scholarly journals Assessing cultural intelligence, personality and identity amongst young white Afrikaans-speaking students: A preliminary study

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Nel ◽  
J. Alewyn Nel ◽  
Byron G. Adams ◽  
Leon T. De Beer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
South African ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: Cultural intelligence (CQ) is a relatively new construct to academia that has recently gained increasing attention. Its relevance in a multicultural context like South Africa is apparent since cultural interaction between different ethnic groups is unavoidable.Research purpose: The objective of this research is to determine the relationship between personality, identity and CQ amongst young Afrikaans-speaking South Africans.Research approach, design and method: A quantitative research design was used in this study. This study was cross-sectional in nature. For the purpose of this study, a sample of young South African university students (N = 252) was used. The personal identity subscale from the Erickson Psychosocial Stage Inventory, the Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure, the Religious Identity Short Scale, the South African Personality Inventory questionnaire and the Four Factor Model of Cultural Intelligence Scale were applied as the measuring instruments.Main findings: Religious identity and ethnic identity have a relationship with cognitive CQ. Soft-heartedness and conscientiousness have a relationship with behavioural CQ. Also, soft-heartedness, facilitating, extroversion and religious identity have a relationship with motivational CQ.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations within South Africa will gain a better understanding of CQ and the benefits of having a culturally intelligent workforce as a strengths-based approach. Culturally intelligent employees will be able to adjust to working with co-workers from another culture, not feel threatened when interacting with co-workers and clients and be able to transfer knowledge from one culture to another, which will aid the organisation in completing overseas assignments, cross-cultural decision-making, leadership in multicultural environments and managing international careers.Contribution/value-add: CQ is a relatively new concept and empirical research on positive subjects is still very limited. Research on personality, identity and CQ within the South African context is still very limited. Therefore, this study will contribute to literature on positive psychology and cultural intelligence.

scholarly journals Self-perceived employability among undergraduate students at a South African university

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doret Botha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
The Self ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Perceived Employability ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: South Africa has been suffering from persistently high levels of unemployment since 2008. The youth is regarded as the most at-risk group in the South African labour market and unemployment amongst the youth is considered one of the most critical socio-economic problems in South Africa. Increasing one’s employability is essential to securing employment and enhancing one’s well-being.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the self-perceived employability of undergraduate students at a South African university.Motivation for the study: Currently, there is a scarcity of published research on the self-perceived employability amongst undergraduate students at higher education institutions in South Africa.Research approach/design and method: The study was conducted within a positivistic research paradigm. A quantitative-based cross-sectional survey design was used. Convenience sampling was used to select the students who were included in the survey. Data were collected through a web-based survey, using a standardised coded questionnaire that consisted of a five-point Likert-type scale.Main findings: The results indicated that the respondents were relatively confident about their internal employability, but they were less confident about their opportunities in the external labour market.Practical/managerial implications: Understanding one’s employability and the accompanied issues creates awareness of one’s potential, skills and knowledge to become a successful citizen and employee.Contribution/value-add: The study shed light on the self-perceived employability of undergraduate students at a South African university and consequently contributes to the existing literature on employability in the South African context.

scholarly journals Developing and testing items for the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI)

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carin Hill ◽  
Jan Alewyn Nel ◽  
Fons J.R. Van de Vijver ◽  
Deon Meiring ◽  
Velichko H. Valchev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Personality Assessment ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: A multicultural country like South Africa needs fair cross-cultural psychometric instruments.Research purpose: This article reports on the process of identifying items for, and provides a quantitative evaluation of, the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) items.Motivation for the study: The study intended to develop an indigenous and psychometrically sound personality instrument that adheres to the requirements of South African legislation and excludes cultural bias.Research design, approach and method: The authors used a cross-sectional design. They measured the nine SAPI clusters identified in the qualitative stage of the SAPI project in 11 separate quantitative studies. Convenience sampling yielded 6735 participants. Statistical analysis focused on the construct validity and reliability of items. The authors eliminated items that showed poor performance, based on common psychometric criteria, and selected the best performing items to form part of the final version of the SAPI.Main findings: The authors developed 2573 items from the nine SAPI clusters. Of these, 2268 items were valid and reliable representations of the SAPI facets.Practical/managerial implications: The authors developed a large item pool. It measures personality in South Africa. Researchers can refine it for the SAPI. Furthermore, the project illustrates an approach that researchers can use in projects that aim to develop culturally-informed psychological measures.Contribution/value-add: Personality assessment is important for recruiting, selecting and developing employees. This study contributes to the current knowledge about the early processes researchers follow when they develop a personality instrument that measures personality fairly in different cultural groups, as the SAPI does.

