Human resources management in the South African socio-economic context
- Authors: Abbott, Penny
- Date: 2012-10-30
- Subjects: Human resource management , Personnel management , Industrial sociology
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:10473 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7945
- Description: Ph.D. , The purpose of this study was to explore the lived reality of the work of Human Resource practitioners in South Africa in relation to the socio-economic context of their organisations and to consider how appropriate or not their responses might be to the impacts of that context on their work. This was explored through a qualitative study wherein interviews with 50 volunteer practitioners from all types of organisations spread across the country were conducted and compared to views of 17 informed commentators in this field. It was found that the work of Human Resource practitioners is signficantly impacted by social and economic factors external to the workplace, but that the current response by practitioners is probably not as appropriate as it could or should be. A role for human practitioners as “social activists” was identified and factors influencing whether such a role is played were explored. Frameworks of appropriate actions are proposed at both strategic and individual contributor level to support this role. The role of Human Resource professional bodies in addressing social issues in South Africa is challenged and a framework proposed to improve the extent to which leadership is given to Human Resource practitioners and to increase the visibility and voice of the profession in contributing to alleviation of societal problems. Recommendations for implementation of the proposed frameworks are proposed. One of the most significant recommendations is for Continuing Professional Development to provide coaching support based on Constructive-Developmental theory to enhance the ability of Human Resource practitioners to cope with the high levels of complexity that they encounter in their roles. Further research into a proposed model of influencing factors in the social activist role is recommended.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Abbott, Penny
- Date: 2012-10-30
- Subjects: Human resource management , Personnel management , Industrial sociology
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:10473 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7945
- Description: Ph.D. , The purpose of this study was to explore the lived reality of the work of Human Resource practitioners in South Africa in relation to the socio-economic context of their organisations and to consider how appropriate or not their responses might be to the impacts of that context on their work. This was explored through a qualitative study wherein interviews with 50 volunteer practitioners from all types of organisations spread across the country were conducted and compared to views of 17 informed commentators in this field. It was found that the work of Human Resource practitioners is signficantly impacted by social and economic factors external to the workplace, but that the current response by practitioners is probably not as appropriate as it could or should be. A role for human practitioners as “social activists” was identified and factors influencing whether such a role is played were explored. Frameworks of appropriate actions are proposed at both strategic and individual contributor level to support this role. The role of Human Resource professional bodies in addressing social issues in South Africa is challenged and a framework proposed to improve the extent to which leadership is given to Human Resource practitioners and to increase the visibility and voice of the profession in contributing to alleviation of societal problems. Recommendations for implementation of the proposed frameworks are proposed. One of the most significant recommendations is for Continuing Professional Development to provide coaching support based on Constructive-Developmental theory to enhance the ability of Human Resource practitioners to cope with the high levels of complexity that they encounter in their roles. Further research into a proposed model of influencing factors in the social activist role is recommended.
- Full Text:
The role of the coordinator in structured mentoring schemes
- Authors: Abbott, Penny
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Project management , Mentoring in business , Performance technology
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2381 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4836
- Description: M. Phil. , The purpose of this study was to explore the role and experiences of the coordinators of structured mentoring schemes across various sectors of society in South Africa. A purposive sample of 25 schemes was identified and both quantitative and qualitative data was obtained through questionnaires and interviews. It was found that mentoring in South Africa, as with overseas countries, is used for a wide variety of purposes. There are varying degrees of success reported from these schemes and the predominant model of mentoring as reported in the research tends to follow the “sponsorship” approach to mentoring, which may not be the most appropriate for transformation in South Africa. Coordinators often find their roles lonely and frustrating, partly because the role is combined with other roles which take priority. Coordinators tend to initiate their own role and derive mainly altruistic role satisfaction. This initiation of the role can lead to organizational isolation and lack of management support for the mentoring scheme. Recommendations for development and support of coordinators are made.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Abbott, Penny
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Project management , Mentoring in business , Performance technology
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2381 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4836
- Description: M. Phil. , The purpose of this study was to explore the role and experiences of the coordinators of structured mentoring schemes across various sectors of society in South Africa. A purposive sample of 25 schemes was identified and both quantitative and qualitative data was obtained through questionnaires and interviews. It was found that mentoring in South Africa, as with overseas countries, is used for a wide variety of purposes. There are varying degrees of success reported from these schemes and the predominant model of mentoring as reported in the research tends to follow the “sponsorship” approach to mentoring, which may not be the most appropriate for transformation in South Africa. Coordinators often find their roles lonely and frustrating, partly because the role is combined with other roles which take priority. Coordinators tend to initiate their own role and derive mainly altruistic role satisfaction. This initiation of the role can lead to organizational isolation and lack of management support for the mentoring scheme. Recommendations for development and support of coordinators are made.
- Full Text:
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