Att arbeta inom socialtjänsten som socialsekreterare inom utredningsenheten för barn och unga kan anses vara ett stressigt arbete med hög arbetsbelastning samt att deras arbetsmiljö ofta är omtalad. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka faktorer som socialsekreterare inom utredningsenheten för barn och unga upplevde kunde påverka deras psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Studien byggde på kvalitativa intervjuer och resultatet analyserades utifrån kravkontroll- och stödmodellen. Resultatet visade att socialt stöd är en viktig komponent för att må bra i rollen som socialsekreterare. De slutsatser som vi kan dra genom denna studie är att det finns obalans mellan de krav som ställs på socialsekreterare och de resurser som finns att tillgå. Förutsättningarna behöver bli bättre för att socialsekreterarna inte ska bli utsatta för stress och ohälsa och på så sätt få en bättre psykosocial arbetsmiljö. / To work as a social worker within investigations at social services specialized in children and young adults is assumed to be stressful with a high workload. Consequently, their working environment is often discussed. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to investigate what factors social workers, working under these circumstances, perceive as affecting their psychosocial working environment. This study was based on qualitative interviews and the result is analyzed with help of the demand- control- and support model. The result indicates that social support is an important component to consider in order for social workers to be healthy in their roles. The circumstances need to improve to prevent social workers from being exposed to stress and unhealthiness, and thereby improving their psychosocial working environment. Our conclusion from this study is that there is an imbalance between the requirements asked from social workers and the resources available.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Nursing Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / Introduction: Health care workers have a pivotal role in the management of Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and their well-being is consequently crucial as it could impact negatively on the quality of caregiving. With the development of a care and support model, the needs of health care workers can be identified and catered for, and quality patient care will be rendered through well-cared and supported health care workers. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a care and support model for health care providers of patients diagnosed with HIV and AIDS in the public hospitals of the Limpopo Province. A key step in the development of a model for care and support is to explore and describe the experiences of professional nurses regarding care and support they receive while providing care to HIV and AIDS patients in the public hospitals of Limpopo Province Methods: A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory and contextual design was the method used which guided the development of the model. The population of the study were the professional nurses in five public hospitals from each district of the Limpopo Province. These hospitals were selected because they all shared similar characteristics of having clinics where HIV and AIDS patients receive care. The sample was purposively selected. The sample size was 20 professional nurses which was determined by data saturation, meaning that four professional nurses who worked for 24 months or more per public hospital were selected. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and an audiotape was used to record all unstructured interview sessions conducted. Analysis of data were done through using an open-coding method in accordance with Tech’s qualitative data methodology to develop a model. Results: The research findings revealed emotional and physical strain due to shortage of staff and heavy workload which was exacerbated by staff turnover and high absenteeism. Exhaustion, fatigue, development of work-related vi illnesses and increased level of stress were also challenges experienced which led to increased customer complaints and decreased quality of service provided to patients. Many professional nurses were not trained in the management of patients with HIV and AIDS, but were expected to execute their activities competently. There was also lack of counselling, debriefing sessions, recognition and rewarding systems for the health professionals who were taking care of those patients. Recommendations: This Care and Support Model provides strategies to be used by the managers in public hospitals of Limpopo Province to enhance care and support to health care providers of HIV and AIDS patients. The model should be implemented at various public hospitals throughout Limpopo Province and feedback provided so that it could be further developed and refined. Conclusion: The results indicated that health care providers of HIV and AIDS patients were deprived of the necessary care and support during provision of care to HIV and AIDS patients. A model for care and support as a strategy to assist the managers to offer care and support to health care providers of HIV and AIDS has been developed. The model is a contribution to the nursing management, the government and it serves as a guideline for improving the quality of patient care through well-cared and supported health care workers.

