EUREKA: Social and Humanities
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Exploring the performance of shared-value banking at Discovery Bank: a leadership perspective
Full text linkThe concept of shared value was born out of a determined effort to find methods for the corporate sector and society to grow while being sustainable. Often, banks are criticised for focusing on maximising shareholder value while not addressing societal issues or creating value for society. However, corporate shared value in banking is beginning to be embraced in the financial banking sector. Discovery Bank is a new-to-market entrant in the South African banking sector that has implemented shared-value banking to distinguish itself from competitors and create value for society. There are limited studies that explore the performance of shared-value banking in South Africa and whether implementation is viable or provides a competitive advantage. This study aimed to explore the performance of shared-value banking based on the perceptions of Discovery Bank leaders using a qualitative study methodology. The population in this study comprised 300 employees of Discovery Bank that were involved in the implementation of Discovery Bank since 2019. The target population of this research inquiry was 30 leaders of Discovery Bank. From the target population, 8 participants were chosen as the appropriate sample size to obtain the necessary data to address research objectives through interviews. Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software, NVivo version 1.5.2 (946), was used to analyse the data. Study findings were used to draw up recommendations to Discovery Bank South Africa management regarding improvement areas to meet performance objectives. The findings of the study revealed the following: Discovery Bank has created its shared-value banking model that deviates from the academic framework, it has created a new market of highly desirable clients who exhibit healthy financial behaviours and enhancing client engagement through client communication may yield greater success. Limitations and areas of future research was addressed in this study
A critical evaluation of Thomas Isidore Noel Sankara’s servant leadership style of government in Burkina-Faso
Full text linkMany authors have written and documented this illustrious and selfless son of the African continent, highlighting his unique kind of leadership different from the one that the African continent has ever experienced for a generation. His style of leadership for four years (1983–1987) as president of Burkina Faso eclipsed several African despots and corrupt leaders before and after Thomas Sankara. This article has three purposes as follows: first, to explore and celebrate the short-lived life of Thomas Sankara, and his legacies. Second, to critically evaluate his solid leadership characteristics and achievements relating it to the economy; Political, social, health, while serving as the President of Burkina Faso. Third, to highlight some of his shortcomings with the view that current and future leaders of African countries can learn from such shortcomings. This study is informed by the post-colonial theories of Ali Mazrui and Frantz Fanon. The author makes the following interesting findings. First, Sankara may have met his demise because of his country’s foreign policy (Non- Aligned), his relentless anti-imperialist campaign. The author acknowledges the solid achievements, made during Sankara’s brief term in office, are inspirational in the psyche of African men and women of his generation. If there is anything the author and many admirers and well-wishers of Sankara would like to see, is that his murderers are all brought to justice. More importantly, there are several lessons or styles of governance for African leaders both at home and in the diaspora to learn from this great man Thomas Sankara
Sustaining organizational performance and employee wellbeing in the 4IR: the impact of leadership 4.0, PSYCAP, and high-performance HR practices
Full text linkThis paper investigates perceived leadership 4.0, psychological capital (PsyCap), and high-performance human resource practices (HPHRPs) for sustainable organizational performance (OP) and employee psychological wellbeing (EPW) in business organizations.This investigation’s sample was obtained from twenty (20) organizations in Nigeria’s and Ghana’s financial, manufacturing, and service industries. Hence, this comparative study espoused a cross-sectional survey method. Nevertheless, from the 500 surveys floated, two hundred and forty-six (246) surveys were retrieved in Nigeria and two hundred and forty-three (243) in Ghana. A total of four hundred and eight-nine (489) were fit for analysis, done with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS v.27).This paper confirms that Leadership 4.0, PsyCap, and HPHRPs independently and significantly increase and sustain excellent organizational performance and employee psychological wellbeing.This paper further notes that Leadership 4.0, psychological capital, and HPHRPs greatly and jointly influence the sustainability of organizational performance and employee psychological wellbeing. Hence, work organizations in Nigeria and Ghana, particularly Ghana, are advised to consider and assume the appropriate leadership styles, such as Leadership 4.0 for the varied circumstances and contests from the fourth industrial revolution. Moreover, employers in Nigeria and Ghana, particularly Nigeria, should always encourage positivity in their employees, using organizational support and positive psychology programs. Besides, the management and leaders in work organizations in Nigeria and Ghana should adopt human resource practices that make employees perceive that their organizations adopt the method of value enrichment, where they are taken as an essential resource for reasonable sustenanc
