M.Comm. / The Bank under study is one of the big four banks of South Africa, is engaged in a process of transformation, more specifically the implementation of the Employment Equity Act (No.55 of 1998). The overall objective of the study was to identify the employee's perceptions of transformation in a financial institution, which will be called The Bank, for ease of reference. The study was split into two, firstly, the identification of perception held by African, Indian and Coloured (AIC) male and female managers about the implementation of transformation, more specifically, employment equity, as an integral component of transformation in South African companies. Secondly, to conduct a comparative analysis on the similarities and differences of white male and African, Indian and Coloured managers perceptions regarding the implementation of transformation, more specifically employment equity act A further objective was to obtain suggestions from the participants as to possible ways in which the Bank can deal with their specific concerns relating to transformation.

M.Com. (Business Management) / Change is no longer only an option but a necessity in the changing socio-economic environment in which businesses have found themselves in the new democratic South Africa. Businesses are confronted with so many new challenges every day (for instance affirmative action) that the need for transformation and change have become an integral component of strategic management and planning. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of affirmative action on organisational culture. A positive and supportive organisational culture is needed for successful implementation of affirmative action. Substantial consensus has been reached by researchers that each enterprise has its own identifiable culture and that this culture has a powerful influence on the management process and performance of the enterprise. Within the context of strategic management the shared values and beliefs of the employees are a major determinant in aligning organisational culture and a strategy of affirmative action. Managers have an important task to manage the interactive role of strategy and organisational culture and have to be role models of non-discriminative and non-racist behaviour in businesses that promote equal opportunities for all, irrespective of race or gender.

Equality is a fundamental constitutional value in the Constitution. Formal equality presupposes that all persons are equal bearers of rights and that inequality can be eliminated by extending the same rights to all. Formal equality is blind to social and economic differences between groups and individuals. Substantive equality, on the other hand, is receptive to entrenched, structural inequality, meaning that the equality clause of the Constitution must be read as founded on a substantive concept of equality. An employer can utilise the defence of an inherent requirement of a job in the case of an unfair-discrimination claim since the defence is available in terms of both the Employment Equity Act, in respect of employment discrimination, and the Labour Relations Act in respect of discriminatory dismissals. The defence is narrow in that only essential duties of a particular job will be taken into account to determine inherent requirements of a particular job. Reported judgments where this defence is used are scant. What makes the defence more onerous is that an employer has to show that the particular employee could not be reasonably accommodated, before the inherent-requirement defence will succeed. It is integral to the determination of whether there was unfair discrimination and whether such discrimination was justifiable. An important debate in our discrimination law relates to the question of whether any significance should be attached to the fact that only unfair discrimination is outlawed. Neither of the aforementioned pieces of legislation clearly state that affirmative action or an inherent requirement of a job are the only defences available to employers. Where these two defences are found to be not applicable, may the fairness be decided in terms of a general fairness defence? This question is also addressed in the present treatise. It is submitted that foreign law is a valuable interpretive tool, provided it is used wisely, in that judgments originating from courts and tribunals in the United Kingdom and Canada may assist to provide an understanding of the issues central to employment discrimination law and the parameters of the defence of inherent requirements of the job. Thus, in developing employment discrimination law in South Africa, consideration of foreign jurisprudence may prove informative.

Affirmative action is the purposeful, planned placement and development of competent or potentially competent persons in or to positions from which they were debarred in the past. Affirmative action is an attempt to redress past population, on a local and national level. One of the requirements of affirmative action in South Africa is that it must target persons who have been discriminted by unfair discrimination in the past. the Emplyment Equity Act was brought into the South African government to bring equality to all. Unfair discrimination is a branch of affirmative action in which individuals are discriminated against not only on race, but includes colour, sex, religion, age, disability, language and the likes. Section 9 of the Constitution of South Africa prohibits unfair discrimination against any person on any of the listed grounds. Section 2 of the Employment Equity Act is in place to aim to achieve equity within the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment as well as eliminating unfair discrimination. Section 6, like the Constitution, lists grounds against which an individual may not be discriminated. Historically, the South African Police Services were a deeply-routed racist organization, where only white males were afforded better opportunities. This however changed after South Africa became a democratic country and with the introduction of the SAPS Act. Transformation within the SAPS took place after South Africa moved towards a democratic society.

