Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)
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Item Exploring the Impact of covid COVID-19 Lockdown on Human Resource Management in the Gauteng Office of the Premier(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Masango, Bheki; Chikane, RekgotsofetseThe literature regarding the global pandemic of Covid-19 and its disruption to life in 2020 continues to grow and develop. This study investigated the impact of Covid-19 has had on Human Resource Practitioners, the human resource practices and the impacts of the decision making process for various the public sector. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how the global pandemic has changed the roles of human resource practitioners and what future implications may result from the global pandemic. This investigation required a thorough analysis of their lived experiences regarding their roles as practitioners in the human resources field prior to the global pandemic and during the pandemic. This qualitative study employed a narrative research method, with a theoretical framework focusing institutional theories and theoretical approaches to HRM and Crisis research to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature. The purposeful sample consisted of 15 human resources practitioners who were presently employed in human resource departments in the Gauteng Office of the Premier. The participants all resided in Gauteng province. The researcher conducted a questionnaire with 5 of the participants, followed by followed by a 45- to 60-minute semi-structured one-on-one interview with the remaining 10 participants. Data analysis employed ATLAS ti. software analysis which led to a thematic analysis. After coding, five themes were identified describing the participants’ five key influencers from the effects of Covid-19 on human resources systems and practitioners. Four conclusions emerged from this study. Human Resource Practitioners will have a more active role in if not lead in crisis management, Organisational Leadership will rely heavily on Human Resource Practitioners in the decision making process for all future crisis, disaster, and pandemic responses, Human Resource practitioners will develop new policies in regard to changes made due to Covid-19 disruptions.Item The significance of clean audits on the provision of electricity in South African local municipalities(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Manyathi, Sakhile; Lynge-Mangueira, HalfdanThe South African Constitution specifies the various responsibilities of local governments. Responsibilities include providing their respective jurisdictions with reliable basic municipal services (Constitution, 1996: 74). Municipalities must abide by specific municipal and procurement legislation while providing basic municipal services. Local and metropolitan municipalities were chosen to be part of this study as they are mandated to ensure quality electrical grid connection, which is the main focus of this study. Electricity connection for citizens was chosen as a measure of service delivery because all local and metropolitan municipalities have this competency. The main aim of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between clean audits and improved service delivery, specifically new electricity connections, in local municipalities, and service delivery was measured in new connections to the national electricity grid. According to the analysis of the previous studies, none of them found a connection between clean audit opinions and improved service delivery, confirming the gap and research niche for the current study. The study applied a quantitative approach using secondary data sourced from Stats SA and AGSA. This is mainly because the quantitative approach enables the study to consider statistical data to quantify service delivery performance measurements: residents' electricity connections to the grid together with clean audits. The results suggest that electricity provisions in these municipalities are most likely to be explained by other variables that were not part of the current study. Overall, according to the analysis conducted in the current study, the researcher cannot rule out the possibility that clean audits have no effect on electricity provision. Therefore, the Null Hypothesis (H0), which states that there is no relationship between the achievement of clean audits and an improvement in the provision of municipal electricity, cannot be rejected.Item Exploring the experiences of organisational justice in government department in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Maluleke, Floyd Dimatso; Hobden, ChristineThe study explored organisational justice experiences in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) by determining how employees access organisational justice, what motivates employees to take justice-related actions, and employees' overall perception of organisational justice. Semi-structured interviews comprising 15 participants were conducted, while thematic analysis was used to analyse and present the interview data. The study found that organisational justice is accessed through the employee's immediate line manager, the employment relations unit, and organised labour. The study revealed that employees preferred their immediate managers and organised labour due to their support, trust, and interaction quality. Motivation to pursue organisational justice revealed knowledge as a primary motivator for taking justice-related actions, including personality traits requiring access to information. The perception of employees' experiences revealed the presence of bias in procedures, interactions, information, and outcomes and inefficiencies in how the department communicates processes and outcomes, influencing how employees feel about fairness in the department. The perception of employees' overall justice judgment in the