3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/45
Browse
11 results
Search Results
Item The value of transitional coaching for women managers post maternity leave in the South African business context(2019) Roy, SarikaWomen are a critical resource to organisations, yet they are often not given the adequate support during their transition back to the workplace, post maternity leave. Whilst there are policies in place that afford women a leave of absence to care for their new-born baby, the lack of reintegration support structures may lead to women feeling discouraged and resigning from their current roles. The research study explores the value of transitional coaching to first time mothers post maternity leave, as they reintegrate into their organisations. A social constructivist approach was utilised, and the coaching sessions incorporated a narrative psychology coaching approach. The respondent group was made up of six first time mothers specifically at management level, that have returned to work post maternity leave in the last two years. A qualitative research approach was utilised and the data was manually coded by using constant comparative analysis or the coding of key words. Each participant completed a pre-session interview guide, received three coaching sessions and provided close out feedback on the value that they received. The coaching sessions aimed to support the new mothers as they identified goals for themselves and worked on tangible outcomes towards attaining these goals. The key themes that emerged from the research study noted that women are personally impacted during maternity leave (physically, financially, psychologically, hormonally, emotionally and socially). They struggle with balancing the priorities of their new-born baby’s needs whilst also managing deliverables at work. Guilt (work and baby) as well as elements of perfection and control also created more anxiety and stress for these new mothers. Role identity, especially in taking on the new role of mother, was another key theme that emerged. All the participants found value in the coaching sessions and each of the participants successfully implemented an action plan to realise their identified goals. All participants noted that there was a lack of organisational practices and processes to support women as they reintegrate into their previous roles post maternity leave. The recommendations provided are offered towards organisations, new working mothers, line managers, business coaches as well as the media, as they have a pertinent role in shaping societal norms and gender roles.Item Black female managers perceptions’ of integration into informal social networks at work(2018) Motlhamme, Kelebogile FaithThe objective of this research was to identify Black female Managers perceptions’ of integration into informal social networks at work. Informal social networks have been identified as one of the ways of improving career success. Given the low representation of Black female managers in South African organisations, identifying their perceptions of informal social networks could assist in increasing the number of Black women in managerial roles. Two specific aims were established for this research, firstly to distinguish the participants’ perceptions of informal social networks at work, and to identify the strategies that they use to manage their integration into these informal social networks. The study was carried out using a qualitative research design, where data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. The sample consisted of 9 Black female managers from various organisations in Johannesburg, ages between 24-55 years. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that majority of the participants do not see themselves as being involved in informal social networks in the workplace although most participated in informal relationships with certain colleagues at work. Implications of the study include reviewing the concept of informal social networks, due to the complexity involved in distinguishing the relational properties of informal social networks at work and understanding the impact sense of agency has on the integration strategies used by Black female managers.Item Enrich the narrative, empower the leader: the role of narradrama in enriching the narratives of women in corporate leadership(2017) Pather, VasinthaThis research aimed to explore problem-saturated narratives about self-efficacy in leadership amongst a group of women leaders from corporate organisations in Johannesburg, and the effectiveness of narradrama (Dunne, 2009) a drama therapy method, in enriching these narratives. Analysis points to the pervasiveness of gendered notions of men and women in society and how this plays out in the contexts of corporate organisations. The rationale for this study was that if corporate leadership is an historically socio-culturally male-dominated and gender-stereotyped domain from which women have been excluded, and in which traits stereotypically associated with women were undervalued, then dominant narratives embedded in this domain could be that women are not effective leaders, and that they do not belong. This could negatively affect perceived self-efficacy in leadership among women, and indirectly, efforts to address gender disparity in the context of corporate leadership. Sociocultural development theory (Vygotsky, 1978), and empowerment theory (Rappaport, 1987, Zimmerman, 2000), both of which assert the primacy of the sociocultural context in learning and development, theoretically informed the research. