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    Health and wellness of Royal Navy personnel : trial of a health & wellness programme for the Royal New Zealand Navy : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Sport and Exercise in Endorsement of Exercise Prescription and Training, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Crawford-Mickleson, Chance Rapheal
    Introduction: It is essential for the Royal New Zealand Navy to ensure that all personnel are physically fit and maintain optimal physiological health for deployability. While access to health care and training facilities is provided, physiological health and physical fitness standard is up to the individual. This can potentially lead to sub-optimal health and wellness in military personnel. Therefore, the aim of this research is to trial a basic health and fitness screening programme among Royal New Zealand Navy personnel and compare results with healthy population data to ascertain any health and fitness issues that need to be addressed to ensure deployability of staff. Methods: 91 male and female Royal New Zealand Navy participants (mean age of 34 years, 68.1% = male, 31.8% = female) volunteered for this study. Data was collected over two phases within the same day (between 0600 and 1500 hours). Phase one, participants arrived in a fasted state (12 hours) and blood cholesterol/glucose, resting heart rate and blood pressure, was obtained. On completion participants consumed breakfast. Phase two involved answering two questionnaires; (the AHA/ACSM health and fitness pre-participation screening questionnaire for general health and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire to measure sleep status over the past four weeks); and collection of anthropometric data (weight; height; waist circumference; hip circumference and right arm/leg length). Final assessment procedures involved the YMCA estimated VO2max test, Y-Balance and sit and reach test. Statistical analysis: All data was first assessed for normal distribution and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Data was grouped by age and/or gender and analysed using independent t-tests for first level comparisons, and univariate analyses for multi-level comparisons. Significance was set at p=0.05. Results: Overall, results show that high density lipoprotein, estimated VO2max, body mass index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the AHA/ACSM health and fitness pre-participation screening questionnaire were near pre-published general population normal values. Analysis on age and gender showed that overall, females were healthier than males but had lower VO2max, and the <35 year age group performed better overall than the ≥35 year age group. Conclusion: Those aged <35 years and who are female presented with less risk factors for cardiovascular disease than males and those aged ≥35 years, as a whole. Recommendations for a screening programme is provided.
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    An evaluative case study of a basic education and training programme in Indonesia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Administration at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2002) Iriani, Enni
    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the basic education and training programme (the DIKLAT ADUM) for Indonesian civil servants. This evaluative case study was based on the nature of formative evaluation that aims at providing feedback for the programme's improvement and development. This research used the methods of survey questionnaire and telephone interview. A purposive-random sampling was carried out for the interview. Using the Likert attitude scale and open-ended questions, the questionnaire asked the participants about their expectation of the programme, the programme's content and the perceived effects of the programme. The telephone interview enquired about participants' insights regarding some themes that had emerged from the questionnaire. The responses to the survey questionnaire and interview showed that the programme was reasonably effective in improving the participants' skills and knowledge of public administration and management as well as their attitude towards their job as civil servants. However, it was found that two main aspects of the programme, curriculum and its delivery, needed special attention from the stakeholders in order for the programme to be more effective. The study concludes with some recommended action plans for both the organisational and individual stakeholders. It also recommends a model for evaluating future DIKLAT ADUM programmes aimed at their improvement and development.
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    Sharing the power : knowledge management, empowerment, employee self service and the NZDF : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Information Systems at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2003) Williams, Richard
    This thesis investigated employee views of the Defence Kiosk System (DKS) through a questionnaire, and compared the results with two empowerment methodologies. These methodologies were Spreitzer and Quinn's Five Disciplines For Empowerment, and Horibe's Employee Decision Making methodology. The DKS is the Employee Self Service (ESS) system of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). The DKS is a web-based system that employees can use to access their personal records, thereby empowering employees to access their own personnel information and removing the need for them to ask human resources related questions of their administration unit. This provides the NZDF with administrative savings and accurate up to date information that can be used for Knowledge Management (KM). The research begins with a literature review. The literature review established links between Empowerment, KM and ESS. It found that for ESS systems to provide benefits employees must be willing to use them. A questionnaire was developed and sent to a sample of 1000 NZDF employees who had access to the DKS. The response was 350 completed and returned questionnaires, which exceeded the 180 responses required to enable the results to be generalised for the entire NZDF population. Analysis of the questionnaire responses showed that employees believe that the DKS, as an ESS system, meets their personnel information needs and that they were willing to use the DKS. When the results of the survey were compared with the empowerment methodologies the research supported Spreitzer and Quinn's five disciplines model, particularly the fourth and fifth disciplines. The results raised questions about the suitability of using Horibe's employee decision making methodology in the field of personnel management, especially with the advent of employee self sefvice systems.