department revealed perceived inequality, influenced by a lack of explanations and the inability of the department to consider employee's needs. The findings revealed that fairness is required in all components of organisational justice, with custodians playing a pivotal role in shaping how employees experience and perceive the management of organisational justice in the public sector. Fundamentally, the study revealed that employees can distinguish between what component and justice rules within each component are violated, supporting the need for fairness in each component. The study concluded by providing recommendations and avenues for future research, with the hope that the study's findings can be helpful in internal governance policies and the management of organisational justice.Item The impact of Gift Policy on elite formation and consequences of greater distancing between union leadership and members in NUM(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Makau, Ramatsinele Prudence; Van Niekerk, RobertThis research was conducted to investigate whether the Gift Policy incentivizes elite formation within the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and with what consequences for union leadership and the union’s rank and file members. One method to assessing the essence of the policy is to analyse the logic for its adoption. Was the Gift Policy in its policy construction an intended or unintended consequence of the leadership of the union’s approach to incentivizing members through differential benefits or something else? The research project aligns with Anyebe (2018) that some policies undermine the solidarity for which unions were formed because the formulation and implementation of internal policies, such as gift policies in the case of the NUM, tend to only reflect the values and preferences of leadership members as the policy in question benefits only a select few and not everyone. Employing a semi- structured interview with leaders and members of the National Union of Mineworkers, this inquiry intended to address concerns relating to the essence and significance of the Gift Policy, and the process by which the Gift Policy was developed, the Gift Policy’s influence on working relationships, the Gift Policy’s impact on the creation of positions of authority and whether it influences privilege between the union’s leadership and ordinary union members. The researcher noted a wide diversity of viewpoints on the Gift Policy. Interpretations range from functional incentivization, which entails improving the transport mobility of the union executive members to perform their tasks with reliable transport to issues of elitism and differential power between leadership and rank and file. This study has significant limitations. Firstly, qualitative research is mostly subjective because it relies on researchers to comprehend respondents' own perceptions (Field, 2013). Secondly, this study focuses solely on the Gift Policy within NUM. Consequently, the findings of the study cannot be generalised to other policies within the union or other political organisations. Thirdly, the study’s sampling consisted of 15 participants of whom only four were females and 11 were males. Moreover, only male participants were in leadership positions. To address these limitations, future studies may employ random sampling techniques on a broader sample to address generalizability issues. When using telephone interviews in their study design, researchers should keep these privacy concerns in mind. Therefore, future researchers will be in a better position to perform a comprehensive qualitative study employing theme analysis, ensuring ii trustworthiness, and delivering significant findings if these limitations are considered and these recommendations are followed. Findings from this study serve as a useful guide for the formation and implementation of incentive policies that will make employees at all levels feel valued, included, and equipped with resources to undertake their tasks as well.Item Usage and meaning of ‘Economic Freedom’ among South African policymakers(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mangongoa, Abram JeffItem Mechanisms that enable the use of M&E information in decision-making to improve programme outcomes in the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Fanelwa, LutshabaThis study aims to show how employees employed by the Centre for Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) for a minimum of six months use M&E data to guide decision making choices and improve programme outcomes. To explore and appreciate the mechanisms and processes of decision-making using data from individuals collecting data and those making decisions in the organization, a research design used a case study through a qualitative method approach. One of the issues facing the NGO sector is the lack of documentation about the use of monitoring and evaluation data in decision-making procedures (Bornstein, 2006). Comprehending how gathered and processed data is used and how it improves programme outcomes is challenging because of this deficiency. The planned study will examine the various ways the organization uses data to make choices, as it is currently unclear if CSVR has the same conceptualization issues with data use and practice. The investigation results verified that the organization is faced with the same issue of inadequate documentation of its processes for monitoring and evaluation. This is made clear by the M&E framework, which provides insufficient information on database administration, information consumption, and routine data management activities. Using data and making decisions are related. The organization's decision-making process is not well understood; some people think decisions are made collaboratively by the team at weekly meetings, while others think project managers are in charge of making decisions. Decision-making and