Educational Studies / M.Ed (Educational Management)

The general aim of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between employee wellness (specifically sense of coherence, burnout, sources of job stress and work engagement) and career anchors, and to determine whether gender, race, employment and age groups differed in terms of the employee wellness and career anchors variables. The study was conducted among a random sample of 90 employees in a typical South African work context. The data was collected by means of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ), Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI), Sources of Job Stress, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and the Career Orientations Inventory (COI). Supporting evidence indicates significant associations between employee wellness and the career anchors variables. The results also showed significant differences between the career anchors of males, females, blacks, whites, permanent staff, contract staff and age groups. The findings contribute valuable new knowledge to the wellness and career literature and organisational practices related to employee wellness and career decision making. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This thesis reports a study of work ethic values, beliefs and attitudes held by medical professionals in selected hospitals in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study was in response to the public outcry about the declining work ethic and poor service delivery in South Africa’s healthcare sector. Scholarly interest in the work ethic and its role in economic development dates back to Max Weber’s classical work, which was the starting point for my study. The German economic sociologist published his seminal essay on The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in 1904/1905. Since that time, Weber’s ideas on the Protestant work ethic continue to inform and influence studies of the contemporary work ethic, which is thought to have become secularised. My study was informed by data collected in 2009 through a questionnaire survey and personal interviews. A total of 174 doctors and nurses, working in four urban, periurban and rural hospitals near East London, completed a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire replicated the Multi-Dimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) developed by Miller, Woehr and Hudspeth in 2001/2002. The instrument examines seven critical dimensions of the work ethic, namely self-reliance, morality, (foregoing) leisure, hard work, centrality of work in life, not wasting time, and delay of gratification. In addition, I conducted personal interviews in the same four hospitals with 41 hospital managers, doctors, nurses, and patients to discuss their understanding of the work ethic and its practical application. The study found that both doctors’ and nurses’ overall work ethic scores on the MWEP scale were above average. Although there was no significant difference between the overall work ethic scores of the two professions, doctors scored significantly higher than nurses on the ‘hard work’ and ‘self reliance’ dimensions of the work ethic scale. In the qualitative study, the doctors’ work ethic was rated much more highly than the nurses’ by their superiors and patients; and the work ethic of nurses in the urban hospitals was rated much lower than that of their rural colleagues. In contradiction to the idea of the secularization of the contemporary work ethic, religiosity and religious beliefs were influential in the endorsement of work ethic principles. In line with the notion that ‘happy’ workers are more productive, job and life satisfaction were found to be strong correlates of the work ethic of medical professionals.

The twenty first century has identified knowledge, as opposed to labour, raw materials or capital, as the key resource required by firms. This has created a shift of ownership in relationships between employees and employers since employees own the tools of production through the knowledge they hold (Kinnear & Sutherland, 2000). The employment relationship is undergoing fundamental changes due to international competition, de-regularisation and globalisation which have major implications for attraction, motivation and retention of talented employees (De Vos & Meganck, 2009). Organisations face great challenges and intense competition with almost all strategies being easily replicable by competitors. This has led organisations to begin realising that people are in fact the only real differentiator that can gain the organisation competitive advantage (Munsamy & Bosch Venter, 2009). Turnover of employees costs South Africa millions of rands per annum through decreased productivity, increased accidents and quality problems. Specifically, loss of knowledge workers are identified through costs of hiring and training new employees, loss of institutional knowledge, lower office morale, loss of talent and customer dissatisfaction. It is therefore essential to understand the reasons why employees leave organisations in order to discover how to retain them (Mendes & Stander, 2011; Gaylard, Sutherland & Viedge, 2005). Employee turnover can have several negative consequences. It can be difficult to replace the departed employees and the cost of replacing employees can be exhaustive. Remaining employees can be left feeling demoralised from the loss of valued co-workers and work patterns can be disrupted until replacements are found (Newstrom and Davis, 1997). Bilal, Zia-ur-Rehman, and Raza, (2010) add to this list of negative consequences of turnover as turnover can increase recruitment and training costs, loss of productivity as projects lose continuity, interruption of key activities, increase in mistakes made, or even hiring the wrong person for the position.

