The Steel Merchant offers a service of stocking and distributing steel products and value added services throughout Africa. The company is the largest steel merchant in Africa employing over 5500 employees. The South African government implemented the Employment Equity Act, No 55, (1998) and Broad-Based Black Economic Act, No 53, (2003) to readdress the discrimination of the past and create fair opportunities for Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDI) in the workplace. The Steel Merchant's business environment is severely affected by these legislations and is required to comply with the provisions of the Act or will receive fines and penalties. Since the Acts inception the merchant continues to struggle in recruiting and retaining PDIs in professionally qualified and management positions. The organization has experienced strategic drift by falling from a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Procurement Recognition/Status Level of 5 down to level 6. The research identified various factors within the organization that are hindering its overall ability to adapt and progress in terms of Employment Equity (EE) and BEE. The study is focused on identifying the internal and external barriers that prevent the effective implementation of BEE and EE strategies in order to recruit and retain previously disadvantaged professionals at the Steel Merchant. The Research Objectives are: • To evaluate the effect of organizational culture and climate on the implementation of Employment Equity, Affirmative Action (AA) and BEE Strategies • To analyze the importance of Human Resource Management (HRM) in the development of recruitment and retention strategies of previously disadvantaged professionals • To investigate the differences in gender and race leadership qualities and behavior • To identify and assess the barriers in implementing employment equity recruitment and retention strategies • To determine how government legislation will influence the Steel Organizations' competitiveness internationally Internal secondary data was used to analyze the Merchant's Human Resource Management, EE and BEE performance. External secondary data from the South African government departments was used to analyze the legislative Acts and how the company performs compared to the industry standards. A quantitative research approach was followed in the investigation. A questionnaire was developed using closed-ended questions to obtain information related to the respondent's demographical background as well as their opinion on each objective. The questionnaire was distributed by email to 1 00 employees and weighted according to racial group (Black, White, Coloured and Asian) and gender (Male and Female). The method allowed the researcher to receive and analyze the information quickly at no financial cost. Descriptive statistics were used to interpret the results and describe the behaviour of each racial and gender group contained in the sample. The data methods used were: • Percentages • The mean, mode and median • Standard Deviation The conclusions from the sample were used to generalize about the steel merchant population whilst research from recognized academics was utilized to authenticate and substantiate the research findings improving the accuracy and reliability of the research. The results of the study identified the following factors have contributed to the merchant's inability to recruit and retain PDI at professionally qualified and management levels: • The Steel Merchant has a white male dominated organizational culture and ineffective HRM strategies • Black shareholders have contributed little towards previously disadvantaged development creating resentment by employees • Employment Equity, Black Economic Empowerment and Affirmative action has created racial divides, a lack of trust and will negatively influence the company's competitiveness internationally. The research identified various problems that hinder the implementation of EE and BEE policy at the steel merchant which makes it difficult to recruit and retain talented PDI. The following recommendations have been made to minimize resistance and integrate EE and BEE policies to improve recruitment and retention in the organization: • Define and communicate the BEE/EE vision and strategy • Delayer hierarchal levels • National Culture Training • Implement Performance Management Systems • lncentivize Knowledge Sharing • Re-evaluate the recruitment policies • Train, develop and mentor PDI • Develop career paths and succession plans • Create a leadership development program • Create a shared understanding of EE • Address white fears through empowerment • Black shareholders should be actively involved with the development of PO employees • Harness African culture to succeed internationally. EE and BEE is obligatory and will inevitably influence the company's performance. The Steel Merchant has the resources and capabilities to eliminate resistance and implement effective HRM strategies to recruit and retain talented POl in professional and management positions. By achieving this objective, the company's Broad Based Black Employment Equity (BBBEE) rating will advance resulting in a sustainable competitive advantage and more business opportunities in the future. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / M.B.A.

