Browsing by Author "Green, Paul Edmund."

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Developing an integrated talent management strategy for Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria.
(2019) Mukwawaya, Owen Zivanai.; Green, Paul Edmund.; Proches, Cecile Naomi Gerwel.
Since its inception, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) located North West of Pretoria has grown without proper policies and strategies to ensure its competitiveness and sustainability in the long haul with regards to its human resources. As such, a need was established to develop an integrated talent management strategy to ensure the university’s survival. The study sought to determine the perceptions of the staff regarding the current application of talent management practices and the importance thereof. In order to achieve the aforementioned goal, a mixed research methodology was employed. A purposive sample of N=402 was drawn from the academic, support and administrative staff of the university to participate in the study. The Human Capital questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data whilst a semi-structured interview session was used to collect qualitative data. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 whilst qualitative data were analysed using the NVIVO software version 11 through the principles of content analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to present demographic details of participants as well as the perceptions of the staff regarding the application and the importance of talent management practices at SMU. The T-test, Gap Analysis, Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) as well as the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Factor Analysis were used to determine the perceptions of staff regarding the importance of talent management practices. The reliability of the Human Capital Index was determined by the Cronbach Alpha coefficient which proves that the questionnaire was highly reliable. Results indicated that talent management practices at SMU are poorly applied; therefore, the management of the university needs to urgently address this in order to attract and retain talented staff. This study made an original contribution to the development of a robust integrated talent management strategy (for practice and research) that can be used at universities in South Africa to attract and retain the top calibre of staff. This study became apposite given a dearth in the literature about talent management practices that ensure that top talent is enticed and retained within the university context. The study contributed to the body of knowledge regarding talent management practices in Higher Education in South Africa and beyond.
An evaluation of Transnet’s engineer in training programme: a systems thinking approach.
(2016) Premraj, Ashneil.; Green, Paul Edmund.
The South African government is looking towards Transnet to grow the economy through its capital investment programme. In order to achieve this, the company needs to have within its ranks a highly competent workforce who possess the necessary skills. The Engineer in Training programme at Transnet is critical in ensuring that the current and future employees of Transnet are competent and have the necessary skills to perform at a level which is required of them and successfully deliver on projects. This study examines the Engineer in Training Programme at Transnet to determine how the programme is perceived by senior staff, if the programme is achieving its purpose and the ways in which the programme can be improved. The aim of the study was to identify how the graduate programme currently offered by Transnet Group Capital can be improved. This was done by benchmarking the activities and outcomes of the program against the Engineering Council of South Africa’s requirements for a professional engineer. A qualitative approach was adopted for this study. This was conducted in the form of a semi-structured focus group platform using predefined prompts to direct the discussions. The focus group session followed a soft systems methodology (SSM) approach, hence, SSM tools and techniques were employed during the session to gain a clearer understanding of the problem situation. This included the development of rich pictures, root definitions and conceptual models, which were carried out in three consecutive phases during the course of the session. The data was analysed using thematic analysis, with the aid of NVivo 10.0 software. The presented themes were then used to compliment the findings of the SSM tools that were utilised during the data collection phase. The main themes which emerged were Competency, Programme Structure, Responsibility of Mentors and Mentees, Responsibility of Decision Makers, Responsibility of Programme Custodian and Knowledge Sharing. There were a total of 31 change measures suggested. It will obviously not be feasible to implement all of these changes at once. It is therefore recommended that a phased approach is adopted by prioritizing the most critical change requirements as well as the most easily attainable changes first. It is also recommended that a committee be tasked to oversee the change measure implementation and that, within that committee, a dedicated champion is assigned to each theme or category of change. This study has been successful in revealing a deeper understanding of the Engineer in Training programme at Transnet and its deficiencies as well as the means to begin to address the identified problems. This will in turn have a positive effect on the quality of trainees being produced, thereby the quality of work being done by the company and ultimately the economic strength of the country. The study has thus been valid and useful, giving a number of recommendations for the improvement of the programme. Recommendations for further study have also been suggested and it is thought that if these studies are taken further, significant advancement of the programme can be achieved.
Factors that account for survivability of Black small-scale sugarcane growers in Ugu District Municipality.
(2015) Mkhungo, Mandlakhe Dickson.; Green, Paul Edmund.; Proches, Cecile Naomi Gerwel.
