Factors influencing survivor qualities after downsizing

Today organisations all over the world have to cope with the ever-increasing rate of local and global change. Those in developing countries have to cope with the inefficiencies engendered by state-led economic, developmental and political strategies, such as new government regulations. These have had an impact on the management of human resources and are exemplified by an increasing adoption of strategies meant to reduce pressure on costs and margins. An increasing popular management response to these challenges has been to engage in some form of organisational restructuring such as downsizing. Often employees who remain (survivors) after downsizing are not given much attention, yet the achievement of new strategic goals depends on the survivors having positive attitudes, relentless commitment and high motivation. Research indicates that employees who are motivated and committed contribute vastly to the financial-bottom-line of the organisation. Therefore, downsizing organisations should continuously search for ways to increase such qualities among their survivors. The objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence the attitudes, commitment and motivation of survivors in a developing economy with a volatile environment. To achieve this objective, a theoretical survivor quality model was presented. In order to present the model, firstly, a literature survey on the importance of survivor quality in terms of attitudes, commitment, and motivation among survivors was conducted. Secondly, literature survey pertaining to the drivers of survivor quality was done, and thirdly, literature dealing with strategies to deal with survivor quality was surveyed. The theoretical survivor quality model was used to compile the research instrument that determined the attitudinal, commitment and motivational levels of survivors, how the three constructs are related after downsizing, as well as the factors influencing the observed levels. The questionnaire was randomly distributed among survivors in the selected manufacturing organisations in Zimbabwe. The empirical results obtained from the study showed that survivors in a developing economy with a volatile environment had moderate levels of attitudes, commitment ad motivation. Two categories of factors were identified as important in influencing these levels. They were downsizing strategy and demographic factors. The downsizing strategy factors were communication and victim support, while education, age, and number of years employed emerged as the demographic factors. The study further highlighted that older survivors with less education contributed more to the moderate levels of attitude, commitment and motivation observed. The study highlights that these variables must be taken into consideration when implementing downsizing in an economically volatile environment in order to manage survivor quality. A further point emanating from the study is that prior to downsizing, organisations should adopt effective communication strategies throughout the process. The key factors identified as influencing survivor quality in this study were integrated into the survivor quality model which can be used by other organisations in a similar context to manage survivor quality in order to increase their efficiency, effectiveness, iv and competitive advantage after downsizing

Radio broadcasting in the era of HIV/AIDS: Can this be the magic bullet?

Published ArticleIn this study, we assessed the relevance and effectiveness of radio broadcasting as a strategy that facilitates the adoption and use of safer sexual practices among students at a South African university. Based on ethnographic data, the article highlights that the essential and critical contribution of campus radio lies in its ability to create a social space for HIV/AIDS communication. The overall aim of this study was to assess the relationship between exposure to radio broadcasting messages and the adoption of safer sexual practices. Our analysis suggests that campus broadcasting can be instrumental in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and education

Debunking The One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Human Resource Management: A Review of Human Resource Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Firms

Published ArticleOrientation: This article argues that the best practice approach (BPA) to HRM fails to capture the peculiarities of HR practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The article instead articulates the view that the different and unique traits inherent in SMEs firms allows the firms to adopt distinct HR practices, which may not cohere with the prescriptive one-size-fits-all view which BPA advocates. Research purpose: The article aims to further the thesis that the long-held BPA approach to HRM does not always apply to SME firms given their unique characteristics which renders HR prescriptions applied in large firms invalid in SME firms. Research approach/design and method: As a theoretical article, a systematic literature review was conducted to draw findings and conclusions. Main findings: The article concludes that the eclectic nature of SME HR practices complicates the extent of generalisability of such practices across organisational settings, thus showing that HR practices that work in SME firms cannot be applied in large firms with equal success. Practical/managerial implications: The findings provide a platform to enhance the understanding surrounding managing human resources in SME firms by revealing the differences between people management in SME firms as compared to their larger counterparts. Contribution/value-add: The article is groundbreaking as it has opened new avenues in the quest to understand the nature and contribution of HRM in SME firms

Environmental Influences, Employee Resourcing Strategies and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Performance: Case of South African Small Restaurants

Published ArticleOrientation: Small businesses’ contribution to economic growth and employment creation cannot be disputed in South Africa, amid operating in an environment that is highly competitive and reports of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) high failure rates, in general. In view of this, and to our knowledge, no known theoretical study has been conducted in South Africa examining how certain environmental factors might influence the use of appropriate resourcing strategies for improved small businesses’ performance. Research purpose: This theoretical article investigates the relationships between environmental influences, employee resourcing strategies and business performance among South African small restaurants. Motivation for the study: There is a paucity of literature that has explored whether a relationship exists between the three variables among small restaurant businesses in South Africa, justifying the need for such an investigation. Research approach/design and method: This article, which is conceptual in nature, adopted a systematic literature review which entails combining all existing research literature related to the three variables so as to arrive at logical inferences. Main findings: The research contends that a relationship exists between the three variables. Practical/managerial implications: Small businesses need to be aware of the environmental influences that may contribute to business failure so that they attune employee resourcing strategies to the environment to achieve high performance. Contribution/value add: The article contributes to extant literature on the interplay between environmental factors, resourcing strategies and firm performance in small restaurant businesses of emerging economies

