Research Publications (Management Sciences)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/217
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Item Women in higher education institutions and the challenge of academic progression(2023-08-03) Anwana, Emem O.; Kayode, Aderinsola E.Female academics in Africa have historically faced several challenges that have hampered their advancement to positions of leadership in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The study's findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to women's inability to generate research outputs, which are required for advancement in HEIs. This problem was compounded by diverse degrees of infrastructural deficits and poor research funding. This study adopted a qualitative exploratory analysis approach whereby structured interviews were held with 20 female university academics in two African countries to examine the factors that inhibit need for HEIs to review the recognise the additional work that female academics perform in their homes and families. It provides recommendations that may be used by HEI managers to bridge the widening gender gap in leadership positions in HEIs in the selected African countries. The findings cannot be generalised as the sample was taken from female academics from public universities in only two African countries. The study could, however, assist HEI managers and policymakers find solutions to some of the issues affecting women's progression in HEIs.Item Professional leadership investigation in big data and computer-mediated communication in relation to the 11th Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Global Blueprint global blueprint(Step Academic, 2024-02-08) Aroba, Oluwasegun Julius; Dr. Bringula, RexMethodology–The method adopted here is a research design and with the use of a quantitative researchdesign approachto carry out the analysis, thestudy investigated the connection between leadership influence, communication satisfaction, and job satisfaction in the context of CMC. Convenience sampling was used to gather the data, and structured questionnaires were used to protect the privacy and identity of the participants. The association between employee engagement and CMC was examined using multiple regression analysis. Findings–The questionnaireused in this study also evaluated participants' perceptions of workplace leadership, their satisfaction with communication, and their job satisfaction with the 11thSustainable Development Goals. The results showed a gender distribution with a slight female preponderance among the 103 participants (48 men and 55 women). Furthermore, they indicated that computer-mediated communication (CMC) channels account for 65.4% of organizational communication. These results demonstrate the widespread adoption and utilization of information and communication technologies (ICTs) within the surveyed organizations. Practical Implication–The substantial presence of internet-based communication channels, representing 65.4% of organizationalcommunication, emphasizes these channels' crucial role in facilitating effective communication within these organizations. Overall, the study analyses the effects of big data and CMC on professionalism and provides insights into gender distribution among participants. Research Limitations–Encouraging inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and human settlements is the focus of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11. Although it focuses on housing and urban challenges, its theoretical implications can be applied to several different sectors, such as professional leadership in big data. Theoretically, SDG 11 may have the following effects on Big Data-related professional leadership investigations.Item A sustainable business strategy framework for small and medium enterprises(AOSIS, 2022-07) Bugwandin, Vinay; Bayat, Mohamed S.Orientation: Business sustainability in today’s world is primarily arduous owing to global economic and financial crises. In the first quarter of 2019, according to Statistics South Africa, the Gross Domestic Product deteriorated by 3.2%. Similarly, in KwaZulu-Natal, the state of sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was on the decline and the majority (75%) of SMEs failed after operating for 3 years. Research purpose: To formulate a business strategy to assist SMEs achieve sustainability.Motivation for the study: Small and medium enterprises in KwaZulu-Natal do not sustain themselves for long-term periods, the underlying problem being poor strategy formulation and hence, the need for a strategy to achieve sustainability.Research design, approach and method: A mixed methodology approach was used in this empirical study. A target population of 488 000 SME’s were considered with a sample size of 384 expected respondents. A total of 200 responses ( 52% of the target sample size) were obtained from the questionnaire within a capped period of 30 days. The Social Package for Social Sciences software was used for the quantitative aspect. In particular cross tabulations, central tendencies, and group difference techniques were used to analyse the data. In addition, the grounded theory was employed on a target of 20 individuals who were interviewed to investigate opinions towards strategy development and sustainability in KZN and NVivo software was used for the qualitative aspect.Main findings: The core element of ‘Strategy’ and the sub-elements of ‘Change’, ‘Purpose’ and ‘Leadership’ were investigated. It was found that ‘Change’, ‘Purpose’ and ‘Leadership’ were the main contributors towards achieving sustainability. Furthermore, a systems thinking model was used