Transformation of the higher education system has come under the spotlight recently. At the core of this debate are issues pertaining to access and throughput rates at universities. Although access has improved significantly, throughput rates remain relatively low especially amongst black students (Council on Higher Education, 2017). The current study aims to explore the learning experiences and academic performance of postgraduate black students at the university of South Africa. Through a qualitative approach that included interviews, a phenomenological research design and critical race theory to gain an insiders perspective. This approach is chosen for its ability to generate rich descriptive and interpretive accounts of events based on the participant’s narratives. The findings revealed that the variation in learning experiences and academic performance was accounted for by background factors rather than student’s own intellectual or academic competencies. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology with specialisation in Research Consultation)

Investments in productive assets by broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) enterprises in South Africa (SA) during the 1990s have been constrained, in part, by a lack of access to capital. Even if capital can be sourced, BEE businesses often face a liquidity problem, as conventional, equally amortized loan repayment plans do not take into account the size and timing of investment returns, or there are lags in the adjustment of management to such new investments. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to compare five alternative loan products to the conventional fixed repayment (equally amortized) loan (FRL) that lenders could offer to finance BEE investments in productive assets that are faced with liquidity stress, namely: the single payment non-amortized loan (SPL); the decreasing payment loan (DP); the partial payment loan (PPL); the graduated payment loan (GPL); and the deferred payment loan (DEFPLO-2). This is done firstly by comparing loan repayment schedules for the six loans using a loan principal of R200 000, repaid over 20 years at a nominal contractual annual interest rate of 10%. Secondly, data from five actual BEE loan applications to ABSA Bank and Ithala in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) during 2003 are used to compare how the FRL, SPL, DP, GPL, and DEFPLO-l, affect investment profitability, and both the borrower's and the lender's cash-flows, assuming that the lender sources funds from a development finance wholesaler. Results for the first part of the study show that the SPL has smaller initial annual repayments than the FRL (R20 000 versus R23 492) that ease liquidity stress in the early years after asset purchase, but requires a nominal balloon repayment of both interest and principal in year 20 of R220 000. The SPL is also the most costly loan, with total nominal and real repayments that are R130 162 and R43 821, respectively, more than the FRL. The PPL has the lowest total nominal and real repayments assuming that the borrower can make the nominal balloon repayment in year 5 of R202 173. If not, the ending balance of the loan in year 4 would have to be refinanced at current market interest rates. In this situation, the PPL uses very similar financing terms to that of the variable rate long-term loans already used in SA, and thus may not be a useful option to consider for BEE investments facing a liquidity problem. Interest rates may have risen over the last four years of the loan, encouraging lenders to add a premium into the interest rate for the refinanced loan, which could worsen the liquidity position of the BEE enterprise. The DP requires higher initial nominal annual loan repayments (R6 508 more than the FRL) that do not ease the liquidity problem in the early years of operation. The DP loan, however, has total nominal and real repayments that are R59 838 and R23 118, respectively, less than the FRL. A GPL with diminishing, finite interest-rate subsidy seems to have the most potential to ease the BEE investment's liquidity stress. The 17YRGPL used to buy land had total nominal and real repayments that were R84 634 and R67 726 (after subsidy), respectively, less than the FRL. If the GPL was used to purchase machinery-type assets, then the 6YRGPL would have required total nominal and real repayments of R13 957 and R12 596, respectively, less than the FRL. Finally, the DEFPLO-2 loan required a total nominal repayment of R531 128 (R61 290 more than the FRL) and a total real repayment of R345 358 (R26 095 more than the FRL). Clearly, the GPL and DEFPLO-2 loan repayment schedules can partly resolve the liquidity problem in the early years (assuming no major income shocks), although the DEFPLO-2 plan requires higher total repayments than the FRL. The question remains whether lenders would be prepared to implement these two financing plans for BEE investments in productive assets, where the funds to finance the diminishing, finite interest-rate subsidy or the deferment would be sourced, and how the interest-rate subsidy would affect asset values. In the second part of the study, the profitability of the five proposed BEE investments in KZN during 2003 was compared for the five loan products using the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rateof- return (lRR) capital budgeting procedures. The loan terms, interest rates, principal and characteristics of each BEE firm are different with current rates of return on equity varying by business type. Companies A (five-year loan) and C (10-year loan) are agribusinesses with a higher expected current rate of return of 8% on machinery investments, while companies B (eight-year loan), D (15-year loan), and E (20-year loan) invest in farmland with a lower expected current annual rate of return of 5%. The five business plans may not be representative in a statistical sense of all BEE firms in KZN, but were used because they were readily available. Initially it was assumed that donor/grant funds from a development finance wholesaler were lent to an intermediary (like a commercial bank), which in turn, could finance the five investments using any of the five alternative loans, with the lender's repayment to the wholesaler being via a FRL. It was then assumed that the lender could repay its borrowed funds using the same loans, or combinations of them, that it had granted to these companies. Results show that GPLs and DEFPLs can resolve the liquidity problem associated with investments like land in the early years after purchase provided that projected business performance is adequate, while the SPL and GPL are preferred for BEE projects with stronger initial cash-flows like machinery investments. The study also shows that the loan product that best improves the borrower's liquidity is not always best suited to the lender. In most cases, the GPL suited the borrower, but in four of the five cases, the lender would prefer the SPL and to repay the wholesaler using the SPL. The SPL, however, is unlikely to be used, given the large negative real net cash-flows that it generates when the final payments are due. Recent SA experience with the GPLs (interest rate subsidies funded by private sector sugar millers via Ithala) and the DEFPLs (via the Land Reform Empowerment Facility (LREF) which is a wholesaler of funds in SA) suggests that there is scope to alleviate the liquidity problem if a wholesaler of funds can offer such terms to private banks and venture