In this economically challenging era, companies have got to find the best system that can help to enhance productivity. A very important method is by encouraging takeholders through various forms of incentives. The gain-sharing incentive has been adopted by many organisations today to enhance staff loyalty and productivity. A gain-sharing programme ensures that both the organisation and team members benefit from the expected performances, rather than an individual or group incentive which is given based on a specific finite goal which could be achieved at the cost of other key critical business need. A couple of years ago Autocast Aluminium decided to enhance employee performance by initiating the gain-sharing incentive programme. After the programme was rolled out, the organisation is yet to examine the extent to which it enhances job satisfaction in the organisation. The primary objective or aim of the study is to examine the extent to which gain-sharing at Autocast meets the purpose for which it was created. The sample of the study was 176 of the employees at Autocast Aluminium; however 130 questionnaires were distributed. A total of 88 questionnaires were returned, of which 80 were usable, whilst eight were scrapped due to more half of the questionnaire having missing data. This resulted in a 68 % response rate. A framework has been developed to measure to what extent does the programme enable employees to feel satisfied with their jobs. The empirical results revealed that out of six independent variables tested: fair payment, involvement, personal growth, communication, job security and leadership style, only three that plays significant role on employee job satisfaction. These are fair payment, communication and leadership style.

University of Fort Hare Human Resource Department reports show evidence relating to high labour turnover. Between 2009 and 2012 there was a high degree of labour turnover. A total 1127 staff left the University. This study investigated the relationship between job satisfaction, organisational commitment and intention to quit among academics and administrative employees at the University of Fort Hare. Data was collected from a random sample of 289 employees of the University staff. To obtain data in this study a questionnaire was utilised. This questionnaire was divided into four sections viz, biographical information, measured ten-items which range from age to condition of employment, Halpern’s (1966) seven-level evaluation scale was utilised to measure job satisfaction, to measure organisational commitment, Meyer, and Allen (1984) 24-item rating point scale was applied and Canmann, Fichman, Jenkins and Klesh’s questionnaire was used to measure intention to quit. Data analysis was performed by way of several statistical techniques, including the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Technique and Multiple Regression analysis. The results obtained revealed that job satisfaction has a significant positive correlation with intention to leave while organisational commitment showed no substantial correlation with intention to quit work.

Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Management Sciences: Human Resources Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of job satisfaction on organizational effectiveness at Buffalo City College in the Eastern Cape. When job satisfaction levels are low, the organizations efforts to attain organizational effectiveness may be compromised. For any organisation to be effective, it should have satisfied and committed workers. The levels of employee performance may be increased by job satisfaction in an organisation including the further education and training sector. The individual commitment of employees in the workplace may be stimulated by job satisfaction. This means that the satisfaction of employees is necessary for the development of any establishment. A quantitative methodological style was used for the collection of data in this study. The target population consisted of 100 lecturers at Buffalo City College. The personal method of administering the questionnaire was used and a 75% response rate was obtained. The Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 was used for statistical examination. Significant findings emerged from the empirical analysis and results. Some respondents experienced job satisfaction while others experienced dissatisfaction with growth opportunities, pay, working conditions and recognition. The recommendations highlighted that top management should consider improving the working conditions of employees and opening up opportunities for individual advancement of the workers. Further, it was recommended that top management of Buffalo City College should pay a fair salary to the lecturers and involve them in decision making particularly on those things that have a direct impact on them. The study concludes by providing directions for future research. / M

