Current day organisations must revert to many measures to survive in the very competing business environment. One of these measures is to reduce the number of employees. This leads to perceptions of job insecurity, not only in the employees who are not made redundant but also in employees in so-called stable organisations who are aware of these measures being implemented in other organisations. Researchers found conflicting results of job insecurity regarding performance of employees experiencing job insecurity. On the one hand it was reported that job insecurity leads to higher job performance and on the other that it leads to lower job performance. To reconcile these conflicting findings Jordan, Ashkanasy and Hartel (2002) developed a model. In their two stage model in which they postulate that perceptions of job insecurity could lead to lower affective organisational commitment and higher job-related stress and this in turn could lead to negative coping behaviour (stage one). They then include emotional intelligence (EI) as moderator of all the links between the above mentioned constructs (stage two). They are of the opinion that employees with high EI will experience higher affective organisational commitment and lower job-related stress than employees with low EI when perceptions of job insecurity are experienced. They also postulate that employees with high EI will be less inclined to revert to negative coping behaviour. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether this model would be applicable to employees of private health care organisations in Gauteng. In the first article a literature review was conducted to determine how job insecurity, affective organisational commitment, job-related stress and coping were conceptualised as well as the relationships between these constructs. This was done to investigate the first stage of the model of Jordan et al. (2002). In the second article a literature review was conducted to determine how job insecurity, affective organisational commitment, job-related stress, coping and EI were conceptualised. The relationships between these constructs and the role of EI as moderator of these relationships were also determined. This was done to investigate the second stage of the model of Jordan et al. (2002). A non-experimental correlation research design was used. Employees of private health care organisations were the participants. The Job Insecurity Inventory, the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire, the Experience of Work Life and Circumstances Questionnaire, the Cope Questionnaire and the Emotional Intelligence Scale were used, as well as a biographical questionnaire. The SPPS program and partly STATISTIKA were used to perform the statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Cronbach alpha coefficients and factor analyses were used to assess the reliability and validity of the measuring instruments. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were used to specify the relationships between the variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the moderating influence of emotional intelligence. It was determined that, in this specific research group, job insecurity has a negative correlation with affective organisational commitment. Job insecurity has a positive correlation with job-related stress levels. A positive correlation was found between job-related stress levels and certain negative coping behaviours, such as denial, behavioural disengagement and mental disengagement. A negative correlation was found between affective organisational commitment and negative coping behaviour, specifically the use of drugs or alcohol. All of these correlations were statistically and practically significant. It was found that job insecurity as independent variable explains 12.1% of the total variance in affective organisational commitment. It was also found that job insecurity as independent variable explains 21.1 % of the total variance in the job -related stress levels. These findings indicated that the first stage of the model of Jordan et al. (2002) could be supported. Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the moderating effect of EI as discussed above. The results indicated that EI had only a slight but significant moderating effect on the job insecurity -affective organisational commitment relationship and no effect on the job insecurity - job-related stress relationship. The results also indicate that EI moderates the strength of the relationship between affective organisational commitment and coping behaviour to such an extent that affective organisational commitment's predictive value is reduced to closely insignificant whilst EI emerges as the primary predictor of coping behaviour (both positive and negative). This may imply that emotionally intelligent employees will tend to use more problem-focused coping behaviour irrespective of the affective organisational commitment that they experience. Although to a lesser extent in this study, it was found that emotionally intelligent employees also make use of emotion-focused coping behaviour appropriate for managing affective states associated with experienced stress. Concerning avoidant coping strategies EI significantly negatively moderates alcohol-drug disengagement as a coping strategy, meaning employees with high EI will tend not to revert to the use of drugs or alcohol as coping strategy. It was concluded that EI does not buffer employees against the emotional consequences of job insecurity in this research group, as proposed by the model of Jordan et al. (2002), but rather enables them to cope with these emotional effects using problem-focused- and emotion- focused coping strategies, but not avoidant strategies. The latter finding is in line with the proposed model of Jordan et al.(2002). Conclusions, the limitations of this research and recommendations for private health care organisations and for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

