Constructed gender discrimination: Reflections on a long and winding road

Fundamentally, it would be expected that men and women are treated equally, also where private matters such as the access to toilets is concerned. Previous research reports on how gender discrimination is embedded in the design of public toilets, resulting in (dis)similar outcomes. This study, however, goes beyond simply comparing the number of toilets available to men and women, and also engages in the different experiences, associated by a male or a female using toilets while travelling for leisure purposes. Data were collected during a 12-day leisure trip departing from Johannesburg, visiting the south of France, and ultimately the city of Moscow. A mix-method of data generation was followed, incorporating quantitative observations of ablution facilities, as well as autoethnographical comments, which formed the qualitative part of the research. Quantitative data were collected from 16 sites. The quantitative data confirm previous findings that, at a numerical level, men have more access to toilet facilites than women. At a perception level, it could be reported, that in general, access to the immediate use of toilets facilities was similar for both men and women, and that in most cases the facilities were perceived to be well kept and hygienic. Specifically, perceptions regarding the facilities differed along gender lines, with men seemingly having less concerns regarding hygiene in the facilities, and women perceiving men to have easier and faster access to the use of toilets. As for access and experiences about toilet facilities, the words of the song “The Long and Winding Road” seem to ring true, as the road always leads you to the same “door”. From these travellers’ experiences, the message is clear. Men and women differ, and serious efforts need to be made by those involved in the travel and tourism industry to accommodate both genders. As discussed later in the article, the solution does not necessary lie in communal ablution facilities. Some suggestions for the improvement of the ablutionrelated travel and tourism experience are offered

Antecedents of innovation in organisations : a gender perspective

Abstract: Background: A plethora of evidence suggests that innovation is central to organisational survival. Whilst most research points to gender diversity being useful in fostering innovation, the difference in the way men and women perceive the workplace, and the impact of these perceptions on their innovative work behaviour, are less pronounced. Aim: This research aims to assess the meaning men and women attach to organisational variables and the impact thereof on innovation. In identifying the gender-specific antecedents to innovative work behaviour, business leaders could adjust the workplace in order to optimise innovation in the workplace. Setting: Employed men and women, across several South African organisations, capable of reporting on their perception of the workplace, were included in the study. Method: A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data on innovative work behaviour and acknowledged antecedents thereto. After eliminating instruments which were not measurement-invariant, the relationships between the variables were assessed. Results: Men perceived more support to innovate, and were marginally more innovative than women. When using instruments which were measurement-invariant, no practical significant differences in the relationships between innovation and its antecedents were found. Conclusion: While gender diversity may influence innovation in teams, gender matters little at an individual level. Men and women therefore react similarly to organisational forces. Managerial implications: Men and women react in a similar way to the variables included in the study, and the relationships between these variables are comparable across gender. Gender differentiation in arranging the work environment is therefore unwarranted. Contribution: This research presents empirical data enlightening a current socio-political matter, dealing with gender at an individual rather than at a collective level, applying state of the art methods, and concluding that at an individual level, men and women react to the workplace in no dissimilar manner.Ph.D. (Leadership in Performance and Change

Proactive personality in the workplace and its relevance in South Africa.

Employees are inclined to be passive or proactive, and proactive individuals are particularly valued in situations which call for action beyond that which is accepted as the customary, namely situations requiring contingency actions, as often experienced in the hospitality industry and the allied sectors. As the proactive personality (PP) was conceptualised in the United States of America (USA), and as it is associated with several valuable outcomes, the validation of the concept (via a measure thereof), within the South African context constitutes the aim of this study. South African employees (more than 3 000), across different organisations provided information on their inclinations to be proactive in their respective work contexts. A cross-sectional survey design was used, collecting quantitative data generated through standardised instruments, assessing PP traits, and correlations thereto, in order to test theoretically informed hypotheses. All the measures had acceptable reliability, with PP having an alpha of .881. As hypothesised, PP correlated more with innovative work behaviour (r = .489) than with organisational citizen behaviour (r = .302) as outcomes, and more with innovation climate (r = .202) than with human resource practices (r = .199) as antecedents. In line with USA findings, PP correlated, as theoretically conceptualised, with constructs in the SA context. As the PP seems to be a valid construct within the SA context, it is recommended that PP be assessed regularly in SA, particularly in selecting individuals who are required to take control of unstructured situations.Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL

