African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies
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Examining Leadership Traits to Succeed in a VUCA-Induced Environment in Eskom
Get PDFLeading through a crisis and volatile environment requires very different and unique leadership traits. This research sought to understand if the leaders at a state-owned (SoE) utility in South Africa, Eskom, are equipped with the required traits to succeed in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous (VUCA) induced crisis environment like the Covid-19 pandemic and if there is an alignment between how leaders perceive how well they can perform their tasks with their employees' perceptions of their ability to do the task in this environment. Ineffective leadership response to such an environment and crisis due to leaders lacking the essential traits can cost the SoE direly in financial terms, market value, service delivery, brand equity, and employee attrition. Thus, establishing the key leadership traits that leaders at Eskom lack for leading in VUCA and crisis environments would assist Eskom in identifying the appropriate upskilling for their leaders. Using a quantitative research design, the study surveyed a total of 65 senior managers and 45 employees at Eskom, an SoE in South Africa, using an online survey platform. The study found that the senior managers at Eskom are equipped to some degree with the appropriate traits required to succeed in a VUCA environment. They could not perform all 32 tasks well as per the SCAILES framework but do display key traits that align to 6 constructs of the framework: strategic, complex, adaptive, learning, emergence, and systems
Group Work in Undergraduate Research: Turning Bane into Boon
Get PDFProblem-based learning (PBL) using groupwork was used to engage students in undergraduate research methodology (UGR). It is anticipated that students will develop both interpersonal and employability skills during this exercise. This study explores a student cohort experience of groupwork within the teaching and learning of UGR at a South African University of Technology (UoT). The study used a qualitative approach. Students (n=28) were invited to participate after completing each research module using a non-probability convenience sampling strategy. Data collection using virtual interviews continued until data saturation was reached (n=7). Transcribed interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis strategy. Identified themes included student experiences and challenges associated with groupwork, perceptions regarding groupwork goals, working strategies and technology use, and improving the groupwork experience. Students emphasized benefits such as sharing ideas and workloads, but there were conflicting views regarding the pedagogic reason for groupwork. Students reported an increasing dependence on technology. Shared challenges included the “freeriding” phenomenon, which caused dissent and frustration. Choosing their own group members improved their experience. Peer assessment and assessment of individual contributions were supported to subvert freeriding. Groupwork requires extensive planning and management by the lecturer, particularly for PBL and UGR
Who Cares for the Family Caregivers of the Elderly during COVID-19 in Low-Middle Income Countries? A Commentary
Get PDFThe considerable increase in the intensity and duration of care provided to the elderly by family caregivers warrants a detailed review of the support interventions available to these “invisible” individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family caregivers had limited access to respite care due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 protocols. This increased their stress and the burden of caregiving. This commentary article details the experiences of family caregivers of the elderly and establish the type of support interventions available to them during the pandemic, especially in low-and-middle-income countries. Random search of literature was conducted, and themes identified include: “fear of contagion”, “limited resources”, “knowledge deficit” and “grieving in solitary”. In addition, this article recommends strategies to mitigate the burden and stress experienced by them
If Bronze, Why Not Wood? A Case for the Repatriation of the Yoruba Ere Ibeji
Get PDFIn light of the current trend of repatriation of illegally acquired African art which are scattered all over galleries and museums in Europe and the Americas, consideration should also be given to the Ere Ibeji of the Yoruba. These figures are not mere objects of curiosity for Western fascination, but they are strongly tied to the birth and death of twins in Yoruba culture. This paper seeks to revisit this tradition based on literature, in line with its resultant art forms in a bid to contribute to the gamut of existing knowledge on the Yoruba twin tradition, as well as to (re)generate contemporary understanding(s) of the subject matter. Perhaps, this will aid the understanding of the significance of Ere Ibeji to the Yoruba; thereby contributing to the call for their return. The paper recommends that local preparation for the return of these artefacts should include training and re-training of the museum custodians of the cultural objects, construction, and renovation of structures to house the artefacts, and the reinforcement of legal frameworks to protect the cultural objects from illegal displacement. The paper concludes with a note that the return of looted artefacts should not begin and end with the bronzes of Benin and Ife alone, these wooden effigies from the western part of Nigeria also matter
Effect of Working Capital Management on Financial Performance of a State-Owned Enterprise in South Africa
Get PDFSouth Africa’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have reportedly found it difficult to conserve their financial position in order to improve financial performance. Working capital management (WCM) is a significant component of financial management practices by which firms can be measured and improve financial performance. The study aims to examine the employees’ perceptions of the effect of WCM on financial performance of an SOE in South Africa. Cross-sectional, quantitative research and questionnaire approaches were used to collect data from 51 respondents. The study identified the gaps in cash management. The regression coefficient suggests that there is a strong causal relationship between WCM and financial performance of the firm (r=0.597; p<0.001). The F test indicates that the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.001). It was found that review of WCM accounts for 35.7% (R2 = 0.357) of the variance in finance performance F (1, 49) = 27.1560, p<.000 and it (review of WCM) is also a significant predictor of financial performance, where the relationship was positive (β = 0.597, p<.001). The study recommends that the SOE considers WCM as a tool for its economic growth
PR Practitioners’ Conceptualisation of the Role of Stakeholder Engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility Planning and Implementation
