A reply from a ‘pracademic’: It is not all mischief, and there is scope to educate budding authors

Abstract : Problemification: Some academics joined the profession from private sector late in their career. They are sometimes referred to fondly as practical academics or ‘pracademics’ because they still work in private sector and also act as a visiting professor in academia. I sit on eight boards and chair nearly half of them, and serve on audit committees and HR Remuneration committees. I am an example of a ‘pracademic’, and my induction into academia was one sentence – publish or perish. In the private sector, induction can take up to a week. I had one minute. Implications: The implication is that I had to find out what a peer-reviewed journal was and trip into the fact that some peer-reviewed journals are scams and others A rated. Telling the difference in my initial years took its toll. I continually had to ask colleagues – is this journal real? Eventually I realised the DHET list was a good starting point and I started submitting articles. I got more rejections than acceptances at first, with very little explanation. So I learnt nothing and did not know what to do to improve. I had to waste another thousand reviewer hours of time to learn what the requirement was. Research writing is guided by a personal philosophy, and it is about what types of research issues one is inclined towards. For instance, some people are naturally inclined towards basic research and others towards applied research. Others are more oriented towards theory building and testing types for the purpose of creating knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Some others are pragmatic types or realist types and believe real-world problems do not come neatly packaged and are somewhat untidily in presentation calling for discretion or judgement on what to prioritise for research and how to carry out the research. Some are scientist practitioners (evidence informed researchers) and others are practitioner-scientist (practice-led science). Perhaps this kind of orientation to research is what early career researchers need initially; then, they can worry about reproducibility of research findings down the line after grounding themselves into the research space they perceive to belong to and where they feel invested. Purpose: The purpose of this opinion article is to share my journey and sow some doubt in reply to the opinion piece circulated by Efendic and Van Zyl. Whilst I do agree with everything that is said in their article, I believe that there is additional information that needs to be considered. Context is important. Not all academics that submit articles have been in academia for many years. We need to do more to support budding authors. Recommendations: We need to be much more helpful to budding authors than just publishing a page or two called author submission guidelines. These are mostly cosmetic style guides. If we want a higher quality submission and plenty of them – then I believe we need to educate our budding authors of the requirements. Perhaps we need a detailed guide, similar in content and depth as the article of Efendic and Van Zyl (2019). We could consider a podcast setting out the technical guidelines and statistical requirements. Running courses on article publishing by the reviewers is important because that is from the horse’s mouth. Trust me; it is not just a case of sticking to the style guide. You need to really understand some of the under currents of article publishing, for example, quoting as many authors from that particular journal’s list of articles as possible

The mediation role of motivation between leadership and public sector performance

Abstract: Orientation: As a result of poor performance in 2013, five departments in the Limpopo province were placed under administration in terms of Section 100 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Research purpose: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the importance of the individual level of performance when diagnosing performance issues in the public sector by focusing on the mediatory role of motivation in the relationship between leadership and public sector performance. Motivation for the study: The diagnosis conducted focused more on the analysis of administrative and operational systems. The solutions were based on normalising financial statements and systems to improve performance. Research design, approach and method: The study took a positivist approach as the philosophy of the study. Using quantitative methods, a cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 65 employees working in one of the departments that were affected by the intervention. Main findings: The study confirmed the existence of a relationship between leadership and performance in the public sector. It was also found that Public Sector Motivation plays a mediatory role between Perceived Leadership Styles and Individual Job Performance. Practical/managerial implications: The findings imply that it is important that the Limpopo Provincial Government makes an effort to employ and retain employees who are readily showing high levels of Public Sector Motivation. Contribution or value additions: The study focused on an overlooked area in the study of performance in the public sector. The study was able to produce a tool that should be able to provide information to assist managers to make better performance improvement strategy decisions

Occupational segregation and gender pay gap dynamics in the formal sector of South Africa