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes. The research showed that problem-saturated narratives about leadership self-efficacy did exist and that narradrama proved effective in fostering enriched narrative possibilities amongst participants.Item Application of the marketing mix as a career strategy to overcoming the " glass-ceiling" for South African female managers(2016) Baxter, Lorin ElaineThe plight of the female manager as a result of gender inequality has been thoroughly documented within academic research. A well-known metaphor of this inequality is the “glass-ceiling”, a phenomenon where a female manager’s career is stymied by an invisible barrier. While the barrier takes on the characteristics of glass by being subtle, women can observe positions, but are unable to attain them because of gender discrimination. The research objective was to examine career strategies to overcome the “glass-ceiling” challenges. This empirical project contributes to the literature on gender in management by introducing a novel theory, marketing mix, when understanding the idea of a career strategy. A theoretical contribution has also been made to marketing theory in that it has been expanded by being applied to individuals, which is an unusual sample as the majority of studies on this theory have been largely conducted on organisations. A qualitative research methodology was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 female managers participating in a leadership development programme from a State Owned Company (SOC). Key results were consistent that strategies of overcoming the “glass-ceiling” were the importance of having a professional persona, negotiating remuneration, benefits of belonging to informal networks, and the benefits of having a mentor. The researcher found that female mangers apply career strategies in order to succeed; however, these tactics were applied in silos and not holistically. These behaviours then became ineffectiveItem Supporting the professional women's transition to motherhood through maternity coaching: a South African perspective(2017) Yasar, Aneshrie“The obligation for working-mothers is a very precise one: the feeling that one ought to work as if one did not have children, while raising one’s children as if one did not have a job.” – Annabel Crabb, Author of The Wife Drought Women play a vital role in organisations, yet world-wide remain under-represented in key leadership positions. South Africa is no different. In addition, research indicates that professional women are ‘opting-out’ of the talent pipeline, further reducing the pool of women available to step in to senior leadership roles. Becoming a mother is life-changing, and when combined with a desire for a fulfilling career, role-conflict can occur. The guilt which accompanies role-conflict can often be overwhelming and may lead to professional women exiting organisations, taking with them valuable industry knowledge and expertise. Hence, retaining female talent is increasingly becoming a business imperative. This study aims to contribute to the field of Business Coaching by researching Maternity ‘Transition’ Coaching in an organisational context. As such, the study explored four research questions aimed at providing a systemic view of the experiences of professional women during the maternity transition period, the line manager’s role during this period, the influence of organisational culture on working-mothers, and the emergence of maternity transition coaching as a support mechanism in organisations. Following a detailed review of the literature, the research methodology of a qualitative, multiple-case study approach was selected. Two organisations (cases) were researched using semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 15 respondents, as the primary sources of data collection. The research was further supported by an analysis of secondary data, both of which allowed for a full investigation of the research questions. The key findings indicated that maternity transition coaching is a strategic necessity for organisations wishing to attract and retain female talent in the 21st Century. Transitional theory along with an understanding of life and career stages are important aspects of this genre of coaching. Coaching increased support at critical transition points, leading to the retention of the professional women in the study along with a more seamless re-integration with their careers. Further, it surfaced that line managers play a critical role in a successful maternity transition, and as such also require support. It was further concluded that a family-friendly organisational culture is an enabler to a successful maternity transition. Maternity transition coaching therefore supports professional women in their desire for a satisfying career and work-life integration.Item The lived experiences of African women transitioning from professional services firms to corporate environments(2017) Smith, Gerlind IreneThis research was conducted to explore the career experiences and career transitions of African women Chartered Accountants in the South African business environment where employment equity of race groups is sought. The international pursuit of gender transformation at the executive level, together with the South African employment equity targets, makes professional African women a key group for employers. Their lived experiences and career transitions challenges were the focus of this study. Qualitative research was deemed the most suitable approach to obtain depth of understanding of an area that has not previously been researched. Semi-structured interviews provided insight to participants who experienced transitions within professional services firms (PSF), returned to PSF, and transitioned out of PSF to other corporates. Since career transitions of this group of professionals did not appear in the literature, a theoretical framework of related literature was derived, which informed the development of a semi-structured interview guide. Sixteen interviews were conducted with participants from South Africa’s Gauteng province. Participants fell into four groups: those who remained in PSF, those who returned to PSF after having left, those who left and were at a managerial level, and finally, those who had left and were at executive levels. Interviews, with permission of the participants, were