Remote and Hybrid Working during Crisis: Challenges and Implications for Employee Development in Africa

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the associated lockdowns imposed by governments exposed disparities in how organisations on different continents were prepared for unplanned uncertainties. While the global north organisations, with their advanced adoption of 4IR technologies, quickly moved in to find affordable ways to ensure business continuity, adjustments by organisations in the global south were challenged by lack of modern advanced affordable technologies. The abrupt adoption of technologies associated with the fourth industrial revolution [4IR] in the global south meant an increased emphasis on remote working - a concept that has been taboo, especially in South Africa. The adoption meant fitting into a new world of work, which requires agility, re-learning, and de-learning of skills. The chapter aims to unpack the work challenges organisations face in times of crises and what it means for employee development in an African context

The Influence of Selected Demographic Factors on the Choice of Marketing Communication Tools: Comparison of Foreign and Local Spaza Shop Owners in South Africa

Published ArticleOrientation: The continued proliferation of foreign-owned spaza shops in South African townships presents intense competition between local and foreign owners, with evidence that foreign spaza shop owners are more likely to use marketing communication tools than local spaza shop owners. Research purpose: The main purpose of this study was to compare the influence of selected demographic variables (education, age of business and owner’s experience) on the choice of marketing communication tools between foreigners and locals who own spaza shops in South Africa. Motivation for the study: This study was motivated by a lack of insight in comparing the use of marketing communication tools between foreigners and local spaza shop owners. Research design, approach and method: A descriptive, cross-sectional comparative research design was adopted, where a convenience non-random sample of 236 spaza shops owners, both foreign and local ones in the Free State Province, was analysed using four-way analysis of variance. Main findings: The results of the study revealed that foreign spaza shop owners are more influenced by selected demographic factors to use marketing communication tools than South African spaza shop owners. Practical/managerial implications: Given that foreign owners are more influenced by demographic factors to use marketing communication tools to outperform their counterparts, the study highlights the need to support local spaza shop owners for continued sustainability. Contribution/value-add: This study added knowledge by exploring untested comparison of demographic variables influencing the use of marketing communication tools in spaza shop businesses

Impact of municipal employees’ perceptions of fairness in human resources management practices on motivation: evidence from a South African Province

Published ArticleIn South Africa, the problem of service delivery cuts across all municipalities as manifested by citizen protests across the country on almost daily basis. To mitigate the costs associated with the protests, the South African government has placed emphasis on the role played by human resources management through instituting legislative frameworks, such as the the White Paper on Human Resource Management in the Public Service (1997). Despite this effort, the human resource management practices of municipalities continue to be criticized, by both municipal internal staff and citizenry. Service delivery in the South African context is regarded as one of the cornerstone indicators of how the government affords its citizens access to quality life as enshrined in its constitution. This paper is one of the studies based on the South African context attempting to explain the problem of service delivery by looking at perceived fairness in human resource management (HRM) practices by employees of municipalities and how such perceptions affect their motivation to work. Using the tenets of the organizational justice theory, the authors hypothesize that perceived HRM practices of municipalities can be predictors of employee motivation. Quantitative data collected from employees of nine randomly selected municipalities in the Free State Province are used to create indices for the different HRM practices as well as employee motivation. Significant correlation tests are performed. Results show a positive correlation between perceived fairness in the HRM practices of municipalities and employees’ motivation at .05 and .01 levels of significance. This means that fair HRM practices of municipalities promote employee motivation

Municipal Employees’ Perceptions Of Political Interference In Human Resource Management Practices: Evidence From The Free State Province In South Africa

Service delivery in South Africa has of recent been marred with much criticism and citizens’ dissatisfactions evidenced by protests across the country, especially in different municipal areas. While the South African central government recognizes the important supportive role of human resources management (HRM) in ensuring quality service delivery, the municipalities’ human resource management seem not to be playing this important role. There are accusations of too much political interference in municipal human resource management activities in municipalities in the country. The objective of this study was to determine municipal employees’ perceptions of political interference in human resource management practices within selected municipalities in South African. Using a sample of nine municipalities and 342 employees, results of the quantitative analysis of data collected using questionnaires showed that municipal employees perceived little or low levels of political interference in HRM practices.  The results are discussed within the context of organisational justice theory and implications on issues such as application of appropriate ethics in HRM practices are suggested

Municipal Employees’ Perceptions Of Political Interference In Human Resource Management Practices: Evidence From The Free State Province In South Africa

Published ArticleService delivery in South Africa has of recent been marred with much criticism and citizens’ dissatisfactions evidenced by protests across the country, especially in different municipal areas. While the South African central government recognizes the important supportive role of human resources management (HRM) in ensuring quality service delivery, the municipalities’ human resource management seem not to be playing this important role. There are accusations of too much political interference in municipal human resource management activities in municipalities in the country. The objective of this study was to determine municipal employees’ perceptions of political interference in human resource management practices within selected municipalities in South African. Using a sample of nine municipalities and 342 employees, results of the quantitative analysis of data collected using questionnaires showed that municipal employees perceived little or low levels of political interference in HRM practices. The results are discussed within the context of organisational justice theory and implications on issues such as application of appropriate ethics in HRM practices are suggested