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    E-learning -- effective, engaging, entertaining (and earthquake proof) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Education (Adult Education) at Massey University, Extramural, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Cruickshank, Alice
    This study is concerned with what makes e-learning effective and engaging as a workplace professional development tool. Using the example of a workplace e-learning programme in Christchurch City Libraries, the study considers the whole process from development of the programme to delivery and evaluation and asks what factors impact upon effectiveness and engagement in a workplace e-learning programme. A number of factors including the organisational culture and workplace environment, the development process, the learning environment, learner support, the e-learning environment and specific e-learning activities were examined. The study itself took place over a unique period of time as Christchurch recovered from several devastating earthquakes. The impact of the disaster and recovery process on the programme and the effectiveness of e-learning in a post-disaster environment is also explored. This study uses a Participatory Action Research approach with data collected and analysed from a variety of sources including interviews with programme developers, pre- and post-course questionnaires, online activity tracking tools, forum posts, trainee learning logs, the researcher’s reflective journal, and a participant focus group. The findings from the study suggest a number of elements that contribute to effective and engaging e-learning programmes in the workplace: a) workplace support of the programme by team leaders is essential but the trainee also needs to be in a position to negotiate for the actual time and resources required. b) Developing an online programme requires a different approach and skill set than designing and delivering face-to-face training and may best be managed as a product development project. c) The attractiveness and ease of navigation are important factors for trainees’ engagement with e-learning. d) Short, locally made videos of real-life workplace scenarios proved to both effective and engaging with trainees able to transfer skills to the workplace. e) A wide variety of e-learning activities promoted interest and engagement among learners. f) Consideration needs to be given to how workplace e-learning is evaluated to ensure skill transfer to the workplace is taking place.
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    The impact of the psychological contract on intention to leave in the Royal New Zealand Navy : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Studies (Management) at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Bakewell, Layamon John
    Over the last two years, the New Zealand Public Sector has experienced significant organisational change. In particular, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has instigated a number of reform programmes, most recently the Civilianisation Project. The aim of the Civilianisation Project was to analyse the workforce and identify jobs that were no longer required to be filled by people wearing a uniform. On 28 June 2011, 308 people from the NZDF were informed that they would be released from the service. Since this time, morale and satisfaction are at the lowest point recorded in the last eight years. This has had a dramatic effect on attrition, and since July 2011, NZDF personnel numbers have decreased by 1015 people (a decrease of 10.6%), and at the same time the attrition rate has increased from 10.7% to 21.3% per annum. The present study sought to examine the employment relationship in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) utilising the framework of the psychological contract - the system of beliefs and perceptions of obligations between an employee and employer. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between relational/transactional orientation of the psychological contract and intention to leave the organisation. The mediating role of affective commitment in employment relations was also examined. Data was collected from 619 members of the RNZN in a cross-sectional survey. Hypothesis testing was carried out using structural equation modelling. Analysis confirmed that relational contracts have a strong and significant direct impact on intention to leave (γ = -.752, ρ = .000, β = -.446). The model also supported the path between transactional contracts and affective commitment, demonstrating a particularly strong linkage (γ = -.719, ρ = .000, β = -.381). A mediating role for affective commitment was also confirmed. The present study suggests that the psychological contract orientation is both an important predictor of intention to leave, as well as providing a valuable insight into how employees view their career in the Navy. The results of the study suggest that human resource managers in the RNZN should focus on the relational aspects of the psychological contract in order to improve retention. Opportunities for future research include replicating this study across the wider NZDF and New Zealand public sector.
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    The quest for efficiency : role of human resource management in public sector reforms in Uganda : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2002) Bacwayo, Kukunda Elizabeth
    The context of this thesis is the development strategy of public sector reforms and privatisation. It uses Uganda as a case study, and argues for the need to integrate the issue of human resource management in the privatisation discourse in developing countries. Public sector reforms arose out of neo-liberal thinking that argues against state intervention and recommends market led economic growth. Privatisation is part of the attempt to scale back on the role of the state in economic development and has been integrated in the development policies of developing countries through the structural adjustment programs of the IMF and World Bank. It is required because of the belief that the private sector is more efficient in allocation and use of resources and is therefore the best medium for attaining development goals. Private sector companies in the developed countries which utilise modern techniques of management are comparatively more efficient than their public counterparts. Globalisation and market competition forced organisations to search for ways to be competitive and this partly led to organisations elevating human resource management issues to a strategic level because of the belief that a company's workers add value that make firms competitive. When privatisation is made a requirement by the multilateral aid agencies for developing countries it is based on the assumption that the conditions that make public enterprises inefficient do not exist in the private sector. No empirical evidence is available to confirm or refute these assumptions, particularly in the case of Africa's developing nations. This thesis has contributed to this area by examining the human resource management practices of seven Ugandan organisations, three public, two private and two privatised. The aim was to find out whether there are differences in the way in which private and public organisations manage their employees and if their practices are those associated with effective management of human resources. The practices that were examined were recruitment and selection of staff, training, compensation and employee attitudes. The results from this study did not provide evidence that the differences that were exhibited in the seven organisations were related to ownership. Rather they seem to be determined by the values and culture of managers and the labour market conditions in Uganda. Both private and public enterprises exhibited practices that human resource management literature and practice consider as obstacles to efficiency