1,720,978 research outputs found
The perceptions of the work environment of women in core mining activities
Full text linkThesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013Until 1996, all women in South Africa were prohibited, by law, from working underground. With the introduction of the Mining Charter all this changed and companies started hiring women for different positions. The objectives of the study were: to determine the perceptions of the working environment of women in the mining activities, to establish what changes were made to accommodate women in this specific mine and to establish if women can advance in this company. A field study was done at a chrome mine and a random sample of 100 employees participated. The central research tool utilised was a questionnaire using a Likert-type 5 rating scale. The findings were that mining companies will have to work hard on the perception that women are not wanted in the industry, but that a lot has happened since 1996. As expected the study found that there are significant resistance towards women working in the core mining industry. Mines are making changes to accommodate women. Women are receiving a lot of support from management to become part of the mining environment. Different programs are being implemented to develop skills of women and ensure their progression within the mining companies. The study concluded with recommendations as to what can be done to improve the perception of the working environment of women.Master
A critical evaluation of the quality management system at the medical company in the North West
Full text linkThesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.Quality management is the single most important process in any organization, whether for profit, nonprofit or an organization such as a health–care maintenance organization. It defines the purpose of quality for the organization it represents. Quality management is often forgotten, but it guarantees the quality in output from any organization and exists as an asset that always adds value to it. Quality Management System describes a situation where all business functions are involved in a process of continuous quality improvement. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9001:2008) is one of the quality systems commonly used by most organizations to provide businesses with the capability for their processes and requirements, or to give guidance on good management practice. This implies that the development and implementation of Quality Management Systems in government departments and the public sector will improve the quality of services delivery. This study concerns the perceptions of the effect of the Quality Management System intervention that was implemented at one of the medical companies in the North West. The study is about the employee perceptions of the effect of the Quality Management System intervention that was implemented at one of medical companies in the North West. The findings of this study indicated that a Quality Management Systems are functioning in all the departments. The quality management system can be used to improve the level of service delivery in the company. A literature study was conducted to explore the QMS perceptions, QMS effectiveness, leadership, and employee satisfaction and employee morale of all the departments in the company. And finally, for the Quality Management System to be developed, implemented and maintained successfully. The introduction of ISO 9001:2008 is recommended.Master
The effectiveness of the government's HIVAIDS programme and condom use among educators
Full text linkThesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010As South Africa is one of the countries with the highest HIV/Aids prevalence in the world, many South Africans are affected by the pandemic. The education system is one of the structures that cannot escape the effects of the pandemic. Educators are especially affected by the pandemic due to the fact that they not only have to cope with the infected colleagues who are often absent, but are also burdened with numerous orphans and vulnerable children at their schools because of the pandemic. Sometimes educators are infected themselves and still have to deal with the reality of witnessing the loved ones suffer or die of HIV related disease. The effects can be overwhelming and result in personal stress, such as depression and suicidal ideation, plus professional impairment such as through increased workload and staff negativity. Increased pressure also arises from societal expectations that educators are perceived as role models by their communities and by virtue of their profession, are expected to practise safer sex and behave responsibly. Current literature reveals that new infections are continuing to occur among educators hence the aims of this research were to determine knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of educators towards condoms. Condoms have been identified as the government’s integral part of STI and HIV/Aids prevention which necessitates consistent use thereof. This study focuses on determining the factors hampering consistent use by female educators since literature attests to high vulnerability rate in women. A quantitative research design where female educators in the Dr J.C. Motaung circuit which is in Dr Kenneth Kaunda District (North-West) responded to the questionnaire was conducted. The investigation of the extent of attitudes towards condoms revealed that a high percentage of female educators do consider the consistent use of condoms very important and necessary. They display willingness and determination to adhere to its use, however there are defaults and factors causing such irresponsible behaviour are cited. The results of the empirical results led to the researcher making some recommendations which the government can adopt in order to increase condom use and consequently curb problems affecting effective teaching and learning to take place.Master
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Nationalisation and the perceived consequences for a gold mine
Full text linkThesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013Discussions and considerations around nationalisation of the mining sector in South became more prevalent from 2009. There are certain implications or consequences related to these discussions, considerations or decisions that should be taken into account. The purpose of this study will be to determine what these consequences may be in a South African context by making inference from historic cases of nationalisation in other countries as well as testing the perceptions of respondents from a gold mine. In order to achieve the purpose of this study the researcher will do an in-depth literature study on the concept, history, consequences and related aspects of nationalisation. The perceived consequences will be tested by doing an empirical study on a sample of a gold mine. An online questionnaire has been distributed to the selected sample. The results have been collected by the researcher and was analysed by the Statistical Consultation Services at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). Conclusions have been drawn from the analysed data and are reflected in the document. The results from the empirical study confirmed in most cases what the literature study has identified. The conclusions and recommendations have been provided by the researcher after taking into account the results of the literature and empirical study.Master
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
A managerial model for mergers in local government in the Free State Province