recorded, transcribed and analysed using ATLAS.ti software. The analysis resulted in 145 codes, 23 categories and 10 themes. The increase in black women professionals in organisations is slower than would have been expected, with monitoring emphasis placed on overall racial transformation rather than gender-specific change. This research found that African women CAs experienced being regularly targeted by recruiters and employers for positions. Participant career transitions were found to be impacted by South Africa’s employment equity legislation, resulting in career fast-tracking initiatives and being targeted as new hires by organisations. Participants’ lived experiences highlighted that their first transition into the work environment established a basis for comparison when experiencing subsequent transitions. Career transition challenges experienced include racial tensions resulting from perceived fast-tracking, organisational unpreparedness in assisting newcomers, and a lack of role models and structured support. Tenure is impacted by ineffective transition experiences. Organisations lack sufficient programmes to cater to the unique challenges faced in these career transitions. Thus, coaching is proposed as a suitable intervention. Family backgrounds, role models and other significant networks are not generally available as support resulting in a need for coaching. Based on different types of transitions identified in the study, a model was developed to guide business coaches in assisting future clients in preparing for transitions, going through career transitions, as well as establishing themselves within new organisations. Further research should take in a wider sample, as this study was limited to participants within Gauteng. Studies focussing on other professions such, as the legal, medical and engineering profession, are recommended to establish the lived experiences of African women’s career transitions.Item An exploration of the leadership journeys of black women executives-implications for coaching(2017) Diseko, Gaahele Salome SylviaThis qualitative study explored the leadership journeys of black women executives (BWEs), to understand those elements they perceived to enable and those they perceived to inhibit their career progression, as well as to establish implications for coaching. Eighteen participants were interviewed. The sample included BWEs who had been coached, those who had not, human resources managers, and line managers to create some triangulation. The BWEs were all in the top two organisational levels, as defined by the Employment Equity Act. A semi-structured interview guide was utilised for the BWEs and another for HR and line managers. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and uploaded into ATLAS.ti analysis software. Coding was conducted inductively to identify themes that emerged. The study highlighted the importance of ensuring that all parties to the coaching intervention are fully briefed, aligned, and coaching-ready before implementation. If readiness is not ensured, the process can be negatively affected. A key finding was that a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, but preferably a postgraduate degree, enabled the career progression of BWEs. Once in the workplace BWEs need to continue with self-development. Elements that were found to enable career progression for BWEs were hard work, networking, self-development, and access to mentors. Resilience was found to be important in managing the challenges the BWEs’ experience in the workplace. Elements that inhibit BWEs’ career progression were found to be lack of implementation of employment equity (EE) or transformation in the workplace. It was also found that BWEs operate in challenging work environments where they experience marginalisation, stereotyping, and racism. Work-life integration is an issue as they are the homemakers. Another key finding was that coaching could contribute to BWEs’ career progression. It is important that all parties in the process are coaching-ready. It was also found that coaching heightened resilience for BWEs. Coaching was shown to be utilised for leadership development, including improving communication skills. Line managers were unsure of the objectives for which their BWE charges were being coached. This highlighted the importance of aligning all parties and ensuring coaching readiness before coaching implementation. This point is also important because to be successful, coaching needs the support of organisational leadership. It was encouraging to realise that the line managers viewed coaching as confidential between coach and coachee; however, they appeared to have had no input into development needs identification. This could point to a missed opportunity to align coaching with business needs. The intrapersonal skills of self-confidence and self-awareness were shown to have been developed through coaching. These skills are vital to effective leadership. The BWEs’ experiences of coaching were found to be challenging, and uncomfortable, and BWEs found that the coach did not understand or trivialised the coachee’s issues. Coaching conversations are meant to be challenging, however too much challenge can derail the process. BWEs experienced coaching as uncomfortable because the conversation delved directly into deep personal issues without preparing the coachee or building rapport and a trusting relationship. Two BWEs felt that their coaches had trivialised or misunderstood their issues. The finding that line managers were unaware of the development needs being addressed in their BWEs’ coaching, the BWEs’ experiences of discomfort in the coaching process, and coachees feeling that the coach had trivialised the coachee’s issues, highlights the important matter of coaching readiness. Coaching readiness is important to the success of any coaching engagement. Without participants being fully ready for coaching, the process might be compromised. Coaching was found to be an appropriate