Unisa Press Journals (University of South Africa)
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Employee Motivation Before and During COVID‑19: Perceptions of Employees in a South African Agricultural Organisation
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic forced numerous changes in the world of work. The agricultural sector in South Africa was deemed an essential service during the national lockdown, and employees had to keep working. Keeping employees motivated during the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge. The study aims to provide practical insights into employee motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study’s general objective therefore was to explore employees’ perceptions of the work-related factors that motivated them in a South African agricultural organisation before and during COVID-19. The study employed a qualitative research method with an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative descriptive strategy. The sample consisted of employees (N = 8) employed at an agricultural organisation. The data were collected through qualitative online surveys using the QuestionPro software, and content analysis was applied to analyse the data. The participants indicated that they were motivated by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations were made by the participants who pointed out that existing efforts by the organisation should be maintained during the pandemic to keep employees motivated
Transition Experiences from Student to Business Owner: A Narrative Analysis among Nascent Entrepreneurs
No full textPurpose: Given the high unemployment rate in countries like South Africa, a need exists to understand the experiences gained during the transition from student to business owner. Such an inquiry aids the further development of a new generation of entrepreneurs. The study’s objective was to explore the factors and challenges of transition by nascent entrepreneurs using individuals who had been students as a sample in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected through interviews with 22 participants who had made the journey from students to first-time business owners, utilising narrative analysis. The three levels of meaning-making were used to analyse the data.
Findings: The findings of this study position three salient narratives. First, the motivation to become an entrepreneur is largely influenced by the experience of coming from a context of hardship. Second, the challenge of transitioning from student to entrepreneur is influenced by resourcing and capability challenges. Third, in experiencing the motivator and ensuing challenges, the nascent entrepreneurs relied on more informal networks of support than formal channels.
Practical implications – Based on the research findings, the researchers have recommendations that can assist universities and students, those who are already in the entrepreneurial space, and the government.
Originality/value – This study is a pioneer in exploring the transition experiences from student to nascent entrepreneurship within the South African context, illustrating this through narrative analysis
An Analysis of the Obligations of COMESA Public Procurement Regulations: The Case of Zimbabwe’s Public Procurement Regulatory Framework
No full textWith the coming into force of the new Constitution in 2013, public procurement was given a constitutional status in Zimbabwe. The Constitution sets out vital principles that public procurement legislation must comply with. Moreover, it is a requirement of the Constitution that the governance of Zimbabwe must be pursued in accordance with Zimbabwe’s international law obligations. Zimbabwe is a founding member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). To accelerate interstate trade, COMESA promulgated Public Procurement Regulations (PPR) for regional competitive bidding across member states. The viability of the regional trade agreements is hinged on mutual cooperation. Pursuant to the foregoing, member states are required to domesticate international agreements into their municipal laws. In 2017, the Zimbabwean legislature passed the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act 5 to give effect to the provisions of section 315(1) of the Constitution (Amendment No. 20), 2013. The public procurement reform agenda in Zimbabwe occurred close to a decade after the adoption of the public procurement regulations by COMESA in 2009. This article explores the obligations imposed on Zimbabwe pursuant to the public procurement regulations. This is done by identifying the public procurement principles enumerated in public procurement regulations, which are binding on member states. This article endeavours to answer the question: To what extent does the Zimbabwean legal framework conform to public procurement regulations? This article notes that the legal framework underlying public procurement in Zimbabwe, by and large, conforms to the bar set in the public procurement regulations. Nonetheless, it highlights Zimbabwe’s public procurement shortcomings. The article concludes by making possible legislative recommendations
Troubled Sea Off the Coast of West and Central Africa: Insights into the Gulf of Guinea’s Upsurge in Maritime (in) Security and its Impact on Human Rights and the Rule of Law
No full textIn this article, I review the upsurge in maritime (in) security in the Gulf of Guinea and its impact on human rights and the rule of law. For the past decade, the area has become a zone of recurrent naval threats for the shipping industry owing to repeated incidents of piracy, armed robbery against ships, kidnapping and transnational organised crime activities. Meanwhile, there has been an inflation of trans-border, intraregional and interregional cooperation agreements to tackle this issue. Despite such agreements, recent statistics confirm that the situation has not improved. The Gulf of Guinea, a strategic region in the maritime environment, has now become the world’s most dangerous area in terms of illicit maritime activities and human rights violations. This complexity between the surge of insecurity on the sea off the coast of West and Central Africa and the initiatives to remedy this phenomenon is the core of my analysis
Editorial Introduction to the Special Issue: Advancements in International Law—Navigating the Frontiers of Aviation, Aerospace, Maritime Studies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
No full textThe Advancement of 4IR Technologies and Increasing Cyberattacks in South Africa
