Work Engagement, Intrinsic Motivation and Job Satisfaction among Employees of a Diamond Mining Company in Zimbabwe

This paper seeks to establish the relationships between three job characteristics constructs, namely work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in a workplace notorious for discord and conflict between workers and employers. A quantitative methodology was adopted using a crosssectional survey. Respondents were selected from the workers at a mining company, with a final sample of 156 employees participating in the study. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Intrinsic Motivation Inventory and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire were used to collect data. The results of the study indicate positive relationships between job satisfaction, work engagement and intrinsic motivation among the workers. Age and marital status were found to be significant contributors to workers’ job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and work engagement. Implications of these results are that human resource interventions are required in order to deal with enhancing work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the results indicate that intrinsic motivation and work engagement can enhance job satisfaction. The current study adds to the research pointing at job satisfaction as a promising underlying mechanism for employees’ to be internally motivated and engaged at work

Marange diamond mining industry : socio-political environment and its role on psychological well-being and organisational citizenship of diamond miners in Marange, Zimbabwe.

Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Psychology. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2017.This thesis aimed at finding comprehensive ways through which managers can foster psychological well-being and improve employees’ functionality in a turbulent business environment. The political dynamics and troubling trajectory of diamond mining in Marange are widely acknowledged (Saunders & Nyamunda, 2016). Based on perceptions of selected miners in one diamond mining company in Zimbabwe, the thesis suggests an employee well-being framework that adopts a holistic approach towards understanding the functionality of an individual working in such an environment. The approach avers that the functionality of an employee rests on a company system where managerial practises, organisational culture and values, combined with personal resources such as material resources and respect for employees’ personal values are embedded into the company’s socio-political environment. The study elucidates conditions both within and outside an individual that organisations can leverage on towards the enhancement of employee well-being. A pragmatic approach that utilised both quantitative and qualitative research methods was used in this study as a way of augmenting the inadequacy of the quantitative approaches usually used in psychology to provide a basis from which to infer the direction of the relationship between workplace features and employee well-being. This renders a fresh perspective into the study of employees’ psychological well-being that scholars have established mainly through quantitative means. The study provides a further nuanced rendering by providing, from a local perspective, a comprehensive focus to the global understanding of employee well-being response that the clinical tradition has predominantly studied looking at such factors as depression, distress, anxiety or substance abuse; and how these affect employee wellbeing. The study therefore challenges this arguably limited view of wellbeing that has often resulted in business approaches benchmarking organisational success on cost consciousness, viewing employees as machines fuelled by money, and understanding employees’ behaviours and attitude to work from negative work outcomes, processes and attributes. As with the globalised business economy that has rendered, in today’s world of work, employees as an important instrument in determining the success of an organisation, this study emphasises employees’ involvement in organisational policy formulation and the adoption of managerial practices that are informed by philosophies such as Ubuntu that can account for the local conceptions of wellness. Quantitative findings of this study revealed a positive and practically significant relationship between work engagement, job satisfaction and organisational citizenship. Results further revealed that psychological empowerment does not predict organisational citizenship behaviours. Interestingly, quantitative results further revealed that participants were averagely satisfied, engaged and averagely exhibited citizenship behaviours but are highly empowered psychologically. These quantitative findings sharply differed with the qualitative findings that suggest both management and employees felt that the working environment failed to provide for those conditions that foster engagement, satisfaction, psychological empowerment and citizenship behaviours. Although the study tried to give insight into how organisations can improve effectiveness through cultivating working environments favourable to its employees’ well-being, a lot can be achieved through investigations on the governing laws and agreed business models to understand issues of power relations between government representatives and investor representatives involved. While the study is centred in the industrial psychology, its emphasis on the need for a holistic approach towards the understanding of employee well-being can be useful to other disciplines such as Industrial Relations, Human Resources Management and Talent Management. That the current study was located in the Zimbabwean diamond mining industry brings the Zimbabwean context into the limited business and or psychological understanding of miners’ literature on Zimbabwe. In light of global interests towards diamond mining and processing, employees’ well-being is becoming a major aspect. This study therefore provides areas for consideration for a comprehensive achievement of employees’ well-being. It advances a view that a company’s system that harmoniously interacts with a socio-political environment which incorporates employees’ interests and values provides for business viability. The implication of this to the already established instruments that measure employees’ well-being is the need for inquiry on those aspects that determine the extent to which the socio-political environment affects one’s functionality at work. However, this study is not immune to some limitations. By focusing on one company, the results cannot be generalised. This is not least because what is happening in the studied company may not be the same with what happens in other companies. While the study combined both qualitative and quantitative methods for the purposes of triangulation, the qualitative method relied only on interviews. The use of focus groups could have generated more information and discussion from the participants. This would have helped to address the problem or fear that workers will not be exhaustive and rather be selective with the information they provided for the study

