South Africa has embarked on a journey of transformation since 1994. The ruling ANC has introduced many policies aimed at achieving equality, known as "black empowerment". The `empowerment' of black women professionals is especially critical in the transformation era. Empowerment is defined as a process, which "involves individuals gaining control of their lives and fulfilling their needs, …as a result of developing the competencies, skills, and abilities necessary to effectively participate in their social and political worlds" (Kreisberg, 1992:19). From this perspective, empowerment is the essential expression of individualism and self-determination since it embodies the belief that the individual has the ability to effect changes and improve their lives. This individually oriented definition presupposes the importance of constructing one's `self' as unitary and independent. The `unitary self' is a support of the logic of the `Same', which entails the exclusion of otherness and difference. In contrast to this approach, the postmodern theory of Julia Kristeva, with its inherent suspicion of doctrines of pure origins and essences, is corrosive of discourses such as `empowerment' that are developed according to the logic of the Same. Kristeva proposes a subject which is always already `in process'. Identity is a constructed process, rather than a fundamental essence. The Oedipal model, extracted from the Kristevan theory of subjectivity, shows how the nine professional women who partook in this study constructed their selves by placing equality and difference in an antithetical relationship. However, a deconstruction of the Oedipal model opens the construct up to its blind spots and, these subjects are shown to base their identities on the splitting off of their feminine capabilities. Instead of being `unitary self', the subjects are subjects-in-process, and they operate both across and within the competing discourses of traditional femininity and masculinity. As a possible alternative to the positivist paradigm of `empowerment', a Kristevan `herethics' is considered. In South Africa, this is exemplified by the `ubuntu' principle, which entails the recognition of our interdependence. Finally, in order to assist these professional women to embrace the alterity within, whilst competing in a constantly changing and intellectually challenging world, life skills coaching which focuses on the often repressed, emotional aspects, is recommended. / Psychology / D.Litt et Phil. (Psychology)

The South African public service is experiencing a high staff turnover and difficulties to retain staff. These will result in the loss of talented and knowledgeable employees and consequently a loss of institutional memory, and will create a knowledge gap. The purpose of the study was to explore whether talent management and knowledge management are integrated and whether they support staff retention in the South African public service. The qualitative data were collected through document analysis and semi-structured individual interviews with seven senior managers and six middle managers who were selected purposefully. Three main themes and ten sub-themes were identified and discussed. The findings indicated that talent management and knowledge management were applied in an ad hoc manner and that there were no approved policies. However, it was found that performance management formed the basis for talent management and that the current talent management approach failed to retain talented employees. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

The overall objective of this study was to determine the factorial invariance of a South African-developed Employee Engagement Instrument (EEI) across different race groups in financial institutions. A secondary objective of this study was to determine whether race groups differ significantly with regard to the six dimensions of the employee engagement instrument. A quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive research design was followed in this study, using a non-probability, convenience sampling (N = 1175). The EEI was electronically administered to 285 000 businesspeople from various demographic backgrounds, which form part of a research database. The focus was respondents from financial institutions. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was employed to achieve the empirical objectives of this study. Findings from the statistical analysis indicated that White and Black employees differed significantly with regards to how they are engaged by their immediate managers; however, the practical significance was small. Furthermore, the employee engagement instrument was found to be reliable and valid and the instrument was invariant across the four different race groups. By understanding how employees from different backgrounds are engaged it enables organisations to customise their engagement programmes to meet the needs of the various types of employees within the organisation, instead of applying a “one size fits all” approach to engagement programmes. The findings of this study provided valuable insights into the importance of employee engagement in a South African context, especially for financial institutions. Finally, the study adds to the vast body of knowledge that exists with regard to employee engagement and race, both locally and internationally. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The objectives of this study were to determine whether job embeddedness and organisational commitment significantly predict voluntary turnover, and whether people from different gender, race and age groups differ significantly in their job embeddedness, organisational commitment and voluntary turnover. The Job Embeddedness Scale (JES), Organisational Commitment Scale (OCS) and Voluntary Turnover Scale (VTS) were used as measuring instruments. A stratified random sample of 102 full-time employed higher education academics participated in the study. Multiple regression analyses showed that organisation fit and community links and normative commitment significantly and positively predicted the participants’ intentions to stay at the institution. Significant differences were observed between the job embeddedness and intention to stay of the gender and race groups. The findings of the current study add to the knowledge base on the turnover intentions of academic staff, contributing to the field of career psychology. In conclusion, the study makes recommendations for retention practices and future research. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study is about the investigation of the impact of organisational culture on employee commitment during an acquisition process in an insurance organisation. A sample of 318 employees was selected from a population of +/-600 in a South African insurance organisation. The sample was categorised between employees in non-management as well as those in management positions. Managers were further categorised as junior managers and middle managers. These participants were selected based on the fact that they were not involved in the strategic decision-making processes during the acquisition. Thus they had no input in the decision making regarding the acquisition process. Employees on senior management level and above did not form part of the study because they were involved in the acquisition process's strategic decision-making. The sample was also based on employees who were already employed by the organisation when the acquisition process was finalised. The acquisition process started in 2013 and was finalised in 2017. The descriptive correlation research method was used for the study. The methodological approach adopted was the quantitative approach analysed based on descriptive statistics followed by inferential statistics using the SPSS 2017 (version 25). Analysis of data was done using Pearson correlation coefficient, regression analysis, independent T-test and ANOVA. The internal consistency of the measuring instruments was determined using the Cronbach's alpha. Questionnaires, namely the Organisational Culture Questionnaire (OCQ) and Organisational Commitment Scale (OCS), were used to measure organisational culture and employee commitment, respectively. The results revealed a high level of internal consistency across the scale and the items of the OCQ (EC & PC) and OCS variables. The conclusions of the empirical study describe the impact of organisational culture on employee commitment during an acquisition process. The empirical study indicated that the impact of preferred organisational culture on employee commitment is insignificant. However, the impact of existing organisational culture on employee commitment is significant. The findings further indicated that the dominant existing culture is the role culture whilst the dominant preferred culture is the power culture. Affective commitment was found to be dominant in terms of employee commitment. The limitations of this study are presented together with recommendations for future research. The recommendations for the profession of industrial and organisational psychology highlight pertinent aspects for practicing psychologists and managers in this field. Based on the study's findings, organisations are advised to diagnose their cultures and determine how it affects their employees’ commitment in addition to other recommendations provided. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of transformational leadership styles of managers on subordinates' job satisfaction, in a steel and mining company. Leadership was conceptualised from the trait, behavioural, contingency and neocharismatic theories. Job satisfaction was derived from content and process theories.The literature highlighted leadership and job satisfaction theories, the changing context of leadership and research of both transformational leadership and job satisfaction. The study was exploratory and a random sample (N=126) was used. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to measure transformational leadership and the Job Satisfaction Survey was used to measure subordinate job satisfaction. The results indicated that there was a significant impact of transformational leadership styles of managers on subordinates' job satisfaction, more specifically, in terms of fringe benefits and pay dimensions of job satisfaction, as well as the biographical variable, age. Future research may include transformational leadership styles and other variables such as performance and productivity in the steel and mining industry as well as the biographical variable, age. uture research may include transformational leadership styles and other ariables such as performance and productivity in the steel and mining ndustry. / Industrial Psychology / M.Adm. (Industrial Psychology)

