An investigation into the influence of the physical distribution concept on the performance of certain South African manufacturers of consumer products
- Authors: Staude, G E
- Date: 1981
- Subjects: Physical distribution of goods Industrial productivity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1191 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004606
- Description: The "Physical Distribution Concept" is being increasingly recognised as a vitally important business philosophy for those firms for which efficient physical distribution is critical to marketing success. Manufacturers of products which are perishable, easily substitutable; and/or quickly obsolescent are some which fall into this category. In a competitive business environment, factors such as the " availability" of the product, and not simply its price or quality, begin to exert a significant influence on the purchasing decision. The "Physical Distribution Concept" comprises three elements, namely, consumer orientation; organizational integration and profit orientation. "Physical Distribution Orientation" refers to the predisposition of the firm and its employees to these three elements. For the Physical Distribution Concept to serve as an effective guide to management action, a physical distribution orientation on the part of all those concerned with marketing and physical distribution-related activities in a firm, is a pre-requisite. The chief executive, in particular, should adhere to this business philosophy, regardless of the functional route he followed to his position. In his leadership role, theory holds that he exerts considerable influence on his subordinates, and consequently on his firm's way of doing business. This thesis is concerned with an analysis of the Physical Distribution Concept. It focuses on the chief executives of firms manufacturing consumer convenience goods, as well as consumer shopping goods. As such, it is primarily concerned with determining the extent to which the chief executives are physical distribution oriented and whether there is a statistically significant relationship between their extent of physical distribution orientation and their companies' performance. The thesis is also concerned with the extent to which any pattern of organizational arr angements for physical distribution exists.
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- Date Issued: 1981
Black and white women: a socio-historical study of domestic workers and their employers in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Cock, Jacklyn
- Date: 1981
- Subjects: Household employees -- South Africa Working class -- South Africa Women, Black -- Employment -- South Africa South Africa -- Race relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3287 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003075
- Description: Domestic service constitutes one of the largest sources of employment for black women in South Africa. Yet it is a largely unstudied occupation. There has been no previous investigation of domestic workers in the Eastern Cape, and to date only two comprehensive studies of domestic workers in other areas of South Africa. This neglect is significant, for such inquiry involves questioning the accepted pattern of inequalities on which the entire social order is based.
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- Date Issued: 1981
Hugo Raes : de roman als montage : een struktuuranalyse van De vadsige koningen, Een faun met kille horentjes en, Het smarán, het vikka, de ronko en al de andere kleuren van de geschiedenis
- Authors: Renders, L E M M E
- Date: 1981
- Subjects: Raes, Hugo -- Criticism and interpretation Raes, Hugo -- De vadsige koningen Raes, Hugo -- Een faun met kille horentjes Raes, Hugo -- Het smarán, het vikka, de ronko en al de andere kleuren van de geschiedenis Dutch fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3623 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007493
- Description: De analyse van het individuele literaire werk zal steeds het begin- en eindpunt moeten zijn van de literatuurstudie in welke gedaante dan ook: "Dit neemt echter niet weg dat het begin en einde, het alfa en omega van de literaire bedrijvigheid, het literair kunstwerk als zodanig, de literaire intentie, functie en efficientie de literair, literairesthetisch, te actualiseren en te valoriseren tekst is ... " (Rutten, 1973, p.144). Juist deze vorm van onderzoek lijkt op het ogenblik soms weI eens verloren te raken tussen de veelheid van literaire theorieen die overal opgang maken. De beoefenaars van de literaire kritiek lijken dikwijls meer begaan met het opbouwen en afbreken van theorieen dan met het literaire werk zelf. Sinds W. Bloks studie Verhaal en lezer in 1960 voor het eerst het licht zag, mag er dan op het gebied van de literatuurwetenschap in de Nederlanden en daarbuiten heel wat veranderd zijn, maar zijn uitspraak: " ... dat de romantheorie op het ogenblik het meest gebaat is met analyses van afzonderlijke werken" (1969, p.9) heeft zeker nog niets aan geldigheid ingeboet.