scholarly journals South African Generation Y students’ intention towards ecopreneurship

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Strydom ◽  
Natanya Meyer ◽  
Costa Synodinos
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Generation Y ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: It has been argued that the solution to the deteriorating state of the natural environment should not simply be one of regulation but rather of innovation. As such, entrepreneurship or, more specifically, ecopreneurship has been identified as a possible solution.Research purpose: This study’s primary objective was to determine Generation Y students’ intention towards becoming ecopreneurs within the context of South Africa.Motivation of study: Research regarding ecopreneurship is still scarce within academic literature both globally and in South Africa. This study aims to address this research gap.Research design, approach and method: A quantitative research approach was followed using a descriptive, cross-sectional research design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 522 students across three Higher Education Institutions in South Africa. The statistical analysis used to analyse the collected data included exploratory factor analysis, descriptive analysis, and correlation analysis.Main findings: This study’s findings indicate that university students belonging to the Generation Y cohort in South Africa display positive intentions towards becoming ecopreneurs. The students’ intentions were, however, lower than their reported knowledge and concern for the environment. All constructs used yielded positive results, albeit to varying degrees and a positive correlation between them were noted.Practical/managerial implications: Generation Y university students in South Africa display positive intentions towards becoming ecopreneurs. Thus, support to assist them in starting such ventures should be prioritised by incubation programmes and governments funding opportunities.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the existing literature on entrepreneurship, ecopreneurship, environmentalism and Generation Y students in the South African context.

scholarly journals The development and investigation of the psychometric properties of a burnout scale within a South African agricultural research institution

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris N. Asiwe ◽  
Lené I. Jorgensen ◽  
Carin Hill
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Research Institution ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Construct Equivalence

Orientation: Burnout of employees is well documented within South Africa, but researchers have adapted imported instruments with a number of limitations. Therefore there is a need to develop a new instrument suitable for use in South Africa.Research purpose: To give an overview of current burnout measures, identify gaps within the literature and develop a new burnout scale for use within South Africa. The research examined the construct validity, reliability, construct equivalence and item bias of this new scale and investigated any differences that exist in relation to demographic variables.Motivation for the study: This study aimed to address various limitations regarding existing measures by developing a reliable and valid instrument for measuring burnout in South African employees that includes cognitive, physical and emotional (affective) components.Research approach, design and method: This empirical, quantitative research study delivered a cross-sectional survey, including the burnout scale and a biographical data questionnaire, to 443 employees of an agricultural research institution. Items for the burnout scale were written based on a literature review.Main findings: Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a three-factor burnout model. Reliability analysis showed that all three scales (1) were sufficiently internally consistent and (2) showed construct equivalence for Black and White employees and speakers of Afrikaans and African languages. A practically significant difference in burnout levels was found in relation to age.Practical/managerial implications: The scale can be used to assess burnout for different cultural groups within research-based institutions.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to knowledge regarding the burnout levels of employees in an agricultural research institution in South Africa and provides a new burnout scale that can be utilised in similar institutions.

scholarly journals Developing And Validating A Measure Of Monitoring And Evaluation For The South Africa Skills Development Context

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-238
Author(s):  
Maelekanyo Christopher Tshilongamulenzhe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
The South ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Development Context ◽  
Skills Shortages

