Text in Afrikaans, with abstract and title in Afrikaans and English / Organisasieverwante stres onder maatskaplike werkers is ‘n internasionale verskynsel (Shweta & Siebert, 2007). Maatskaplike dienslewering gaan gewoonlik gepaard met organisasieverwante eise wat ‘n negatiewe uitwerking op die maatskaplike werker sowel as die kwaliteit van dienslewering kan hê indien dit nie vroegtydig geïdentifiseer en voorkom word nie (Werner, 2007:320). Ten spyte van die feit dat maatskaplike werk as een van die mees stresvolle beroepe beskryf word, het organisasieverwante stres binne die maatskaplike diensveld eers in die laaste paar jaar aandag begin geniet (Dillenburger, 2004:213). In die literatuur word daar na drie vlakke van intervensie verwys, naamlik primêre, sekondêre en tersiêre intervensie (Departement van Arbeid, 2003:14; Cooper, Dewe & O’Driscoll, 2001:189). Sekondêre en tersiêre intervensies word as die mees algemene strategieë vir die bestuur van stres in ‘n organisasie geïdentifiseer (Cooper et al., 2001:190; Grobler, Wärnich, Carrell, Elbert & Hatfield, 2002:441). Kritiek op die genoemde vlakke van intervensie sluit in dat die verantwoordelikheid op die maatskaplike werker alleen geplaas word om sy/haar stres te hanteer. Primêre intervensie behels dat die oorsprong van die probleem voorkom word, in plaas daarvan dat die simptome behandel word nadat dit reeds voorgekom het (Satcher, 1999). Hierdie navorsingstudie plaas die fokus op die primêre-intervensiestrategie, nadat daar ‘n leemte in die literatuur in hierdie verband geïdentifseer was. Die doel van die navorsing was om die aard van voorkoming van organisasieverwante stres onder maatskaplike werkers, deur middel van primêre-intervensiestrategieë deur maatskaplikewerkbestuurders, te verken en te beskryf ten einde ‘n voorkomingsriglyn te ontwikkel. Ten einde die navorsingsdoel te kon bereik is die kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering in hierdie studie gebruik, aangesien dit die mees geskikte wyse sou wees om die verkennende en beskrywende aard van die studie te ondersteun (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007:12). Die populasies vir hierdie kwalitatiewe studie was: • Alle maatskaplikewerkbestuurders wat by regerings- of nie-regeringsorganisasies werksaam is. • Alle maatskaplike werkers wat by regerings- of nie-regeringsorganisasies werksaam is. Binne die raamwerk van die kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering is daar van ‘n nie-waarskynlikheidsteekproefmetode en die doelgerigte en sneeubal steekproeftegnieke gebruik gemaak. Die navorser wou gebruik maak van haar eie oordeel oor wie die navorsingsvraag die beste sou kon beantwoord. Die steekproefgrootte was bepaal deur data-versadiging wat waargeneem was na nege onderhoude met maatskaplike werkers en nege onderhoude met maatskaplikewerkbestuurders. Die navorser het by beide populasies semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude as die metode van data-insameling benut. Tesch soos aangehaal in Creswell (2009:186), se agt stappe vir kwalitatiewe data-analise het die navorser ondersteun om die data op ‘n sistematiese wyse tot temas en sub-temas te kodeer. Die data is na afloop van die identifisering van die temas en sub-temas beskryf en gekontroleer met bestaande literatuur. Guba het (in Krefting, 1991:214-222) ‘n model saamgestel om met die verifikasie van kwalitatiewe data te help. Hierdie model is op die volgende vier aspekte gegrond en in hierdie studie benut: geldigheid van die waarheid, toepasbaarheid, bestendigheid en neutraliteit. Die volgende etiese aspekte is tydens die beplanning en uitvoering van hierdie studie in ag geneem: Vermyding van skade; vrywillige deelname; ingeligte toestemming en anonimiteit en konfidensialiteit. Die benutting van bovermelde metodologie het die navorser in staat gestel om voorkomingsriglyne te ontwerp en om gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings te maak. / The goal of this research was to explore and describe the nature of prevention of organisation-related stress among social workers through primary intervention strategies by social work managers to develop a prevention guideline. The qualitative research approach, together with the case study, contextual, explorative and descriptive research designs were used in the study. The two populations included a) all social work managers and b) all social workers that work for government or non-government organisations. Samples from the populations were obtained through the non-probability sampling method and the purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Tesch’s framework for qualitative research analysis supported the researcher to identify themes and sub-themes, while Guba’s model was used to assist with the verification of qualitative data. The empirical findings provided the foundation for the development of a prevention guideline. / Department of Social Work / Ph. D. (Social Work)

