Some facts and thoughts on the training and practice of Industrial Psychologists.

Contributions made by South African universities over decades to the training of personnel practitioners are reviewed and the status of Industrial Psychology as a profession is discussed. A few misconceptions about ethical conduct are criticised in the light of the internationally accepted criteria of professional behaviour

The validity of the assessment centre method as a predictor of managerial potential.

The Assessment Centre is a process involving a number of participants who take part in a series of individual and group exercises administered by a specialist, while being observed by several specially trained impartial observers. The prime objective of the Assessment Centre is the assessment of managerial personnel, and consequently the exercises in which the participants are involved simulate the problems and challenges of jobs for which their potential is being considered. Such jobs are referred to as target level jobs. By simulating a futuristic job situation, the Assessment Centre provides empirical information which can be used to predict an individual's performance in a future situation. An advantage is that information thus derived can be used to prepare individuals for the future by identifying weak points which can be developed

Probleemareas by die gebruik van dieselfde of afsonderlike toetse vir verskillende bevolkingsgroepe in die beroepslewe.

The congruence between the personality types postulated by Holland and managerial traits was investigated. The Vocational Preference Inventory was used to determine the personality types of the subjects selected for the study and a management assessment system to determine their managerial traits. When the degree of personality differentiation was taken into account, meaningful differences were found between realistic and the conventional personality types in respect of initiative and between the artistic and the conventional personality types in respect of analytic, planning and organizing ability. No statistically significant difference between the personality patterns of high and low potential managers could be found, except in respect of the realistic scale. This result indicates that low potential managers possess more realistic characteristics than high potential managers. In general, the findings of this study provide little support for Holland’s formulations of the personality types

'n Evaluering van die 6M-Simulasie opleidingkursus vir oningewyde swart werkers.

Evaluation of the 6M Simulation Training Course is discussed with reference to mastery of course content, influence of training on job performance and reaction of course attendants to the course. Results indicate a significant increase in knowledge, irrespective of variables such as age, educational qualifications, years of service, home language, place of origin and job category. A positive change in 34 items related to the job situation and a positive reaction to the course content and training techniques were also found

Die verband tussen prestasiemotivering en prestasie aan 'n bestuursbeoordelingsentrum.

A survey of the literature indicates that the traditional selection methods, i.e. psychometric predictors, have up to date not been very successful in the identification of future leaders. The Assessment Centre is a technique that has in recent years been applied worldwide as an alternative method. Although scientifically justifiable, it is very costly and time consuming. In order to find a method of pre-selection to the assessment centre it is hypothesised that there is a significant positive correlation between achievement motivation and an individual's achievement at an assessment centre. A significant correlation (p < ,01) is reported between achievement motivation and tenacity as well as planning and organising. Results further indicate a significant correlation between the sum of the dimensions evaluated and achievement motivation

Organisatoriese doeltreffendheid in Suid-Afrika en Japan.

In different cultures various work values determine organisational practises which in turn tend to determine effectiveness. Three cultural groups namely Japanese, White South Africans and Black South Africans are compared by means of a questionnaire determining relative emphasis on the values of individualism and gregariousness (groupism). Attitudes of the various cultures with respect to organisational practises are also measured using an attitude scale. The data are analysed by means of descriptive statistics and discriminate analysis. Results show that although basic values are the same for White South Africans and Japanese their actual hierarchical structures differ. The gregarious characteristic of the Japanese appears to be to a large extent responsible for their organisational effectiveness. Further research concerning the values of Black workers is suggested

Confirmation of Two Cyclotron Lines in Vela X-1

We present pulse phase-resolved X-ray spectra of the high mass X-ray binary Vela X-1 using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. We observed Vela X-1 in 1998 and 2000 with a total observation time of ~90 ksec. We find an absorption feature at 23.3 +1.3 -0.6 kev in the main pulse, that we interpret as the fundamental cyclotron resonant scattering feature (CRSF). The feature is deepest in the rise of the main pulse where it has a width of 7.6 +4.4 -2.2 kev and an optical depth of 0.33 +0.06 -0.13. This CRSF is also clearly detected in the secondary pulse, but it is far less significant or undetected during the pulse minima. We conclude that the well known CRSF at 50.9 +0.6 -0.7 kev, which is clearly visible even in phase-averaged spectra, is the first harmonic and not the fundamental. Thus we infer a magnetic field strength of B=2.6 x 10^12 G.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, 15 Figures, accepted by A&