Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Köln.

Thesis (doctoral)--Technischen Hochschule Dresden.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Rostock. / Includes bibliographical references (p. v-vii).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Rostock. / Includes bibliographical references (p. v-vii).

Incentive pay systems are of interest to both researchers and practitioners as a way to improve employee productivity and efficiency. Past research has considered the design of incentive systems, the effects of systems and costs/benefits to employers. Little consideration has been given to another issue: what characteristics are associated with high incentive pay performers? Research that has considered the effect of personal variables on incentive-rewarded performance has failed to provide a theoretical framework in which findings could be considered, and thus lacks the underlying unity and cohesiveness that a theoretical model could provide. In order to investigate the relationship between an individual's characteristics and incentive-rewarded performance, a questionnaire was administered to 453 employees of a major garment manufacturer. Employees responded to questions about their background, their interests and their attitudes toward their work. Performance was measured using employee production data from a nine week period collected by the company. This study proposed and investigated a theoretical model of piecework performance which postulates that motivation, within a piecework setting, is a function of the valences of pay and workgroup affiliation. This model proposes that this measure of motivation, in combination with an ability measure, is related to performance. Quantitative results indicate that this model is useful in understanding piecework performance. Both the valence of pay and ability were found to be predictive of performance. Moreover, the valence of pay was related to age and Protestant ethic while previous findings that employees high in affiliation need were susceptible to rate restriction were not supported. Findings from this study hold promise for more effective selection of piecework employees and add insight into the use of incentive pay to increase individual performance. / Ph. D.

För att få en kontinuerlig tillväxt inom samhället är en väg framåt att säkerställa en ökad effektivitet och produktivitet, detta gäller även för bygg- och anläggningsbranschen. Det finns rapporter som visar på att produktiviteten inom byggsektorn i princip stått stilla sedan 80 år tillbaka. Vissa mätningar visar till och med att det skett en konsekvent nedgång av byggbranschens produktivitet. Byggbranschen har därmed haft en låg tillväxt av produktiviteten.  Studier har visat på att det finns ett antal faktorer som teoretiskt kan tänkas ha en inverkan på produktiviteten, dessa är Effectivness, Efficiency, Quality, Quality of work life och Innovation. Dessa faktorer har beskrivits med utgångspunkt i ett antal kända teorier. Teorierna har i huvudsak behandlat två områden, Löneformer och Motivation och drivkrafter. Inom byggsektorn har man länge använt sig av ackordslön som ett lönesystem för att reglera yrkesarbetarnas löner. En diskussion som därför kan vara intressant handlar om ackordslönernas inverkan på produktiviteten. Det övergripande syftet med examensarbetet är att söka produktionsnära beskrivningar på vad som kan förklara varför produktiviteten inom bygg- och anläggningsbranschen har en låg utveckling. I examensarbetet söks därför förklaringar på vilka faktorer man inom byggproduktionen anser kan ha en inverkan på produktiviteten. Vidare undersöks om och vilken inverkan ackordssystemet har på produktiviteten.  Examensarbetet har baserats på tre studier. Inledningsvis utfördes en litteraturstudie som syftade till att dels skapa en teoretisk grund, dels skapa en referens som baseras på vetenskapliga artiklar, tidskrifter och litteratur som kan användas till att analysera resultaten mot. Den andra studien var en webbaserad enkätundersökning som skickades ut till 390 platschefer i syfte att dels skapa en uppfattning om vilka faktorer personer inom byggproduktionen anser bidrar till ökad produktivitet, dels fånga platschefers uppfattning om ackordssystemet har en inverkan på produktiviteten. Till detta tillkom även att beskriva och definiera begreppen produktivitet och ackord. Svarsfrekvens blev 35 %. Slutligen genomfördes en fördjupad enkätundersökning. Den fördjupade enkätundersökningen är ett resultat av analysen som genomfördes på den första enkätundersökningen. Den fördjupade enkätundersökningen skickades till 10 platschefer. 6 av 10 svarade.  Studien visar att: Ca 80 % av respondenterna anser att produktiviteten varit oförändrad eller minskat under de senaste 10 åren. 80% av respondenterna ser även ett samband mellan ackordssystemet och produktiviteten inom byggproduktion. Vidare menar ca 75% av att ackord bidrar positivt till produktiviteten. Respondenterna menar på att engagemang är den viktigaste faktorn för att öka produktiviteten. Innovation och industrialisering är lågt värderade när det kommer till att öka produktiviteten. Resultatet pekar även på att byggbranschen idag inte är överens gällande definitionen av begreppet produktivitet. / To achieve continuous growth in society, a way forward is to ensure increased efficiency and productivity, the same applies to the construction industry. Some reports show that productivity in the construction sector has been stagnant for 80 years. Furthermore, some measurements even show that there has been a consistent decline in the construction industry's productivity. The construction industry has thus had weak growth in productivity. Studies have shown that there are several factors that could theoretically have an impact on productivity, these are Effectiveness, Efficiency, Quality, Working Quality and Innovation. These factors have been described based on several known theories. The theories have mainly dealt with two areas, Wage forms and Motivation and driving forces. In the construction sector, piecework wages have long been used as a wage system to regulate the wages of skilled workers. A discussion that may therefore be interesting is about the impact of piecework wages on productivity.  The overall aim of the project is to seek production-related descriptions of what may explain why productivity in the construction industry has a low development. The degree project, therefore, seeks explanations for which factors are considered in construction management to have an impact on productivity. Furthermore, it is investigated whether and what effect the piecework wages have on productivity.  The degree project has been based on three studies. Initially, a literature study was carried out which aimed to both create a theoretical basis and create a reference based on scientific articles, journals and literature that can be used to analyze the results against. The second study was a web-based survey sent out to 390 site managers to create an idea of what factors people in construction management consider contributing to increased productivity, and to capture site managers' perception on the piecework wages has an impact on productivity. Besides, productivity and piecework wages were also described and defined by site managers. The response rate was 35%. Finally, an in-depth survey was conducted. The in-depth survey is a result of the analysis carried out on the first survey. The in-depth survey was sent to 10 site managers. The response rate was 60%.  The study shows that: About 80 % of respondents believe that productivity has remained unchanged or decreased over the past 10 years. 80 % of the respondents also see a correlation between the piecework system and productivity in construction management. Furthermore, about 75 % believe that piecework contributes positively to productivity. Respondents believe that commitment is the most important factor in increasing productivity. Innovation and industrialization are undervalued when it comes to increasing productivity. The results also indicate that the construction industry today does not agree on the definition of the concept of productivity.