standardization in the application of knowledge are impossible without a functioning M&E system. The organizational structure makes it difficult to adopt an M&E system completely since it affects other programme support and where the unit fits in the organogram. M&E only provides support for one programme.Item Currency Volatilities of BRICS Countries: The Impact of Commodity Prices, Interest Rates and Geopolitical Risks(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Luo, Heng; Odei-Mensah, JonesCurrency volatility in emerging markets is an interesting topic for managers, investors, and regulators. This study investigated the currency volatility of the five BRICS nations, examined the risk sources of the BRICS currencies and observed the connectedness of their currency risks, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war and current interest rate hikes, using data spanning between September 2011 and September 2023. The ARDL model was the main econometrics approach applied for identifying the long run and short run currency volatility determinants. In addition, Quantile Regression was adopted to observe the currency markets’ tail behaviours. The research has three major findings. Firstly, the research confirmed that interest risk, commodity risks, geopolitical risk, and economic policy uncertainty are the risk sources of BRICS nations’ currencies, especially when volatilities are at high levels. Additionally, the research provided support for spillover of the commodity market, the USA’s geopolitical risks and economic policy risks to the BRICS’ currency markets, and the volatility spillover across BRICS currency markets. Finally, the study revealed the shock evolution trend of Chinese RMB, with accelerating impacts of US geopolitical risk, US and home economic policy risk, and oil price exposure on RMB’s volatility. Overall, the heterogeneity of BRICS nations’ currency markets responding to external shocks, and the asymmetry of the connectedness of BRICS currency markets, were important implications of the research. The findings are crucial for investors and policy makersItem Factors contributing to transgressions in the procurement practices of state-owned entities (SOES): Eskom and Transnet(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Moloto, Bonolo; Setlhalogile, MatlalaPublic procurement is a vital process for governments and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to procure essential goods and services. However, state capture and unethical practices have plagued it. The State Capture Commission Report highlighted issues such as poor governance, unethical conduct, and insufficient internal control systems. This has led to financial and operational challenges for SOEs, which heavily rely on state guarantees and bailouts. In South Africa, the government spends around R1 trillion annually on procurement, which represent 12% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) (National Research Foundation, n.d.). The Auditor General (AG) report for the 2020/21 financial year reported that most SOEs had high balances of irregular expenditures. Transnet had the highest irregular expenditure, totalling R14.1 billion, followed by Eskom with R11.6 billion (Maeko, 2021). This study aimed to identify the underlying governance factors contributing to transgressions in SOE procurement practices and to provide remedial actions to prevent recurrence. Agency Theory was used to examine the identified issues, and a comprehensive literature review was conducted to investigate the underlying factors. The study found that failure to address these governance issues could lead to qualified audit opinions, issues of going concerns for SOEs as well as impact investments and public confidence. The study also revealed that the slow implementation of consequence management could foster a culture of noncompliance and accountability. The current South African public procurement system ca is characterised by political interference and cadre deployment, which undermines transparency, accountability, and good governance. Political appointments and cadre deployment in critical positions encourage wasteful spending, undermine governance, and promote dictatorship. Politicised boards and management in SOEs has led to an increasing prevalence of corruption. The AG, Standing Committee of Public Accounts (SCOPA), National Treasury (NT), Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), and the respective SOEs’ boards have been unable to conduct their oversight functions effectively due to their unwillingness to do the right thing and failure to establish robust preventative controls. The state's approach to board nomination lacks transparency, operates in an ad hoc manner, and is excessively politicised. iii Remedial actions to address these issues require a dedicated commitment from top leadership, fast implementation of corrective measures, and periodic monitoring and evaluation processes. Limiting political interference in the administration of remedial actions can enhance the effectiveness, fairness, and integrity of the anti-corruption process.Item Exploring the role of social media influencers and brand ambassadors in influencing purchase intention(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Da Fonseca, Helen; Saini , YvonneThis study investigates the comparative influence of social media influencers and celebrity brand ambassadors on purchase intention within the South African cosmetics industry, specifically targeting millennial and Generation Z consumers. Grounded in the Source Credibility Model, the research examines how credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise shape consumer decision-making. Social Media Influencer-Driven Purchase Intention (SIPI) and Brand Ambassador-Driven Purchase Intention (BAPI) were introduced as higher-order constructs to evaluate and compare which type of endorser has a stronger influence on