5 research outputs found
Appropriateness of municipal workers' job behaviour and performance at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM) has been experiencing inappropriate job behaviour and performance from some of its workers. These inappropriate practices have been widely reported in the media, audit reports, parliamentary discussions, reports to parliament, municipal reports, and departmental reports. They include misappropriation of municipal resources, maladministration, mismanagement, lack of service delivery, fraud, and corruption. Since many BCMM workers have various levels of formal education, such practices are not expected, because the structural-functionalist assumption is that formal education is a solution to societal challenges. At the BCMM, however, formal education seemed to also serve a different purpose, that of realising the principle that says â[k]now the rules well, so you can break them effectivelyâ (Dalai Lama 2013, 2). This study therefore hypothesises that the perpetual inappropriate job behaviour and performance at the BCMM is due to the paucity of broad skills. The concept of broad skills includes the various dimensions of knowledge (know that, know why, know how) as well as attitudes, ethics and values. Inappropriate job behaviour and performance practices thus indicate that current levels of broad skills are insufficient. This study acknowledges that labour (ability to work) is a product of multifarious forms of capital, hence this study amalgamates four forms of capital - human capital, social capital, cultural capital, and reputation capital â into a theoretical framework in order to get a broader explanation of the workersâ job behaviour and performance. The various forms of capital contribute to the formation of skill, hence the notion of broad skills. How workers discharge their responsibilities is determined by numerous factors such as cultural capital (the workersâ family background, race, ethnicity, personality, and geographical area) (Bourdieu 1977); reputation capital (the workersâ brand, public perceptions of trustworthiness, popularity, authority in the field, ethics, integrity and reputation) (Ingbretsen 2011); social capital (the workersâ social development, social relations, and social networks) (Blackmore 1997); and human capital (schooling) (Becker 1964). The value of adopting the broad skills approach lies in gaining a broader perspective on job performance as opposed to the dominant use of the human capital model alone which predominantly uses schooling to explain job performance. In practice, the human capital model is characterised by its association of job performance problems with lack of skills. However, investigation of the role of attitudes, ethics and values in the labour process reveals that the lack of will also contributes to job performance problems. In fact, the adoption of multiple perspectives for investigating the paradoxical co-existence of inappropriate job behaviour and performance with formal education reveals several factors that make this phenomenon possible, besides lack of skills. These include the job environment, ineffective performance management systems, compromised municipal effectiveness and efficiency due to the politicisation of municipal management, and manipulation of the labour process to suit the interests of the workers who want to engage in inappropriate practices
Proceedings of the BEST EN Think Tank XVII: innovation and progress in sustainable tourism
BEST EN is an international consortium of educators committed to the development and dissemination of knowledge in the field of sustainable tourism. The organization's annual Think Tank brings together academics and industry representatives from around the world to discuss a particular theme related to sustainable tourism in order to move research and education in this specific field forward.
We are pleased to present the proceedings of the BEST Education Network (BESTEN) Think Tank XVII entitled Innovation and Progress in Sustainable Tourism. The event was held in Mauritius, June 14-17, 2017, in conjunction with the International Center for Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality, University of Mauritius.
The term 'sustainable tourism' emerged in the early 1980s building on earlier concerns about the negative impacts of tourism and linking tourism to the wider sustainability movement. Despite 30 years of discussion of tourism and sustainability in academic and government documents, recent reviews suggest that there is considerable room for improvement in the practice of sustainable tourism.
The proceedings present work by academics and practitioners worldwide, conducted on various aspects of innovation and progress in sustainable tourism. They include abstracts and papers accepted by the scientific committee following a double blind peer review process.
Twenty-eight research papers were presented at the conference. Presentations were held within the following themed sessions:
⢠Assessing Progress, Contributions & Teaching and Learning
⢠Innovation â Sustainable, Experiential, Product and Marketing
⢠Tourism Impacts, Sustainable Tourism Education, Interpretation
⢠Theoretical and Methodological Approaches for Researching Sustainable Tourism
The contributions were thematically selected for each group and are arranged in order of presentation in the proceedings. The full proceedings as well as the PowerPoint presentations are available on the BEST EN website www.besteducationnetwork.org/
The Editor and the BEST EN Executive Committee anticipate that readers of this volume will find the papers informative, thought provoking and of value to their research
South African health review 2018
Drawn from a wide variety of sources to provide an overview of health systems issues in South Africa, the central focus of the 2018 Review is human resources for health (HRH). This edition also provides analysis and commentary on citizen health and the responsiveness of the health system. Chapters on mental health, disease surveillance, epidemiological trends, quality improvement, management of infectious and communicable diseases, and increase in âobesogenicâ (obesity promoting) environments are included. The values of equity, human rights and social justice must be central to South Africaâs quest for universal health care (UHC).South African National Department of Healt
African Studies Abstracts Online: number 33, 2011
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 33 (2011). African Studies Centre, Leiden.ASC â Publicaties niet-programma gebonde
Development of an integrated model for urban sustainable resilience through smart city projects in the Southern African context.
