A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master Of Administration in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2017 / Equality is a constitutional provision which grants some people with disabilities opportunities of employment. The law that effects the constitutional provision is the Employment Equity Act (1998) where affirmative action measures are prescribed and to be implemented by designated employers. Many years have passed since the promulgation of the equity legislation in South Africa it is therefore justifiable to evaluate its implementation practices. In line with the central argument, the aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of Employment Equity Act at UThungulu District Hospitals for people with disabilities. Findings revealed that the implementation of Employment Equity Act in public hospitals is self-contradictory; that is, hospitals are thriving to obtain and retain health professionals with the skills that will assist in combatting diseases whereas people with disabilities are characterised by the low levels of literacy. The implementation of the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) in the public health system is an indication of the nature of skills that are a priority in public hospitals. In line with the transformation agenda, positions that do not require high levels of literacy such as cleaning, security, catering and laundry were outsourced thus decreasing opportunities of people with disabilities to be employed. On the other side of the continuum, penalties imposed by the National Department of Labour for failing to submit Employment Equity Plan against the set quota in the public service confirms that the equity legislation was not contextualised in the South African setting during its formulation phase. Budgetary constraints were reported to be one of the contributing factors for the lack of implementing the equity legislation. However, presence of misappropriation of funds and corruption were reported to be some of the major causes of lack of policy implementation in the public service. The results revealed that district hospitals are not ready to socially and economically integrate people with disabilities based on lack of official accommodation, outsourcing of jobs where people with disabilities can be gainfully employed, lack funds to transform the physical environment and the conflicting priorities of the health sector that seeks to prioritise the employment of health professionals with scarce skills in order to combat diseases.

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The purpose of this research project was to explore differences in perceptions of organizational justice and related attitudes. Through the use of a 3 x 2 experimental design, participants were randomly assigned to groups in which they were exposed to a fictitious organization’s mock recruitment document publicizing different types of affirmative action programs and varying levels of information regarding the mechanics of such programs. Results did not demonstrate statistically significant differences across groups. Project implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Research problem: Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is a legal framework established by the South African government to eradicate racial and gender exclusionary elements from the apartheid regime. This refers to the process called economic transformation. The B-BBEE Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Sector Code is the primary regulatory instrument for regulating ICT organisations' economic transformation activities. Organisational minimal compliance with the B-BBEE ICT Sector Code is the primary obstacle to including Black people in ICT business. Minimal compliance is a compliance behaviour that looks good on the letter of the law but does not transform the intended systems. While ICT organisations have good B-BBEE certificates, the points earned in the compliance process have not been translating into transformation. In 2020, 17 years after the introduction of the B-BBEE Act, the ICT Sector Council reported that ICT organisations had not made real progress in racial inclusivity in ownership and management structures. Minimal compliance with the B-BBEE ICT Sector Code reveals a policy enforcement dilemma where compliance with regulation makes no social change. Purpose of the research: The study interrogated how contextual factors affect minimal compliance with affirmative action regulations such as the B-BBEE ICT Sector Code. The study is a response to the call for Information Systems researchers to investigate the role of ICTs in achieving social justice and the socio-technical aspects that affect ICT enterprises. Investigating these kinds of regulations in Information Systems research also reveals how ICT business interacts with aspects of the socio-political context in post-colonial contexts such as South Africa. Methodology: This is a qualitative inquiry guided by a critical research paradigm. Data was collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis in various touchpoints of the B-BBEE ICT Sector Code. We employed thematic analysis and content analysis to analyse the research data. We developed a conceptual framework that suggests that minimal compliance stems from the need to protect the achievement of organisational goals. Key findings: Factors that affect minimal compliance with the B-BBEE ICT Sector Code are the organisational perception of the policy implementation context, organisational logic of action, and organisational legitimisation. ICT organisations leverage regulatory loopholes (e.g., pointsystem compliance) in the B-BBEE ICT Sector Code to comply with it in a manner that does not add value for the beneficiaries but allows them to achieve their organisational goals. ICT organisations responded to B-BBEE regulatory requirements through two utilitarian logics (goal prioritisation and maintaining status quo). Businesses are pragmatic