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- Date Issued: 1981
The elements of job evaluation in the development of a pay structural comparison system guide to conducting compensation surveys to determine competitive adjustments to base salary ranges
- Authors: Snelgar, Robin John
- Date: 1981
- Subjects: Wage surveys , Job evaluation , Job analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3118 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004726
- Description: If the wage policy of an organisation is to remain competitive in the labour market, that is, pay rates that are at least approximately equal to those prevailing in the community, then it must collect accurate wage and salary data in order to alter its pay structure as may become necessary. Wage and salary survey information provides a means by which management can determine whether its entire wage level is in accordance with that of the external labour market, and thus it is absolutely essential that methods and techniques utilised to collect such information are as objective and accurate as possible. The vital factor which has been revealed by the utilisation of many existing wage and salary survey guides is that the unavoidable subjectivity involved in the basic techniques utilised in survey procedures tends to have a cumulative effect on both data collection and analysis, and ultimately interpretation. As each technique is utilised, whether it be to obtain job comparability or to adjust salary data, the overall level of subjectivity is increased, which results in a cumulative increase in the margin of error involved in data collection. This study has been aimed at developing and practically testing a comprehensive guide to conducting wage and salary surveys which effectively minimises and, over successive surveys, eradicates the necessity for these subjective techniques. Due to the fact that the elements of job evaluation, namely, job analysis, job description, job specification and the job evaluation plan itself, form the nucleus of the techniques utilised for the data gathering and analysis process, the initial study was aimed at developing a job evaluation process which would be as objective as possible. In the development of such a system a range of job evaluation plans were tested for comparability in rating of jobs, the hypothesis being that any evaluation method or plan, when correctly applied to a series of jobs, will result in the same classification. This study intercorrelated rates derived for twenty-four key jobs selected from one particular organisation, using the job evaluation methods utilised by sixteen different organisations, and found that these rates intercorrelated between 0,93 to 0,99. These intercorrelations indicate a high degree of commonality among the sixteen methods; thus providing a justification for the utilisation of one particular job evaluation plan for the adjustment and weighing of wage and salary data in the survey data analysis procedure. To further justify the utilisation of one particular method, and thereby increase probability of acceptance by participating organisations, the independence of the sub-factors of the selected plan were tested by intercorrelating the factor scores for two job samples, one consisting of sixty jobs, type and level being heterogeneous, the other consisting of forty jobs, type and level being homogeneous. Sub-factor intercorrelations in the group of heterogeneous jobs ranged from 0,71 to 0,98 while all but one correlated at or above 0,90 with the total score, thus emphasising the independence of sub-factors, while intercorrelations in the group of homogeneous sample were much lower, ranging from 0,26 to 0,89, indicating greater factorial independence due to the fact that these jobs are limited to a narrower range of grades such that specific job differences in respect of sub-factors are more likely to show up. Utilising this selected job evaluation plan as the core of the developed job evaluation process, a wage and salary survey guide was formulated, the unique concept being a comparison of participating organisation pay structures rather than comparison of positions as a basis for data collection. The job evaluation system was utilised in the formulation of a "one-time" standardisation of participating organisation pay structures according to the survey organisation pay structure, the hypothesis being that these standardised pay structures may be utilised over successive surveys without the necessity for restandardisation, and thus eliminating the use of subjective methods and techniques subsequent to the initial standardisation. Utilising an international oil company as the survey organisation this newly formulated structural comparison guide was practically tested by applying it in conjunction with the existing survey organisation wage and salary survey guide as a means of competitive market wage and salary data gathering and analysis, over successive survey years, namely, 1974, 1977, and 1980. The results obtained through application of this guide were subsequently compared with those results obtained by two professional survey organisations, and proved to be reliable and consistent enough over the applicable survey years to warrant acceptance of the pay structural comparison concept as a valid wage and salary survey technique.
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- Date Issued: 1981
The liturgies of Guillaume Farel: their meaning and relevance
- Authors: Kaltenrieder, Andre Emile
- Date: 1981
- Subjects: Farel, Guillaume, 1489-1565 Liturgics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1224 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004540
- Description: Relatively little study has been devoted to Guillaume Farel. Though a number of Biographies have been published, these were mainly devotional or inspirational. The only critical biography to have been published in modern times, and to which the author has made much reference, is that written by the 'FAREL COMMITTEE' to commemorate the fourth centenary of the reformation at Neuchȃtel. The comparative neglect suffered by Farel and his works is surprising in view of his role as pioneer of the reformation in French-speaking Churches. The spotlight has been held almost exclusively on the second generation reformer John Calvin. The paucity of material available may help explain why Farel has remained such an obscure figure. This dissertation does not attempt to bring to light the full scope of Farel's work. This still has to be done. Incidentally the author has been informed that. there are at present two American post-graduate students doing research on Farel at Neuchȃtel. This may hold a promise of further light on this significant father of the reformation. The author has limited himself here to an examination and evaluation of Farel's liturgical works. These were only a very small portion of his wide field of activity. The further study necessary to investigate the full influence of these liturgies on the development of reformed worship is only outlined here. In order to set the Farellian orders in their context, a certain amount of historical and doctrinal background has been given. This is by no means exhaustive as each service would justify a separate dissertation. An effort has been made to cut background down to a minimum and to bring out the main tendencies only so as to situate Farel in the development of the understanding of the Church 's worship. (Preface)
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- Date Issued: 1981