Role of fashion as a form of therapy among women with disabilities in South African

Purpose: Previous studies have highlighted the important role, fashion can play on one’s cognition and behaviour and how one’s body is impacted, especially people with disabilities. Due to the inconclusive results on the topic, we decided to undertake an empirical study in South Africa to determine how fashion can be used to help women with disabilities to deal with issues of body image, low esteem and negative mindset. Literature review: The study reviewed the literature on body image and disability, body image and fashion as well as on fashion therapy and body image. Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative research design while interviews were used as means of primary data collection. Data analysis was done by means of coding the participants’ responses before conclusions were drawn about the participants’ views. Findings: Findings reveal that fashion can help women with disabilities to deal with the issues related to low self-esteem and body image. Implications: The study ends with recommendations to include other segments of the disabled community in the study, as well as to expand the study in the other parts of the country. The study adds a tremendous knowledge of how to better treat people with disability.

The business rescue practitioners’ professionalism: are we there yet?

Purpose and context: The purpose of the study was to explore the construction of professionalism in a multiple professional bodies (MPB) landscape in South Africa (SA) and demonstrate how this construction can be used to enhance a professional accreditation regime. Professional accreditation has become a pre-requisite for business rescue practitioners (BRPs). The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) licensing is linked to multiple professional bodies’ knowledge and practices but are not generic. This study was guided by one key question: How do PBs providing BRPs construct professionalism, and to what extent can the existing construction of professionalism facilitate the development of a professional accreditation regime? Research design and methods: A qualitative research design used required researchers to use four consecutive steps, namely (a) interviewing member services’ managers at four professional bodies (PBs); (b) systematic content analysis of codes of professional conduct and policy statements to identify constituent professionalism notions; (c) a systematic search of the literature to identify notions of professionalism mentioned in definitions and explanations of the construct; and (d) analysis of notions of professionalism using the constant comparison procedure to reveal critical themes. Results: A total of 90 separate notions of professionalism were identified in the 192 scholarly papers included in our study. The identified themes within business rescue practitioner (BRP) professionalism (emphasising relational aspects) point to practitioner dealings with (i) clients (business rescue candidates); (ii) government and others; (iii) the PB; and (iv) oneself to gain the essence of occupation. There is fragmentation between the constructed conceptualisations of professionalism among PBs, leading to an incoherent and inconsistent expert accreditation regime. Practical implications and value: The results from the indicated exploration steps were used to advance a programmatic framework to construct professionalism in an MPB landscape and set a future research agenda. The results also show that business rescue practitioners’ professionalism cannot be attained in a multi-professional body setting with an integrated professional accreditation framework.

Defining Pop-up Stores

Purpose of the research: The purpose of this paper is to define pop-up stores. Design/Methodology: Adopting an exploratory research design, semi-structured interviews and field observations were undertaken with brand managers of different types of pop-up stores and at different industry levels in Lebanon. Results/findings: A pop-up store is guided by a clear strategy to meet specific objectives using available resources. Research findings highlight a clear distinction between pop-up stores developed by newly established brands and mature brands in terms of purpose and function. The two brand classes can each manifest in four types of pop-up stores: pop-up as a distribution channel, pop-up as a communications channel, pop-up as a distribution and communications channel and pop-up complementing a distribution channel. Practical implications and conclusions: This study qualitatively explores brand managers’ understanding of pop-up stores, their perceptions and their uses in the Middle Eastern market; a market that hasn’t yet been explored in academic research related to these types of stores. It presents, defines and contextualizes a pop-up store and anchors it among new types of retail formats.