This study investigated the causes of employee dissatisfaction by means of a case study of the Business Application Solution Centre (BASC) at the Eskom Academy of Learning (EAL). The rationale for the study was to contribute further to a general understanding of employee dissatisfaction. This study highlighted the issue of the under-representation of blacks and females (of all races) in senior positions, and further emphasised appointment and recruitment issues that promote unfair labour practices, organisational culture and structure issues that undermine workplace relations, and the extent to which management responds to the abovementioned issues. A mixed method approach was employed to gather data from BASC employees. Qualitative data was collected by means of one focus group discussion and nine in-depth, face-to-face interviews. For the focus group and face-to-face interviews, purposive sampling was used for the selection of respondents, in order to ensure representation on all race, gender and occupational strata. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for both the focus group and face-to-face interviews. The questioning route was guided by the themes of gender, appointment and recruitment issues, culture and structure issues, and management response and practice. Quantitative data was collected by means of an online survey. Even though the online survey link was sent to employees on all strata, top managers did not participate. The use of a web-based online survey had an element of immediacy and also ensured maximum confidentiality, as responses were transferred to a development server with no link or trace to the respondents. The study revealed many underlying causes of employee dissatisfaction, such as the following: (1) the main drivers of black and female under-representation in top positions were lack of skills development, mentoring and career-pathing; (2) among the recruitment and appointment practices leading to employee dissatisfaction was the appointment of employees to ‘acting’ rather than permanent management positions; (3) there was a perception that managers abused their authority by promoting their favourites and overlooking those who they did not like; (4) although an affirmative action (AA) policy had been implemented at BASC, it was felt that employees should be appointed and promoted on merit, and that this should be accompanied by mentoring; (5) in some instances, the hiring of consultants deprived employees of opportunities to perform critical tasks. The fact that consultants were paid more than employees was also a source of discontent; (6) appointment criteria were non-transparent, and respondents revealed that they knew who was going to be appointed even before the recruitment process had been completed; (7) a bureaucratic culture was found to be the main organisational culture issue undermining workplace relations. On the other hand, a culture of teamwork appeared to reduce dissatisfaction and enhance unity; (8) the major organisational structure issues undermining workplace relations were managers who lacked managerial competencies and unequal payment on the same grade; (9) employees who stood their ground were given a low rating during performance appraisals. Others were bullied by senior managers and colleagues, who were rude towards them; (10) a hostile working relationship between managers and employees was caused by managers who lacked human resource skills; and (11) junior managers were undermined by employees who bypassed them and went straight to senior managers to discuss workplace issues. This study addresses both the general lack of information regarding the causes of employee dissatisfaction in South Africa, and of employee dissatisfaction in the information and communication technology (ICT) workplace environment. The findings of the study will also contribute towards a better understanding of the general causes of employee dissatisfaction. The results of this study suggest that more in-depth investigations of the causes of employee dissatisfaction are necessary to fully address this issue, and in order to ultimately prevent a further increase in the rate of employee turnover. Some implications for further research became apparent during the course of this study: similar studies on employee dissatisfaction should be conducted with top managers; studies on the experience of managers appointed to acting positions should be undertaken; and follow-up studies on employee dissatisfaction should be conducted as causes are addressed and relevant interventions are implemented. / Business management / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

MCom / Department of Human Resource Management and Labour Relations / The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of workforce diversity on employee performance in a selected Higher Educational Institution in South Africa. Various legislative measures were introduced by the government in order to shape the workforce in organisations. However, these legislative measures expressly focus on compelling organisations to embrace diversity and thus not considering the business need of it and how it influences employee behavioral outcomes such as employee performance. It is upon this backdrop that this study investigated the effects of workforce diversity on employee performance in an HEI in South Africa. A cross-sectional research design was used. A random sample (n = 267) was chosen by dividing employees into homogeneous strata of academic and non-academic employees. A Workforce Diversity Questionnaire and Employee Work Performance Questionnaire were administered. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between independent variables (gender diversity, ethnic diversity and educational diversity) and the dependent variable (employee performance). The relationship between age diversity and employee performance was not significant. HEIs should introduce diversity management programs to improve the effectiveness of workforce diversity towards employee performance. Because a cross-sectional research design was employed, conclusions about causality could not be made

