Abstract
M.Phil.
Little is known regarding the factors that South African Generation Y job seekers consider in choosing an organisation for which to work. The objectives of this study were to construct the mental models held by the research participants with regard to choosing an organisation for which to work, as well as to investigate the extent to which participants consider the ethical reputation of organisations in their organisational choice. The study was approached from a qualitative perspective. Interviews were conducted with ten participants, using the repertory grid technique. Participants were honours and masters students, between the ages of 21 and 32, studying business management at a tertiary institution in Gauteng.
It was found that the factors that are considered by contemporary job seekers are exposure to opportunity, personal and career growth and development, reputation, organisational characteristics, recruitment and selection, organisational innovation and entrepreneurship, recognition and rewards, employee-centricity, remuneration and benefits, as well as social awareness. Importantly, the findings suggest that ethics and the ethical reputation of organisations are of little consequence to young, South African job seekers.
The findings of this study have a number of academic and practical implications: firstly, they serve to augment the body of literature on the factors considered by job seekers in their choice of an organisation for which to work; secondly, they might allow organisations to tailor their employee value propositions to the demands and priorities of Generation Y job seekers; thirdly, organisations might attempt to give themselves an „edge‟ by marketing themselves to job seekers on the basis of a positive ethical reputation; fourthly, findings suggest that ethics instruction at the tertiary level may have to be modified in order to provide young South Africans with an ethics vocabulary that might allow them to evaluate and express their views on the reputations of organisations; and, finally, these findings mightcreate awareness amongst job seekers and encourage them to be more discerning in their organisational choice.
Keywords: ethics, ethical reputation, organisational reputation, organisational choice, repertory grid technique, Generation Y job seekers