Understanding How Organizational Interventions Mitigate the Barriers Women Face in the IT Workplace: A Theoretical Framework

Forbes Insight (2011) reported that 97% of companies surveyed have implemented interventions to improve the retention of women and minorities in the workplace. Despite organizational interventions, women are not staying in IT workforce¬. In fact NCWIT (2015) reported that 57% of women leave the IT workforce within the first five years of their career. These alarming figures raise questions about the effectiveness of these interventions. Information systems research produced little theoretically sound gender research to facilitate our understanding of organizational interventions and their effectiveness to retain women in IT (Trauth 2013). This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature and provide a theoretical framework to enhance our understanding and our empirical investigations of diversity interventions within organizations

Determining the influence of entrepreneurship intervention on the entrepreneurial intentions of the youth in South Africa

This study aimed to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial interventions (EIs) on the entrepreneurial intentions of disadvantaged youths in South Africa. A survey was conducted among young people who participated in an EIs between 2008 and 2019. The study embraced a survey design that meticulously probed entrepreneurial intentions, personality traits, and skills development. The results of the analysis indicate that entrepreneurial personality and entrepreneurial skills significantly influence entrepreneurial intention among disadvantaged youths. Attitude and subjective norms were also strongly related to entrepreneurial intention. Additionally, skills related to business management, finance, and marketing unveiled their substantia impact on fostering entrepreneurial intentions. The study’s outcomes extend beyond theoretical associations, providing actionable insights for policymakers and program developers. By emphasising the role of specific skills and psychological factors, our research advocates for the design of more targeted and impactful EIs. This research not only contributes to academic discourse but also furnishes practical guidance for shaping interventions that catalyse entrepreneurial aspirations among disadvantaged youth. The nuanced dynamics uncovered in this study pave the way for a more equitable and prosperous society in South Africa

Publish or profit? Essays on university technology commercialization & academic entrepreneurship

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Cultural transition in Southeastern Europe: the creative city - crossing visions and new realities in the region

Contents: Chapter I: Conceptual Frameworks of the Creative City Debate: Lidia Varbanova: Our Creative Cities Online; Žaklina Gligorijević: Forces and Trends Shaping the Contemporary City: The Creative Sector in Creative Cities; Milena Dragičević-Šešić: Culture as a Resource of City Development; Jaka Primora: Attitudes of Cultural Workers towards Creative Industries Development and the City in Southeastern Europe; Ivana Jašić: Cities on the Global Market: Territorial Marketing Planning Strategies. Chapter I: Case Studies from the Region: Maja Breznik The Role of Culture in the Strategies of "City Regeneration"; Krisztina Keresztély: Cultural Policies and Urban Rehabilitation in Budapest; Nada Švob-Đokić: Zagreb: Urban Cultural Identities and City Growth; Inga Tomić-Koludrović, Mirko Petrić: New Cultural Tourists in a Southeastern European City: The Case of Split; Ana Žuvela: Developing Cultural Strategy in the City of Dubrovnik; Fatjon Dragoshi: TI-RAMA: My Creative City - Case study: Tirana; Nevena Daković; Cityscape and Cinema; Snežana Krstanović: The Position of Cultural Resources in the Urban Regeneration Process - Case study: Pančevo; Dona Kolar-Panov, Violeta Simjanovska, Katerina Mojančevska: City Regeneration Policies and Practices - Case study: Skopje

Employability of higher education institutions graduates : exploring the influence of entrepreneurship education and employability skills development program activities in Tanzania

The concept of employability has over time become a topic of interest among stakeholders of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) including graduates. This has long been established by labour market studies suggesting skills gap between the labour requirements and the outputs from the education system. Although specific Employability Skills Development Programme (ESDP) activities have been identified to address employability within HEIs, individual background given its influence on competence level and mass enrolment are posing an increasing challenge in the process. In view of the above, this thesis explores the topic of employability of HEIs graduates. Specifically, it examines the influence of entrepreneurship education and ESDP activities in enhancing employability and graduate competencies. To provide for the theoretical background the study used human capital, systems and trait theories. Using triangulation approach, data were collected from 22 employers, 54 management members in schools of education at HEIs level and 554 graduates (378 from all the study fields and specifically 176 teachers who studied entrepreneurship education). The categorization of graduates also reflected their employment status comprising of employed, self employed and the unemployed. Findings indicate that employability can be enhanced through individual’s engagement in ESDP activities, which subsequently foster one’s employability skills. Taking a course in entrepreneurship has also been shown to enhance both employability and the related skills. Parent’s level of education and occupation do not influence one’s employability. The beneficial impact of ideal employability therefore depends on the interplay between an individual’s own initiatives in enhancing employability skills, the study institution and field of study. Additionally, while some employers recruit from specific disciplines, others recruit from diverse fields of study when graduates demonstrate higher level of employability and the related skills. The study therefore developed a model that can facilitate the development of employability skills among graduates. Simulation results indicate that it takes 75 months (6 years and 3 months) for an individual to acquire the required level of employability skills. And to maintain the same, a minimum of six ESDP activities is mandatory, not only during individuals’ time at HEIs but also during one’s career and throughout the life time. The study implications both practical and theoretical are further discussed. The dissertation also offered some areas for further research

Applying Career Competencies in Career Management.

