Thesis (MTech (Public Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / In 1994 the newly elected democratic South African government inherited a nation deeply scarred by a history of racial division and social, political and economic inequality. The democratic government was determined to create an environment that felt like home to all, a society that welcomed all and a political environment that catered for all. The democratic government therefore introduced laws and structures designed to promote the principle of “equity.” Although these have been in force for more than 22 years, statistics indicate that white people continue to receive preference over other racial groups. This study sought to provide an overview of the equity composition of employees in the Department of the Premier in the Western Cape government. “Equity composition” refers to the categories of race and gender invoked by the Employment Equity Act in order to promote equality. The aim was to reach a set of conclusions and make recommendations that might improve the equity composition of employees in the direction envisaged by the legislation. The researcher has made use of a qualitative research methodology for this study. Unstructured interviews were conducted with twenty research participants purposively selected from the Department of the Premier, and the data gathered from the interviews was analysed using content analysis. The study found that there has been an increase in efforts to accommodate people with disabilities. It recommends that a dedicated training workshop regarding employment equity be designed by the director of the people management practices unit and rolled out throughout the department.

M.A. / A research study is undertaken with the aim of establishing what the attitudes and perceptions of supervisors and supervisees are regarding the rendering of cultural-sensitive supervision in social work. The aim of the study is to provide supervisors in social work with recommendations regarding the rendering of cultural-sensitive supervision. The amalgamation of organisations rendering social services has brought about multi-cultural and cross-cultural supervisional relationships that could be potentially problematic. The research process followed is the process identified by Mindel and McDonald in Grinnell (1993). The research process is initiated with a literature study on the concepts of supervision and cultural diversity. The research is limited to the Gauteng area and the study did not take place on a large scale due to the qualitative design utilised. An in-depth study is mader rather than a statistical analysis. Data collection takes place by means of semi-structured interviews with social work supervisors and self-administered questionnaires, completed by both supervisors and supervisees. The target group of the study is supervisors and supervisees employed by organisations which already render cross-cultural services. Results of the study indicate that supervisors and supervises generally don't experience problems in the rendering and receiving of cultural-sensitive supervision. Cultural sensitivity is perceived as being the acceptance of cultural factors such as background and values, as well as having a working knowledge of the cultural background, values attitudes etc. of the supervisees. Communication barriers seem to be the problem experienced by the majority of the participants of the study. It is recommended that supervisors receive further training in cultural-sensitive supervision and that cultural-sensitive supervision needs to focus on cultural values rather than biographical aspects such as race. Anthropology included in social work training, could address the need to enhance the knowledge base of social workers and supervisors, to the benefit of supervisor-supervisees relationships and thus the client system. Results and conclusions drawn from this study can not be generalised to the broader population of social workers and supervisors. Further research is needed to determine whether the perceptions and attitudes established in this study are the general perceptions and attitudes of social workers in South Africa.

South African public organisations are faced with many unique challenges in striving to manage an increasingly diverse workforce. This study aimed to investigate the managing of diversity at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. To achieve this aim, the views of the Total Quality Management approach were examined in order to create an effective and efficient diversity environment within the municipality. In order to understand what effective diversity management means in South African public organisations, a qualitative approach to the research was utilised through document analysis and interviews. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants. Interviews were conducted until a point of data saturation was reached. Data was analysed using the systematic coding tool of the ATLAS.ti software programme. The research reveals that many shortcomings exist concerning diversity management in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Therefore, a need exists for proper management of diversity that would support tolerance and respect for diversity.

This study seeks to explain performance differences in demographically diverse settings by examing introverted and extraverted individuals and using the Inverted-U-Theory developed by Hans J. Eysenck.

The daunting challenge that faces South African business is to redress the inequalities of past discrimination and to develop to its maximum the potential of every team member while remaining competitive. Some of the key challenges include creating a supportive and attractive work environment that's inclusive of diversity, staff retention and an organisational culture that will leverage diversity. The case study organisation faced similar challenges. In order to understand the dynamics a diversity workshop was designed and consulted from a systems psychodynamic paradigm. The primary task of the Diversity Workshop was to provide opportunities for members to study and learn about intrapersonal, interpersonal and inter group relationships in relation to diversity behaviour in the workplace. 50 participants attended the workshop and 22 participants completed the questionnaire. The content was analysed and themes from a psychodynamic stance identified. The overall objective of the workshop was met as it made unconscious behaviour visible, allowed participants to reflect, facilitated dialogue and enabled transfer of learning to the workplace. This approach allowed groups to move from basic assumptions to task oriented behaviour. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial Psychology)

M. Tech. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Apart from the contribution and success of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through job creation, poverty alleviation and economic growth, there are still organisational factors such as organisational politics and job stress, which hamper the success of these enterprises. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of organisational politics on job stress among SME employees in Matlosana Local District. The target population concentrated on SME employees within Matlosana Local District in North West province, with the population size of N=431 respondents. A quantitative approach was applied, with the use of a cross sectional survey (questionnaire) to gather information on general political behaviour (GB), get ahead (GA), pay and promotion policies (PP), time stress (TS) and anxiety (AX). Data analysis was conducted with the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 25.0. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied in examining and testing the relationships between observed constructs and their causal latent constructs while Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesised relationships between constructs. The findings of the study revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between organisational politics and job stress. The findings also emphasised that organisational politics is considered as a hindrance-related stressor that hampers the proper functioning of individual employees. This study concludes that organisational politics are the social ills of every organisation, it is upon the management of the SMEs to apply good human resource management policies to curb the politics. Contrary, if the organisational politics are not managed well, it will result in impacting the job outcomes such as job stress.

