Title: Competency profile of sports manager from the perspective of students FTVS and TOP managers Targets: The goal of this work is to identify required competencies for the position of sports manager and then created the list of competences claims and build competence profile of sports manager. Method: To achieve the goals of this work were used study of literature in the field of management, personal management and psychology. For the final compilation of the profile method was used interview and interrogation. Results: The result of this work is to create a competence profile of sports manager, which includes competencies divided into several groups and their required level. Key words: manager, sports manager, competence, competence of manager, competency profile

Šiame darbe analizuojamas įmonės, įstaigos, organizacijos vadovo teisinis statusas. Siekiant apibrėžti, apie kokio teisės subjekto vadovą bus kalbama, taip pat atsižvelgiant į tai, kad skirtingų juridinių asmenų vadovų teisinis statusas skiriasi, darbe pateikiama juridinio asmens samprata, kilmė bei klasifikacija. Nagrinėjama privačių ir viešųjų juridinių asmenų vadovų teisinio statuso raida, lyginant, kaip keitėsi ir koks šiuo metu yra įstatymų leidėjo bei teismų praktikos požiūris į juridinių asmenų vadovus. Detaliau analizuota dažniausiai Lietuvoje pasitaikančių privačių juridinių asmenų – akcinių bendrovių – bei viešųjų juridinių asmenų – viešųjų įstaigų vadovų teisnio statuso raida. Vienas iš vadovo teisinio statuso elementų, jo teisės ir pareigos, lyginamos su paprasto darbuotojo teisėmis ir pareigomis, įtvirtintomis Darbo kodekse. Aprašoma juridinio asmens vadovo teisės, pareigos, garantijos darbo sutarties sudarymo, vykdymo ir nutraukimo metu. Analizuojant teisės aktus bei teismų praktiką, nagrinėjama akcinės bendrovės vadovui taikytina atsakomybė, siekiant nustatyti, kuriais atvejais jam taikoma civilinė t. y. visiška, o kada ribota materialinė atsakomybė pagal darbo teisę, taip pat kokios yra vadovo atsakomybės ribos. Juridinio asmens vadovo atsakomybė lyginama su darbuotojui taikoma atsakomybe. Trumpai aptariama drausminė, administracinė bei baudžiamoji vadovo atsakomybė bei viešųjų juridinių asmenų vadovų etinės atsakomybės problema. / Juridical Status of the Manager of Enterprise, Institution or Organization is analyzed in the Thesis. Aiming to define the Manager of which Legal Person will be discussed also based on the situation that juridical status of a Managers of different Juridical Persons differ, the conception, origin and classification of Juridical Persons is given in the Thesis. Development of juridical status of private and public Juridical Persons is analyzed while comparing the development and current status of the Mangers of Juridical Persons from the point of view of legislative establishments and juridical opinion. The development of juridical status of Managers of most common Private Juridical Persons – Joint Stock Companies and Public Juridical Persons – Public Entities was analyzed more precisely. One of the elements of juridical status of a Manager – his rights and obligations are compared to the rights and obligations of common employee as foreseen in the Labor Code. The rights, obligations, functions, guarantees of a Manager of Juridical Person at the moment the Labor Contract is signed, executed, and terminated are described. Based on the analysis of legislation of juridical practice the responsibility employed to the Manager of Joined Stock Company aiming to determine in which cases civil liability i.e. total responsibilities and in which cases limited material liability based on the Labor Legislation is to be employed is analyzed as well as the limits of liability of a Manager. The... [to full text]

The globalised world of business is driven by a complex mix of communication technology, consumerism and social, economic and political change. In pursuit of the latest technologies, processes and systems, managers often tend to neglect their business’s organisational culture. Traditional assets and strategies can easily be copied. A business’s organisational culture is much more difficult to reproduce and can be a competitive differentiator. Businesses which deliberately manage their organisational cultures, outperform similar businesses that do not. The performance culture in a business depends largely on the effectiveness of managers to establish an attitude of performance among employees. To achieve high performance, managers need different competencies to engage workers’ hearts and minds, as well as take advantage (in a positive way) of their physical labour. Managers who are able to create and sustain a performance culture and react to rapid change in markets and technologies, can maintain exceptional service and product quality levels despite of unpredictable business environments. Some managerial competencies are more conducive and prone to managerial effectiveness and the subsequent enhancement of a business's performance culture. Only a few businesses worldwide are managed by the notion that a performance culture equates outstanding profits and little research exists pertaining to managerial competencies that allow managers to motivate employees, win their commitment, and ultimately enhance the business’s performance culture. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the role of managers in enhancing performance culture. Knowledge and current perceptions of first-line managers and middle-level managers regarding the business’s performance culture (in terms of the associated business practices and employee characteristics), as well as certain related managerial competencies (such as communication, planning and administration, teamwork and emotional intelligence) were obtained. With regard to research methodology, the study used descriptive research in the form of quantitative, self-administered questionnaires. Two questionnaires were developed and uploaded on the Survey Monkey website. Subsequently, all first-line managers and middle-level managers (employed at Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI), the soft drink division of The South African Breweries (Pty) Ltd) were informed of the survey via an e-mail containing a cover letter as well as the hyperlink to the relevant questionnaires. The target population in this study was obtained by means of a census. Of the 438 respondents identified for the census, 186 viable questionnaires, comprising of 73 middle-level manager and 113 first-line manager respondents, were used for statistical analysis. Data entry, tabulation and statistical analysis were done by the Statistical Consultation Services of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). The results of this study indicate that organisational culture places considerable pressure on employee behaviour and influences businesses in several ways. Every business has a unique organisational culture and an organisational culture that is not conducive to the performance culture of the business, needs to be addressed. In their efforts to enhance performance culture, managers need to display certain managerial competencies. It is recommended that, in order to assess a business’s performance culture and the degree to which managers display the associated managerial competencies, employees’ perceptions are taken into consideration, as practically significant differences pertaining to gender, qualification, age as well as managerial levels exist between different groups of respondents. The creation of a performance culture should be viewed as a continuous effort and it is suggested that managers investigate certain best practices in this regard in order to differentiate their businesses from competitors. In addition, managers may gain from training or coaching in order to develop and/or improve managerial skills related to the communication, planning and administration, teamwork and emotional intelligence managerial competencies, and subsequently practicing these in order to enhance the business’s performance culture. / MCom (Business Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The globalised world of business is driven by a complex mix of communication technology, consumerism and social, economic and political change. In pursuit of the latest technologies, processes and systems, managers often tend to neglect their business’s organisational culture. Traditional assets and strategies can easily be copied. A business’s organisational culture is much more difficult to reproduce and can be a competitive differentiator. Businesses which deliberately manage their organisational cultures, outperform similar businesses that do not. The performance culture in a business depends largely on the effectiveness of managers to establish an attitude of performance among employees. To achieve high performance, managers need different competencies to engage workers’ hearts and minds, as well as take advantage (in a positive way) of their physical labour. Managers who are able to create and sustain a performance culture and react to rapid change in markets and technologies, can maintain exceptional service and product quality levels despite of unpredictable business environments. Some managerial competencies are more conducive and prone to managerial effectiveness and the subsequent enhancement of a business's performance culture. Only a few businesses worldwide are managed by the notion that a performance culture equates outstanding profits and little research exists pertaining to managerial competencies that allow managers to motivate employees, win their commitment, and ultimately enhance the business’s performance culture. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the role of managers in enhancing performance culture. Knowledge and current perceptions of first-line managers and middle-level managers regarding the business’s performance culture (in terms of the associated business practices and employee characteristics), as well as certain related managerial competencies (such as communication, planning and administration, teamwork and emotional intelligence) were obtained. With regard to research methodology, the study used descriptive research in the form of quantitative, self-administered questionnaires. Two questionnaires were developed and uploaded on the Survey Monkey website. Subsequently, all first-line managers and middle-level managers (employed at Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI), the soft drink division of The South African Breweries (Pty) Ltd) were informed of the survey via an e-mail containing a cover letter as well as the hyperlink to the relevant questionnaires. The target population in this study was obtained by means of a census. Of the 438 respondents identified for the census, 186 viable questionnaires, comprising of 73 middle-level manager and 113 first-line manager respondents, were used for statistical analysis. Data entry, tabulation and statistical analysis were done by the Statistical Consultation Services of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). The results of this study indicate that organisational culture places considerable pressure on employee behaviour and influences businesses in several ways. Every business has a unique organisational culture and an organisational culture that is not conducive to the performance culture of the business, needs to be