4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    Internships & intentions: A grounded theory study of a South African government graduate internship programme
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Hendricks, Sumaya; Hewlett, Lynn; Wedekind, Volker
    The researcher used a grounded theory approach to understand the factors which affected intern learning on a graduate internship programme run by the South African government, with a focus on one national government department. In particular, the focus was on understanding how factors worked to create a disjuncture between the intended and experienced curriculum. To conduct this research, interviews were conducted with interns who completed their internship in the 2018-2021 period; HR officials; and mentors – all of whom were based in the department of focus. This was complemented with document analysis and intern demographic data. While the interest in this subject matter was from a learning perspective, this programme is also a labour market intervention to help alter the bias towards these young, black and unemployed graduates who are the target audience of this programme. In this study, the central phenomenon that emerged is that of Curricular fission which is a metaphor to describe a situation in which various factors worked to create a rupture between what interns were intended to learn compared to what they actually learned. In short, the metaphorical large atom which caused the fission were institutional, individual and task related factors with these factors preventing interns from moving from legitimate peripheral participants to full participants. Institutional factors operated at the level of the department, individual factors concerned the individual - whether that be the intern themselves; the government officials that interns reported to; or other people interns interacted with - while task related factors were related to the tasks allocated to interns, which had a direct bearing on intern learning. While the interns had control over some of the factors, many were ‘beyond’ their control which reinforces the view of learning as being shaped, hindered or aided by factors beyond the learners themselves. With a situation of curricular fission characterising the overall intern learning experience, the programme could be considered a form of ‘warehousing’ which in a South African context carries a transformation component arising from the ‘special’ burden that workplaces have in addressing the bias towards black graduates.
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    A theory of virtual culture formation
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Chitondo, Margaret Zvobgo; Carmichael, Terri
    This research focused on the formation of organisational culture in virtual work teams that exist within the context of a virtual organisation. The concept of organisational culture has been studied since the late 1970s in traditional work contexts. Several studies have subsequently been carried out on the factors influencing and the processes involved in the formation of culture within the context of traditional brick and mortar workplaces. This study focused on the formation of culture in virtual organisations, which have become commonplace in the 21st century and whose key characteristics are technological enablement as well as geographic and spatial distribution. A sensitising literature review was presented to locate the study within the current discourse of organisational culture, process theory and virtual work teams within virtual organisations. A constructivist grounded theory study was carried out to investigate the phenomenon of culture formation in virtual organisations using respondents who were at the time working as part of a virtual team within a virtual organisation. Data from 18 interviewed participants and five sets of archival records were collected and analysed theoretically. The results of the study were integrated with extant literature to find that organisational culture within virtual contexts developed through managing the core theme of virtuality and by dealing with virtuality while maintaining organisational effectiveness and managing interpersonal relationships. The findings from this research are expected to inform stakeholders so that they may better anticipate, facilitate and r respond to organisational culture development within a virtual organisation context.
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    Learning Transfer among Generation Y Entrepreneurs in the South African Manufacturing Sector
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Raliphada, Nditsheni J.; Carmichael ,, Terri
    South Africa has one of the highest levels of unemployment in the world, and youth entrepreneurship is viewed as one of the interventions that can help with job creation and reduce unemployment. This study aimed to understand how learning transfer occurs among Generation Y Entrepreneurs in the South African manufacturing sector. The study followed the Glaserian classical grounded theory methodology. Data was collected through direct interviews (3) and from pre-recorded interviews (27) accessed online. Data was analysed until the theory emerged, observing the principles of constant comparison, theoretical sampling and saturation. The study found that GYEs core concern is “staying afloat” linked to the survival and sustainability of their business enterprises. “Relating” emerged as the core category; learning transfer among GYE occurs primarily through relationships. This study proposes Relational Learning Transfer Theory to account for how GYEs acquire and transfer learning, navigate their environments, respond to their primary concern of staying afloat, and strategise to outsmart the competition. Relational Learning Transfer Theory is a processual theory that recognises internal factors, such as the self, and external factors, such as support structures and the environment. The study also proposes a relational learning transfer matrix and model as contributions to learning transfer. Methodologically, a new coding approach was developed and used in the study as a contribution to grounded theory and qualitative research. The method codes data for actions, conditions, attitudes and consequences (ACAC). The study’s findings provide guidance to GY entrepreneurs to build and enhance their relationships with stakeholders to sustain their enterprises. Academics and practitioners can utilise the theory, matrix, and model to enhance the entrepreneurship curriculum. Policymakers should utilise the findings in this study to direct their policies and strategies to create a conducive environment for entrepreneurial endeavour amongst South African youth.
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    Making Sense of Employee Ownership: An Institutional Logics Perspective
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Murray, Tessa-Ann; Carmichael, Terri; Luiz, John
    This grounded theory study explored the perspectives, attitudes and behaviours of individual employee-owners within organisations that had implemented share- ownership schemes as a mechanism to address the persistently elevated levels of inequality in South Africa. The study articulates how employee-owners make sense of their dual roles as employee and owner of the organisation, and how they integrate ownership into their work experience. While the motivation for implementing employee-ownership schemes may often be aligned with shareholder capitalism, increasing awareness of the alternative of stakeholder capitalism to address inequality highlights employee ownership as a way of including employees in financial participation and decision-making in the workplace. Implementing employee ownership provides an opportunity for organisations to balance and meet their financial and social commitments. The grounded theory approach utilised in-depth interview data from 18 individuals from previously disadvantaged population groups. The key findings of the study indicated that the assimilation of employee ownership is an individual, temporal, situational process that comprises progressive levels of integration. During this process, the orientations of management and employee- owners towards employee ownership influence the individual’s momentary readiness to integrate ownership into their work experience. An institutional logics interpretation of the findings revealed the influence of macro-, meso- and micro-contexts on how employee-owners perceive management’s orientation towards employee ownership and their own perceptions and expectations of inclusion as employee-owners in the workplace. As its theoretical contribution, the study clarifies the individual’s integration of ownership and proposes a model for the integration of ownership into the work experience of the collective of employee-owners over time and the institutionalisation of employee ownership in the workplace.