Psychological capital as a moderator of the relationship between workplace conflict and organisational citizenship behaviour among administrative staff at the University of Fort Hare
- Authors: Motema, Boiketlo
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Organizational behavior Employees -- Attitudes Organizational effectiveness
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/18565 , vital:42609
- Description: This study investigated psychological capital (PsyCap) as a mediator of the relationship between workplace conflict (WC) and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). The study was based on equity theory as well as the social exchange theory. The sample encompassed of 151 administrative staff members from the University of Fort Hare (Alice, Bhisho and East London campuses) in the Eastern Cape Province. Argentero, Cortese, and Ferretti (2008) organisational citizenship behaviour questionnaire was employed to assess OCB; the Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale (ICAWS) was employed to assess workplace conflict; and Luthans, Avolio, Avey, and Norman’s (2007) psychological capital questionnaire by McGee (2011) was employed to assess psychological capital. In terms of data analysis, a descriptive analysis, correlational analysis together with simple linear regression analysis and multiple linear regression models were applied using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The findings indicated a negative relationship between workplace conflict and organisational citizenship behaviour. Thus, for the purpose of enhancing extra-role behaviours amongst staff members, the management of the institution needs to ensure equitable compensation, rewards, and benefits amongst workers. This is vital because should the employees perceive that inequity exists, they will fight for fairness and justice, and if they are not heard, it will result in workplace conflict.
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A trust based model for enhanced adoption of diabetes self-management mobile applications
- Authors: Mainoti, Ganizani Fidelis
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Medical records -- Data processing Medical records -- Management Mobile communication systems
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11041 , vital:37011
- Description: Information technology (IT) trust is an important concept as people today rely more on IT to perform their tasks than before. Extensive research in Information Systems (IS) has explored trust and how it affects clients’ selection of different IT artefacts. Literature found trust to be a key determinant of technology use and an accelerator of understanding user perceptions regarding technology. Users’ perception of a technology’s characteristics influences their initial decision to adopt it; they are less likely to try the technology once they perceive significant risk linked to the technology exploration. The study focused on trust in relation to adoption of mobile applications (apps) for self-management of diabetic treatment regimens. The aim was to identify factors that should be incorporated in these apps to positively influence user perception of trustworthiness for enhanced adoption. According to extant literature, there are a myriad of apps which are available and ready for use, but diabetic patients are not maximising these opportunities to actively participate in managing their conditions. This is in spite of the numerous benefits accruable from using these apps to aid treatment regimens away from clinical settings or with minimal involvement of health personnel. This work is a qualitative study that investigated the reasons behind the low levels of trust in mobile applications for self-management of diabetes. The research design involved a survey and the study employed interviews for primary data collection. Twenty participants were engaged in the intervention. Some of these respondents were diabetic patients on treatment and others were health staff specialising in diabetes treatment. The participants were asked to download and try, for one month or more, the Diabetes:M app from Google play store for android devices or from iTunes for IOS devices. Thereafter, interviews were held with the participants to investigate their perceptions of the diabetes management app. Based on the outcome of the investigation, the researcher put forward a model proposing the attributes of trustworthiness of diabetes self-management mobile apps for enhanced adoption. Research findings showed that the apps for diabetes self-management should be usable, possess sufficient functionalities, give accurate information for decision-making, be reliable, and secure in order to enhance the trust of diabetic patients.