Full text linkPhD (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014A municipality must strive, within its capacity, to achieve the objectives regarding efficient and effective service delivery such as proper roads, refuse removal, access to electricity and water as set out in Section 152 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. For a municipality to achieve these objectives it must have proper management systems or tools such as waste management, communication management, human resource management, political and administrative management and financial management in place and also appoint managers with the necessary required and relevant qualifications, experience and skills .This will secure an efficient and well-functioning management team, which will be able to deliver services that will address people‘s needs. However, local government or municipalities, being the sphere of government close to the people are faced with numerous challenges in their quest to provide essential basic services such as water, refuse removal and electricity to local communities and in particular the poor and disadvantaged section of the population and thus result in violent protests over poor service delivery. Many municipalities, including the two selected poor performing municipalities in the Free State Province namely, the Metsimaholo Local Municipality and the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, are unable to deliver basic services such as, refuse removal and access to electricity and water to the residents and reasons for the poor service delivery can be as a result of deficiency in the municipalities capacity or attributed to a lack of skills, experience and relevant qualifications. The primary objective of this research was to develop a managerial model for merged municipalities with reference to the two poor performing municipalities in the Free State Province, namely the Metsimaholo Local Municipality and the Matjhabeng Local municipality and a good performing municipality, namely the Gamagara Local Municipality in the Northern Cape Province. The secondary objectives of this research, were to determine how the concepts, amalgamation/merger and service delivery is defined within the context of local government/municipalities and discuss the possible underlying reasons why municipalities find it difficult to provide basic services to local communities, to describe the current statutory and regulatory framework relevant for efficient and effective service delivery in municipalities. Furthermore, to establish what existing managerial models, that describes and explain various aspects of management, used by the selected good performing municipality, can be used to address problems of poor service delivery in the two selected poor performing municipalities, to discuss the history and current status of the three selected municipalities after the merging process and establish the perceptions of the respondents after merging of the municipalities with regard to the levels of satisfaction with services delivered amongst the residents thereof and to conduct an empirical study to determine the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument that was used for this study This assessment was prompted by the service delivery protests in certain areas in the country, including the two selected poor performing municipalities in the Free State Province namely, the Metsimaholo Local Municipality and the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, have been plagued by service delivery protests - and the origin of the increased momentum can be pinpointed, examples are political interference in the administration, corruption, cadre deployment, favouritism and nepotism, maladministration, poor performance by management, lack of proper skills and relevant qualifications, negative audit opinions and personal interest in tender procedures. These protests are undermining the progress and successes achieved thus far, even after more than eighteen years into the new local government system and these protests also questions the ability of Local Government in South Africa to effectively and efficiently provide for basic services.
The research to develop a managerial model for merged municipalities with reference to the two poor performing municipalities in the Free State Province, namely the Metsimaholo Local Municipality and the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, including the one good performing municipality, namely the Gamagara Local Municipality in the Northern Cape Province, was conducted by means of two approaches, namely a literature study and an empirical study.
The following literature sources were consulted to ensure a broad and balanced review of sources of literature on the problem under review: Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, White Paper on Local Government and all relevant legislations relating to local government. In addition, the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), the Annual Reports and relevant documents of the three different selected municipalities in the Free State and Northern Cape Provinces, other documents published by the South African Government used to identify specific guidelines and prescriptions for Local Government and service delivery were used. Other literature sources that were also used for this research includes, journals; textbooks; magazines and newspapers, master‘s dissertations and doctoral thesis; Internet sources; workshop reports; plans of actions etc. The empirical research obtained the required information from the residents and management of the two selected poor performing municipalities in the Free State Province namely, the Metsimaholo Local Municipality and the Matjhabeng Local Municipality and also the residents and management of the good performing municipality namely, the Gamagara Local Municipality in the Northern Cape Province. The municipal offices in these municipal areas were visited personally by the researcher and the two trained assistants to distribute the questionnaire to the respondents.
The questionnaire was used to be completed by both management and residents at the three selected municipalities and it had four sections. The questionnaire had Section A - Biographical Information, Section B - History of the Municipality, Section C - Effective Service Delivery and Section D – Managerial model, which was only meant to be completed by management and not the residents of the selected municipalities. The results confirm that respondents who are managers at the municipalities who participated in this study experienced challenges with issues of service delivery before the merging of the municipalities – the majority of the statements calculated a mean above 3.0, an indication that the statements contained in Section B – History of the Municipality of the questionnaire are viewed by the respondents who are managers at the municipality as negative, indicating that respondents tended to disagree with the statements contained in this section. The respondents who are residents who participated in this study also indicate that they experiences challenges with issues of service delivery before the merging of the municipalities - the majority of the statements calculated a mean above 2.5 (almost 3.00), an indication that the statements contained in Section B – History of the Municipality of the questionnaire are viewed by the respondents who are residents also as negative, indicating that respondents tended to disagree with the statements contained in this section The results indicates that respondents who are managers at the municipalities in this study are satisfied as the services are delivered effectively after the merging of the municipalities – the majority of the statements calculated a mean below 2.5, meaning they agree with the statements in Section C – Effective Service Delivery.