addressed. In their efforts to enhance performance culture, managers need to display certain managerial competencies. It is recommended that, in order to assess a business’s performance culture and the degree to which managers display the associated managerial competencies, employees’ perceptions are taken into consideration, as practically significant differences pertaining to gender, qualification, age as well as managerial levels exist between different groups of respondents. The creation of a performance culture should be viewed as a continuous effort and it is suggested that managers investigate certain best practices in this regard in order to differentiate their businesses from competitors. In addition, managers may gain from training or coaching in order to develop and/or improve managerial skills related to the communication, planning and administration, teamwork and emotional intelligence managerial competencies, and subsequently practicing these in order to enhance the business’s performance culture. / MCom (Business Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This thesis will focus on understanding how middle managers on five different car dealership companies in three different cities in the south of Sweden perceive the position and situation within the company, and the result of this position. It will also focus on how he or she perceive his or hers relationship with the employees and superiors in the company to be. This paper will also aim to understand by which means the middle manager chooses to deal with the perceived situation regarding the company and relationships within it. The study will be based on the experiences and opinions of the middle manager. This thesis is different from other studies made on middle managers due to the fact that even if stress will be a factor taken into consideration, it will not be the main focus of the paper. This BA thesis will be conducted with a qualitative method with semi structural interviews conducted at the interviewees respective workplaces. The result of these interviews are that the middle managers consider their relationships with the sales people at the company and with their superiors to be a good one, but not without complications. These complications are the result of the lines between professional and private life being blurred. These complications cause some stress and pressure for the middle managers, and the way for them to deal with this is to make their profession their lifestyle, they choose to live their professions. By doing this they limit the effect these complications have on their professional as well as private life

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Progressive reformers attacked the problem of corruption and lack of efficiency in city government. Reform groups in individual cities banded together in the National Municipal League and, because they believed that partisan politics were the root of the problem, attempted to devise a system which would remove politics from municipal government. Their work culminated in the introduction of the city manager, or as it is often called council-manager, form of city government. Under this plan, which closely resembles the organization of a business corporation, the elected council would serve as a board of directors and the city manager as the operating head of city government. Reformers hoped that by taking the day-to-day decisions out of the hands of elected officials and placing them in the hands of a professionally trained manager they might remove the stigma of corruption and partisanship from city government and promote efficiency. Whether this plan as it was originally conceived was or was not successful in Dallas is the subject of this thesis.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Nursing unit managers from different generations of nurses are expected to manage their units effectively, in order to achieve the healthcare goals for their clients. Directing a unit can be affected by the generational differences among nursing unit managers. It has been stated that generational differences are associated with different perceptions on directing a nursing unit. However, in Namibia, no similar evidence exists to support this theory; therefore, a contextual understanding of the nursing unit managers’ perceptions was necessary to inform future measures of improving the management of a nursing unit. Aim: The purpose of this study was to understand and explore the perceptions of nursing unit managers, from different generation cohorts, on directing a unit. Methods: An exploratory - descriptive qualitative research approach was employed. The data were collected from ten participants, using semi-structured interviews. The data analysis was done through thematic content analysis. Results The nursing unit managers had positive perceptions about their role of directing a nursing unit. The managers’ perceptions of communication, motivation, coaching, and leadership were similar. The differences in the managers’ perceptions were not directly related to generational differences between the nursing unit managers. In general, the nursing unit managers valued communication, and considered it the most significant skill required in directing a nursing unit. Discussion: Nursing unit managers from different generation cohorts view their role of directing a unit positively, and share similar perceptions, regardless of the differences in their generations. The little differences noted were not directly related to the nursing unit managers’ generations. Therefore, nursing unit managers need to be well skilled in communication, motivation, coaching, and leadership, to manage a nursing unit/ward.

