-tests. The study showed that there is a strong correlation between the effects of armed conflict and job satisfaction. The intensity of the war determines the level of job satisfaction among workers working for organisations in armed conflict societies. The study established that job satisfaction in armed conflict societies is also influenced by the destruction of the economic infrastructure, destruction of interpersonal relationships, intercommunity violence, political interference, killings and torture of civilians, deterioration of health and education systems, economic depression and displacement of people. The study further found out that job satisfaction in armed conflict societies negatively affects key organizational performance antecedents such as rate of absenteeism, labour turnover, employee loyalty and commitment, psychological status of employees and health of employees. Job satisfaction in armed conflict societies directly and indirectly affects organizational performance, profitability, value of shares, market share and organizational growth. To minimize the consequences of low job satisfaction on organizational performance, organizations should put in place measures that propel job satisfaction such as providing counselling services, social services and financial and non-financial support. The study concluded that job satisfaction can be increased by any or all of the following strategies:1) flexible work organisation and establishing an effective team, 2) provision of secure staff offices and residences, 3) compensating employees for war related injuries and deaths, 4) provision of better social services, 5) provision of leisure, recreational activities and infrastructure, and 6) provision of counselling platforms. The study contributed to the body of knowledge by developing a job satisfaction model for organizational performance in armed conflict societies. Furthermore, contrary to other researchers whose studies concentrated on job related factors of job satisfaction, this study focused on how the effects of armed conflict influence job satisfaction. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / D. B. L.