This research sought to determine survivability of Black Small-Scale Sugarcane Growers (BSSSGs) in Ugu District Municipality amid the severe decline in the sugarcane industry using two Sugarcane Growers Associations existing within the District Municipality namely, Qhubekani Farmers Association and Umnini-Mfume Farmers Sugarcane Farmers Association, designated by the researcher as streams A and B respectively, as a case study. The objectives of the study were to ascertain BSSSGs’ perception of the overall sugarcane industry, to ascertain BSSSGs’ perception of farm specific/micro-economic attributes that make them susceptible to failure, to ascertain whether they employ deliberate strategies to mitigate the causes and or effects of the decline and to ascertain BSSSGs’ perception of land tenure and farm size effects on their survivability. The sampling procedure employed in the study was a convenience sampling technique for the first two respondents from Streams A and B respectively, followed by a snowballing sample until the total target respondents of 15 are reached. The study revealed among other things that the majority of respondents were optimistic about the future of the industry and as such, were planning to add to the existing hectares of sugarcane planted. Notwithstanding evidence of the decline in profitability, which is advanced as the driver of the industry decline, most BSSSGs stated profit as the motive for the planned increase in hectares. In terms of adoption of agronomic practices, the majority of BSSSGs appeared to be implementing these measures and in some instances attributed these to the survival of their business or alternatively attributing these as underlying reasons for tangible improvements to farming operations e.g. improved yields and profitability. Regarding major changes that BSSSGs had introduced in the 10 years prior to the study, which is considered the most difficult period during which the sugarcane industry decline started to manifest, the research didn’t reveal any implementation of any groundbreaking changes by BSSSGs. On the causes for the industry decline, only a handful of farmers linked this to international competitiveness, while others indicated transport costs as one of the drivers of the decline. A significant number of respondents blamed the Recapitalization Program and its sponsors as having contributed to the decline. Furthermore, the RDP Housing Scheme and the Land Restitution Programme were also mentioned by farmers as contributing significantly to loss of productive cane land to competing uses for reasons discussed in detail in the study. In general, the key findings of the research highlighted two categories of BSSSGs, namely those that were fairly successful and belonged to a small percentage of a relatively high income bracket, and these BSSSGs’ farm operations tended to have relatively high capitalization and they generally exhibited better knowledge of farming, had forged relationships with White commercial farmers and in some instances had taken it upon themselves to assist other fellow BSSSGS, hence some of them were participating in the Recapitalization Program as contractors. Overall, these farmers were generally more aware of the industry situation and their survivability was judged to be at a high level. On the other extreme, the study elicited a group of farmers who were engaged in passive farming, which was an unintended consequence of the Recapitalization Program, which was exacerbated by contract farming. Contract farming and to a lesser degree passive farming were severely criticised by some respondents during the research and findings show that, the contrary to the original noble intentions of the program sponsors, this may be causing further discontentment among its intended recipients and also inadvertently promoted a culture of hand-outs. The fairly successful group as identified by the study is deemed by the researcher as more survivable compared to the other, and farmers constituting this group can serve as a model of successful farming, and more importantly that key lessons can be learned from this group and replicated to enhance survivability within the industry. Another important aspect elicited by the research is BSSSGs comprise mainly farmers who are beyond the age of 60 which is a cause for concern.
Fundraising complexities for Higher Education in South Africa: a case study of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
(2018) Camp, Stephen Camden.; Green, Paul Edmund.
Higher education institutions in South Africa are challenged by rising costs that outrun available revenue. With inflation, reduction of state subsidies and the recent student #FeesMustFall campaign, universities are finding it increasingly difficult to retain their academic credibility, research outputs and core infrastructure maintenance in the face of declining funds. Without substantial and reliable funding, they have no option but to source third stream income, primarily from corporates, trusts, alumni and other philanthropic donors. This takes place in a highly competitive environment as South African university fundraisers compete locally and internationally for funding opportunities. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the fundraising complexities for higher education in South Africa, in particular, via a case study examination of how the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), through its fundraising office, managed its stakeholders towards generating a third stream of income. The objectives for the study were to investigate the status quo of UKZN’s donor groupings and their donor sentiments in relation to UKZN; to examine how the UKZN Foundation managed stakeholder engagement with its donor community; and to develop a conceptual model of best practice for donor management in a university environment. A qualitative research methodology was adopted whereby an on-line questionnaire was sent to individual, corporate and philanthropic trust donees (external sample of 30 with 19 responses); as well as face-to-face interviews being conducted with UKZN Foundation fundraising staff (internal focus group of five with four responses). Knowledge gained through the study uncovered insights and facilitated a better understanding of the highly competitive environment of higher education third stream fundraising. The study revealed the importance of stakeholder engagement. In terms of donor sentiment towards UKZN, donors indicated they wanted to be heard, they wanted feedback, they needed an inspirational cause and they liked to feel connected to a project. Stakeholder engagement was hindered internally by a low fundraising culture throughout the university, low staff morale within the UKZN Foundation and projects that were not strategically aligned to UKZN`s broader vision. External hindrances included a damaged UKZN brand owing to student violence and the #FeesMustFall protests, and a sluggish economy. A model of best practice for donor management was presented that focuses on building donor stewardship, enhancing the university’s reputation, growing the fundraising investment of the institutional leadership, and optimising the fundraising competencies of Foundation staff. A key recommendation is that the leadership and staff of the UKZN Foundation draft a fundraising strategy document in consultation with key internal and external stakeholders. This document should promote positive donor stewardship as the cornerstone to successful fundraising. The primary benefit of introducing a fundraiser and stakeholder management strategy is to encourage the institution to examine its own competitive positioning, including the status quo of its current stakeholder relationships, their strengths and weaknesses and ultimately, the institution’s overall level of philanthropic fundraising success.
