scholarly journals Ethical challenges in assessment centres in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vuyani R. Muleya ◽  
Linda Fourie ◽  
Sandra Schlebusch
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Subject Matter Experts ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Interpretative Research

Orientation: Assessment Centres (ACs) are used globally for the selection and development of candidates. Limited empirical evidence exists of the ethical challenges encountered in the use of ACs, especially in South Africa (SA).Research purpose: Firstly, to explore possible ethical challenges related to ACs in SA from the vantage point of the practitioner and, secondly, to search for possible solutions to these.Motivation for the study: Decisions based on AC outcomes have profound implications for participants and organisations, and it is essential to understand potential ethical challenges to minimise these, specifically in the SA context, given its socio-political history, multiculturalism, diversity and pertinent legal considerations.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative, interpretative research design was chosen. Data were collected by means of a semi-structured survey that was completed by 96 AC practitioners who attended an AC conference. Content analysis and thematic interpretation were used to make sense of the data. The preliminary findings were assessed by a focus group of purposively selected subject-matter experts (n = 16) who provided informed insights, which were incorporated into the final findings. The focus group suggested ways in which specific ethical challenges may be addressed.Main findings: The findings revealed many ethical challenges that can be better understood within a broad framework encompassing 10 themes: Universal ethical values; multicultural global contexts; the regulatory-legal framework for ACs in SA; characteristics of the assessor; psychometric properties of the AC; characteristics of the participant; bias and prejudice; governance of the AC process; ethical culture of the employer organisation and the evasive nature of ethics as a concept.Practical and managerial implications: Considerable risk exists for the unethical use of ACs. An awareness of possible areas of risk may assist AC stakeholders in their search for ethical AC use.Contribution or value-add: The study may contribute to an evidence-based understanding of the ethical aspects of ACs. The recommendations may also benefit all AC stakeholders who wish to use ACs ethically.

scholarly journals Content validation: The forgotten step-child or a crucial step in assessment centre validation?

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus-Peter Müller ◽  
Gert Roodt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Assessment Methodology ◽  
Subject Matter Experts ◽  
Content Validation ◽  
Assessment Centre ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Method Of Assessment

Orientation: Assessment centres (ACs) are a popular method of assessment in South Africa, as they offer a practical link to the required job, directly observed through candidate behaviour. Content is often borrowed from the USA, so research into the applicability of that content in South Africa is justified.Research purpose: This study aimed to determine whether a selected USA-developed virtual assessment centre (VAC) measured what it claims to, and to determine whether the content is suitable for South Africa.Motivation for the study: A solid pre-statistical foundation of content forms the backbone of assessing validity. Content validation analysis is well suited to analysing the relevance of AC simulations in a specific cultural context. Too often content validation is either implied, or insufficiently explained.Research design, approach and method: A content evaluation schedule was developed, consisting of 50 items covering seven content validation dimensions. Thirteen subject matter experts and nine functional experts were tasked to assess an imported VAC using this schedule.Main findings: This study provides support that the VAC appears to measure what it purports to, and that overall, the content is suitable for use in South Africa.Practical/managerial implications: Content created in the USA can be assessed for relevance and applicability for South Africa through content validation.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to AC literature and assessment methodology by demonstrating the importance and utility of content validation. Importers and developers of AC content may use this study’s techniques to validate content to meet legislative requirements and ensure domain relevance.

scholarly journals Developing and supporting coordinators of structured mentoring schemes in South Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Abbott ◽  
Xenia Goosen ◽  
Jos Coetzee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Job Description ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
People Development ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Purposive Sample ◽  
The Coordinator

