South Africa's democratic transition towards social and economic equality is under constant scrutiny, challenged by rising levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality. Since 1994 the African National Congress government has enacted various legislative interventions to change long-established racial distortions of economic opportunity and wealth accumulation, a number of which target business. The response and role of business in such an environment remains contested, both in literature and practice. There were (and are) calls for the role of businesses to evolve beyond narrow profit maximisation to play a more active part in economic and social transformation. Against this backdrop the Financial Sector Charter was collaboratively developed between the industry and its social partners in 2003 as a route map for such change. Employing a critical realism approach with a longitudinal perspective, this qualitative study explores the perspectives of key protagonists of the Financial Sector Charter on their experiences of developing and implementing the initiative: how it came into being, how it was applied and what could be done differently. Based upon semi-structured interviews with senior leaders from industry, government, black business, trade associations, labour and NGOs, the study reveals a number of issues: a deliberate attempt to leverage the capabilities and competitive forces in the industry to drive change; contestation within government over this approach; and a desire to use the capabilities of the industry to “reset” the country's current path of economic transformation. The significance of the study lies in the hitherto undocumented exposure it gives to the perspectives of the people involved in this unusual form of cross-sector social partnership and their efforts to catalyse positive social change not only in the Financial Services industry but in South Africa more broadly.

Background- South Africa, the most southern country at the African continent as the name depicts, is a country where Apartheid has prevailed the historical and contemporary landscape of the nation.  The era of Apartheid, being a system of discrimination and segregation, produced racial imbalances within the South African society and polices of affirmative action was enforced as an attempt to redress the racial inequalities. Purpose- By studying a distinctive type of affirmative action in a historically ethnically distressed context (organizations in South Africa), the purpose of this thesis was to receive insight on what impact affirmative action has on employees’ attitudes towards equality. The purpose was divided into two research questions to get an understanding of the implications that shape employees’ attitudes. The first research area aimed to identify and investigate which key factors are influencing employees’ attitudes towards affirmative action. The second research area considered the underlying cause of affirmative action and thereby investigated what impact affirmative action has on individuals’ as well as groups’ attitudes towards equality. Method- In order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis we used a qualitative method approach.  The approach adopted for the qualitative study was a constructivist grounded theory approach and the research has been performed with both an inductive and a deductive approach. The empirical material has been gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight employees at four different multinational companies operating in South Africa, by informal interviews with individuals in South Africa and through parallel observations.  Results and Conclusion- We provide five key factors that influence employees’ attitudes towards affirmative action; organizational culture, top management support, incentive for teams versus individual performance, prior experience of diversity and cultural artifacts. Furthermore, we present a three-step model on how intergroup contact can impact employees’ attitudes towards equality. We found that increased exposure towards diversity, through group interactions, can decrease employees’ negative prejudices, evaluations of other groups and thus enable an understanding that can help create a more positive attitude towards equality. Practical Implications- The key influencing factors identified in this study will help increase the knowledge of how to manage affirmative action within organizations. The findings can help managers and business leaders dealing with the implementation and management of affirmative action, both for their own understanding as well as in terms of guiding their employees on their approach toward affirmative action programs.

This study investigates employees' perceptions of diversity and its impact on the workplace, as perceived by employees themselves. The focus will specifically be on external diversity factors such as culture, race and gender and to what extent these factors can possibly be linked to differences in perceptions of the influence of diversity in the workplace. We know that equality and diversity programmes should be aligned with an organisation's core strategic objectives. Not only is this alignment critical to achieving equality and diversity goals, but it also enables organisations to benefit from the business opportunities that diversity offers. To better understand the role and importance of diversity and gain insight into social systems, quantitative measures of diversity were examined by means of questionnaires. A major consideration for managers is the wide scope of behaviours, attitudes, and values of the diverse staff across socio–cultural boundaries, which are bound to affect organisational processes. Thus, it is crucial for managers to distinguish how staff of different socio–cultural backgrounds could be interacting within the organisation, and identify how perceptual effects may be manifested in multicultural group relationships. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This study investigates employees' perceptions of diversity and its impact on the workplace, as perceived by employees themselves. The focus will specifically be on external diversity factors such as culture, race and gender and to what extent these factors can possibly be linked to differences in perceptions of the influence of diversity in the workplace. We know that equality and diversity programmes should be aligned with an organisation's core strategic objectives. Not only is this alignment critical to achieving equality and diversity goals, but it also enables organisations to benefit from the business opportunities that diversity offers. To better understand the role and importance of diversity and gain insight into social systems, quantitative measures of diversity were examined by means of questionnaires. A major consideration for managers is the wide scope of behaviours, attitudes, and values of the diverse staff across socio–cultural boundaries, which are bound to affect organisational processes. Thus, it is crucial for managers to distinguish how staff of different socio–cultural backgrounds could be interacting within the organisation, and identify how perceptual effects may be manifested in multicultural group relationships. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

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.

M. Tech. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The influence of measuring Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is becoming a vital issue in organisations simply because it affects the organisation in different ways. Organisations seek ways to improve their B-BBEE status level in order to be conducive when conducting business and they believe that B-BBEE is necessary. The B-BBEE verification agencies are responsible for carrying out a factual, thorough evaluation of a measured entity’s B-BBEE status and, based on the result, for determining a B-BBEE score. The overall aim of conducting verification is to give confidence to all parties that rely upon the score set out in the verification certificate that the information on which the certificate is based has been tested for validity and accuracy. The study provided more information on how verification agencies can improve their competencies and how this affects the Department of Trade and Industry and the verification agencies. The study focused on educating the verification agencies and the Department of Trade and Industry about the importance and processes of developing a competency framework. Its purpose was to develop a competency framework for verification agencies. A survey consisted of about 300 verification practitioners employed by 80 verification agencies. Data was collected using the consensus sampling technique. All of these practitioners constituted a ‘universe’ or ‘population’ and 87 respondents were utilised. The Social Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and AMOS software packages were used for descriptive and factor analysis. Finally, the findings for the study are highlighted and the conclusions, implications and recommendations drawn.

Government introduced the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act, No. 53 of 2003 and the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Codes of Good Practice (‘the Codes’) in 2007 to address the economic inequalities in South Africa by incentivising companies to include black people in economic activities. These incentives relate to implementation of preferential procurement, which is meant to favour companies that are BEE-compliant. Based on the literature and government’s intention with BEE policies, an assumption developed that companies with greater BEE compliance, which is measured through a BEE scorecard as per the Codes, would perform better in terms of market share through their revenue and in terms of profits. The main objective of this study was to carry out an in-depth analysis of the relationship between BEE scores and revenue growth and profitability of JSE-listed companies. This was done to determine whether the efforts by government of incentivising companies to be more BEE compliant are effective. This study was conducted as a two-part model consisting of regression analysis and ttest to determine whether there is a relationship between BEE scores and revenue and profitability. The regression analysis focused on the top 100 most black-empowered companies. The t-test was a comparison of two data sets, which consisted of companies in the top 100 most black-empowered companies and those that do no fall among the top 100 most black-empowered companies. The results showed that, at the time of this research, there were no significant relationships between BEE scores and revenue and profitability. The analysis of the research findings collectively demonstrated that for both the tests (regression and ttest), the relationship between revenue and profitability could not be established. Hence, the results postulate that BEE compliance does not produce the desired results for the companies, which can be translated into better profitability and market share. / Financial Accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)