Moving from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law : the challenges of realising the intent of employment equity and affirmative action

The letter of the law versus the spirit of the law is an idiomatic antithesis which suggests that in interpreting a law there are two choices. One can approach a law literally or one can instead focus on its intent. The relevance of this idiomatic opposition to the Employment Equity Act and its provision for affirmative action is interrogated through the presentation of two case studies demonstrating the obstacles to fully embracing equity and valuing the diversity of South African society.http://www.transformation.ukzn.ac.zanf201

A social contract with business as the basis for a postmodern MBA in a world of inclusive globalisation

This article reviews the book "A Social Contract With Business as the Basis for a Postmodern MBA in a World of Inclusive Globalisation," by Jopie Coetzee. The last two decades have been filled with robust criticism of MBA education. These critiques have ranged from Henry Mintzberg’s condemnation of the MBA as a 1908 degree with a 1950s strategy to the late Sumantra Ghoshal’s fundamental assertion that the theories academics teach in business schools lie at the root of what is wrong with management education (Mintzberg, 2004; Ghoshal, 2005). The scope and depth of the criticism leaves little room for yet another book condemning MBA education. To its credit and my surprise, A Social Contract with Business as the Basis for a Postmodern MBA in a World of Inclusive Globalisation, moves beyond the critique discourse to propose a transformative MBA degree underpinned by a new social contract between society and business.http://aom.pace.edu/amle

Reflections on the continuing denial of the centrality of “race” in management and organization studies

PURPOSE : The purpose of this article is to share reflections about the progress toward the inclusion of race as a core analytical concept in MOS since the article. The emperor has no clothes: Rewriting “race in organizations” was published in the Academy of Management Review twenty-nine years ago. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : I critically reflect upon the past and future of race in management and organizations studies drawing upon my own subjective position in what has transpired over the past twenty-nine years. Specifically, I reflect upon the past and future of the study of race in organizations and also offer some recommendations for theories that may help advance it as a core theoretical concept in MOS drawing. FINDINGS : Dethroning the “emperor” remains a challenge. There has been a lack of significant progress toward positioning race as a core analytical concept in MOS. There is still much to do to elevate race to a significant analytical concept in MOS. Post-colonial theory, whiteness and the literature on the sociology of race may assist scholars in making progress. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS : I readily acknowledge that my subjective position as the author of an article declaring the significance of race in MOS and as a Black woman whose life and career has unfolded in a world of systemic racism shape my reflections. It may be time for to consider whether positioning race as a core analytical concept in MOS can be achieved under the diversity paradigm. Perhaps it is time for a new field of study – race in organizations. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : Theorizing race in organizations is central to undoing the continuing effects of racism. Otherwise, it will be difficult to develop strategies that get to the roots of racial inequality in organizations. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS : The confluence of resurgent white supremacy, the stark global racial inequalities revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic and calls to end anti-Blackness and systemic racism by the Black Lives Matter Movement underscore the immense importance of race in every aspect of society including organizations. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This essay is my first reflections on what has transpired since the publication of the article. The essay reveals my insights and experiences of writing the article and why rewriting race into MOS is a much larger project than the one envisioned in 1992.http://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/edihj2022Human Resource Managemen

The influence of labour brokering practices on employment equity in South Africa : a case of two universities

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the influence of labour brokering on employment practices, particularly those related to the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. The research reported on in this paper is based on a larger research project that investigated the barriers to and enablers of gender equity within two higher education institutions. Utilising a qualitative case study at the two South African universities, the findings demonstrate the contradictions between the intentions of employment equity policies and practices and the adoption of a labour brokering employment strategy. Employment equity policies and practices did not include employees in the cleaning and gardening job categories recruited through labour brokers. Most importantly, the practice has serious implications for the economic survival and development of the lowest level of employees at the universities. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of the Labour Relations Amendment Act 6 of 2014.http://reference.sabinet.co.za/sa_epublication/labouram201

The business case for women leaders: Meta-analysis, research critique, and path forward

Since the 1990s, a growing body of research has sought to quantify the relationship between women’s representation in leadership positions and organizational financial performance. Commonly known as the “business case” for women’s leadership, the idea is that having more women leaders is good for business. Through meta-analysis ( k = 78, n = 117,639 organizations) of the direct effects of women’s representation in leadership (as CEOs, on top management teams, and on boards of directors) on financial performance, and tests that proxy theoretical arguments for moderated relationships, we call attention to equivocal findings. Our results suggest women’s leadership may affect firm performance in general and sales performance in particular. And women’s leadership—overall and, specifically, the presence of a female CEO—is more likely to positively relate to firms’ financial performance in more gender egalitarian cultures. Yet taking our findings as a whole, we argue that commonly used methods of testing the business case for women leaders may limit our ability as scholars to understand the value that women bring to leadership positions. We do not advocate that the business case be abandoned altogether but, rather, improved and refined. We name exemplary research studies to show how different perspectives on gender, alternative conceptualizations of value, and the specification of underlying mechanisms linking leadership to performance can generate changes in both the dominant ontology and the epistemology underlying this body of research.</jats:p