ORIENTATION: The participation of women in the labour force in South Africa has improved and, whilst the gender pay gap is narrowing, it remains persistent. Gender integration in occupations has been slow, and there remains a strong association between income and factors such as gender and occupations. RESEARCH PURPOSE : This study aimed to investigate the effect of the improved labour force participation of women on occupational gender segregation. The term gender is used synonymously with sex in this article, referring to biological (rather than psychological) gender. MOTIVATION FOR STUDY : Status of occupational gender segregation is a good measure of effect of the increased labour force participation of women and narrowing the gender pay gap. RESEARCH APPROACH/DESIGN AND METHOD : A cross-sectional study with descriptive and analytic components was conducted. The gender representation and pay gap were determined in 10 job families, across six industries. MAIN FINDINGS: Seven occupations have achieved integration at various levels, and three occupations remain fully segregated. The gender pay gap in favour of men in male-dominated occupations is narrower than in female-dominated occupations. A statistically significantly large gap in favour of women was found in some male-dominated occupations. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL: Convergence towards similar pay for work of similar value has been achieved in occupations in various industries. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD: The number of men in an occupation, whilst still a causal factor in the pay gap, was found to no longer be sufficient to deduce that the income of that occupation would be higher, as postulated in literature.http://www.sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrmdm2022Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Relationship between executive pay and company financial performance in South African state-owned entities

ORIENTATION : Executive pay has been increasing; however, company performance has not been increasing proportionally. This could be due to an agency problem, resulting in executive pay not aligning with the shareholders’ desired company performance. RESEARCH PURPOSE : The purpose of this research was to establish if there was a relationship between the total pay of the chief executive officer and their company’s financial performance in South African Schedule 2 state-owned entities (SOEs). MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDE : A review of literature revealed conflicting views regarding the relationship between executive pay and company financial performance. There were limited studies conducted in South Africa, especially considering SOEs. RESERACH APPROACH/DESIGN AND METHOD : This research was a quantitative, archival study using 8 years of secondary data from South African Schedule 2 SOEs. Spearman’s rank-order correlation was used to evaluate the relationship. MAIN FINDINGS : One significant weak positive relationship was observed when considering the net profit or loss metric of financial performance. Hence, there was no conclusive relationship between executive pay and company financial performance, which supported the proposition that there is an agency problem in South African SOEs. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : There is a distinct need for an all-encompassing SOE legislation framework to standardise pay structure and reporting requirements. Additionally, accurate measures of performance are necessary to overcome the agency problem. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD : This research adds to the limited knowledge base regarding the relationship between executive pay and company financial performance in South African SOEs. It also identified the need to incorporate non-financial metrics to influence executive pay.http://www.sajhrm.co.zaam2021Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Performance management and employee engagement : a South African perspective

ORIENTATION : To remain competitive South African organisations must improve their operational efficiency by lowering manufacturing and service costs, and the key is the performance of its employees. RESEARCH PURPOSE : The purpose of the study was twofold: firstly, to establish if there is a relationship between performance management and employee engagement; and secondly to ascertain if performance management can be rebooted through increased employee engagement. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : Organisations that measure and manage performance generally outperform those that do not. Organisations need to understand what drives employee engagement and performance to outperform their competitors. RESEARCH APPROACH, DESIGN AND METHOD : A qualitative approach was employed that included a review of research articles and interviews with employees from various functions across all levels within operations of a fast-moving consumer goods organisation based in Gauteng. A sample size of 20 employees was used. MAIN FINDINGS : The results suggest that a relationship exists between performance management and employee engagement and that an increase in employee engagement would result in improved performance of employees and subsequently the organisation. The study revealed that whilst engagement and communication occur across all levels within the organisation, there is still a significant gap. The messages and expectations are not simple enough to be understood. Employees are not empowered to have a voice which causes them to be demotivated. Supportive management, which is fundamental to the success of performance management, is lacking. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : The insight from this study may be used to change the way organisations engage with employees and manage performance to ensure it is a beneficial exercise that adds value to all stakeholders. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD : This study will contribute towards organisations understanding the relationship between performance management and employee engagement and how to leverage this towards improving operational efficiency and organisational effectiveness.http://www.sajhrm.co.zaam2021Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Evaluation of remuneration preferences of knowledge workers

ORIENTATION : This research evaluates the remuneration preferences of knowledge workers as a retention strategy in an integrated international energy and chemical company, using the WorldatWork Total Rewards Model. RESEARCH PURPOSE : Organisations may benefit from understanding their employees’ preferential remuneration benefits, in particular, knowledge workers as a scare skill requiring specific retention strategies. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : To understand the remuneration preferences for the retention of a group of knowledge workers within a large organisation based in South Africa. The research is necessary within organisations in South Africa impacted by scarce skills and a need to attract and retain knowledge workers. If remuneration preferences are not considered as part of retention, there is a risk knowledge workers may leave for preferential opportunities. RESEARCH APPROACH/DESIGN AND METHOD : A total of 199 employees from a group of 1229 voluntarily participated in the survey. An electronic-based questionnaire was developed from the WorldatWork rewards model. The results from the surveys were analysed with descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. MAIN FINDINGS : No significance in reward strategies was found for age, level of performance or number of years of service. There was also no significant difference between the knowledge workers number of years of service and their intention to remain with the organisation. There was a significance in gender for benefits, flexibility and performance development preferences. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : The development of retention strategies should consider reward preferences of male and female employees.http://www.sajhrm.co.zaam2019Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