Chapter 1 discusses the research proposal of the study. In this proposal the problem statement was identified and described, for example it is shown how the diverse religious work-force is being managed and ministered to by a traditional chaplain as if it shared a religion similar to that of the chaplain. Further this chapter discusses the research methodology, which clearly indicates the path that would be followed in this research. Chapter 2 looks at the profile of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in general. It has been shown that the SAPS forms a critical component of the criminal justice system. The objectives, mission and vision of the SAPS has been clearly outlined as aspiring to create a crime free society for all the inhabitants of South Africa. The SAPS would only acquire this vision through executing its tasks within the framework of the Human Rights Act. Chapter 3 focusses on the historical development of the chaplaincy in the SAPS since its inception during the year 1952 until the democratic dispensation in 1994. The pioneers behind the formation of the chaplains' corps are discussed. Lastly, the appointment procedure, the functions and the characteristics (qualities) of chaplains are looked at. Chapter 4 considers the various perspectives of culture and cultural particulars as a basic theory of the study. The latter has clearly indicated that people's views and understanding of certain things differ completely. Hence the need for proper cognisance of cultural diversity by the chaplain. Chapter 5 examines the concept of stress in the context of the SAPS. The stress-inducing factors, the impact of stress on SAPS members as well as the role of the chaplain in the management of stress levels is discussed. Chapter 6 explores the theology of death and the bereavement process (stages) to be followed generally. The role of the chaplain in this regard is shown. Chapter 7 is the quantitative investigation, whereby questionnaires elicited the views of both the policemen and women about the Chaplain Service ministry. Chapter 8 discusses the conclusions of chapters: 4, 5, 6 and 7 and synthesises them into one comprehensive idea. The reason behind this is that this study has to provide a model to be developed, which would better enable the chaplain to function across both cultural and religious lines. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D.Litt et Phil.(Religious Studies)

When working from the systems psychodynamic stance, consultants experience that they become part of the group dynamics through projection, projective identification, transference and counter-transference. This research was undertaken to explore the impact on consultants doing systems psychodynamic consultation in their own formal system within a large financial institution in South Africa. Findings were that primary (race, gender and age), and secondary (social identity, language and skills, or level of expertise in this consulting stance) diversity factors strongly impact on them. Consultants play a strong containment role. Consultants experienced the effect at all levels of their lives, including intellectual (struggling to function and think clearly), physical (insomnia, eating disorders, usual exercise not helping), emotional (crying and anger) and social (their work not being understood by friends and family, growing apart from loved ones). For all of them the positive spin-off was the personal growth on the journey that they embarked on. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This descriptive research addressed the challenges of working with the conscious and unconscious aspects of diversity in order to enhance insights into covert and deeper diversity dynamics in organisations. The research supported the evolving trend of shifting the systems psychodynamic orientation from the group to the individual context. The general aim was to describe a systems psychodynamic coaching model, and to determine its trustworthiness in assisting executives to work effectively with conscious and unconscious diversity dynamics. Literature was reviewed to provide a theoretical foundation of diversity challenges which executives face in South African organisations. This was augmented by systems psychodynamic literature, which provided a theoretical basis upon which to understand the intrapsychic aspects of the executives and their interplay with systemic dynamics. The empirical study was conducted over ten months to determine the trustworthiness of executive coaching in diversity from a systems psychodynamic perspective. Data was gathered using the organisational role analysis approach, and analysed by means of the systems psychodynamic discourse analysis method. Nine major themes and their related sub-themes were identified, namely, gender, race, ethnicity, authority, disability, language, age, de-authorisation of diversity work, and the coaching process. Through the coaching, the executives gained insights into their intrapsychic environment and the complex, multifaceted and intersecting nature of diversity in their organisations. They were assisted to take up their leadership roles more effectively and to take action on behalf of their organisations. The research hypothesis formulated and the conclusion made was that executive coaching from a systems psychodynamic perspective displays trustworthiness. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

The main aim of this study was to develop a diversity management content model based on the organisational team sport intervention and to compile a process model to implement organisational team sport in an organisation in nine financial organisations in Gauteng, South Africa. The diversity constraints relevant in this study were age, gender, race, religious beliefs, physical abilities, ethnicity, generation gaps, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical abilities, education, income, political beliefs and income. The study was conducted among 63 sport participants and nine sport coordinators employed at nine financial organisations in Gauteng, South Africa. The data were collected by means of focus group interviews with sport participants and individual interviews with sport coordinators. The results indicate that organisational team sport interventions as a diversity management initiative do have benefits for the employees (i.e. the employees learn more about and from one another, communicate openly, become friends, trust and respect one another, are able to work together in a team, have equal opportunities and there is less stereotyping/discrimination) and for the organisation (i.e. productivity, the company is able to achieve its goals, employees are more cohesive and able to work together, there is creativity, new ideas are generated and client service improves). The findings of this study contribute valuable new knowledge to the literature on the diversity management content model based on organisational team sport interventions because no studies have been conducted on an organisational team sport intervention model that can be utilised as a diversity model in organisations. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / D. Com.