Transformational Leadership and the Corporate Entrepreneurial Spirit

Introduction: Transformational leadership is hailed by many academics as a way of improving human capital and increasing productivity. In the same way, corporate entrepreneurial spirit is seen as a road to innovation and transformation. Productivity, innovation and transformation are often cited as drivers of development, which could be important in promoting such activities in Africa. Objectives: To determine the extent to which an environment where transformational leadership is practised coincides with an environment that is conducive to the practice of corporateentrepreneurship. Method: Data was collected from 868 employees from 17 Southern African organisations. The respondents were asked to complete a series of questionnaires, including one on transformational leadership and one on corporate entrepreneurship. Informed consent was obtained before the questionnaires were administered. As well as descriptive statistics, correlations were also calculated. Results: The reliability coefficients measured were acceptable (transformational leadership, alpha = .870; corporate entrepreneurship, alpha = .810). The results indicate that transformational leadership correlates significantly (p < .001) with the elements of entrepreneurship. The strongest correlations were with thedomains of Rewards/Reinforcement (r = .523) and Management Support (r =.405), while the weakest were with Time Availability (r = .107) and WorkDiscretion (r = .233). Conclusions: Although an environment in which transformational leadership is practised coincides with important elementsconducive to the practice of entrepreneurship, transformational leadership does not facilitate all these processes. Transformational leadership may thus be important, but it is not sufficient for the development of entrepreneurial spirit. Methods of boosting corporate entrepreneurial spirit are suggested for transformational leaders

Differences between Managers’ and Employees’ Perceptions of Gender-Based Discrimination in a Selection of South African Organisations

Introduction: The relationship between employees and employers depends, among other things, on the level of consensus on what is perceived as fair or unfair in the workplace. When these perceptions are similar, a certain harmony results, but when there are appreciable differences, conflict may follow. Objective: To gauge the levels of difference in gender-based discrimination perceived by managers and employees. Method: Information was gathered from 145 managers and 1 740 employees working for 29 organisations, using the Fair Treatment at Work Survey and the Gender- Based Discrimination Questionnaire. This was a cross-sectional quantitative research design. Results: Both managers and employees pointed to genderbased discrimination as the primary source of discrimination in the workplace, more so than race or ethnicity. When presented with a list of the consequences of discrimination, managers and employees provided similar ranking orders. Confronted with the question of whether males or females enjoyed more privileges at the appointment, promotion, training and development levels, or whether remuneration for both gender groups was perceived as fair, managers and employees answered similarly. They agreed that most gender-based discrimination occurs at the appointment and promotion levels, and that less discrimination is experienced at the training, development and fair remuneration levels. They also concurred that discrimination sometimes occurs in favour of males and on certain occasions in favour of females. Conclusions: No real differences were found in the ways in which both managers and employees viewed the levels of discrimination in the workplace. The fact that gender-based discrimination was the most frequently listed type of discrimination suggests that more interventions should be implemented for its elimination.&nbsp

Definition of Leadership in Africa within the Twenty-first Century Context: Empirical Research on Leadership in Africa

Orientation: Leadership is a widely used construct and there are numerous articles across multiple disciplines. In the past few years there has been growing interest to investigate the construct of leadership in Africa. Much of what is written is conceptual, and empirical articles on African leadership remain sparse. Research purpose: This paper reports on the findings of the systematic literature review that was conducted on leadership in Africa. The paper presents a qualitative review of empirical research highlighting key findings and implications for future research. Research method: The research investigation followed the traditional body of knowledge framework of concepts, statements, definitions, and conceptual frameworks to systemize reports on leadership in Africa. Articles were identified, selected and analysed using the systematic literature review methodology. Articles, statements, definitions, models, typologies, theories, and paradigms were explored and interrogated in each article to understand how they are linked to leadership in Africa. Main findings: A total of 96 articles were retrieved from eight electronic search engines. Following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, only thirteen articles met the set criteria - suggesting that little empirical research is conducted on leadership. The findings illustrated the extent of paucity of empirical research on leadership in Africa and clearly indicate a definite need to investigate it, and then to build on the understanding of African leadership through empirical research. The published articles showed that the concept of African leadership is seldom defined, measure-ments are typical of the Western tradition, and that the set hypotheses do not include the African context. Furthermore, no Africa-specific models or theories are presented. The positivist paradigm was most often used in the research. Practical implications: The literature review has provided an understanding of the extent of the lack of empirical work around leadership in Africa. There is a definite need for systematic empirical work to explore what leadership means in Africa, and to build the concept of African leadership as a concrete scientific construct. The paper concludes by providing suggestions on how to bridge the gap towards understanding leadership in Africa

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Integrity Profile 200 (IP 200) and the Adaptation Thereof for Use in the South African Police Service

Integrity is an essential element of orderly co-existance and an important facet of professional policing. The objective of this study was to psychometrically evaluate the Integrity Profile 200 (IP 200), an instrument widely used in South Africa, to assess its utility as an integrity measure for use in the South African Police Service. Although the literature indicates that the constructs measured with the IP 200 are sound, an exploratory investigation in the South African Police Service reveals poor reliability and unacceptable inter-item correlations. This suggests poor factorial validity (model fit). Subsequently an exploratory factor analysis (N = 1457) was done to adapt the scale and improve the model fit. Four factors were extracted and analysed, and satisfactory psychometric properties were found for these factors, including the absence of race-based item bias. The factors are: (i) Integrity restricting orientation; (ii) Moral conscientiousness and accountability; (iii) Organisational/management integrity, and (iv) Lie scale. The results account for a significant deviation and simplification from the original instrument structure. It is recommended that the original IP 200 should not be used in this context but that the adapted scale be used

