Thesis (MTech. degree in Architectural Technology (Management)) / Revision of the Road Transportation Act 74 of 1977, with the de-regulation of the long-haul trucking industry, caused a fast growing, highly competitive industry, where the road transport industry revolves around cost of delivery and delivery times. Unreasonable customer expectations place a burden on truck drivers who are mostly uneducated and mostly ignorant of the hazardous conditions under which they work. The study therefore investigates the causes and development of hazard patterns (with frequencies of accidents), the circumstances and conditions of long-haul trucking that make the establishment of trucking centres necessary, as well as the requirements of truck drives, employers and owner-drivers to see if the proposed trucking centres will be rejected or accepted by them. The proposed centres would provide safe rest periods, healthy food, continuous health and traffic education and would allow for social interaction between visitors at these centres. These conditions would contribute to the reduction of number of road accidents and stem the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

The objective of this research was to explore perceived stress and role conflict that dual-career couples are facing in South Africa. The relationship between work and family is a common topic in the field of Industrial and Organisational Psychology. Research has been conducted in other countries, in particular the United States; however not much research has been undertaken in South Africa. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of stress and role-conflict on dual-career couples and the relationship on work-family balance in this context. This research aimed to look at gender differences on work-family conflict, in an attempt to understand perceived role conflict and the interplay of spillover on dual-career couples. A cross-sectional research design with a snowball sampling technique was used. The sample obtained for this research comprised of 105 participants who fulfilled the dual-career couple status. The Work Family Linkage Questionnaire (WFLQ) by Sumer and Knight (2001), with two additional questions on stress included by the researcher, were used as the measuring instrument. The results indicated that there were statistically and practically significant relationships between perceived stress and role-conflict in the different domains. Although no statistically significant results were obtained in the gender experience of role-conflict, when looking at the mean scores it was evident that men and women experienced role conflict differently. There were no significant differences between dual-career couples with and without children across all the sub-scales. However, the descriptive statistics suggested that dual-career couples without children experienced higher stress caused by work life than their counterparts with children. For future research it is recommended that more questions on stress be added, and also that variance in sample size of gender and couples with children and without children be increased as this was also a limitation of the current research. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The study took place in the Department of Health. It involved four districts and the Head Office of the human resource planning component. Its purpose was to explore the extent to which the Employment Equity Act is implemented in respect of people with disabilities by the Department of Health, KwazuluNatal. The experiences and perceptions of employment equity officers and people with disabilities were explored. In addition the document on Gap Analysis on EEA was analyzed. Qualitative methodology guided the explorative descriptive nature of the research. The sample selected for the study aimed at balancing opinions on the subject under investigation. Data was collected through structured questionnaires, in depth interviews and content analysis of the departmental Gap Report on Employment Equity. The main findings revealed that there is a wide gap between the current status quo and achieving the desired objectives of the Act. There is also a lack of awareness among People with disabilities in understanding the legal rights in terms of the Act. This situation weakens stakeholder's participation in implementation of the Employment Equity Act NO.55 of 1998. The main recommendations related to the implementation of intensive training programmes, in order to assist stakeholders to participate effectively in Employment Equity Act programmes. A bottom up approach on implementation of the Employment Equity Act was recommended. This will help to ensure equal participation of and acceptance of the process by People with disabilities and employment equity officers. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

"But you've got to make sure you communicate in the right way [laughs] so that no one else knows what you're talking about. [Laughing]" (Interview I) The study examines the rhetoric of 'racial' exclusion used by South African private recruitment consultants to justify racist practice, criticise employment equity and deny racism. The dilemmatic nature of clients racially based requests is understood in a context that socially and legally forbids "unfair discrimination" and racist practice. The reader is provided with an overview of the legislation as it pertains to recruitment and the psychological study of 'race' in order to locate this study within its historical context. An historical context of segregation and resistance to changes in employment practices. We examine how South African psychology has investigated 'race' and racism - past and present. Psychology has traditionally explained 'white' resistance to transformation in terms of 'racial' prejudice. These attitudinal approaches fail to explicate the role of language in the reproduction and conservation of these historical patterns. By providing the reader with an historical overview "interpretative connections" (Wetherell and Potter, 1992) will be established that assist in the analysis of the text. Transcribed interviews with nine private recruitment consultants in two urban centres in South Africa serve as textual evidence. The analysis demonstrates the rhetorical strategies employed by consultants in their conversations, discussions, negotiations, criticism and justification of the conservation of historical employment patterns. Private recruitment consultants engage in a number of rhetorical manoeuvres that appeal to 'white' norms and construct' black' as a requirement and deficient. The construction of' white' and' black' serves as a platform for justifying the historically established 'racial' hierarchy and conserving 'racial' privilege. Consultants construct their practice as a 'reasonable' response to clients' blatant 'racially' based requests for candidates. This is done by splitting racism into 'reasonable' and 'unreasonable' racism. 'Unreasonable' racism is defined as explicit I blatant acts that are located externally and in the past. This splitting functions to distance recruitment consultants from the racist practices of their clients and to counter potential accusations of racism. Their arguments function ideologically to defend the historical status quo in employment and criticise social transformation in South Africa. The study concludes with recommendations for the private recruitment industry in South Africa and suggests future areas of study using a discursive approach. The analysis highlights the need for external auditing of the private recruitment agencies to ensure the enactment and successful implementation of the Employment Equity Act of 1998 and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000. Furthermore, more detailed analysis of the object of racism, namely the construction of 'whiteness', could be useful in understanding resistance to transformation in the private sector and the (re)production of racism. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1991.

