Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / The world over, South Africa included, companies are beginning to realise that while success is measured in terms of profits and shareholder return, people and in particular, talented people drive and deliver that success. With this realisation has begun the war for talent, whereby companies now compete with each other for the best people in the pool, knowing that these talented individuals will drive sustainable success both in business ventures and over competitors in the marketplace. With this swiftly becoming the status quo, the strategic role played by human resources (HR) becomes integral to organisational success as a major facet of company strategy now needs to focus on human capital and talent management strategies in order to attract and retain the best talent to deliver business success. With Generation Y professionals entering the workforce by the masses, companies and their HR departments swiftly need to identify effective ways to best engage with Generation Y employees. As Generation Y is the only growing generational population in the current workforces of employers, the need to develop strategies, procedures and policies to address their career needs, desires and wants is becoming increasingly crucial. Companies seeking to be sustainably successful in the long-term need to begin to identify what will need to be incorporated into their current practices to appeal to Generation Y in order to motivate, attract and retain Generation Y talented professionals. While Companies acknowledge that talent is a major driver of business success and sustainability, this acknowledgment does not automatically lead to the development of strategies focused on facilitating Generation Y as the main population in the workforce. Currently little research and literature exists regarding Generation Y career needs and wants. Compounding this is the fact that many companies design and implement HR strategies aimed to address the career needs and wants of older Generations, who are either already exiting or beginning to exit the workforce

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / The main objective of this study was to establish whether Generation Y job seekers consider the ethical reputation of organisations in their job-seeking endeavours. Further objectives were to identify whether job seekers from this generational group would, despite their preferences, consider working for any organisation that 1) is prepared to provide them with employment, or 2) offers competitive financial remuneration. A quantitative research study was conducted, utilising a self-developed questionnaire, labelled the Organisational Choice Indicator (OCI). Due to the inherent difficulty of obtaining unbiased responses on sensitive topics, the questionnaire measured respondents’ responses from two perspectives —self-report and non-self-report. The questionnaire was administered using a sample of convenience at a South African-based university (n = 1 992). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted, using principal axis factoring with direct oblimin rotation to facilitate interpretation. One reliable factor was extracted, containing the eight ethics-related items included in the questionnaire, and was labelled Ethical reputation. Three other (non-ethics-related) reliable factors were extracted, namely Organisational characteristics, Opportunities and benefits, and Transformation. Findings show that, although ethical reputation is a factor for consideration, the Opportunities and benefits factor has the highest mean score, and is thus considered more important than any of the other factors when making organisational choices. The analyses of variance showed that the respondents who indicated that they will consider the organisation's ethical reputation as a factor in their decision-making, in turn also admitted that they will work for any organisation that offers them employment. This could be due to the high levels of job scarcity leading to survival ethics. Furthermore, those individuals who indicated that they would consider the ethical reputation of the organisation in their job-seeking endeavours, later indicated that they will not work for any organisation purely because the pay is good. This indicates that these individuals will not work for any organisation, regardless of the financial package being offered, without considering the ethical reputation of the organisation. The four factors that were reliably extracted (Ethical reputation, Organisational characteristics, Opportunities and benefits, and Transformation) were significantly positively inter-correlated. In addition, the findings indicate that respondents tend to respond in a similar manner when reporting on the self and on the non-self.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / The South African civil engineering profession is facing a crisis. This crisis which has occurred as a result of a diminishing numbers of qualified and experienced technical staff, which is due to an ageing professional population, a very understaffed 30 - 45 year old age group, and a relatively large junior technical staff component. This hour-glass shaped distribution of civil engineering technical staff has made experience and knowledge transfer difficult and extremely important. Civil engineering is a profession where a significant part of an engineer's knowledge is tacit and is gained from practical experience. To gain the necessary experience requires time, and it is in finding this time, amidst an increasingly competitive operating environment and overworked staff, that is becoming a hurdle for the civil engineering profession. The transfer of experience and knowledge needs to be accelerated; however, this requires an energised and motivated staff component. This relates to both those who pass on the knowledge and those that receive the same. This transfer process is time consuming and expensive. A consulting civil engineering company's financial investment in the training of its Generation Y (staff under the age of 30) is thus substantial. Because of this, the retention of these staff members becomes critical for the long term sustainability of the company. This research seeks to determine what motivates the Generation Y staff within Goba Consulting Engineers. Further to this, the research sought to determine what the preferred motivational factors are for the Generation Y staff who work for Goba Consulting Engineers. The objective of the research was for the results to be used as a tool for Goba Consulting Engineers to formulate a human resource policy that would seek to increase the motivation and job satisfaction of its Generation Y staff, and in so doing increase the retention rate of these personnel. Goba Consulting Engineers is a national civil consulting company that has 22 per cent of its staff in the Generation Y category (under the age of 30). These staff members were presented with a questionnaire containing questions about their basic needs, their preferred organisational structure and their preferred motivational factors. The questionnaire was housed on an external internet website and was to be completed electronically, which ensured anonymity of response. Only 37 per cent of the target population completed all the questions contained in the questionnaire. The responses were grouped, as per the research questions. The groups included individuals of different ethnic, administrative, regional and academic qualifications within Goba Consulting Engineers. The grouped responses were tested to determine whether they were statistically representative of the Generation Y staff within Goba Consulting Engineers. The results of the survey showed that the basic needs of the staff across the groupings were the same, with the need for growth being shown to be the most valued and desired. The responses also showed that the type of organisational structure preferred was that of a mechanistic type. The preferred motivational factor results revealed that differences between the groups, and that a strong emphasis was placed on factors that related to an integration of work and home/social/external life and influence. These results indicate that the conventional engineering management approach to motivation and reward may not be valid with respect to the Generation Y staff, and as such it may be prudent for Goba Consulting Engineers to formulate polices that are more applicable to these staff members.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / The purpose and motivation of this research study is to establish how Generation Y experiences coaching as an intervention and the influence, if any, it has on their levels of job satisfaction. Coaching’s success lies in its ability to act as a change agent, as well as a tool to develop and ensure individual as well as business success across many levels of the organisation. Generation Y graduates currently entering the workplace are a diverse community and the ideas and contributions that this group can bring are accessible and valuable to the bottom line of any business. The researcher investigated the phenomenology of the coaching experience. This is an empirical case study where the unit of analysis is the experience of seven Generation Y individuals, employed on an investment banking graduate programme in South Africa in 2011. Research data was gathered by means of observation, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews prior to and following four coaching interventions conducted by the researcher. Content from the semistructured interviews and feedback was analysed and further coded under the most frequent themes. The findings suggest that coaching can help graduates improve their feeling of happiness at work and increase their level of job satisfaction. The extent, however, is dependent on many factors, which include but are not limited to, the relationship between the coach and coachee, the ability of the coachee to reflect and yet be able to move towards a solution, as well as the many influences found within the working environment. Coaching was found to increase levels of confidence and assist in focusing on the bigger picture to develop their long-term potential. The study is of value to those organisations considering introducing a coaching programme; as well as those who want to better understand and develop their young talent for the future. Future research could examine ways to measure increased job satisfaction amongst graduates as well as assess the effect on retention levels.

