M.Com. (Business Management) / Personnel motivation is one of management's most important tasks, but due to a lack of understanding of the nature of motivation, it is also frequently neglected resulting in losses to the organisation. The purpose of this document was to perform a motivation study on the supervisory staff of a railway maintenance depot. With the results of this study the cause of the low level of motivation was determined, followed by recommendations to management in order to address these problem areas ...

M.A. (M.W.) / Large companies regard the presentation of programs as very important. It is necessary so that more cost effective social work services could be given to the employees of the organizations. The evaluation of programs is an aspect that does not receive enough attention. It can enable the facilitator to improve future presentations and to make these more applicable to the client system, which in this case consists of supervisors of Telkom SA ...

Magister Curationis - MCur / Nursing students’ clinical abilities are highly dependent on the quality of the clinical experience obtained, while placed in the clinical environment. The clinical environment has key role players, which include the clinical supervisor. The primary role of the clinical supervisor is to guide nursing students to become best practice nursing professionals. However, globally, literature alludes to the failure of educating institutions to deliver competent nursing professionals, to meet the needs of patients and deliver quality patient care. Anecdotal evidence at the participating university indicated the possibility that various factors such as high student supervisor ratio and increased workload for clinical supervisors may impact on the ability of the supervisors to function effectively in the clinical settings. At the participating university, this may have been due to various factors, such as large student numbers, as well as social and environmental challenges experienced by the clinical supervisors. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of clinical supervisors, who supervise nursing students at a higher education institution. The study employed a qualitative research approach, utilizing a descriptive phenomenological design. Purposive sampling was used to select eight (8) participants, who were all clinical supervisors of first and second-year nursing students at the HEI (Higher Education Institution) under study. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews and analysed, using Tesch’s method of data analysis. The five (5) major themes identified, focused on the experiences of clinical supervisors regarding: time as a constraint to job productivity; the impact of the organisational culture on the fluidity of support; limited resources; interpersonal relationships as a dynamic communication process; and impact on the self. In this study, participants focused on their experience of clinical supervision as it related to time, the organisational culture, resources and the impact of the experience on the self. The researcher based on the findings concluded that clinical supervisors are generally satisfied with their jobs and they love the teaching role that they portray. They are unhappy with the circumstances, that they experiencing as challenging in which they must do their clinical supervisor job.

SAPS is currently implementing an EAP. Supervisors are an important link in the EAP process because they are the first persons to identify a troubled employee and to refer the employee to the EAP. Owing to her knowledge of an EAP and her interest in supervisory training, the researcher was asked to assist with the development of a supervisory training programme. The researcher has been employed as a social worker in the SAPS for ten years. In practice it happens that commanders refer troubled employees to the EAP when the commanders do not know what else to do with the troubled employees. At that stage the problems that the employees experience are of such a nature that long-term therapy is needed to attend to them. At times the commanders will act as social workers instead of referring the employee to the EAP. The researcher wanted to establish empirically what the role, knowledge and the attitude of commanders within the SAPS are regarding the EAP. The researcher decided to explore the topic by means of a literature study regarding the EAP in the SAPS and supervisory training and to interview several experts in the EAP in the SAPS and two experts in private organisations. An interview schedule was compiled and tested on one respondent. The information gained from the interview was sufficient and the researcher could go ahead with the data collection. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two percent (2%) of the commanders in area West-Metropole. The researcher interviewed one (1) Senior superintendent, two (2) Superintendents, four (4) Captains and three (3) Inspectors. None of the respondents had previous training in the EAP. A stratified random sample was used to select the respondents. From the information gathered from the respondents, the researcher achieved the objectives of the study and provide answers to the three (3) research questions, namely: • What is the knowledge of SAPS commanders regarding the EAP? • What is the knowledge of SAPS commanders regarding their role within the EAP? • What is the attitude of SAPS commanders towards the EAP? The researcher determined that the respondents had limited knowledge regarding the EAP and the services rendered by the EAP professionals in the SAPS. The respondents all knew that they had to refer the troubled employee to the EAP but some of them first tried to be the social worker before they referred to the EAP. Therefore it is important that the distinctive roles of the commander/supervisor and the EAP are identified. All the respondents felt positive towards the EAP in the SAPS and said that they self would make use of the services of the EAP. Although the researcher could not generalise the findings, sufficient information was provided to make the following valuable recommendations: recommendations regarding the content of a supervisory training programme, the marketing of the services rendered by the EAP in the SAPS and the steps that could be taken to ensure confidence in the EAP. / Dissertation (MSD (Employee Assistance Programme))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

The purpose of this investigation was to analyze interns’ perceptions of what supervisors considered important supervisory behaviors and to compare those perceptions with what the supervisors considered important. Participants consisted of 33 interns and 23 supervisors. Results of two surveys collected in previous studies were compared and analyzed. Tihen’s (1983) “Tihen’s Student Expectations of their Clinical Supervisor(s) Scale” was used for the intern group. A modified version of the same scale was used for the supervisor group. The scale rated five domains: passive, evaluative, active, cooperative, and affective. Results revealed that interns ranked perceptions of what supervisors considered important supervisory behaviors as less important than what supervisors rated them. Supervisors rated all domains significantly higher than interns. Both groups considered the active domain to be the most important category and the passive domain to be the least important. Groups differed in their rankings for the affective, evaluative, and cooperative domains.