Modelling owner’s physiognomies & incitements for the adoption of enterprise application architecture for supply chain management in small and medium enterprises: A case of Capricorn District Municipality

The adoption of enterprise application architecture (EAA) for supply chain management (SCM) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was influenced by the owner’s physiognomies and incitements (OPIs) on a routine basis. The study employs a quantitative approach based on a linear regression model, which uses diagnosis tests “Cronbach's Alpha, normal distribution, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test” that makes descriptive statistics possible on Pearson correlations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's Coefficients, and linear regression. The study examines whether OPIs affect the adoption of EAA for SCM in SMEs within Capricorn District Municipality. The paper exploits the original data set of 310 SMEs, targeting predominantly both SMEs’ owners and managers to run linear regression models with the dependent variable “actual adoption of EAA” and independent variable “OPIs”. A novel piece of authenticity for the models is the incorporation of OPIs within the SCM activities and whether there were any, collaborative influences affecting the adoption of EAA. The findings have a bearing on SMEs’ SCM growth strategies, directed towards the technology acceptance model.

The impact of leadership style on employee motivation in the automotive industry: A British perspective

Purpose: The effectiveness of leadership is critical at all levels of the organisation. Different organisations use a variety of leadership styles and methods to improve employee performance by inspiring them and providing them with adequate opportunities. The research purpose is to examine the impact of leadership styles on employee’s motivation in the automotive industry in the United Kingdom. Methodology: The researchers used a deductive approach in conjunction with the quantitative method to determine the study's outcomes. A sample of 100 people was used for primary data using a questionnaire-based survey. Subjects are from the automotive industry, and the survey was carried out online. Findings: According to the results, Democratic Leadership Style (DLS), Autocratic Leadership Style (ALS), Laissez-faire Leadership Style (LFLS), Situational Leadership Style (SLS), Transformational Leadership Style (TLS), and Charismatic Leadership Style (CLS) are among the six study variables that are highly significant in terms of employee motivation. Autocratic Leadership Style (ALS) and Charismatic Leadership Style (CLS) were determined to be the study's less significant variables (CLS). The findings suggest that there is a positive relationship between leadership styles and employee motivation. Conclusion and study implications: The findings of this study can be used to develop strategies and achieve goals by developing and implementing a good leadership style. Transformational leadership is important, and leaders and managers should strive to demonstrate it in their daily activities. This study's findings have both academic and commercial implications. Leaders should use suitable styles and an inclusive and equitable incentive scheme to motivate employees by setting expectations.

Staff motivators in organised retail sector

Purpose of Research: The present paper studies the effectiveness of the factors in motivating the employees working in the retail industry. It also analyses the perception of the employees about the effectiveness of the factors influencing staff motivation and the difficulties faced by them in their workplace and their opinions on being better off. This study is very crucial in present day context as competition in retailing is getting steeper. Particularly after the economic slowdown in a highly volatile economic environment, retailers must analyse the factors affecting their employee motivation. Methodology: In this study, the researchers have tended to highlight the positivist philosophical approach. The research has been carried through the survey done on the staffs of operations and sales team of some top organised retailers in Kolkata by a standardised questionnaire, blended with open ended and close ended questions. It also delves into the effect of demographics and psychology of the staffs and their perception about the factors influences their motivation level in the workplace, by using various statistical tools like Chi-Square Test, Cronbach’s Alpha and Factor Analysis in the study. Findings: Reward and Recognition structure and Cash Benefit structures are the most influential factors in motivating the staffs to work in retail sector, closely followed by Career growth opportunities. Again, the Incentive structure influences the staff motivation to perform better in sales. Practical Implications and Conclusions: The components give an unadulterated and fulfilling experience to the staffs which makes them feel good about their work and also make them feel hopeful in order to make betterment in their career. These leads to positively influencing the motivation level of the staffs in the retail industry. This leads to better performance from the staffs in both quality and quantity. This also reduces employee turnover. This helps in maintaining a healthy environment work balance with a healthy relationship between the staffs and the management, in the retail sector. This in turn helps the retail sector to grow and prosper.