Structural adjustment measures adopted during the early 1990s considerably altered the rural landscape throughout Zambia. Households responded and continue to respond in a variety of ways, although many do so under highly inequitable terms. Poverty rates, food insecurity, and income inequality all remain unacceptably high in Zambia, particularly in rural areas. Using a biocultural and livelihoods approach, this alternate "publication in scholarly journals" format dissertation examines some of the complexities that condition livelihoods and differentially shape biologies in rural Zambia today. Three main problems are explored: 1) the relationship between food insecurity and adult mental health; 2) piecework (casual labor) as a coping strategy and indicator of household vulnerability to food insecurity; and 3) the association between relative deprivation and adult physical health. Research for the dissertation took place in a rural area in Eastern Province, Zambia in 2009. The research employed a mixed methodology, collecting qualitative and household-level survey data during the rainy and dry seasons. Various statistical analyses were utilized in the three papers appended to the dissertation. The results were further explored using the findings from the qualitative data. In paper one, a positive relationship between food insecurity and poor mental health was found. Food insecurity during the dry season had a greater effect on mental health than in the rainy season. In paper two, the results demonstrate the importance of piecework labor as a coping strategy and the need to adopt a multi-period lens to robustly assess whether participation in piecework reflects a household's vulnerability to food insecurity. In the third paper, a negative association was established between relative deprivation and adult nutritional status. Together, the results from the dissertation provide clear evidence that both the material and relative circumstances of people play important roles in patterning variation in mental and physical health outcomes in rural Zambia.

The aim of this master’s thesis is to find an optimal solution of intradepartmental accounting system in the selected firm. The solution is based on analysis of theoretical methods and present conditions in the company. It focuses on problems of allocation of indirect costs and implementation of variable costing method. The proposed solution should be able to supports better decision making in sales and evaluation of production rate of the whole firm.

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban Institute of Technology, 2005 xi, 86 leaves / This study encompasses the triangulation of research methods in order to determine the impact of a piece rate incentive scheme on employee output within the South African context. The existing body of knowledge tends to reflect the conditions found in developed countries such as the USA, Canada and the UK, very little research appears to have been conducted in the South African context. / M