Coping with food poverty in cities : the case of urban agriculture in Glen Norah Township in Harare.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.Urban agriculture is a common and permanent phenomenon across most African cities. The general trend in urban agriculture is that it is more pronounced among the poor urban households. Poor households often spend more than 60% of their income on food alone. It acts as coping mechanisms to urban poverty. The traditional view of urban agriculture is that it is a temporal activity which has no place in cities. These traditional views emerge from development policies which tried to tailor African countries’ economic development to follow western economic development models. The fact that urban agriculture has been prevalent in African cities before the advent of colonialism shows that instead of viewing it as temporal activity a socio-historical and socio-economic analysis of urban agriculture is necessary to understand the socio-economic mechanisms behind it. The major thrust of this research was to understand the logic behind practising farming in cities. Urban agriculture in this thesis is presented from urban farmers’ perspective. Using data collected and the literature review for this thesis I developed the Urban Livelihoods Coping Model (ULCM). This model acknowledges the fact that the socio-economic conditions and the socio-historical context of Zimbabwe was as a result of the influence of ‘western leaning’ development policies influenced by theoretical framework of modernisation and associated theories. A combination of these theories with cultural factors and the impact of Structural Adjustment Policies resulted in the present situation where urban agriculture plays a critical in the survival of the urban poor as a coping mechanism. The ULCM ascribes the emergence of urban agriculture to necessity, ability and opportunity. Necessity for food emanates from insufficient incomes to purchase food in cities. The ability comes in the form of farming skills transferred from the rural areas to urban areas as households migrate. Opportunity comes in the form of availability of land for cultivation. Increase in poverty in cities will subsequently result in an increase in urban agriculture. It is apparent that without urban agriculture in Glen Norah most of the families will find it difficult to survive. The significance of this study is that it will help in the socio-economic understanding of urban agriculture and how it can be factored into urban planning systems

Work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction among employees of a diamond mining company in Zimbabwe.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Orientation: The mining industry has been one of the industries that has struggled the most to deal with employee welfare matters. As a result, it has been difficult to maintain industrial peace and harmony in several workplaces, resulting in negative multiplier effects to the mining business, particularly the unsatisfactory working conditions faced by the lifeblood of any organisation –its employees. In response to this, most organisations directed the bulk of their resources to the basics and tangible things, such as salary and rewards needed by employees to perform their duties, but a lot of unrest is still recorded. This dissertation examined aspects of work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction among employees in a diamond mining company in Zimbabwe in order to understand those aspects that drive employees to apply themselves wholly to their work roles. Research Purpose: The research aimed to quantitatively explore levels and interrelationships between three constructs: work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction among mine workers in a diamond mining company in Zimbabwe. In addition, the research qualitatively explored what managers’ perceptions of these three constructs are. Research Design, Approach and Method: This was a mixed methods, viz quantitative and qualitative study, which consisted of two phases of data collection. The first phase was a cross-sectional survey design, consisting of a sample (n= 157) drawn from employees of the diamond company. Three instruments: Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) and the Minnessota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) were used to obtain the needed information from these participants. The second phase was the qualitative aspect, which consisted of in-depth individual interviews with functional managers. Main Findings: The study found that, while most of the participants (74%) are highly satisfied by their work, a substantial number (59%) are moderately (of average level) engaged and 67% are moderately motivated intrinsically. The findings suggest a positive co-relation between job satisfaction and work engagement; job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation, and work engagement and intrinsic motivation among the miners. Of all the factors that play a significant role in determining employees’ levels of job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and work engagement, age and marital status were found to be significant contributors to the way the employees apply themselves to their work roles. The findings also suggest that the majority of managers in the company believe that the shop floor workers (miners) are highly engaged in their work, highly intrinsically motivated and highly satisfied in their jobs. However, this contradicts the results obtained from the miners themselves. Practical/ Managerial Implications: The study notes with concern the opposing perceptions that managers seem to have regarding work engagement, job satisfaction and motivation levels among the miners. This attests to a knowledge gap that management has about low-level employees, a fact which may call into question the existence or non-existence, in the company, of a proper communication structure (and infrastructure) that allows employees to communicate with management. This may also point to the management approach adopted by the company, which may be discouraging employees from communicating their feelings to management. The ‘false’ impression which management has about employees may result in negative multiplier effects, such as strikes, high rate of staff turnover, inefficiency and, ultimately, organisational failure

