M.Ing. / The purpose of the research was to determine the relationship, between the innovative culture and employee retention within the organisation. High labour turnover impacts on organisational performance and survival. Despite an organisation’s level of development, many organisations face employee retention challenges. Therefore devising strategies to improve employee retention has become a priority for most organisations. The problem of high labour turnover was also observed during a pilot study conducted at the initial stage of this research study. From the pilot study it appeared as though a relationship existed between an organisation’s innovative culture and employee job satisfaction. A review of literature revealed that there were no extensive studies which had been conducted to establish the relationship between innovative culture an employee retention especially in South Africa. The need to develop strategies to improve employee retention and the lack of extensive studies in South Africa about whether innovative culture could influence employee retention motivated the current research study. High labour turnover has the potential to affect an organisation negatively with regards to employee morale, productivity, etc. Therefore, there was a need for a study to be carried out to determine the relationship between an organisation’s culture on innovation and labour turnover within the organisation. The research involved conducting a desk and pilot study to establish the problem of labour turnover; an extensive literature review to inform the researcher about labour turnover, employee retention, organisational culture, innovation and employee conditions of service. Finally a questionnaire survey and interview was used to establish the existing conditions among the selected sample. A relationship between innovative culture, employee satisfaction and employee retention was inferred from the data obtained from the questionnaire and interview survey. The empirical data obtained from the questionnaire survey and interviews was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS) providing descriptive and inferential statistics. Recommendations on employee retention were informed by the findings from the survey. The respondents to the questionnaire survey and interviews were professionals and employees in the selected organisations from all departments (Marketing, Finance, Human Resources and Trade Marketing). The participants to the study were drawn from the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, Manufacturing and Construction Industry Sector and from the Services (Banking and Utilities) sector.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The objective of this study is to identify the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that cause turnover intention. Finally the relationship will be tested between job satisfaction and turnover intention. A four section questionnaire will be used to identify the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that have an influence on job satisfaction. The questionnaire will also test the employees intent to leave the organization. Random selected employees from all levels in the organization participated in this study. In this study gender, marital status and employment duration had a significant impact on job satisfaction.

Shift work is becoming increasingly prevalent in our society, with 17% of the full-time work force and 36% of the part-time work force working non-standard shifts (Beers, 2000). The goal of this study was to explore the relationships between several shift work variables and retention of employees working in a retail organization that is open 24-hours a day. Results indicated no significant differences between workers in fixed versus mixed shift schedules on job satisfaction or role stress. Contrary to my hypothesis, mixed shift workers reported higher levels of commitment and remained with the organization longer than fixed shift workers. As predicted, night shift workers reported lower levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment than evening workers. However contrary to predictions, there were no significant differences between morning and night shift workers. Supervisor support did not moderate the relationship between shift work and commitment, satisfaction, or role stress. However is was a significant moderator of the relationship between day versus evening shift and role stress, with individuals working evening shifts and perceiving high levels of supervisor support remaining with the organization the longest.

The research made in the current master thesis uses theoretical framework from the area of project management, voluntary labor turnover and performance appraisal. Prior research based on existing literary sources allows assuming that the following factors, such as job alternatives, knowledge intensity and nature of work have specific relevance for the emergence of voluntary labor turnover in project-based organizations. Employees of the case study company-AGR Field Operations´ Maintenance Engineering department were interviewed and surveyed in order to determine the relevance of those factors on the example of a concrete project-based organization. The obtained results indicate that the nature of work is more significantly related to the emergence of the voluntary labor turnover in the given case study department. Whereas availability of more job alternatives due to being close to the client or knowledge intensity factor of becoming more generalist do not have the same influence. During the course of the research it was discovered that the department uses outcome-based type of performance appraisal which is proved to be unsuitable in the given organizational settings. To that matter there were provided further suggestions in the field of performance appraisal. The current research will attempt to identify specific factors contributing to the emergence of the voluntary labor turnover specifically for project-based organizations. As well as it will attempt to give suggestions for improvement of the concrete case study department´s performance appraisal tools and thus supplement turnover reduction actions already put in place by the department management.

The first essay examines how board structure affects manager dismissal decisions in mutual funds. We first find some evidence suggesting that the likelihood of managerial replacement is higher when fund boards are more independent and receive lower levels of compensation. Manager turnover is more likely when funds underperform the objective average. We then investigate the manager turnover decision conditional on the funds experiencing a merger. We find that funds with more independent boards are more likely to employ target managers with a track record of superior performance. Overall, these results suggest that more independent boards make manager retention/replacement decisions in the interests of their shareholders. The second essay studies the relationship between managerial ownership and mutual fund performance. We first document that almost half of the mutual fund managers own shares in their funds, though the absolute amount of investment is modest. Fund future performance is positively related to the level of manager ownership. Manager ownership is higher in equity funds than bond funds, in funds with better past performance, smaller sizes, and where managers have been in charge for a longer time period. When we decompose manager ownership into predicted and residual parts, we find that both components are significant in explaining fund future performance. Our findings suggest that managerial ownership has desirable incentive attributes for mutual fund investors. The third essay investigates how managerial ownership affects the investment behavior of portfolio managers. We first examine the disposition effect exhibited by different fund managers, and find that those with positive ownership show significantly less disposition effect. Specifically, they sell losers faster and hold on to winner stocks for a longer period. Disposition effect is less pronounced in bigger funds, funds with smaller boards, and funds with higher percentage of board independence. We then test the relation between managerial ownership and the tournament behavior, investigating how the degree of managers manipulation of fund volatilities in the latter part of a year is related to their personal stakes in the funds. However, we do not find evidence suggesting the existence of such a relationship.

Because of the outcomes associated with employee turnover, few areas have been researched as extensively in the field of Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Cotton&Tuttle, 1986). Correlates and consequences of employee turnover have been widely examined, though less expansive research has been dedicated to identifying (and potentially screening) turnover prone candidates. To address this concern, the comparative utility of three personality measures for predicting voluntary turnover in law enforcement was assessed. Self-report predictor measures consisted of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, the most widely used instrument in this industry, and the Personality Research Form-E. The implicit personality measure for this investigation was the Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression (James, 1998). In line with previous research (e.g., Hough, 1998), self-report job applicant scores indicated a defensive or self-presentation bias, whereas the CRT-A did not. Normative and comparative data for all predictor measures are presented to further knowledge for the researcher and practitioner. The importance of context, in this case the influence of the economy on attrition rates, is also discussed.

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing in Advanced Practice

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed October 10, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-109).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1971.