tool for leadership development and improving the career progression prospects of BWEs. It was also found that it is important to ensure that every party to the coaching is coaching ready.Item Lifestyle behaviours, psychological wellbeing and cardiovascular disease in women executives and senior management(2016) Crowhurst, RhiannonThis study investigated whether the lifestyle behaviours and psychological well-being of women executives and managers predicted their ten-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The sample of South African women executives and managers work in a variety of industries in the cities of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. The study sought to determine the predictability of the women executives and managers’ risk of developing cardiovascular disease through examining their level of alcohol consumption, level of physical exercise and the nutritional and dietary choices that they made as well as their level of depression, anxiety and stress. The data was gathered through an executive health and wellness programme and logistic regression and Chi-squared tests of association were used in conducting the analyses. The results suggested that the level of alcohol consumption and the nutritional and dietary choices made were predictive of the individual’s ten-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the level of anxiety was found to be associated with the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The results suggest that both individuals and organisations should prioritise the changing of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, specifically excessive alcohol consumption and daily dietary choices, in order to lower their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.Item Women leadership development in the City of Johannesburg(2016) Saka, MafusiThe notion of women empowerment in South Africa is steadily gaining momentum and recognition. The country has dedicated the month of August as “womens’ month” and the increased visibility of women in parliament are some of the gains made by government. However, it remains unclear what happens in the other spheres of government regarding the promotion of women and their development. This study examined the local government context by exploring the leadership development of women. The focus of this study was on the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality. The City of Johannesburg states that its mission is to be a “World Class African City of the Future”. Human capital and leadership therefore becomes imperative in attaining the mission and delivering effective and efficient services to the citizens of the City of Johannesburg. This study is aimed at exploring the leadership development of women in the City of Johannesburg. The focus of the study was on their development into leadership roles. A qualitative research was carried out and data were collected using semi-structured interviews and documents as secondary data. This study revealed that there was relatively good representation of women in the Members of the Mayoral Committee: there was a 50/50 gender split within the committee. However, there was a low presentation of women in other levels. Nevertheless, the focus of the study was not entirely quantitative but it was also qualitative in relation to the development of women into leadership roles. The study found that there was leadership development of employees where women were given preference over their male counterparts with regard to the intake on the programmes. Apart from the programmes held at Wits Business School, there was nothing internally which was focused on the development of women in leadership structures. This highlighted the fact that the City needed to do more in developing women. Despite this knowledge, this study revealed that policies in the City when effectively used can help in the development of women into leadership roles. This study provided recommendations that deliberate efforts should be made in developing women. The current policies in the City should be incorporated and there should be a clear strategy and targets set out regarding the development of women.Item Involvement of women in decision making in South Africa: a family business dimension(2016) Dlamini, Celenhle TVery little information seems to exist on the role of women in South African family owned businesses. Women in family businesses need to be recognized in order to highlight the constraints they may be facing and their contributions to the economy. The purpose of the study is to determine how human and social capital variables can empower women in family businesses to enhance their success or address their challenges. This research study follows a positivistic paradigm and a questionnaire was developed to assess the research objectives. The questionnaire was sent out to a sample of 200 females involved in family owned businesses from South Africa and 150 responses were received. The findings revealed that at lower levels of education, females were the key decision makers for business expenditure, borrowing and investment decisions. With regards to experience inside and outside of the family business, decision making was shared between males and females with the exception of business expenditure decision making at 0-5 years experience inside the family business. Furthermore, decision making was generally shared between males and females for most of the social capital variables, with the exception of using or relying on partnerships where females did not play apparent decision making roles. Practical recommendations from the findings for women in family owned businesses include shifting from operational to more strategic decision making; gaining experience outside of family owned business to strengthen decision making capabilities; which in turn, would empower them to tackle riskier elements of social capital, like relying on partnerships and conducting business on trust.