successfully to indicate the interdependencies to purport the goal of achieving sustainability. Ultimately it was found that ‘Strategy’, ‘Change’, ‘Purpose’ and ‘Leadership’ were required to achieve a ‘sustainable business strategy’.Practical/managerial implications: Due cognisance should be taken by leaders, from the perspectives of ‘Change’, ‘Purpose’ and ‘Leadership’, to formulate a strategy that sustains the business.Contribution/value-add: A conceptual framework to achieve a sustainable business strategy was developed for small to medium enterprises.Item The role of leaders in building research cultures in sub-Saharan African universities : a six-nation study(Informa UK Limited, 2022-04-03) Puplampu, Bill Buenar; Nkomo, Stella; du Plessis, Yvonne; Kabagabe, Jolly Byarugaba; Garwe, Evelyn Chiyevo; Namada, Juliana; Ogunyemi, Kemi; Thondhlana, Juliet; Abdul-Nasiru, Inusah; Agina, Anulika; Amponsah-Tawiah, Kwesi; Danesi, Rosemary; Djokoto, Justice Gameli; Duncan, Denise Diana; Lekunze, Joseph; McGrath, Simon; Ndegwa, Joyce; Ngowa, Nancy; Ntow, Michael Ofori; Ondondo, Emily Ayieta; Rena, Ravinder; Sandada, MaxwellExisting research attributes the problem of weak research productivity of academics in African universities primarily to institutional resource poverty and inadequate research skills. However, there has been little attention to research cultures and the role of leaders in fostering productive ones. Drawing from the literature on organizational culture, this study examines the role of university leaders in developing research cultures. The study explores how institution leaders do this within the higher education contexts in their countries. The empirical work is based on qualitative interviews with senior and mid-level university leaders in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. While all of the leaders espoused clear views about the elements of a productive research culture, results indicate a significant gap remains between espoused values for research and the actual research culture. Theoretically, the research extends the concept of research cultures by demonstrating the complex dynamics between research cultures, culture embedding mechanisms, and leader behavior within contextual constraints.Item Cooperative teamwork as a core aspect of organisational behavior influencing competitive advantage of organisation in market(2022-03-31) Singh, Amarendra; Lourens, Melanie Elizabeth; Bhargava, Amitabh; Khai, Nethravathi; Khurana, Nitya; Anand, Neha; Sidhu, Kawerinder Singh; Jayashree, S.; Alanya-Beltran, Joel; Panduro-Ramirez, JeidyThis invention analyzes cooperative teamwork as a core aspect of organisational behavior influencing competitive advantage of organisation in market. A cooperative team has a common commitment and specific purpose that it delivers on, has shared leadership roles, and has both individual and mutual accountabilities. Cooperative teams discuss, make decisions, and perform real work together, and they measure their performance by assessing their collective work products.Item Impact of leadership on organizational performance at pharmaceutical companies(2021-10-20) Cavaliere, Luigi Pio Leonardo; Lourens, Melanie Elizabeth; Chowdhury, Arup Roy; Balasudarsun, N.L.; Soundararajan, Leo Rathinaraj Antony; Thankappan, Sreeja Mannickal; Rajest, Suman S.; Regin, R.Leadership can be characterized in various manners that it is difficult to concoct a solitary working definition. The initiative is not only an individual or gathering of individuals in a high position. Authority is a cycle where the pioneer is given different exercises to accomplish any objective. Authority alludes to the conduct/demeanor to gather and direct the people towards any objective. The initiative is a correspondence cycle of leaders and individuals. So, the ampleness of an affiliation depends on the fruitful pioneer and the ground-breaking pioneer who has a practical power style. The organization is a huge factor for any affiliation or social occasion. At the beginning of this research, the researcher will talk about leadership style and its effects. Qualitative and quantitative analysis will take place in our survey questions that will be sent to Pharmagroup companies. The researcher will try to have some data from other companies if the researcher could, due to covid-19 and the difficulties in having interviews in the companies. So far, 40 responses to the questionnaire from 70 total employees and mainly the primary results show a strong impact of leadership on organizational performance. The key to success in the service sector and the whole company was the leadership behavior at Pharmagroup companies.Item Corruption and the challenge of accountability in the post-colonial African states : a discourse(Adonis and Abbey Publishers, 2019-04-15) Fagbadebo, Omololu; Mtshali, KhondloScholars and commentators have described the African state in different forms and versions based on their assessments, rightly or wrongly, of the development‟s strides. Reports by international and local developmental agencies often present gloomy descriptions of a continent suffering from the resource curse. The scorecards of most of the African leaders seem to confirm the assertions of failures in the midst of abundant resources. The corruption pandemic in Africa has rendered the societies as the exporter of potential human resources needed for developments and innovation to the countries of the West. While the continent‟s deplorable social and economic situations worsened, the leadership cadres exploit their power to widen the inequality gaps through unethical conduct. This paper interrogates the leadership-accountability nexus in