South Africa has undergone major social and political changes over the past two decades. In addition, new legislation in the form of the Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998), which regulates employment practices in an attempt to make the workplace a true reflection of the South African population, was introduced to employers. The implementation of this Act has a major impact on organisations in South Africa and definitely influences the way in which they do business. Organisations, large and small, in every sector are being squeezed in all dimensions. They compete for customers whose expectations of quality, price and service are constantly increasing. Throughout the world, education, training and equitable working practices are recognised as essential ingredients to compete successfully and to ensure high performance practices. This research paper investigates whether the employee development strategies at Medscheme (the organisation selected for this study) are aimed at meeting employment equity objectives. An important reason for the investigation is that globalisation and the need for organisations to gain sustainable competitive advantage require new and different approaches for the recruitment, training, development and retention of employees with key skills. The key to success will, however, be for organisations in South Africa to find a middle way between ensuring equity, while remaining competitive. In order to achieve the objective of the research, the following approach was followed: Firstly, a comprehensive literature study was conducted to determine the legislative basis for equity and employee development; Secondly, a survey of literature dealing specifically with employee development initiatives available to organisations was conducted; Thirdly, the views of the employees within Medscheme were obtained to determine to what extent the organisation implemented the Employment Equity Act and what development strategies are used to facilitate the Abstract iv development of individuals from the previously disadvantaged designated groups to equip them for future positions in senior and top management; and, Lastly, the responses to the questionnaire were analysed to determine the extent to which Medscheme’s employee development strategies support the objectives of the Employment Equity Act.

This research project is about the “Factors Affecting the impact of Black Economic Empowerment strategies in enhancing previously disadvantaged beneficiaries in Mnquma Local Municipality.” The purpose is to examine the challenges faced by previously disadvantaged beneficiaries so as to emerge with new innovative BEE mechanisms that can be implemented to improve the situation faced by beneficiaries for the better. To achieve this objective, it was necessary to study the iterature of “Black Economic Empowerment” which is part of the Local Economic Development initiatives. In order to attain the main objective of the study and also to address the research problem face to face interviews were conducted with previously disadvantaged beneficiaries, Local Economic Development officials and councillors from five different wards of Mnquma Local Municipality. The literature review and the interviews helped one to come up with the recommendations to be adopted in order to remedy the situation of the beneficiaries. These recommendations will, hopefully, be of assistance to Mnquma Local Municipality. Findings of this study indicate that challenges faced by previously disadvantaged beneficiaries include: fronting, lack of finance, skills shortage like technical, management, budgeting and saving skills, absence of training workshops, and lack of support on SMMEs development as well as poor implementation of BEE policy by Local Economic Development Unit. The aforesaid challenges have negative effects on the implementation of BEE strategies which adversely affect the beneficiaries. Here are some of the recommendations made in this regard: support and assistance for previously disadvantaged beneficiaries like financial assistance, Khula financial schemes, bank loans, training and workshops, establishment of agricultural projects as well as assistance on coordination of co-operatives initiatives. Other recommendations provide possible solutions to these problems: corruption, nepotism and cadreship deployment. In order to act against these transgressions the following suggestions have been made in the study: containment of fronting, development of heritage and historical sites for tourists’ purposes, recommendation on BEE management strategies and also recommendation on business registration and licensing. The study concludes that if the Mnquma Local Municipality can execute all the proposed recommendations, all the factors raised as the stumbling block towards the success and beneficiary of the previously disadvantaged beneficiaries would be resolved.

With the advent of democracy in South Africa in the early 1990s, the new government had to introduce major social, economic and political changes in order to undo the damages inflicted by many years of both colonialism and apartheid. These changes included the scrapping of discriminatory legislations and drafting of new laws to regulate employment practices. Amongst the pieces of legislation that the new South African government put in place, the Employment Equity Act, (Act 55 of 1998) was a major turning point in the elimination of discrimination at the workplace and redressing the injustices of the previous regimes. The Act is aimed at regulating the employment practices in an attempt to make the workplace a true reflection of the South African demographics. As a result, the promulgation of the Act had a major impact on the organisations in South Africa and has affected the way they now do business. Although the Act has been in existence for 14 years, progress in the implementation of employment equity and affirmative action in organisations in South Africa has been far less significant, particularly in the representation of women in managerial positions. In South Africa, an overwhelming majority of managerial positions are still occupied by men, with marginal women occupying management positions. Thus, women are still experiencing discrimination and under-representation at the workplace. Noting this trend at Amatola Water Board, the researcher decided to investigate the extent of progress the organisation has achieved in the implementation of its Employment Equity Plan 2009-2014. The objectives of the study were to identify factors that could assist the organisation to effectively implement the Plan, identify the impediments that pose challenges to effective implementation of the Plan in the organisation, and establish the perceptions of employees on the implementation of the Plan in the organisation. To collect data for the study, the researcher used a qualitative research approach. In this regard, the researcher used questionnaires and interviews to collect qualitative data. A sample of fifty employees was selected for the administration of questionnaires and four additional employees were selected for interviews. Both samples were selected by purposive sampling. The study has established that employment equity is still a challenge that South African organisations are struggling to implement. The study has revealed that, at Amatola Water Board, there are indeed various factors that contribute to the low representation of women in managerial positions. These factors include the lack of management support for the implementation of the Employment Equity Plan, recruitment processes that fail to recruit sufficient numbers of qualified applicants, training and development practices that fail to produce the required number of qualified employees, unconducive organisational culture, veiled racial and gender stereotypes, and inadequate communication. Suggestions and recommendations to address these challenges have been espoused.