In many respects a gold mine could be viewed as South African society in microcosm, for it hes many of the same structures and features of its macro-society. In most societies it would be inappropriate to regard an industrial setting as the microcosm of the larger society as, in most societies, people are hardly aware of authority or of the legal system. The principal source of contact with such systems for most people would be of an irritant kind, associated with parking and traffic misdemeanours. This does not apply to the black person in South Africa, where freedom of movement, place of residence,position at work, use of public facilities, etc. are severely circumscribed. In fact, it is not unusual for black persons to be accosted by the police from time to time to determine whether they are permitted to be where they are, or to be removed from premises by white officials. Moreover, most white persons abrogate unto themselves the right to give instructions to any black person, a situation not unfamiliar on a mine. In the South African macro-society and the mine micro-society the top echelon of jobs, the best living conditions, salaries, hours of work, conditions of employment, opportunities for advancement and other privileges are reserved for whites, and blacks have no authority to effect changes to these conditions. It is postulated that change in South Africa for blacks is likely to take a form similar to change on a mine. Consequently, by studying change to the quality of life of black workers on a mine, useful insights may be gained into the reactions of black persons to change in the macro-society. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1983.

The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA) deals with the achievement of equity in the workplace. This involves the promotion of equal opportunities and fair treatment as well as the implementation of affirmative action measures. Telkom, like many other organizations in South Africa was, and is expected to comply with the Act. Compliance includes the development and promotion of female employees into leadership positions. Very few Telkom female employees are in top leadership positions. Even those that are in top positions have been recruited externally. South African history may play a role in the problem by regarding males as leaders at work and at home. The intention of the study was to explore leadership challenges facing female employees within Telkom and to be able to understand the perceptions and realities accompanying these challenges. Theories based on gender, traits, leadership, the hierarchy of needs and development were used as the theoretical framework in this study. The systems thinking approach was used to assist in looking towards a broader perspective. The population of the study was female employees at Telkom Head Office in Pretoria. From these, twelve served as a sample for the study. In gathering data, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Qualitative analysis was used to analyse data. Analysis and interpretation involved identifying themes, coding and interpretation. The findings in the study are: the strong belief that leadership is solely for males or females is incorrect; there are leadership challenges facing Telkom female employees. The study focused on leadership challenges facing Telkom female employees at middle management, junior management and operational level. These are OP to M4. It is for this reason that the researcher thinks that a future study that will focus on leadership challenges facing top and senior female leaders can be conducted for comparison, as well as another study to ascertain the influence of the working environment on these leaders. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Commericial organizations operate in a free-market economic system. The goal of commercial organizations in a free-market economic system is to utilise scarce resources at their disposal to optimally maximise their profits. To achieve this goal, the human resources function is tasked with the responsibility to acquire and maintain a competent and motivated workforce in a manner that would add value to the bottom-line. The human resource management interventions are therefore a critical tool in regulating human capital in such a manner that it optimally adds value to the business. Personality tests are used in the world of work to determine individual differences in behaviour and performance. There was recently a dispute over the effectiveness of the use of personality tests in predicting job performance, but personality is nowadays regarded as a an influential causal antecedent in the prediction of job performance. From the first democratic elections held in 1994, greater demands have been placed on the cultural appropriateness of psychological testing in South Africa. The use of cross-cultural assessments in South Africa are therefore currently very prominent. The use of psychological tests, including personality tests, is now strictly controlled by legislation, including the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. In order to make informed decisions, industrial psychologists and registered psychology practitioners need reliable and valid information about the personality construct which will enable them to make accurate predictions on the criterion construct. This argument provides significant justification for the primary purpose of this study, namely an equivalence and invariance study of the second edition of the Fifteen Factor Questionnaire (15FQ +) in a sample of Black, Coloured and White South Africans. Bias in psychological testing can be described as ‘troublesome’ factors that threaten the validity of cross-cultural comparisons across different groups e.g., ethnic groups (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). These factors can be caused by construct bias, method bias and/or item bias. It is therefore essential that the information provided by the test results must have the same meaning across all the various reference groups. This assumption necessitates evidence of equivalent and invariant measurements across different groups. Equivalence and invariance in this study is investigated by making use of Dunbar, Theron and Spangenberg (2011)'s proposed steps. Complete measurement invariance and full measurement equivalence is the last step and implies that the observed measurements can be compared directly between the different groups. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kommersiële Organisasies word bedryf in ‘n vrye-mark ekonomiese stelsel. Die doel van kommersiële organisasies is dus om skaars hulpbronne tot hul beskikking optimaal aan te wend ten einde wins te maksimeer. Daarom is dit belangrik vir die menslikehulpbron funksie om ‘n bevoegde en gemotiveerde werksmag te verkry en in stand te hou op ‘n wyse wat waarde tot die onderneming byvoeg. Dit is daarom uiters belangrik om die regte menslikehulpbron intervensies in organisasies te implementeer om die menslike kapitaal so te reguleer dat hulle optimaal waarde tot die onderneming byvoeg. Persoonlikheidstoetse word gebruik in die wêreld van werk om individuele verskille in gedrag en werksprestasie te bepaal. Daar was onlangs ‘n dispuut oor die effektiwiteit van persoonlikheidstoetse se gebruik in die voorspelling van werksprestasie, maar persoonlikheid word hedendaags beskou as ‘n invloedryke oorsaaklike veranderlike in die voorspelling van werksprestasie. Vanaf die eerste demokratiese verkiesing van 1994 word daar sterker eise geplaas op die kulturele toepaslikheid van sielkundige toetse in Suid Afrika. Kruis-kulturele assesserings in Suid Afrika is daarom tans baie prominent. Die gebruik van sielkundige toetse, ingesluit persoonlikheidstoetse, word nou streng beheer deur wetgewing, onder andere die Wet op Gelyke Indiensneming 55 van 1998. Ten einde ingeligte besluite te kan neem, benodig bedryfsielkundiges en geregistreerde sielkundé praktisyns betroubare en geldige inligting oor die persoonlikheidskonstruk om hul in staat te stel om akkurate voorspellings van die kriteriumkonstruk te maak. Dit bied wesenlik die regverdiging vir die primêre oogmerk van hierdie studie, naamlik om ‘n ekwivalensie en invariansie studie van die tweede uitgawe van die Vyftien Faktor Vraelys (the Fifteen Factor Questionnaire, 15FQ+) op ‘n steekproef van Swart, Kleurling en Wit Suid Afrikaners te onderneem. Sydigheid in toetse kan beskryf word as ‘lastige’ faktore wat die geldigheid van kruis-kulturele vergelykings oor verskillende groepe (bv. Etniese groepe) bedreig (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). Hierdie faktore kan veroorsaak word deur konstruksydigheid, metodesydigheid en/of itemsydigheid. Dit is dus noodsaaklik dat die informasie wat verskaf word deur die toetsresultate dieselfde betekenis moet hê oor al die verskillende verwysingsgroepe. Hierdie aanname noodsaak bewyse van ekwivalente en invariante metings oor verskillende groepe. Ekwivalensie en Invariansie in hierdie studie word ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van Dunbar, Theron en Spangenberg (2011) se voorgestelde stappe. Volle ekwivalensie en invariansie is die laaste stap en impliseer dat waargenome metings oor verskillende groepe direk met mekaar vergelyk kan word.

