A qualitative portrayal of the experience of women in senior management positions in a knowledge organisation
- Authors: Venter, Cornelia Maria
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Women executives , Knowledge workers , Sex discrimination against women
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2398 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4851
- Description: D.Phil. , The world of work of women has elicited much research locally and abroad. Underpinning the research is the societal norm that men are breadwinners and women are homemakers, which poses a dilemma in terms of gender roles in the professional and domestic life of women. Hence the aim of the research was to develop a substantive theory to explore and foreground how women in senior management positions in a knowledge organisation in the telecommunication domain experience their professional and domestic realities against the background of the materialisation of this societal norm. The study was done in the qualitative paradigm, guided by a modernist interpretive theoretical framework. Casing was employed as research design. Six women at senior management level were selected by means of purposive sampling (with the assistance of a gatekeeper). One-on-one semi-structured interviews and field notes were used as data collection methods. Grounded theory (as proposed by Strauss and Corbin) was used to analyse the data. Open coding was done with the aid of the ATLAS.ti computer software programme, whereas axial coding and selective coding were done manually.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Venter, Cornelia Maria
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Women executives , Knowledge workers , Sex discrimination against women
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2398 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4851
- Description: D.Phil. , The world of work of women has elicited much research locally and abroad. Underpinning the research is the societal norm that men are breadwinners and women are homemakers, which poses a dilemma in terms of gender roles in the professional and domestic life of women. Hence the aim of the research was to develop a substantive theory to explore and foreground how women in senior management positions in a knowledge organisation in the telecommunication domain experience their professional and domestic realities against the background of the materialisation of this societal norm. The study was done in the qualitative paradigm, guided by a modernist interpretive theoretical framework. Casing was employed as research design. Six women at senior management level were selected by means of purposive sampling (with the assistance of a gatekeeper). One-on-one semi-structured interviews and field notes were used as data collection methods. Grounded theory (as proposed by Strauss and Corbin) was used to analyse the data. Open coding was done with the aid of the ATLAS.ti computer software programme, whereas axial coding and selective coding were done manually.
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Rose or thorn? : a black South African woman's account of working in a male-dominated environment
- Tabudi, Sizile Aurelia Thulisile
- Authors: Tabudi, Sizile Aurelia Thulisile
- Date: 2010-10-26T07:19:52Z
- Subjects: Leadership in women , Black women , Sex role in the work environment , Women executives , Sex discrimination in employment
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6940 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3450
- Description: D.Phil. , The major part of what is known about women in leadership positions, and the challenges they are facing, is based on studies conducted in first-world countries. There clearly is a gap in the literature in terms of studies that focus on female leaders in Africa. Much has still to be said about the role that cultural practices and prejudices play in hampering the growth and progress of these women. This authentic study of a South African Zulu female manager provides a unique insight into the way she negotiated the challenges of climbing the corporate ladder in a male-dominated environment. Its postmodernist approach challenges the writer to use herself as a research subject while applying the principle of reflexivity in stepping back and analysing lived experiences from a researcher‟s perspective. In opening up her innermost feelings to the world, the researcher reveals who she really is, and how she, as a Zulu woman, wife, mother, and manager, negotiated her way between her own traditional culture and the Western corporate world. This creates real challenges to the researcher, as she has to keep sliding between being the subject and being the researcher at the same time. This narrative of "self" is recreated through interviewing people who had been part of the researcher‟s life during the period which was the focus of the study as well as the researcher recalling significant events. The research focuses on the challenges of being a minority leader in a South African workplace. The resistance to a black female as their superior by black males is highlighted, as is the manner in which these cultural prejudices result in discrimination against women by members of their own culture. The research also illuminates the impact of legislation aimed at transforming the local workplace and the leadership fraternity in a post-apartheid South Africa.
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- Authors: Tabudi, Sizile Aurelia Thulisile
- Date: 2010-10-26T07:19:52Z
- Subjects: Leadership in women , Black women , Sex role in the work environment , Women executives , Sex discrimination in employment
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6940 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3450
- Description: D.Phil. , The major part of what is known about women in leadership positions, and the challenges they are facing, is based on studies conducted in first-world countries. There clearly is a gap in the literature in terms of studies that focus on female leaders in Africa. Much has still to be said about the role that cultural practices and prejudices play in hampering the growth and progress of these women. This authentic study of a South African Zulu female manager provides a unique insight into the way she negotiated the challenges of climbing the corporate ladder in a male-dominated environment. Its postmodernist approach challenges the writer to use herself as a research subject while applying the principle of reflexivity in stepping back and analysing lived experiences from a researcher‟s perspective. In opening up her innermost feelings to the world, the researcher reveals who she really is, and how she, as a Zulu woman, wife, mother, and manager, negotiated her way between her own traditional culture and the Western corporate world. This creates real challenges to the researcher, as she has to keep sliding between being the subject and being the researcher at the same time. This narrative of "self" is recreated through interviewing people who had been part of the researcher‟s life during the period which was the focus of the study as well as the researcher recalling significant events. The research focuses on the challenges of being a minority leader in a South African workplace. The resistance to a black female as their superior by black males is highlighted, as is the manner in which these cultural prejudices result in discrimination against women by members of their own culture. The research also illuminates the impact of legislation aimed at transforming the local workplace and the leadership fraternity in a post-apartheid South Africa.