‘Unshared vision’ : decentralisation in Zimbabwe, a special reference to the Harare City Council.

Doctor of Philosophy in Community Development. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Durban 2016.Decentralisation in most African countries is fraught with problems and failures. A few countries in Africa experienced some successes in their pursuit of decentralisation. Several studies on democratic decentralisation have been conducted in the context of one political party controlling both the central state and the decentralised institution, where it is assumed that there is a concordance of vision between the central state and the local decentralised institution. However, a new context of decentralisation is emerging in the African context with opposition political parties capturing the decentralised institutions; thereby creating a disjuncture in vision between the central state and the decentralised institutions. This thesis examined the impact of shared or unshared vision between the local and central government in the event that there are different political parties controlling the two spheres of government. It also examined how service delivery and public participation plays out in the context of ‘unshared vision’. The location of the study was primarily the City of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, where an opposition political party is in power. The main theoretical framework in this study is critical realism. Primary and secondary data was collected from various sources. Primary data was collected through structured and unstructured interviews with various stakeholders in the City of Harare. The key findings of this thesis are that there is ‘unshared vision’ between the decentralised institutions and the central state. This disjuncture in vision is manifested in various contestations between these two spheres of the state; resulting in political battles being prioritised at the expense of services delivery for the residents of the City of Harare. Consequently, the voices of the citizens have been lost. The disjuncture has also resulted in the prime reason for decentralisation, namely; bringing government closer to the people, not being realised. This study contributes to the broad academic debate on decentralisation in situations where there is unshared vision between the local and central state

Beliefs About Medication and Uptake of Preventive Therapy in Women at Increased Risk of Breast Cancer: Results From a Multicenter Prospective Study

Introduction Uptake of preventive therapies for breast cancer is low. We examined whether women at increased risk of breast cancer can be categorized into groups with similar medication beliefs, and whether belief group membership was prospectively associated with uptake of preventive therapy. Patients and Methods Women (n = 732) attending an appointment to discuss breast cancer risk were approached; 408 (55.7%) completed the Beliefs About Medicines and the Perceived Sensitivity to Medicines questionnaires. Uptake of tamoxifen at 3 months was reported in 258 (63.2%). The optimal number of belief groups were identified using latent profile analysis. Results Uptake of tamoxifen was 14.7% (38/258). One in 5 women (19.4%; 78/402) reported a strong need for tamoxifen. The model fit statistics supported a 2-group model. Both groups held weak beliefs about their need for tamoxifen for current and future health. Group 2 (38%; 154/406 of the sample) reported stronger concerns about tamoxifen and medicines in general, and stronger perceived sensitivity to the negative effects of medicines compared with group 1 (62%; 252/406). Women with low necessity and lower concerns (group 1) were more likely to initiate tamoxifen (18.3%; 33/180) than those with low necessity and higher concerns (group 2) (6.4%; 5/78). After adjusting for demographic and clinical factors, the odds ratio was 3.37 (95% confidence interval, 1.08-10.51; P = .036). Conclusion Uptake of breast cancer preventive therapy was low. A subgroup of women reported low need for preventive therapy and strong medication concerns. These women were less likely to initiate tamoxifen. Medication beliefs are targets for supporting informed decision-making