Syftet med studien var att belysa socialsekreterarnas psykosociala arbetsmiljö och undersöka om det fanns ett samband mellan deras psykosociala arbetsmiljö och kvaliteten på arbetet de utför där hypotesen var att ett sådant samband existerar. Undersökningen genomfördes bland alla socialsekreterare i Värmlands län genom en webbenkät. Populationen bestod av 284 socialsekreterare varav 171 svarade på enkäten vilket gav en svarsfrekvens på 60,2 %. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna för studien har varit Karasek och Theorells krav-kontroll-stöd modell samt Socialtjänstlagen, 3 Kap. 3 §, tillsammans med Socialstyrelsens kvalitetsområden. Vid studien användes kvantitativ metod. Resultaten har analyserats genom univariata samt multuvariata analyser, logistiska regressionsanalyser, χ²-test och Cronbach´s Alpha test. Studien visar att många socialsekreterare upplever sig ha en psykosocial arbetsmiljö med höga krav, låg kontroll och lågt socialt stöd. En hög andel upplever även en arbetsmiljö med hög kontroll, låga krav och högt stöd. Resultatet tyder även på ett samband mellan den psykosociala arbetsmiljön mätt utifrån krav-kontroll-stöd modellen samt den upplevda kvaliteten på arbetet, vilket bekräftar studiens hypotes. Faktorn krav har det starkaste sambandet med upplevd kvalitet utav de variablerna som undersökts. Höga krav i arbetet ger lägre upplevd kvalitet oavsett om socialsekreterarna har högt eller lågt stöd och kontroll. / The purpose of this study was to illuminate the psychosocial work environment of social workers and to examine whether there is a correlation between their psychosocial work environment and quality of the work that they do. The hypothesis in the study was that such correlation exists. A web survey was sent to all social workers in the county of Värmland. Population consisted of 284 social workers, of whom 171 answered the survey, giving a response rate of 60.2%. The theoretical framework for the study has been the demand-control-support model by Karasek & Theorell and quality based on the Law for Social Services together with quality fields from Socialstyrelsen. Quantitative method was used in the study. The results have been analyzed with univariate and multivariate analysis, logistic regeression analysis, χ²-test and Cronbach´s Alpha test. The study reveals that many social workers experience that their psychosocial work environment contains high demands, low control and low social support. A high share is also experiencing a work environment with low demands, high control and high social support. The results of the survey also indicate that there is a correlation between the psychosocial work environment measured on the basis of demand-control-support model and the perceived quality of work, which confirms the hypothesis. Demand has the strongest correlation with quality of the studied variables. High work demands result in lower perceived quality whether the workers experience high or low support and control or not.

Syfte och frågeställningar Syftet med studien är att undersöka och jämföra vilka faktorer i lärares arbetsmiljö i storstad och mindre tätort, som samvarierar med lärares upplevda hälsa. För att uppfylla detta syfte har tre frågeställningar utformats: (1) Vad i arbetsmiljön upplever lärarna som stressorer vilka påverkar deras upplevda hälsa? (2) Vilken roll spelar skolledningen respektive kollegorna för lärarnas upplevda hälsa? (3) Hur korrelerar lärarnas upplevda hälsa med deras fysiska aktivitetsgrad? Metod En kvantitativ metod i form av enkäter har används för att kunna besvara och analysera syftet och frågeställningarna. I huvudsak har enkäten utformats med fasta svarsalternativ. Ett så kallat bekvämlighetsurval har gjorts i val av skolor, där lärare på respektive skola som velat delta i studien har legat till grund för resultatsammanställningen. Total 98 enkäter samlades in och sammanställdes iStatistical Package for the Social Sciences - SPSS- version 19,0. Teoretiska ramverk som användes för analys av resultatet var Antonovskys KASAM-teori samt Karaseks och Theorells Krav-kontroll-stöd-modell. Resultat Studiens resultat visar att det finns en stark korrelation mellan den mentala- och kroppsliga hälsan, både för lärare i storstad (p=0,01) och i mindre tätort (p=0,08). De undersökta lärarna i storstad och mindre tätort upplever att de har en bra mental hälsa och att det är meningsfullt att gå till jobbet. Över 40 % svarar att de ofta (3-5 dagar per veckan) känner att de har egenkontroll, hanterbarhet, meningsfullhet och upplever att de är en del av ett sammanhang. Faktorer som korrelerar med den mentala hälsan är krav från elever, skolledning och sig själv. När det gäller den fysiska miljön är faktorer som påverkar lärarna, i både storstad och i mindre tätort, ljudnivå och renlighet. Skolledningen spelar en stor roll för lärarnas upplevda hälsa, såväl i storstad (p=>0,000) som i mindre tätort (p=0,009). Dock upplever över 50 % av lärarna att de inte har stöd från skolledningen. Lärarna anger att administrativa uppgifter, tid, planering och arbetsklimat är betydelsefulla faktorer som påverkar deras hälsa. Resultatet visar även att den kroppsliga hälsan korrelerar med att vakna utvilad och kunna koppla av. Lärarna i såväl storstad som i mindre tätort upplever att det har en bra kroppslig hälsa. För lärarna i storstad finns det en korrelation mellan stöd från vänner och hur fysisk aktiv du är. Slutsats Slutsatser som kan dras från denna studie är att det inte föreligger stora skillnader mellan lärares upplevda arbetsmiljö och hälsa i storstad och i mindre tätort. Lärarna upplever att de