Human attributes that constitute a good leader in terms of leadership qualities and thinking styles are somewhat limited. The latter situation makes it difficult to employ the right person with the right leadership qualities in the continuously changing world of work (Lussier & Achua, 2000). The researcher investigated the relationship between cognitive styles and leadership styles of individuals who are employed in the automotive industry and in a supervisory position. A quantitative research methodology was employed for the study of (n= 115) using the Cognitive-Style Indicator (COSI) developed by Cools and van den Broeck (2007) and the Leadership-style questionnaire developed by Clark (2007). Leadership styles have been researched throughout the world, but a dearth of research specifically pertaining to cognitive styles was rather limiting in the context of the research that was undertaken. On the one hand, leadership focuses on three main dimensions, namely: Authoritarian, Participative and Delegative Leadership Styles. According to Clark (2007), the above three dimensions are the core styles that are used within the workplace. On the other hand, a three-dimensional cognitive style model, as proposed by Cools and Van den Broeck (2007) incorporates three dimensions with specific characteristics pertaining to each style. These three dimensions were labelled as: Knowing (K), Planning (P), and Creating (C) styles, which were utilised to find a significant relationship between the various leadership styles. Significant relationships were found between the Cognitive-Planning style and the Participative Leadership style, the Delegative Leadership style and the Knowing-Cognitive style, the Creative-Cognitive style and the Delegative Leadership style, and the Knowing-and-Planning Cognitive style. Similarities were also found between the Coloured and African groups, as the Delegative style is relevant to both the Coloured and African groups, while the participative style is more prominent in the White racial group. No significant correlations were produced for the Asian group, however. Organisations are rapidly changing and adapting to various types of change; and it is essential for all employees – and not only those within a leadership position – but it is imperative that leaders should not only understand and know their cognitive and leadership style, but also of those individuals who are reporting to them.

Throughout the history of theological education there have been many articles written about field education and the need for effective supervision, but few works describe research on the role functions of the supervisory conference. Studies have suggested that examining the supervisory process is complex and not easily researched. For accreditation, the Association of Theological Schools requires field education and supervision as an integral part of the Master of Divinity degree. The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of supervision from the perspectives of supervisors and students engaged in the process of theological field education. An exploratory field research methodology was used. Previous research in theological field education supervision proved inadequate for hypotheses testing. The specific purpose of the study was to search for answers to two questions. First, how do supervisors and students describe the role functions of the supervisory conference? And second, what are the relationships between the role functions of the supervisory conference and conceptual level, constructive openness, orientation to supervision, personality type, age, gender, educational level, and experience? Interviews of supervisors and students were the source of data for the study. The interviews included asking demographic information, asking the role functions of the supervisory conference, and administering four instruments: the Paragraph Completion Test, the Preactive Behavior Instrument, the Supervisory Beliefs Inventory, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The role functions were content analyzed and correlated with age, gender, experience, educational level, conceptual level, constructive openness, orientation to supervision, and personality types. Analyses were performed on the aggregated groups of supervisors and students, and on nine individual supervisor/student pairs. The results of the study indicated general agreement between the field education supervisors and their students in understanding the role functions of the supervisory conference. The mean scores on conceptual level for supervisors and students were not significantly different. Supervisors rated themselves higher in constructive openness than their students. Students estimated their supervisors to be more directive than the supervisors believed themselves to be. The personality types of supervisors and students were similar on the perceiving and judging preferences. When the data were examined by supervisor/student pairs, a more precise description of the supervisory interaction became apparent. For example, the effects of different conceptual levels and personality types became evident in the supervisory relationship. This finding suggests that future research in supervision should use individual pairs instead of aggregated groups. Two important role function themes mentioned least often by students were "relating of religious traditions and values to the human and social needs which have been identified in the ministry placement" and the "linking of theology with the practice of ministry." These two themes represent key strategies for those preparing for future ministry, and should play an integral part in field education. This study has raised several questions for future research: Is the supervisor the key element in the learning of the student? Or is the context of field education the key to learning? What does the student learn from the supervisory conference and the field placement? And finally, is the articulation of the supervisor's own theology and experience an essential component in the supervisory process, and therefore, a component in supervisor training programs? / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

M.A. (Industrial Psychology) / South Africa is a country richly blessed with natural and human resources. Optimal utilization of human resources is of great importance for economic development, but a number 9f factors with specific reference to the South African situation restrain this development, i.e; A shortage-of skilled labour 2. A small white population that has to satisfy the demand for skilled labour, and 3. A shortage of supervisory and middle management. By means of training, the shortage of skilled labour can be reduced and by placing Blacks in supervisory positions the demand on the white population can be eased. One of the first levels of management is that of the first line supervisor. The position of the Black first line supervisor is receiving more and more attention from industrialists who realise the importance of these supervisors for the healthy functioning of an organisation. Black supervisors can be effective, but they have to be selected and trained correctly. The focus of this study is placed on the selection of Black first line supervisors. Two selection instruments, The Work Preference Questionnaire (WPQ) and the Picture Situation Test (PST) were specifically developed for this purpose, but the metric qualities of the tests were not known until now. The aim of this study is to determine the validity of these two selection instruments. The model for concurrent validity is used.

This study looked at leadership development at top performing nuclear plants in the United States. The examination of leadership development as actually practiced in the nuclear energy industry lead to the development of a best practice model. The nuclear industry is self-regulated through the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). INPO has been evaluating nuclear plants over the past 15 years. Recently they have identified supervisor performance as a key factor in poor plant performance. INPO created a model for leadership development called Growing Industry Leaders. The nuclear industry has identified its aging workforce and subsequent loss of leadership as an emerging issue facing the nuclear industry in the next five to ten years. This initiative was aimed at both the supervisor shortfalls identified through plant evaluations and the state of the workforce within the nuclear industry. This research evaluated the elements of this model and compared them to a model of best practice. This research answered the following questions: What elements of leadership development should be included in leadership development programs? What would a model of best practice in leadership development look like? Data was collected from nine out of 103 top performing plants. Development activities were categorized by a seven member panel of experts. These categories were then validated using three rounds of a Delphi process to reach consensus. This became the basis for the best practice model for leadership development.

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