Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-72). / The training and supervision of home visitors for the Parent Centre's Parent-Infant Home Visitation Programme (PIHVP) was evaluated. The evaluation aimed to determine whether training and supervision prepared the home visitors to deliver the PIHVP as intended. The supervision questionnaire measured home visitors' views on the extent to which group and individual supervision fulfil their educative, supportive and administrative functions, and the extent to which they felt supervision prepared them for visits. The training questionnaire asked them to rate the extent of their home visiting skills and knowledge a) before training and b) immediately after training. Interviews were also conducted with 27 past programme recipients, during which they were asked a) in which areas their home visitor assisted them, b) which assistance they found most useful and c) if there were any other areas in which they would like to have been assisted.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-66). / The aim of this study is to identify and examine the antecedents of work-family enrichment. Data gathered from 221 participants employed at a South African FMCG enterprise showed that two personality characteristics, positive affectivity and self-efficacy helped predict both directions of work-family enrichment while work commitment and work engagement were shown to be significant for an individual experiencing work to family enrichment. Social support from various sources was examined (i.e. family, supervisors and perceived organizational support). Family support and perceived organizational support helped predict greater family to work enrichment and work to family enrichment respectively, yet contrary to expectations, supervisory support was not shown to increase work to family enrichment. Importantly, this study confirmed the multidimensionality of the work-family enrichment scale.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-51). / The issue of commitment has received extensive research through the years yet inconsistencies still prevail. This research investigated the relationships between organizational commitment, trade union commitment, job satisfaction and trade union participation. A survey based on the work of Meyer and Allen (1997) was used to collect data. The sample consisted of 90 participants who were members of the same trade union. The main findings indicate that trade union commitment is positively correlated to union participation and it explains 34 % of variance in participation. No significant difference based on gender was found in the sample which is inconsistent with available literature. Organizational and union commitment exhibit a significant positive relationship as do job satisfaction and union commitment as well as job satisfaction and union participation. Organizational commitment and union participation exhibited a non-significant result. Dual commitment was also apparent in the sample. Further research is advisable to ascertain fully on these relationships within the South African context.

Word processed copy. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-52). / The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between union commitment and union participation. The research was conducted in the electrical engineering industry in the Western Cape. The respondents (N = 131) were all employees of electrical engineering companies in the Western Cape. From a sample of 65.5 per cent, 41.9 per cent of the respondents were female and 58, 01 per cent was male. Results indicated that union commitment is the main predictor of union participation and perceived union instrumentality is a significant predictor of union commitment. Affective organizational commitment and affective union commitment correlated moderately with each other. Results also indicated that there are no significant differences between union participation levels of male and female union members.

Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical refences.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-41). / This is a theory evaluation of the Touchline Media (TLM) employee induction programme. Organisations use induction training as part of the new employee welcoming process, making it one of the most common types of organisational training programmes (Klein & Weaver, 2000). Employees who have participated in structured induction programmes are 69% more likely to stay with their chosen organisation than compared to employees who did not receive a similar programme (Brodie, 2006). Ideal induction programmes with appropriate content, process, support and follow-up components have universally been shown to improve employee retention and identification. The one-day TLM induction programme is set in a media and magazine production environment that is very fast paced and deadline driven. It was constructed as a means of ensuring that the organisation's legal obligation surrounding employee induction was fulfilled by informing new employees of their specific job requirements, performance standards and company policies. There are three evaluation questions that are addressed in this evaluation: Evaluation question 1: Does the HRM's programme theory work for the recipients? In other words, are they aware that the outcome of the induction programme should be fulfilling a legal obligation? Evaluation question 2: Would the original induction programme lead, by default, to identification with the employer and staff retention? This evaluation question was included, as it was assumed that the programme activities might have unintended consequences like identification and retention. Evaluation question 3: If the original programme theory is changed (based on existing literature regarding induction programmes) would it lead to an improved design and in the end, to a more effective programme? Data was collected from programme participants using a ten item questionnaire. Questionnaire items were included by the evaluators to test three factors (Legal Obligation, Retention and Identification), with responses in a five-point Likert format. No statistically significant differences in the mean scores for Legal Obligation, Retention and Identification for the three groups of programme attendees (Group 1: New employees with first month induction attendance; Group 2: New employees with later induction attendance; Group 3: Long-serving employees with later induction attendance) were found. This is an indication that the TLM induction programme did not lead to the outcomes of Legal Obligation, Retention or Identification. The main suggestions for improvement were presented according to the four universal components that make up a well organised induction programme, namely content, support, follow-up and process (D' Aurizio, 2007).