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An assessment of IDP implementation and sustainable development : the case of the housing sector in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
- Authors: Mwatenga, John
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: City planning Sustainable development Housing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13447 , vital:39667
- Description: This research study assessed the implementation of the Integrated Development Plan and sustainable development in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. The study intended to achieve the following objectives: i) to identify factors affecting the provision of dwelling units in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality and their effect on sustainable development in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality; to assess the perceptions of the municipality and the community on the role of the IDP as a tool for development; iii) to suggest strategies that can be adopted to improve IDP implementation for sustainable development in the area. The literature reviewed in the study was drawn from several researchers. The sustainable development theory, the incremental planning model and the rational planning model underpinned the study. Although three theories were used, the sustainable development theory was the major theory adopted in this study. The mixed research methods are used to collect the primary data for this study. The use of both quantitative and qualitative methods is deemed most appropriate for this research study, as most researchers regard them as best methods in answering the research questions. The use of mixed methods has the assumption that both approaches can complement each other and help in avoiding unnecessary shortcomings. Since the study collected both quantitative and qualitative data, an interview guide and questionnaires were used. Interviews were conducted with three (3) municipal officials as well as (2) councillors from Mangaung metropolitan municipality (MMM), whereas questionnaires were distributed to (90) community members. The analysis of the study made the following conclusions about the IDP implementation and sustainable development in Mangaung metropolitan municipality. Firstly, there is satisfactory majority understanding among the participants regarding Integrated Development Plan and its related processes. The respondents have a common view that the IDP is a key tool that buoys development and that continued implementation challenges halt every form of development within the municipal area. Secondly, there is implementation of the IDP in Mangaung metropolitan municipality (MMM); nevertheless, the extent of implementation has not had the anticipated effect on the general populace in communities, given the ineffectiveness and inefficiencies in resource utilisation. Thirdly, it was also discovered that the municipality currently has serious housing backlogs that have brought auxiliary challenges thus impeding developmental efforts of MMM. Fourthly, the study also concluded that the causes of housing backlogs are: apartheid legacy, influx of foreign nationals, lack of oversight monitoring, heightened poverty, corruption, poor governance, insufficient budget, ineffective IDP implementation, urbanisation, natural population; unemployment and lack of capacity and skills can be regarded as the major contributors to housing shortages currently plaguing MMM. Thus the study recommended that an oversight, monitoring and evaluation policy, good governance, public participation, utilisation of PPPs and implementation of environmental management policy will go a long way in enhancing IDP implementation towards attaining sustainable development in the Mangaung metropolitan municipality.
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Artisanal mining and its contribution to sustainable rural livelihoods : a case of Esigodini area, Umzingwane rural district, Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe
- Authors: Nkala, Khayelihle
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mineral industries Rural poor Sustainable development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15551 , vital:40458
- Description: This study examined the contribution of artisanal mining to the livelihoods of rural communities. Artisanal mining has over the past decade been taken up by rural communities as an alternative of sustaining their livelihoods due to the collapse of agriculture due to the successive droughts, economic meltdown and the general failure of the fast track land reform program. Hence this study sought to fill this knowledge gap using Esigodini as a case. The study made use of focus group discussions, interviews and documents review to gather information on how artisanal mining activities have contributed to the livelihoods of rural communities. Although artisanal mining has its negative impacts to the environment it does contribute to the livelihoods of communities, as the findings of the study reveal that the Esigodini community has benefited from improved socio-economic activities as a result of the practice.
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Financial liberalization and financial instability in the selected SADC member countries
- Authors: Cele, Nolungelo Mercy
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Finance Financial crises Finance -- Developing countries
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8978 , vital:34179
- Description: The study examined the impact of financial liberalization on financial instability in selected SADC member countries namely South Africa, Tanzania, Madagascar and Botswana for the period 1970-2012. The Panel data methodology was adopted to establish the relationship between the two variables. Impaired loans were used to capture financial instability and financial reforms to capture the level of financial liberalization. Credit to the private sector, government expenditure, GDP and inflation were utilised as control variables The empirical findings reveal that financial liberalization leads to financial instability. The financial reforms were found to be positively related with the impaired loans ratio in almost all the specifications. It was also found that financial instability intensifies when the global financial crisis is taken into consideration. This suggests that financial liberalization can therefore be another source of financial instability in the SADC countries. The empirical results imply that policy makers should focus on reforms that give due share to the regulations rather than just simply liberalizing the financial sector.
