No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This research utilises existing problem solving and decision making theories to explain the complex organisational process by which Royal Mail revises Postal Officers' walks in mail delivery. A field study in the RM demonstrates that this is a complex task involving a political / negotiation process comprising many stakeholders with different agendas. Two conclusions are drawn. First, a pluralistic model of decision making is required to explain this process. Second, the model that guides the RM is a rational / optimal decision making model. The RM has employed computer-based systems to support the revision process. Case studies are reported of the revision processes undertaken with and without computer aids. These demonstrate that the existing computer system provides limited assistance and its use is sporadic. A new Walk Optimisation system was being considered for purchase and development and the thesis follows the processes employed. Three conclusions were drawn. First, the development process for the new system utilised a technical agenda similar to the rational model of decision making. Second, by reference to the case study material, it was likely the new system would have organisational implications which could lead to dysfunction. Third the current development process being followed would not address these issues. In the final part of the thesis a series of Future Implementation Scenario workshops are described which attempted to assist the RM staff in identifying the organisational implications of the WO system before it was implemented. The scenario exercise explored three characteristics of participants; knowledge of the stakeholder roles affected, knowledge of the RM, and knowledge of the WO system. The workshops succeeded in revealing many organisational issues which need addressing if the new system is to improve decision making in the Revision Process. Contrary to expectations the greater knowledge of participants did not translate into a richer analysis of the implications. The thesis concludes that a full understanding of organisational decision making requires the integration of rational, bounded and social / political approaches, and that this also applies to systems design process. It also concludes that the models and methods used within organisations need to be broadened and recognise the social / organisational agenda but that the methods currently available are difficult to apply. Funhennore, by continuing with a rational / technological approach to decision making, organisations limit their future decision making options and the process is, therefore, self-perpetuating.

No description available.

In July 1980 the National Government selected a proposal by the Fletcher-Alusuisse-Gove consortium for the establishment of an aluminium smelter which would take up the last and greatest part of a 5000 Gigawatt-hour electricity concession. This decison provides a convenient end-point for a long and complicated period of energy planning where a major concern has been the utilisation of surplus energy resources. The history of this decision will be traced in this study beginning with the discovery of the surplus energy resources in 1978. A considerable part of this decision-making has been conducted inside the government bureaucrary and in secret. This study focuses exclusively on this bureaucratic decisionmaking providing a detailed discussion of the energy planning issues and also endeavouring to treat the decision as the outcome of organisational processes. It is an important theoretical concern that only through an understanding of behavioural processes can the importance of managing the decision process be fully appreciated. Some of the circumstances in which this study was undertaken must be mentioned in order to explain the approach that has been adopted. The structure of this study has been largely determined by the requirements of a second report which is a detailed chronology of events commissioned by the Treasury. It has been through producing this Treasury report that access has been permitted to departmental files providing by far the greatest amount of research material. Access to government officials has also been assisted. However, because of the requirements of the Treasury report and the sensitivity of the issues covered, it has not been possible to interview key participants in the decision outside the government bureaucracy. It should also be noted that the controversy which has marked the public debate on the aluminium smelter and associated issues has also been evident in the bureaucratic decisionmaking where sharp interdepartmental differences appeared. This context has meant that when the interviewing was carried out in late 1980 and early 1981, many officials still felt unable to give a completely frank and detailed account of events. Despite these circumstances, many officials have been of considerable assistance to me and have been very generous with their valuable time. In particular I wish to acknowledge the assistance given to me by Mr Rob Laking and Mr Howard Fancy. I am also grateful for the kind and patient supervision offered to me by Professor Keith Jackson and for the generous services of Mr Richard Kennaway and Dr. Keith Ovenden.

The concept of affirmative action was introduced eight years ago in South Africa and remains to this day a highly topical issue. It appears that issues of effective implementation of affirmative action measures are at the heart of these debates. The gender-based affirmative action measures are the most intriguing in the South African context, as all women are considered beneficiaries of affirmative action. The reason for the aforesaid is that all women were subject to male domination during the Apartheid system. Women’s experiences of subordination are, however, intertwined with race. It therefore becomes difficult to decide which should receive the highest priority: race or gender, in other words, who should give way to whom, black men or white women. The above scenario presents the question: what attitudes do men and women have towards gender-based affirmative action measures? This question is asked in the context of whether men and women perceive themselves to be participating in organisational decision-making and whether those perceptions together with their gender-based affirmative action attitudes are related to their commitment to the organisation. For data collection purposes, a questionnaire was distributed via e-mail to 350 lecturers in the Faculties of Engineering and Humanities at an academic institution. Convenience and accessibility sampling methods were used. Only 27 individuals responded to the questionnaire. Fieldworkers were subsequently employed to distribute the questionnaires personally. This method yielded 48 responses. The findings indicate that both men and women have positive attitudes towards gender based affirmative action and that both genders perceive themselves to be participating in organisational decision-making. In addition, both genders express a high level of commitment to the organisation. These findings are similar across the Engineering and Humanities faculty. A multiple regression analysis indicates that gender-based affirmative action attitudes together with perceptions of participation in decision-making predict organisational commitment only weakly. A strong correlation does, however, exist between perceptions of participation in decision-making and organisational commitment. It was concluded that gender-based affirmative action attitudes and participation in organisational decision-making independently predict organisational commitment. This indicates that affirmative action is merely a tool to obtain access for previously marginalised groups into otherwise less accessible organisations. It does, however, not predict whether the individuals in question will remain committed to these organisations. Organisational commitment is, in fact, predicted by whether the individual feels that his/her contributions are appreciated in the organisation. This applies regardless of gender and faculty. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

FSCN-rapport; R-02-33

FSCN-rapport; R-02-33