Leadership influence on the relationship between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction in computer-mediated communication environments

The growth of computer-mediated communication (CMC) has influenced the communication process channels and the possible effects of the interaction between job satisfaction, communication satisfaction, and leadership. The aim of the current research is to test how transactional, transformational, and level 5 leadership styles influence the relationship between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction in CMC environments. The sample included 103 participants from Colombian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tertiary sector. Cronbach's alpha coefficient, SPSS was used to determine the relationships between variables and test the moderating effects. Results show that 65.4% of organisational communication is performed via the Internet. Findings also demonstrate that level 5 leadership is the only style that influences the relationship. Results also indicate that the influence of level 5 leadership increases the relationship between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction. Implications are particularly relevant during the current global COVID19 pandemic when people have been required to move to a virtual work environment. In this scenario, the findings are valuable for scholars and managers as contributions for literature, research, evaluation, decision-making, and policy creation that help to understand and improve communication satisfaction, job satisfaction, and leadership practices in CMC environments. Outcomes offer new insights in the literature about leadership styles on SMEs in CMC environments. Level 5 is a recent leadership approach which has not been widely studied by researchers and scholars. The moderating effect of level 5 in relation to transactional and transformational leadership styles is an important theoretical input for literature.

Interaction of crisis leadership & corporate reputation

Effective leadership in dealing with a crisis is of critical importance since crisis situations often put companies or organizations at high risks threatening their reputation, stability & survival. Considering that a crisis can present itself in a number of different ways, as well as there are multiple factors that affect individual leadership styles. a leader must be able to distinguish between these ways and adapt the right style and behaviours accordingly. This paper, through a critical literature review methodology, explores ‘how’ leadership underpins corporate reputation in a crisis situation reviewing also the key factors influencing leadership effectiveness in such stressful situations. The study concludes that the leadership role is important in supporting the corporate reputation in a crisis situation and suggests that practitioners must comprehend different dimensions of crisis that affect leadership styles, allowing for effective management of the situation. Additionally, the study emphasizes that different preparations, precautions and adaptations must be considered before choosing a leadership style to effectively navigate the organisation through crisis. The study confirms that a good reputation helps corporations to gain the trust of consumers and reduce the losses caused by the crisis, as well as corporations in crisis should choose appropriate leadership style so that leaders to create a culture that could predict threats and risks.

Competitive factors between local and foreign national small business retailers in South Africa: The case of Cape Town’s Townships

This paper is based on the study that sought to identify the core competitive factors that differentiate foreign national small business retailers from local South African small business retailers in the way they operate their small retailing businesses. Primary research was conducted in two of Cape Town’s (South Africa) townships, Delft and Eindhoven. The population of the study comprised two groups, namely, South African and foreign national small business retailers operating grocery retailer stores. The first group consisted of 55 South African small business retailers while the second group consisted of 75 migrant small business retailers. A random sample was targeted from each group and the quantitative research methodology was used in this study using a structured questionnaire with close-ended questions. The results showed growth of foreign national retailers and decline in the number of the local retailers in the two townships. The study showed that migrant retailers have a competitive edge over local retailers. The study also revealed that most local traders have a lower level of education compared to their migrant trader counterparts. Furthermore, the study revealed that most of local small business retailers have never had a business finance mentor in their entire trading life. The study revealed that there is a need for a targeted funding model for potential and current local small business retailers. The study proposes a three-stage business intervention model to assist South African small business retailers to become more competitive in township retailing environments.

Effect of value-added services on transactional behaviour

Traditional banking methods evolved and included services as a method of differentiation, reducing operating costs, and providing additional benefits to the customer. Banks re-invented themselves and provide innovative solutions to remain competitive. This research explores whether using value added services contributed to changes in transactional banking behaviour and was done in one of the largest banks in South Africa over a period of four months. Two banking products in the youth customer segment were selected. The control group received one treatment at the beginning of the four-month period, and the experimental group received a further three treatments at different times of each month. Two data sets (1) VAS usage and (2) bank transactions were analysed. The results showed that the intervention had a positive effect on transactional banking behaviour. Additional causative factors were identified that increased the usage of value-added services and increased transactional banking behaviour.