Current day organisations must revert to many measures to survive in the very competing business environment. One of these measures is to reduce the number of employees. This leads to perceptions of job insecurity, not only in the employees who are not made redundant but also in employees in so-called stable organisations who are aware of these measures being implemented in other organisations. Researchers found conflicting results of job insecurity regarding performance of employees experiencing job insecurity. On the one hand it was reported that job insecurity leads to higher job performance and on the other that it leads to lower job performance. To reconcile these conflicting findings Jordan, Ashkanasy and Hartel (2002) developed a model. In their two stage model in which they postulate that perceptions of job insecurity could lead to lower affective organisational commitment and higher job-related stress and this in turn could lead to negative coping behaviour (stage one). They then include emotional intelligence (EI) as moderator of all the links between the above mentioned constructs (stage two). They are of the opinion that employees with high EI will experience higher affective organisational commitment and lower job-related stress than employees with low EI when perceptions of job insecurity are experienced. They also postulate that employees with high EI will be less inclined to revert to negative coping behaviour. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether this model would be applicable to employees of private health care organisations in Gauteng. In the first article a literature review was conducted to determine how job insecurity, affective organisational commitment, job-related stress and coping were conceptualised as well as the relationships between these constructs. This was done to investigate the first stage of the model of Jordan et al. (2002). In the second article a literature review was conducted to determine how job insecurity, affective organisational commitment, job-related stress, coping and EI were conceptualised. The relationships between these constructs and the role of EI as moderator of these relationships were also determined. This was done to investigate the second stage of the model of Jordan et al. (2002). A non-experimental correlation research design was used. Employees of private health care organisations were the participants. The Job Insecurity Inventory, the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire, the Experience of Work Life and Circumstances Questionnaire, the Cope Questionnaire and the Emotional Intelligence Scale were used, as well as a biographical questionnaire. The SPPS program and partly STATISTIKA were used to perform the statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Cronbach alpha coefficients and factor analyses were used to assess the reliability and validity of the measuring instruments. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were used to specify the relationships between the variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the moderating influence of emotional intelligence. It was determined that, in this specific research group, job insecurity has a negative correlation with affective organisational commitment. Job insecurity has a positive correlation with job-related stress levels. A positive correlation was found between job-related stress levels and certain negative coping behaviours, such as denial, behavioural disengagement and mental disengagement. A negative correlation was found between affective organisational commitment and negative coping behaviour, specifically the use of drugs or alcohol. All of these correlations were statistically and practically significant. It was found that job insecurity as independent variable explains 12.1% of the total variance in affective organisational commitment. It was also found that job insecurity as independent variable explains 21.1 % of the total variance in the job -related stress levels. These findings indicated that the first stage of the model of Jordan et al. (2002) could be supported. Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the moderating effect of EI as discussed above. The results indicated that EI had only a slight but significant moderating effect on the job insecurity -affective organisational commitment relationship and no effect on the job insecurity - job-related stress relationship. The results also indicate that EI moderates the strength of the relationship between affective organisational commitment and coping behaviour to such an extent that affective organisational commitment's predictive value is reduced to closely insignificant whilst EI emerges as the primary predictor of coping behaviour (both positive and negative). This may imply that emotionally intelligent employees will tend to use more problem-focused coping behaviour irrespective of the affective organisational commitment that they experience. Although to a lesser extent in this study, it was found that emotionally intelligent employees also make use of emotion-focused coping behaviour appropriate for managing affective states associated with experienced stress. Concerning avoidant coping strategies EI significantly negatively moderates alcohol-drug disengagement as a coping strategy, meaning employees with high EI will tend not to revert to the use of drugs or alcohol as coping strategy. It was concluded that EI does not buffer employees against the emotional consequences of job insecurity in this research group, as proposed by the model of Jordan et al. (2002), but rather enables them to cope with these emotional effects using problem-focused- and emotion- focused coping strategies, but not avoidant strategies. The latter finding is in line with the proposed model of Jordan et al.(2002). Conclusions, the limitations of this research and recommendations for private health care organisations and for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

This research examines the way employees perceive risk in a non-governmental healthcare organisation that provides care and support for people with mental, intellectual and physical disabilities. Thirty-four respondents from all levels and services within an NGO participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore the meaning of the concept of risk from their own viewpoints, as well as their perspectives regarding types and sources of risk in their work and initiatives for controlling and dealing with such types and sources. This involved discussing the role of training in improving the awareness of employees in minimising risk, and the effect of training on the entire risk management process. Additional information was obtained by the researcher from documentation and personal observation. Themes that emerged from analysing data pointed to the interrelated link between perception and risk. Accordingly, the study found that risk is culturally constructed, individualistic, and subjective. It was evident that risk is a perceptual matter affected by beliefs, feelings, knowledge, culture, image, context, and the experience of people. The culture of fear of risk and of perceiving risk as something purely negative was dominant among the participants, who viewed risk as an unfavourable issue that does not have opportunities, which creates another source of risk – the risk of perception of risk. This research demonstrates that the perceptual aspect of risk emphasises the central role of people in any risk management process. For effective risk management, all perspectives should be considered. This requires a participatory system of managing risk, improving the awareness of people about risk, and modifying the culture of risk among them. Training has a significant role in the achievement of these fundamentals.

