3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The perceived role of coaching in enhancing millennial leaders’ development in South Africa(2019) Malunga, NobuhleOne of the key strategies of maintaining organisational performance is investing in the development of leaders. Coaching is one of the instruments that has been used as a process to positively influence leader development. Coaching has been labelled as a process that assists leaders to modify behaviour and perspectives without sacrificing on competence and self-esteem. This study considered the rise of the millennial generation in the South African workforce, particularly in leadership positions across industries. The primary aim of this study was to investigate and describe the millennial leaders’ perception of executive coaching and its role in effectively advancing their leader journey. Millennials have been described as the latest generation to enter the workforce, which is inclusive of individuals born between 1980 and 2000. In 1990, the South African landscape changed, demanding an inclusive workforce, through ensuring a representation of race, gender and age. It is argued however that business has been slow to realise that the political changes influenced societal and behavioural trends and in turn the diverse make up and management of talent within organisations. This report therefore paid attention to the experiences leaders within South Africa had while being coached. This was done by looking at the challenges before engaging in the coaching process and the perceived value and impact that the leader derived from coaching. The study assumed a qualitative design, using interviews with eight millennials in senior management positions. Interviews were then analysed thematically. The study suggested that the leaders perceived coaching as a process that had a significant impact towards their leader journey - one that has positive psychological effects in their work and home life. Furthermore, the study suggested that coaching millennials is not significantly different to coaching the generations before but that coaches need to be mindful of how the millennials prefer to be engaged. The process of self-reflection was reported by most participants as the phase during the coaching process that allowed them to reach their best self as developed leaders. Therefore, one of the study recommendations is that coaches, regardless of the coaching process used, must ensure that self-reflection is always one of the coaching instruments used during the coaching process - particularly when engaging with millennial coachees.Item Exit level female students: Career aspirations and attainment strategies(2018) Meehan, Kirstie LeeThe World Bank asserts that South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world (Government report, 2015). In particular, females are still being treated unfairly even though the government has put policies, such as employment equity, in place. As this inequality increases, so does female graduate unemployment (StatsSA, 2016). This is only one of the barriers that exit level female students face. Against this background, this study explored exit level female humanities students’ career aspirations and attainment strategies. This study focused on the application of Schlossberg’s (1981) Transition theory to exit level female students’ anticipated transition into the world of work. A qualitative research design within an interpretive paradigm was used. The sample consisted of eight third year participants from the humanities faculty, specifically studying psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand. Thematic content analysis was used. The results obtained indicate that due to the economic instability in South Africa, the main career aspirations encompassed factors such as completing one’s degree and obtaining employment. Furthermore, Schlossberg’s model provided insight into the various perceived barriers and enablers to help students cope and achieve the anticipated transition into the job market. Some of these perceived barriers were issues related to gender and concurrent stressors such as workload and approaching exams. However, the participants also demonstrated enablers that could help the students cope, such as a positive self-belief and various support structures for example; parents and friends. Additionally, the participants reflected on the job strategies that they would utilise in order to find a job, the most frequent being networking. Keywords: Career aspirations, graduate unemployment, perceived barriers and enablers, Schlossberg’s Transition theory.Item Soon-to-be-graduates’ perceptions of their employment prospects(2018) Colman, MeganAn increase in demand for tertiary education, high student fees, and a lack of appropriate graduate jobs has shifted the relationship between higher education qualifications and labour market returns (Finch, Peacock, Levallet, & Foster, 2016; Tomlinson, 2008). Consequently, students are beginning to perceive the utility of developing skills and accumulating experiences and achievements outside their formal education in order to gain a positional advantage in the labour market (Tomlinson, 2008). Given these changes, this study qualitatively examined how a sample of South African soon-to-be-graduates perceived and managed their employability in the context of higher education and labour market change (Tomlinson, 2008). Further, it explored their perceptions of the utility of their degree, and its anticipated role in relation to their future employability. The study also analysed their perceptions of other factors that they felt contributed towards their employment prospects and their expectations of potential future employers. Sixteen final-year undergraduate students completing Bachelor of Art degrees who were majoring in Psychology and who were registered with