The aim of this study was to determine employees' perceptions of the fairness of employment equity practices. It was conducted in an organisation in the Health Services industry, using a Diversity Questionnaire. The sample size was 520 and 245 responses were received, constituting a 47% response rate. Employees' responses were measured along 10 dimensions of employment equity. The unit of analysis was the group according to gender, race, age and job level. Independent t-tests and analysis of variance techniques were used to determine any statistically significant differences in perceptions between groups. Statistically significant differences were found between race groups and job levels. Gender and age did not significantly affect employees' responses. The research concluded that compliance with organisational justice requirements is as important as compliance with legislative requirements. Ultimately, every organisation should adapt its employment equity strategy according to its specific demographic and environmental context. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Admin.

This aim of this thesis is to analyse the demand for labour from trade with a selection of South Africa’s trading partners. It is expected that labour demand will be greater in trade with developed blocs. Trade between developing blocs, however, is thought to be more skilled labour intensive and such trade should have greater linkages. This ought to feed through into greater labour demand so that South-South trade may be more ‘labour creating’ than expected. As it is more skill intensive, it may also be more dynamic, which has implications for future growth and development. Factor content methodology is used to assess labour demand. Calculations consider linkages to other sectors (which will increase labour demand) and the use of scarce resources (which has an opportunity cost to labour). The findings support the claim that trade with developing blocs is more professional labour intensive. Evidence that it may be more dynamic and have greater linkages to labour is borne out in exports to SADC. Greater labour demand through linkages, however, is not evident in net trade to SADC. Neither are they of significance in trade with any of the other developing blocs so labour effects due to linkages appear to be negligible. The advantages of South-South trade may rather lie in the dynamic benefits that trade in higher technology goods provides. When scarce resources such as capital and professional labour are taken into account, it is found that labour demand is negative in net trade to all blocs. However, even without the problem of scarce resources, most blocs have a negative demand for labour in net trade. The indication is that with the present trade patterns, South Africa cannot expect trade to increase labour demand. Policy which could improve this situation would be to increase labour force skills, improve the flexibility of the labour market and develop sectors which are both more advanced as well as labour intensive. Despite the negative impact of trade on labour in general, it is found that trade does differ by direction and that for each labour type there are certain blocs where labour demand is positive. This is also the case in net trade for particular sectors. Such information could be used as part of a targeted trade policy to assist in the marketing of particular sectors in trade and also for increasing labour demand for certain labour groups.