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Faculty of Management Sciences

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    Bridging work experience with academic qualifications to improve employability of business studies graduates in Gauteng
    (2023-02) Nkomo, Vuyokazi; Agbenyegah, Albert Tchey
    Unemployment is one of South Africa's biggest challenges. The unemployment rate for graduates and others with university degrees currently exceeds 30 percent. Lack of work experience is cited as one of the main reasons for unemployment. Despite the relevance of work experience, there is insufficient evidence in the literature that it is used as the main criterion for recruitment. Previous research has shown that recruiters make recruiting recommendations based on applicants' work experience, overlooking other factors. This thesis examines the association between employment experience and graduate employability. A quantitative approach was utilised, aided by a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 265 business graduates from the Gauteng province. The questionnaire yielded 124 responses. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. The main results showed that work experience had a positive, but statistically insignificant, impact on graduates' employability. These results suggest that work experience alone is not sufficient to make graduates employable. There are other aspects and skill sets such as behavioural skills, technical skills, strategic skills, and functional skills, which have a significant impact on graduate employability. Key stakeholders in higher education and labour markets should form meaningful partnerships in which they identify and prioritise the employability skills needed to seamlessly transition graduates into the industry. It is recommended that all students should be required to complete a workbased learning course or a structured internship as part of their studies, with students being required to work in the industry for a while before employment. In this way, they would be prepared to integrate into the industry after graduation, having already gained experience during work-based learning. A further recommendation is that employer involvement in course design and delivery could have a positive impact on graduate employability.
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    The impact of training and assessment register (TAR) on productivity in the automotive parts manufacturing organisation in South Africa
    (AOSIS, 2019-11-28) Zondo, Robert Walter Dumisani
    Orientation: Organisations are confronted with the challenge of competency among its employees for productivity improvement. They implement strategies that improve employee skills proficiencies for higher productivity. These can also be achieved by implementing a training model that develops employee’s skills and knowledge so that they become the specialists in their work areas. This sentiment underpins the concept of employee Training and Assessment Register (TAR).Purpose: This study evaluates the influence of TAR on productivity in automotive parts manufacturing organisation in South Africa.Motivation for the study: The South African manufacturing sector has a low level of productivity compared to its counterpart industries in the Asian and Western countries. The sector experiences the lack in short to medium term growth in productivity.Research design, approach and methods: The automotive parts manufacturing company that has used a TAR strategy for productivity improvement participated in the study. The study objectives were achieved by examining the production and related experiences in the company. The collection of data was carried out in two phases. This includes the collection of pre- and post-quarterly data for spoilage, overtime and customer complaints. The pre-TAR results were quarterly data reflecting the company’s performance over the three-year period prior to the implementation of TAR. This company operates in the eThekwini District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.Main findings: The results established that spoilage rate has a relationship with company productivity. Any decrease in spoilage rate would result to an increase in company productivity. However, the overtime and customer complaints do not statistically have a relationship with company productivity.Contribution: This article uncovers the strengths and weaknesses of TAR on productivity in the automotive parts manufacturing organisation in South Africa.