mår bra, både mentalt och kroppsligt. En bidragande faktor till detta är enligt studien att lärarna upplever högt stöd från kollegor samt från vänner och anhöriga. Detta kan tolkas som att stödet utgör en form av copingstrategi, som hjälper lärarna att hantera sin stress – något som även ett flertal tidigare studier lyfter. Studiens resultat leder även fram till slutsatsen att lärare behöver finna balans mellan upplevda krav och finna resurser för att kunna uppleva en känsla av sammanhang. Utifrån krav-kontroll-stöd-modellen gör detta att lärarna upplever en balans i anspänningsgrad. / Aim and questions The study aims to examine and compare which factors in teachers’ work environment, in both metropolitan and small urban areas, correlate with teachers' perceived health. To meet this aim, three questions were designed: (1) What do teachers experience as stress factors in their work environment affecting their health? (2) What influence do the school management and colleagues have on their perceived health? (3) How does the teachers' perceived health correlate with their physical activity level? Method A quantitative method with a questionnaire has been used for the study. In essence, the questionnaire was designed with closed answers. A so-called comfort selection has been made for the choice of schools, where teachers at each school who wanted to participate in the study formed the basis for the collection of data. Overall 98 questionnaires were collected and the statistical analysis was done with help of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences - SPSS version 19.0. Theoretical frameworks used were Antonovsky's SOC-theory (Sense of Coherence) and Karasek´s and Theorell´s Requirements-control-support model. Results Our results show that there is a strong correlation between mental and physical health, both for teachers in the metropolitan (p = 0.01) and smaller urban area (p = 0.08). The participants from both areas feel that they have a good mental health and that it makes sense to go to work. Over 40% answer that they often (3-5 days per week) feel that they experience self-monitoring, manageability, meaningfulness as teachers and that they are a part of a context. Factors that correlate with mental health are demands from students, school management and themselves. With regard to the physical environment, factors that affect teachers in both metropolitan and small urban areas are noise level and cleanliness. School management plays a large role in teachers' perceived health, both in metropolitan (p => 0.000) and in smaller urban areas (p = 0.009). However, over 50% of the teachers feel that they do not have support from school management. Teachers indicate that administrative tasks, time, planning and working environment are important factors in relation to their experienced health. The result also shows that experienced physical health among teachers correlates with the feeling of waking up refreshed and the ability to relax. The teachers in both metropolitan and less urban areas feel that they have a good physical health. For teachers in metropolitan areas, there is a correlation between support from friends and how physically active you are. Conclusions A conclusion to be drawn from this study is that there are small differences between teachers’ experienced health and work environment in metropolitan and less urban areas. The majority of the teachers feel they have a experienced health, both mentally and physically, and are doing well. A contributing factor to this could be that teachers experience strong support from colleagues, friends and relatives. This could suggest that social networks constitute a form of coping strategy, which help teachers manage their stress. A high percentage of the teachers seem to find a balance between perceived demands and finding resources to experience the sense of coherence. Based on the demands-control-support model, this means that teachers experience a feeling of balance.

A growing body of evidence shows that globalization and advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have prompted a revolution in the way work is produced. One of the most notable changes is the establishment of the alternative workplace arrangement (AWA), in which workers have more freedom in their work hours and workplaces. Just as all organizations are not good candidates for AWA adoption, all work types, all employees and all levels of facilities supports are not good candidates for AWA adoption. The main problem is that facility managers have no established tools to assess their readiness for AWA adoption or to select among the possible choices regarding which AWA type is most appropriate considering their organizations' business reasons or objectives of adoption and the current readiness levels. This dissertation resulted in the development of readiness level assessment indicators (RLAI), which measure the initial readiness of high-tech companies for adopting AWAs and the ANN based decision model, which allows facility managers to predict not only an appropriate AWA type, but also an anticipated satisfaction level considering the objectives and the current readiness level. This research has identified significant factors and relative attributes for facility managers to consider when measuring their organization's readiness for AWA adoption. Robust predictive performance of the ANN model shows that the main factors or key determinants have been correctly identified in RLAI and can be used to predict an appropriate AWA type as well as a high-tech company's satisfaction level regarding the AWA adoption.

