Graduate Development Program as Interventional Strategy for Talent Management

Organizations have recognized the need to have a workforce that can give the company direction and help it adapt to continuous market changes. Many organizations have taken note of this ever-changing competitive market and implemented the Graduate Development Program (GDP) to ensure the development and consistent supply of its talent pool. Adopting a qualitative research design with research instruments that allow interaction with all key stakeholders, the objective of this paper is to assess GDP as an interventional strategy for talent management, in the context of Namibia. The study findings are mixed as it shows that current and past employees feel that the GDP implementation is not effective due to their negative perceptions about the identification of outside talent and yet the findings did reveal that the GDP has resulted in improved talent sets and an enabling environment to recruit, develop and retain staff in critical positions.

THE IMPACT OF JOB ENGAGEMENT ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE WITHIN THE MEDICAL SECTOR IN ZIMBABWE

The issue of job engagement has been central around the performance of employees as evidenced by the negotiations which have been aimed to serve as an impetus vehicle to seek attention for engagement. The process of engaging employees is vital for any organisation to succeed but it appears employees within the Zimbabwean medical sector feel neglected. The issue of job engagement has led to a standoff within the health sector. The study adopted the positivism research philosophy and the case study research design. The sample size was 140 respondents drawn from a population of 180 respondents and a structured questionnaire was adopted as the main research instrument. Findings revealed there is a positive relationship between Job characteristics and job engagement. Findings revealed also that there is a positive relationship between rewards & recognition and job engagement. Recommendations are that the medical sector should as a matter of urgency review its rewards systems to all of its employees to enhance job engagement and organisational performance.

The Influence of In-Store Ambience on Consumer Purchasing Behaviour

This study assesses in-store ambience or atmospherics of a selected apparel retail store to determine its possible influence on consumer behaviour at the selected store. Forty-five (45) walk-in customers were conveniently selected to participate in the quantitative, cross sectional study. The study concluded that there is a significant positive relationship between in-store ambience and consumer purchasing behaviour at the selected retail store. The study provides recommendations for both theory and practice

The ‘High-Road’ Approach to Compensation and Benefits Practices

High-road approach organizations deploy commitment-based / high performance working HRM systems and see employees as a sales driver rather than a cost driver They have a long-term perspective and make more investment in their HR by paying them above the industry average and implement policies and practices that focus on employee engagement, satisfaction, and service orientation to enhance organizational performance. This research views compensation and benefits practices through the lens of a high-road approach and provides various frameworks to emphasize the role of the high-road approach in enhancing employee commitment, engagement, loyalty, productivity, and retention thus, leading to healthier organizational growth. The research provides various illustrations to explain how companies have initiated a high-road approach to compensation and benefits practices and improved their overall performance. Research also discusses the barriers to high-road approach adoption and identifies prerequisites for its successful implementation.

TELEWORKS A REALITY AMONG LECTURERS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

Information Communication Technology-based practices have given rise to flexible work arrangements, such as flextime and telecommuting, which increase the amount of autonomy that employees have in their work. The increase in the use of ICTs and technological improvements enabled the development of telework. The study,x-rayed the effect of telework on the performance of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.Descriptive design was adopted and the sample of 39 respondents was drawn from the target population of 16203. Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The findings revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between home-based telework and supervision of students by university lecturers in Nigeria. Also, a positiverelationship exists between occasional telework and lecture delivery by university lecturers in Nigeria. The study recommended that management of various tertiary institutions should provide their workers with necessary facilities that will aid home-based teleworks, to increase productivity and ensure improved work quality.

Can Firm Performance and Corporate Reputation Be Improved by Communicating CSR in Social Media?

As stakeholders make their decisions based on corporate reputation, it is vital for the companies to ensure that their CSR activities are communicated effectively via social media (SM) channels. It can be argued that by leveraging CSR in SM channels, firms have the possibility in strengthening trust and loyalty of their stakeholders and thereby enhancing corporate reputation and firm performances. Hence, the study aims to examine how CSR communication has an impact on firm performances and reputation. Top 50 and bottom 50 companies that are ranked in the Social Media Sustainability Index (2016) are collected along with four reputation ranking indices and Twitter data for this study. Although there is no significant relationship between Twitter and corporate reputation, there is a significant relationship between Twitter and firm performances.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Development Prospects

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of a country. SMEs create most of the employment opportunities and comprise 90% to 95% of economic activities. Therefore, these make SMEs indispensable for the development of a country. Also, SMEs are the source of innovativeness, and they are the ones that respond to niche market needs that are ignored by large businesses. Small and medium-sized enterprises are an important instigator for the improvement and renewal of national economies. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review the concept of SME, differentiating features of SMEs, market economy, and state the importance of SMEs for the Republic of Turkey.

Talent Retention for Succession Planning in the Defence Forces

Retaining a talented workforce in any sector is crucial to gaining growth in this competitive environment. Defence is no exception, especially in the current geopolitical environment. Trained military officers in the security sector are crucial, and hence, succession planning is a priority for both developed and emerging economies. Based on Zinger's talent-based theory, this is a qualitative study employing the phenomenological approach with case study design. The sampling technique was purposive sampling, and through semi-structured interviews, data was collected from 20 senior officers from the rank of major and above working at different directorates. Findings reveal that talent retention improved succession planning through ensuring self-sustenance and competitive advantage by building a pool of experts as successors who are also motivated and empowered with a sense of belonging. Recommendations include a relook at the organizational culture and structural posting with a focus not only on years of serving but also on the skills and knowledge of the individual.

Enhanced Colliding Bodies Optimization Towards the Solution of Economic Load Dispatch Problem

This paper proposes application of enhanced colliding bodies optimization algorithm (ECBO) for solving the economic load dispatch problem, which aims to get minimum generation cost through economic scheduling of generating unit. The algorithm is a novel efficient optimization algorithm, and its idea is attained from collisions, which are one-dimensional between two or more bodies. Each agent involved in this collision is shaped as a body having defined mass and defined velocity. To analyze the performance of the proposed method, it is tested on four different test systems consisting of 3, 5, 13, and 18 generating units. Both convex and non-convex fuel cost function have been considered. Numerical results have been compared with various well-known algorithms. A significant improvement in the results has been observed. It has been farther noted that an average 5.1% better results were provided by ECBO in terms of generation cost compared to other algorithms. Moreover, the simulation time is also improved. Besides this, Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test has been performed.

Determinants of Customer Loyalty in the Zimbabwean Microfinance Sector

Recently, there has been an exponential increase in microfinance institutions leading to intense competition. This has impelled the interest of scholars, practitioners, and researchers in customer loyalty. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the determinants of customer loyalty in the microfinance sector. Accordingly, the main objective of this study is to establish the determinants of customer loyalty. Employing correlational research design with a sample size of 132 customers of microfinance institutions in Gweru who completed a highly structured questionnaire, the hypotheses are tested using Pearson correlation and regression analysis. The findings reveal that service quality, customer trust, and customer satisfaction have a strong statistically significant positive effect on customer loyalty. Nonetheless, a weak insignificant positive relationship between perceived microfinance image and customer loyalty is observed. It is, therefore, recommended that the managers should devise strategies to augment service quality, customer trust, and customer satisfaction.