Orientation: Mentoring is considered to be such an important contributor to accelerated people development in South Africa that structured mentoring schemes are often used by organisations. There are at present few sources of development and support for coordinators of such schemes.Research purpose: The aim of this research is to discover what the characteristics of coordinators of structured mentoring schemes in South Africa are, what is required of such coordinators and how they feel about their role, with a view to improving development and support for them.Motivation for the study: The limited amount of information about role requirements for coordinators which is available in the literature is not based on empirical research. This study aims to supply the empirical basis for improved development and support for coordinators.Research design and method: A purposive sample of 25 schemes was identified and both quantitative and qualitative data, obtained through questionnaires and interviews, were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.Main findings: Functions of coordinators tend to be similar across different types of mentoring schemes. A passion for mentoring is important, as the role involves many frustrations. There is little formalised development and support for coordinators.Practical/managerial implications: The study clarifies the functions of the coordinator, offers a job description and profile and makes suggestions on how to improve the development of the coordinator’s skills.Contribution/value-add: An understanding of what is required from a coordinator, how the necessary knowledge and skills can be developed and how the coordinator can be supported,adds value to an organisation setting up or reviewing its structured mentoring schemes.

scholarly journals Transformative consumer research: Its origins and possible enrichment of the field of consumer research in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leona M. Ungerer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Consumer Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Additional Approach ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Transformative Consumer Research

Orientation: This article provides a rationale for considering transformative consumer research as a research approach for investigating the relationship between consumption and consumers’ well-being in South Africa.Research purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the principles underlying transformative consumer research, including how it differs from traditional research methods and pointing out some established research areas in this field.Motivation for the study: Apart from pointing to a lack of literature, this article highlights the relevance of this approach for emerging countries by investigating the principles and practices embedded in transformative consumer research. It provides some indication of how an investigation of these areas may contribute to enhancing the relevance of consumer research to its various stakeholders.Research design, approach and method: The author used a literature review to conduct the study.Main findings: It appears that consumer research currently lacks external and internal relevance. A transformative consumer-research approach may address some of the fundamental problems in the way consumer psychologists plan and conduct their research, contributing to this lack of relevance.Practical/managerial implications: Most stages of the traditional research approach may need to be adapted for transformative research purposes. Some approaches appear particularly suited to transformative consumer research, including revelatory, incendiary, policy, participatory and coalition research. Contribution/value-add: This study’s primary contribution stems from suggesting a rather novel additional approach to enhance the relevance of consumer research in South Africa, pointing out some established practices in the field of transformative consumer research and suggesting how they may augment consumer research in South Africa.

scholarly journals A review of four decades of research in organisational career psychology by academia in South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dries Schreuder ◽  
Melinde Coetzee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Career Guidance ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Career Interventions ◽  
Career Psychology ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Career Research

Orientation: Career research in organisations has increased in importance since the 1970s, which heralded new directions for organisational career research and practice both globally and nationally. Research purpose: The study critically reviewed trends in organisational career psychology research in South Africa from 1970 to 2011 in terms of global and present national challenges that require empirical investigation in the contemporary South African world of work context.Motivation for the study: The increasingly complex contexts, in which people have been pursuing their careers since the catalytic 1970s, demand the continuous generation and development of knowledge for the benefit of the discipline and practice of careers.Research design, approach and method: A broad systematic review was carried out to analyse documented academia research (N = 110) on careers from 1970 to 2011, which was published in six accredited South African scientific journals.Main findings: Much of the research addressed issues pertaining to career theory and concepts, the world of work and career assessment and technology. Career development, professional issues and organisational career interventions in the multi-cultural South African context appear to be under-researched.Practical/managerial implications: The insight derived from the findings can be employed by academia and researchers, in this field, to plan future research initiatives that will contribute to the profession and practice of career guidance and counselling in the contemporary workplace.Contribution/value-add: The findings provide preliminary insight that adds to the body of knowledge concerned with career studies in the South African organisational context.

scholarly journals A total rewards framework for the attraction of Generation Y employees born 1981–2000 in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark H.R. Bussin ◽  
Keshia Mohamed-Padayachee ◽  
Philip Serumaga-Zake
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Generation Y ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Performance Incentives ◽  
Total Rewards ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
The One ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