some countries in Africa with a view to understanding the nature of the pervasiveness of governance crisis. The paper argues that African leaders are more of political predators than freedom fighters against the legacies of colonialism. Rather than explore the state‟s power to promote the public interest, African leaders are more concerned with their personal welfare, exploiting the vulnerability of the citizens. Cases of leadership corruption and malfeasances are swept away thereby engendering the unprecedented culture of leadership deficiency with impunity. This paper submits that the crisis of governance in Africa could be dealt with only if the citizens are liberated from the grip of leadership insensitivity and the rhetoric of colonialism.Item The impact of the South African apartheid government history to democratic South Africa : the case of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality(Romanian Cultural Foundation, 2020-08-23) Mbandlwa, ZamokuhleLeaders of various South African government institutions are still referring to apartheid as the reason for inequalities in the society even after more than 25 years of democracy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the South African government history on the daily operations of the democratic government. Using cross-sectional analysis, this study analyzed data collected from ward councilors and community members. The study found that leaders of the democratic government still use the apartheid government as the excuse for poor public service delivery. The history of the South African government must be used as a point of reference and not as a reason for poor public service delivery. The majority of ward councilors of the eThekwini Municipality were selected based on their political history and not based on merit. This study answers the question regarding the correlation between poor public service delivery and the use of the apartheid regime as an excuse.Item The examination of the importance of education in government leadership : the case of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)(Romanian Cultural Foundation, 2019-09-02) Mbandlwa, ZamokuhleThere is a strong need to examine the importance of education in african leaders and the role played by education in decisions made by leaders in Africa. Public sector institutions globally, are the hope for the citizens or communities for their needs.The aim of this paper is to show the relationship between poor public service delivery in Africa and lack of education especially economic governance education from african leaders. Africa as the continent is rich in mineral resources but lack of effective leaders who are willing to transform Africa by ensuring that the African economy is developed for Africans. Education status of the African leaders is not a prerequisite for candidates to stand for election in any political leadership position and subsequently into some government positions. Education lays a foundation for individuals to understand policies and it is important for political leaders to have a background of what does it take to hold a senior position in government structure. This paper concludes that political leaders in Africa must have a specific educational background. Candidates must contest political position only if they have specific education qualification and this will minimize political killings and reduce the number of contestants. Findings of this paper are based on the quantitative approached used to analyse the education level of African leaders. The results and conclusions made in this paper show that there is a gap between the demands of the people and the capacity to deliver by african leaders. Public sector institutions in Africa must be led by people who have tertiary qualifications and clear understanding of government administration and economy.Item Building ethical leadership through training and development approach at a higher education institution in South Africa(LLC CPC Business Perspectives, 2020-04-06) Bhana, Anrusha; Suknunan, SachinThe research has shown that many leaders lack ethical practice, but training and development geared towards ethical leadership can serve to bridge this gap in theory and practice. This paper focuses primarily on the key aspect of training and development to promote more ethical leadership within a higher education institution setting. The data were drawn from a mixed-method study adopting both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Simple random sampling constituted a sample of 312 academic and administrative staff members at the institution. The purposeful sampling for the qualitative component was a realized sample of 3 executive management leadership and 9 line management leadership participants, indicating a total response rate of 67%. The results for executive management leadership reflect poor leadership style from the employees’ perspective in relation to respect and fairness, transparency, behavior, and other ethical leadership-related items (of M = 2.74, SD = 0.033). In addition, there was a clear need for leadership to attend ongoing training courses (M = 4.20, SD = 0.904). From the qualitative perspective, more than 50% of the leadership respondents indicated no appropriate university leadership programmes or ethical leadership programs. Therefore, the investment in training and development can promote more ethical leadership style, which in turn can have a positive impact on employees (M = 4.43, SD = 0.740). In light of this, the results provide a strong inclination towards more training and development programs to ensure that leaders develop ethical considerations in their role as leaders.