Understanding international student mobility: what motivates African student choices?

This paper aims to clarify the factors influencing African postgraduate students to undertake higher education studies abroad. A sample of 94 international postgraduate students from Africa studying at University of Witwatersrand in South Africa was used in the analysis. The results show that conditions in both the students' countries of origin and in the possible hosting countries contribute to the decision to study abroad. Of prime importance among the factors attracting students abroad is the need to acquire education of international standing. The findings have wider implications on the marketing of the higher education sector in the continent and the important role it can play in dealing with the problem of brain drain in Africa

Internet adoption and usage patterns among Students in selected South African Universities

This study examines the case of student adoption and usage patterns of the Internet as an innovation in delivering important services that include financial services. The quantitative approach employed in this study utilizes an extended version of Rogers’ model of perceived innovation attributes. Consistent with previous studies, the perceived innovation attributes were found to be important determinants of students’ adoption decisions. However, two dimensions, namely relative advantage and perceived usefulness were found to influence this consumer groups’ adoption decisions more prominently, thus highlighting the complex nature of the innovation and adoption decisions for Internet services users

An assessment of the moderating role of employees’ cultural orientations amongst foreign manufacturing multinational companies in Kenya

Published in SA Journal of Human Resource Management; Vol 11, No 1 (2013), 11 pages. doi: 10.4102/sajhrm.v11i1.453Over the last ten years or so, significant differences of opinion have emerged around two related issues. How to adequately implement strategic human resources strategies to improve firm performance and, whether or not a ‘bundle of HR best practices’ exists that can be applied in all contexts with predictable outcomes. In regards to the first issue, the question of whether a direct link between strategic human resources management (SHRM) practices and firm performance exists, the arguments are equivocal. Some studies have demonstrated the existence of direct links between SHRM practices and firm performance (Edwards & Wright, 2001). Other studies (Dimba, 2010; Katou & Budhwar, 2006) have shown that SHRM practices do not lead directly to business performance but rather they influence employee motivation. In other words, it is employee outcomes that ultimately influence performance. With regards to the second issue (named above), two perspectives exist. On the one hand researchers, who embrace the Universalist perspective, emphasise the notion of a ‘bundle of best practices’ in relation to human resources (HR) practices. However, on the other hand, there is an opposing viewpoint which disapproves of the notion of a best practices bundle. Specifically, Gerhart (2005, p. 178) argues that an important concern revolves around the fact that ’… it seems unlikely that one set of SHRM practices will work equally well no matter the context‘. This is particularly significant given that contextual variables, chiefly national culture or employee cultural orientations have been found in various studies to have an influence on the choice of HRM strategies (Aycan, Al-Hamadi, Davis & Budhwar, 2007; Nyambegera, Daniels & Sparrow, 2001). Mamman and Adeoye (2007) argue that as developing countries are increasingly adopting technologies and expertise that are similar to those of developed countries, foreign multinational companies (MNCs) tend to become conduits for transferring host-country SHRM practices to their developing host-countries often without making any adaptive changes to these practices. The underlying belief in these practices is that SHRM practices in developing countries are seen as converging towards those of developed countries. This belief is not widely accepted, particularly not amongst the growing number of writers who have shown that cultural diversity in societies around the globe tend to retard and even reverse convergence (Horwitz et al., 2006). On the basis of the foregoing arguments, there is a need for additional robust and quantitative evidence to support the MNCs’ SHRM-performance link and investigations from different contexts. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the question of what is the likely cultural influence on the choice of SHRM practices amongst foreign multinationals in Kenya. Specifically, the research objectives of the study will try to determine: • The relationship between Human Resources practices and performance, • The relationship between culture and SHRM practices, • Whether cultural orientation moderates SHRM practices and employee motivation and • Whether employee motivation mediates between SHRM and firm performance.Over the last ten years or so, significant differences of opinion have emerged ar ound two related issues. How to adequately implement strategic human resources strategies to improve firm performance and, whether or not a ‘ bundle of HR best practices ’ exists that can be applied in all contexts with predictable outcomes. In regards to the first issue, the question of whether a direct link between strategic human resources management (SHRM) practices and firm performance exists, the arguments are equivocal. Some studies have demonstrated the existence of direct links between SHRM practices and firm performance (Edwards & Wright, 2001). Other studies (Dimba, 2010; Katou & Budhwar, 2006) have shown that SHRM practices do not lead directly to business performance but rather they influence employee motivation. In other words, it is employee outcomes that ultimately influence performance

