The introduction of training and skills development legislation, such as the Skills Development Act No. 97 of 1998, and the Skills Development Levies Act No. 9 of 1999, has forced organisations to invest in the development of skills of its employees in South Africa. The National Skills Development Strategy, the Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa and the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA) are other legislative measures introduced by the South African government to contribute to the importance of training and skills development in organisations. It is necessary for the public sector organisations to train and develop the skills of its personnel in order to improve organisational, team and individual performance. Training and skills development should also assist in forming the basis for lifelong learning and to increase productivity and quality of work. A comprehensive human resource training and development strategy should be linked to the business strategy and the human resource management strategy in organisations. The primary objective of this study was to analyse the views of employees and to determine their level of awareness regarding training and skills development and how these can improve performance in the Free State Province municipalities. To reach this primary objective, a number of secondary objectives were considered as relevant. These included exploring the concepts of training, skills development and performance management. An analysis of statutory and regulatory guidelines pertaining to training and skills development and the assessment of structures, procedures and processes that exist in municipalities for the promotion of training and skills development were also highlighted. The effects of adequate training and skills development on performance in the Free State Province municipalities were analysed. Lastly, guidelines and recommendations regarding training, skills development and performance management were developed for municipalities in the Free State Province. The research was conducted in the Free State Province municipalities. It comprised of a literature study and an empirical survey using questionnaires and interviews to obtain information from managers, supervisors and frontline staff in the Free State Province municipalities. The respondents were tested on their views regarding the impact of training and skills development programmes in improving performance in their workplace. The findings of this research demonstrated that training and skills development enhances performance of personnel in specific functional areas in the Free State Province municipalities, and for this to be more effective on performance in municipalities, it should be provided adequately in specific areas of the Local Government Five Year Strategic Agenda, particularly to the Free State Province municipalities. Some of the most important findings of this research are the following: •that most of the managers and frontline staff in Free State Province municipalities received adequate training and skills development programmes; •that most of the trainings and skills development programmes received by managers in the Free State Province municipalities were related to their job tasks; •that managers and frontline staff in Free State Province municipalities felt motivated to do their job tasks after they were provided with training and skills development programmes; •that managers in Free State Province municipalities still find it difficult to ensure public participation by their communities even after training and skills development programmes were provided to them; and •that adequate training and skills development of personnel improves performance in many functional areas in municipalities in Free State Province. The study ends with recommendations for management actions on training needs, and for further research on this topic. / PhD (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

This paper is the result of a study of competition and cooperation in regard to tourism between the five largest municipalities in Norrland in northern Sweden. The municipalities are Luleå, Skellefteå, Umeå, Sundsvall and Gävle. The aim was to study the relation between competition and cooperation between these municipalities. An important theoretical aspect in this study is coopetition, where competition and cooperation occur at the same time. The studies on coopetition in the Nordic kontext is limited and the main literature on coopetition study the relationship between firms. This study however takes a geographical standpoint and aims to fill the gap in the literature on how competition and cooperation are connected to each other between chosen municipalities. To do this the tourism strategies of the municipalities were studied thoroughly. These written strategies provided information about how the municipalities view their competitive advantages and disadvantages and some general information about how they cooperate with the nearest regions. To find out how the municipalities think about competition and cooperation with the other four specific municipalities interviews were made with experts on the tourism field in each municipality. The results show that the municipalities do not have established strategies for how they are to be competitive compared with other specific municipalities. They do not see it as profitable to compete, instead they should complement each other. At the same time however, most of the municipalities mostly cooperate with municipalities in a short distance from them, and due to lack of resources only briefly or not at all with the municipalities studied here.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur Sveriges kommuner förhåller sig till hållbarhetsmått. Vi ska studera vilka hållbarhetsmått som rapporteras samt vad som påverkar användningen av dessa hållbarhetsmått. Metod: Vi har använt oss av en enkätundersökning som skickats ut per mail för att samla in vårt empiriska underlag. Vi har sedan analyserat underlaget med hjälp av programmet IBM SPSS Statistics 22 för att sedan redovisa våra resultat i form av tabeller och löpande text. Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet av vår studie visar att kommuner rapporterar hållbarhetsmått i genomsnitt i viss till måttlig utsträckning. Den visar även att kommuner med drivande kommunledning tenderar att rapportera och använda hållbarhetsmått i större utsträckning än andra kommuner. Den pekar också på att antal miljöprojekt som kommunen bedriver samt om kommunen låter sig inspireras av andra kommuner även påverkar utsträckningen av rapporteringen och användningen av hållbarhetsmåtten. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vårt förslag till fortsatt forskning är att göra en mer ingående analys av Sveriges kommuners hållbarhetsredovisning då vi på grund av tidsbegränsning inte kunnat göra någon mer ingående analys. Vidare forskning kan granska vilka effekter den bristande hållbarhetsredovisningen i många kommuner orsakar. Uppsatsens bidrag: Vår undersökning bidrar till nya insikter om hur Sveriges kommuner hållbarhetsredovisar. Vi belyser vilka hållbarhetsmått som kommunerna rapporterar samt vad som påverkar rapporteringen och användningen av hållbarhetsmåtten.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009.