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Masters in Technology specialising in Human Resource Management, Department of Human Resource Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / The study arose as a result of a merger between the former Technikon Natal and former M.L. Sultan Technikon, culminating in the formation of a new institution in 2002, called the Durban Institute of Technology (now known as the Durban University of Technology). The focus of the study was on the impact of mergers on lower level employee motivation and staff morale at the Durban University of Technology. Furthermore, the study focused on examining the perceptions of lower level employees towards the merger process which included the pre-merger, during and post-merger phases. A mixed methods research design was used in this study. The quantitative sample was n=50. In addition, six in-depth interviews were conducted for the qualitative part of the study. This study concluded that the merger had a negative impact on the perceptions of lower level employees regarding the merger process in the post-merger phase. The results indicated that staff morale of lower level employees was low post-merger. Some lower level employees proved to be less satisfied than others who adopted the new changes as a result of the merger. Interestingly, the results indicated a high level of motivation amongst lower level employees post-merger. Minimal communication originated from top management to lower level employees. It was recommended, amongst other suggestions that communication and training should be strengthened amongst lower level employees, supervisors and management in higher education institutions. Whilst lower level employees may have low skills and education, an attempt should be made to involve lower level employees early on and throughout higher education mergers. / M

M.Comm. (Business Management) / Schools are regarded as underperforming or performing schools and in that regard there is a need to identify how engaged the HODs are with their jobs in achieving the goals and objectives of the school to become high performing schools. The study identifies the factors that influence work engagement and determine the level of work engagement of Heads of Departments at secondary schools in Eldorado Park. The population used in this study consists of all the schools in Eldorado Park, one of the suburbs located in the south of Johannesburg. The suburb has eight secondary schools and all the schools and HODs of these schools were included in the study. The study adopts a mixed method design which makes use of qualitative and quantitative methodology as it needs to capture the lived experience, beliefs and feelings of the participants. The quantitative design was by way of close-ended questions while the qualitative design used open-ended questions to generate the data. A questionnaire was developed that was used as a measuring instrument for the closed-ended questions with regard to work engagement of HODs. The questionnaire was designed within the framework regarding the work engagement of the HODs using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) as an alternative assessment for measuring the work engagement of the HODs. Open-ended questions were included in the questionnaire and provided information for the qualitative analysis to pursue the secondary objectives of the study. The findings of the study indicated that several factors positively influence the work engagement of HODs among which include, employees’ commitment, job satisfaction, work and wellbeing. Burnout also shows that employees tend to disengage themselves from their work tasks, making the tasks uninteresting and no longer challenging. This in essence indicated a negative relationship. In addition, the results indicated that training, workshops, seminars and orientation sessions should be arranged for HODs. They should also work according to a schedule; they have to be focused; good communication with them is important and they have to attend meetings. They should also plan, organise and execute their tasks and resources should be made available to employees. The main conclusion drawn from the research is that secondary school Heads of Departments are usually engaged with their jobs. They devote much time and energy to their work and find new and interesting dimensions in their jobs. They also work hard to achieve the school goals and objectives. Finally, there is a need for a follow-up study to be conducted in Gauteng South District 14 (D14) secondary schools to determine the level of work engagement of all the Heads of Departments both in underperforming or performing schools.

Employed individuals spend a majority of their waking time at work. Therefore, within an individual’s working lifetime, most hours will be spent at work. Subsequently, theories abound purporting that humans are hedonistic beings. Considering that on average people spend most of their working lives in a working environment, it then stands to reason that people should endeavor to be satisfied at work if humans are always in pursuit of happiness. The questions arise as thus: what makes people satisfied at work, does being satisfied with the job result in less turnover, and is that the only reason that they would endeavor to prolong their employment, are older employees more satisfied with their jobs than younger employees, is a plant with an older workforce more satisfied than a similar plant with a younger workforce? This study attempts to find an answer to these and other related questions. It was conducted on employees of two plants of an automotive manufacturer based in Port Elizabeth, a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) was used to collect the feelings of 92 employees in different shops and analyzed to check for differences in satisfaction levels. No significant differences were found between the plants, shops and age categories surveyed.