Abstract As nations around the world grapple with the deepening challenge of skills crunch, policies, strategies and interventions are being devised to develop and retain a competitive workforce. South Africa is not spared from the global talent war, and the persistence of skills shortages across most economic sectors makes the country vulnerable economically and socially. Legislative instruments and strategies were formulated and implemented to ameliorate the situation, but scientific evidence suggests a looming crisis due to poor monitoring and evaluation systems regarding the success of these instruments and strategies. This study develops and validates a monitoring and evaluation (ME) scale for the South African skills development context. A quantitative nonexperimental cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 557 participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software (version 23.0). The findings show that the ME scale is scientifically valid and reliable and can be used with confidence in the South African skills development context. The findings provide scope for a validation study on an independent sample, and an evaluation of structural invariance of the ME scale across sample subgroups.

scholarly journals Evaluating the MBTI® Form M in a South African context

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Casper J.J. Van Zyl ◽  
Nicola Taylor
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
South African ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Classical Test Theory ◽  
Good Evidence ◽  
Test Theory ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Classical Test ◽  
Gender Groups

Orientation: Psychological instruments require continued refinement, updating and evaluation.Research purpose: To investigate the reliability, validity and differential item functioning of the MBTI® Form M across groups in South Africa using Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) methods.Motivation for the study: To add to the continual research and improvement of the MBTI® Form M through the investigation of its psychometric properties across groups in South Africa.Research design, approach and method: This study falls within the quantitative research paradigm. Classical test theory methods and Rasch analysis were used to evaluate the functioning of the MBTI Form M across gender and ethnic groups. A cross-sectional study was completed consisting of 10 705 South African respondents.Main findings: Excellent reliability was found for the instrument across groups in the sample. Good evidence for construct validity was found using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Some evidence for uniform bias was found across ethnic and gender groups and a few items reflected non-uniform DIF across gender groups only. The effect of uniform and non-uniform DIF did not appear to have major practical implications for the interpretation of the scales.Practical/managerial implications: The results provided evidence that supports the psychometric validity of the MBTI instrument in the South African context.Contribution/value-add: This study is the largest study to date regarding the psychometric functioning of the MBTI instrument in South Africa. It contributes to the evolution of the instrument in line with the legislative requirements concerning the use of psychometric tests in South Africa. 

scholarly journals A study to confirm the reliability and construct validity of an organisational citizenship behaviour measure on a South African sample

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bright Mahembe ◽  
Amos S. Engelbrecht ◽  
Willie Chinyamurindi ◽  
Linda R. Kandekande
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
South African ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Employment Equity ◽  
Measurement Models ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Sample

Orientation: Organisational citizenship behaviour, or extra-role behaviours, are essential outcomes for the health functioning of organisations.Research purpose: The primary goal of the study was to validate the Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale (OCBS) developed by Podsakoff, Mackenzie, Moorman and Fetter (1990) on a South African sample. Motivation for the study: Organisational citizenship behaviour is one of the important workplace outcomes. A psychometrically sound instrument is therefore required. Research design, approach and method: The sample consisted of 503 employees from the educational sector in the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa. The OCBS was used to measure organisational citizenship behaviour.Main findings: High levels of reliability were found for the OCBS sub-scales. The first and second-order measurement models of the OCBS showed good fit. A competing one-factor model did not show good model fit. In terms of discriminant validity four of the five subdimensions correlated highly.Practical/managerial implications: Although the OCBS demonstrated some sound reliability coefficients and reasonable construct validity, the discriminant validity of four of the subscales raise some questions which future studies should confirm. The use of the instrument should help to continue to measure the much-needed extra-role behaviours that mirror an employee’s interest in the success of the organisation. Contribution/value-add: The study contributes to the requirements of the Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998) and the Amended Employment Equity Act of South Africa (Republic of South Africa, 1998; 2014). This promotes the use of reliable and valid instruments in South Africa by confirming the psychometric properties of the OCBS.

scholarly journals Intrinsic rewards and work engagement in the South African retail industry

