When Performance Management Fails: Attitudes and Perceptions of Staff at a Higher Education Institution

The implementation of Performance Management (PM) in an institution can come with barriers that affect its success rate. The aim of the study was to assess the perceptions and attitudes of staff towards the implementation of PM at a higher education institution. The research was undertaken at a higher education institution (HEI) in South Africa where employee performance suffered as a result of PM implementation challenges within the institution. The research study was exploratory and employed mixed methods, that is; quantitative and qualitative research methods. A survey questionnaire was administered to groups of university employees drawn through stratified random sampling. The strata groups were academics, administrators, and senior executive managers. Hundred questionnaires were distributed with eighty-three questionnaires returned. In qualitative research, a heterogeneous focus group interview was scheduled which involved twelve people. Results from the questionnaires indicated that respondents perceived PM process as lacking transparency, unaligned to employee rewards and development lacks objectivity from appraisers and poorly implemented due to lack of training for its users. Key themes that emerged from the focus group interviews revealed that the majority of participants perceived PM as a management punitive tool that is not developmental in orientation, a political tool that lacks objectivity and benefits only the employer. Furthermore, they articulated that it was not aligned with their rewards and development. It was therefore recommended that; proper design and implementation of the PM system is vital, fairness, training of all parties involved, moderation of results and providing effective feedback should be employed in PM, effective communication, transparency, consultation and shared benefits for all participants are key to ensuring a broadly supported PM within the institution

THE EFFECTS OF EXCHANGE RATE VOLATILITY ON SWAZILAND’S EXPORTS

This investigation assesses the effects of exchange rate volatility on Swaziland’s total exports. The paper employs exports quarterly time series data ranging from 1995Q1 to 2005Q4. A Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) approach is used to study the relationship between exports and their determinants. The findings of the study suggest that exchange rate volatility is detrimental to Swaziland’s exports.exchange rate volatility, Swaziland’s exports, Vector Error , Correction Model

Does having knowledge of green human resource management practices influence its implementation within organizations?

Sustainability and green practices are in the frontline of issues organizations globally are concerned about because of the consequences of climate change and its challenges. The objective and key question of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between knowledge of green human resource management (HRM) practices and its implementation within the organizations. The study followed a methodology of triangulated empirical research approach with a combined method of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Human resource practitioners from human resource divisions in higher education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, formed the population surveyed. Interview schedule and questionnaires were instruments used in data collection. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data collected from interviews. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 was used to analyze quantitative data collected. About half of HR practitioners indicated minimal awareness of the concept ‘green HRM’, but reflected moderate knowledge and understanding of green HRM activities. Overall, the findings revealed a moderate application of green HRM principles in HRM activities in the institutions. There was no policy framework in the form of green HRM policies to drive green activities within the HR divisions and institutionally. Findings also revealed that there is a relationship between knowledge of green HRM activities and its implementation within the organization. Also, a strong correlation was found to exist between green HRM policies and implementation of green HRM activities in the organization. This then led the researcher to recommend that organizations who aspire to go green, be resource efficient and sustainable will need to have green HRM policies in place, they will also need to ensure that training and awareness workshops on green HRM are conducted to skill and equip all stakeholders involved

Examining the adequacy of the policy of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment to address the need for psychological empowerment among black people

Much has been said and written about the reasons for the slow progress of the Black Economic Empowerment interventions in South Africa. This research paper aims to explore the meaning of empowerment in the South African context, with the objective of uncovering what real and holistic empowerment means given the particular history of the country. Apartheid, through its social re-engineering intervention, targeted the minds of both whites and blacks to send an unequivocal message to each racial group about their superiority and inferiority as a race, respectively. Suffice to say; to have a nation whose majority still harbours feelings of inferiority would not only impede the progress of BEE interventions but pose a serious restraint to economic growth. It requires directed and deliberate effort to reverse a habit or to renew a mind-set; to that end this research assesses whether the current BBBEE policy is an adequate antidote to the effects of Apartheid on the minds of blacks. This study concludes that psychological empowerment is a necessary condition for economic empowerment; indicating that the current BBBEE policy is less efficacious as it does not address the essence of psychological disempowerment.Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011.Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)unrestricte

Greening is not a priority for human resource: Insights from human resource practitioners