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Livelihood strategies determinants and ranking across times : evidence from Eastern Cape
- Authors: Sikhunyana, Zintle
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Households Rural development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15079 , vital:40161
- Description: The existing literature has acknowledged that analysis of livelihood strategies is more important for rural development policy and also that livelihood strategies are at the centre of development. Persistent challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality have called for a need to understand livelihood patterns of poor households as to effectively address these socio-economic issues in rural areas. The study aimed to identify determinants of livelihood strategies and to identify livelihood strategies that are superior to others in the rural Eastern Cape province of South Africa for the years 2002-2014. The study used multinomial logistic regression to identify the determinants of livelihood strategies. The findings showed that: age of household head, gender of household head, dwelling type, household size, number of economically active members, size of land that the household uses, and access to electricity statistically determine livelihood strategies of the poor in rural Eastern Cape. With regards to ranking, the study used dominance tests such as the Kruskal-Wallis test and also used one way between groups ANOVA with the post hoc test for additional information. The results from the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that remittances are superior livelihood strategies, and the results from one-way between groups ANOVA with post hoc showed that sales of farm products and services dominate other strategies. Restrictions on land conservation, and promotion of sustainable development have constrained rural households from freely using land in pursuit of their goals. The government needs to reconcile the policy amendments for land use. Furthermore, social grants alone are not sufficient to meet the needs of the poor; there should be alternative strategies on how to take the poor out of poverty.
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The nexus between savings, investment and foreign capital in South Africa : an application of the Feldstein-Horioka puzzle
- Authors: Mtolo, Inga
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Investments, Foreign -- South Africa Saving and investment -- South Africa Capital movements -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8968 , vital:34177
- Description: This study investigates the relationship between savings, investment and foreign capital in South Africa, with special focus on the application of the Feldstein-Horioka theory. South Africa is a country that is still faced with relatively low saving levels. Given the low savings experienced by the country, available literature has alluded that foreign capital has played a greater role as the major driver of private investment expenditure in South Africa. Based on this background, the study empirically investigates the relationship between savings, investment and foreign capital utilising the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model estimation technique for the period 1965 to 2015. The empirical results revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between savings and investment in South Africa. The empirical results also show that for the period 1995 to 2015, the different types of external financial flows utilized in the study and investment have a positive relationship. These results have been consistent with our apriori expectations and other prior studies. This suggests that, in the case of South Africa, apart from interest rates, there are other factors that determine investment. The positive relationship between investment and foreign capital flows suggest that policies which are aimed at attracting the different types of foreign financial flows should be implemented.
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A privacy management framework for mobile personal electronic health records in South Africa
- Authors: Els, Floyd Nathaniel
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Medical records -- Data processing Medical records -- Access control Electronic records -- Security measures
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/12733 , vital:39316
- Description: South Africa’s health status is in constant dismay, especially while under the strain of the quadruple burden of disease. The adoption of personal electronic health records (PEHRs) can be seen as a means to improve this status by empowering patients to manage their health and lifestyle better. While from the healthcare provider’s perspective, PEHRs has the ability to reduce medical errors; provide better communication channels and enhance the monitoring of patients. Despite these benefits for both healthcare providers and patients, there are three distinct information security threats relating to PEHRs. These threats refer to the individual, data in transit, and at rest. South Africa is still considered to be inexperienced with PEHRs, and consider it a relatively new concept to the healthcare system. The National e-Health Strategy and Protection of Personal Information Bill were discussed and compared to international standards in order to ascertain South Africa’s current standing on mobile healthcare privacy. However, there are no specific privacy and security controls in place to protect patients that access personal electronic health records through mobile devices. Therefore, the aim of this study is the development of a privacy management framework (PMF) to mitigate these privacy concerns. Following an interpretivistic approach to research, qualitative data was analysed from literature, and the privacy framework evaluated through expert reviews. The proposed PMF consists of 3 tiers, beginning with the top tier. The first tier relates to an organisations interpretation and understanding of data privacy laws and regulations, and in ensuring compliance with these laws. The second tier refers to two support pillars to maintain the first tier. These pillars are based on elements of operational privacy, as well as auditing and reviewing. The third tier serves as the basic foundation upon which the PMF was developed. It is mainly focused with creating privacy awareness amongst healthcare providers and patients by creating: training regimes on security and privacy threats, efficient communication standards, and constant ongoing support from top level management.