The objectives of the study were firstly to determine the relationship between employability attributes (measured by the Employability Attributes Scale), career adaptability (measured by the Career-Adapt Abilities Scale) and retention factors (measured by the Retention Factor Scale), and, secondly, to determine whether employees from different age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups differ significantly in their levels of employability attributes, career adaptability and retention factors. A cross-sectional quantitative, correlational research design was followed. The non-probability sample consisted of 321 permanently employed salaried employees in a South African automotive manufacturing company. Descriptive statistics, correlations, structural equation modelling and regressions were used for data analysis. The data analysis revealed significant associations between the career metacompetencies and retention factors. In addition, significant differences were found between age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The objective of this study was: (1) to determine the relationship between job embeddedness (measured by the Job Embeddedness Scale), work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale), and turnover intention (measured by the Turnover Intention Scale); and (2) to determine whether employees from different groups, namely age, race, gender, marital status and tenure differ significantly in their levels of job embeddedness, work engagement and turnover intention. A quantitative survey was conducted on a non-probability purposive sample (N = 153) of staff in a higher education institution. Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships between job embeddedness, work engagement and turnover intention. Multiple regression analyses showed that organisation links and dedication negatively predicted the participants’ turnover intention. Significant differences between age, race, gender, marital status and tenure were also found. The findings contribute valuable knowledge to the field of Career Psychology and can be applied in the retention of employees in the higher education institution. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and practice. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of transformational leadership styles of managers on subordinates' job satisfaction, in a steel and mining company. Leadership was conceptualised from the trait, behavioural, contingency and neocharismatic theories. Job satisfaction was derived from content and process theories.The literature highlighted leadership and job satisfaction theories, the changing context of leadership and research of both transformational leadership and job satisfaction. The study was exploratory and a random sample (N=126) was used. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to measure transformational leadership and the Job Satisfaction Survey was used to measure subordinate job satisfaction. The results indicated that there was a significant impact of transformational leadership styles of managers on subordinates' job satisfaction, more specifically, in terms of fringe benefits and pay dimensions of job satisfaction, as well as the biographical variable, age. Future research may include transformational leadership styles and other variables such as performance and productivity in the steel and mining industry as well as the biographical variable, age. uture research may include transformational leadership styles and other ariables such as performance and productivity in the steel and mining ndustry. / Industrial Psychology / M.Adm. (Industrial Psychology)

The objective of this study was: (1) to determine the relationship between job embeddedness (measured by the Job Embeddedness Scale), work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale), and turnover intention (measured by the Turnover Intention Scale); and (2) to determine whether employees from different groups, namely age, race, gender, marital status and tenure differ significantly in their levels of job embeddedness, work engagement and turnover intention. A quantitative survey was conducted on a non-probability purposive sample (N = 153) of staff in a higher education institution. Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships between job embeddedness, work engagement and turnover intention. Multiple regression analyses showed that organisation links and dedication negatively predicted the participants’ turnover intention. Significant differences between age, race, gender, marital status and tenure were also found. The findings contribute valuable knowledge to the field of Career Psychology and can be applied in the retention of employees in the higher education institution. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and practice. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)