Managers’ Perceptions of the Performance Appraisal System in the Local Municipality of Gauteng Province in South Africa

Performance appraisal is a critical component of the business process of performance management. In countries where performance appraisal was effectively implemented by municipalities there had been effective and efficient delivery of services. The pressure by government and service delivery protests in South Africa engenders the prioritisation of performance appraisal to meet service delivery mandates or targets. In light of the aforementioned pressures placed on municipalities the aim in this study was to evaluate managers’ perceptions of the extent to which performance appraisal was effectively implemented in the local municipality of Gauteng Province. The research approach adopted in the study was line with the one applied by Lawler (1984). A survey research using structured questionnaire was used. Questionnaires were distributed to 94 pairs of manager-subordinates (senior, middle and lower managers). As a follow-up to gaps that existed in the questionnaire feedback structured interviews were conducted with human resources manager and the line manager. The results of the study revealed that managers believed that performance appraisal system was not effectively implemented because there was no mutual setting of performance criteria and objectives. The performance appraisal system was also not linked to pay, promotion and manpower planning; it was also not geared towards career development of employees, and there was no climate of open communication and trust in the design and implementation of performance appraisal. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1s1p17

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on the Organisational Commitment of Administrators

Administrators are an important human resource in Higher Education because they perform various duties that are critical to the daily operations of universities. In light of this, organisational commitment and job satisfaction of administrators are essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of universities. Notwithstanding the critical relevance and necessity of organisational commitment and job satisfaction, there is evidence of paucity of research on these areas among administrative staff in the South African higher education sector. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between organisational commitment and overall job satisfaction on the organisational commitment of administrators at a university in Gauteng. To achieve the aforementioned objective, a quantitative survey approach was used to examine the relationship between overall job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The selfadministered structured questionnaires were issued to 383 administrative staff members. Descriptive statistics was utilised to assess the levels of both organisational commitment and job satisfaction, results of which revealed that administrators were satisfied with and committed to the university. Spearman’s rho correlation analysis showed that there was a strong correlation between affective commitment and job satisfaction; and moderate correlations between job satisfaction and moral imperative. Similar strong correlation was observed between indebted obligation and job satisfaction. Conversely, a weak correlation occurred between job satisfaction and continuance commitment. Regression coefficients indicated that job satisfaction contributed positively to the prediction of affective commitment, moral imperative, indebted obligation and continuance commitment. Based on these findings, the recommendations and future research opportunities were suggested

The Determination of the Level of Organisational Commitment among Police Officers in the Sebokeng Cluster

In general, organisational commitment is considered as the inclination of employees to identify with the goals of and retain membership of an organisation. The review of related literature on organisational commitment presupposes that organisational commitment constitutes of three dimensions, namely, affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of organisational commitment among police officers in the Sebokeng Cluster, in South Africa. The Sebokeng Cluster consists of eight police stations: Sebokeng, Vanderbijlpark, Evaton, Orange Farm, Ennderdale, Sharpeville, The Barrage and Boipatong. To achieve the research objective, the organisational commitment of police officers was assessed by means of a survey using a self-administered structured questionnaires distributed to 267 police officers in all the polices stations in the Sebokeng Cluster, with 199 police officers completing and returning the questionnaires. Frequency analysis and the computation of mean scores were performed to analyse data. The results from this study indicated that police officers identified with and were loyal to the safety and security cluster. The police officers felt that they were bound to remain with their safety and security cluster because the costs for leaving were great. Finally, police officers wished to maintain the membership of their safety and security cluster for moral or ethical reasons. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1s1p10

ASSESSMENT OF THE LINEFISHERY IN TWO URBAN ESTUARINE SYSTEMS IN KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA

The recreational linefisheries in Durban Harbour and the Mgeni Estuary were surveyed using roving creel and access-point surveys during the period January–December 2000. In total, 3 351 shore-anglers and 652 boat-anglers were checked for catch-and-effort information, and 432 shore-anglers were interviewed using a demographic and socio-economic questionnaire. Durban Harbour had much higher angling effort than the Mgeni Estuary. Angling activity was higher on weekends (121 and 23 anglers per count for the harbour and Mgeni Estuary respectively) than during the week (34 and 9 anglers per count respectively). Total effort expended in Durban Harbour and the Mgeni Estuary shore-fisheries during 2000 was estimated to be 54 024 and 11 977 angler-outings respectively. Annual effort for the Durban Harbour boat-fishery for the same period was estimated to be 9 991 angler-outings. The flathead mullet Mugil cephalus was the most commonly harvested species in both Durban Harbour and the Mgeni Estuary shore-fisheries (25.2 and 68.1&#37 respectively), and spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii (41.5&#37) was the most commonly harvested species in the Durban Harbour boat-fishery. Because of their small size, a large proportion (>63&#37) of the total fish catch at both localities was released. Mean catch per unit effort for the Durban Harbour boat-based fishery (0.11 fish angler-1 h-1 or 0.15 kg angler-1 h-1) was higher than that of the shore-based fishery (0.071 fish angler-1 h-1 or 0.034 kg angler-1 h-1). The questionnaire survey indicated that anglers had high site fidelity, considerable years of fishing experience (mean of 17.2 years for the harbour, 13.6 years for Mgeni) and high compliance with possession of fishing permits (86&#37 harbour, 84&#37 Mgeni). Although anglers generally supported the regulations currently applicable to the linefishery (>71&#37 harbour, >77&#37 Mgeni), the questionnaire results showed that specific nowledge for target species was poor (45–70&#37 harbour, 29–60&#37 Mgeni). The level of fisheries law enforcement (6.4&#37 of harbour outings inspected, 7&#37 Mgeni outings inspected) was poorer than in the previously studied KwaZulu-Natal marine shorefishery. Economic investment by participants in terms of angling equipment used in the shore-fisheries of the two systems was calculated to be &#62 R10 million, and expenditure in terms of bait, travel and tackle costs was approximately R9 million per year.Afr. J. mar. Sci. 25: 111–13