Coping with food poverty in cities: the case of urban agriculture in Glen Norah township in Harare

The focus of this study is on urban agriculture which is a common informal sector activity across most sub-Saharan African cities. Urban agriculture is more common among poor urban households, and acts as a poverty coping mechanism. Poor households often spend more than 60% of their income on food alone. The major thrust of this study was to understand the underlying mechanisms driving farming in cities. A mixed method research approach was adopted and data was collected from 103 households in Glen Norah Township in Harare, Zimbabwe through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and observations. Arising from analysis of the data, the Urban Livelihoods Coping Model (ULCM) is proposed in order to explain the phenomenon of urban agriculture in African cities. This model acknowledges the fact that the socio-economic conditions and the socio-historical context of Zimbabwe and other African countries today is as a result of the influence of 'Western leaning' development policies influenced by modernization and associated theories. These theories combined with cultural factors and the impact of Structural Adjustment Policies resulted in the present situation where urban agriculture plays a critical role in the survival of the urban poor as a coping mechanism against food poverty. The ULCM ascribes the emergence of urban agriculture to necessity, ability and opportunity. The significance of this study is that it will contribute to understanding the socio-economic role of urban agriculture and how it can be factored into the urban planning systems of developing countries.

Rewarding participants in public works programmes: cash or food transfers?

HSRC Policy Brief, MarchWhat is the best way for public works programmes to remunerate participants so that they can achieve improved socio-economic status? Drawing on evidence from a study conducted by the HSRC on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Phase 2 (2009 -2014) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), this policy brief considers the appropriateness and outcomes of the programme's wage transfer mechanisms - namely, 'wages' in cash or as in-kind payments in the form of food parcels - by contrasting their socio-economic outcomes across programme beneficiaries.

Early childhood development forums: telling the good story: networking to successfully enhance outcomes for young children

Commissioned by Save the Children South Africa, JuneThe relevance of this study must be located in a principle espoused in the National Development Plan Vision 2030 (NPC, 2012, Chapter 15) of enabling and facilitating active citizenry through structures that would allow all development actors (the individual, communities, NGOs, government and even the private sector) to link with each other, share information, jointly address problems and challenges and develop strategies together that enable citizens to best claim their rights and exercise their responsibilities as envisaged by the Constitution of South Africa

Coping with food poverty in cities: The case of urban agriculture in Glen Norah Township in Harare

The focus of this study is on urban agriculture which is a common informal sector activity across most sub-Saharan African cities. Urban agriculture is more common among poor urban households, and acts as a poverty coping mechanism. Poor households often spend more than 60% of their income on food alone. The major thrust of this study was to understand the underlying mechanisms driving farming in cities. A mixed method research approach was adopted and data was collected from 103 households in Glen Norah Township in Harare, Zimbabwe through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and observations. Arising from analysis of the data, the Urban Livelihoods Coping Model (ULCM) is proposed in order to explain the phenomenon of urban agriculture in African cities. This model acknowledges the fact that the socio-economic conditions and the socio-historical context of Zimbabwe and other African countries today is as a result of the influence of 'Western leaning' development policies influenced by modernization and associated theories. These theories combined with cultural factors and the impact of Structural Adjustment Policies resulted in the present situation where urban agriculture plays a critical role in the survival of the urban poor as a coping mechanism against food poverty. The ULCM ascribes the emergence of urban agriculture to necessity, ability and opportunity. The significance of this study is that it will contribute to understanding the socio-economic role of urban agriculture and how it can be factored into the urban planning systems of developing countries.