The relationship of level of education to degree of "internality" in home managers was investigated. Level of education was defined as the number of years of formal education completed. The degree of "internality" was defined as a score on Rotter's I-E Scale. The instruments used were a background questionnaire and Rotter's I-D Scale. The background questionnaire and the I-E Scale were administered to 163 home managers from Ogden, Utah, who were members of selected women's church affiliated organizations. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested, 1. Higher level of formal education will be correlated with lower I-E Scale scores for home managers. A product-moment correlation of r = - .069 was found, and hypothesis 1 was rejected. 2. Home managers with 13 or more years of formal education will be significantly more "internal" than home managers with 12 or less years of formal education. A non-directional t-test value of 2.23 was found to be significant at the .05 level, and Hypothesis 2 was not rejected. Analysis of background data showed religious affiliation to be significantly related to I-E Scale scores. The home manager's age also made a significant difference in I-E scores: women 50 years old and over were more "internal."

Moral distress is a negative emotional and somatic response to external constraints on moral action. The constraints are typically identified as a component of the work environment, called the ethical climate. Moral distress is identified as a primary reason for job attrition by up to one-quarter of registered nurses who leave their jobs. One strategy suggested to staff nurses who experience moral distress is to consult their Nurse Manager (NM). However, the moral distress of NMs who are employed in acute care hospitals is poorly understood. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine NMs' perceptions of the external constraints on moral agency, specifically the hospital ethical climate, which leads to their experience of moral distress and how attributes of the ethical climate facilitated or impeded resolution of their moral distress. Semi-structured, audio-recorded telephone interviews were conducted with 17 NMs from across United States. An interpretive description design using an iterative process between data collection and data analysis was used. Data were analyzed through descriptive coding and thematic analysis. The participants in this study were 15 women and 2 men with a mean age of 46.4 years. The mean length of time in their current positions was slightly less than 5 years. Of the 17 hospitals represented, 6 were affiliated with a university and 4 had a religious affiliation. Fifteen of 17 NMs described situations in which the implicit and explicit values of the hospital were incongruent with their personal moral values and professional ethics. Common themes describing factors contributing to moral distress were administrative policies, negative communication patterns and relationships with physicians, issues related to staff nurses, issues related to patients and families, and multiple competing job obligations. Respondents described strategies to navigate through their moral distress. The strategies included taking a positive perspective, seeking the advice of NM colleagues, reliance on a positive relationship with a supervisor, and talking it through with family members. For 5 of the 15 NMs who experienced moral distress, their final strategy included plans to resign from their positions. Issues within the ethical climate of the hospital that were perceived to contribute to the development of moral distress among this cohort of NMs differed from those reported for staff nurses. Further examination of strategies used by NMs to improve the ethical climate may yield insights into effective ways to address moral distress for this population.