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Community engagement principles for implementation of information technology for development by higher education institutions in South Africa
- Authors: Nkombachoto, Jacquiline
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Information technology Telecommunication Community development
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13171 , vital:39471
- Description: Community engagement in South Africa is now recognised as an integral part of Higher Education Institutions’ (HEIs) educational system. The South African Council on Higher Education requires HEIs to become equitable institutions of higher learning, whereby the activities of the HEI are mutually beneficial for both learners and their communities. This entails that, community engagement activities undertaken by HEIs should be reciprocal in nature. The HEIs should help solve issues affecting their communities, whilst also gaining knowledge through experiential learning. One such way is through undertaking Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) projects in communities outside the physical boundaries of the HEI. Over the years, HEIs in South Africa have been involved in undertaking ICT4D projects aimed at benefiting their communities. This is because ICTs have the potential to improve and contribute to the development of individuals, businesses, and communities in various ways, be it socially or economically. However, the ICT4D projects have failed or partially succeeded to attain their goals. This study, thus proposes a model for HEI researchers for the successful implementation of ICT4D projects through application of community engagement principles. The proposed model was formulated using the case study approach. Four cases of ICT4D projects were used as sample to help identify factors required for the successful implementation of ICT4D projects by HEIs. Data was collected using semi structured interviews, observations and literature. The data was then analysed using cross case analysis in the form of themes. The findings were that operational community engagement policies, understanding user needs, creation of long term partnerships, synchronisation of timelines and monitoring and evaluation are vital for the successful implementation of ICT4D projects by HEI researchers in the communities.
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Critical success factors for the implementation of an electronic health record system in the public health care sector of South Africa
- Authors: Katurura, Munyaradzi Caurage
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Medical records -- South Africa -- Data processing Public health -- South Africa Medical records -- Access control -- South Africa.
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13182 , vital:39472
- Description: South Africa intends to implement a National Health Insurance for its citizens, however, for this to be possible there is a need for registering and tracking all the patients who visit health care institutions. The use of EHRs was identified as the most suitable towards accomplishing the above-mentioned tasks. This study investigated other African countries’ EHR implementation efforts in order to identify the critical success factors for the implementation of EHR in South Africa’s public health system. The study conducted a structured literature review of articles written about EHR implementation in African countries and found that issues such as the high costs of implementation; resistance by health workers; a lack of suitable infrastructure; a lack of skills; political influence and poor government commitment were some of the challenges to the implementation of EHRs in African countries. The study then identified 6 critical factors that could address these challenges and ensure that EHR implementation is successful. Identified factors included Incentivising the health informatics career field to attract and retain ICT professionals; Encouraging participation of all stakeholders in the development process of EHR systems; Investigating and investing in alternative infrastructural facilities; Allocating separate budgets for E-health projects; Developing context relevant E-health implementation strategies and frameworks; and finally, Develop and implement Legislation specific to EHR implementation and continued use. Recommendations were also made on each factor regarding how it could be accomplished.
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Determinants of household debt in South Africa
- Authors: Zimucha, Tinashe M
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Consumer credit -- South Africa Finance, Personal -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/7967 , vital:31325
- Description: Significant changes have occurred in South Africa during the past decades in household saving and borrowing behaviour. The rapid increase in South Africa’s household debt over the last twenty years has been an international phenomenon. In most countries, household debt increased from the 1990s until the crisis of 2007–2008 before stabilising due to a recession and deleveraging. The study used an ARDL model to investigate the determinants of household debt in South Africa. Pairwise regression is used to select the most relevant variables affecting household regression in the country. The results of the study showed that consumer confidence, the bond market index and the vulnerability index have a positive effect on household debt. As consumers' faith in the performance of the economy increases, household debt also increases as expected, reflecting consumers' belief in increased future wealth. The positive influence of the vulnerability index suggests that households tend to resort to borrowing to smooth consumption when incomes and other related factors decline. It is recommended that national policy should tighten regulations around access to unsecured credit to minimise the stress on already vulnerable households.