capital investors who then on-lend to finance BEE asset investments that are otherwise considered relatively high credit risks. This would shift the liquidity problem away from the client to the wholesaler of the funds, but requires access to capital at favourable interest rates. Such capital could be sourced from dedicated empowerment funds earmarked by the private sector, donors and the SA government. The lesson for policymakers is that broad-based BEE could be promoted in other farm and non-farm sectors in SA using similar innovative loan products to complement cash grant funds via financial intermediaries, bearing in mind the limitations of the GPL and DEFPL - such as how to finance the subsidy or deferment, and the impact of income shocks. Donor and National Empowerment Fund capital could be used to allocate grants to provide previously disadvantaged individuals with own equity and also to fund finite, diminishing interest-rate subsidies via GPLs, or to fund DEFPLs (many LREF loans have been leveraged by a cash grant component). This could create an incentive for public/private partnerships, as public/donor funds could be then used to attract private sector funds to finance broadbased BEE investments in SA that satisfy empowerment criteria. The five case studies did not show how the GPLs and DEFPLs could make all profitable (positive net present value) but financially infeasible (returns do not match the size and timing of the lender's financing plan) BEE investments in productive assets under the FRL feasible, except for Company E that showed a positive NPV and IRR when the 19YRGPL was used. They did, however, show how the alternative loans could improve liquidity for investments with either strong or poor cash-flows. The financiers consulted to source case studies in KZN in 2003 at the time of the study could not provide the researcher with any profitable, but financially infeasible, BEE business plans. This raises some concern about how effective these empowerment loan products could be in the future as there is uncertainty over how many potential BEE investments in productive assets in SA are likely to be profitable but financially infeasible. Further research is thus needed to assess the impact of these alternative loans on a wider range of broad-based BEE investments, particularly non-farm projects, than considered in this dissertation. / Thesis (M.Agric.Mgt.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Broad-based black economic empowerment (BBEE) is a policy objective in South Africa. Farmworker equity-share schemes (FWES) satisfy several of the empowerment goals specified by the proposed AgriBEE Scorecard. Information about the costs and benefits of subscribing to an empowerment label will help managers to make more informed decisions about empowerment and could therefore promote BBEE. The Thandi label is an initiative to market fruit and wines originating from FWES and farms operated by previously disadvantaged farmers. A case study of the Thandi label was undertaken to determine whether or not the accredited empowerment attribute adds value to Thandi products. An exploratory-explanatory case study was adopted basing questions largely on the theoretical propositions of asymmetric information, the benefits of product labelling and the preconditions for a successful label. Primary data were collected via in-depth interviews with managers of Capespan, The Company of Wine People and empowerment farms participating in the Thandi label. The study made use of in-depth interviews with key informants to investigate issues considered (on theoretical grounds) to be critical in establishing a successful label. Responses were subsequently tabulated and compared, where relevant, across respondents in order to check for consensus views. Results indicate that the Thandi label had not succeeded in differentiating fruit, whereas the Thandi wine label had increased sales revenue and was covering accreditation costs incurred by farms as well as the recurring costs of maintaining and marketing the label. Thandi fruit had not grown its share of the domestic or export markets and did not command a price premium, Capespan subsequently discontinued the Thandi fruit label. Thandi wine, on the other hand, had grown its export market and consumers were prepared to pay a premium for Thandi wine products. The data indicate that empowerment attributes were useful in finding shelf space for products, but that quality is essential to grow market share and to earn price premiums. In short, accredited empowerment attributes can add value to quality products sold to discerning consumers who lack information about empowerment and quality attributes at the point of sale. Empowerment labels must include quality attributes. Government should at least absorb some of the transaction costs confronting producers and marketing agencies in negotiating standards for farms and firms participating in generic empowerment labels. It could also offer auditing services to local accreditation agencies to improve their credibility. Further research estimating consumers' willingness-to-pay for products branded with empowerment labels is necessary to estimate the size of premiums that different products may command. / Thesis (M.Ag.Man.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Research to date in South Africa has explored the coming out narratives of lesbian and gay people. Most of this research suggests these people experience their parents’ reactions as largely negative. This negativity is attributed to the patriarchal culture and religious beliefs which insist on compulsory heterosexuality that dominate African discourse in South Africa. However, thus far, little work has been done focusing specifically on the perceptions of the parents of lesbian, gay or bisexual offspring, and on the parents’ own coming out about their children’s alternative sexual orientation. In this qualitative study, I explored the lived experiences of black mothers of lesbian, gay or bisexual children from diverse backgrounds with the aim of capturing their own voices and gaining an understanding of their journeys, from the moment that each discovered that her child belongs to a sexual minority to her acceptance of the child’s alternative sexuality. I conducted semi-structured interviews with six black South African mothers of lesbian, gay or bisexual offspring in order to learn about these mothers’ experiences. I analysed the interview transcripts using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. I identified three main themes, namely the mothers’ journeys; responses to the study’s research questions, and other concerns the black mothers still have regarding their lesbian, gay or bisexual offspring. Each main theme was comprised of several sub-themes. In a nutshell, the study shows that in contrast to the assumption that South African black urban communities are hostile spaces with no visible familial support for lesbian, gay or bisexual youth, in reality, there are examples in urban African communities of parental support for members of sexual minorities. Although all the mothers in this study held Christian beliefs, none subscribed to a ‘same-sex attraction is a sin’ discourse. Instead, most of these mothers regarded their children as special gifts from God, and some saw their children’s alternative sexuality as God’s way of teaching them as mothers about unconditional love. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology: Research Consultation)