overall purchase intention. A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) methodology was used to analyse survey data collected from 130 respondents. The findings indicate that both Social Media Influencer-Driven Purchase Intention (SIPI) and Brand Ambassador-Driven Purchase Intention (BAPI) influence consumer purchase intention, with celebrity brand ambassadors exerting a more substantial effect due to their higher perceived credibility and expertise. Celebrity brand ambassadors were shown to play a pivotal role in enhancing consumer trust and confidence, making them more effective in driving purchase behaviour compared to social media influencers. These insights offer strategic guidance for marketers and brands looking to refine their influencer marketing strategies to better resonate with the evolving preferences of millennial and Generation Z consumers in the South African market.Item The evolution of consolidation accounting: an application of chaos and memetic evolution theory(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Van Zijl, Wayne; Maroun, WarrenMany researchers have explored the evolution of accounting either as a technical and quasi- scientific discipline or as a social construct that both influences and is influenced by history. Some researchers have considered the role played by agency costs, economic pressures, regulation and the complexity of modern business. Other researchers have focused on political lobbying, the socialisation of accountants and the agency they have when applying accounting prescriptions as key evolution factors. The impact of power struggles and acts of resistance have also received much attention. This thesis builds on these earlier works by proposing a novel framework of accounting evolution inspired by two non-accounting theories: Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and chaos theory. Using the case of consolidation accounting, 30 detailed interviews with local and international financial reporting experts illustrate how accounting theory and practice evolve at the macro- and micro-level. In doing so, the thesis helps to reflect how different perspectives highlighted by the prior literature can function concurrently under the proposed framework. The application of chaos theory suggests that consolidation accounting’s macro evolution is characterised by five observations. Firstly, consolidation accounting’s evolution is intertwined with and influenced by other systems, including business practice, taxation regulations, social norms and economic pressures. Secondly, accounting’s future state is highly dependent on its current state. This creates a path-dependency where its trajectory up to a specific point constrains its trajectory after that point. Thirdly, consolidation accounting remains relatively unchanged (stable) until it is disturbed. The presence of feedback loops may amplify or dampen disturbances leading to the possibility of disproportional change. Fourthly, consolidation accounting’s evolution indicates the presence of fractals, where the evolutionary pattern observed at one level resembles that of another. Fifthly, the accounting “rules-of-thumb” that develop over time may more accurately be described as strange attractors that pull accountants towards specific techniques, concepts and disclosures. In doing so, they create a sense or order because they limit the countless possibilities about how transactions and events might be treated. The application of Darwin’s theory of natural selection to non-biological systems is called memetic evolution. Considering memetic evolution of consolidation accounting at the micro-level reflects five core observations. Firstly, memetic evolution explains why accounting’s future state is Page 6 of 217 dependent on its current state. No “new” consolidation accounting technique, concept or disclosure (meme) is truly original but is a modification or recombination of one or more existing memes. Accordingly, consolidation accounting’s future state is dependent on its current state. Secondly, memetics shed additional light on how and what constitute disturbances under chaos theory. Disturbances can arise from changes to related systems, inaccurate inheritance processes, through the active modification of existing memes or the degradation of memes in accountants’ memory. Thirdly, memetic evolution enhances our understanding of feedback loops identified by chaos theory and why radical changes are often rejected in favour of marginal change. Fourthly, memetic evolution exhibits that consolidation accounting’s evolution is about the selfish replication of accounting memes. Consequently, researchers should not assume that currently accepted theory and practice represents the “best” or most “desirable” accounting prescriptions. Supporting chaos theory’s path-dependency, memes use different strategies to “win” the accounting meme selection game and become more prolific. Consequently, the criticism that accounting incentives short-term profit seeking behaviour may not represent a shortcoming of the accounting community but rather the power of evolution by natural selection. Finally, related systems co-evolve creating a complex and chaotic dynamic evolutionary environment. While the focus of the thesis is consolidation accounting, the findings are broadly applicable to accounting evolution in general. For example, the findings suggest that the accounting standard setters may serve the profession better by developing short- to medium-term accounting standards as opposed to striving to set more permanent standards. The findings form the foundation of a new research agenda into the chaotic and memetic evolution of accounting. However, there are limitations to the current study. Only purposive sampling 30 interviews were conducted to ensure participants had the qualifications and experience to provide meaningful insights, introducing an inherent bias potential.