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The extent of affirmative action in the real estate industry within the Western Cape

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2003 / South Africa is a country that encompasses numerous population groups
and cultures. The country has been embroiled in controversy since the
beginning of the 20th century, notably for its human rights violations and
abuse of the majority of its people; namely Blacks, Coloureds and
Indians. The ruling parties since its inception as the Union of South
Africa in 1910, until the demise of the National Party government in
1994, has ensured bias to the White minority population group. This
favouritism was brought about politically and legislatively to protect
Whites, reserve jobs and ensure segregation for the various population
groups that were considered unequal, as it favoured Whites only.
The country's first democratic elections in 1994 brought about a change
of political will that warranted appropriate action, in order to address the
imbalances of the past, for all those who were historically, previously
disadvantaged. Programmes of affirmative action were required to
redress these imbalances and provide necessary opportunities. The vast
majority of South Africans, namely Blacks, therefore needed
employment, housing and recreational facilities as previously they were
not afforded many prospects.
The researcher wanted to establish the state of the Black residential
property market in the Western Cape, including the prospects for Black
estate agents. Accordingly, an understanding of the political background
of the last century was required. In order to implement Affirmative
Action programmes in the real estate industry, a basic understanding of
Affirmative Action was essential.
The tasks and duties of estate agents had to be clarified and the position
of the real estate industry with regards to the various population groups
in the Western Cape was also deemed crucial. The researcher accordingly
designed a questionnaire in order to conduct a survey to test public
perceptions and attitudes. The researcher also concluded interviews
with executives and principals representing the real estate industry. A
focus group was utilised to discuss the results of the survey and they
provided the researcher with qualitative data. The researcher combined
this secondary qualitative data with primary quantitative data in order
to develop a model which would assist the industry and prospective
Black estate agents.
The author believes that this model would be able to substantially
benefit all the stakeholders in the real estate industry. Furthermore, the
researcher is of the opinion that if this model and the recommendations
are implemented, the residential market for the Western Cape would
evolve naturally and Black estate agents would be in demand.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/1741
Date January 2003
CreatorsPhillips, Alan Bevan
PublisherCape Technikon
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Rightshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/

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