M.Com. (Business Management) / This study does a formal analysis of the impact of transformation and the management of change within Eskom. The micro and macro environments are characterised by many imminent changes, forcing Eskom to transform. Externally the Employment Equity Act, Labour Relations Act, Affirmative Action and so forth were promulgated impacting on the very essence of the work force. A transformation process was introduced into Eskom and the study highlights the impact it had on employees as well as their reactions to it. With the transformation - change from functional organisation to a process or value chain organisation - officially finalised in April 99, Eskom is now in a mode of continuous improvement. With the implementation of the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998 it will help to redress the inequalities inherited from the past. The act will have an effect on every designated employer in South Africa. It encompasses the transformation of the demographic profile of Eskom's total work force so as to be a true reflection of the South African community. The act emphasizes on the eradication of unfair discrimination in various areas in the labour market, as well as the implementation of affirmative action programmes. The focus will be on the development and training of previously disadvantaged groups. Eskom has a diverse workforce with various cultures present in one business environment. Each employee has an unique personality with unique ideas and opinions. Optimal management of such diversity as an asset will enable Eskom to reach all targets set in the equity plan and the successful eradication of any direct or indirect discrimination in the organisation...

Historically, due to the policy of Apartheid, the South African labour market was beset with inequality in access to education, skills, managerial and professional work. Labour practices were based on race and ethnicity instead of talent, creativity and endeavour. Today, most major organisations in South Africa are staking their future growth on equity in the workplace. With the introduction of the Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998), employers have a responsibility to take proactive steps in eliminating unfair discrimination and to promote equity in the workplace, especially with regard to people from the previously disadvantaged groups, namely Africa, Indian and Coloured people, women and the disabled. The objective of this research is to critically evaluate how South African Financial Institutions have progressed in creating an employment structure based on equal opportunity and non-discrimination. This will be done using the ABSA Groups employment equity strategy as a case study. Employment Equity in South African organisations has become essential. The business community at large therefore faces a very realistic challenge in order to initiate appropriate strategic moves and accelerate the much-needed impetus for change. Organisations will have to identify and eliminate unfair and discriminatory policies and practices so as to comply with the Employment Equity Act. As difficult as this may be, it is crucial that organisations comply with the Act or else heavy penalties will be imposed for their transgressions. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The main focus of this study is to determine how managers assess the implementation of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (hereafter referred to as Employment Equity Act) in the Department of Water Affairs. / Public Administration / M. Admin (Public Administration)

M. Phil. (Human Resource Development) / Fourteen years since Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998) was promulgated, the corporate sector remains racially polarised. Although Act, No 55 of 1998 mandated organisations to appoint transformation managers with executive authority and resources to drive reform, the meagre progress and increasing income disparities in favour of the previously advantaged groups suggest that these managers are somehow ineffective. The study explores experiences and views of transformation managers regarding the policy - practice related challenges they encounter in driving employment equity in the corporate sector. Examining challenges encountered by transformation managers, as accountable executives, would assist in identifying disruptive and undesirable factors that stymie corporate labour market reform and lead to the development of contextualised short and long term mitigation strategies. A phenomenological approach was applied to answer the main research question. My ontology was based on transformation managers’ subjective construct of their own realities, and studying their experiences encountered in the course of executing their mandate would best give insight into these hindrance factors. My epistemological position was that the perspectives of people involved with managing transformation in corporate organisations were relevant; therefore I conducted interviews with five transformation managers from different corporate organisations. The study confirmed that with focus on achieving employment equity numbers little attention has been given to promoting and valuing diversity, and that corporate culture is characterised by racial mistrust, fear and resentment. Lastly, the study confirmed fault lines in the effectiveness of transformation managers.

The aims of the study were to determine if unfair discrimination in employment is being eliminated; to establish if a diverse workforce representative of the population is in the process of being achieved, and to find out if economic development and efficiency in the workplace is being promoted. The study made use of the organizational survey research method. Organizational surveys are powerful in: identification of opportunities for improvement, reality check, determining if a strategy is outdated and needs to change, measurement of performance improvements, changing mind-set of management, where necessary, increasing the commitment of people in the organization. The sample consisted of 166 participants. These participants comprised of 110 employees described as Crew Members and 56 employees described as Officers. All races were represented within the sample. In a population of 166 staff members at Natal Sharks Board, a sample of forty (40) participants was randomly selected. The sample was further subdivided into 20 Crew members and 20 Officers. The former 20 participants (Crew) were interviewed through medium of IsiZulu because most of them could not read or write. The latter 20 participants (Officers) were given questionnaires to fill-in. These questionnaires were in English. All 20 participants are competent English-speakers and could read and write. Data gathering took three weeks to complete. Collected data was analysed through quantitative and qualitative methods. The results and the findings of the study were presented according to the aims of the study. The findings according to aim number one, that is, to determine if unfair discrimination in employment is being eliminated; show that there is a change to eliminate discrimination at Sharks Board. The second aim, that is, to establish if a diverse workforce representative of the population is in the process of being achieved; show that there is a change in the diversity of the workforce. The last aim of the study, that is, to find out if economic development and efficiency in the workplace is being promoted at Sharks Board; shows that this process has began. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