Orientation: In the 21st century, human resource (HR) practitioners are expected to be agile, transformative and environmentally conscious. HR operations are required to be aligned with the current environmental trends to ensure business sustainability and profitability. Research purpose: The aim of this study is to determine whether the implementation of green human resource management (HRM) practices in organisations is a priority or not, and also to investigate the perceptions of HR practitioners on the implementation of green HRM in organisations. Motivation for the study: Although green HRM studies have been conducted on various continents, there is a paucity of information on green HRM on the African continent. The researcher was motivated to investigate the status of green HRM in the African context considering socio-economic development challenges and other pressing priorities that developing African countries and organisations are facing. Research design, approach and method: Qualitative research method was employed in the study. Twenty human resource managers and senior practitioners from higher education institutions formed the population interviewed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected. Main findings: Results revealed that the majority of HR practitioners have a perception that greening activities should not be in a list of priorities for the HR division. The results also revealed that HR practitioners are not experts on greening issues and that there were no green HR policies in the institutions surveyed. As a result, the HR division plays little to no role in greening initiatives within the institutions. Practical/managerial implications: Information from the study can be used to advise managers and HR policymakers on the importance of infusing an environmental sustainability concept in HR policies, and also on how green HRM can be implemented effectively within organisations. Contribution/value-add: This study extends green HRM discourse by investigating the importance of green HRM implementation in an African institution

The accessibility to social assistance by persons living with HIV/AIDS in the Vulindlela area.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.The Social Assistance Act of No. 59 of 1992 was put into place to help in assisting poverty stricken people of South Africa by offering social grants to an aged, disabled person or a war veteran. Due to the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS, people living with HIV/AIDS were entitled to social assistance. However, grave problems exist for this group of persons to access social assistance such as the qualifying criteria for the disability grant being complicated by the medical nature of HIV/AIDS, taking anti-retroviral therapy and problems in the administration procedures. Compounding these, is that rural areas are underdeveloped and lack infrastructure to accommodate adequate service provision. This study aimed to increase understanding of access to social assistance by people living with HIV/AIDS in the rural area of Vulindlela in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study researched this by hearing the voices of both the service providers (key informants) and people living with HIV/AIDS (patient respondents) by conducting a qualitative study based on a descriptive research design. Data was collected by means of semi-structured, in depth-interviews for both the service providers as well as patient respondents in this study. Findings revealed that the voices of people living with HIV/AIDS were not heard and further that they were not even aware of their rights and entitlements to social security. In fact, in many instances people died without having had any access to their grants whilst others had to wait months before receiving their grants. Findings emphasized the need for education, training and retraining for service providers, recipients and educational institutions as HIV/AIDS poses a major challenge in our society and as it is an ever changing phenomenon. Using an ecosystemic frame of reference, recommendations were multi-fold and included better networking and collaboration amongst the different bodies that are involved in grant administration and revisiting qualifying criteria. Other recommendations included strategies to deal with corruption, the development of pressure and lobbying groups and staff shortages. Given the time it takes to plan and implement changes and given the life threatening nature of HIV and AIDS, a key recommendation was for a newly introduced grant exclusively for the people living with the virus, to lessen the burden of meeting qualifying criteria and thus give dignity to and improve life quality

The architecture of railway stations and transportation nodes, towards the design of a proposed new commuter railway station in Kingspark sports precinct.

Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.In a world of increased daily travel, more efficient means of transporting people become all the more relevant as citizens constantly try to bridge time and distance in an effort to get to work and other meeting places. The ability to transport large numbers of people at the same time, establishes the rail transport as one such mode viable for this task. As a result, cities throughout the world constantly revive existing rail networks and introduce new ones to cater for this growing traveling demand of the 21 st century. The most popular forms of transportation in the city of Durban, namely the bus, taxi and private car are the main contributors to the traffic congestion and air pollution problems in the city, hence the need to reconsider the importance of the train. Following international precedent, South Africa is planning to revive its railway services by changing its image and ensuring passenger safety in order to establish it as a major public transport system (Ministry of transport, 2006). In creating the building form of railway station buildings, it is necessary to understand passenger movement and activity within the station as well as the spaces required for such activities. This is vital if the designer has to make a meaningful contribution to society though his building intervention. Railway stations do not function in isolation to other modes of transportation in the city, hence the need for this study to consider the station in a node or interchange context to enforce its role within the city's transportation system as a whole

Green human-resource management towards sustainable organizations: a case of KwaZulu-Natal higher education institutions.