Social comparison and academic buoyancy among freshmen in one selected public university
Full text linkThe study examined the relationship between social comparison and academic buoyancy among freshmen in one selected public university in Kenya. The study adopted cross-sectional survey research design. The social comparison and academic buoyancy scales were used to collect data. The sample size of the study consisted of 213 freshmen from one selected public university in the western part of Kenya. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics, such as Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis statistical techniques. It was established, that there was a low positive (r=0.187, n=213, p=0.006) relationship between social comparison and academic buoyancy among the first year university students. The social comparison regression model was adequate to predict the level of academic buoyancy among first year university students, [F (1, 211)=7.641, p=0.006, accounting for 3.5 % (R2=0.035)] of the variation in academic buoyancy levels. The study recommends that counseling staff at universities should develop specific orientation programmes to enhance the academic buoyancy of freshmen with inappropriate social comparisons. Future studies could also focus on institutional based factors, influencing academic buoyancy among freshmen at universities
The impact of social media as a strategic approach to corporate communication when handling crises at a selected South African bank
Full text linkThis study investigates the impact of social media as a strategic approach to corporate communication when handling crises at Bank X in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The study had three over-arching objectives; to determine the challenges that are encountered when handling crises about communication at Bank X, to determine if the leadership has the willingness to change their approach when formulating the strategy; to determine if social media has an impact on strategy formulation of crisis communication at Bank X; and lastly to make recommendations to Bank X’s leadership on how to incorporate the social media component as a communication approach to effectively handle crises. This research followed a qualitative research approach through one-on-one Microsoft Teams in-depth interviews with 10 participants. The study, through the analysis of the primary data, secondary data, and literature reviews, underpins and supports that there is an opportunity for Bank X to incorporate social media as a strategic element to the crisis communication strategy. The organisation’s crisis communication strategy needs to incorporate social media from a strategic perspective for it to be ahead of the curve when a crisis emerges online. The implications for Bank X are a lesson in the evolution of technology in the communication space and how imperative it is for the bank to evolve
The mediating role of self-actualization in increasing millennial employee performance.
Full text linkPerformance is the behavior of how the target is achieved. Every company wants employees who have performance in accordance with the standards, set by the company. Employee performance is an action, taken by someone to do a job in a company or organization to show either attitude, ability or achievement with the aim of advancing an organization. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of individual innovation capability on millennial employee performance, the effect of self-efficacy on millennial employee performance, the effect of self-actualization on millennial employee performance, the effect of individual innovation capability on self-actualization, the effect of self-efficacy on self-actualization, whether self-actualization mediates the effect of Individual innovation capability on millennial employee performance, does self-actualization mediate the effect of self-efficacy on millennial employee performance. Which factor is dominantly influencing the millennial employee performance in the company? This study uses a quantitative method with 132 respondents using SEM and Amos. The results of this study state that individual innovation capability, self-efficacy and self-actualization have a significant positive effect on millennial employee performance. Individual innovation capability and self-efficacy have a significant positive effect on self-actualization. Self-actualization mediates positively and significantly the influence of individual innovation capability and self-efficacy on millennial employee performance. These three factors have the same influence on millennial employee performance
The use of e-government services by small businesses in municipalities
