scholarly journals Exploring leadership factors creating employee engagement or disengagement across job grade categories at a public higher education institution in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 317-327
Author(s):  
Anrusha Bhana ◽  
Sachin Suknunan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Middle Manager ◽  
Employee Productivity ◽  
Institutional Goals ◽  
Significant Difference

Ongoing difficulties in promoting employee commitment confront the domain of higher education, hence, the importance of staff to help achieve institutional goals grows. For this to happen, employee engagement is key. This paper examined the issues of engagement or disengagement amongst employees, including job grades and the factors influencing this, at Durban University of Technology, South Africa. It adopted a quantitative and qualitative method of inquiry. The quantitative data collection targeted 420 employees utilizing questionnaires and obtained a response rate of 312 (74%). The qualitative aspect involved interviewing 12 out of 18 leadership personnel, giving a response rate of 67%. Also, descriptive and inferential analysis was used. Internal employee engagement demonstrated a significant difference across job level categories, F (4, 307) = 4.012, p = 0.003. There is also a significant difference in agreement mean score, which is lower for lecturer grade level (M = 2.5257, SD = 1.08359) than middle manager grade level (M = 3.2909, SD = 0.82396), showing that lecturer grade level is more engaged as compared to the middle manager level reflecting that the this level is not as engaged as it should be. Obtained qualitative results showed that there was minimal employee engagement. Overall, there was more employee disengagement than engagement at the institution, leading to employee stress, increased employee turnover, and minimal employee productivity. This can, in turn, affect institutional productivity. However, leadership viewed employee engagement as important and something to be further developed.

Perceived Occurrence of Medication Administration Errors among Nursing Students at a Higher Education Institution in Western Cape, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousef Abusaksaksa ◽  
Hilda Vember ◽  
RR Marie Modeste
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Medication Administration ◽  
P Value ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Medication Administration Errors ◽  
Significant Difference

The aim of the study was to determine awareness and perception of trends in the occurrence of medication administration errors (MAEs) among nursing students. A descriptive quantitative design was employed on two consecutive days and a self-administrative questionnaire was used to collect data. The validity and reliability of this instrument were tested and established by a pilot study. Responses were collected from 291 nursing students at a higher education institution (HEI) in Western Cape, South Africa. Non-probability proportional quota sampling was used and the data was analysed with IBM SPSS® software. The data was presented in graphs, percentages, means and standard deviation, while inferential statistics was applied. The findings of the study revealed that 85.2% of the respondents were aware of MAE occurrence. There was no significant difference between the respondents’ awareness of MAE occurrence and their year of the study. The significant (p-value < 0.05) subscale for the causes of MAE occurrence was the physician communication subscale (p-value < 0.001). Moreover, the respondents perceived the top item to be using abbreviations instead of writing out the prescription orders completely (p-value < 0.001, mean = 4.85). The respondents disagreed that the pharmacy related subscale and its items were causes of MAE occurrence. In conclusion, the nursing students who participated in the study were aware of MAE occurrence during their practice time. The causes of these errors as indicated by the respondents are mentioned in the article. Therefore, the healthcare institutions as well as HEIs must focus on treating these causes in order to reduce MAE occurrence and enhance patient safety.

scholarly journals Academic Staff Perceptions toward Implementing Total Quality Management Principles

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Naail Mohammed Kamil ◽  
Loutfi Boulahlib ◽  
Mohammed Borhandden Musa ◽  
Shafeeq Hussain Vazathodi Al-Hudawi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Academic Degree

Purpose-This study examines the attitude of academic staff in one higher education institution in Malaysia towards the implementation of total quality management principles, and how that affects the intention to implement total quality management in the university. It also highlights the impacts of several demographic variables on the implementation of total quality management in the university.Design/methodology/approach-The study used survey data drawn from 149 academic staff selected using stratified random sampling techniques. Regression analysis was used to analyse data.Finding-The findings demonstrate there is a positive significant correlation between attitude toward TQM implementation (customers and stakeholders, employee engagement and teamwork, continuous improvements and total degree of attitude) and the intention to practice TQM among sampled institution faculties.Concerning the correlation between the subjective norms and intention, the analysis manifests that there is no significant correlation between the subjective norms of TQM and the intention to practice TQM principles among institutional staff.Furthermore, the study also found that there are no significant differences in the attitude towards implementation of total quality managementprinciples due to the variables of gender, nationality, marital status, work experiences, the faculty and job positions with the exception of academic degree, where significant differences are shown.Value/originality-Since the study reports the understanding of academic staff of a higher education institution toward the implementation of total quality management principles, top management in the tertiary sector may find the findings and conclusions useful when planning for the implementation of total quality management principles.

scholarly journals Job insecurity, sense of coherence and the general health of employees at a higher education institution in South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 660-670
Author(s):  
Sam T Setati ◽  
Marius Stander ◽  
Wilfred Isioma Ukpere
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sense Of Coherence ◽  
General Health ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Cross Sectional

This study investigated the relationship between job insecurity, sense of coherence and general health of employees in a higher education institution in South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A random sample (n = 229) was taken from academic and non-academic staff members of the institution. The Job Insecurity Inventory, General Health Questionnaire and Orientation to Life Questionnaire were administered. The results showed that a negative relationship exists between job insecurity and general health, while a positive relationship exists between sense of coherence and general health. High job insecurity and a weak sense of coherence predicted ill health. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that higher education institutions should attend to job insecurity by communicating effectively with employees, in order to clarify expectations, and ensure support from supervisors. Developing the employees’ sense of coherence can positively impact on their wellness. Owing to the cross-sectional design of the study, no conclusions regarding causality was drawn.

The educational research landscape on GIS integration and challenges – globally and in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 19-41
Author(s):  
Elfrieda Fleischmann ◽  
◽  
Christo van der Westhuizen ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Gis Integration ◽  
Depth Interviews

As Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have only been included in the curriculum in the last decade, many educators globally struggle to integrate GIS practice into their teaching strategies. Following the global trend, South African educators might feel ill equipped as they did not receive formal GIS training in a higher education institution. This paper highlights key global and South African challenges regarding GIS integration. To compare the challenges that South Africa faces with those experienced elsewhere, this mixed method study gleaned data from student educators (n=78) who completed a questionnaire regarding their GIS FET Phase education, followed by in-depth interviews with FET Phase educators (n=10) and two provincial heads of Geography for the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Results from this study indicate a clear global and national pattern of barrier categories.

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