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Determinants of rail passenger transport usage : a case of Buffalo City Municipality
- Authors: Ntlatywa, Kholosa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Railroads -- South Africa -- Statistical services Transportation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Railroads -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8780 , vital:33580
- Description: The transport sector is an important contributor to South Africa’s economy. This sector have positive effects on South African citizens and the nation as a whole through mobility and accessibility. Rail transport is a suitable mode of transport for both long distance travel and short distances. This study investigated the determinants of rail passengers transport usage. The main objective of the study were to investigate the factors that influence the rail transport usage among passengers in Buffalo City Municipality. The second objective was to determine the incidence of rail transport usage among passengers in Buffalo City Municipality. Descriptive analysis in the form of Pearson-chi square and inferential analysis using Probit regression were used for data analysis in this study. The study used closed-ended questionnaires and the questionnaires were distributed to 100 people. The results of the study revealed that level of income, occupation, level of education, safety, and affordability are the common factors that influence the usage of trains for transport. The frequency of usage based on income was about 44 percent, with about 55 percent of people indicating they make use of trains because they find it a safe mode transport. The income level, safety, occupation and affordability were statistically insignificant. The level of education had a high frequency at 74 percent and it was statistically signifacant.004. The second part of the study assessed the incidence of train usage and results revealed that most of people (about 74 percent) travel by train daily.
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Exploring the role of education, income and standard of living in determining food security amongst Mhlontlo Local Municipality citizens in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Halam, Khanyiswa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Income distribution -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Social security -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Income -- South Africa -- Econometric models
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4802 , vital:28521
- Description: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship that exists between education, income, standard of living and food security amongst Mhlontlo local municipality citizens. For this purpose, data was collected from citizens of the Mhlontlo municipality in the Eastern Cape. A sample of 101municipality citizens was drawn from the population. Results of the study indicated that the study variables are significantly negatively correlated with one another. The findings of this study are helpful in providing support to policy makers and social security agencies to have a better understanding of food security and indicate one important avenue to reduce food insecurity in Mhlontlo municipality and the Eastern Cape at large.
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Factors that influence the career success of women managers at a historically black institution in South Africa
- Authors: Chikuya, Albeter Fungai
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Women executives -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Career development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11275 , vital:39052
- Description: Orientation: The government of South Africa is making efforts to facilitate the inclusion of women in the workplace, even though they still encounter various career barriers that inhibit their career success. Research purpose: The main purpose of the study was to investigate the factors influencing the career success of women managers at a historically black institution. Motivation: Most studies that focused on career success opted for a positivist research paradigm, but this study is amongst the few that has employed the interpretivism paradigm to enable the researcher to understand subjectively the occupational challenges women experience. Research approach, design, methodology: The study was conducted to ascertain the factors that influence the career success of women managers. A sample of 20 participants was selected, and one on one semi-structured interviews were conducted with women managers who are currently working at the University of Fort Hare. A qualitative approach was suitable for the study because the challenges of the participants were expressed from their lived experiences. The interviews were analysed using Braun and Clarke's six steps of data analysis. Main findings: The study revealed that women experience similar career challenges as they go up their career ladder. Such challenges include gender discrimination, resistance, the glass ceiling and work-life balance dilemma; hence, all these above affect the career success of women. Various themes emerged from the study, namely, the quests for further professional development and improvements, the heightened prioritisation of objective rewards and subjective rewards, negotiation between work and personal space as affecting career development and the resolution tactic: flee or fight. Practical/ managerial implications: An intervention is needed to ensure that organisations are more sensitive to the issues of women representation to top positions to enhance their career success. The study will be useful to both organisations and academics to design policies that will facilitate the career success of women. Contribution: The study is amongst the few that adopted the qualitative paradigm in investigating the factors influencing the career success of women managers, by understanding from their lived experiences. The implications of these findings for policy, practice and career counselling are suggested.
