scholarly journals Values underlying perceptions of breach of the psychological contract

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Botha ◽  
Kgope P. Moalusi

Orientation: This study identifies the most prominent breaches of the psychological contract and the values underlying the perceptions that violations have occurred.Research purpose: The study identifies the most important breaches and investigates which values underlie employee perceptions of breach of the psychological contract. It also addresses values that lead to employees interpreting incidents as breaches.Motivation for the study: The study calls on the fact that employees make inconsequential contributions to the terms of many formal employment contracts may imply that such contracts cannot be viewed as documents between equals.Research design, approach and method: The study identifies the most prominent breaches of the psychological contract and the values underlying the perceptions that violations have occurred.Main findings: The data revealed lack of promotion, poor interpersonal relations between colleagues and bad treatment by seniors as three main breaches of the contract, and social recognition, world of peace and sense of accomplishment as three dominant values that underlie perceptions of contract violation.Practical/managerial implications: The competent and intelligent manner in which lack of promotion is handled and communicated to employees is vital because it has implications for their willingness to contribute, their career prospects and their intention to stay in the organisation.Contribution/value-add: This research can serve as the basis for the development of survey or research instruments that are appropriate and relevant to the population.

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristo Nikolov ◽  
Boris Urban

Orientation: Early studies recognise how important corporate entrepreneurship (CE) is to achieving sustainable competitive advantage.Research purpose: With the scope of CE widening, organisations that lack prior entrepreneurial recognition are adopting CE in order to survive and succeed in increasingly competitive and financially constrained environments.Motivation for the study: By using conjoint analysis, the study is able to determine empirically which criteria organisations use, when they decide to participate in CE activities, are significant.Research design, approach and method: The authors used conjoint analysis. It simulates real life situations where it presents and tests various scenarios in terms of combinations of attributes and levels of intensity that influence decisions to participate in CE.Main findings: The results show that the most important attribute that influences the decision to participate in CE is the probability of venture success. Financial reward follows closely. As expected, job risk, pay risk and exerted effort are deterrents to CE participation.Practical/managerial implications: The study provides guidance to managers and leaders interested in motivating their employees to undertake CE activities. The results give direction to employees by offering them different scenarios of incentives and commensurate risks when they participate in CE.Contribution/value-add: This is one of the first studies to test empirically the likelihood of CE participation in terms of conjoint analysis. It provides managers with a dashboard of possible attributes, according to which they can devise optimal incentive strategies.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Baard ◽  
Adèle Thomas

Orientation: Virtual working arrangements present possible benefits to organisations and their employees. However, in South Africa, few organisations have implemented teleworking as a specific form of virtual work. The benefits and challenges to teleworkers are therefore largely unknown.Research purpose: The present study aimed to identify employee perceptions of personal benefits and challenges of teleworking.Motivation for the study: The study sought to contribute insights for South African business practice in this under-researched field.Research design, approach and method: This exploratory study collected primary data through the distribution of an electronic questionnaire to 94 employees at three South African organisations, with a 67% response rate. The survey included both closed and open-ended questions that were analysed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques.Main findings: Most of the internationally identified benefits of teleworking were supported by participants, such as improved productivity, increased job satisfaction and organisational loyalty, decreased stress and improved work-life balance. Challenges identified included an increase in working hours and the lack of availability of training opportunities.Practical/managerial implications: The possible employee benefits and challenges of teleworking may assist organisations in devising teleworking practices and procedures that leverage benefits and address challenges inherent in this form of work practice.Contribution/value add: The study aims to supplement the dearth of knowledge about teleworking, specifically in the South African context, to assist organisations practically in their development of this form of virtual work arrangement for the benefit of organisations and their employees.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Cobbinah ◽  
Willie T. Chinyamurindi

Orientation: South Africa is witnessing a large number of African immigrants coming into the country. These immigrants seek formal and informal employment. One sector favoured is ‘dirty work’ within the informal sector.Research purpose: To investigate the immigrants’ motivational factors influencing migration and dirty work entrepreneurship in South Africa.Motivation for the study: Because of the dynamic nature of political and economic circumstances that affect a country’s employment options, calls have been made for empirical focus on understanding the career development processes of neglected sample groups such as immigrants and even those engaged in dirty work.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative research approach was utilised based on the narratives and stories of 27 immigrant entrepreneurs in the informal sector engaged in dirty work careers.Main findings: Three narratives emerged as motivating factors for migrating: (1) socio-economic issues, (2) lack of opportunities and (3) experience of a new life. Furthermore, three motivational factors led into dirty work careers: (1) challenges of breaking into formal employment because of immigration rules, (2) motivation from social networks the immigrants belong to and (3) an enterprising spirit, driven by ambition.Practical/managerial implications: Based on the findings, interventions can be proposed to assist not only those engaged in dirty work but also migrants and citizens seeking opportunities in this sector.Contribution/value add: This study advances the literature in dirty work research within a South African context. Further, the study gives currency to an often neglected yet important sample group in dirty work entrepreneurship, who also happen to be immigrants.


Author(s):  
Vinessa Naidoo ◽  
Ishana Abarantyne ◽  
Robert Rugimbana

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco Van Niekerk ◽  
Pharny Chrysler-Fox ◽  
Rene Van Wyk

Orientation: The employer–employee relationship is becoming increasingly strained, evidenced by the increase in cases referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. These disputes are presumed to be a consequence of breach of the psychological contract of undelivered expectations or obligations. There seems to be a need to improve the management of employer–employee relationships.Research purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to identify inducements and obligations made known by organisations on their websites.Motivation for the study: Clarity of inducements and expectations may provide a foundation to proactively improve the employer–employee relationship.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative content analysis was identified inducements and expectations on the websites of the 2015 Business Times Top 100 organisations. As two of the companies had merged with existing companies, a total of 98 companies were analysed. A codebook on content associated with the psychological contract generated quantitative data from a qualitative analysis.Main findings: Comparisons between different industries (manufacturing, wholesale and financial services) yielded significant differences between organisational policies and career development inducements. Comparisons revealed that organisations with a career section convey more inducements and expectations than organisations without a career section.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations are offered a means to identify inducements and expectations that are publicly conveyed through their websites and inform the psychological contract.Contribution/value-add: The findings contribute to existing theory of the psychological contract. More insight is gained into the expression of inducements and expectations and the potential association with employees’ psychological contract.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakshi Sharma ◽  
Jashandeep Singh

The present study identified the sources of job stress among marketing executives working in private banking sector of Punjab. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of personal information and items related to respondents job stress was used to collect the data from 600 marketing executives. The factors having potential to produce job stress identified through factor analysis are lack of clarity and growth, work-life imbalance, work overload, lack of autonomy, unachievable targets, poor communication system and poor interpersonal relations. The detailed findings and managerial implications for private banks are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ketan S. Ramhit

Orientation: Literature shows that job description and career prospect are connected to job satisfaction and it is seen that, in Mauritius, job description and career prospect impact job satisfaction.Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between job description, career prospect and job satisfaction in Mauritius.Motivation for the study: It has been noticed that employees are dissatisfied when they perform duties outside their job description and also when they see that they do not have a good career prospect. Despite the existence of several researches, limited research exists in the Mauritian context. The outcome will provide significant relevance to existing knowledge.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative approach was adopted and a survey was conducted in a multinational company in Mauritius. A sample of 132 employees was chosen.Main findings: This research unravelled significant negative relationships between job description, career prospect and job satisfaction. The results revealed that, when duties are not well described or when duties are not in line with current responsibilities, the employees are dissatisfied. Similarly, the greater the chances that employees are not given the opportunity to get promoted, the more they are dissatisfied.Practical/managerial implications: Human resource practitioners, managers and team leaders need to recognise that employee’s moods influence the work pattern in the organisation and a clear job description and an appropriate career plan should exist.Contribution/value-add: Literature on the relationship between job description, career prospect and job satisfaction in the context of Mauritius is almost inexistent. This study will add to existing knowledge.