This dissertation presents five research essays evaluating the performance of managed funds in light of the investment strategy and manager characteristics exhibited by institutional investment companies. An analysis of investment performance with respect to a fund managers strategy provides important information in determining whether performance objectives have been achieved. There are a number of different types of investment strategies managed funds may adopt. However, the primary dichotomy is on the basis of whether the portfolio manager implements either an active or index approach. Active managers attempt to outperform the market through the use of price-sensitive information, whereas a passive manager's objective is to replicate the returns and risk of a target benchmark index. The evaluation of investment manager characteristics is also evaluated. This is motivated on the basis that asset management entities place significant emphasis on both the articulation and differentiation of their investment style relative to competitors, and selling the strengths of their portfolio management skills (in terms of past performance) as well identifying the key individuals comprising their investment team and their unique attributes. For active equity managers, the methods used in constructing portfolios and implementing the investment strategy include security selection, in terms of 'top-down' or 'bottom-up' strategies, value-biased, growth-biased or style-neutral strategies, and portfolios exhibiting market capitalisation biases (i.e. preferences to large or small-cap securities). In terms of active bond portfolio management, the most common strategies include duration management and yield curve positioning. Active managers' strategies are likely to extend beyond stock selection, in particular, where the fund manager adjusts the portfolio's composition in anticipation of favourably capitalising on future movements in the market. For index managers, replication of both the returns and risk of the underlying index may be achieved through either full-replication of constituent stocks comprising the index, or through non-replication techniques (stratified sampling and/or optimisation). Each essay provides a unique contribution to the literature with respect to the performance of active and index funds, as well as an analysis of funds that invest specifically in domestic equities, domestic fixed interest, and diversified funds that invest across the broad spectrum of asset classes. The origins of the performance evaluation literature are ascribed to Cowles' (1933) pioneering work, and the literature has given increasing attention to the topic. However the most fundamental issue considered in almost all previous studies of managed fund performance is the extent to which actively managed portfolios have earned superior risk-adjusted excess returns for investors. The literature has overwhelmingly documented (with a small number of exceptions) that active funds have been unable to earn superior returns, either before or after expenses (e.g. Jensen (1968), Elton et al. (1993), Malkiel (1995), Gruber (1996)). While the international evidence is supported by the few Australian managed fund studies available, Australian research remains surprisingly scarce. This is perplexing considering the sheer size of the investment industry in Australia (around $A717 billion as at 30 June 2001) and the importance placed on the sector with respect to successive Federal Governments' retirement income policies. The objectives of this dissertation therefore involve an analysis of managed fund performance with respect to differences in investment strategies (i.e. active and index), as well as providing an analysis of funds invested in equities, bonds and diversified asset classes (or multi-sector portfolios). The first essay evaluates the market timing and security selection capabilities of Australian pooled superannuation funds. These funds provide institutional investors with exposure to securities across many different asset classes, including domestic and international equities, domestic and international fixed interest, property and cash. Surprisingly, the specific analysis of multi-sector funds is scarce in the literature and limited to Brinson et al. (1986, 1991), Sinclair (1990), and Blake et al. (1999). This essay also evaluates performance for the three largest asset classes within diversified superannuation funds and their contribution to overall portfolio return. The importance of an accurately specified market portfolio proxy in the measurement of investment performance is demonstrated, where the essay employs performance benchmarks that account for the multi-sector investment decisions of active investment managers in a manner that is consistent with their unique investment strategy. This approach rectifies Sinclair's (1990) analysis resulting from benchmark misspecification. Consistent with the literature, the empirical results indicate that Australian pooled superannuation funds do not exhibit significantly positive security selection or market timing skill. Given the evidence in the literature surrounding the inability of active funds to deliver superior returns to investors, lower cost index funds have become increasingly popular as an alternative investment strategy. Despite the significant growth in index funds since 1976, when the first index mutual fund was launched in the U.S., research on their performance is sparse in the U.S. and non-existent in Australia. The second essay provides an original analysis of the Australian index fund market, with specific analysis applicable to institutional Australian equity index funds offered by fund managers. While indexing is theoretically straightforward, in practice there