South Africa is experiencing a process of formidable and fundamental change. Public
administrators as well as politicians are under tremendous pressure as heavy demands are being
placed on them. These demands include coping with interventions such as Affirmative Action,
Employment Equity, and the importance of managing diversity in the workplace. Despite
improvements in race relations in the past twenty years, dysfunctional and ineffective behaviour
still occur. This may be a reflection of the discomfort and anxiety experienced by employees in
the work setting. In order to comply with legislation, organisations created opportunities for
Black, Asian and Coloured males and females, White females and disabled people. This, in
return, leads to perceptions of preferential hiring. The view that Affirmative Action involves
preferential hiring and treatment based on group membership creates resistance to its
implementation and original purpose. The reason for this resistance might be linked to the fact
that people still perceive discrimination and injustice in the workplace. These perceptions seem
true in public organisations even though public organisations have taken a positive stance with
regard to implementing Equal Employment and Affirmative Action plans.
A qualitative design with an availability sample (N = 20) of employees working in a public
organisation was used. The qualitative research makes it possible to determine the subjective
experience of employees in a public organisation. Semi-structured interviews based on the
phenomenological method were conducted with employees working in different sections and
different positions in a public organisation. Non-directive questions were asked during the
interview. The tape-recording of the interview was transcribed verbatim in order to analyse the
information. Content analysis was used to analyse and interpret the research data in a systematic,
objective and quantitative way. A literature-control has been done to investigate relevant
research in order to determine the comparativeness and uniqueness of the current research.
Results indicated that Affirmative Action has been used as a tool in achieving its goal by
focusing on preferential hiring. From the responses it was clear that the majority of the
participants are of opinion that preferential hiring led to the appointment of incompetent
candidates. It appears from the interviews that appointments are made without basing it on merit.
This is against the basic principle of the public organisation of hiring and promoting employees
by set standards. Due to the fact that previous disadvantaged groups are being placed in positions
of which they have no experience or are not trained in, job related knowledge seems to present a
problem. From the interviews it appeared that employees felt that poor customer service
increased across the organisation due to the appointment of incompetent candidates. This also
seems to have an effect on the workload being handled.
It seems that predominantly white employees tend to be ambivalent towards Affirmative Action.
Part of the reason for this ambivalence is the fear of change, especially when that change
involves a radical re-thinking of past strategies. White employees, employed by the old apartheid
system, feel alienated and/or marginalised in the new Affirmative Action process. White
employees are also leaving organisations because they seem not to be part of the Affirmative
Action process. This leads to loss of expertise occurring in organisations. Though organisations
show a considerable amount of improvement on relationships between black and white,
discrimination still seems to present itself through the implementation of Affirmative Action.
Managing diversity is crucial for the effective management and development of people. It is
important not to focus only on cultural differences but also concentrate on individual needs and
perceptions.
Unfortunately, it appears that South Africa is in the process of making the same mistakes as
other countries in focusing on a power game and corruption. Black employees in particular, seem
to be actively recruited, placed in senior positions and given the related finishing. In other words
top management are using their 'power' to enforce Affirmative Action. There are also those who
want to abuse the system or maybe understand the system incorrectly. Corruption coming from
top management tends to make employees negative. In order to address these issues, a succession
and career planning process needs to exist which is closely tied to the organisations' strategic
plan. Employment Equity, as a strategic objective, is managed by the organisation, but needs the Human Resources function in a support and consultancy role. As such, it requires translation into
practical objectives for departments, managers and employees.
Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/1054 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Van der Merwe, Louisa |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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