The research problem in this study was to analyse how the new constitutional, legal and political arrangements have influenced public policy-making in the department of labour with specific reference to the Employment Equity Act. To achieve this objective a theory for analysing policy–making process was presented. Corporatist theory is based on the following assumptions: Public policy is shaped by interaction between the state and interest groups. The state licences behaviour of interested organizations by attributing public status to them Policy-making is based on interest groups bargaining across a broad range of issues. The groups are functionally interdependent to enhance social stability. The groups use consensus in making decisions. Decision-making is centralised, it is done by leaders. The groups are bureaucratic in organization. The groups must be recorgnised by the state so that they can be allowed representation. The research questions that arise are: (1) Who sets the agenda for policy formulation? (2) How is the policy formulated? (3) how are the decisions taken? (4) How is the policy implemented? (5) How is the policy monitored? The objective of this study analyse how constitutional, legal and political changes have influenced public policy formulation in the Department of Labour with specific reference to the Employment Equity Act. Policy–making processes in the South African arena and factors that led to the promulgation of Employment Equity Act were discussed. This study was a qualitative design. Purposive sampling was used in the selection of five participants who were interviewed. All interviews were transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed as described by Rubin and Rubin (1995:260) The result negated some of the assumptions of corporatist theory and others concurred with the theory. The findings of the study revealed that policy formulation in the Department of Labour is as a result of constitutional, and international conventions obligations. The findings further revealed that policy-information is institutionalised and there are competing interests due to divergent ideological orientations, different social backgrounds; racial differences; different; political beliefs; different class background; different historical backgrounds, and gender differences. (v) The formulation of the act was also characterised by advocacy, adversarism, stereotyping, alliances and consensus. These organisations. were bureaucratic and decisions were centralised. This study recommended a theory and the theory postulates that “public policy is the product of the social, economic, political, cultural, technolergical, and natural conditions of a given society in a particular epoch or period in the historical development of the particular nation or society and is influenced by dominant national and international forces and these influences may be cultural, economically, social, politically, technological, and type and system of government.

The term affirmative action originated in the United States some 30 years ago to describe a process of liberating minority groups. The objective of affirmative action within an organisational context, is to democratise the workplace by enabling members of previously disadvantaged groups to progress higher up the ranks of the corporate world. The affirmative action drive only took off in South Africa when it became part of the democratisation process and the focus was directed towards liberating the historically disadvantaged black majority. Prior to 1994, the reasons for implementing affirmative action programmes were largely political because of the race-based discrimination. Historically disadvantaged people were a minority in senior positions, the reason being that although the blacks were given a chance to compete with their white counterparts, due to their poor education standards and lack of experience only a few was appointed. The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 aims to correct the demographic imbalances in the nation’s workforce by compelling employers to remove barriers to advancement of blacks, coloureds, Indians, women and disabled, and actively to advance them in all categories of employment by affirmative action. The Employment Equity Act consists of two main sections. The first replaces and refines the prohibition on unfair discrimination in item 2(1)(a) of Schedule 7 of the Labour Relations Act. The second aspect deals with imposing a duty to the employers to adopt affirmative action programmes. The Employment Equity Act places a positive obligation on all employers “to promote equal opportunity in the workplace by eliminating unfair discrimination in any employment policy or practice”. Where unfair discrimination is alleged, the onus of proving that discrimination is fair, or practice is not discriminatory at all, rests upon the employer. Disputes about unfair discrimination must be referred to the CCMA, and if not settled by conciliation, to the Labour Court, which has the power to order compensation or the payment iv of damages, or to direct the employer to take steps to prevent the same unfair discrimination or similar practice occurring in the future in respect of other employees. The second section of the Employment Equity Act deals with the imposition of the duty to designated employers to adopt affirmative action programmes. All employers with more than 50 employees, or which have annual turnovers equal to or above the annual turnovers for small businesses of their class, municipalities, organs of state, and those designated as such by collective agreement, must implement affirmative action measures for people from designated groups. This entails consulting with employers, conducting an analysis of employment policies, practices, procedures and the working environment to identify barriers, drawing up employment equity plans and reporting thereafter to the Director-General of the Department of Labour on progress made in implementing the plan. Any employee may bring alleged contraventions of the Act to the attention of the employer, another employee, or any trade union, workplace forum, labour inspector or the Director- General of the Employment Equity Commission. Labour inspectors appointed under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act may enter and inspect employer’s properties and documents, and are responsible for ensuring that the employer has consulted with employees as required, conducted the pre-equity plan analysis prepared its plan and is implementing it, submitted and published its reports, set up the necessary managerial infrastructure, and informed its employees of progress. Should employers be found not to have complied with these requirements, labour inspectors must request a written undertaking that they will do so. If an employer fails to give such an undertaking, the labour inspector can issue a compliance order setting out inter alia what steps the employer must take and when, and the maximum fine, if any, that can be imposed if the employer fails to comply. If the employer does not pay attention to the compliance order within the prescribed period, the Director-General may apply to have it made an order of the Labour Court. The Director-General may also conduct independent ad hoc reviews of selected designated employers. Failure by an employer to comply with the provision of the Act lead to the employer being liable for the contravention of the Act.

Thesis (M. Comm.)--University of South Africa, 2002.

Thesis (M. Comm.)--University of South Africa, 2002.

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.