Denna kandidatuppsats inom offentlig förvaltning handlar om hur mellanchefer inom statliga förvaltningar upplever arbetsrelaterad stress. Vi har studerat hur kombinationen mellan krav och möjligheten till kontroll av arbetsuppgifter ser ut då arbetsrelaterad stress framkallas hos män respektive kvinnor. Studien visar också vilken koppling det sociala stödet på arbetsplatsen har för dessa faktorer.Uppsatsen börjar med ett inledande kapitel följt av syfte och den frågeställning som ska besvaras. Kapitlet tidigare forskning leder till en problemdiskussion och referensramen som följer ligger till grund för intervjufrågorna. Intervjuerna har besvarats av sju respondenter som representerar tre olika organisationer inom statlig förvaltning. Efter transkribering av intervjuerna har dessa analyserats med koppling till referensramen och avslutningsvis lett till vår diskussion och slutsatser.Slutsatserna som kan dras av studien är att de mellanchefer vi har intervjuat inte är särskilt stressade. Stundtals kan det förekomma perioder som kan vara stressade men de flesta av respondenterna tycker att det är hanterbart.Vi tror att det finns en del som är särskilt viktig för att en mellanchef ska klara av att hantera krav och negativ stress och detta är det sociala stödet på arbetsplatsen. Nästan alla våra respondenter säger någonstans i intervjun att de drabbas av arbetsrelaterad stress men de säger sig vara stresståliga individer. En del upplever att de har höga krav i sin arbetssituation, antingen från sig själv eller från omgivningen, men har då andra faktorer som väger upp detta som till exempel socialt stöd av chefskollegor och ledning. En känsla av kontroll över sin arbetssituation verkar vara en viktig faktor för god hälsa. Vår studie pekar på att våra respondenter upplever att de har detta.Några av mellancheferna upplever en ökad stress när de ser att medarbetare stressar, men genomgående tycker de svarande att det är ens eget ansvar att hantera eventuella stressfaktorer och se till att det inte blir för mycket. / This bachelor thesis in public administration is about how middle managers in state administrations are experiencing work-related stress. We have studied how the combination between demands and the possibility of control of tasks looks when it comes to how work-related stress is induced in men and women. The study also shows what influence social support in the workplace has for these factors.The essay begins with an introductory chapter followed by the purpose and our questions. The chapter previous research leads to problems discussion and reference framework that follows is the basis for the interview questions. The interviews have been answered by seven respondents representing three different organizations within the government administration. After transcribing the interviews, these were analyzed in connection to the reference frame and finally led to our discussion and conclusions of the study.The conclusions to be drawn from the study is that the middle managers we interviewed are not particularly stressed. Occasionally there may be periods that can be stressful but most of the respondents find it manageable.We think there is one part which is particularly important to a middle manager so they are able to handle the demands and negative stress, and this is the social support at the work place. Almost all of our respondents say somewhere in the interview that they suffer with work related stress from time to time but they say they are stress-resistant individuals. Some feel that they have high demands in their work situation, either from themselves or from the environment, but other factors weigh this up, such as social support. A sense of control over their work situation seems to be an important factor for good health. Our study suggests that our respondents feel that they have this.Some of the respondents are experiencing increased stress when they see that the employees stress, but consistently they feel that it is one's own responsibility to deal with potential stressors and make sure it does not get too much.The study is written in swedish

Cognitive functioning is important for managing work and life in general. However, subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), involving self-perceived difficulties with concentration, memory, decision making, and clear thinking are common in the general and in the working population and can be coupled with both lowered well-being and work ability. The present thesis investigated the extent to which SCC among people in the work force can be explained by objective cognitive functioning (study I &amp; II) and working conditions (study III), utilizing samples from the working population. The potential roles of other common psychological problems which often co-occur with SCC were also investigated in studies I-III. In Study I, high levels of SCC were associated with significantly poorer episodic memory performance during high executive demands and a trend was found towards poorer episodic memory, while not being associated with semantic memory. In Study II, high levels of SCC were associated with significantly poorer executive cognitive performance on all three executive cognitive tests used. Symptoms of depression, chronic stress and sleeping problems were found to play an important role in the relations between SCC and episodic memory during divided attention in study I and executive cognitive functioning in study II. In Study III, in all cross-sectional data analyses, high quantitative demands, information and communication technology (ICT) demands, underqualification in the work situation and inter-personal conflicts were positively associated with SCC, whereas social support, good resources at work and overqualification in the work situation were negatively associated with SCC. In all prospective data analyses, quantitative job demands, ICT demands and underqualification were positively associated with future SCC, including when adjusted for baseline cognitive complaints. The findings may guide prevention of and interventions for SCC among people in the work force. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Submitted. Paper 2: Accepted.</p>