The thesis critically examines the use of competencies in career management, and introduces career competencies as an approach to sustainable career management. An 87-item measure of career competency (CC) was tested on a sample of 632 individuals from different backgrounds. From this, the Career Competencies Indicator (CCI) was developed. The CCI comprises 43 items, measuring seven subscales: goal setting and career planning, self-knowledge, job-related performance effectiveness, career-related skills, knowledge of (office) politics, networking and mentoring and feedback-seeking and self-presentation. Sub-scale alphas were of acceptable level and the factor structure was replicated with two other samples. The impact of CCs on objective career success (OCS) and subjective career success (SCS) was explored, administering the CCI to a sample of 269 police officers and 110 university employees. SCS was measured using Gattiker and Larwood’s (1986) five SCS scales and Greenhaus, Parasuraman and Wormley’s (1990) career satisfaction scale. OCS was assessed as income and number of promotions. The control variables included personality (Saucier, 1994), career salience (Allen & Ortlepp, 2002) and demographics. Discriminant validity was demonstrated between most of the CCI sub-scales and the personality variables. Above-chance similarity between the CCI sub-scales indicated convergent validity. The CCs contributed to SCS and OCS. For four of the SCS variables, this contribution added to the contribution of the control variables. The CCs further mediated the relationship between career salience and career outcomes. To generalise these results, future work should focus on a longitudinal approach considering a range of organisations. The CCI was used as a framework for informal career discussions with twenty-one police officers. The intervention was highly valued by participants. Behavioural changes were reported three months after the intervention. A pre-post approach found no significant differences in the increase of CCs, SCS and OCS between the control and the intervention group, apart from life success which was reportedly higher for the intervention group. However, the interaction plots showed an increase in CCs, SCS and OCS from time1 to time2 for the intervention group, which reached significance for the OCS and some of the SCS variables. The thesis considers the implications of the present findings and suggests avenues for future work. The role of CCs in dealing with the requirements of the new career realities and different ways of promoting CCs are also considered

Technopreneurial Inclinations and Career Management Strategy among Information Technology Professionals

This research examines the career goals and career management strategy of information technology (IT) professionals in Singapore. The results of this research found that IT professionals seek to advance their careers in three ways. The first two are standard career paths, which involve specializing in either a technical or a managerial career. The third career path, termed technopreneurship, involves IT professionals setting up their own IT business. The results of this research also showed that: (1) career planning has a positive impact on career strategy, (2) career strategy has a positive impact on professional enhancement, and (3) professional enhancement has a positive impact on career satisfaction. One important implication of these results is that it is important for IT professionals to plan and strategize their career

Socio-cultural values as determinants of entrepreneurial intentions among university students in Cape Town

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDIn many parts of the world and in South Africa in particular, there is a growing body of literature supporting the opinion that intentions play a crucial role in the decision to become an entrepreneur. Models of entrepreneurial intentions around the world have been developed, but in South Africa studies in this regard are still inconclusive, especially among the youth. This research study primarily aimed at investigating how social, cultural and socio-economic factors of entrepreneurship students in the universities of the Western Cape Province shape their entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurial intentions, social factors, cultural values, as well as socioeconomic factors, were reviewed in the literature and are presented in this dissertation. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach through the amalgamation of both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. A survey questionnaire was administered to the respondents — entrepreneurship students from the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of Stellenbosch (US), the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Data collected was coded by means of the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22. Six variables out of nine of the instrument had a coefficient Alpha (Cronbach) of more than 0.7, while the remaining three had a coefficient Alpha of between 0.5 and 0.7; this extended its reliability. The study discovered that most of the items of the instrument had a positive relationship with their variables, leading to the variables being considered as having an influence on entrepreneurial intentions. In fact, the study found that social factors, as well as cultural values and socio-economic values, impact on self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions. The result of the research is that the study suggests a model of entrepreneurial intentions among university students, and in the final chapter concludes with recommendations and suggestions for future research

The relationship between career anchors and personality preferences

The objective of the present study was to explore whether individuals' career anchors are dependent on their personality types. The Career Orientation Inventory (COI) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) were administered to a sample of honours students in the subject field of Industrial and Organisational Psychology in order to measure the relationship between the two constructs. For statistical purposes only the female participants were included in the final sample analysis (N=117) because of the underrepresentation of males. Statistically significant differences were established with regard to the security/stability career anchor and the ESFJ, ENFP, ESFP and INFP personality types. It is recommended that future studies include larger samples that are more representative of all possible sixteen (16) personality types and a broader range of occupations. The findings contribute new knowledge regarding the career anchors and personality preferences of females pursuing further studies in the field of IO-Psychology.Industrial and Organisational PsychologyM.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology

New venture creation in different environments: Towards a multilayered institutional approach to entrepreneurship

siirretty Doriast