The main research problem focused on the effective management of the perceptions about Affirmative Action (AA). A literature study and a survey were conducted to investigate the extent and nature of perceptions, the effect of these perceptions on labour and personal relations, current and suggested management practice of the perceptions of AA. A definition of AA, earlier measures of AA, the implementation of AA in the South African context, the stages of AA, theories, relevant legislation, perceptions and the management thereof are discussed. The survey was conducted at the George and Beaufort West District offices of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) with a response rate of 78.95 percent. The perceptions about AA can be managed effectively by complying with legislation, by involving and making all levels of employees responsible for the achievement of employment equity, skills development, personal development, consultation and communication.

M.A. / This study focuses on the development of an affirmative action strategy for a group of companies within the retail sector in South Africa. The reasoning behind the study is that enough has been said and written about affirmative action, about what it is and about what it should be. The time has now come to develop an appropriate strategy which will be accepted within the given company. The strategy must be one which can be successfully implemented in the business environment of the company concerned. A strategy has been developed around the selected company's organisational structures, people, geographic spread, culture and need to implement such a strategy. The study acknowledges that the strategy developed is relatively conservative, especially when compared to other radical or aggressive affirmative action strategies. Ultimately, the company's culture, readiness to accept affirmative action policies and resistance thereto have dictated the contents of the strategy, and the manner of its implementation. In the study, an overview is presented of literature on affirmative action as well as of current and imminent labour legislation. Cognisance is also taken of the views of other role players. The overview of the literature and the legislation form the core around which the strategy has been developed. Finally, a strategy acceptable to the company studied has been presented. The conclusions drawn from the study are that an affirmative action strategy and its implementation: remain controversial and create fears at all levels of employment; will only succeed if the strategy has the support of all role players; should be developed and assessed in accordance with the organisational culture and needs of the company wishing to introduce the strategy. The company decided that the inequities of the past should be eliminated and that discrimination at all levels of employment should be removed. Simultaneously, essential skills and experience has to be retained. The company's strategy should not involve and may not be perceived as discrimination in reverse.

M.Comm. / South African society is currently experiencing a period of rapid transformation. These sociopolitical changes taking place in the external environment is posing unique challenges to South African business. Salient to these challenges is how the politically powerful, but poor majority will be integrated into an environment that previously excluded them. It is commonly accepted that this integration and the eradication of the economic backlog can not only be achieved through formal education and training, but that it should be supported by programmes aimed at the accelerated development of blacks. As such, the primary role that South African business has to play in the transformation of society as a whole, is the effective integration of marginalised groups into position from which they were previously excluded. In order to ensure that this integration is managed effectively several factors need to be taken into account. Of these, white resistance against affirmative action and the negative attitudes held by them towards blacks in general, pose the greatest threat. The negative impact of the aforementioned on the affirmative action process is heightened when these traits are exhibited by the supervisors of black employees taking part in affirmative action programmes. In order to determine the effect these attitudes have on the job involvement and job satisfaction of black employees, factors inhibiting the occupational mobility of blacks and the role of the immediate supervisor in this process were analysed from literature. It was found that the supervisor plays a distinct role in the upward mobility of his/her subordinates and that this is especially the case where he/she has black subordinates. In chapter 3 the theory underlying job involvement and job satisfaction is discussed. From this discussion it is clear that the job involvement and job satisfaction of the individual influence his/her behaviour within the organisation to a large extent. It was further found that the immediate supervisor influences these variables to a large extent. In the empirical part of this dissertation a sample black employees, currently occupying positions previously reserved exclusively for whites, completed job involvement and job satisfaction questionnaires. Their supervisors completed a questionnaire that measured their attitude towards affirmative action. From the empirical study it was found that subordinates with supervisors who exhibit negative attitudes towards affirmative action do not necessarily have lower levels of job involvement and job satisfaction than those subordinates with supervisors who exhibit positive attitudes. This finding is not consistent with the theorising that supervisor attitudes towards affirmative action should influence the job involvement and job satisfaction of their black subordinates, and could be attributed to a number of factors, amongst others the nature of their jobs. From the study it became clear that urgent attention needs to be given to the determining of those factors that influence the job satisfaction and job involvement in Afro-centric populations. Almost all available research on these concepts focuses exclusively on Eurocentric populations and very little empirical data regarding the study of these concepts among Afro-centric populations exit.