PhD (Human Resource Management) / Department of Human Resource Management and Labour Relations / Globally, the economic, political and social environment is constantly changing, and this has posed various challenges for organisations in the world of work. South African universities have also not been spared from these changes as they are expected to meet international standards whilst operating in an environment where there are many changes in their work environment with regard to technology, language policy, decolonisation of the curriculum and globalisation. The dynamics in these aspects shape the organisational climate and psychological contracts of all institutions. Any changes in the organisational climate and psychological contracts may influence employee outcomes of organisational citizenship behaviour and intention to leave among employees. Therefore, this study responds to calls from previous studies on organisational climate and psychological contract research to investigate the role of moderators in their association with employee outcomes. There is an urgent demand for organisational leaders to practice ethical leadership and become trustworthy in order to inspire employees to exhibit organisational citizenship behaviour and reduce any intentions of leaving the organisation. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between organisational climate, psychological contract breach and employee outcomes among university employees. It also further investigated the moderating roles of ethical leadership and trust on those relationships. Six objectives were developed based on the aims of the study. To answer the objectives of this study, the research followed cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach was adopted. A total of 202 employees were selected through stratified random sampling to participate in the study and a self- administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The sample was made up of both academic and administration staff working in the universities. Item analysis was conducted to check the reliability of the scales and all the scales obtained acceptable Cronbach alphas. To explore the factor structure of the scales, exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and poor items were removed until a xv clear and desirable factor solution was obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the data and all the goodness of fit indexes achieved the required level. In addition, the composite reliability and average variance extracted for all scales met the required level. Moderated multiple regression analysis was conducted to measure the moderator roles of ethical leadership and trust in the organisational climate, psychological contract breach and employee outcomes relationships. The results showed that ethical leadership moderated the relationship between organisational climate and organisational citizenship behaviour (Δ R² = .078, F(3,148) = 8.994. p <.001, β = .285, p < .001); and also the relationship between psychological contract breach and organisational citizenship behaviour (Δ R² = .056, F(3,148) = 7.373, β = -.247, p < .005). However, non-significant results were found when testing the moderating role of ethical leadership in the relationship between organisational climate and intention to leave (Δ R² =.000, F(3,148) = 6.275, β =.000, p >.005); and also in the relationship between psychological contract breach and intention to leave (Δ R² = 0.03, F(3.148) = 12.878, β =.055, p > .05). In addition, the results also revealed that trust moderated the relationship between organisational climate and organisational citizenship behaviour (Δ R² =.030, F(3, 148) = 6.521, β =.175, p < .01); and also the relationship between psychological contract breach and organisational citizenship behaviour (Δ R² =.049, F(3.148) = 7.719, β = -.222, p < .001). However, non-significant results were also found in testing trust as moderator in the relationship between organisational climate and intention to leave (Δ R² =.001, F(3,148) = 10.373, β = -.022, p > .01); and also in the relationship between psychological contract breach and intention to leave (Δ R² = 014, F(3, 148) = 17.207, β =.120, , p > .05). The results provides sufficient evidence that organisational climate, psychological contract breach, ethical leadership, and trust can shape employee behavioural outcomes either positively or negatively. This study, therefore recommends that organisations should develop a strong and positive organisational climate in order to improve organisational citizenship xvi behaviour and reduce employees` intentions to leave the organisation. This is achievable with policies that speak to effective communication structure, job recognition, and career development paths. In addition, human resources managers are urged to prevent cases of psychological contract breach through providing employees with realistic overviews of the task to be performed and policy that can aid employees to air their grievances. The study further recommends the establishment of ethical corporate culture within the organisations through which only employees who meet the ethical standards of the organisation are promoted into leadership positions in order to improve the practice of organisational citizenship behaviour and in turn reduce employees` intention to leave the organisation. / NRF

The relevance of this thesis is in addressing information systems business leadership HRIS use issues.The thesis explains acceptance and use issues central to Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) within South African State Owned Agencies (SOAs). Organisations typically deploy HRIS with a view to automate Human Resource (HR) service delivery and administrative functions. Among other values, HRIS produces useful data and information which optimises HR operations and improves decision-making. However, the use of HRIS, notably within SOAs, is poorly understood owing to inadequate literature and contextualised studies. Despite the tremendous amount of investment into such systems, SOAs continuously identify emerging challenges and issues pertinent to HR operations and administration. For instance, despite HRIS automation, job applications and recruitment are still manually processed, which means that the costly implemented HRIS is not effectively used, and is thus underutilised. The burning questions for business leadership remain - why is HRIS not optimally utilised given significant organisational investment on such systems, and the mixed return-on-investments? The other question relates to what the level of acceptance is and actual use of these HR systems. There is also a need to determine to what extent do these systems enable or improve the delivery of human resource services and administration. Moreover, what influences the use of HRIS? Previous literature and organisational practice inadequately addresses these questions. This thesis, therefore, addresses these key issues to bridge these preceding knowledge gaps. In order to explain the use and subsequent effective use of HRIS, the study triangulated three theories as theoretical lenses. These theories are the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Self Determination Theory (SDT), and the Representation Theory (RT). These theories are employed to explore and explain the individual use, and subsequent effective use of HRIS. In this respect, the ontological stance for this thesis is that reality is objective. Thus, the study followed a positivist research paradigm, whilst the research the approach was deductive. A survey research strategy was employed during the study to obtain primary data. Survey participants included executives and individuals from speciality units e.g. HR, Finance, Supply Chain, Support departments (including IT and Help Desks) as well as other HRIS users. Participants were drawn from various South African SOAs. Structural equation modelling and hypothesis testing show that there are myriad of determinants influencing use and effective use of HRIS. The results further show that certain constructs are inconsistent with the existing literature. Nevertheless, this inconsistency speaks to the unique South African SOA contexts. The outcome of the study is a model which theoretically and practically explains those factors which must be considered to effectively use and utilise HRIS. That is, the theoretical, practical, methodological, and contextual contributions of the thesis is in explaining the determinants which are significant for effective use of HRIS. / Centre for Business Manangement / D.B.L.

This study explored factors that influence attitudes towards performance management among staff in the Core Network Field Operation (CNFO) of Telkom Eastern Cape. Performance management concerns achieving organisational goals efficiently and effectively. An observation by a manger that the staff were not performing optimally and were displaying a negative attitude towards performance management, necessitated an objective investigation into the reasons for such attitudes and also to be derivative of a corrective solution. This qualitative study was done in the form of a descriptive open ended survey involving geographically dispersed employees. Factual evidence gathered from the result of the study supports the literature that people have different views of performance management. A direct consequence of the different views could be in the inconsistent application of performance management. Solutions and possible corrective actions to improve employee participation and perception as sought by this study are contained in detail in the report / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)