Digital Inequality amongst University Students in the Tshwane Region

Whilst the main objective of this paper is to investigate the digital divide amongst the university students in the Tshwane region of South Africa, the purpose is to determine a generalisable profile that would characterize their Internet usage behaviour. The research design consisted of a descriptive design. The convenience sampling method was applied and the research instrument was a structured questionnaire, which was employed to collect the final data amongst a total of 300 university students (selected from two universities in South Africa, TUT and UP by way of self-administration questionnaires. Male and female students were almost equally distributed. The significance of the results obtained was then tested through analytical tools embedded in the computer software STATA 11. The analytical tools were used to quantitatively analyze the data, out of which different inferences were drawn. The main findings were that the university students in the Tshwane region can be profiled on the basis of the results obtained over and above specific situational and personal characteristics, provides important opportunities for marketers for better understanding the needs and expectations of the university students; and by extension, to those of the youth market, since the sample elements belonged to the 18 to 34 years old age group. A proper segmentation would present an important mean by which marketers can keep in touch with their consumers’ expectations

The impact of psychological contracts on employee engagement at a university of technology

Orientation: Changing organisational dynamics have caused a need for organisations to understand the employment relationship processes and outcomes in order to improve organisational effectiveness, increase productivity and retain talented employees. Research purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine which elements of the academic employee’s psychological contract are impacting employee engagement at a university of technology. Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the findings of a 2013 climate survey at an institute of higher education, indicating that many employees were dissatisfied and believed that their expectations were not met by the organisation. Research approach/design and method: A quantitative technique via online questionnaires was employed for data collection. The sample size was 400 out of 900 academic staff members. Main findings: The study confirmed that most employees appear to have developed a positive psychological contract. It indicated, however, that many employees may be experiencing discord in the employment relationship. Both transactional and relational elements of the psychological contract appeared to be essential to academic employees. Practical/managerial implications: The study identified factors of importance to academic employees that should be considered in the compilation of retention policies. Contribution/value-add: The results of the study could contribute towards addressing some of the challenges by creating a better understanding of the needs of academic employees and the impact of psychological contract fulfilment and breach. This could benefit the higher education sector as a whole

The Blair Witch Project : Forming strong attitudes, beliefs and consumer intentions from a myth

This brief consumer marketing case study was published in a consumer marketing text book

Applying a Consumer Perceptual Measure of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Regional Australian Perspective

The study examines the patterns of perceptions of retail banking consumers in respect to banking services in regional Australia from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective. A novel two-dimensional measure of corporate social responsibility was used for this purpose. Findings from the analysis of levels of contentment/discontentment of bank consumers are noteworthy. Contrary to popular belief, consumers in this study not only portrayed a diversity of opinions on the corporate social responsibility roles of banks, but also showed general support for the two main opposing views of CSR which represent the classical and the emerging perspectives. The implication of these findings is that banks need to cater for both perspectives by maintaining a careful balance between pursuit of profits and being concerned with society-related issues. The observance of the triple bottom line as a practical philosophy for supporting the diverse interests of diverse stakeholders is recommended

Toy stories - The strategic use of narratives in the branding of traditional toys

It is well known in the toy entertainment industry that children have a strong relationship with the characters and stories of various well known entertainment property toy brands (e.g. Mattel, 2005; Pecora, 1998; Miller, 1998; Cross, 1997). This paper presents branding insights and findings from a content analysis of ten highly successful toy story brand narratives that featured in children’s television programs and movies. This study argues that a toy story’s character personality is related to their on-screen action performance. By implication in branding terms, this implies that narrative brands with relatively inferior product-based performance abilities or attributes can still take audience share by focusing heavily on developing a highly distinctive and likable brand personality that clearly narrates strongly supporting brand values within the plot of a television program or motion picture