A Report on Research Study presented to the Department of Social Work School of Human and Community Development Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Occupational Social Work, March 2017 / The multifaceted workplace, encompassing different generations, has been seen to have its benefits and potential factors leading to conflict (Burke, 2004). Differences existing within generations often influence the organizational success, staff performance, satisfaction, creativity, group cohesion and reputation, resulting in satisfactory or unsatisfactory relations being established (Baptiste, 2009; Saba, 2013; Salahuddin, 2010). Intergenerational differences provide additional insight into work life forces impinging on human beings within the workplace, which ultimately influences the success of the organization (Gratton, 2011; Salahuddin, 2010). As such, this study will provide additional insight into how generational differences impact on employee relationships with co-workers, on individual performance, and engagement in the workplace. The qualitative research approach was used to elicit live experiences of participants, and the narrative study design applied to, efficiently allowed participants to share their story. Using interview schedules, interviews were conducted with sixteen participants selected through a nonprobability purposive sampling strategy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted following obtainment of consent from the participants, and interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed using thematic analysis whereby data was divided into themes and subthemes, interweaving these within existing literature. The study anticipated that the changing workforce influences diverse generations differently, and this has an influence on the relations established and the manner in which they respond to the changes, and in so doing meets the organizational needs. The study found that similarities exist amongst generational groups which include: access to opportunities, performance and workforce needs. The findings also show that workplace challenges exist, however, and through the use of survival strategies employees can cope when presented with challenges. The study has provided insight on how occupational social workers can develop organizational strategies and interventions, which seek to acknowledge and embrace diversity amongst employees, in order to successfully manage and work effectively with a multigenerational workforce. / XL2018

The purpose of this study was to identify the training needs of different generations of adult learners within a corporate company within SA. Training needs were identified through interviews. Qualitative interviews were conducted with learners from each of the generations. This was a case study and the population was taken from a company within SA. Data was collected through interviews with different generations of adult learners, as well as the field notes of the researcher before, during, and after the interviews. The interviews were transcribed. The data was coded and categories were identified. This was done through inductive and abductive reasoning. From the categories, data were placed into themes. From these themes, findings were made regarding the training needs of different generations. Recommendations were made that can significantly impact the approach companies take towards training different generations of adult learners. Research limitations were described, and recommendations for future study. / Adult Basic Education (ABET) / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

The purpose of this study was to identify the training needs of different generations of adult learners within a corporate company within SA. Training needs were identified through interviews. Qualitative interviews were conducted with learners from each of the generations. This was a case study and the population was taken from a company within SA. Data was collected through interviews with different generations of adult learners, as well as the field notes of the researcher before, during, and after the interviews. The interviews were transcribed. The data was coded and categories were identified. This was done through inductive and abductive reasoning. From the categories, data were placed into themes. From these themes, findings were made regarding the training needs of different generations. Recommendations were made that can significantly impact the approach companies take towards training different generations of adult learners. Research limitations were described, and recommendations for future study. / Adult Basic Education (ABET) / M. Ed. (Adult Education)