Furthermore, the respondents who are residents in this study indicate that they experiences challenges with effective service delivery after the merging of the municipalities - the majority of the statements calculated a mean above 2.5. The mean of this Section C (Effective service delivery) in combination calculated at 2.73, is an indication that the statements contained in Section C - Effective Service Delivery of the questionnaire are viewed by the respondents who are residents as negative, indicating that respondents tended to disagree with the statements contained in Section C – Effective Service Delivery. From Section B – History of the Municipality and Section C – Effective Service Delivery, one factor from each section were identified as Factor B – History of the Municipality and Factor C – Effective Service Delivery. From the questionnaire that was distributed to the managers, there was a Section D, that dealt with issues of management and the questions were only applicable to be completed by managers and not residents. Out of Section D, four factors were identified as Factor D1 - Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Factor D2 - Professionalism, Factor D3 - Development and Factor D4 - Personal Development and Competency which formed the important pillars of the developed Structural Equation Model (SEM) or managerial model for merged municipalities in order to deliver effective and efficient services. These afore mentioned four factors identified have a direct impact on the efficient and effective delivery of services at municipalities.Doctora
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
The role of external government communication on service delivery at Mangaung Local Municipality
Full text linkThesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.Government’s mandate (national, provincial, and local government) requires that its communication on issues of service delivery should enhance access to information that enables the public to participate in the country’s transformation and in bettering their own lives and implementation of people–centred programmes. The primary objective of this study was to assess and determine the role of external government communication on service delivery at the Mangaung Local Municipality in the Free State. In this process, the researcher looked at trends in government communication, especially focusing on local government or municipalities. The secondary objectives was to provide an overview of the concept of local government communication, to establish and analyse the factors that contribute to the gap between local government communication and service delivery, to demonstrate how managing communication in local government can assist in service delivery and to offer a conclusion and recommendations, drawn from the attained results, regarding the role of external government communication on service delivery at the Mangaung Local Municipality, as well as any other problems hampering effective external local government communication. This assessment was prompted by the service delivery protests in certain areas in our country, including the Mangaung municipal area – and the origin of the increased momentum cannot be pinpointed. The culture of these protests in South Africa is not uncommon, because it is this very phenomenon that has delivered the country into democracy. However, the consequence, in the form of unavoidable violent incidents, is mostly regrettable. These service delivery stand–offs by communities have continued to occur – even during the current dispensation (the post–apartheid government), orchestrated by various factors. Although these factors have ranged from the locality of the municipality; related to a third force; political infighting, etc. the lack of communication to communities by local councillors, to keep their constituencies informed, is relevant for this study. To assess the problem, a literature study and empirical research were undertaken. The comprehensive literature study focused on issues of local government communication and service delivery. The following literature sources were consulted to ensure a broad and balanced review of secondary and primary sources of literature on the problem under review: textbooks; journals; magazines and newspapers; master’s dissertations and doctoral theses; Internet sources; Government Communication policy document, workshop reports, plans of action, and other documents published by the South African Government used to identify specific guidelines and prescriptions for general government communication. These documents include the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the Municipal Systems Act (32/2000), and the Government Communication and Information Services’ (GCIS) government communicator’s handbook. The empirical research obtained the required information from people in the Mangaung municipal area, who pay municipal bills at the municipal pay points and who buy electricity at vending machines in Bloemfontein, Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu in the Free State, where this study was conducted. This study showed that local government or municipality is the link between communities and the broader government structure. If local government is able to implement more effective communication, then damage to the reputation and relationships will be minimised if any problem or crisis occurs.
Until the late nineteenth century organisations, including local government, only communicated informally with the residents in their areas. However, the twentieth century saw both the organisations and the community becoming larger and more sophisticated with each having an increased impact on each other. What organisations had to do is to start to keep track of the impact on the community and also keep track of the public’s impact on the organisation. The mass media became very powerful, influential and specialised, which means that the person responsible for communication at an organisation or municipality had to have advanced communication skills. It was at this point that organisations, including local government, began to create specialised communication roles, such as Media Relations, Communication Research, Outreach and Community Liaison, and Marketing. All these roles became sub–systems of the organisational system. Local government or municipalities are responsible for the establishment of effective communication channels between themselves and their publics. Some communication channels used by national government with its own publics are good examples that can be adapted by local governments for their own purposes. A few of the local government communication channels includes mayoral izimbizos (now referred to as the Public Participation Programmes) and ward committees.
The research findings revealed that external government communication at the Mangaung Local Municipality is a cause of concern and that it impacts negatively on service delivery. Hence, the researcher is of the opinion that serious intervention is needed in order to change and better the situation at this municipality. Recommendations have been made on how the Mangaung Local Municipality can improve its external government communication in order to improve and accelerated service delivery to its communities.Master
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