Orientation: The workforce is changing, as employers aim to attract qualified individuals from Generation Y, born 1981–2000, but strategies for attraction require adaption, as the ‘one-size-fits-all’ model no longer works for today’s multigenerational workforce.Research purpose: Determining what changes and priorities organisations need to consider for their total rewards frameworks to attract youth employees.Motivation for the study: Companies offer employees historical benefits that they do not want or value. This is important when one considers the attraction of Generation Y to organisations, as they are increasingly becoming a formidable factor in an organisations’ success and sustainability. The motivation for this study was understanding what rewards are aligned with the aspirations of this skilled generation, to attract them.Research approach/design and method: A sequential mixed-method approach was followed, where data were collected, using quantitative and qualitative methods. A questionnaire was distributed and a response rate of 276 participants from seven of the nine provinces in South Africa achieved. Interviews were conducted where 11 participants validated the quantitative findings.Main findings: Seven reward categories were found to affect Generation Y’s attraction to organisations, (1) leadership and environment (2) benefits (3) performance incentives (4) individual development (5) safe, secure working environment (6) work–life balance and resources and (7) performance recognition.Practical/managerial implications: A different approach is required for the attraction of Generation Y.Contribution/value-add: No empirical study exists that authenticates total rewards models for Generation Y, identifying the most important reward preferences and developing a new, more effective total rewards framework.

scholarly journals Nigerian tourists to South Africa: Challenges, expectations and demands

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ikechukwu O. Ezeuduji
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Flight Costs ◽  
Study Results ◽  
New Business ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Targeted Marketing ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Identification of tourists’ needs and finding ways of satisfying them is crucial to any tourism destination.Research purpose: This paper investigated the challenges, demands and expectations of Nigerian tourists to South Africa.Motivation for the study: Nigeria, along with other African nations, has been identified as one of the core regional source markets with air links to South Africa. Increasing revenue generated from regional tourism is important to South African Tourism.Research design, approach and method: Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used to analyse the data collected using a questionnaire survey of 320 Nigerian tourists to South Africa.Main findings: Results showed that Nigerian tourists visit South Africa mostly for the purposes of business, holiday, visiting friends and relatives, education and medical care. Challenges perceived by these Nigerian tourists visiting South Africa include long waiting time for the visa process in Nigeria, expensive cost of living in South Africa, safety and security problems, not so many airlines to choose from and expensive flight costs. Nigerian tourists mostly expect South Africans to be friendlier and have expectations of linking up with new business partners or performing transactions. They also have a strong demand for shopping, leisure and quality education.Practical/managerial implications: This study recommends a bilateral tourism relationship agreement between the Nigerian and South African governments to ameliorate the visa process; targeted marketing communications by South African Tourism toward Nigerian tourists based on study results; strong police presence and proper policing in South Africa; air transport liberalisation and low-cost carriers implementation for shared economic growth within the African region.Contribution/value-add: No former research has specifically identified Nigerian tourists’ challenges, expectations and demands whilst visiting South Africa.

scholarly journals Reconceptualising undergraduate entrepreneurship education at traditional South African universities

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manduth Ramchander
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Postgraduate Level ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Start Ups

Orientation: The relatively high number of unemployed graduates in South Africa is a major cause for concern. Entrepreneurial start-ups have been heralded as the panacea to the unemployment challenge.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to ascertain how entrepreneurship education, at traditional South African universities, measured against existing entrepreneurship education frameworks.Motivation for the study: Despite a plethora of entrepreneurship education initiatives, the South African higher education system fails to produce sufficient entrepreneurs; hence, the need to explore how entrepreneurship education is structured.Research design, approach and method: The research design was exploratory and both quantitative and qualitative in nature. The population comprised the eleven traditional universities in South Africa and all of them were included in the study. Secondary data was obtained from the respective universities’ websites. The search sequence in the websites were as follows: Faculty of commerce/Management Sciences, Year/handbook, undergraduate/postgraduate programmes. The word ‘entrepreneurship’ was also used as a keyword to search within the university website.Main findings: The findings revealed some entrepreneurship modules, with low total credit value in relation to total programme credit value, at the undergraduate level and specialisation at the postgraduate level with some form of centre or incubator initiatives. It was also found that little attention is given to the development of entrepreneurial skills such as perseverance, resilience and self-efficacy.Practical/managerial implications: The significance of this article lies in its potential to guide the reconceptualisation of entrepreneurship education at South African universities.Contribution/value-add: This study integrates an existing framework and model to reconceptualise the undergraduate entrepreneurship programme. The reconceptualised structure entails a programme where modules from other disciplines are integrated into an entrepreneurship programme as opposed to the current structure where entrepreneurship modules are integrated into other career-focussed programmes.

