Orientation: South Africa’s cultural and linguistic diversity requires special measures to ensure that the assessments used in employment settings are scrupulously fair. To this end, Section 8 of The Employment Equity Act requires that psychometric tests are scientifically proved to be valid and reliable and not to discriminate unfairly against any individual or group. The South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) sets out to meet these criteria by incorporating culture-specific elements and by providing versions in each of South Africa’s 11 official languages. o Research purpose: The key determination of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Afrikaans version of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI). The aforementioned properties include item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), reliability analysis, product-moment correlation and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). o Motivation for the study: To contribute to the fair, valid and reliable use of the SAPI questionnaire in all language versions of the instrument by examining the psychometric properties of the Afrikaans version and comparing it with the validated English version. Once this has been done for each of the 11 official South African languages versions, a culturally neutral instrument will be available for the full diversity of employment settings in South Africa. o Research design, approach and method: This study used a quantitative cross-sectional research design with an emic approach, objectivist ontology and a post-positivist research paradigm. Primary data was collected by administering the Afrikaans version of the SAPI questionnaire to a non-probability sample of 201 purposively selected white Afrikaans-speaking South Africans who are economically and non-economically active and have a minimum qualification of Grade 12. An online Afrikaans version of the SAPI along with a biographical questionnaire was used to collect data. Item analysis was investigated by means of a descriptive statistical analysis. An initial principle component analysis followed with exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine the instrument’s factor structure. A reliability analysis was conducted in order to measure the internal consistency of the instrument. Product-moment correlations explored the relationships between variables. Further analysis was done to detect the relationships of the variables and to detect differences. Main findings: The White Afrikaners attach immense importance to the social-relational factors. From the six factors, only three factors were extracted, namely the Social-relational Positive, combined Social-relational Negative/Conscientiousness, and Intellect/Openness factors. These factors showed adequate validity and reliability. The item functionality needs to be re-evaluated in order to measure all the six factors of the SAPI and different analytical techniques should be applied. The relationships between the remaining three factors were sufficient, and only age differences were detected in the experience of Social Relational Negative/Conscientiousness o Practical/managerial implications: The results of this study provide a firm foundation for the further investigation of the validity of the Afrikaans version of the questionnaire. Furthermore, insight is given to researchers and practitioners on the need to develop, adapt or translate psychometric instruments, especially for use in an environment which is multicultural and multilingual. o Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to cultural-specific research on the assessment of personality in South Africa. Its thorough investigation and attempt to validate the Afrikaans version of the SAPI is supported by an extensive body of literature relevant to standardizing the SAPI. Practitioners and organisations will now be able to administer a culturally informed personality assessment where the home language of the employees is Afrikaans. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Human Resource Management / MCom / Unrestricted

South Africa has gone through immense changes in the past two decades. The period around 1994 has been characterised by a comprehensive set of political, social and economic changes, which greatly influenced not only the lives of individuals in this county but also many businesses, organisations and companies. Further to this, South Africa has become increasingly intercultural in orientation as companies persevered in establishing intricate networks with partners in a diverse set of cultures. This has put enormous strain on organisations to remain competitive in the market. It is critical that organisations develop a more resilient workforce with greater psychological capacities to succeed in the on-going war for talent. Attracting and retaining talented employees can give organisations a sustained competitive advantage. In view of the growing intricacies in the business world, ambiguity in markets, and employees’ attitudes, it is crucial that organisations invest in psychological assessments. However, investing in valid and reliable psychological assessments has become more difficult due to vast cultural diversity South Africa comprises off. The general objective of this study was to explore social desirability in the white Afrikaans group. A qualitative design was used and a quota non-probability sampling method was implemented among white Afrikaans-speaking people of South Africa (N=60), who differed from one another with regard to age, gender and socio-economic status. The measuring instrument was a semi-structured interview, which was based on the phenomenological approach. The results of the interviews were transcribed and captured in Excel. Content analysis was used to interpret the responses in socially desirable themes. Independent psychologists and language and cultural experts were employed in order to validate the initial interpretations. The descriptive terms were reduced through the use of cluster analysis. The analysis included the grouping of synonyms and antonyms, together with the use of dictionaries, literature and knowledge about content. In the representation of social desirability and impression management strategies within the white Afrikaner group, six main themes with sixty sub-themes in total were identified. The six themes are facilitating, gender-based, intellect-openness, interpersonal relatedness, intrapersonal relatedness and value-based. Firstly, to facilitate others by giving advice and guidance will be seen as desirable and make a favourable impression. Secondly, to display characteristics that are typically associated with males and females, such as masculinity and femininity, will be seen as desirable and can make a positive impression. Thirdly, having a unique natural ability or skill and being receptive to new and different ideas will be seen as desirable and make a good impression on others. Fourthly, remaining constructive in one’s relationships, and fifthly, remaining constructive in one’s inner thoughts and possessing inner confidence and having respect will make a favourable impression and can be seen as socially desirable. Lastly, exhibiting moral consciousness and being trustworthy, loyal and reliable will make a positive impression and will be perceived as desirable by the white Afrikaner group. Recommendations for future research and for practice were made. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa has gone through immense changes in the past two decades. The period around 1994 has been characterised by a comprehensive set of political, social and economic changes, which greatly influenced not only the lives of individuals in this county but also many businesses, organisations and companies. Further to this, South Africa has become increasingly intercultural in orientation as companies persevered in establishing intricate networks with partners in a diverse set of cultures. This has put enormous strain on organisations to remain competitive in the market. It is critical that organisations develop a more resilient workforce with greater psychological capacities to succeed in the on-going war for talent. Attracting and retaining talented employees can give organisations a sustained competitive advantage. In view of the growing intricacies in the business world, ambiguity in markets, and employees’ attitudes, it is crucial that organisations invest in psychological assessments. However, investing in valid and reliable psychological assessments has become more difficult due to vast cultural diversity South Africa comprises off. The general objective of this study was to explore social desirability in the white Afrikaans group. A qualitative design was used and a quota non-probability sampling method was implemented among white Afrikaans-speaking people of South Africa (N=60), who differed from one another with regard to age, gender and socio-economic status. The measuring instrument was a semi-structured interview, which was based on the phenomenological approach. The results of the interviews were transcribed and captured in Excel. Content analysis was used to interpret the responses in socially desirable themes. Independent psychologists and language and cultural experts were employed in order to validate the initial interpretations. The descriptive terms were reduced through the use of cluster analysis. The analysis included the grouping of synonyms and antonyms, together with the use of dictionaries, literature and knowledge about content. In the representation of social desirability and impression management strategies within the white Afrikaner group, six main themes with sixty sub-themes in total were identified. The six themes are facilitating, gender-based, intellect-openness, interpersonal relatedness, intrapersonal relatedness and value-based. Firstly, to facilitate others by giving advice and guidance will be seen as desirable and make a favourable impression. Secondly, to display characteristics that are typically associated with males and females, such as masculinity and femininity, will be seen as desirable and can make a positive impression. Thirdly, having a unique natural ability or skill and being receptive to new and different ideas will be seen as desirable and make a good impression on others. Fourthly, remaining constructive in one’s relationships, and fifthly, remaining constructive in one’s inner thoughts and possessing inner confidence and having respect will make a favourable impression and can be seen as socially desirable. Lastly, exhibiting moral consciousness and being trustworthy, loyal and reliable will make a positive impression and will be perceived as desirable by the white Afrikaner group. Recommendations for future research and for practice were made. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014