Evaluation of remuneration preferences of knowledge workers

Orientation: This research evaluates the remuneration preferences of knowledge workers as a retention strategy in an integrated international energy and chemical company, using the WorldatWork Total Rewards Model. Research purpose: Organisations may benefit from understanding their employees’ preferential remuneration benefits, in particular, knowledge workers as a scare skill requiring specific retention strategies. Motivation for the study: To understand the remuneration preferences for the retention of a group of knowledge workers within a large organisation based in South Africa. The research is necessary within organisations in South Africa impacted by scarce skills and a need to attract and retain knowledge workers. If remuneration preferences are not considered as part of retention, there is a risk knowledge workers may leave for preferential opportunities. Research approach/design and method: A total of 199 employees from a group of 1229 voluntarily participated in the survey. An electronic-based questionnaire was developed from the WorldatWork rewards model. The results from the surveys were analysed with descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Main findings: No significance in reward strategies was found for age, level of performance or number of years of service. There was also no significant difference between the knowledge workers number of years of service and their intention to remain with the organisation. There was a significance in gender for benefits, flexibility and performance development preferences. Practical/managerial implications: The development of retention strategies should consider reward preferences of male and female employees. Contribution/value-add: Knowledge workers’ reward preferences do not differ on demographic variables, except gender. This contradicts some literature in the area

Confirming theoretical pay constructs of a variable pay scheme

Orientation: Return on the investment in variable pay programmes remains controversial because their cost versus contribution cannot be empirically justified. Research purpose: This study validates the findings of the model developed by De Swardt on the factors related to successful variable pay programmes. Motivation for the study: Many organisations blindly implement variable pay programmes without any means to assess the impact these programmes have on the company’s performance. This study was necessary to validate the findings of an existing instrument that validates the contribution of variable pay schemes. Research design, approach and method: The study was conducted using quantitative research. A total of 300 completed questionnaires from a non-purposive sample of 3000 participants in schemes across all South African industries were returned and analysed. Main findings: Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, it was found that the validation instrument developed by De Swardt is still largely valid in evaluating variable pay schemes. The differences between the study and the model were reported. Practical/managerial implications: The study confirmed the robustness of an existing model that enables practitioners to empirically validate the use of variable pay plans. This model assists in the design and implementation of variable pay programmes that meet critical success factors. Contribution/value-add: The study contributed to the development of a measurement instrument that will assess whether a variable pay plan contributes to an organisation’s success

Determinants of chief executive officers remuneration for Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed financial service organisations

ORIENTATION : Research is inconclusive regarding which factors that determine Chief Executive Officers (CEO) remuneration. There is evidence of a positive link between the risky actions taken by CEOs, incentivised by their remuneration structure, which contributed to the financial crisis of 2008. RESEACRH PURPOSE : The purpose of this study was to determine whether organisation size and organisation performance were determinants of CEO remuneration and to what degree. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : No consensus on a model, a set of variables, or a consistent view defines the principles of remuneration setting at the CEO level across organisations or industries. This study intended to provide further clarity on the matter. RESEARCH APPROACH/DESIGN AND METHOD : The research employed a mono-method methodology, and the study was longitudinal in nature. Secondary data were collected over a 5-year period (2015–2019) using a homogenous purposive sampling method. Statistical analysis was performed to analyse the data. MAIN FINDINGS : Organisation size was not found to be a significant determinant of CEO remuneration in financial services organisations listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). In contrast, organisation performance was found to be a significant determinant of CEO remuneration. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : This study serves as a baseline for best practice, enabling remuneration committees to leverage when setting CEO remuneration, to ensure that the outcomes driven by remuneration are in line with the best interests of all stakeholders within the organisation. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD : The findings add to the body of knowledge on this topic and create an evidence base showing whether these exorbitant remuneration packages are performance driven or if they are merely driven by managerial power.http://www.sajhrm.co.zaam2023Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS