scholarly journals Bias and equivalence of the Strengths Use and Deficit Correction Questionnaire

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Crizelle Els ◽  
Karina Mostert ◽  
Symen Brouwers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Strengths Use ◽  
Proactive Behaviour ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: For optimal outcomes, it is suggested that employees receive support from their organisation to use their strengths and improve their deficits. Employees also engage in proactive behaviour to use their strengths and improve their deficits. Following this conversation, the Strengths Use and Deficit Correction Questionnaire (SUDCO) was developed. However, the cultural suitability of the SUDCO has not been confirmed.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the bias and structural equivalence of the SUDCO.Motivation for the study: In a diverse cultural context such as South Africa, it is important to establish that a similar score on a psychological test has the same psychological meaning across ethnic groups.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was followed to collect data among a convenience sample of 858 employees from various occupational sectors in South Africa.Main findings: Confirmatory multigroup analysis was used to test for item and construct bias. None of the items were biased, neither uniform nor non-uniform. The most restrictive model accounted for similarities in weights, intercepts and means; only residuals were different.Practical/managerial implications: The results suggest that the SUDCO is suitable for use among the major ethnic groups included in this study. These results increase the probability that future studies with the SUDCO among other ethnic groups will be unbiased and equivalent.Contribution: This study contributed to existing literature because no previous research has assessed the bias and equivalence of the SUDCO among ethnic groups in South Africa.

scholarly journals Self-perceived employability among undergraduate students at a South African university

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doret Botha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
The Self ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Perceived Employability ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: South Africa has been suffering from persistently high levels of unemployment since 2008. The youth is regarded as the most at-risk group in the South African labour market and unemployment amongst the youth is considered one of the most critical socio-economic problems in South Africa. Increasing one’s employability is essential to securing employment and enhancing one’s well-being.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the self-perceived employability of undergraduate students at a South African university.Motivation for the study: Currently, there is a scarcity of published research on the self-perceived employability amongst undergraduate students at higher education institutions in South Africa.Research approach/design and method: The study was conducted within a positivistic research paradigm. A quantitative-based cross-sectional survey design was used. Convenience sampling was used to select the students who were included in the survey. Data were collected through a web-based survey, using a standardised coded questionnaire that consisted of a five-point Likert-type scale.Main findings: The results indicated that the respondents were relatively confident about their internal employability, but they were less confident about their opportunities in the external labour market.Practical/managerial implications: Understanding one’s employability and the accompanied issues creates awareness of one’s potential, skills and knowledge to become a successful citizen and employee.Contribution/value-add: The study shed light on the self-perceived employability of undergraduate students at a South African university and consequently contributes to the existing literature on employability in the South African context.

scholarly journals Strengths use, deficit correction, thriving and performance of academics at universities of technology

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fathima E. Mahomed ◽  
Sebastiaan Rothmann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Strengths Use ◽  
Perceived Organisational Support ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Thriving At Work

Orientation: Research regarding strengths use, deficit correction and thriving of academics in higher education institutions is necessary, given the possible effects thereof on their task and contextual performance.Research purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationships among strengths use and deficit correction, thriving at work and performance of academics. Furthermore, it sought to investigate whether performance-related pay moderates the effects of thriving on performance.Motivation for the study: No studies were found regarding the relationships among a balanced strengths- and deficit-based approach, thriving at work, and performance in the context of South African higher education.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used, with a convenience sample of 276 academic employees from three universities of technology in South Africa. The participants completed the Strengths Use and Deficit Correction Scale, the Thriving at Work Scale, a scale that measured perceptions of performance-related pay and measures of task and contextual performance.Main findings: The results showed that perceived organisational support for strengths use, as well as individual strengths use and deficit correction, predicted thriving at work. Thriving predicted task and contextual performance. A significant interaction was found between thriving and perceptions of performance-related pay. The most robust relation between thriving and performance existed when performance-related pay was perceived to be good.Practical/managerial implications: Higher education institutions must invest resources to enable academics to thrive at work via the balanced strength- and deficit-based approach. This approach should be seen as a core development tool for academics to increase employees’ thriving at work.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to scientific knowledge regarding strengths use and deficit correction, thriving and performance of academics in higher education institutions. It also resulted in new knowledge regarding the interaction effects of performance-related pay and thriving on task performance of academics.

scholarly journals Dimensionality of trust: An analysis of the relations between propensity, trustworthiness and trust

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marita Heyns ◽  
Sebastiaan Rothmann
Keyword(s):  
Survey Design ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Dyadic Relationships ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Trust Formation ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Trust Propensity

Orientation: Research concerning trust relationships on the interpersonal level, particularly when studied in dyadic relationships from the follower’s point of view, is relatively scarce. Only a few researchers have attempted to link multiple dimensions of trust in the same study.Research purpose: This study examined the dynamic interplay between trust propensity, trustworthiness beliefs and the decision to trust, as perceived within dyadic workplace relationships. Motivation for the study: No studies, as far as the authors are aware, have ever attempted to use a combination of Mayer and Davis’s well-known assessment of trustworthiness and Gillespie’s measure of behavioural trust within the same study. By including measures of main antecedents and the actual decision to trust in the same study, the multidimensionality of trust can be established more concretely.Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey design with a convenience sample (N = 539) was used. The Behavioural Trust Inventory and the Organisational Trust Instrument were administered.Main findings: Results confirmed the distinctness of propensity, trustworthiness and trust as separate main constructs. Trust was strongly associated with trustworthiness beliefs. Trustworthiness beliefs fully mediated the relationship between propensity and trust. The observed relations between propensity and trustworthiness suggest that individuals with a natural predisposition to trust others will be more inclined to perceive a specific trust referent as trustworthy.Practical/managerial implications: Leaders should realise that their attitudes and behaviour have a decisive impact on trust formation processes: if they are being perceived as trustworthy, followers will be likely to respond by engaging in trusting behaviours towards them. Tools to assess followers’ perceptions of the trustworthiness of the leader may provide useful feedback that can guide leaders.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to scientific knowledge regarding the influence of propensity to trust and trustworthiness on trust of leaders.

scholarly journals A temperature reading of COVID-19 pandemic employee agility and resilience in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristy Leask ◽  
Shaun Ruggunan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Temperature Reading ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Context ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Employee agility and resilience are central to the flourishing of employee and organisational life. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic amplified stressors and added new challenges for employees in South Africa. The study reported here provides a temperature reading of the agility and resilience of South African employees in the context of the pandemic.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to engage in a temperature reading of South African employees’ agility and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the need to understand how South African employees fare in terms of their agility and resilience levels in the context of profound social and economic disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used employing quantitative methodologies. A total of 185 permanently employed respondents from South Africa were conveniently sampled. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.Main findings: Whilst respondents reported high resilience and agility capacity, the findings also suggest that respondents’ gender, age, upskilling intentions, size of employer, organisational communication and individual renewal strategies influence their resilience and agility behaviours.Practical/managerial implications: The study prompts a discussion on how practitioners can better serve the wellness agenda of organisational life during sustained periods of organisational stress.Contribution/value-add: This study extends the theoretical and practical debate on employee agility and resilience in South African context.

Preparing for NICU Discharge: Mothers’ Concerns

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 399-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Raines
Keyword(s):  
Survey Design ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Main Outcome Variable

Purpose: To quantify mothers’ concerns in anticipation of their infant’s discharge from the NICUDesign: An exploratory, cross-sectional survey design was used.Sample: A convenience sample of 150 mothersMain Outcome Variable: The focus was the mothers’ concerns about their infant’s impending discharge.Results: The mothers expressed confidence in their ability as a caregiver but expressed concern about being tired, the need for readmission to the hospital, and missing a change in the infant’s conditions.

scholarly journals Job demands and resources of workers in a South African agricultural organisation

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris N. Asiwe ◽  
Carin Hill ◽  
Lené I. Jorgensen
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Job Demands And Resources

Orientation: Understanding the job demands and resources experienced by workers in an agricultural organisation.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Adapted Job Demands and Resources Scale (AJDRS) as well as to establish prevalent job demands and resources of employees in an agricultural organisation. Demographic differences were also investigated.Motivation of the study: The agricultural sector of any national economy plays a very important role in the overall welfare of the country. Identifying the prevalent job demands and resources in an agricultural organisation is therefore of paramount importance since the negative consequences of employees experiencing very demanding jobs with few resources have been well documented in stress literature.Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used. The sample consisted of 443 employees in an agricultural organisation. The AJDRS was used to measure the research variables.Main findings: The findings of this research show evidence for the factorial validity and reliability of the AJDRS. Statistical differences were found with regard to the job demands and resources experienced by employees in different positions.Practical/managerial implications: Interventions to improve the perceived job demands and resources in the organisation should focus on physical resources (equipment).Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to knowledge concerning the job demands and resources that are prevalent in an agricultural organisation in South Africa.

scholarly journals The relationship between e-CRM and customer loyalty: a Kenyan Commercial Bank case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric E. Mang’unyi ◽  
Oumar T. Khabala ◽  
Krishna K. Govender
Keyword(s):  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Commercial Banking ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
The Relationship

Since customer loyalty is key, especially in the highly competitive commercial banking environment, this article evaluated the effects of features of electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) on customer loyalty. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from a convenience sample of customers of a major international Kenyan bank using self-administered questionnaires. The findings based on correlation and multiple regression analyses, revealed that pre-service, during (the) service and post transactional e-CRM features have a positive and significant relationship with loyalty, and that the pre-service and during service features significantly predict loyalty. Thus, enhancing e-CRM practices could be a strategic competitive tool to impact the banks’ relationship with their customers.

scholarly journals Occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health of employees at a higher education institution in South Africa

2005 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Coetzee ◽  
S. Rothmann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Occupational Stress ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Organisational Commitment ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Control Work

The objectives of this study were to assess the indicators and moderators of occupational stress at a higher education institution in South Africa, as well as differences based on language and years of experience at the institution. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The participants included academic and support staff at a higher education institution (N = 372). An Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET) and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Workload, control, work-relationships and pay and benefits were the major occupational stressors in the institution. Compared to the international norm, participants reported higher levels of physical and psychological ill-health and perceived lack of commitment from the organisation. Analysis of variance revealed differences in occupational stress levels for all the biographical variables tested. Organisational commitment moderated the effect of occupational stress on ill-health. Opsomming Die doelstellings van hierdie studie was om die aanwysers en verligtende faktore van beroepstres in ’n hoëronderwysinstansie in Suid-Afrika te identifiseer, asook moontlike verskille gebaseer op taal en jare ervaring by die instansie te bepaal. ’n Dwarsdeursnee-opnameontwerp is gebruik. Die deelnemers het bestaan uit akademiese en ondersteuningspersoneel verbonde aan ’n hoëronderwysinstansie (N = 372). ’n Organisasiestresgraderingsinstrument (ASSET) en ’n biografiese vraelys is afgeneem. Oorlading, kontrole, werksverhoudinge en salaris en byvoordele was die vernaamste stressore in die instelling. Vergeleke met die internasionale norm, het deelnemers hoër vlakke van fisieke en psigologiese ongesondheid gerapporteer, en ook ’n gebrek aan verbondenheid komende van die werkgewer ervaar. Variansieanalise het verskille in werkstresvlakke uitgewys vir al die biografiese veranderlikes wat getoets is. Organisasieverbondenheid het die effek van beroepstres op ongesondheid gematig.

scholarly journals Positive affect and mindfulness as predictors of resilience amongst women leaders in higher education institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphne Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Women Leaders ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Psychological Resources ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: Psychological resources are the factors that appear to have a significant impact on how leaders adapt to adversity and remain resilient. Positive affect and mindfulness are the psychological resources that positively relate to the levels of resilience of women leaders in higher education institutions.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of positive affect and mindfulness on the levels of resilience of women leaders in higher education institutions in South Africa.Motivation for the study: Identifying the internal resources women leaders use to facilitate resilience will allow higher education institutions to prioritise these resources in leadership support programmes to assist these women leaders.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data in a purposive sample of n = 255 women leaders in four South African higher education institutions. Pearson’s correlation analyses, multiple regression analyses and mediation analysis were used to analyse the data.Main findings: Findings indicated that positive affect and mindfulness were found to be significant predictors of resilience. Additionally, mindfulness was found to be a partial mediator in the relationship between positive affect and resilience.Practical/managerial implications: Higher education institutions can assist women leaders by investing in psychological resources such as mindfulness and positive affect to enhance the levels of resilience.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the limited research on the role of internal resources to enhance resilience in a workplace setting and more specifically amongst women leaders.

scholarly journals Psychological capital, work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet C. Simons ◽  
Johanna H. Buitendach
Keyword(s):  
Work Engagement ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Measuring Instruments ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Organisational Commitment ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: The development of psychological capital amongst call centre employees could have an impact on positive work-related attitudes and behaviour; such as work engagement and organisational commitment.Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to determine the relationship between psychological capital, work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees; and further, to determine whether psychological capital and work engagement hold predictive value for the organisational commitment of call centre employees.Motivation for the study: There is a gap in research in understanding and enabling positive resource capacities in highly stressful work contexts such as call centres.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used. A sample of 106 call centre employees from a South African organisation participated in the research. The measuring instruments included a demographic questionnaire, the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ).Main findings: Significant positive relationships were found between psychological capital, work engagement and organisational commitment. The results showed work engagement as being the only significant predictor of organisational commitment.Practical/managerial implications: Call centre employers need to develop and implement workplace interventions that would increase the psychological capital of call centre employees.Contribution/value-add: The research findings will benefit both call centre employees and management. The study highlighted the importance of the role of optimism as a subdimension of psychological capital in developing work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees.

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