An investigation into the quality of service delivery at the Durban University of Technology Pietermaritzburg campuses.
(2006) Green, Paul Edmund.; Ellis, Deborah Ann.
This dissertation investigated the quality of service delivery at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Pietermaritzburg campuses. According to du Toit (2004:182) student satisfaction is important in the Higher Education sector due to its role in effective enrolment management. It is essential for student perceptions of service quality to be evaluated and managed by the university. Iacobucci, et al (1995:277) emphasized that service quality and customer satisfaction are important concepts to academic researchers studying consumer evaluations as a means of creating competitive advantages and customer loyalty. According to the South African Department of Education (2004:3), the creation of a new merged institution must ultimately be accompanied by standardised service levels. Hence this study attempted to investigate the service levels of the merged institution in Pietermaritzburg. The research set out to measure service expectations of higher education as well as measure service perceptions at the DUT. The research also set out to establish the SERVQUAL gap, which causes unsuccessful service delivery (Gap 5) and examine the dimensions which contribute to Gap 5. A SERVQUAL analysis was undertaken on the two Pietermaritzburg campus, viz. Riverside and Indumiso campus. The study found that on average customers had high expectations in tangibles, reliability and assurance dimensions and their highest perceptions were found in the assurance dimension. The study also found that management of DUT need to apply a varying degree of attention to the dimensions between the two campuses. The key recommendation to management of DUT was to introduce a Total Quality Management (TQM) system and a service marketing management plan. In addition to implementing this, management also needs to develop a service-minded workforce.
Stakeholder management for business sustainability : a case study of a University of South Africa.
(2015) Khanyile, Makabongwe.; Green, Paul Edmund.
Universities have not been able to manage their stakeholder identification and salience correctly, nor to establish the needs of each stakeholder. There are no empirical studies on the identification of university stakeholders, which means that the process needs to be developed. The term „stakeholder‟ refers to internal or external individuals or groups who have a stake in, influence on, or direct or indirect interest in the way the business operates. The concept „stakeholder‟ brings new meaning to the conduct, role and responsibility of the university, and changes the way in which universities interact with their stakeholders. The stakeholders with whom the university interacts comprise organisations and groups of individuals, which includes, internally, students (full-time and part-time) and staff (research, academic, support, professional, administrative), administration and management; and externally, research communities, alumni, businesses, social movements, consumer organisations, governments and professional associations. Every university has to carefully assess the challenges and threats posed by the environment, understand the needs of its stakeholders, attract and consolidate resources, consider external changes, and resolve internal problems. Stakeholder management is defined as the effective management of relationships with stakeholders, and stakeholder engagement has an impact on the university‟s ability to survive. Universities have openly recognised their obligation to meet the needs of a wide range of stakeholders. Stakeholder analysis is deliberately considered as the most important part of university management and marketing, and universities are required to take care of their key stakeholder groups and build long-term relationships with them. This single exploratory case study situated in a qualitative paradigm used interviews, questionnaires and a literature review to collect relevant data. The study sought to determine how the university identified and managed stakeholders for its Research and Innovation Month. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the objectives are the following: i) to explore and describe how the university manages stakeholders for the Research and Innovation Month; ii) to explore and describe the role of stakeholders in the sustainability of the university‟s Research and Innovation Month, and iii) to propose recommendations for the promotion of stakeholder management with regard to the university‟s Research and Innovation Month. The study found that the university is beginning to develop strategies for stakeholder management. However, there is still insufficient information in terms of what stake(s) the stakeholders are claiming, and the role of the university towards its stakeholders is unclear. In addition, there is the lack of a clear stakeholder identification process, priority and salience, and the university has not conducted a stakeholder analysis. There is also a lack of understanding of the threats and opportunities presented by the stakeholders, and the terms „stakeholder‟ and „public‟ are used interchangeably.
A systems approach to the evaluation of an academic department as a service provider at a University of Technology.
(2013) Green, Paul Edmund.; Hardman, Stanley George.
