Faculty of Management Sciences
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Item Stakeholder management of community engagement: an evaluation of higher education institutions in eThekwini Municipality(2022) Luthuli, Pumla Glendale Paulette; Govender, Ivan GunassUniversities are a prominent part of the South African economic landscape, as such the influence Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have on communities cannot be undermined. In this sense, Community Engagement (CE) should be a priority for HEIs. For this to be carried out, effective stakeholder management strategies and programmes should be in place within HEIs strategic plans. However, it seems as if the HEIs are inadequately engaging in CE programs and community development is still generally unsuccessful since HEIs are often isolated from their host communities. This minimal interaction among stakeholders of the HEI has significantly undermined the possibility of addressing some of the societal issues which HEIs have the capacity to address. By utilizing the term stakeholder, the interaction of HEIs with the various role players should be elevated to a professional standard. This not only has implications on the communities and other role players, however it plays a role in the success of the HEI as well. This research area has not been given much attention in the South African context. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of CE stakeholders’ management among HEIs in eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The quantitative research approach was chosen for this study because of how it allows the research to determine the extent or degree of a problem and offers solutions based on predictions. This study used the survey method, which is classified within the positivist research strategy. The population targeted by this study were stakeholders of the HEIs within the eThekwini Municipality. These entities are considered representatives as they are the core stakeholders at the HEIs within the area of study. The sample size of this study is 80 respondents, we chose 20 participants per institution based on the number of departments that had a community engagement role within each institution. A pretested questionnaire was used to obtain relevant information from the target population of this study. The data collected for this study was analysed descriptively and displayed in the form of graphs using bar graphs, pie charts and tables with the help of SPSS program and a report was written. The study revealed that the CE programs initiated by HEI and the relationship between HEI and key role players are severely insufficient and inefficient at producing successful results. The study additionally revealed that tangible results are required from CE in order for participation to be prevalent among students of HEIs. The challenges of CE is lack of policy knowledge and ineffective strategy. There are also collaborative issues that cause each party to act in opposition. The main recommendation is that the HEIs and community should have a thorough knowledge and understanding of CE policy before embarking on a collaborative relationship.Item An investigation into the complexities of simultaneously being an accounting academic and a researcher – a Durban University of Technology (DUT) case study(2021-05) Ramsarghey, Anchal; Hardman, Stanley GeorgeAn investigation into the complexities of simultaneously being an accounting academic and a researcher – a Durban University of Technology (DUT) case study The purpose of the study is to provide insights into the contextual relevance of research expected of accounting academics in their pursuit of new knowledge. Accounting academics are aware that the theoretical underpinning of their discipline is regulated by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and thus, restricts accounting research. Capacity to undertake accounting research becomes a major concern. “what can I research and what is it going to do for me and my students?” is a very common question. Research is intended to generate new knowledge in a discipline but can be a means of reviewing and improving existing practice. Research reveals evidence-based methods of performing tasks efficiently. The research results should then feed directly into curriculum reform and design, thereby ensuring that what is being taught in future is relevant. Thus, research is informing teaching and learning. Graduate attributes will be enhanced resulting in students who are able to cope with real life accounting problems. This leads to a quest for further research, and the process begins anew. A Systems Thinking lens was used throughout the ethnographic study using Soft Systems Methodology predominantly. The Viable System Model and System Dynamics diagramming and modelling techniques are also used to unravel the problematical situation, with a view to construct a framework of enquiry for the study. A living theory paradigm with the aim of improving my practice was maintained throughout the study by the practitioner-researcher using action research. This study was intended to explore the teaching-research nexus using systems thinking to develop leadership capacity. In this context, leadership capacity was the change agency to enhance research output and curriculum reform. The results indicate that the factors that inhibit research are identifiable to develop a strategy to mitigate those factors using Soft Systems Methodology’s learning cycle. Recommendations for possible research areas that fall outside the realm of “technical knowledge” to address the complexities brought about by additional legislated practices to the profession have also been recognised. The results are the design of a framework for accounting academics to utilise to maximise their research productivity.Item Academics perceptions of community engagement at a selected University of Technology in South Africa(2021-09) Patchappan, Terslina; Govender, Ivan GunassThe South African society is unambiguously in a flux, plagued with wicked challenges such as increased levels of poverty, youth unemployment and an extensive public health crisis, which have become the societal norm. Increased prominence exists for university programmes to alleviate these challenges and sustain the South African landscape. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of community engagement amongst academics at a selected University of Technology, namely the Durban University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Academics’ perceptions towards community engagement are significant for the institutionalisation of engagement at the university. Against this backdrop, the main objectives of this study were to evaluate academics’ understanding of community engagement; assess the extent of their initiatives; determine their enablers and constraints to undertake such initiatives; and recommend strategies that could lead to an improved community engagement experience. The research design adopted was the quantitative paradigm, which entailed the distribution of a structured open and closed-ended questionnaire to the respondents. Against a Five-Point Likert Scale, the questionnaire comprised of six sections, each under a specific main theme related to the research topic. The simple random sampling technique achieved a sample size of 80 respondents from a target population of 102 academics. The sample respondents returned seventy-four questionnaires. This represented a high response rate of 93%, through the attribution of a personal method of data collection. Furthermore, the data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 24.0 for Windows. Upon completion, the entire dissertation was verified against plagiarism through the Turnitin programme and achieved a 10% rating. The study found that workload demand and time are main inhibitors of community engagement. The researcher recommended that DUT should consider offering rigid empowerment and support structures for academics. Lastly, the research project concluded with directions for future research based on the insights of academics into community engagement in South African higher education.Item A systems approach to the production and retention of academic staff with PhD : a case study of a University of Technology(2021-05) Kotelana, EthelCompared to most countries with similar economies, South Africa presents figures that reflect that per million there is a critical shortage of doctorate holders. Doctoral education has been linked to economic growth and global competitiveness; however, several scholars have bemoaned the country’s extremely small doctoral output in relation to its economic and social development needs. The higher education (HE) system has set a throughput rate of 20% per annum but higher education institutions have, to date, only achieved 11%. This should come as no surprise as decades into democracy the South Africa HE system is still reliant upon the top 10 traditional universities for its doctoral graduate output. This anomaly can be attributed to how these higher educational institutions were established during apartheid and their approved programme qualification mix (PQM) mandates. During this period in South African history, only traditional white universities located in urban areas had the required research infrastructure and were permitted to offer doctoral degrees. This lack of access to further postgraduate training left South Africa with a dearth in highly skilled academics (professoriate), of which an estimated 20% will retire within a decade leaving a vacuum in the higher education system. Efforts to fill this vacuum are hampered by the following factors: i) there is a global demand for the limited available academic talent, ii) the current South African doctoral output is inadequate to replace its ageing professoriate at an equivalent rate, iii) programmes aimed at developing the next generation of academics (nGAP) have not been fully implemented, further, the posts complement constitutes a mere 25% of the country’s needs. The nGAP programme had envisaged the allocation of 15 posts per institution to meet the annual demand for academics however to date it has only managed 5 posts on average since inception in 2016. This study thus seeks to explore the challenges of producing and retaining academic staff with PhDs within and from outside the nGAP programme in the UoT sector and, in particular, at one institution through a systems lens. The study focusses then on XYZ institution and adopts a systems lens approach. From data analysis it has emerged that the profiles of PhD candidates in the country and the production and retention of academic staff with PhDs are the key determinants of the percentage of academic staff with PhDs. A qualitative system dynamics causal loop diagram (QCLD) conceptual model that illustrates the dynamics between these variables is presented and discussed. CLDs were chosen as they are powerful tools that visually illustrate the interdependence and interrelationships between variables embedded in any system under review and assist in the identification of leverage points for effective policy intervention.Item Service failure and service recovery strategies in the context of higher education : a provincial perspective in South Africa(2019) Msosa, Steven Kayambazinthu; Govender, Jeevarathnam ParthasarathyIn recent times, service failure and service recovery have gained the attention of marketing practitioners and scholars because of their significance to the marketing philosophy. However, the focus has been in sectors that have low exit barriers or switching costs for customers and little attention has been paid to sectors with high switching costs, specifically, the higher education sector. The current study seeks to address this gap in the literature. The overall aim of this study is to explore student perception of service failure and service recovery strategies in higher education. A quantitative research approach was adopted and data were collected by means of a modified service recovery self-administered questionnaire. This research encompasses a quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study. A purposive sampling technique was adopted to select 430 full-time registered students across three public universities viz. University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN), Durban University of Technology (DUT) and University of Zululand (UNIZULU). Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 24.0 and Smart Partial Least Square (PLS). Customer perception of service recovery strategies was assessed and the results show that students were satisfied with an explanation and dissatisfied with the speed, empowerment, compensation and apology of the service recovery process. Similarly, student perception of distributive and interactional justice was satisfactory, whereas the majority of the students expressed dissatisfaction with procedural justice. Furthermore, relationships between several variables were evaluated and significant findings that emerged from the correlation analysis were corroborated by previous studies. The study recommended to the management of higher education institutions to offer training to customer-facing employees to enhance their problem- solving, listening, customer service and communication skills. The results also suggest that students prefer interactional justice to achieve recovery satisfaction rather than distributive justice. The practical implication is that managers of institutions should prioritise the use of apology and explanation to foster recovery satisfaction. The study further provides a service recovery model (SERVREC) as a tool for marketing practitioners and institutional managers to address service failure. Future research should be commissioned across many public universities in other provinces or nationally using a large sample