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    The impact of training and development on employee performance and service delivery at a local municipality in South Africa
    (Business Perspectives, 2022-10-13) Nama, Khuselwa; Daweti, Baphiwe; Lourens, Melanie Elizabeth; Chikukwa, Tatenda
    There is a growing concern about the lack of skilled municipal employees who can deliver essential services to under-resourced local communities in South Africa. However, coaching and mentoring appear underutilized to train municipal employees to improve service delivery to local communities. The study aims to investigate whether coaching and mentoring could capacitate municipal employees whose performance appraisal reveals a lack of skills to provide essential services. A cross-sectional research design was adopted to conduct a survey. The target population comprised 265 municipal employees, and a stratified random sample of 115 employees completed a questionnaire. The employees held positions of general managers, general assistants, and administrators, with varied years of experience. Cronbach’s Alpha indicated an overall high 0.8 questionnaire reliability score. Using a quantitative method, responses from municipal employees were collected to examine their perceptions of the influence of training and development on employee performance and service delivery. Hypotheses were tested using the bivariant inferential statistical tests of correlation (r) and Chi-square (χ2 ). The results indicated that training and development were more likely to improve employee performance. Furthermore, the results showed that trained employees were more likely to improve service delivery. In particular, coaching and mentoring could be used to improve performance. Therefore, the study found that the municipality was not providing employees with relevant training and development to enable them to address poor service delivery. Finally, the study recommends that the municipality invests in training and development to enrich employees with new skills and knowledge to improve the quality of service delivery
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    The influence of emerging technologies on small and medium manufacturing enterprises in eThekwini District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal
    (2022-09) Ntuli, Lindokuhle Senamile; Lekhanya, Lawrence Mpele
    Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa (SA) contribute meaningfully to economic growth, poverty reduction, social stability and job creation. Research on the influence emerging technologies have on SME has been conducted all over the world; however, few studies focused on the manufacturing sector, with specific reference to the eThekwini District Municipality. Therefore, this research study aims to explain and clearly define the factors that influence manufacturing SMEs in the eThekwini District Municipality towards adoption of emerging technologies, in order to enhance productivity and business processes which, in turn, result in improved customer satisfaction. Furthermore, this study examines how emerging technologies influence SMEs operating in the eThekwini District Municipality. The factors influencing adoption of emerging technologies among manufacturing SMEs in eThekwini remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the influence emerging technologies will have on the manufacturing SMEs operating in the eThekwini District Municipality. Data were collected from the sample of 300 manufacturing SME owners/managers in the eThekwini District Municipality, selected by means of non-probability stratified sampling, with respondents completing a questionnaire with the support of the researcher. The study used quantitative techniques. Results from the questionnaire survey reveal that most manufacturing SMEs in the eThekwini District Municipality who were respondents in the study are still at an infant stage with emerging technologies, due to financial constraints and lack of skills expertise associated with the cost of emerging technologies. However, these small enterprises do consider the use of emerging technologies such as computer devices, the cloud and emails to gain competitive advantage and improve production. Further research should aim to establish training programmes that will offer manufacturing SMEs emerging technologies skills and encourage the use of emerging technologies as the world is changing with technologies so they can be innovative.
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    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, Sachin
    The 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.
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    Developing peacebuilding skills among civil society organisations in Zimbabwe
    (2017) Makwerere, David; Kaye, Sylvia; Harris, Geoffrey Thomas
    Local peacebuilding practices require a systematic and reflective analysis in order for them to bring an impact. Successful peacebuilding pivots on the development of a set of skills to attend to the challenges presented by the conflict. The study was inspired by an observation that the emergence of CSOs working on peacebuilding in Zimbabwe was happening in a context where there was no proper training and organisational capacity development. Using an action-research design, and a case study of two CSOs operating in Bindura and Mazowe Districts in Mashonaland Central Province in Zimbabwe, the study involved a sample group of fifty-seven participants, and included a core Action Research Team (ART) of twelve participants to initiate the process of capacity development related to peacebuilding in Zimbabwe. Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, Document studies were used in a triangulation approach to enhance validity and reliability of the process. The preliminary assessment revealed that the peacebuilding environment in the two districts is highly polarised. There is a combination of both direct and indirect violence in the area. The state as well as traditional institutions are active perpetrators of both direct and indirect violence in the two district. The use of Local Peace Committees and the workshop method has not reaped the desired outcomes owing to the polarization. After a preliminary assessment of the peacebuilding environment in the area as well as a critique of the peacebuilding models being used by the two organisations, we then set out on a process of identifying strengths and weaknesses in both the programming as well as the delivery of the projects in the communities. A series of focus group discussions and organisational document analysis of the two organisations, we eventually agreed on the development of a training module for the Action Research Team. Five thematic issues were identified as forming the basis of the intervention programme. The five thematic issues were on the conceptual issues of conflict, violence and peace in a local context, conflict analysis skills, conflict sensitive programming, culture, conflict and change and lastly basic counselling skills for peacebuilders. A three-day training workshop was then held in order to develop capacity relating to the thematic issues. The short term evaluation of the intervention showed that the training was successful as the participants had already started implementing some of the new knowledge and skills.