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Towards understanding experiences of women aspiring to senior management positions within a business environment
- Authors: Usher, Jane Victoria
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Businesswomen , Corporate culture , Women executives , Sex discrimination in employment , Sex role in the work environment
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2388 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4842
- Description: D.Phil. , Equality, status and remuneration of women in the workforce remain of on-going interest and concern. Although extensive research has been conducted into this field, intensely personal experiences of women in the work environment is an important area to be researched, as this may hold the key to assisting them in successfully reaching the higher echelons within the business world. Insight into women’s workplace experiences is a worldwide need in order to improve empowerment and equality in the workplace. Unfortunately this type of insight is lacking in the body of research that is currently available. The motivation for this study entitled: Towards Understanding Experiences of Women Aspiring to Senior Management Positions within a Business Environment was to examine the intensely personal experiences and emotions of women striving to achieve a senior place in the business hierarchy, especially when they encounter unexpected obstacles such as workplace bullying. The researcher has experienced many challenges that have influenced her career over her last ten years at work. Undertaking an auto-ethnographic study, an approach she wasn’t even aware of until 2006, provided her with the opportunity to study these events and experiences, and to learn from the knowledge gained, and thereby put forward suggestions to effect the social change that is required to improve a career woman’s quality of life. The aims of this research study were to understand the context of the research participants’ work situations and their resultant experiences, to propose actions to relieve the negative emotions and behaviours that may occur during such situations, as well as generate knowledge and add to existing theories. This research explores and describes the realities of two working women, and how they make sense of their worlds and experiences. The researcher has adopted elements of post-modernism as well as some positivistic and modernistic components which occur in varying degrees along the qualitative research continuum. While qualitative researchers hold different views regarding the incorporation and relevance of literature to their research topic, the researcher has incorporated both literature and theory in this thesis. Insights gained from the lived experiences of the research participants have been applied by means of analytical induction to relevant theory and contributeto the body of knowledge.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Usher, Jane Victoria
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Businesswomen , Corporate culture , Women executives , Sex discrimination in employment , Sex role in the work environment
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2388 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4842
- Description: D.Phil. , Equality, status and remuneration of women in the workforce remain of on-going interest and concern. Although extensive research has been conducted into this field, intensely personal experiences of women in the work environment is an important area to be researched, as this may hold the key to assisting them in successfully reaching the higher echelons within the business world. Insight into women’s workplace experiences is a worldwide need in order to improve empowerment and equality in the workplace. Unfortunately this type of insight is lacking in the body of research that is currently available. The motivation for this study entitled: Towards Understanding Experiences of Women Aspiring to Senior Management Positions within a Business Environment was to examine the intensely personal experiences and emotions of women striving to achieve a senior place in the business hierarchy, especially when they encounter unexpected obstacles such as workplace bullying. The researcher has experienced many challenges that have influenced her career over her last ten years at work. Undertaking an auto-ethnographic study, an approach she wasn’t even aware of until 2006, provided her with the opportunity to study these events and experiences, and to learn from the knowledge gained, and thereby put forward suggestions to effect the social change that is required to improve a career woman’s quality of life. The aims of this research study were to understand the context of the research participants’ work situations and their resultant experiences, to propose actions to relieve the negative emotions and behaviours that may occur during such situations, as well as generate knowledge and add to existing theories. This research explores and describes the realities of two working women, and how they make sense of their worlds and experiences. The researcher has adopted elements of post-modernism as well as some positivistic and modernistic components which occur in varying degrees along the qualitative research continuum. While qualitative researchers hold different views regarding the incorporation and relevance of literature to their research topic, the researcher has incorporated both literature and theory in this thesis. Insights gained from the lived experiences of the research participants have been applied by means of analytical induction to relevant theory and contributeto the body of knowledge.
- Full Text:
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