Abstracts in English and Xhosa / Municipality is a sphere of government that is closest to the people and that deals with provision of services to the people of the country on daily basis. Therefore, human resource training is important to grow the skills and knowledge of the employees to improve in service delivery. Training is needed to improve performance and for organisational success. Municipal employees are the face of the government, so their performance is important on how they deliver services to the citizen. Employees in the City of Tshwane Municipality are required to provide effective and efficient, and quality service delivery. A good employee performance is required for effective service delivery, however is not the case in the City of Tshwane Municipality as it displayed by dissatisfaction from the citizen. For instance, of service delivery protests. Training helps and enables the municipal employees to deliver the service better and meet the expectation of citizens. Through training employee performance changes which influences the good service delivery and client’s satisfaction. Ever-changing, rapidly evolving working environment and changes in the needs of citizens, required the City of Tshwane Municipality to have trained and skilled, knowledgeable developed, employee to do the job well and flexible enough to adapt easily and to improve the service delivery. The human resource development is important to ensure that training and development of employees is taking place in the institution. The primary objective of this study seeks to examine whether HRD enhances employee performance in ensuring that service delivery is delivered in an efficient and effective manner. The researcher used qualitative research method to collect data from the City of Tshwane Municipality and questionnaires were used as a tool to collect data. This is qualitative study to get a deeper understanding of how human resource development can enhance employee performance. The main findings drawn from the study indicate that budget cuts and limited funds have a negative impact on training provision. Financial incapability and lack of identifying training needs leads to employees not attending training which in turn affects productivity. For training to continue requires a lot of money, training evaluation and investment specifically budgeted for employee training and development. If employees are not rewarded according to their performance, this leads to low morale and dissatisfaction. The City of Tshwane Municipality (CoT) has a training programme but extensive training is needed on technology especially when it is first introduced. The study recommends that the institution should seek advice and revisit the Skills Development Act, 1998 on increasing the levels of investment in education and training. The institution has to undertake feasibility studies in order to overcome budget. / Iziko ngalinye lidinga abasebenzi abaqeqeshiweyo, abafanelekileyo nabanezakhono ukuze liqhube imisebenzi yalo. Ukungabikho kophuhliso olusebenzayo lwemithombo yoluntu (iHRD – esi sisishunqulelo sesiNgesi esimele ihuman resource development) kuyayichaphazela indlela abasebenza ngayo abasebenzi kwakunye nokunikezelwa kweenkonzo kwicandelo lemisebenzi yoluntu. Injongo yeHRD kumaziko kukunikezela ngoqeqesho lwabasebenzi oludibene nolwazi, izakhono nesimo sengqondo esidingekayo ukuze abasebenzi bayenze ngcono imisebenzi yabo yemihla ngemihla. Kuthi kusenjalo ke, kubekho ucutho lohlahlo lwabiwo mali, ukuthotywa kwesabelo senkxaso mali, ukuhambela phambili kobuchwepheshe nokuncipha kwemithombo, ukuze zonke ezo meko zichaphazele kakubi ukulungiselela uqeqesho, ukusebenza kwabaqeshwa, ukunikezelwa kweenkonzo, nto leyo ithetha ukuba uqeqesho aluqhubeki ngokuthe gqolo. Abaqeshwa abaqeqeshiweyo, abaphuhlisiweyo nabanolwazi bawenza ngcono umsebenzi kwaye bayalinceda iqumrhu ukuba lifezekise iinjongo zalo. Icandelo likawonkewonke kwiSebe lemithombo yoluntu lifanele ukutyala imali ethe chatha kuqeqesho, ukwenzela ukuba abasebenzi bakwazi okulindeleke kubo. Injongo engundoqo yesi sifundo kukufumanisa ukuba ingaba iHRD iyakuqinisa na ukusebenza kwabaqeshwa ekuqinisekiseni ukuba ukunikezelwa kweenkonzo kwenzeka ngendlela esebenzayo nefanelekileyo na. Umphandi usebenzise iindlela zophando ezahlukeneyo ekuqokeleleni iinkcukacha zolwazi kuMasipala weSixeko saseTshwane – ndlela ezo izezokuqwalasela amanani nokuqwalasela ukuzathuza kwabathathi nxaxheba. Izintlu zemibuzo nazo zisetyenzisiwe njengesixhobo sokuqokelela iinkcukacha zolwazi. Okungundoqo okufunyaniswe kwesi sifundo kubonisa ukuba ukucuthwa kwesabelo mali nokunqongophala kwenkxaso mali kube nefuthe elingalunganga ekulungiseleleni uqeqesho. Iingxaki zemali nokungachaneki kakuhle kwezidingo zoqeqesho kukhokelele ekubeni abaqeshwa bangathathi nxaxheba kuqeqesho, nto leyo ichaphazele iziqhamo zomsebenzi. Ukuba ngaba kusafuneka uqeqesho luqhubeke, kudingeka imali eninzi kakhulu, kuvavanywe noqeqesho,kwenziwe utyalo mali olujoliswe ngqo ekuqeqesheni nasekuphuhliseni abasebenzi. Xa abasebezi bengahlawulwa ngokwendlela abasebenza ngayo, oko kukhokela kutyhafo nokunganeliseki kwabasebenzi. UMasipala weSixeko saseTshwane unayo inkqubo yoqeqesho, kodwa kudingeka uqeqesho olumandla kwezobuchwepheshe, ngakumbi xa oku kuqala ukwaziswa. Esi sifundo sicebisa ukuba eli ziko lifune iingcebiso, kwaye liphinde liqwalasele uMthetho Wophuhliso Lwezakhono (iSkills Development Act), yowe-1998, lijonge ekukhuliseni amazinga otyalo mali kwezemfundo noqeqesho. Ngaphaya koko eli ziko kufuneka lenze izifundo zophando lokufaneleka kweenkqubo, ngenjongo yokuhlangabezana nokucuthwa kwesabelo mali, nto leyo iyinxalenye yesi sifundo. / Human Resource Management / M. Admin.