size and a longitudinal study.Item Student expectations and perceptions about further education and training colleges with respect to college of choice in KwaZulu-Natal(2016) Mbambo, Sbongiseni Nelson; Pillay, Magalingam AtheesheyThe South African Further Education and Training (FET) sector is facing the challenge of being rated and considered by many young school leavers and the community as a second choice institution, while universities are their first priority. This study aimed to investigate and explore student’s expectations and perceptions of Colleges in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) with respect to their choice of college. The main objective of this research was to identify students’ expectations and perceptions, and the factors that encourage enrolment at FET colleges, as well as to identify the different expectations and perceptions, according to demographic factors. The SERVQUAL model was employed to establish students’ expectations against perceptions of FET colleges in KZN. The study design was quantitative in nature, using a descriptive technique, cross sectional, and collected data through the application of non-probability sampling with census, quota and convenience sampling methods being utilized to obtain data from a sample of 301 respondents. Data collected from the respondents were analysed with SPSS version 20.0 and interpreted with the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. The questionnaire measured students’ expectations and perceptions in five dimensions of service, namely tangibles, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy. The findings demonstrate that students had higher expectations of service quality with lower perceptions of the actual service received. The negative gaps within the five SERVQUAL service quality dimensions, implies that the students were dissatisfied with the level of service in their FET colleges. The gaps, from largest to smallest, were Reliability, Assurance, Tangible, Responsiveness, and Empathy. FET College management is advised to attend to these above-mentioned gaps and to ensure that the necessary strategies are immediately implemented, as these would improve the FET brand and ultimately position FET Colleges as the institution of first choice in KZN.Item Promotional tools used by medical insurance companies : an international student perspective(2017) Chibvura, Faith Rudairo; Penceliah, SoobramoneyThe immigration Act 19 of 2004 requires that all international students have proof of medical aid cover for a whole year from a provider that is registered with the South African Council for Medical Schemes in terms of Medical Schemes Act, 1998. Some medical insurance companies provide gifts to students to gain a larger market share in educational institutions. Health insurance products are very crucial in the lives of students and therefore the students must be familiar of medical product benefits and exclusions. Students lack relevant knowledge of health insurance products. Students seem have a perception that medical insurance products cover all healthcare expenses. Dissatisfied customers will tarnish the image of the respective medical aid companies, hence customer attrition. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the influence of promotional tools in awareness creation on higher education international students’ selection of medical products. The study was descriptive and quantitative in nature. A structured questionnaire with close-ended and scaled response questions was used as the research instrument. The sample comprised 400 international students studying at two universities in KwaZulu-Natal. Non probability sampling was used to select the sample. The results indicate that the respondents are very sensitive to price and majority of them are influenced by advertising and word of mouth. The results indicate that students react differently to each promotional tool.Item The development of universities of technology in the higher education landscape in South Africa(2010) Perumal, Richard Isiah; Wallis, Malcolm Alan HenworthTo face the challenges of the 21st century, institutions need to address problems experienced by the modern world. The nature of modern work is changing and continually increasing, with knowledge, information and education. As we move further into the information and knowledge age, the workforce will require sophisticated education and training to sustain competitiveness and responsible development. In response to this challenge the DOE restructured Higher Education to make it relevant to the needs of society and industry. In terms of the National Plan Higher Education (2001) many Technikons were either converted to Universities of Technology (UOT) or merged into universities and became Comprehensive Universities. The Traditional University made up the third type of university. As a result three distinct types of institutions emerged, namely UOTs, Comprehensive Universities and Traditional Universities. In this configuration previous Technikons were reclassified as a UOTs and were able to offer degrees also. This research studied the development of UoTs and its evolution to “University” status. After being classified as Universities of Technology, it soon became clear that these universities lacked a philosophy. Its attributes were not clearly formulated by the DOE. It was left largely to the UoTs in South Africa to develop a set of attributes. This study developed an underlying philosophy, attributes, and performance indicators to guide the strategic direction and development of UoTs in creating a unique personality for itself. Five universities were studied in UK, Germany and Switzerland to develop a set of characteristics/attributes and performance indicators that can be adopted in South Africa. Five local UoTs were also studied, together with the South African Technological Network in building a set of common attributes. A Balanced Score Card was designed as a management model. Each attribute was linked to drivers and each driver was linked to performance indicators. The model included the various perspectives and components, which illustrated the interaction and cause and effect relationships. The philosophy of a Learning Organisation was adopted and its principals underpinned the interaction and relationships. This model will ensure that South African UoTs are able to comply with both national and international benchmarks. UoTs pride themselves by ensuring that they produce and apply knowledge to solve real world problems. These universities see themselves as part of the greater society and therefore partnerships are critical to its functioning. Technology transfer and leadership in technology is a key strategic goal in determining its unique position in the Higher Education landscape. The Balanced Score Card was used to develop a management model which is a tool in establishing a UoT with benchmarks, performance indicators and drivers.