No full textThe fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is an era characterised by accelerated technological progress. Even though access to 4IR technologies is not yet widespread, in the current era, 4IR technologies affect socio-economic activities and digital business. The pace of digital transformation also has some implications for cybersecurity. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of these 4IR technologies on cyberattacks in South Africa. The study used qualitative data collection methods, namely, interviews and document collection. Purposive and convenience sampling were used to select the study participants. An analysis of the collected data yielded four major findings. A major tenet of these findings was that there is a correlation between the advancement of 4IR technologies and the rapid increase in cyberattacks in South Africa. The study has made theoretical and practical contributions as well as some essential contributions to digital transformation and cybersecurity theories. The findings and recommendations of the study can be used in other countries in southern Africa. One recommendation is for business executives to implement certain measures to strengthen cybersecurity in their organisations. Further, policymakers in South Africa are advised to ensure that public policies and law enforcement agencies are able to use advanced technologies to prevent and deal with cyberattacks
An Investigation Into the Role of Coaching to Promote Ethical Leadership in Professionalising the Public Service in South Africa
No full textOver the years, in South Africa, there has been an increase in the number of transgressions in the public service. Instances have been reported where leaders were involved in unethical behaviour and unduly influencing supply chain-related decisions that would personally benefit them. Corrupt activities that have been reported range from unlawfully awarding tenders, spending public funds on incomplete projects, inflating prices, tender rigging, ghost employees, disbursing funds to non-compliant suppliers or for work not delivered, maladministration, illegal use of state resources, conflict of interest, theft, embezzlement of public funds and bribery. Such transgressions are often linked to a lack of ethical conduct and professionalism of leaders in the public service. The President of South Africa lamented about the extent of poor ethics and unprofessionalism of the public service, which can therefore be seen as a crisis and an opportunity to change the status quo. Advancing honesty, ethics and integrity in the public service is critical if we are to build a capable state. The South African government is concerned about the high levels of corruption in the public service. A high standard of professional ethics is therefore an essential matter that needs urgent attention. The aim of this study is to determine the role of coaching in developing ethical leaders to professionalise the public service. The study follows a qualitative approach. The findings of the study will benefit the public service by providing in-depth knowledge on how coaching can be used to promote ethical leadership and professionalise the public service
Exploring the Hidden Curriculum on Gender in Contemporary Picturebooks from the Book Dash Collection
No full textIn this article, I discuss how gender roles are represented in a selection of South African picturebooks, paying particular attention to how these books cumulatively constitute a hidden curriculum. The picturebooks of the Book Dash collection, an online collection of free children’s literature created in South Africa, have been chosen as the case study. The data have been analysed using thematic analysis. Eagly and Wood’s Social Role Theory provides the theoretical framework. Findings from this study suggest that when the picturebooks are read cumulatively, the persistence of gender role stereotypes can be observed in the Book Dash collection, which depicts gendered characters in various ways that could be read as both perpetuating and challenging stereotypes. The recommendation of this study for teacher education is that aspects of the hidden curriculum should be addressed carefully when teaching or selecting children’s literature for children
Shifts in Heteronormative and Gender Normative Perceptions among Students at a South African University: A Decade Later
No full textSouth Africa’s Constitution is one of the most progressive in the world, where it highlights the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms to persons of any sex, gender, race, or sexual orientation and prohibits any discrimination on this basis. At the same time, since its introduction in 1996, a gap has existed between the Constitution and peoples’ actual lived experiences (particularly those of minority groups). To examine whether heteronormative and gender normative views are shifting, data from two quantitative cross-sectional surveys (2011 and 2021) conducted at an urban South African university were analysed and compared across several statements. The data suggest that a dramatic shift in attitude has taken place in this last decade (2011–2021). University students in 2021 were both significantly less homophobic, as well as expressing fewer heteronormative views compared to 2011. Male students continued to be more homophobic than female students, albeit homophobic attitudes had reduced significantly in both groups. Data also suggest that students were moving away from normative gendered views with a particularly dramatic change amongst female students, especially regarding views on sexual roles. We argue that the drop in homophobic views may be in part explained by a broader liberalisation of attitudes towards traditionally held gender roles and views, as the findings suggest significant shifts toward a more progressive dogma
Surfacing Victim-Worthiness: Male Victims of Sexual Violence and Registers of Empathy
No full textIn this article, we interrogate the role of affective economies in the surfacing of male victimhood in the context of sexual violence. The victim-worthiness concept speaks directly to the notions of the qualifications and characteristics of victimhood, especially in the context of gender- and sexual-based violence. The post-apartheid South African context on violence has largely been dominated by a public narrative that clearly demarcates victims and perpetrators of gender and sexual violence. In this article, we examine some ways in which male victim-survivors of sexual violence negotiate victim-worthiness in a public forum. We employ a discourse analytical approach and affect theoretical lenses to explore this negotiation and some of the tensions that it surfaces. We show how male victim-survivors of sexual violence take up different discursive positionalities to not only negotiate their victim status but also to legitimate and recognise male sexual victimhood. These discursive strategies further work in tandem with affective surfacing processes that produce a subject worthy of empathy