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The construct Smart City has gone through a few phases in the last decades. Today there is still
no consensus on an accurate definition of Smart City, even though a few concepts are now
accepted by most stakeholders, establishing frameworks heading to enhance the quality of life
of citizens, sustainable development and economic competitiveness, and, most importantly,
the optimal balance between these. Starting from the framework of the Smart City model as
conceptualized by the developed world, this research attempts to critically analyse the
challenges and barriers to a transition and upgrade of such a model for implementation in
developing countries, particularly in the Southern Africa.
The mid-term future trends in the region create a huge expectation and concern
internationally. Factors like the considerable demographic increase in the post-colonial Africa,
the massive migration from the rural areas to cities and the shift from the manufacturing
world pole in the East to the African continent predict a remarkable dynamic and vibrant scene
in the near future. Stressing the ability of the region to respond to these challenges is starting
to gain the attention of scholars and organizations internationally. However, it is important to
say that most of the research studies point to both, the solution of dramatic situations related
to poverty and underdevelopment, and secondly, the market prospect studies that research
the economic potential of the region to foreign capital. Moreover, regarding urban systems,
most African governments have scarce and unreliable data.
Therefore, looking from a local perspective, it is fair to explore ways Africa and Africans are
able to cope with the challenges to come. Not only to make the place attractive to outsider
eyes but to increase the quality of life and opportunities for local people through selfmanagement.
Africa has undergone through a long history of catastrophes in recent times, with horrendous
impact on the population. Yet, a proved resilience makes room for hope in a better future,
away from a patronizing management by external forces. Part of this research stresses the
feasibility of tailor made solutions to cope with future challenges from a local perspective in
the era of globalization. International agencies tend to rate performance in multiple fields
based on worldwide standards. Taking into account the use of a series of indicators as a tool to rationalize (evaluate) the performance of any particular field of human action; the
measurement of those indicators can vary from region to region.
In such resilient environment as described above, the aim of this research is to identify
sustainable ways for long-term implementation of up to date technologies in Southern African
cities for an effective leapfrog that would bring Southern Africa up to nowadays standards
without losing local references.
A deep dive into the literature about current technologies and the African city represents the
starting point of the methodological approach in order to understand localities and real
challenges. The research looked at worldwide urban trends and aims to extract those
parameters that are meaningful to Africa today.
In order to validate the findings of the research, a case study focussed on specific urban
challenges has been identified: the Umgeni River estuary in eThekwini municipality is
representative of the confluence of multiple urban dynamics: environmental concerns, lack of
municipal services, climate change vulnerability, ocean pollution, poverty, regional business,
mining, commercial activities, informal settlements and formal planning. The waste sector in
particular, typically undermined in the Global South, has been identified as a potential
common thread across the aforementioned urban dynamics. The application to the case study
of the lessons learnt through the study of the smart city and urban sustainable resilience
highlights the readiness of the Southern Africa city and unlocks a discussion about sustainable
urban growth.
The results indicate a dual scenario, concerning yet optimistic: there are great disparities
between the aspirations from city managers and policy makers, and the conflicted reality at
ground level. The pressure due the competitive agenda to render Southern African cities
appealing in order to gain foreign economic attention could fade as local communities improve
their life condition and strength local markets: âAfrica by Africans for Africansâ. Two important
factors can make this shift possible: one is the presence of strong academic institution with
great number of strong collaborations with organizations of great reputation. The case study
proves a great interest to assist with solutions to African matters by the international
community, but probably not in the way city managers expect. The second one is the advantage that can be taken from the âalready madeâ infrastructure fabric, re-programming
the initially âcolonial-conceived extractive economic visionâ towards social gain