Career success has become one of the most central issues in the 21st century as the nature of careers has undergone major changes over the past two decades. The change in perception that has taken place in terms of the nature of work has led to increased uncertainty about career development as a construct and as a practice. Career success has therefore become not only of interest and concern for individuals, but also a priority to organisations as the realisation of employees’ personal goals and success can eventually contribute to the realisation of the organisation’s goals and successes. Therefore the general objective of this study was to explore the experience and conceptualisation of career success among South African executives. This study utilised a qualitative research design with an exploratory approach to investigate executives’ conceptualisation and experience of career success. A non-probability purposive, voluntary sample of 24 participants was drawn from two seperate international financial organisations with offices located in Johannesburg. The data collection process was performed through semi-structured individual interviews and the verbatim transcriptions that were captured from these interviews, were analysed using content analysis. The twelve main themes that were extracted from the interviews are set out as follow: general conceptualisation of career success; executives’ personal meaning associated with career success; transformation of perceptions; future goals of executives; factor’s influencing executives’ career success; personality attributes related to career success; contributing factors to the career success of executives; hindering factors in career success; potential for experiencing turnover intention; consequences of career success; role of the organisation; and prerequisites for career success. It is crucial that organisations be made more aware of the significance of executives’ conceptualisation and experience of career success (as highlighted within this research).This is especially the case when considering future career and succession planning and mapping. Organisations should be familiar with the potential influencing and hindering factors (e.g. lack of opportunities, lack of support, organisational culture, etc.). They should be prepared to address the adverse impact that these factors could have as obstacles to employees and particularly for executives to attain career success. If these hindrances are not addressed it could lead to increased job dissatisfaction and consequently increased turnover intention. They should also be alert to the contributing factors and other factors conducive to career development (e.g. support and buy-in from organisation, or being given challenges and opportunities) that facilitate career success. By providing an environment that helps career development along, the experiece of career success is increased. This can lead to various positive outcomes, such as increased job performance, organisational commitment, employee engagement, career satisfaction and talent retention. Talent retention is particularly important as one can gather from the data collected among the executives. Thus, in order to retain them as valuable employees, it is crucial to address and fulfil their career needs accordingly. / Thesis (MCom (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

MPH / Department of Public Health / The abuse of substances among the youth is a global health problem which has a negative impact on their health and wellbeing, families, educational and professional life, as well as communities and limits their hopes and dreams. An estimated 246 million persons globally (about one out of twenty people) between 15 and 64 years have abused substances in the past three years. The global drug problem has increased to such an extent that more than 1 out of 10 drug abusers is affected by either disorder or drug dependence. The aim of the study was to explore the factors contributing to substance abuse among the youth in Atteridgeville, Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. The study was conducted in Atteridgeville community. Atteridgeville is a portion of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, west of Pretoria in South Africa. The design was qualitative in nature, using exploratory design. The researcher purposively chose the participants from the target population. The population and sampling method was on participants aged between 15 and 35 years, with substance abuse problem, who were referred to Atteridgeville Medical Health Centre for counselling. The researcher used a semi-structured interview guide for gathering data. In-depth interview was used to collect data. A proposed total of number of 20 participants was suggested, and it was guided by data saturation. Data was analysed by using thematic content analysis. A measure of trustworthiness was ensured. Ethical consideration was observed in this study. The findings states that substance abuse problem was identified and certainly noticed by everyone in the community. New drugs remain unchallenged, drug dealers are known, yet, not a single law enforcement institution attempt to raid their houses to search and arrest them. Community involvement is not enough to end the scourge of substance abuse problems in the community. Some police officers were identified and known to be part of drug dealings or have family relatives who are drug dealers. The researcher therefore recommends that parents should be involved in the community forums to deal with substance abuse problems. The community policing and law enforcement should be equipped by developing a tactical team specifically looking at the drug problems in the local communities. In conclusion, the research revealed that, South African citizens are people who see a problem happening but lacks to implement strategies to deal it immediately. / NRF

The aim of this thesis was to analyse and compare tax morale and its determinants in South Africa and Zimbabwe, as well as in Zimbabwe in different economic environments. The study applied the standard models of tax evasion, game theory, prospect theory, agent-based theory and slippery slope framework to explain the variability in the determinants of tax morale between South Africa and Zimbabwe under different economic and political environments. The study becomes novel in that it provides a comparative analysis of the determinants of the tax morale between Zimbabwe and South Africa under contrasting economic and political time scales. The study also tested a new variable, namely hunger, on how it affects tax morale in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The study was guided by quantitative research which was used to inform the study. Data was collected using questionnaires from the 2010-2014 and 2017-2020 World Values Survey (WVS). For Zimbabwe, Wave 6 and Wave 7 had a sample size of 1500 and 1200 respectively. The Wave 6 survey for South Africa had 3531 participants. Data was analysed using STATA software 2013 Version. The study’s dependent variable, tax morale and independent variables included marital status, age, income level, employment and religion among others, and analysed them using the Ordered Logit Model. The Ordered Logit Model was used to empirically model the effects of the identified variables on tax morale. The study concludes with an understanding of how tax morale and its determinants is crucial for governments in their bid to boost voluntary compliance. Also, different economic milieus for a particular country affect the level of tax morale significantly. Tax morale was established to be high when Zimbabwe was experiencing economic growth due to the introduction of multi-currency, herein called the dollarization period, and the opposite was true for the post-dollarization era. Surprisingly, the study’s results showed that Zimbabweans have a higher tax morale than South Africans, who have better standards of living. In addition, the determinants of tax morale also differ from one economic situation to another and from one country to another. Corruption, which is a menace in both countries under study, has proven to be an important factor that influences tax morale. Results of all the models show that demographic factors have little effect on tax morale. The study introduced an important variable of hunger in its analysis of determinants of tax morale. Though this variable was insignificant for South Africa, the study showed that there is a negative relationship between hunger and tax morale for Zimbabwe in both economic situations. Based on the thesis’s findings, policy makers should consider the eradication of corruption and hunger in order to boost tax morale, which in turn improves tax compliance. Also, policy makers should include improvement in the perception of democracy in the mix of enhancement strategies of tax compliance. / Economics / D. Com. (Economics)

The underage marriage of girls (UMG) practice by some parents continues to occur in Bo Town, Sierra Leone, and it is a problem. Regardless of the negative consequences, parents continue to marry off their young girls who become wives of rebels and participate in the civil war. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of adult women between 18 and 24 who experienced child marriage, parents who married off their young girls, and community leaders to understand why the UMG persisted in Bo Town. The theoretical frameworks used in this study were the social cognitive theory and self-efficacy behavioral theory. Data were collected through semi structured interviews. Participants in this study consisted of 5 community leaders, 5 adult women between 18 and 24 who experienced UMG before 18 years old, and 5 parents who married off their underage girls in the Bo Town district. Interview transcripts were analyzed, coded, and 16 themes emerged. Some of the themes included poverty, lack of awareness, education, enforcement, monitoring, leadership, child marriage, domestic violence, accountability, responsibility, dowry payment, and female genital mutilation. The findings may influence social change by using practices such as educating, monitoring, enforcing the banning of the UMG policy relentlessly. Furthermore, implementation of mentorship programs, counseling, leadership, and awareness training to young girls and parents could reduce the UMG practice in Bo Town. Consequently, if young girls are educated and allowed access to resources, they could become empowered and productive members of society as a whole, and the UMG problem may diminish in the Bo community.