Effect of organizational changes on employees’ motivation at a Country Club in Kwazulu Natal: from the employees’ participation perspectives

Organizations undergo a change that may or may not subscribe to the values of organizational development (OD) and, in many instances, are not accomplished by participative processes. For most of them organizational change has become synonymous with downsizing by cutting expenses and retrenching employees and therefore trepidation by those who are likely to be affected. Employees are integral to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization. Therefore, if employees perceive that the organizational change is not properly communicated to them, it is likely that their motivation will be affected and may be counter-productive to the objective of the change process. This paper evaluated the strategic change management implementation at a country club in Kwazulu Natal; the employees’ participation in the process and its impact on employees’ motivation. The quantitative research method with descriptive analysis was administered on a sample of eighty country club employees. The key findings of the study reveal that the management had not created opportunities for employees to participate. Employees felt that they could have made contribution if they were consulted. Employees felt demotivated because of poor communication. Even though the employees felt that the organizational change would help the club to achieve its goals, the club was not able to achieve its financial targets. Employees felt more motivated after the organizational change and the challenge for the management is to ensure that the employees are kept motivated

Branding in the Post-truth News era: A Social Media Hegemony in Zimbabwe Tourism Brand Equity Modelling.

The study was premised on understanding the basis of Zimbabwe tourism brand ascendancy particularly looking at the role of social media in improving positive publicity in a world dominated by post news falsification. This was achieved through comparing social media and other types of media namely traditional and digital on the effect to Brand Equity Variables. The brand equity variables comprised of brand awareness, brand image, perceived brand quality, brand loyalty and brand association. The study applied a sequential mixed methods by starting with a qualitative research design followed by a quantitative. Indepth interviews were used to obtain qualitative data and a survey questionnaire for quantitative data. The results from a qualitative research helped in coming up with the most used types of media in a tourism destination as: Magazine, Electronic, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, Newspaper, Radio, Television, Facebook, Website, Blogs, Instagram, Google and Portal. A survey was further done in order to group them under three main categories which are Social Media, Traditional Media and Digital Media. The results showed that Social Media comprise of WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn: Traditional Media was discovered to have Magazine, Television, Radio and Newspaper. Digital Media was comprised of Electronic Boards, Website, Google, Blogs and Portal. A further survey was done in order to understand the relationship between each group of media and the brand equity variables. This then aided in producing a model for destination branding linking Social Media and Brand Equity Variables; Traditional Media and Brand Equity Variables; and Digital Media and Brand Equity Variables. The study therefore recommended that destination marketers should work in partnership with various media providers throughout the whole process of destination brand development since it might influence the crafting and framing news so as to attract potential tourists

Critical Resources for the Development of Rural Tourism within the greater Bergville area of Kwa-Zulu Natal South Africa.

Bergville rural area, situated in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa faces abject poverty despite being endowed with abundant resources that could be used to develop tourism ultimately alleviating poverty. The purpose of the study was to investigate the critical resources for developing the tourism industry within the Bergville rural area. The study was motivated by increasing levels of poverty in the area. The study employed a positivist philosophy using a quantitative method with a Likert scale type of questionnaire used as the data collection instrument. Fieldworkers distributed questionnaires across a sample of 330 participants. The findings of the study revealed that Bergville rural area has abundant tourism resources that could be harnessed to develop the rural tourism industry of Bergville ultimately alleviating poverty. Thus, the study recommended that Bergville authorities and the communities should undertake an asset and needs mapping exercise to take stock of the potential tourism resources within the area and convert such resources towards tourism development. The mapping must identify available assets and existing needs, document and publish the resources for tourism development. In conclusion, the study proposes the development of a resource-focused rural tourism strategy as a mechanism to ensure constant supply of tourism resources with the overall goal to fight the poverty-stricken rural communities across South Africa and the African continent

Covid-19 Fatality Rate in Third World Countries: A Review of Environmental Challenges and Impacts on Public Health and Human Security

The novel coronavirus is far from being over; with the case-fatality rate (CFR) hitting more than 16,500 globally as of July, there is a worry that despite the fact that the global CFR curve is showing signs of flattening, the environmental peculiarities of the third world countries may be abetting global efforts towards containing the virus. Therefore, this review x-rayed these peculiarities in the light of their current concern in public health as per their contribution to the persistent surge in CFR in most developing nations. Given that the virus is transmitted via droplets, the review focused on how the state of public and environmental challenges such as air as well as water pollution and personal hygiene could be abetting the surge in coronavirus infections and morbidity. The review revealed, among other things, that challenges associated with poor sanitary conditions, lack of potable water, unventilated environments, air pollution, and poor inter-personal hygiene are devastating challenges in the fight against the pandemic. The implication is that since these conditions are systematic in nature, it may take more than average effort and public sacrifice to checkmate the case-fatality rate of the virus in the third world. Therefore, call for studies is necessary to establish empiricism for CFR patterns and ratio across areas in deplorable environmental and sanitary conditions

Prioritising Factors Influencing Mountain Tourism Using a Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process: A Case Study of Mount Nyangani, Zimbabwe