Mémoire (M.E.S.R.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1994. / Résumé disponible sur Internet. CaQCU Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thèse (M.E.R.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, avec l'Université du Québec à Hull, 1995. / Page 99 manquante. CaQCU Bibliogr.: f. 209-216. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

<p>The purpose of this essay has been to find out how adolescents from Södermöre in the municipality of Kalmar experience the central place Kalmar. It has also been the intention to make clear, whether the relation between the adolescents and the central place Kalmar could be described as a centre-periphery-relation. The basis of this essay has been interviews of all together nine adolescents.</p><p>A centre-periphery-situation can according to the theory be discovered by analyzing three categories: culture, economy and politics. If the centre dominates the periphery in one of these three categories, a centre-periphery-situation exists. The theory also says that the people living in the periphery experience less kinship with the people living in the centre.</p><p>The adolescents from Södermöre showed to experience the central place Kalmar in a way, that can be described in five categories: travelling mostly by bus, unfair distribution of the resources of the municipality, political equality, social equality and the awareness of the central place Kalmar as the place ‘where everything is located’.</p><p>When it came to economy and politics, no indications of a centre-periphery-situation were found during the interviews with the adolescents. However, culturally the adolescents from Södermöre seemed to experience domination from the central place Kalmar. This domination was strengthened by the experience of bad bus services.</p>

<p>Currently, the whole globe is faced with serious problems which negatively affect people around the world: increased pollution, excessive waste, and weather pattern changes. ‘Left’ and ‘right’ wing political parties alike have embraced ‘green’ politics and for many of these parties, environmental issues have become a top priority that is very much reflected in their manifestos. This study examines the environmental goals of two of Sweden’s largest political parties and how these ambitions are reflected at a local level. The conclusions I have drawn in the study have been achieved by analysing official documents and by the comparison between two Swedish municipalities. As a result of my research, I have learned that the political leanings of a party are substantial in determining the goals and works for long-term sustainability at a local level. However, whether the prevailing parties are of the ‘left’ or ‘right’ political orientation does not seem to be of big importance because both ‘wings’ in Sweden are very liberal and have very similar environmental goals.</p>

This paper examines the impact of the building or renovation of a sports arena on net migration and amenity premiums. Swedish municipal data is collected for 289 municipalities over the period 1999 to 2016. The econometric analysis makes use of fixed effects (FE) and feasible generalised linear squares (FGLS) estimation techniques. This study builds on the growing literature of the intangible benefits of sports arenas and is one of the few Swedish studies of its kind. The results show that a sports arena built in year t, realises a 3.458% increase in net migration in year t + 5, for those sports arenas being used by football and ice hockey teams in the highest and second highest leagues.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Internal Auditing in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of risk management systems within municipalities in the Overberg district of South Africa. The value of effective risk management systems in any organisation cannot be underestimated as it is responsible for appropriately identifying, assessing, and treating risks that may adversely influence the achievement of organisational objectives. The Overberg district municipalities were used as case studies to identify and evaluate the factors that could affect implementation of risk management systems at a local government level in a specific geographical area. The primary research question was what factors affect the effective implementation of risk management systems at the Overberg district municipalities. To answer this research question, sub-questions and research objectives were formulated to determine the relevant factors. The research employed descriptive statistics, as well as inferential analysis to analyse the data. Lack of sufficient funding for risk mitigation seemed to be the main factor that affects the implementation of risk management systems within the municipalities. In addition, the research highlighted the current gaps in the implementation of risk management processes. This made municipalities aware of the risks within their organisation and identified the benefits of implementing sound risk management initiatives. The contribution of the research will empower the Overberg district municipalities to manage their key organisational risks proactively. This will lead to sustainable local governments that will be able to continue to perform their primary functions effectively. From the results, it was evident that although the Overberg district municipalities had risk management systems in place, insufficient funding posed a challenge to effective risk mitigation. Municipal management should therefore allocate sufficient funding to ensure effective implementation of risk management systems.