scholarly journals Human resource management as a profession in South Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huma Van Rensburg ◽  
Johan S. Basson ◽  
Nasima M.H. Carrim
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Hr Management ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Various countries recognise human resource (HR) management as a bona fide profession. Research purpose: The objective of this study was to establish whether one could regard HR management, as practised in South Africa, as a profession.Motivation for the study: Many countries are reviewing the professionalisation of HR management. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the professional standing of HR management in South Africa.Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a purposive sampling strategy involving 95 participants. The researchers achieved triangulation by analysing original documents of the regulating bodies of the medical, legal, engineering and accounting professions internationally and locally as well as the regulating bodies of HR management in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA) and Canada. Seventy- eight HR professionals registered with the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) completed a questionnaire. The researchers analysed the data using content analysis and Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio (CVR).Main findings: The results confirm that HR management in South Africa adheres to the four main pillars of professionalism and is a bona fide profession.Practical/managerial implications: The article highlights the need to regulate and formalise HR management in South Africa.Contribution/value-add: This study identifies a number of aspects that determine professionalism and isolates the most important elements that one needs to consider when regulating the HR profession.

scholarly journals Constructing racial hierarchies of skill – Experiencing affirmative action in a South African organisation: A qualitative review

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanya Reuben ◽  
Shaida Bobat
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
South African ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Orientation: Apartheid in South Africa constructed racial, economic, social and political segregation, the consequences of which are still experienced today. Government has made concerted efforts to ‘deracialise’ South Africa, most notably through affirmative action (AA) measures.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore employees’ social constructions of AA in a South African organisation.Motivation for the study: Research in this field focuses mostly on attitudinal perspectives of AA with an emphasis on traditional approaches. Subjective, contextualised approaches to AA have received little attention. Thus, this study aimed to critically engage with the embodied nature of prejudice, particularly in reference to how we understand and experience AA.Research approach, design and method: This study aimed to explore AA from a social constructionist orientation, using semi-structured interviews. More specifically, this study used Potter and Wetherell’s discursive psychology.Main findings: The findings illustrate how participants engage in discursive devices that continue to rationalise a racial order of competence. Ultimately, AA is a controversial subject that traverses many segments of life for all South Africans.Practical/managerial implications: The findings contribute to the discipline of industrial psychology, particularly with regard to policies around preferential treatment, and can add value to the ways in which organisational policy documents are conceptualised. The findings also suggest the importance of developing an inclusive, non-discriminatory organisational culture.Contribution/value-add: This approach adds to the existing body of knowledge around the embodied nature of prejudice. The study’s methodology highlights the value of studying context in meaning-making and implied inferences that underlie talk.

scholarly journals Environmental influences, employee resourcing strategies and small and medium-sized enterprises performance: Case of South African small restaurants

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Honest Mupani ◽  
Crispen Chipunza
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
South African ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Business Failure ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Small businesses’ contribution to economic growth and employment creation cannot be disputed in South Africa, amid operating in an environment that is highly competitive and reports of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) high failure rates, in general. In view of this, and to our knowledge, no known theoretical study has been conducted in South Africa examining how certain environmental factors might influence the use of appropriate resourcing strategies for improved small businesses’ performance.Research purpose: This theoretical article investigates the relationships between environmental influences, employee resourcing strategies and business performance among South African small restaurants.Motivation for the study: There is a paucity of literature that has explored whether a relationship exists between the three variables among small restaurant businesses in South Africa, justifying the need for such an investigation.Research approach/design and method: This article, which is conceptual in nature, adopted a systematic literature review which entails combining all existing research literature related to the three variables so as to arrive at logical inferences.Main findings: The research contends that a relationship exists between the three variables.Practical/managerial implications: Small businesses need to be aware of the environmental influences that may contribute to business failure so that they attune employee resourcing strategies to the environment to achieve high performance.Contribution/value add: The article contributes to extant literature on the interplay between environmental factors, resourcing strategies and firm performance in small restaurant businesses of emerging economies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document