Assuming Data Integrity and Empirical Evidence to The Contrary

Background: Not all respondents to surveys apply their minds or understand the posed questions, and as such provide answers which lack coherence, and this threatens the integrity of the research. Casual inspection and limited research of the 10-item Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), included in the dataset of the World Values Survey (WVS), suggested that random responses may be common. Objective: To specify the percentage of cases in the BRI-10 which include incoherent or contradictory responses and to test the extent to which the removal of these cases will improve the quality of the dataset. Method: The WVS data on the BFI-10, measuring the Big Five Personality (B5P), in South Africa (N=3 531), was used. Incoherent or contradictory responses were removed. Then the cases from the cleaned-up dataset were analysed for their theoretical validity. Results: Only 1 612 (45.7%) cases were identified as not including incoherent or contradictory responses. The cleaned-up data did not mirror the B5P- structure, as was envisaged. The test for common method bias was negative. Conclusion: In most cases the responses were incoherent. Cleaning up the data did not improve the psychometric properties of the BFI-10. This raises concerns about the quality of the WVS data, the BFI-10, and the universality of B5P-theory. Given these results, it would be unwise to use the BFI-10 in South Africa. Researchers are alerted to do a proper assessment of the psychometric properties of instruments before they use it, particularly in a cross-cultural setting

Investigating the validity of the Human Resource Practices Scale in South Africa : Measurement invariance across gender

The effective delivery of human resource management (HRM) services is often associated with positive organisational outcomes, including innovation. Within the context of HRM service delivery, as well as within the scope of innovative behaviour, gender differences are often researched. Research purpose: To effectively research the role of HRM services in organisations, including the effects thereof on innovation, instruments that yield valid and invariant measures for men and women are required..

Self-evaluasie en die vorming van selfdoeltreffendheidspersepsies

Optimistiese self-evaluasies oor die vermoë om take uit te voer is belangrik vir sukses in verskeie aspekte van menswees. Wanneer mense sulke self-evaluasies doen en selfdoeltreffendheids-persepsies vorm maak hulle van inligting uit verskeie bronne gebruik. Volgens teorieë wat spesifiek verband hou met self-evaluasie is mense tydens die vorming van sulke persepsies omtrent die self veral afhanklik van inligting bekom deur sosiale vergelyking. Hierteenoor beklemtoon teorieë wat meer met selfdoeltreffendheid verband hou, die belangrikheid van self-verwysende inligting soos gevorm tydens prestasie-ervarings. Die doel met hierdie navorsing is om die ordening van die bronne van inligting, wat tydens die vorming van selfdoeltreffendheids-persepsies gebruik word, te ondersoek. Die resultate sal bydra om belangrike vrae te beantwoord oor die voorbereiding van mense vir die uitvoering van uitdagende take. In 'n eksperiment (N=1 723) wat op 'n Solomon-vier-groep-ontwerp geskoei is, is drie vorme van inligting wat persepsies kan beïnvloed aan drie eksperimentele groepe verskaf terwyl daar vyf kontrolegroepe was. Die effek van die ingrepe is met 'n vraelys gemeet. Die resultate toon dat selfdoeltreffendheidspersepsies meer deur selfverwysende inligting as deur sosiale vergelykings-inligting beïnvloed word. Dit is ook bevind dat die verskaffing van addisionele inligting nie 'n kumulatiewe effek tydens die vorming van selfdoeltreffendheidspersepsies het nie. Die implikasies van die resultate ten opsigte van die praktyk en teoretiese beskouinge is in die laaste instansie bespreek.Optimistic self-evaluation regarding the ability to cany out tasks is important for success in various fields ofhuman endeavour. When people do such self-evaluations and fmm self-efficacy perceptions, they make use of information from various sources. According to theories related to self-evaluation, people engaged in forming such perceptions about themselves largely depend on information gained through social comparison. However, theories of self-efficacy emphasize the importance of self-referenced information, such as those formed through enactive attainments. The purpose of this research is to examine the collation of sources of information used in forming self-efficacy perceptions. The results will help to answer important questions about preparing people to perform challenging tasks. In an experiment (N=l 723) modelled on the Solomon Four Group Design, three types of information likely to influence perceptions were supplied to three experimental groups, while there were five control groups. The effects of the interventions were measured by means of a questionnaire. Results confirmed that perceptions of self-efficacy are more profoundly influenced by self-referenced information than by social comparisons. It was also found that additional information did not have a cumulative effect dming the forming of self -efficacy perceptions. The implications of the results with respect to practical and theoretical viewpoints are discussed in the final instance.PsychologyD.Litt. et Phil. (Sielkunde