Text in English / The aim of this research is to assess the impact social capital has had on Somali businesses. It argues against the perception that Somali business expertise is derived solely from the principles of economics. It argues that social capital plays a pivotal role in shaping the Somali spirit of entrepreneurship. The role of social capital in the creation of Somali human and financial capital is examined. This thesis, being a qualitative study, used semi-structured, unstructured interviews and direct observation as data collection methods. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology)

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)

The Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) of South Africa was established in 1908 and is regarded as the source from which Zionist and Apostolic Churches sprang. A study of archival records and secondary sources leads to a conclusion that the black Section of the AFM was, for many decades since its inception, almost indistinguishable from these churches in their beliefs, practices and appearance. The processes to rid the AFM of Zionism, which began in 1929, and were intensified from the 1940s, led to black Pentecostalism shedding most of its Zionist-like beliefs and practices to become an evangelical Pentecostal movement oddly aligned to white interests and expectations. These changes took place at the expense of black agency which Zionist-like Pentecostalism represented and was a testimony thereof. Central to the idea of agency is possession of an interest or idea and power to pursue this interest or realise one's idea. The loss of agency by black Pentecostals is lamentable; this study calls for a reawakening that will mobilise among others, black Pentecostals' cultural resources in theologising and expressing the gospel mandate in a reawakening Africa. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Church History)

Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)

This study investigates language varieties, non-verbal behaviour and language attitudes as cultural barriers which inhibit successful communication between Blacks and Indians at Durban Institute of Technology. The investigation reveals that Indians and Blacks often misunderstand each other. Sometimes these groups feel misunderstood because they use different varieties of English. To compensate for these differences, participants use non-verbal strategies. However, non-verbal behaviour is culturally determined and people tend to transfer it to intercultural situations. One finds that this transfer leads to miscommunication and negative stereotypes. Furthermore, non verbal behaviour which does not meet the politeness criteria leads to negative attitudes and strained relations amongst peers and supervisors. The study suggests these solutions: the introduction of intercultural awareness campaigns for all employees and Zulu conversational skills for all Indians. For the whole South African community, the spirit of ubuntu should be cultivated between all racial groups to foster mutual respect. / Sociolinguistics / M.A.