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Impact of business confidence on private investments in South Africa
- Authors: Madzivire, Venna Wadzanayi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Success in business Confidence Investments
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8910 , vital:33955
- Description: A wide range of theoretical and empirical studies have been carried out on various determinants of private investments in different economies. This dissertation specifically focuses on the impact business confidence on private investments with regards to the South African economy for the period between 1990 and 2014. The private investment sector in South Africa has, to a greater extent contributed to the overall GDP of the economy. Even though business confidence has a considerable impact on private investments, this study also took into consideration other variables that affect the private investment sector such as interest rates, exchange range and GDP To determine short-run and long-run relationships of business confidence on private Investments in South Africa, a vector error correction model was employed. In order to avoid spurious regression, the ADF test and the PP test were used to test for stationarity. Results of the study indicate that private investments are subject to permanent changes because of changes in business confidence. In addition to that, not all variables have a long-term relationship with private investments but business confidence has a significant long run relationship with private investment. After conducting an econometric analysis, results revealed that Business Confidence and Gross Domestic Product have a positive impact on private investments. On the other hand, interest rates and exchange rates have a negative impact on private investments in South Africa. Various policy recommendations were established on both Private Investments and Business Confidence.
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Job satisfaction, organisational justice in determining employee turnover among administrative staff at a university in South Africa
- Authors: Landu, Mzimkulu Christopher
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Labor turnover -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Employees
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4784 , vital:28520
- Description: The aim of this study explore the role of job satisfaction , organizational justice in determining employee turnover among administrative staff at Walter Sisulu University at Ibika campus in Butterworth , in the Eastern Cape Province. A sample of 70 administrative staff was drawn for the population of 170. Results of the study indicated that the study variables are significantly and positively correlated with one another. Job satisfaction was found to be significantly and positively correlated with employee turnover. Organizational justice was also found to be significantly positively correlated with employee turnover. Likewise, a positive and significant relationship between job satisfaction and organizational justice was found. The findings of this study will assist Ibika campus management in reducing employee turnover and increase the retention of administrative staff at Ibika campus and the entire Walter Sisulu administrative staff at large.
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Mobile phone banking : a comparative analysis of e-service quality and customer loyalty
- Authors: Chigori, Darlington Tawanda
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Electronic commerce Customer loyalty Consumer satisfaction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:39077
- Description: Mobile phone banking optimisation around the world is becoming more significant. Banks are investing heavily to improve service quality of both mobile phone banking applications and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) banking in a bid to retain existing customers and win new ones. The majority of studies focusing on mobile phone banking have related to adoption and the validation of theories and factors affecting mobile phone banking. This study focused on contrasting the two categories of mobile phone banking, specifically mobile banking applications and USSD banking. This comparison is drawn in terms of e-service quality of these modes of banking and their resultant effects on customer loyalty. To validate and determine the nature of the relationships in the proposed model, the study examined e-service quality in terms of efficiency, fulfilment, privacy and systems availability as well as the overall influence of service quality on customer loyalty with respect to the two types of mobile banking. The positivistic paradigm was employed and thus, due to the scope of data and nature of the study, the quantitative approach was considered as the most appropriate approach. Previously used reliable and valid scales were adapted through a self-administered survey questionnaire. The results from a total number of 218 students at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) were analysed through Pearson correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis and Smart Partial Least Squares structural equation models (PLS-SEM). Based on the findings, various recommendations and implications were suggested to banks, practitioners and academics. The findings indicated that fulfilment, privacy and efficiency were all significantly related to overall service quality and customer loyalty. Systems availability was not significantly related to overall service quality and customer loyalty. The findings showed that privacy, fulfilment and efficiency are critical to both mobile banking applications (MB App) and USSD/cellphone banking.
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Perceptions and experiences of small and medium enterprise owners towards the implementation of broad-based-black-economic-empowerment
- Authors: Pike, Angela Patricia
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Business enterprises, Black -- South Africa Employee empowerment -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/15705 , vital:40510
- Description: The South African economy has been faced with numerous challenges within the twenty-first century such as poverty, unemployment and crime. Broad-Based-Black- Economic-Empowerment (BBBEE) has become an emerging obstacle for not only Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa(SA), but it is currently one of the principle issues on the South African government’s agenda. It has been identified that the core issue surrounding BBBEE SMEs is being BBBEE compliant. Therefore, this qualitative research study investigated the perceptions and experiences of SME owners towards the implementation of BBBEE. This investigation was executed within the East London area in which a total of 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results illustrated that although BBBEE was not favoured amongst SMEs in East London, they were still implementing BBBEE into their businesses in order to gain tender work and enjoy financial improvement. Becoming BBBEE compliant presented certain administrative challenges such as the large amount of documentation, the timely process of becoming BBBEE compliant and the cost of BBBEE compliance. However, although challenges existed, SMEs had implemented strategies in order to overcome such challenges and were seeking guidance from BBBEE agencies. The final outlook of BBBEE was that it be restructured in such a manner that it included all races of SA in order to contribute towards social justice and equality. This study, therefore, had a considerable contribution on a methodological, theoretical and practical level. Furthermore, the implications of the study were explored.