Full text linkThe article aimed to investigate the role of e-government in improving the services, offered to small businesses in the City of Tshwane, which forms part of the Gauteng Province. The research method, used in the article, is qualitative. The data were gathered through literature review, and conceptual analysis was employed to analyse the data. The findings established that e-government services were often not considered suitable for some businesses, due to costs and technology access challenges. In addition, some provided services were found to not be of interest to some small businesses. Under agile accessibility, the focus is on ensuring that as many diverse entities as possible make use of different forms of technology and connectivity to gain access to e-government. Diverse user needs must also be captured by noting that governmental services affect population groups both far and wide. In the City of Tshwane case, low agility means that small businesses are generally not well catered for under current e-government systems. While the current study focussed solely on the City of Tshwane, an assessment of the broader Gauteng Province’s e-government efforts did help in gaining a better understanding of the larger political and administrative environment, within which e-government is set. It is, furthermore, necessary to comprehend that e-government has its challenges; thereby making improvement solutions imperative to filling the noted implementation gaps. This study, therefore, sought to further examine the e-government frameworks, institutions, and stakeholders with respect to their responsibilities in, with, and for small businesse
Building sustainable cities to address urban sprawl: a reflective analysis towards achieving SDGs
Full text linkThe paper aims to evaluate the prospects of building a sustainable city to address urban sprawl in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11. This paper focuses on SDG 11, which is concerned with making sustainable cities and communities. Its objective is to make cities and other populated areas more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable in the long run. Examining some of the problems that impede the SDGs from being accomplished, urbanisation emerges as one of the most significant human endeavours, affecting the standard of urban living and its long-term development in most developing countries. In developing countries, many cities have been burdened with a new normal and culture of growth, driven by urban sprawl, which has led to the sustainable city strategy gaining popularity in recent years. Urbanisation is increasing at an unprecedented rate in many developing countries, threatening the achievement of SDGs due to the proliferation of urban sprawl. Currently, urban areas are home to over 50 % of the world’s population. It is projected, that by 2045 urban areas will be home to more 6 billion people. These have placed severe constraints on local governments, who should be developing sustainable cities and communities in response to urban development to fulfil SDG 11. This makes it impossible to achieve SDG 11 by the projected deadline of 2030. This paper argues that without fundamentally changing how cities are built, developed and populated, sustainability in urban areas cannot be realised. This paper suggests that adequate and ready policy and legislative frameworks are needed to promote sustainable development and prevent urban sprawl in cities
Assessing the effectiveness of compliance inspection in ensuring the quality of ICT products and services: a case of the compliance department at ICASA
Full text linkThis study assesses the effectiveness of compliance inspection in ensuring the quality of ICT products and services at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the ICASA Act to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the public interest. The ICASA approved label, found on internationally manufactured products, implies the products meet quality standards, stipulated by ICASA. A qualitative study using interviews from a sample of 13 participants was carried out. The study found that there are functional integration challenges that are reflected in inspection activities and outcomes, which are not reported to relevant departments, while other supporting activities, such as the provision of security personnel during site inspection, are not made available to support effective compliance inspection activities and effectiveness. The study also found randomized inspections help to cut down on risks. Lastly, the study noted a profound lack of a post-market surveillance in place to continuously ensure that the equipment and the systems, placed in the market, maintain conformance with the applicable technical standards. The study further revealed that licensees lack adequate information and knowledge regarding compliance regulations and acts, which fosters non-compliance and renders compliance inspection ineffectiv
Re-examining the notion of local economic development (LED) post democratization: anticipated outputs, impediments and future expectation(s)
Full text linkThis article critically assesses the notion of Local Economic Development (LED) and utilizes South Africa as a case of reference, through which the conceptualization and underpinnings, associated with LED, are understood. South Africa has come through what one may call three waves of development change, which comprise the apartheid period (1949–1990), the transition period (1990–1994) and the post-apartheid era (1994–present). During both the apartheid and transition period, South Africa was at war with itself and neighbouring countries and economic growth, resources, employment and service delivery were scarce, particularly to the black majority because of the apartheid regimes destabilization policies. Post democratization, and with the inauguration of the democratic elected African National Congress (ANC) government, there were envisioned blueprint frameworks that ought to reverse the erstwhile apartheid regimes policies of racism, inequality and segregation. These were earmarked to alter South Africa’s development and economic growth landscape through the lens of LED. Hence, the promotion of LED was identified as a noteworthy strategy that can ultimately lead to community development, economic growth and poverty relief