exist potential difficulties in exactly matching the return of the underlying index. Therefore the magnitude of tracking error is likely to be of concern to investors. This essay documents the existence of significant tracking error for Australian index funds, where the magnitude of the difference between index fund returns and index returns averages between 7.4 and 22.3 basis points per month for funds operating at least five years. However, there is little evidence of bias in tracking error, implying that these funds neither systematically outperform or underperform their benchmark on a before cost basis. Further analysis documents that the magnitude of tracking error is related to fund cash flows, market volatility, transaction costs and index replication strategies used by passive investment managers. The third essay presents evidence of the performance of U.S. mutual funds, where attention is given to both active and index mutual funds for which the applicable benchmark index is the S&P 500. This essay examines both the magnitude and variation of tracking error over time for S&P 500 index mutual funds. The essay documents seasonality in S&P 500 index mutual fund tracking error, where tracking error is significantly higher in the months of January and May, together with a seasonal trough in the quarters ending March-June-September-December. Statistical evidence indicates tracking error is both positively and significantly correlated with the dividend payments arising from constituent S&P 500 securities. In terms of a performance comparison between actively managed and index funds, active funds on average are found to significantly underperform passive benchmarks. On the other hand, S&P 500 index mutual funds earned higher risk-adjusted excess returns after expenses than large capitalisation-oriented active mutual funds in the period examined. These results suggest the S&P 500 is consistent with capital market efficiency, implying an absence of economic benefit accruing to the average investor utilising actively managed U.S. equity mutual funds. The fourth essay presented in the dissertation examines the performance of Australian investment management organisations with direct reference to their specific characteristics and strategies employed. Using a unique information source, performance is evaluated for actively managed institutional balanced funds (or diversified asset class funds), Australian share funds and Australian bond funds. Performance is evaluated with respect to the investment strategy adopted, the experience and qualifications held by investment professionals, and the tenure of the key investment professionals. This essay also evaluates the performance of senior sector heads to determine the skills of individuals driving the investment process, even though these individuals may migrate to competitor organisations. The essay finds evidence that a significant number of active Australian equity managers earned superior risk-adjusted returns in the period, however active managers perform in line with market indices for balanced funds and Australian bond funds. A number of manager characteristics are also found to predict risk-adjusted excess returns, systematic risk and investment expenses. Of particular note, performance of balanced funds is negatively related to the institution's age and the loyalty of non-senior investment staff. Performance is also found to be significantly higher for managers that predominantly operate their portfolios using a bottom-up, stock selection approach. Interestingly, the human capital of managers, measured as the years of tertiary education undertaken, does not explain risk-adjusted excess returns. Systematic risk is positively related to an institutions age and negatively related to both senior manager loyalty and the implementation of bottom-up portfolio management strategies. In terms of management expenses, fees are directly related to the Australian equities benchmark allocation, the years of tertiary education, the number of years service (loyalty) for non-senior investment professionals and the total years experience of senior money managers. This concluding essay also documents that changes in top management have significant performance effects. In the 12-month period after a change in fixed income director or chief investment officer, performance is significantly lower and significantly higher, respectively. There is no significant difference in performance where changes in top management occur for Australian equities. The years of service (loyalty) provided to asset management firms by equities directors is inversely related to risk-adjusted return. The fifth and final essay examines the investment performance of active Australian bond funds and the impact of investor fund flows on portfolio returns. This essay represents a significant and original analysis in terms of its contribution to the literature, given the absence of Australian bond fund performance analytics and also the limited attention provided in the U.S. Both security selection and market timing performance is evaluated using both unconditional models and conditional performance evaluation techniques, which account for public information and the time-variation in risk. Overall, the results of this essay are consistent with the U.S. and international mutual fund evidence, where performance is found to be consistent with an efficient market. While actively managed institutional funds perform broadly in line with the index before expenses, the paper documents significant underperformance for actively managed retail bond funds after fees. The study also documents that retail fund flows negatively impact on market timing coefficients when flow is not accounted for in unconditional models.