This research examines the way employees perceive risk in a non-governmental healthcare organisation that provides care and support for people with mental, intellectual and physical disabilities. Thirty-four respondents from all levels and services within an NGO participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore the meaning of the concept of risk from their own viewpoints, as well as their perspectives regarding types and sources of risk in their work and initiatives for controlling and dealing with such types and sources. This involved discussing the role of training in improving the awareness of employees in minimising risk, and the effect of training on the entire risk management process. Additional information was obtained by the researcher from documentation and personal observation. Themes that emerged from analysing data pointed to the interrelated link between perception and risk. Accordingly, the study found that risk is culturally constructed, individualistic, and subjective. It was evident that risk is a perceptual matter affected by beliefs, feelings, knowledge, culture, image, context, and the experience of people. The culture of fear of risk and of perceiving risk as something purely negative was dominant among the participants, who viewed risk as an unfavourable issue that does not have opportunities, which creates another source of risk – the risk of perception of risk. This research demonstrates that the perceptual aspect of risk emphasises the central role of people in any risk management process. For effective risk management, all perspectives should be considered. This requires a participatory system of managing risk, improving the awareness of people about risk, and modifying the culture of risk among them. Training has a significant role in the achievement of these fundamentals.

Although healthcare information systems improve healthcare and efficiency they are often complex and provide a limited service. For these and other similar reasons, users often take it upon themselves to create their own solutions. These user created solutions are called feral information systems. It is not always that these feral information systems meet the standard requirements of healthcare information systems and as a result of this they have the potential to create risk that might put the patient, management and the organization at risk. This is an undergraduate thesis that aims to research the risks that can rise when feral information systems fail to meet the standard requirements of healthcare information systems. The report is an interpretive case study that focuses on three different feral information system within a regional healthcare organization. Ten standard requirements of healthcare information systems are described and written from three distinctive divisions – Technique oriented, information oriented and user oriented requirements. Information is gathered using a semi-structured interview with the developer of the three systems, a user of one of the systems and two managers from the maintenance department of the organization. The data gathered about the feral information system is then interpreted and analyzed using the ten requirements of IT system in healthcare from the perspective of the three different divisions. As a result of the research we have come to the conclusion that the failure to meet the user and information and technical oriented requirements have the potential to create certain risk in some aspects but not all. Feral information systems in health care services can pose a risk to patient safety and that there are probably several of these systems that violate the patient data act or personal data law. Failure to handle data integrity and follow the patient data law in feral information systems often results in lacking user traceability. In addition, there is an extra cost to maintain systems that are usually not analyzed by the operations. We see that feral information systems often uses self- defined healthcare terminology which obstructs the ability to integrate with other systems. The lack of documentation obstructs the use of the system without a special training. These trainings take time, resources and are often not free. Making the organization more and more dependent on the experienced users. Furthermore, the lack of documentation also obstructs the possibility of further developing the system.  However, the potential of feral information system to cause risk is often neglected and underestimated. This is because feral information systems often fulfill only a small and particular need within a certain division of the organization. / IT-system inom hälso- och sjukvård förbättrar vården och effektiviteten. De är dock ofta komplexa och ger en begränsad service. Av detta och andra liknande skäl skapar ofta användarna egenutvecklade IT-system. Dessa användarskapade IT-system kallas feral information systems. Det är inte alltid så att dessa feral information system uppfyller de krav som ställs på IT-system inom hälso- och sjukvård och som ett resultat av detta har de potential att skapa risker för patienten, förvaltningen och organisationen i helhet. Denna kandidatuppsats syftar till att undersöka de risker som kan uppstå när feral information systems inte uppfyller de krav som ställs på IT-system inom hälso- och sjukvård. Studien är en tolkande fallstudie som fokuserar på tre olika feral information systems inom en regional hälsovårdsorganisation. Vi har tagit fram tio kriterier som vi anser IT-system inom hälso- och sjukvård bör uppfylla. Dessa kriterier beskrivs och uttrycks från tre kategorier: teknikorienterade, informationsorienterade och användarorienterade krav. Vårt empiriska material samlas in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer med utvecklaren av de tre systemen, en användare av ett av systemen samt två chefer från organisationens förvaltningsorganisation. Insamlade data om dessa feral information systems tolkas och analyseras sedan med hjälp av de tio kriterierna vi tagit fram för IT-system inom hälso- och sjukvård och summeras i de tre kategorierna. Feral information systems i vårdverksamheter kan innebära risk för patientsäkerheten och att det troligen är flera av dessa system som bryter mot patientdatalagen eller personuppgiftslagen. Brister i att hantera dataintegritet och patientdatalagen leder till att feral information systems ofta saknar spårbarhet. Dessutom finns en kostnad för att underhålla systemen som oftast inte är analyserade av verksamheterna. Vi ser att feral information systems ofta följer sina egna definitioner av begrepp vilket försvårar integrationen med andra system. Avsaknaden av dokumentation leder till svårigheter i att använda systemen utan utbildning. Utbildningen tar tid, så denna resurs är oftast inte gratis. Detta gör att verksamheten blir beroende av de mer erfarna användarna. Avsaknaden av dokumentation skapar även svårigheter i övertagandet av existerande feral information systems samt vid behovet av vidareutveckling. Eftersom feral information systems oftast uppfyller små och nischade behov inom en verksamhet, försummas och underskattas systemets potential att skapa risk.