The historical origins of ethnic (white) privilege in US organizations

PURPOSE : The purpose of this paper is to trace the genealogy of ethnic (white) privilege in US organizations and its continuing significance in organizations today. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : The paper relies upon the historical literature on work, culture, and society found primarily in the fields of labor history and sociology. It also references contemporary organization studies and sociological literature to illustrate the continuing significance of ethnic (white) privilege in the workplace. FINDINGS : There is an inexorable link between European global expansion and colonization, industrialization, and the racialization/ethnicization of nineteenth and twentieth century US organizations. Furthermore, the particular manifestations of ethnic (white) privilege today must be understood within its historical development and the new meanings whiteness has acquired within the workplace if scholars and practitioners are to be successful in creating inclusive workplaces. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS : The focus in this paper is on the USA and ethnic (white) privilege to the exclusion of other forms of difference and contexts. Suggestions for future research are provided along with managerial implications. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This paper provides historical insight into the formation of white privilege in organizations and constitutes a prelude to fully understanding its contemporary manifestations in the workplace. These insights suggest ways to disrupt inequality and create inclusive organizations that do not privilege one ethnic or racial group over another.http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0268-3946hb201

Leading organizational change in the ‘new’ South Africa

This paper reports on a two-pronged qualitative research study that used leaders’ life stories and the case research method to understand the leadership of change in 14 South African organizations. We describe how leaders led the changes required to balance the imperatives emanating from South Africa’s socio-political changes and return the country to the international business arena, as well as the challenges created by years of inequality and neglect of the socio-economic development of the majority of its population. We found that the leaders’ life stories played a significant role in how they perceived and responded to the change situation. Four themes summarizing the actions of the leaders – namely, their efforts to embrace change, to provide hope, to connect change to African values and culture, and to champion diversity – are described. The results of the study suggest that leaders’ life stories can be an important source of information about how they perceive, interpret, and respond to change.The research reported on in this paper was funded by a grant from the National Research Foundation of South Africa.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)2044-8325nf201

Wedding intersectionality theory and identity work in organizations : South African Indian women negotiating managerial identity

This paper addresses the continuing tension between focusing on identities and categories rather than processes and systems in intersectionality research based on a study of the identity work of South African Indian women managers. We wed intersectionality theory with extant understandings of managerial identity work in organisations to demonstrate the dynamic interaction between both identities and categories and the institutionalised processes and systems by which they are formed, shaped and reshaped over time. Specifically, we demonstrate through life story interviews of thirteen South African women managers how an individual’s managerial identity is not formed solely by personal and social identities in the workplace but by the socio-historical political and cultural contexts within which individuals and groups are embedded. These contexts shape not only the racio-ethnic and gender identities of individuals but also the processes of racialization, gendering and culturalization that create and reinforce particular social locations in society and in the workplace.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-04322018-05-30hb2016Human Resource Managemen

Role of department heads in academic development : a leader-member exchange and organizational resource perspective

This article examines the role of leadership in the development of academic talent in higher education from a social exchange and organizational support perspective. Drawing from a sample of academic staff at a large South African university, the study investigates the extent to which a quality leader-member exchange relationship versus a formal organizational resource perspective contributes to academic staff perceptions of organizational investment in academic talent development. The study found new evidence of the ways in which relationship resources embodied in the leader-member exchange relationship between supervisors (leaders) and employees (followers) influence employees' perceptions of investment in their development. The results also demonstrated how the leader-member exchange theory, combined with theoretical work on organizational development support, could help to explain the critical role of department heads as leaders in developing academic staff (as followers).http://journals.sagepub.com/home/emaHuman Resource Managemen

In Praise of Shadows : exploring the hidden (responsibility) curriculum

We frame this special issue on the hidden responsibility curriculum through the lens of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s 1933 essay, In Praise of Shadows, which recognises the subtlety, modesty and dignity of shadows that are highly prized in Japanese culture. We do this to embody the themes both present and absent from the seven articles in this special issue. The articles share flecks and flickers, suggesting that (1) salient things happen in the shadows when it comes to responsibility learning – for better or worse, (2) students can play a role in illuminating and challenging the shadow sides of learning environments and (3) discernible symbols provide navigational possibilities in the shadows. Our tribute to Tanizaki reflects both the involuntary absence, in our Special Issue, of contributions beyond dominant White, Northern European perspectives and the lack of methodological apparatus that can effectively capture the implicit, shadow side of educational life – and life beyond – that evades conventional academic approaches. We also share reflections from the shadows of our own curation of this special issue, as an invite to shine a light on how curational ecosystems might be reimagined.https://journals.sagepub.com/home/MLQhj2024Human Resource ManagementNon