the Humanities faculty at the University of the Witwatersrand were interviewed with regards to their perceptions of their employment prospects. The data collection method used was face-to-face semi-structured interviews based on an interview schedule developed by the researcher. The findings indicated that the participants perceived the potential currency of their higher education qualifications in the labour market, as per the human capital theory (cf. Becker, 1962; Schultz, 1961), however they also expressed a need to acquire additional credentials in order to gain a positional advantage in the oversaturated, highly competitive labour market. Further, the participants perceived both internal and external factors to influence their employability. These included work experience, field of study, postgraduate credentials, extra-curricular activities, personal characteristics, attributes, behaviour, knowledge, and skills, demographics, job searching behaviour, social media presence, performance at university, and the reputational capital of the university attended. Moreover it was found that the participants valued an organisation’s growth and development opportunities, culture, and values, as well as additional benefits, job security, and the potential to pursue their passion as factors in their decision to work for an organisation. Working hours and workload, social responsibility, as well as location, travelling, and workspace, were indicated as important to some participants whilst irrelevant to others. Salary appeared to be characterised as desirable, yet not as influential as other factors in the context of job selection. This research is important as it established factors that shape self-perceived employability for this sample of participants, which may assist universities to develop conditions that support and facilitate the employability of graduates. Consequently, this may help to prepare highly-qualified workers who are able to contribute to the human capital of the country (Karli, 2016; Qenani, MacDougall, & Sexton, 2014). In addition, the results of this study may contribute to a knowledge base that can be used to assist South African organisations to better attract and retain top-quality graduates.Item Career trajectories of Masters in Education (M.Ed.) students : a tracer study of the M.Ed. class of 1999 at the University of the Witwatersrand.(2011-06-20) Sing, RinelThe expansion of higher education and changes in the labour markets seem to have reached a point where training for an M.Ed is affected by a number of issues traditionally raised in the context of graduate employment and work. Growing emphasis is placed on general skills and flexibility, which is briefly mentioned in this report. Labour market theory, human capital development, social capital and career development are explored in detail. Management is no longer perceived in terms of maintaining the business machine but is evolving into a motivator and leader of staff, an inspirational entity that is quintessential to the retention of highly qualified staff . This has resulted in the language of business changing, thus the „efficient company‟ has become a „learning organisation‟ (Germishuys, 2006). Therefore it is of great interest to actually conduct a case study of 11 M.Ed. graduates to track their career trajectories to see where this prestigious qualification has taken them. The researcher traces a general group of M.Ed graduates from the class of 1999 from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). The main idea of this study is to ascertain exactly what it is that the sample M.Ed graduates have accomplished in their professional lives. It was found that the colour of one‟s skin, background, contextual factors, opportunities, social networking and career aspirations have played a pivotal role in the career progression of the M.Ed. graduates.Item An exploration of the perceptions of disadvantaged context learners' career development interventions by using: " A guide for schools into higher education" as a vehicle.(2009-03-23T09:37:19Z) Buthelezi, ThabileCareer development interventions have been lacking within disadvantaged contexts in South Africa. This is attributed to the country’s political history under the apartheid system. The predominant career interventions have been standardised on the English and Afrikaans populations, which are not necessarily applicable to the black population, a previously disadvantaged population. This study explored learners’ perceptions of career development interventions, career challenges and career needs within their contexts by using a career intervention vehicle, subject-career information guide titled, “A Guide for Schools into Higher Education”. The study was qualitative in nature and it conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 learners from a school within the disadvantaged context. The research interviews were analysed using the thematic content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that these learners had fairly different experiences of career guidance interventions within their contexts. The study indicated that the main career challenges faced by the learners were mainly externally based within their context. Thus, they needed career intervention resources to address the challenges. The findings of the study indicated that learners have benefited from A Guide for Schools into Higher Education as an intervention resource within their context. The study subsequently recommended that frequent career interventions be more available within schools and people perceived as role models within such contexts would need to be mobilized as career influencers. Furthermore it was recommended that learners within disadvantaged contexts would need to be taught skills towards the building of internal factors to facilitate them to own their career development.