institutions! This phrase surfaces every time a question B-BBEE compliance comes up. When they introduced the point-system compliance, B-BBEE policymakers did not consider the granular details concerning the complexity inherent in the South African historical context that would affect Black people's involvement in the digital economy. Quantifying the involvement of Black people in the ICT sector has resulted in the commoditisation of gender and race – making the beneficiaries the means to an end through B-BBEE points. The point-system compliance mechanism is the supreme loophole of the B- BBEE policy implementation context. The point-system enforcement mechanism propels ICT organisations to protect the achievement of their economic goals while neglecting the transformation agenda. Ideological discourses such as “B-BBEE compliance is anti-FDI, BBBEE compliance is costly, and B-BBEE compliance is complex” continue to thrive as legitimisation mechanisms to justify minimal compliance behaviour and its outcome. Research contribution: The study is rich with new knowledge about ICT organisational response to affirmative action policies in post-colonial contexts. The focus on the B-BBEE ICT Sector Code revealed policy discrepancies that future policymakers may consider ensuring that transformation takes place. International actors may benefit from the study's practical contribution to B-BBEE compliance processes, and the stakeholders involved. The study contributes to theory by proposing a conceptual framework for minimal compliance behaviour. The conceptual framework proposes three factors to be considered while analysing compliance behaviour: policy implementation context, organisational logics of action, and organisational legitimisation. Through this conceptual framework, the study shows that minimal compliance behaviour is mostly viewed as a binary behaviour – compliance or noncompliance. The compliance behaviour that looks good in the letter of the law but does not solve the problems that warrant policy introduction is taken for granted. The methodological contribution of the study rests in the use of multiple data sources that provided a heterogeneous perspective on B-BBEE compliance. Moreover, a critical interrogation of compliance behaviour is instrumental in illuminating mechanisms used by dominant powers to maintain hegemony by going around the regulations.

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[pt] Os estudantes que ingressam por meio da política de ação afirmativa encontram inúmeras e graves dificuldades para permanecer na universidade e concluir seus cursos. O acesso desses novos alunos deu ênfase às políticas de permanência e, a partir de então, a temática vem despertando um crescente interesse de pesquisadores que buscam conhecer e compreender os aspectos que perpassam a permanência universitária. A Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro teve a sua primeira experiência com a política de ação afirmativa para ingresso em seus cursos de graduação, em 2011, quase dez anos após ter se tornado realidade em outras instituições públicas. Especialmente a partir da Lei de Cotas, sancionada em 2012, houve o ingresso massivo de estudantes com um novo perfil, o que teve maior impacto nos cursos de alto prestígio, onde a maioria dos estudantes é oriunda das classes sociais mais altas. Desta forma, o presente estudo busca analisar as trajetórias universitárias de estudantes ingressantes pela ação afirmativa, em cursos de prestígio, a partir de suas percepções acerca do cotidiano universitário. Para atender aos objetivos da pesquisa entrevistamos o total de treze estudantes, que têm mantido uma trajetória improvável, na medida em que vêm sobrevivendo em um espaço onde a sua presença é pouco esperada. Os resultados empíricos demonstram que a permanência desses estudantes, embora permeada pelas dificuldades de ordem financeira, não está restrita a elas. As situações que se apresentam também se relacionam ao aspecto simbólico, que envolve a sua integração ao ambiente universitário e o pertencimento ao espaço e ao grupo. A questão da permanência, portanto, se amplia para além do provimento de recursos materiais, exigindo da universidade novas posturas e práticas. / [en] Students entering through affirmative action policy encounter numerous and serious difficulties to stay in university and complete their courses. The access of these new students emphasized the policies of permanence and, from then on, the theme has been attracting a growing interest of researchers who seek to know and understand the aspects that are involved in the permanence of the students in the university. The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro had its first experience with affirmative action policy for admission to its undergraduate courses in 2011, almost ten years after it became a reality in other public institutions. Especially from the Law of Quotas, sanctioned in 2012, there was a massive influx of students with a new profile, which had a greater impact on the high prestige courses, where most of the students come from the upper social classes. In this way, the present study seeks to analyze the university trajectories of students entering through affirmative action, in prestigious courses, based on their perceptions about daily university life. In order to meet the objectives of the research, we interviewed the total of thirteen students, who have maintained an improbable trajectory, since they have been surviving in a space where their presence is little expected. The empirical results demonstrate that the permanence of these students, although permeated by financial difficulties, is not restricted to them. The situations that are presented also relate to the symbolic aspect, which involves their integration into the university environment and belonging to space and to the group. The question of permanence, therefore, extends beyond the provision of material resources, demanding from the university new postures and practices.