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Personality and self-esteem as predictors of employability among final year students at a previously disadvantaged South African University
- Authors: Muzerengwa, Cedric
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Unemployment -- Psychological aspects Personality and occupation Self-esteem in young adults
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4594 , vital:28464
- Description: Orientation: The high unemployment level in South Africa has caused even graduates to be unemployed and yet they hold university degrees. This has increased pressure on the job seeking students to develop factors that influence employability, hence the study seeks to identify whether personality and self-esteem act as predictors of employability among final year university students. Research purpose: The objectives of this investigation were to examine whether personality, as is typically found in personality type research tool such as the, (Myers Briggs personality indicator) and self-esteem positively predict employability among final year university students. Secondly, to determine the personality types that significantly predict employability among final year university students. The last objective was to determine whether self-esteem significantly predicts employability among final year university students. Motivation for the study: This investigation is particularly important because it looks at the non-academic attributes that make job-seeking students able to attain a job and also sustain that job. The 21st century workplace is ever changing, and students are required to build proactive personalities that help them increase their employability level and stand a higher chance of getting employed. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative survey research design was used and a questionnaire was self-administered to a stratified simple random sample consisting of 238 Management and Commerce final year students at the university of Fort Hare. The study used quantitative approach and a positivism paradigm. To measure personality, TIPI scale was used and had 10 items. Employability was measured using the student self-perceived employability scale and self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Main findings: The results of this study showed a similarity with others obtained in prior studies. The results drawn from the statistical analysis of this study showed that there is a significant relationship between personality types such as perceiving, extraversion and feeling with employability among final year management and commerce students at the university of Fort Hare. However, the results showed that there is no positive relationship that exists between self-esteem and employability among final year job-seeking students. Practical implications: The research findings provided evidence that personality had a positive relationship with employability in an academic context. This makes it clear that student career exploration process can only be successful when special attention is given to developing individual’s human capital skills and proactive personalities. Institutions of higher learning should take advantage of some career experts in their countries and in their universities to provide students with employability lessons and guidelines. Contribution: The most important contribution of this study is that it helps to extend knowledge and understanding on the issues concerning the relationship between personality, self-esteem and employability in an academic setting. The research magnified the frame of information in the area personality in relation to employability in academic contexts. It makes available more literature that looks into these two variables (personality and self-esteem) in an African context.
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Psychological capital as a moderator on the relationship between work-life balance and turnover intentions amongst selected bank employees in the Amathole district, Eastern Cape province
- Authors: Nyahwema, Cloudious
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Employee competitive behavior -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Employee motivation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Human capital -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13556 , vital:39679
- Description: Globalisation has facilitated high mobility among 21st century employees allowing brain circulation to occur. However, high employee mobility also means organisations are losing employees to competitors some of which are global business moguls with better resources leaving emerging businesses at a disadvantage. Lately, the South African banking sector has also been affected with high employee turnover requiring the need for investigation. For these reasons, the main objective of the study was to investigate whether psychological capital significantly moderates the relationship between work-life balance and turnover intentions among selected bank employees in Amathole district, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study also examined if there is a positive and significant relationship between psychological capital and work-life balance among selected bank employees. In addition, the study sought to examine if there is a positive and significant relationship between psychological capital and turnover intention among selected bank employees. The study followed a quantitative research approach. Therefore, survey questionnaires were used as means of data collection and data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Research results indicated that psychological capital significantly moderates the relationship between work-life balance and turnover intentions among selected bank employees. A significantly positive relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and work-life balance among selected bank employees was found. The results also revealed that there is no significant relationship between psychological capital and turnover intentions among selected bank employees.
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