Get PDFOver the years, practitioners and stakeholders have regarded the practice of stakeholder engagement as a non-essential part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The only standard corporate practice was to invest in developing CSR and sustainability programmes with minimal involvement of those they materially affect, also known as their stakeholders. However, engaging with stakeholders is no longer optional. In theory, the reflective public relations paradigm emphasises the need for organisations to meet stakeholder and societal expectations, values, norms, and standards by conducting themselves in a socially responsible manner in their communities. Against this background, this study evaluated PR practitioners’ conceptualisation of the role of stakeholder engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility planning and implementation using the Public Relations reflective paradigm conceptualised by Susanne Holmström. The study also adopted the stakeholder approach to CSR formulated by Freeman. The study followed an exploratory qualitative research approach, involving six PR practitioners involved in CSR within their organisations in Cape Town. The researchers selected participants through the purposive sampling technique. The findings of this study revealed that stakeholder inclusivity and engagement vary for each organisation. However, in many organisations’ corporate social responsibility strategies, the most common goal is to engage and put all their stakeholders at the forefront
The Potential of the Language Portrait as a Self-Reflective and Decolonial Research Tool for Undergraduates: A Case Study
Get PDFThe study reports on undergraduate students’ introduction to the Language Portrait (LP) as a creative inquiry resource that they used to embark on a scholarly journey through which they could potentially decolonise their subjectivities. We argue that the coloniality of English in the South African context has undermined subaltern students' scholarly knowledge production and contribution, ways of thinking, and how they value themselves outside the accepted Western norms as embodied in the English language. Consequently, this has shaped their subjectivity. By using LPs, students were able to reflect on their learning experiences. The study finds that self-reflective research skills can provide resources for shifts towards a non-colonial subjectivity. Using an exploratory case study design, students' engagement with LPs was utilised as data, accompanied by interviews. Twelve students studying at an Islamic higher education institute were asked to colour in a body silhouette (LP) and were then interviewed to explain the meaning of their LPs. The study found that the LP was an effective tool for reflecting on students learning and scholarly aspirations. Students responded very positively to the way they could do self-reflection in a colourful and playful manner. We also found that learning Arabic allowed the students to realise that there are alternative ways of thinking about who they could become. LPs added to their skill set by giving them a new research tool that they may use to pursue an epistemic delinking from the colonial project
Post Covid-19: The New (Ab)normal in South African Higher Education – Challenges with Emergency Remote Learning
Get PDFThe pandemic has compelled Higher Education Institutions around the world to resort to Emergency Remote Learning (ERL). This abrupt ‘pivot to online’ learning has exacerbated existing challenges in Higher Education, particularly in South Africa. This paper interrogates whether the sudden move to ERL has compounded or ameliorated existing academic challenges for students in Higher Education Institutions. The study summarised herein draws on ‘critical humanising pedagogy’, an approach that centres student needs in the teaching and learning process. In employing student experiences and perceptions of ERL, the study adopted a qualitative approach, with specific focus on students from one of SA’s top five universities. A perturbing finding is that teaching and learning under ERL has regressed into impersonal methodologies, devoid of any notion of pedagogy as the science and art of teaching. More unsettling is that ERL has alienated and disengaged students from learning as a collaborative process. The increased transactional distance between students and academics has desensitised the latter to the peculiar challenges students encounter in the virtual classroom. The study recommends Higher Education should consider student difficulties in adapting to online remote learning and find ways of fostering student-centred pedagogy in virtual classrooms
The Influence of Strategic Leadership Roles of Chief Executive Officers on the Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Zimbabwe
Get PDFChief Executive Officers of small and medium enterprises have a tremendous task to strategically lead their institutions to become active players contributing positively to the gross domestic product and create more employment opportunities. This study seeks to establish the influence of strategic leadership roles of Chief executive officers/owners of small and medium enterprises on the performance of these institutions in the Zimbabwean economy. The study followed the quantitative research approach to collect data using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire from a sample size of 373 respondents selected using the simple random sampling method. The study employed the exploratory factor-structural equation modelling process to analyse data after collating several questions from the extant literature. The analysis tools used were the IBM SPSS Statistics v26 and IBM SPSS Amos v26 software. All the five strategic leadership roles had a significant effect on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises. The study findings will help Chief Executive Officers of Small Medium Enterprises in Zimbabwe to execute their strategic leadership roles incisively with due diligence given their effect on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises
The Potential of Goat Meat Acceptance by Young Adults in South Africa
Get PDFRecent global meat consumption trends report an increase in goat meat consumption as a protein source; however, consumption is not popular in South Africa. Despite goat meat being a nutritious and sustainable source, the willingness to consume goat meat as an acceptable protein source among young adults is not known. The study aims to explore factors that may prevent goat meat consumption and determine the potential for goat meat consumption among young adults from a rural and urban university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. An online meat consumption survey was developed and disseminated through email to students (n=416). Goat meat consumption by young adults was reported to be mainly due to cultural practices. Although most of the participants consumed goat meat, the frequency of consumption was lower than that of chicken, beef and pork. Key barriers to goat meat consumption included a lack of availability, unappealing aroma and allergies. The findings indicated the potential to promote goat meat availability at retail outlets in South Africa, specifically through value-added convenience products. An integrated approach, including consumer education and the increasing availability of goat meat and value-added products, will improve the consumption of this sustainable and nutritious protein source