Author(s):  
Adeboye M. Adelekan ◽  
Mark H.R. Bussin

Orientation: The gender pay gap is a worldwide challenge that has persisted despite political will and interventions. Comparably qualified women performing similar work as men continue to earn less. There are conflicting views in the literature regarding the status of the gender pay gap.Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine status of the gender pay gap among employees in the same salary band and to establish whether men and women receive similar pay for similar work in the study population.Motivation for study: The status of the gender pay gap would establish the progress made towards closing the gap and guide necessary adjustments to interventions.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative analysis was conducted on the pay information of 217 902 employees collected in a survey from over 700 companies, across 10 job families and 6 industries.Main findings: Men’s pay was consistently higher than that of women in all salary bands except at the 75th and 95th percentile in sub-bands B-lower and B-upper and 25th percentile in sub-band E-upper. The gender pay gap ranged from 8% in band A to 27.1% in sub-band F-upper. The gaps observed in the salary bands were statistically significant (p < 0.0001) except in sub-band E-upper, F-lower and F-upper, indicating convergence towards similar pay for similar work at senior to top management levels. Women were under-represented in all salary bands with the lowest presence in band F, especially sub-band F-upper. Gender, race, job family and industry have a significant effect on income earned in the study sample.Practical/managerial implications: Government’s efforts seemed to have produced minimal results as women are represented in all job families, industries and salary bands. The pay of men and women in senior and top management levels was similar. However, more still needs to be done to achieve the 50% target representation of women in senior management and close the gap at all levels.Contribution/value-add: The number of women at management levels is still very low when compared to their male counterparts. However, the gender pay gap in senior to top management positions are converging towards similar pay for work of similar value.


Author(s):  
Leanri Cunniff ◽  
Karina Mostert

Orientation: Workplace bullying has negative physical and psychological effects on employees and several negative effects on organisations. Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to determine the prevalence of workplace bullying in South Africa and whether there are differences in employees’ experiences of bullying with regard to socio-demographic characteristics, sense of coherence (SOC) and diversity experiences.Motivation for the study: This study intended to draw attention to the implications and negative effects of workplace bullying and to determine whether employees with certain socio-demographic characteristics, SOC levels and diversity experiences experience higher levels of bullying than others do.Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional field survey approach. They used an availability sample (N = 13 911). They computed frequencies to determine the prevalence of workplace bullying and used a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to determine the differences between the groups.Main findings: The results showed that 31.1% of the sample had experienced workplace bullying. The researchers found significant differences between all the socio-demographic groups. Participants with higher levels of SOC, and who experienced diversity positively, reported lower levels of workplace bullying.Practical/managerial implications: Employers need to realise that workplace bullying is a common problem amongst South African employees and should ensure that they have the necessary prevention methods.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the limited research on the prevalence of workplace bullying and its relationship with SOC and diversity experiences in the South African workplace.


Author(s):  
Andre J. Parker ◽  
Theo H. Veldsman

Orientation: World class implies being able to respond effectively to the prevailing business challenges in a manner that surpasses competitors and to compete effectively in the global economy.Research purpose: To assess the validity of the general assumption in the literature that world class criteria are equally applicable worldwide.Motivation for research: The possibility exists that developing countries require an adjusted mix of world class criteria and practices to become globally competitive.Research design, approach and method: A quantitative field survey research approach was adopted. A web-enabled questionnaire was designed, covering 35 world class practices grouped under 7 world class criteria. A cross-section of the senior management from 14 developing and 20 developed country’s organisations partook in the study.Main findings: It was empirically confirmed that the majority of world class practices posited in the literature are used by participating organisations; that world class criteria do not apply equally across developed and developing countries; and that more important than country location, is the deliberate choice by an organisation’s leadership to become world class. An empirically based model of ascending to world class was proposed.Practical/managerial implications: Regardless of country location, the leadership of an organisation can make their organisation world class by applying the proposed world class model.Contribution/value add: A reliable web enabled instrument was designed that can be used to assess an organisation’s world class standing; the assumption that world class criteria are equally valid across developing and developed countries was proven partially incorrect; since becoming or being world class is also a leadership choice regardless of location.


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