Export-led growth is important for a number of reasons. At a macro-economic level, it can create profit, allowing a country to balance its finances and manage its debt. Export-led growth can also lead to higher productivity and job creation. At a micro-economic level, exports and export-led growth lead to higher competitiveness and business growth. From an exporter’s perspective, however, participation in the global economy and export to new foreign markets bring with them the challenge of acquiring the required knowledge of an unknown market. Relevant information gathered has to be subjected to analysis and interpretation before it can be applied to strategic business decisions regarding the company and its market. This study proposes that Competitive Intelligence (CI) be used as an instrument to determine the types of export information that exporters require, as it focuses on exporters’ information requirements and enhances their competitiveness. The increasingly competitive business environment places increasing demands on Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) to make better use of resources available in order to tailor products and services to the needs of exporters. TPOs are amongst the main sources of information and export assistance for exporters. Other export information sources include publications and a variety of human sources. The assistance of TPOs can take the form of various export-promotion instruments, such as market research, trade fairs and business introductions. TPOs face various challenges, including that of scarce resources. Therefore, such resources must be utilised optimally and in order to achieve efficiency, Realistic Export Opportunities (REOs) need to be prioritised. This study stresses the importance of export diversification and the export of manufactured goods. Export diversification brings its own challenges including the question of which products to promote for export. The application of a Decision Support Model developed by Cuyvers et al. (1995:173) for South Africa identified a number of REOs. Amongst these was the export of South Africanmanufactured extruders to Tunisia. Against the background of the importance of export growth, the types of information that exporters use and the sources of such information were determined by means of a survey of extruder manufacturers, TPOs and users of extruders. With the export potential of extruders to Tunisia as an REO as focus, a market study was conducted using the case study research method. Results of the survey indicate that the only type of information that extruder manufacturers as potential new exporters in South Africa seek on a continuous basis is competitor information, specifically pricing information. However, the findings indicate that this is not typically the type of information supplied by TPOs in South Africa. Furthermore there is no evidence that extruder manufacturers have processes in place to monitor markets and competitors, or to identify key types of information. Concerning the case study, it was found that there is indeed a potential market for extruders in Tunisia and that the industries in which extruders are typically used are significant and growing. It was however also found that there are high trade barriers and high market concentration. Therefore, in terms of an export-promotion strategy for TPOs, an offensive exportpromotion strategy is proposed. In terms of further research, this study points to a need for research of this nature to extend to the wider capital equipment industry. It is further recommended that market profiles of the markets that show the most potential for specific products produced and manufactured in South Africa as evident from the results of Rossouw, Steenkamp, Viviers and Cuyvers (2010) be compiled. / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The services sector has played an increasingly important role in international trade in recent years. The negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in recent years have initiated a global drive to liberalise services trade. However, this liberalisation process holds many challenges, especially for developing countries that do not have an adequate regulatory system to sufficiently support and promote these new export sectors. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in South Africa recognised a need to undertake scientific research to identify the development and export potential of key services sectors. In the period from 2005 until 2009, the services sector contributed 65% on average to the GDP of South Africa. In 2010, 79% of the labour force in South Africa was employed in the services sector. However, services only contributed 19% to total exports from South Africa in the period from 2005 until 2009 (ITC, 2010a). The largest services export sectors for South Africa over the five–year period were travel (63%), transportation (11%), and business services (9%). This indicates that South Africa?s services exports are mostly concentrated in one sector, namely travel, and this clearly indicates the need for South Africa to diversify exports of services into other sectors. Export promotion is one of the methods that governments can use in order to stimulate the export growth of a country. Given the need to increase and diversify the exports of South African services, this study aimed to investigate the literature in order to establish possible guidelines for the export promotion of services specifically. Export promotion instruments should aim to identify potential export opportunities in order to allocate scarce government resources to the active promotion of the sectors with the highest export potential. In order to aid government with this process, Cuyvers, De Pelsmacker and Roozen (1995) developed a decision support model (DSM) that could determine potential export opportunities for products in Belgium by using a scientifically–based method. This model was adapted for South African products in 2007 and further refined in 2009 and 2010 for the DTI in South Africa. In all cases, the DSM analysis was only applied to products and the services sector was never taken into consideration owing to the data differences and the nature of services. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a similar model for the services sector in South Africa that could identify the sectors and countries with the highest potential for services export diversification. The results of such a model could also be incorporated into a services sector strategy for South Africa. Such a services strategy does not currently exist for South Africa and if the results of this model were incorporated into such a strategy, it would be the first of its kind. The study reviewed the methodology of the DSM for products and found that the methodology of the first two filters could be applied to the available services data in a similar manner. However, owing to the nature of services and the limited availability of data, the third and fourth filters had to be adapted to consider these differences. Therefore, a new model was developed to incorporate the nature of services, and the new model was named the export opportunities model (EOM) for services. A new methodology was developed for the third and fourth filters in the EOM for services. A new cell structure was also constructed to categorise the results of the EOM according to the specific market characteristics, which could be used in export promotion strategies to develop specific promotion instruments for each type of market. The results of the EOM for services on a geographical basis showed that the highest export opportunities for services in South Africa were in Eastern and South–Eastern Asia, followed by the European market. The results also identified specific sectors that have high export potential for South African services. The sectors with the highest export potential are travel, transportation, construction services, communications services and other business services. These results can be incorporated into a services sector export promotion strategy for the DTI in South Africa. The study also compared the results of the DSM for products with the results of the EOM for services, in order to establish guidelines on regional export opportunities for both products and services. The study found that the highest export opportunities were in the Asian and European regions. The DTI in South Africa could use these product/country combinations and services/country combinations to develop specific export promotion instruments and strategies for each region in the world. / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Export-led growth is important for a number of reasons. At a macro-economic level, it can create profit, allowing a country to balance its finances and manage its debt. Export-led growth can also lead to higher productivity and job creation. At a micro-economic level, exports and export-led growth lead to higher competitiveness and business growth. From an exporter’s perspective, however, participation in the global economy and export to new foreign markets bring with them the challenge of acquiring the required knowledge of an unknown market. Relevant information gathered has to be subjected to analysis and interpretation before it can be applied to strategic business decisions regarding the company and its market. This study proposes that Competitive Intelligence (CI) be used as an instrument to determine the types of export information that exporters require, as it focuses on exporters’ information requirements and enhances their competitiveness. The increasingly competitive business environment places increasing demands on Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) to make better use of resources available in order to tailor products and services to the needs of exporters. TPOs are amongst the main sources of information and export assistance for exporters. Other export information sources include publications and a variety of human sources. The assistance of TPOs can take the form of various export-promotion instruments, such as market research, trade fairs and business introductions. TPOs face various challenges, including that of scarce resources. Therefore, such resources must be utilised optimally and in order to achieve efficiency, Realistic Export Opportunities (REOs) need to be prioritised. This study stresses the importance of export diversification and the export of manufactured goods. Export diversification brings its own challenges including the question of which products to promote for export. The application of a Decision Support Model developed by Cuyvers et al. (1995:173) for South Africa identified a number of REOs. Amongst these was the export of South Africanmanufactured extruders to Tunisia. Against the background of the importance of export growth, the types of information that exporters use and the sources of such information were determined by means of a survey of extruder manufacturers, TPOs and users of extruders. With the export potential of extruders to Tunisia as an REO as focus, a market study was conducted using the case study research method. Results of the survey indicate that the only type of information that extruder manufacturers as potential new exporters in South Africa seek on a continuous basis is competitor information, specifically pricing information. However, the findings indicate that this is not typically the type of information supplied by TPOs in South Africa. Furthermore there is no evidence that extruder manufacturers have processes in place to monitor markets and competitors, or to identify key types of information. Concerning the case study, it was found that there is indeed a potential market for extruders in Tunisia and that the industries in which extruders are typically used are significant and growing. It was however also found that there are high trade barriers and high market concentration. Therefore, in terms of an export-promotion strategy for TPOs, an offensive exportpromotion strategy is proposed. In terms of further research, this study points to a need for research of this nature to extend to the wider capital equipment industry. It is further recommended that market profiles of the markets that show the most potential for specific products produced and manufactured in South Africa as evident from the results of Rossouw, Steenkamp, Viviers and Cuyvers (2010) be compiled. / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.