Exploration of psychosocial risk and the handling of unsafe acts and misconducts in the workplace
- Authors: Visagie, Jan , Ukpere, Wilfred I. , Swanepoel, Jacquelene
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Occupational risks , Industrial safety
- Type: Journal
- Identifier: uj:5473 , ISSN 2039-2117 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13449
- Description: The aim of this article was to investigate the psychosocial risk environment influencing employee behaviour, and subsequently the trust relationship between employer and employee. The unique nature and commonness of negative acts, such as unsafe behaviour, human errors, poor performance and negligence (also referred to as unsafe practices) are explored in this article. Pertinent literatures were reviewed on the nature of negative acts or unsafe behaviour. The findings of this study were used to draw comparisons between unsafe behaviour/misconduct and accidents in the workplace and finally recommendations were made on how the problem can be addressed from a labour relations perspective. The results indicate that a relationship between unsafe practice/misconduct and occupational injuries and accidents exist, owing to system flaws, human error or psychosocial risk.
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Intergroup conflict within a South African mining company
- Authors: Havenga, Werner , Visagie, Jan , Linde, Herman , Gobind, Jenni
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Mining industry - South Africa , Intergroup dynamics , Conflict management , Industrial relations
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5903 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8022
- Description: The uncertainty that accompanies organizational change heightens prospects for intra-organizational conflict. Notwithstanding this, the knowledge base on the sources (or causes) of organizational conflict is underdeveloped – largely as a result of a low incidence of empirical research, and in particular in South Africa. The current study explored the perceived sources of intergroup conflict in a South African mining company. The aim of this research is to investigate intergroup conflict and to look into how intergroup conflict influences employment relations throughout all levels of the organization. From a probability population of 1000 in the twelve departments a random sample of 200 employees was chosen to participate in the research. This number represents 20% of the total population. Intergroup conflict was analysed and evaluated. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations made on the occurrence of intergroup conflict based on the findings of the literature and empirical study. Data frequencies, correlations and a correlation analysis were performed through the SPSS programme.
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Leadership competencies for managing diversity
- Authors: Visagie, Jan , Linde, Herman , Havenga, Werner
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Management , Symbolic interactionism , Diversity management , Leadership style , Cronbach alpha values
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5838 , ISSN 1854-6935 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7868
- Description: The new understanding of diversity involves more than increasing the number of different identity groups on the payroll. An important proposal is that the experience of diversity in an organisation results from pervasive styles of management. This article dealt with the specific paradigms of diversity management and leadership style theory used to address the research problem in the empirical study, namely ‘Is diversity management experience related to leadership styles or competencies?’ The models of diversity and inclusion indicators are used to examine the experience of diversitymanagement. The population of this study into the experience of diversity management is two thousand six hundred and sixty nine (2669) respondents. Leadership styles were obtained from four hundred and forty (440) leaders. The Cronbach alpha values were determined in order to indicate internal validity and reliability.
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Responding to change in a large organization from a leadership angle
- Authors: Ukpere, Wilfred , Visagie, Jan , Coetzee, Rein
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Leadership , Organizational change
- Type: Journal
- Identifier: uj:5461 , ISSN 2039-2117 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13437
- Description: The reality today is that organizations and leaders are faced with unrelenting demands to change. Globalisation, competitiveness and ever changing business environments have forced organisations to constantly consider innovative changes. The challenge today is for leaders to be able to reduce the resistance to change, and thus allowing for successful change navigation. It is therefore necessary to be mindful of the various approaches to change in order to ensure that change can be successfully implemented. The success of any change intervention depends on the leadership of the organisation. It is therefore important to note that leadership is an enabler of any type of change. In general leadership can be seen as the driving force to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. Effective leaders know that the successful implementation of change begins with attending to the human side in the organisation. Therefore, leadership is about the leader’s ability to influence people and allowing them to change perceptions, behaviours, attitudes and finally action. This paper is an attempt to address specific requirements, referring to relevant leadership competencies and providing more empowering views on the essence of leadership in navigating a successful change intervention.
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