Empirical studies have established that the services sector has contributed significantly to the growth and development of world economies and is today the largest and fastest growing sector globally. Testimony to the rise in the supply of services is the fact that the services sector contributes more to the global output and employs more people than any other sector. It has been widely accepted that education belongs to the category of service industries, resulting in the importance of rendering a quality service. In South Africa, although education is the recipient of the major portion of national expenditure, government funding to tertiary institutions has been on the decline, prompting institutions of higher learning to develop innovative methods to maintain financial stability. One of the strategies has been to attract and retain national and international students by the rendering of a quality service. The purpose of this research is to provide a conceptual framework for gaining a better understanding of evaluation of an academic department as a service provider at a university of technology. The task is viewed as complex as a university is regarded as a highly bureaucratic organisation intertwined with other systems, subsystems and various stakeholders. An investigation into the current state of practice and research into evaluation of academic departments is reported. A review of the research issues on service organisations and their applicability to tertiary institutions is presented. The framework was developed upon principles of Multimethodology, using a combination of the strengths of Critical Systems Thinking, Soft Systems Methodology, Viable System Method, System Dynamics, Work System Method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process by Saaty. This framework is applied to a case study at an academic department of the Durban University of Technology.
Systems Approach to the operational challenges in marine services within the port of Durban.
(2014) Mthembu, Sphiwe Eugene.; Green, Paul Edmund.
Modern problems are complex and are characterized by the existence of multiple actors, multiple perspectives, conflicting interest as well as key uncertainties. This dissertation aims to explore the operational challenges of marine services in the port of Durban. The researcher was interested in exploring marine operational challenges and their impact on the maritime industry as well as stakeholder benefits from the operation of marine services. The purpose of employing systems thinking was to recognize relationships and interconnectedness between elements at play in the marine services operations. Understanding behavior of marine services systems was critical for gaining insight into the behaviors and patterns underlying these complex systems. The research questions related to the operational challenges being experienced within the port of Durban; the stakeholders who are impacted by these challenges; and the recommendations that can be made to mitigate the impact of these challenges. The research objectives aimed to explore the dynamics of the marine services’ system. Furthermore, the research aimed to look at how the current levels of offering can be improved within the port of Durban. The research problem statement presented the level of connection between the South African economy and the port of Durban, acknowledging that the port of Durban is the gateway to international markets. Marine systems are complex and dynamic requiring the system thinking approach to understand the structure of the problem situation. A conceptual model of a dynamic marine service system was developed by employing a qualitative paradigm. Data was collected via interviews and observations from purposive marine employees who possessed knowledge and expertise of the global maritime industry. Using a thematic analysis the findings indicated that investment in infrastructure is the main marine services operational challenge confronted by the department. The volume of cargo triggers ship evolution where ship builders begin to build bigger size vessels to cater for volume throughput in international ports. The ship size evolution leads to the gap in the shipping industry and port infrastructure which require huge investments to close the gap.
The use of the systems thinking approaches to develop a holistic model to improve stakeholder management in the eThekwini Water and Sanitation unit (EWS)
(2022) Zondi, Gloria Nokuphiwa.; Proches, Cecile Naomi Gerwel.; Green, Paul Edmund.
Challenges faced by the eThekwini Municipality’s Water and Sanitation Unit (EWS) in implementing water and sanitation projects include competing interests among various stakeholder groups who see water services from different perspectives and have varying expectations from infrastructure project execution. Soft issues, including stakeholder relationships, communication, and community participation, have been ignored. The study places more attention on soft issues and relationship management since it sees project stakeholder management in the water service as a complicated and messy system. This study employed qualitative research, together with soft systems methodology (SSM), for data collection and analysis. SSM was chosen because of its flexible, but systematized, process that is useful in clarifying the issues in a problematic situation. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect data in this qualitative research. A total of thirty-four participants were involved in this study. This involved conducting intensive individual interviews with fourteen participants to explore their perspectives on stakeholder management in the EWS infrastructure projects. The other twenty participants, divided into four focus groups, participated in the SSM workshop. Data was analysed using NVivo 12, which assisted the researcher in thematic analysis. The combination of qualitative methodology and SSM facilitated a meaningful interaction between the researcher and the study participants, by providing a chance for participants to understand each other’s perspectives, challenges and opportunities, in infrastructure projects. The study found that there is a lack of proper communication between the EWS officials and project stakeholders, as well as the fragmentation of social facilitation systems within the unit. This was confirmed by the findings from the SSM workshop. Stakeholder management was also identified as a crucial soft issue and the lack thereof hinders the progress and sustainability of infrastructure projects. The study, therefore, recommends the implementation of the developed holistic model and formalisation of systems. This model consists of the implementation process, which includes identifying stakeholders prior to project implementation; communicating project boundaries with stakeholders; and ensuring that project stakeholder committees are in place to enforce consistency and improve relationships; as well as ensuring that risk mitigation is prioritised.