Innovation and creativity are regarded as key drivers for organisational innovative success. Organisations that do not have a strategic focus on innovation and creativity and do not have a culture fostering innovative behaviour, will find it difficult to survive in these turbulent times. The innovative ability of organisations depends heavily on all employees at all levels of the organisation. Innovations driven by employees are known as EDI and creativity. Even though organisations understand the importance of EDI, a significant number of barriers within organisations still hamper EDI and creativity. The study was exploratory in nature and provided valuable insights into determining whether supervisory behaviour and the internal work environment had an impact on EDI and creativity in an ODeL institution in South Africa. A quantitative survey design was selected for this study. A census approach was followed, and primary quantitative data were collected from a subgroup within the identified institution, using self-administered electronic questionnaires. Through the process of exploratory factor analysis, five supervisory behaviour/management factors and five internal work environment factors were identified. The supervisory behaviour/management factors included supervisory support, management support, innovation management, innovative leadership, and team innovation. The internal work environment factors included organisational innovation culture, innovation mechanisms, innovative opportunities, risk-taking tolerance, and dedication to innovation. Correlation and structural equation modelling were conducted. The results indicate a relationship between supervisory behaviour and the internal work environment with regard to EDI and creativity. Recommendations regarding supervisory behaviour and creating enabling work environments to enhance and support EDI and creativity are made. / Human Resource Management / M. Com. (Human Resource Management)

Text in Afrikaans / Current society view performance appraisal in organization as a very important component and organization are sometimes legally obliged to apply performance appraisal. From a qualitative perspective the researcher want to explore and describe the criteria that must be taken in account during performance appraisal of community developers. A qualitative approach will be utilized following an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design. The study will be conducted by municipalities, non-governmental organizations and state departments in the Boland area in the Western Cape. Data will be collected by means of semi-structured focusgroup interviews with community developers. Data will be analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 1994). Guba's model (in Krefting, 1991) will be employed for data verification. Recommendations were provided according the criteria that must be taken in account with performance appraisal for community developers. / Prestasiebeoordeling word in die hedendaagse samelewing as 'n belangrike komponent binne enige organisasie beskou en organisasies word soms wetlik verplig om prestasiebeoordeling toe te pas. Vanuit 'n kwalitatiewe perspektief beplan die navorser die navorsingstudie om kriteria wat in aanmerking geneem behoort te word by prestasiebeoordeling van gemeenskapsontwikkelaars te verken en te beskryf. Vir die doel gaan 'n verkennende, bekrywende en konteksueie navorsingsontwerp geimplimenteer word. Die studie sal gedoen word by munisipaliteite, nieregeringsorganisasies en staatsdepartmente in die Boland streek in die Wes-Kaap. Semi-gestruktureerde fokusgroeponderhoude sal met gemeenskapsontwikkelaars gevoer word om die toepaslike data in te samel. Data sal geanaliseer word volgens die stappe van Tesch (in Creswell, 1994)) en data verifiering sal volgens Guba se model (in Krefting, 1991) onderneem word. Aanbevelings is voorsien met betrekking tot kriteria wat in aanmerking geneem kan word by prestasiebeoordeling van gemeenskapsontwikkelaars. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Social Work)

This study investigated the effect of cross-cultural differences on conflict episodes in a multicultural organisation in South Africa. The sample consisted of seven people, who represented six cultures. The phenomenological method of inquiry was used. Following the data collection process, the researcher identified the sources of conflict, then determined the qualities of leadership which aid in minimizing conflict. The five conflict management strategies were discussed, with further exploration into the use of confrontation and mediation. The researcher believes that the framework for describing conflict management strategies may need to be expanded as cross-cultural interaction is better understood. Finally, the study explored the positive and negative outcomes of conflict. Although many conflicts are costly to an organisation, some conflicts may assist people in cross-cultural understanding. Because diversity is becoming a more pressing issue in the 21st century, most people and organisations are facing the need to effectively communicate cross-culturally. The researcher recommends a three stage diversity training programme, which begins with new employees, then includes all employees and, finally, becomes an ongoing learning process in the organisation. / Education management / M.Ed.(Management)