The purpose of the study was to prioritise factors that may influence mountain tourism in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has diverse mountain ecosystems that can attract tourists with various motives ranging from self-fulfillment, spirituality growth, wellness, local culture and religious experiences to simple outdoor adventures. Quantitative data was collected using a ten-point structured questionnaire that was administered to ten mountain tourism experts who were selected using purposive sampling. The findings show that key factors that influence mountain tourism in Zimbabwe include destination image, tourist satisfaction, community participation and local physical infrastructure. Policy makers should encourage green investments in mountain regions in order to unlock growth opportunities in mountain-based communities. Investing in quality complementary touristic infrastructure may also help to improve destination image. Raising awareness about the negative impacts of tourism on mountains’ unique ecological and social systems, as well on behaviour change in the people who live there, is also needed at all levels, including individual mountain tourists, tourism businesses and local communities. The study contributes to literature by pioneering the use of the fuzzy analytic hierarchical approach in order to interrogate factors that influence mountain tourism in Zimbabwe

Attractions of Cape Town to African Francophone Students.

This study set out to find the attractions of Cape Town as an educational destination for African francophone students using a qualitative interview-based research methodology. Francophone students migrate to Cape Town to firstly learn the English language and then seek tertiary education of global repute. The natural environment, lifestyle, personal safety and generally tolerant local people are added attractions. Incidences of racism, xenophobic attacks, high rentals and college fees negate students' experiences in the city and leave abad tsate in the mouth. Insightful recommendations are drawn to address the real needs of African francophone students which generally appear to be misunderstood and unaddressed by formal tertiary learning institutions and other interested organizations

Financial inclusion: disrupted liquidity and redundancy of mobile money agents in Zimbabwe

Mobile money agents (MMAs) are the pedestal of inclusive finance by bringing financial services closer to unbanked people by offering them capabilities to move from cash to electronic money and vice versa. This function is effective in an environment where hard cash is in uninterrupted circulation. The aim of this paper is to investigate implications of cash liquidity challenges in Zimbabwe to the development of financial inclusion through MMAs in a rural set-up. Phenomenological in-depth interviews were conducted with MMAs. Due to national liquidity challenges, MMAs ceased to receive cash float support, limiting their cash-in and cash-out services. Pure agents were adversely affected, while those who operate retail goods services reported increased goods sales through mobile money point-of-sale payments. Consumers are restricted to deal in electronic funds in the cashless economy making the cash-in and cash-out function of MMAs redundant. MMAs need support to sustain their operations and recoup invested capital in infrastructure. Risk management strategies, including the principal-agent contracts that minimize the exposure of MMAs to disruption of the service are important. MMAs could form an association to lobby financial regulators for support, negotiation with principals, market research, political power and active participation of agents in deepening financial inclusion. Perhaps pure MMAs could improve their economic sustainability by diversifying their businesses

The Impact of Working Capital and Macroeconomic Variables on the Profitability of Listed Industrial Firms in South Africa

This study examines the impact of working capital management policies (WCMP) and macroeconomic variables on the profitability of 83 industrial firms listed on the JSE over the period 2010-2020. The system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach was employed in regression analysis to deal with the existence of endogeneity. Results establish that working capital investment policy (WCIP) is significantly and negatively related to firm profitability. A significant and positive relationship was found between working capital financing policy (WCFP) and firm profitability. Contrary to our expectations, interest rates demonstrated significant and positive relations with return on assets(ROA). Exchange rates and inflation rates proved to impact firm profitability significantly and negatively, which resulted in the study recommending JSE-listed industrial firms to pay special attention to the external environment. Economic growth influenced firm profitability positively and significantly, which aligned with the idea that GDP growth increases the average consumers' income per capita, increasing the goods and services consumed, enhancing profitability

Mobile banking in South Africa: a systematic review of the literature

Mobile banking in South Africa recently has undergone rapid growth, and research on it is on the increase. This paper seeks to improve authors’ understanding of the current state of knowledge of mobile banking in South Africa by providing a systematic review of the existing literature on the phenomenon. The literature review shows that research to date has centred on small academic models with a high level of practitioner involvement, consequently, narrowing research issues of greater concern. Thus, issues of assessing mobile banking needs, factors imparting continuance usage, and the measurement of impact have been comparatively neglected. A future direction for research and practice within the mainstream of mobile banking and financial services is suggested to remedy this imbalance and to contribute to mobile banking applications in South Afric

Relationship between inflation and interest rates in Swaziland revisited

The stability of economies all over the world over is largely a function of inflation and interest rates. Over the past two decades, Swaziland’s economy experienced increasing inflation and interest rates with the blame leveled against the absolute Monarchy’s inability to manage the economy. In particular, the period of 2010 to 2014 was the hardest hit because of increasing poverty levels. The purpose of the study was therefore to assess the relationship between inflation and interest rates in the context of Swaziland with a view to constructing fiscal and monetary policies capable of driving an efficient economy going forward. The study employed a confirmatory and quantitative approach based on a review of secondary data over the period. The source and description of data included quarterly based data within the 2010–2014 period comprising information on interest rate, gross domestic product and inflation figures from the Central Bank of Swaziland, the national library, and the Central Statistical Department of Swaziland. A descriptive approach, using Microsoft excel, was used to analyze the data. The study findings showed that there was positive relationship between interest rates and inflation. Recommendations were that, Swaziland could craft appropriate fiscal and monetary policies towards controlling the prevailing economic challenges despite the peculiar socio-political nature where the absolute Monarchy holds executive authority and accountability