Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Also available in print.

Despite advances in the application of analytics in business functions such as marketing and finance, and a significant degree of interest in the topic of Human Resource analytics, its usage is still nowhere near where it could be. This study’s primary aim was to measure the levels of usage of HR analytics among South African organisations, an exercise that has not been done before. This qualitative, exploratory study was conducted among 16 senior Human Resource practitioners from large organisations in South Africa. Being qualitative, a limitation of this study is that it is not representative and therefore the results cannot be generalised. Further opportunities therefore exist for quantitative, longitudinal research in this field to objectively ascertain the extent of usage of HR analytics. It was found that South African organisations’ usage of HR analytics is still in its infancy and that the concept and its implications are little understood. It also found that there is consensus regarding the importance for HR analytics in organisations and that the HR analytical skills challenge is the main hindrance to implementation. Importantly, the study demonstrated and that the overall outlook for HR analytics is positive. The research makes recommendations and proposes a model that should enable organisations, the HR profession and the academic world to implement HR analytics. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / zkgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

The main objective of the dissertation is to evaluate and compare higher education financing instruments in regard to their practical advantageousness. None of the publications covering higher education financing so far have dealt with the question of practicability and market acceptance of the different higher education financing instruments currently being offered. The author intended to close this gap, providing a practical analysis of the mode of operation as well as a thorough comparison of private higher education financing instruments in respect to their applicability.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / This dissertation is a qualitative and quantitative research effort aiming to establish the meaning of, and the form(s) that human capital and human capital investment, traditionally business-oriented concepts, take in an institution of higher education. The literature review provides an extensive background of human capital and human capital investment theory and theorists. It presents a case study completed at a small college combining interviews, survey administration, and analysis to formulate hypotheses about the nature of human capital investment in institutions of higher learning. The interviews provided rich data through specific examples of how employees at the college defined human capital investment. Analysis of the interviews resulted in the formation of six human capital dimensions, one dimension unique to higher education institutions. A preliminary human capital investment survey was created and quantitative measures were able to discriminate one interpretable factor, similar to one dimension created from the interviews. The factor encompassed items that were related to the moral involvement (Etzioni, 1961) of the employees. This lead the researcher to believe that human capital investment in this higher education institution is different than in corporations. Further research is encouraged to validate this hypothesis and to continue to promote discussions about human capital investment in institutions of higher education.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In an extremely competitive economic environment, WesBank’s differentiation strategy is focused on innovation and service excellence; both of which are dependent on people. The objective of the study therefore was to articulate the strategic role of human resources (HR) in WesBank to ensure alignment and integration of the human capital strategy with WesBank’s overall business strategy. WesBank continues to reinforce the importance of its people and has invested significant capital in a technology solution in order to facilitate the management of this important asset. However, after four HR restructures since 2009, the organisation continues to struggle to find the ideal structure and operating model for its HR function. Findings from the literature review confirm that this situation is not unique to WesBank because many organisations struggle to articulate and measure the effectiveness of their HR departments. There is a shift towards intangible assets in the new world of work such as brand recognition, knowledge, innovation and human capital. In this new era new business models are required. In this context, the human capital strategy is a prime source of competitive potential because it is intangible, difficult to see or quantify and therefore to copy. To test the impact of the current HR function in WesBank, two respondent groups were invited to take part in structured interviews. The respondents represented the viewpoints of business and the human resource communities. Both groups confirmed that the WesBank human capital strategy should have three focus areas, namely a transactional focus that measures service delivery on basic services, a transformational and strategic focus and a focus on measuring the impact of the strategy on organisational success. Both groups believed that at the time of the interviews, WesBank did not have a clearly defined human capital strategy, which manifested itself in HR’s value being experienced as convoluted, and the HR structure having changed four times since 2009. Research suggests that organisations can realise a 43 percent impact on performance if the HR function is freed up to focus on strategic contribution. WesBank’s recent investment in an HR system aimed to reduce the disproportionate amount of time HR allocated to administrative tasks. However if HR is unable to successfully leverage the opportunity provided by this investment to redirect efforts to strategic contribution the estimated impact of the new technology on organisational performance reduces to 5 percent. If WesBank is able to anchor HR in strategy implementation it will be easier to quantify HR’s impact on performance.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Donald Cox / What fraction of college-age youths in the United States comes from credit-constrained families? Can subjective assessments of financial difficulties inform the debate about pervasiveness of credit constraints in the demand for college education? My dissertation contains two essays addressing these questions. Credit constraints in education may lead to inefficient skill allocations and perpetuate imbalances in the distribution of economic well-being. Unfortunately, empirical evidence regarding their pervasiveness in the United States has not been consistent, in part because constraints tend to be inferred indirectly. The first essay evaluates how a potentially more direct measure can be used to enhance our understanding of the issue. I focus on subjective assessments of financial limitations available in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and find that about 12 percent of college-age individuals expect to underinvest in education because of financial reasons or the need to work. While the measure developed in this paper is noisy and not a precise indicator of credit constraints, it appears to capture important variations in educational choices, beyond these captured by the standard controls, such as parental income. The contribution of the second essay is the use of parents' reports of borrowing limitations in the NLSY79 Young Adult Supplement to evaluate the proportion of constrained college-age youths in the early 2000s. The focus on the 2000s is critical because the sharp increase in tuition costs and gradual erosion of real student borrowing limits over the past two decades have potentially made credit constraints in education more widespread. My analysis sample is limited to children of young mothers who are more likely to be disadvantaged economically and hence are of specific interest to policy-makers. Over one-fifth of youths in the sample come from families where mothers report borrowing limitations. Conditional on scholastic ability, family income, and family background characteristics, parental constraints have a strong negative correlation with children's college attendance. Although my results do not distinguish between alternative explanations for borrowing limitations, they do suggest that researchers interested in the connection between liquidity constraints and education might benefit from paying more attention to direct measures. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.