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-145). / This research explores the perceptions of internal and external career barriers from the perspective of female South African police officers in the Western Cape. This research is primarily informed by Swanson and Woitke's (1997) translation of career assessment theory into practice for women; Swanson, Daniels and Tokar's (1996) focus on the perceptions of career-related barriers and Bandura's (1977, 1986, 1988, 1995 & 1997) research findings that relate to the construct of self-efficacy and beliefs that individuals hold about their own capabilities. The research provides an overview of Career Development theories.

Organisations worldwide spend a substantial proportion of revenue on salaries and benefits (compensation) as an investment in employees who are regarded as human capital. The justification behind this investment is the theoretical assertion that investments in human capital predict financial performance but empirical support for this relationship is limited. The present study contributes to the extant literature by examining the relationship between human capital effectiveness (HCE) and financial performance. A further contribution of the research is to consider alternative criteria of financial performance as findings may be dependent on operationalisation of the criterion. The relationships we tested were between Human Capital Return on Investment (HCROI) and (1) Return on Assets and (2) Return on Equity. Drawing on the Resource Based View theory, we conducted a study using 10 years of data from a sample that comprised the Global 1000 (highest revenue, listed firms domiciled across 45 countries). We used a retrospective correlational study. Spearman Correlation (rs) analysis revealed significant effects for the relationships we investigated in all years. Moreover, meta-analysis showed these effects to be significant on average across the 10 years, showing moderate strength and relative stability. A corollary of the study is that we established global benchmarks for HCROI and provided the first empirical evidence that supports a positive relationship between HCE and financial performance. These findings may be useful to investors who seek possible indicators of expected financial performance from HCE. In doing so, the study suggests we should expand financial reporting to include HCE indicators. Implications of findings and study limitations are noted.

The shortage of qualified actuaries and actuarial science resources in general, remains a challenge for organisations operating in the South African financial and insurance sectors. Access to such resources are a business imperative for these organisations and, therefore, there is a compelling business case to better understand which total rewards elements contribute most to the retention of individuals that possess these critical and also scarce skills. Furthermore, it would seem that traditional strategies that are meant to retain actuaries and/or actuarial science resources are no longer effective and new and innovative approaches in terms of their design and implementation need to be found. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to investigate the retention of actuarial resources and identify the total rewards elements that will be most useful in creating the conditions that are conducive for them to stay within their respective organisations. Limited research in which the total rewards elements that may contribute most to the retention of actuarial resources, could be found. Greater insight in this area will hopefully enable organisations to develop reward policies and practices that are able to more effectively attract and retain actuarial resources. A descriptive research design and quantitative approach was employed to estimate the total rewards preferences of actuaries, in other words which reward elements they would prefer and that may be related to their intention to stay. Using a non-probability convenience sampling approach, primary data was collected by means of an online field survey (n = 135). The questionnaire that was used to collect data, included a total rewards sub-scale (21 items), a reward preferences sub-scale based on best-worst scaling (10 items), a job satisfaction subscale (6 items), an intention to stay sub-scale (4 items), an affective commitment sub-scale (6 items) and a single open-ended question, which was optional. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, assessing reliability using Cronbach’s alpha and conducting inferential statistics. The results of the factor analysis indicated that the total rewards dimensions do not influence intention to stay of the participants. Although job satisfaction and affective commitment were found to be significantly positively related to intention to stay, these variables were not found to mediate the relationship between total reward elements and intention to stay. The best-worst scaling results revealed that all participants considered remuneration and career advancement to be the most important total reward element for their intention to stay. For all generational groups, the bottom three reward elements (i.e. ranked) were learning opportunities, performance recognition and employee benefits, respectively. Traditional reward elements are important to employees with scarce skills. However, customizing reward preferences according to the generational preferences would enable an innovative approach to talent retention of actuarial resources.

Bibliography: leaves 128-144.