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Jacobs ◽  
Michelle Renard ◽  
Robin J. Snelgar
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Retail Industry ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Intrinsic Rewards ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: There is a lack of South African research relating to the provision of intrinsic rewards to retail employees.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine whether there is a relationship between intrinsic rewards and work engagement in the South African retail industry. Furthermore, it sought to validate an instrument to measure intrinsic rewards within the South African context.Motivation for the study: There is currently a paucity of research exploring intrinsic rewards, specifically their importance for work engagement. Furthermore, there is a lack of instruments validated in South Africa that can be used to measure intrinsic rewards.Research approach, design and method: This quantitative study was conducted using a cross-sectional design and non-probability sampling of 181 employees from a South African retail organisation. The questionnaire included a demographic section, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Work Engagement Profile.Main findings: Statistically significant, positive relationships were found between all subscales of the two instruments. There were significant differences in the means for intrinsic rewards and work engagement for gender and age. Notably, the exploratory factor analysis for both instruments did not support the factor structure indicated in the literature.Practical/managerial implications: South African retail organisations should create work environments that provide intrinsic rewards as part of their reward package, to encourage work engagement.Contribution/value-add: These findings add to the current body of literature regarding intrinsic rewards and work engagement and provide insight into variables that promote work engagement within the South African retail context.

scholarly journals The use of storytelling in quantitative research reports: A marketing research firm perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Maritz ◽  
Daniel J. Petzer ◽  
Christine De Meyer
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Business Impact ◽  
Strategic Value ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Actionable reporting ensures that a marketing research firm communicates with clients to achieve business impact as opposed to merely communicating data to clients. Storytelling communicates with impact as it focuses on creating engagement and inspiring action.Research purpose: This article investigates the use of storytelling as a tool for actionable reporting by South African marketing research firmsMotivation for the study: Clients of marketing research firms often criticise research reports as being too technical and lacking in strategic value. Storytelling is a reporting technique that can be used to develop actionable research and provide clients with more strategic value. Research design, approach and method: A total of 26 in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with client service directors and managers of marketing research firms that deliver quantitative research reports to clients.Main findings: Results indicated that all marketing research firms but one use storytelling. Barriers that impede more regular use are inexperienced research executives and the time intensity associated with creating stories.Practical/managerial implications: Storytelling should be used by marketing research firms to provide clients with more actionable research.Contribution/value-add: The study provides marketing research firms in South Africa with recommendations as to how to implement storytelling as a reporting technique, which will add value to clients and enable marketing research firms to remain competitive and develop relationships with clients. 

scholarly journals Validating Indigenous Versions of the South African Personality Inventory

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carin Hill ◽  
Mpho Hlahleni ◽  
Lebogang Legodi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
South African ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
The South ◽  
Official Languages

Personality assessments are frequently used to make decisions and predictions, creating a demand for assessments that are non-discriminatory. South African legislation requires psychological tests to be scientifically proven to be valid, reliable, fair and non-biased. In response to the necessity for a measure sensitive to indigenous differences, South African and Dutch researchers developed the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI). The SAPI represents a theoretical model of personality that uses an indigenous (emic) and universal (etic) approach to capture South Africa’s rich multicultural and multilingual view of personhood. The development of SAPI items and its simultaneous translation from English into all official languages necessitated the investigation of all the translated language versions’ psychometric properties. This study used Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling to examine the factor structure and model fit of two indigenous language versions of the SAPI, targeting the Tshivenda and the Southern Sotho languages. To accomplish this objective, Study 1 (N = 290) was done in South Africa among the Tshivenda ethnic group, while Study 2 (N = 293) was conducted in South Africa among the Sesotho ethnic group. An acquiescence response pattern was noticed in both studies, possibly to adhere to group consensus and emphasizing harmony within relationships. The ESEM solutions generated an excellent fit for both language versions, and most facets loaded acceptably on their expected factors. The Neuroticism factor proved to be problematic in both language versions. Within the Tshivenda version, the Emotional Stability facet did not generate adequate loadings on any SAPI factors. In contrast, neither Emotional Stability nor Negative Emotionality loaded sufficiently on the Neuroticism factor for the Southern Sotho version. While the overall fit of the six-factor model was excellent, the language in which a person completes a personality questionnaire seems to influence such an assessment’s factor structure. The Tshivenda and Sesotho versions of the SAPI cannot yet be positioned as equitable alternatives when using an indigenous version of the SAPI is needed. The implications of the results and proposals for future studies are discussed.

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