Doctor of Philosophy in Management. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2017.The Human Resources Management Division, as a strategic partner and one of the important functions in any organisation, can make a significant contribution to ensuring environmental sustainability in the organisations where they operate. Higher education institutions with their power and potential to bring awareness, educate, and influence the nation’s thinking, can provide an invaluable contribution to natural resource conservation. The aim of the study was to explore how the Human Resources Management division can contribute to the crucial cause of natural resource conservation sustainability through the greening of organisations. This was a mixed method study conducted amongst Human Resource Practitioners in operational and management levels from three institutions of higher education. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews and questionnaires. Results indicated that Human Resources (HR) Practitioners had a limited understanding of the concept ‘Green HRM’. Green HR activities in the institutions were mainly applied in recruitment and performance management systems where technologically advanced, green and resource-efficient HR methods were used. Regarding engagement of employees on greening issues, training, and compensation, results showed that nothing much is being done in these activities to incorporate ‘Green HRM’ principles in institutions. There was no established ‘green’ organisational culture in the HR divisions and in institutions at large. The study recommends that green clauses should be incorporated into the vision and mission statements of the instititutions as well as in organisational and HR policies. Management vision and commitment are key in ensuring success of greening strategies. All employees should be consulted and engaged in every stage of the greening process to ensure their buy-in and commitment. There should be financial and human capital investment in green projects to ensure their success. Establishing partnerships with the private sector is also very important as a source of benchmarking and sharing of ideas in greening projects

An investigation of different approaches to the prevention of alcohol abuse among black adolescents : a community based partnership approach.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, 1995.According to Amos (1989) the use of, and the attitudes towards alcohol amongst young people in Africa is an area about which little is known but which has potentially major health implications. Neither has much been done about primary prevention in this field. The case studies which included a participatory research was conducted among three groups of people in the Clermont Township near Durban in the Natal Region. The aim of the research was to describe alcohol abuse as a social problem among the black adolescents and to compare and contrast the implementation of alcohol abuse prevention strategies that were and are used by the different groups of people in their community. The case study approach documented the work of each community. All the three groups of people who participated in the research agreed that alcohol abuse was a problem in their community. They described factors in their township which were contributory to the alcohol problems in their community and described the various cycles of negative effects and consequences to the individual, family and to the community. They agreed that in the past alcohol was not a problem in the traditional African society because of cultural and economic factors. Most interesting was the serious effects all groups described alcohol abuse amongst both teachers and the pupils in the Black education system. Each group planned, implemented and evaluated a unique alcohol preventive strategy. While the youth group maintained a strong alcohol focus with an educational programme, both the adult groups moved into the more general issues of economic empowerment. All three groups also used the participation and capacity building. The willingness to get involved, and to address the problems of the groups were remarkable. The following were the research conclusions: * Material resources were relatively available in this community. * Health professionals were available in this community, but they did not follow the Comprehensive Primary Health Care approach and were not involved in community development. * Integrated drinking seemed to be in harmony with the values of these groups and could be used in the alcohol abuse prevention. An integrative, multi-faceted and comprehensive community based partnership approach was used to the multi-causal alcohol abuse prevention programmes and strategies. This strategy was successful in involving community partners and leading to the solving of the actual problems and the development of positive health behaviours. The research revealed that the development projects needed "seed money" to initiate and to maintain. Alcohol abuse prevention can be used as a vehicle to enter a community and to engage it in a health directed partnership

Effect of organisational justice on workplace deviance in Nigerian public universities

Orientation: Universities in Nigeria every so often experience the challenges of workplace deviant behaviour (WDB). These acts among university’s staff could be detrimental to the attainment of the fundamental objectives of tertiary education; hence, it is vital that drastic measures are taken to curb such behaviours. Research purpose: The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of organisational justice (OJ) on WDB in Nigerian public universities. Motivation for the study: Although ample studies exist on organisational behaviour, not many empirical studies have been conducted to examine the role of organisational factors such as OJ (perception of fairness) on employee’s deviant behaviour in universities, especially in Nigeria. Research design, approach and method: This quantitative design employed a positivist research paradigm in achieving its objectives. A survey, using a structured close-ended questionnaire, was conducted among 572 employees of selected public universities in South-West Nigeria. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the effect or OJ on WDB. Main findings: The findings revealed that procedural justice has significant and increasing effect on both organisational and interpersonal deviance. Conversely, interpersonal justice has a significant reducing effect on organisational deviance, while informational and distributive justice do not determine WDB. Practical/managerial implications: Based on the finding of this study, managers of public universities must pursue interpersonal justice as a way out of organisational deviance. Contribution/value-add: The study’s findings contribute to justice-deviance literature in Nigeria and highlight the need for government and management alike to emphasise interactional justice in the workplace if deviant acts are to be curbed